Black. Pitch Black. Tani tried looking around her surroundings but not even the smallest glimmer of light nor reflection could be seen. Her body was currently on the floor with her wrists tied together behind her back and her ankles bound together as well. She rolled herself off of her back and onto her stomach where she tried to inch forward, but her forehead was immediately greeted with a cold, metal wall. She stretched out her feet a bit and they too met with another wall. She was trapped, and alone. She would have tried to scream if it hadn’t been for the collar restricted around her throat, allowing just enough air to pass through her lungs without passing out, but not enough to make any sounds. She wormed her body around until she was in an awkward sitting position, her back resting against the cool metal and closed her eyes. It had all happened so fast…

There was a sound of scraping metal and suddenly a stream of light entered the confined space, blinding Tani for a good while. She shut her eyes tightly to prevent any damage to her eyes and heard a couple pairs of footsteps clanging on the metal floor. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed at her harshly, forcing her to her feet and then pushed her out towards the light. Tripping over her own feet, as they were still bound together, Tani collapsed out of the metal barge and out onto the soft terrain of her new destination. Dark brown mud caked to her blue face the moment she hit the ground as the entire area was soaking wet from the rain. It didn’t take long at all for her to get soaked as well, as the droplets were big and coming down hard. Another guard pulled her back to her feet, holding her forcibly by the neck around the metal collar still locked tightly around her neck and his second hand grasping a rod of some sort into her back. A second guard stooped over to unlock the metal bands that held her ankles together, and with a quick push of a button from the first guard, the end of the rod pressed into her back ignited into a high-intensity array of electricity. Tani tried to cry out in pain as the electrical shock coursed through her body, rendering her numb for a few moments but the guard pushed her forward, forcing her to walk.

She could feel people staring at her, and she knew exactly why. She kept her head down though, avoiding any eye contact with anyone save she might happen upon a certain race that had a personal vendetta against hers. She had been briefed on where it was she was going right before she lost consciousness in the barge, and therefore she knew why she was there. The rain did a steady job of smearing the mud off of her face and chest, though it only made her look messier. Still though, she continued to walk where she was directed; she’d do anything just to not have the guard press that button again.

A few minutes later, the guard had stopped which in turn caused Tani to stop. At first it was because she had thought that they had arrived at wherever it is that they were going, but when Tani looked up she had spotted what looked like a small girl, no older than eight. She was cowering in front of two of the guards, who apprehended her with force and started to strike her. Tani didn’t know what the girl did to deserve such treatment, and frankly she didn’t care. The larger portion of empathy in her heart tugged at her conscious and she could no longer just stand around and watch as the other races in the immediate area did; though some didn’t even do that, walking on by as if nothing were happening.

With the sound of what sounded like a hiss coming from her throat, Tani wrenched herself free from the guard and ran towards the guards with the little girl. Upon getting closer she noticed that the girl was of the Arian race. Light green skin, thick antennae, and known throughout the universe for their exceptional farming skills, a race that her own race was friendly with before their supposed extinction. Tani didn’t stop though, as the guard rose his hand to strike the girl once again, Tani rammed herself into his side, Earth football style and the two crashed into the mud. Her own guards had quickly caught up with her and pulled her back up to her feet. The guard whom she had knocked over stood up, wiped the mud from his uniform, pulled out what looked like a gun from his holster and point-blank shot the little girl through the head. Tani tried to scream in anger, though it was rendered useless and in fact made her feel very light-headed. She was then forced to what looked like a metal pole in the middle of the area and was quickly bound to it, her chest pressing against the pole and her back exposed. The guards exchanged orders to one another until one finally stepped forward with a leather whip with electricity sparking from it. The guard pulled back his arm, and began his assailing attack on the Rhevarian; the rarest race in existence.