The sentence trailed off in a serpentine hiss. She said nothing, green eyes locked on the horizon as Pollux sunk lazily through the sky, stoic as a wall but for a small shudder as the pinprick pain on the back of her neck grew stronger. The wind around her didn't so much howl as it wept, as if it knew what was occurring on the peak of Prefabricated Terramorph Colony #4 at the very edge of dusk on the planet Sunrise. Her modest blue skirt waved a bittersweet goodnight to the fading sun.
The reptilian voice picked up again after a few moments. “I can hear your thoughts as if you spoke them aloud. Your silence is admirable, but ultimately meaningless.”
She remained silent anyway, probably more out of sheer stubbornness than restraint.
This time it sounded like a friendly brown bear.
“You're running out of time, little lady. Tick. Tock.” She bit her lip, eyes darting around as if to search for some deus ex machina salvation. The point dug deeper as the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky. She found the sunset fittingly beautiful today, and although they generally made her uncomfortable, she felt almost at peace.
“Tick. Tock.” The gentle bear's voice brought her back to her present predicament.
The light dimmed as the sky faded to a dark burnt orange dotted with purple clouds tossed about by the spindly cyclones that whirred across the vast ocean, and desert beyond the ocean, bracketed by snowcapped mountains thousands of feet high. Perhaps the tornadoes traversed the land beyond the mountains, too. She shivered, although the cold had yet to set in.
The voice returned to its sibilant serpentine tone.
“There is no other choice, Miss. Only two options. I know your thoughts, you know, and as much as you try to hide them, I can still hear them as if they shouted at me through a megaphone. I know you think I've offered you a false choice between only two of a vast number of options, and that you aren't sure if old Jack is lying.”
The sun was less than half visible now, and its light was waning, painting the sky the rich dark gold-maroon of a king's robes.
“If you don't make a decision soon, I'll make one for you. And I guarantee you won't like it one bit.” There was silence broken only by the wind sobbing through the steel struts and whispering through the moss covering them. She spoke, and although she trembled almost undetectably, her voice was strong and unwavering.
“Why are you here?”
There was no noise from behind her, but she could tell by the change in the pressure on her neck that she had caught the thing off guard. It recovered just as quickly as she expected it to.
“Just helping out a neighbor. That's all. Jack's gotta do what, well, nobody else will do, I guess.”
She spoke again. This time her voice shook from the pressure of the situation, but Jack didn't notice.
“What do you want from me? I'm just supposed to flip that switch! I don't have anything valuable! Leave me alone!”
It sighed.
“This was the only way to get your attention. I just hoped that you would be more receptive.”
Her almost-cool demeanor evaporated in an instant. She began to turn to face the other for the first time. “Wait, wh-”
The pair of spiked electrodes plunged deep into her spine and she collapsed, one arm still reaching in vain for the switch.
- - -
“Hello? Hello? Ma'am?”
“Missus, please wake up.”
She blinked once, but kept her eyes closed against the harsh sunlight. She stretched her arms until her elbows made a slight popping sound, rolled her shoulders, opened her eyes, and started in shock as she realized she had been sleeping on the control deck of her colony.
“Ma'am, are you all right?”
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