36
“We have a problem.”
Cyclops strolled before the prisoners who knelt in three lines of ten. He clasped his hands tight behind his back. His muscular chest swelled as he spoke. Josh swallowed. He had heard this tone before. Back on the asteroid, Cyclops would start a speech like this and end it by forcing prisoners out of the airlock.
“Someone has opened a most important box,” Cyclops said, nodding at two of his men. “This is disturbing.”
The two guards dressed in dirty black rags moved forward in the morning light. They each held a long wooden stake about as tall as a man. Marching in front of the prisoners, they split and went to opposite sides. When they reached the edge of the group, the two men in unison slammed the stakes into the ground. They bowed and backed away.
“I am goin
