“I have a disk drive?” Taylor asked.
“Yes, it’s in your back. Your arms are not designed to reach it, I’m sorry. It’s a security precaution. Anyway,” there was a pause as she pushed the disk into the drive, “I need you to focus on what happened starting with the initial abduction until your senses were completely cut off.”
“Umm, okay…”
“Trust me - ”
“You should never trust anyone that says ‘trust me’.”
“Why?”
“Because ahh… never mind.”
“Hmm. Can you focus on this please? I need as much detail as possible. The disk will pick up most of the details you might omit, but there’s more chance of it picking it up if you try to remember everything.”
“Okay,” Taylor replied, taking a breath.
He focused and there was silence for a few minutes.
“Okay, it’s done.”
“Great,” Starla replied.
She ejected the disk then inserted it into another drive that was in the wall. She pressed a couple of buttons on the control panel and the screen lit up. It started playing Taylor’s memory. He whistled.
Then it came to the part where the two pirates started talking in the metallic room. If Starla had been eating, show would have choked on her own food.
“What is it?” Taylor asked as she gave a surprised cry of delight.
“We have been after these two,” she pointed at the screen, “oh, forever! This is a real breakthrough Taylor. They’re slimy ones all right, but we finally have a lead. This is great.”
The video finished and she ejected the disk.
“I have to go now. In the meantime you’ll have this great big room all to yourself. I’m sure you’ll find some way to entertain yourself. I’ll try to be back soon and see how you’re going.”
“Okay. Starla?”
“Yes?”
“Be honest. I am going to get home, right?”
“I am going to make it my business to get you home.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Starla sighed.
“Taylor… it could take days, but more likely it’ll be months, or even years.”
“Years!”
“We’re going to do our best, Taylor. Believe me, we want to get these guys in our custody as soon as at all possible. Maybe even more than you want to get home.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“That’s because you’ve only see one part of the damage they cause. We’re getting you home. I mean it.”
“Hmph. If it takes years there may not be a point.”
And on that note Taylor proceeded to fall into a state of self pity that Starla was not at all inclined to pull him out of.