Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 86074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“My damper is fine,” LJ-91 protested. “Besides, I am not the one on trial here—he is.” He pointed at Lili. “This so called XR-17 who is not even a real Dark Kindred!”
He reached for her and before Lili could react, he had torn off her dented chest plate.
Unfortunately, the chest plate was anchored in the black body stocking she was wearing. Ripping it off tore a huge hole in the stocking. Lili gasped as her large, bare breasts came tumbling out, her nipples tight with fear and pointing directly at the Tribunal.
There was a collective sound that was almost a gasp and she had the distracted thought that she was probably straining the capacity of every single emotion damper in the room. Then the Tribunal Master broke the silence.
“A female!” he said, his single eye narrowing. “A female has invaded Z4!”
“What—are women against the law here too?” Lili demanded. She was blushing with embarrassment and trying to cover her chest with both arms, but she would be damned if she’d stop speaking up for herself!
“Females cause emotion,” one of the other Tribunal members said. “As such, they are expressly forbidden on the surface of Z4.”
Lili stared at them in disbelief.
“What kind of incel crap is that? You’re all supposed to be these ‘emotionless robots’ but you can’t even stand to have a woman around because she might make you break your code and ‘feel’ something?” She glared at the Tribunal accusingly. “If you’re really that fragile, it sounds to me like you’re all a lot more emotional than you want to let on!”
But this time it seemed she had gone too far. The Tribunal Master narrowed his eye at her and pounded his fist on the table.
“Assemble the sniffers! This female shall be tried as a Feel Criminal and a trespasser!”
At once all the guards with sniffers came to the front of the room and formed a semi-circle around Lili.
Lili tried not to be frightened—didn’t they say that dogs could smell fear? And these metal dogs were specially trained to do exactly that. But she couldn’t help herself. It was like her childhood trauma times a thousand. All she could see were rows of glowing red eyes and sharp metal teeth, all bared to rip her apart!
“Look—I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, appealing to the Tribunal Master. “I shouldn’t have said that about you having emotions. I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I only came because I was looking for some Dark Kindred—Treads Lightly and Fights Darkness. They were on the Kindred Mother Ship for a while and that was where I met them. I didn’t know them long—less than a week. But, well, we formed an attachment—I need to find them!”
“You expect us to believe that you invaded our world and put yourself in mortal danger just to find two warriors you knew for less than a week?” the Tribunal Master demanded.
“Yes, I do!” Lili exclaimed. “And I don’t care if that’s a crime!” she went on recklessly. “I came to rescue them and bring them back to a place where they could feel. Where they could love and be loved in return—because they deserve better than this cold, dead world where everything is gray and bland and awful all the time!”
Her impassioned speech caused murmurs among the crowd and the sniffers were all growling angrily. Probably because she was feeling so much and so “loudly” Lili speculated.
She was crying now—she couldn’t help it. She was about to die—she was sure of it. But she couldn’t regret her decision to come to Zeaga Four. She’d been trying to save the men she loved from a terrible fate…the fate of feeling nothing for the rest of their lives. If only she could have seen them one last time before the end…
“Look—look at her committing Feel Crime right here—right in front of the very Tribunal!” LJ-91 exclaimed, pointing at her. “Tribunal Master, you cannot deny her guilt!”
“I will not deny it.” The Head of the Tribunal banged his fist on the table. “This criminal is hereby charged and convicted of both Feel Crime and of the crime of being female.” He pointed at Lili with one metal finger. “I sentence you to immediate termination. You shall be torn apart until the breath leaves your body and your blood stains the floor of this Tribunal Chamber to serve as a warning to others who might be tempted to commit Feel Crime!”
The growling of the sniffers grew louder and they began to close in around Lili, their red eyes gleaming.
Her fear spiked—her heart was beating so hard it seemed to be trying to break through her ribs and run away! Lili wished she could run, but there was no place to go. No place to—
“Wait!” a deep voice shouted. “Hold back the sniffers—we have something to say!”