Starfire: Return to Tamaran

Scene12: Acts of Redemption and Faith

Whatever was happening outside, Starfire was certain it shouldn't be taking this long. After ten minutes of waiting, she couldn't stand it any longer and had chosen to go find Phisanua. She had to know what was happening. She also wanted to find Nightwing and Jennifer.

A few corridors down, she found Phisanua alright, but she wasn't alone. Following her at an eager pace was a squad of Citadel guards. The one directly behind her had to be the captain. When he saw her, he cried to his warriors, "We should have known who the culprit was. Seize her!" He turned to the Phisanua. "You have done us a favor, Duchess Phisanua. It has taken us a long time to find this fugitive. Thank you for delivering her to us."

Starfire was too stunned to defend herself. Phisanua had brought the Citadel here? It made no sense. Before she could fully comprehend Phisanua's treachery, four of the guards seized her by the arms and pinned her to the wall.

She struggled hard, trying to break free, but four more guards moved forward. The captain raised a hand and his men made room for him to advance on Starfire. When he was face-to-face with her, he punched her hard in the gut. His guards released her grip on her, allowing her to fall to the ground and groan in pain.

When her eyes came back into focus, Phisanua was standing over her. "I am sorry, Koriand'r, but I am afraid this is necessary to ensure the protection of my people. I do not want war here on Kraitoria."

Starfire was still recovering from the blow the captain had inflicted on her, but she managed to glare at Phisanua and groan, "Traitor."

Phisanua shook her head sadly. "I was not on your side to begin with. I told you Tamaran was beyond saving."

"That's right," said the Citadel captain. He turned to his men. "Now find a room to detain the fugitive. I have some messages to send back to command. Then we will see if the duchess has other fugitives here that she is unaware of."

Phisanua was silent as two of the guards picked Starfire up again and began to drag her down the corridor. But the Tamaranian was not going to let herself be taken. "Phisanua, please," she called back over her shoulder. "If you do this, you will be enslaving your own people. You can still help them, but this is not the right way. You can still put an end to this."

Starfire tried to struggle free of her captors, but there were just too many holding her down. The captain had gone, but Phisanua was still there, still silent. But Starfire saw a tear streak across her face.

***

Blackfire had just returned from spying on Gormileaux when she received the call from the Citadel captain on Kraitoria. Prior to the call, she had been able to gather some information on what he and his men were up to. They were definitely planning to kill her, and it seemed like they were using a team of Psions to do it.

However, Gormileaux was a master of secrecy. When he had spoken to his men, they had spent most of the conversation talking in some kind of code. All Blackfire knew for certain was Gormileaux was using one of the Psion scientist teams to plot her own death. The question now was which team was helping him.

That, however, would have to wait. It was time to see what news the captain had for her on Kraitoria. "Captain, I assume you have information to give me?"

The captain nodded. "Indeed, Master Komand'r. We have found one of the fugitives who attacked Commander Gormileaux's ship. It is Koriand'r, your sister."

"Just as I thought," Blackfire said, though more to herself than the captain. "Tell me, how did you find her?"

"It was the Duchess Phisanua who led us to her," replied the captain. "Although she claims Koriand'r was the only survivor, I am sure there are others hiding here on this planet. I request to conduct a further search of the village."