Perspectives

Chapter 51

Despite the fact that Piper hadn't eaten since breakfast back on Earth, the sight of the two giants eating sea creatures as big as she was had left her feeling queasy, something that was only intensified by the magnified eating sounds. She turned to stare at the wall, trying her best to tune out the noises.

Seeing Kalen again....it was strange. Piper had been so sure when she went into that transporter that she'd never see him again. The wave of relief that came over her when she saw he was safe and okay had been stronger than she had anticipated. 

"So Kalen, you told me you had something important you wanted to talk about." Piper heard Rothgard's voice from above her. 

Piper glanced over her shoulder at Kalen, who wore a very measured expression on his face, as though he was carefully considering his next words. "Yes sir." He responded. "At the council meeting the other day it was suggested that the human may have been assisted in its escape by someone besides Jedidiah Ambrose." Piper cringed at Kalen's second use of 'it' in reference to her. While she knew he was doing it keep Rothgard from becoming suspicious, that didn't stop her from hating the sound of it. Even in the beginning when Kalen had been an undeniable ass to her, he had never referred to her as an 'it'. 

"Ah yes, that is precisely the information I've been trying to extract from our guest." Rothgard stated, the sarcastic intonation to the word 'guest' not lost on Piper. 

Kalen nodded, "Well I was thinking about it, and wondered whether it may be possible that the Pervicacious had a hand in it." Piper remembered Devon and Celia mentioning the Pervicacious before, they were some kind of rebel group from what she remembered. 

Craning her neck to catch a glimpse of Rothgard, Piper saw him shaking his head in dismissal. "While the Pervicacious represent the worst of Amasis, even they would not stoop so low as to assist a human." He countered. "Either way, I grow less concerned with them the closer we come to achieving our goals concerning Earth." Piper's gaze shot towards Kalen. The fact that there was no look of surprise or confusion on his face was all the proof she needed to know that he was well aware of what Rothgard had planned for Earth. 

For a short moment Kalen's eyes met hers, and she could tell he was realizing that she already knew about it too. How had she never considered the fact that not only Kalen, but Devon and Celia had known Earth's fate all along? Of course they would know. So if they had known all this time, how could they have kept it from her? Piper considered the fact that her entire planet was going to be taken over by giants to be 'need-to-know' information. She couldn't believe they had sent her back there knowing what was coming. Yet at the same time, Piper couldn't imagine staying behind while everyone on Earth, including the few people she cared about, suffered at the Amasisians hands.

"Do you think you're getting closer?" Piper heard Kalen ask, interrupting her racing thoughts. 

Rothgard smiled, "I can't disclose any details, but yes I believe we are very close." Piper fought the urge to shout abuse at the giant man, but she knew it would likely only bring him satisfaction to know that his words were getting to her.

~

Kalen found his gaze consistently being drawn towards Piper, he had to fight just to keep himself from staring at her, something he knew would cause suspicion in Rothgard. But when Rothgard had mentioned his plans for Earth, Kalen couldn't stop himself from looking to see her reaction. To his surprise, there was no shock in her eyes, only a bitter sadness. He couldn't say he was all that surprised that Rothgard had used that particular piece of information to torment Piper. When it came to humans, Rothgard seemed to be devoid of any moral compass. 

Fearing what the response would be, Kalen asked, "Do you think you're getting any closer?"

The smile on Rothgard's face before he even spoke said it all. The SSD had finally had a breakthrough with the trans-dimensional teleporter. If the Pervicacious didn't succeed today, Kalen had no doubt that there would Amasisans roaming Earth at full size in a matter of months. 

With that thought in mind, Kalen's eyes went to the clock on the wall. Just as the minute-hand moved into place, a blaring alarm began to scream through the air. "Security Measures Compromised." IRIS's voice announced on repeat. 

"What?!" Rothgard growled, shooting up to his feet. "IRIS, situation analysis!" 

Kalen tried to give Piper a look letting her know there was a plan at play here, but her eyes were held shut as she covered her ears with her hands. Kalen recalled when she had fallen off his shoulder as a result of the thunder. He knew now how much more dangerous loud sounds were to someone her size. He wanted nothing more than to get her out of this place, he had never intended for her to be here for this, but with Rothgard still in the room he was stuck. 

"Security system has been accessed remotely by an unknown user." IRIS explained. "All external alert capabilities have been disabled, all electronic locks have been disabled, all security cameras have been disabled." The robotic voice stated, Rothgard's rage seeming to grow with each item listed. 

"Suggested action?" Rothgard demanded.

"Suggested action is a manual system reset." IRIS replied smoothly. 

Kalen swallowed hard. So far everything was going as the Pervicacious had planned. So long as they could handle the security guards and get in before Rothgard could manually reset the system, they should be able to pull it off. 

"Stay here, I'll be back." Rothgard ordered Kalen sharply, his hand reaching for the handle of Piper's cage. 

"Oh-uh I can keep an eye on the human, you have more important things to deal with clearly." Kalen fumbled, struggling to keep the desperation out of his voice. 

Rothgard shot Kalen a look. "No offense intended, but the last time the human was under your watch it escaped." He told him darkly as he lifted Piper's cage up off the table. "Don't worry, a guard will be in shortly to ensure your safety." He added before making his way out of the room. 

Piper stared out through the glass back at Kalen, fear and uncertainty in her eyes. Kalen's hands balled up into fists, his fingernails pressing sharply into the skin of his palms. The last thing he wanted was Piper to be in the middle of this. He had never expected Rothgard to take Piper out of the SSD. Now this whole thing was that much more complicated. 

Despite the mounting concern rising in him, Kalen did his best to offer Piper a reassuring look before she was carried out the room. And as soon as she and Rothgard were out of earshot, he let out a long and crude string of expletives that would leave his parents completely scandalized. It seemed Piper had rubbed off on him.