THE LEAKS
"You never told us there was a eleventh prisoner," Conner said.
"I didn't know," Mach replied.
"You didn't know?" Elise said.
"How can you be transporting a prisoner you know nothing about?"
"I have heard of this before, secret prisoner transports," Mach said.
"Why do they need to be secret? You're their guard, you need to know where these prisoners are," Conner remarked.
"If the criminal is particularly dangerous then it's best that the record of their transport between prisons is known only to a few. Secret transports keep the group of people who know very, very small."
"But how do you know to drop a prisoner off at a prison when you don't know they are aboard?"
"The prisons the Guard Robots visit update us all with new prisoner stats when we arrive and leave. The Judges may have designed those updates to upload information on prisoners such as these..." and he waved at the pod, "only when we get to the prison, and when we leave the memory is erased. It's the perfect way to insure that no one outside of the prison where the criminal is kept even knows which prison they are held in. No one can then help them to escape because they don't know where they are."
"So who is this guy? What does the plaque say?" Conner said.
"It says Unum Decimus of.." and Mach's voice trailed off.
"Of?" Conner and Elise said together.
"Of Earth?" Mach said, "This prisoner is a human being."
"How can that be?" Conner said, "How can a human be a prisoner of the Judges?"
"I have no idea, I didn't even know I was transporting him," Mach said.
"Doesn't the name Unum Decimus sound familiar with you?" Elise asked.
Mach's eyes turned purple for a moment, "no," he said, when they returned to their usual colour.
"Odd name," Conner said. "Unum is one," Elise said, "it's latin," she added.
"Latin?" Conner said.
"I think Decimus is ten," Elise said.
"So this guy is Italian?" Conner said.
Elise shrugged.
"Well what do we do with him?" Conner asked.
"Nothing," Mach said.
"Nothing?" Conner replied.
"He's a prisoner and if he was supposed to be a secret even from me, then he should stay that way. We'll secure the cell back in the roof and forget all about him." Mach said.
"Don't you want to know who he is?" Conner said.
"I am not curious no, the Judges have him in there for a reason, I do not question that."
"But he's human, he shouldn't even be out there in space."
"It doesn't matter Conner, the Judges never put an innocent alien in jail."
"But where do they get the authority to put even criminals in jail!" said a voice that wasn't Conner's, Elise or Mach's. It was as faint as a whisper, but deep, the old voice of someone who had lived a long time.
"Who said that?" Elise asked.
"I did child," the voice said again.
Conner Elise and Mach backed away from the newly revealed prison cell.
"Your voice, it's familiar, it's like Celtic."
"Celtic?" Conner said. "Tell me what planet I am on?" the voice asked.
"Earth," Conner replied.
"Conner don't say anything else, this a dangerous criminal, worse even than the other aliens you are hunting," Mach said.
"Earth," the voice replied savouring the syllables of the world. "Finally I am home,"
Out of the pin holes dotted around the cell black fluid started to leak out. The holes widened as the black fluid dissolved the metal of the cells millimetre by millimetre, then centimetre by centimetre.
"Conner, Elise, grab your weapons, we're about to have another criminal to hunt." Mach ordered.
"I didn't know," Mach replied.
"You didn't know?" Elise said.
"How can you be transporting a prisoner you know nothing about?"
"I have heard of this before, secret prisoner transports," Mach said.
"Why do they need to be secret? You're their guard, you need to know where these prisoners are," Conner remarked.
"If the criminal is particularly dangerous then it's best that the record of their transport between prisons is known only to a few. Secret transports keep the group of people who know very, very small."
"But how do you know to drop a prisoner off at a prison when you don't know they are aboard?"
"The prisons the Guard Robots visit update us all with new prisoner stats when we arrive and leave. The Judges may have designed those updates to upload information on prisoners such as these..." and he waved at the pod, "only when we get to the prison, and when we leave the memory is erased. It's the perfect way to insure that no one outside of the prison where the criminal is kept even knows which prison they are held in. No one can then help them to escape because they don't know where they are."
"So who is this guy? What does the plaque say?" Conner said.
"It says Unum Decimus of.." and Mach's voice trailed off.
"Of?" Conner and Elise said together.
"Of Earth?" Mach said, "This prisoner is a human being."
"How can that be?" Conner said, "How can a human be a prisoner of the Judges?"
"I have no idea, I didn't even know I was transporting him," Mach said.
"Doesn't the name Unum Decimus sound familiar with you?" Elise asked.
Mach's eyes turned purple for a moment, "no," he said, when they returned to their usual colour.
"Odd name," Conner said. "Unum is one," Elise said, "it's latin," she added.
"Latin?" Conner said.
"I think Decimus is ten," Elise said.
"So this guy is Italian?" Conner said.
Elise shrugged.
"Well what do we do with him?" Conner asked.
"Nothing," Mach said.
"Nothing?" Conner replied.
"He's a prisoner and if he was supposed to be a secret even from me, then he should stay that way. We'll secure the cell back in the roof and forget all about him." Mach said.
"Don't you want to know who he is?" Conner said.
"I am not curious no, the Judges have him in there for a reason, I do not question that."
"But he's human, he shouldn't even be out there in space."
"It doesn't matter Conner, the Judges never put an innocent alien in jail."
"But where do they get the authority to put even criminals in jail!" said a voice that wasn't Conner's, Elise or Mach's. It was as faint as a whisper, but deep, the old voice of someone who had lived a long time.
"Who said that?" Elise asked.
"I did child," the voice said again.
Conner Elise and Mach backed away from the newly revealed prison cell.
"Your voice, it's familiar, it's like Celtic."
"Celtic?" Conner said. "Tell me what planet I am on?" the voice asked.
"Earth," Conner replied.
"Conner don't say anything else, this a dangerous criminal, worse even than the other aliens you are hunting," Mach said.
"Earth," the voice replied savouring the syllables of the world. "Finally I am home,"
Out of the pin holes dotted around the cell black fluid started to leak out. The holes widened as the black fluid dissolved the metal of the cells millimetre by millimetre, then centimetre by centimetre.
"Conner, Elise, grab your weapons, we're about to have another criminal to hunt." Mach ordered.
