Year 3, Month 6, Day 19 Mark said that if he saw another serving of possum's tail again he'll strangle the cook with it. Well, they're technically not possums, but the animals native to this blasted planet simply remind us of them, what with their long, prehensile tails. Even though I'm sick to death eating the same thing for the whole month, we don't really have much of a choice. They're the most bountiful source of food during this drought. Mark knows it too, but he complains anyway. I'm too tired to make a fuss. The penal colony is quieter outside, at least, during this dry season. None of the inmates want to go out into the sun without good reason. Which makes the inside of the prison unbearably stuffy and noisy at times. Mark started complaining about that, too, declaring that he wouldn't have killed those officers if he knew he would've ended up in a shithole like this. Mark's not exactly the brightest star out there. And he's adding to the noise that he hates so much. There was a commotion as a few of the inmates burst into the mess hall with our makeshift weapon stash. Apparently, there was a ship landing on the planet, one of the scouts reported. Everybody knew what that meant: a possible free ride out of the planet. Everyone rushed for the guns first, of course, not because they're better at taking down 'prey'. No, they'd simply stand a better chance in keeping the other inmates at bay as they steal the ship. They can fight over who gets to go off the planet, I just don't want to get killed... I waited for everyone to pick their weapons before helping myself to a folded chair with one end coated with concrete and nails. Everyone charged out of the prison in the hot sun, aiming for the ship. At least this time they decided to attack their 'prey' BEFORE infighting amongst themselves. Some of us lagged behind. Some were still sluggish from the hot sun. Some were sick, but adamant to get to that ship anyway. Others, like me, knew they wouldn't be able to fight off everyone else, and were conserving our energy. Aiming to simply get lucky, and not get hurt. Whatever the case, we were the luckier ones. We arrived to see the entire group ahead of us fleeing in terror from a group of soldiers; we outnumbered them, but their gear was far superior. The inmates with guns were already neutralized and on the ground, hit by non-lethal rounds of some kind. The smart ones, like me, dropped our weapons and surrendered immediately. The stupid gung-ho ones got shot. They deserved it. We were rounded up and cuffed, then marched back to the prison. The ones that got away tried to make a stand in the penal colony, resulting in a shootout with the soldiers. Then some female Floran, possibly their commanding officer or something, just waltzed into the building. No helmet. Crazy bastard. She got the job done, though, and somehow came out in one piece. I later learnt that most of the blood on her suit wasn't hers. The soldiers entered and apprehended every last one. No casualties on either side, surprisingly, in the whole ordeal. Later on, we were brought onto a large ship, herded like cattle. Theories on our capture ranged from the optimistic to the pessimistic, from the plausible to the outlandish. Mark thought we were going to be fed as sacrifices to the tentacle monster on Earth. Like I said, not the brightest star. At least the holding bay had air-conditioning, which at least kept most of us in a relatively acceptable mood. Then the soldiers came by and started ID-ing us or something, double checking our names on some database. I'm assuming they salvaged the records from the penal colony servers we smashed up, burnt, and buried. Somehow. I'm pretty sure they didn't get our records from official channels, though. The Floran was proof enough. Nobody in the USCM will trust a Floran with anything, let alone capturing human prisoners without killing or eating them. We were split up and escorted to cells that were even smaller than the ones back in the penal colony. Barely enough room for one person, with only an admittedly comfortable bed to lay on. They didn't bother to hide the camera in the cell, jutting out of the ceiling like a pimple. On the plus side, the room was soundproof, which meant I didn't have to hear Mark running his mouth about Hylotl tits again. Hope they don't keep me here for too long, though, or I might actually start missing his voice. Thankfully, they gave me a rudimentary datapad to type on as I requested, so I could continue my journals and stay sane. I have a feeling this is Day 1, though. Not just a new journal, but maybe a new beginning. Who knows.
Day 5 It's been an uneventful few days on the holding ship. I found out the cell had a toilet bowl folded into the walls, which was pretty fancy. The food here's actually much better fare than what we had on the colony. Granted, it seems to be reheated MREs, but at least they have a wide selection. Plus, they allow us to pick what we want to eat. Have to say, the line between horrible hotel and amazing prison is blurred here. We were allowed outside for three hours every day, and I met up with the inmates in my designated block. Unfortunately, Mark was there. At least he was commending the place on its hospitality, something that I can agree on for once. We played sports with some of the guards, who seemed like pretty chill guys. They didn't talk much, though, saying they weren't allowed to yet. Whatever that means. Today, though, the Floran came by to check on us as we played basketball. Got a good look at her then. She was red all over, no trace of green on her. Crimson hair-petals that flowed to her hips, razor-sharp fangs lining her constantly grinning lips, and black beady eyes that sent a shiver down my spine. If she was a human, she'd be a pretty hot thing, but she gave off this vibe of violence and danger. Everybody stopped playing when she entered, guards and inmates alike. She was in charge, and we knew it. She took off her armor right there and then, revealing her slender yet visibly strong body. No underwear. The way she stood exuded confidence and prowess, like a proud predator. She then declared a challenge to all of us, and I quote: "Firssst perssson to injure Tsssura getsss freedom! Isss good deal, yesss? If lossse, isss losssse nothing! Ssstabbiesss and ssshootiesss okay! Hasss ten minutessss! All together, yesss?" All of us looked at each other. As tempting as that offer was, we knew there was probably a catch or something. Some guards left and brought back few racks of weapons. Some small arms, stun rods, knives.... I couldn't believe it. What was stopping us from simply using the weapons against them and taking over the ship? Deep inside, though, we knew that wasn't going to work. Even if we coordinated our efforts, the guards would surely put a stop to our shenanigans. Mark, being a total airhead, leaned over and told me he'd participate to try and cop a feel. I knew better than to participate and stepped off the basketball court, where some of the guards ushered us onto the higher floors to leave the court empty. I asked the closest guard what this was about, but he didn't answer. Twenty inmates stayed behind, all on death-row. Come to think of it, though, every single inmate in this block was on death row, including me. I assume those with simple life-sentences were placed on another block. When the last non-participant stepped off the court, the Floran leapt forward without warning, letting loose an inhumane screech. Gods, she moved faster than any creature I've ever seen. We watched in horror as she caught two of the inmates by surprise, slamming her fists into their guts and sending them sprawling. They were out for the rest of the match. That spooked, like, six of the participants, including Mark, who stood there like morons and simply watched with wide eyes. Another eight turned on their heels and ran in terror. There were ten guns provided, and five of them were with the fleeing group. She went after them first. She caught up with them rather easily, and they never had a chance to use their guns. One well-placed blow to the neck, face, or gut, and they were left on the ground, out cold. One of the braver inmates tried to shoot at her while she was distracted, but he couldn't hit shit. But at least that snapped the rest out of their stunned state, and they all started firing at once. I watched as the Floran grabbed inmate after inmate, using them like shields and taking the non-lethal rounds for her, lifting them easily like life-sized paper dolls. She closed the gaps effortlessly, making the basketball court look as small as a pinball table from up here. She was knocking them down faster than a Suicide Prevention Hotline operator knocks down booze after work on Valentine's Day. People were shooting each other, knives and rods were hitting nothing. As graceful as she was deadly, every strike fluid and precise, no movement wasted. Mark never stood a chance. I was half expecting him to piss his pants when she rammed her fist into his kidney. I know I would've. Systematically, she took out the cowards first, then the highest threats with the guns, and more or less toyed with the remaining few who were trying in vain to hit her with their melee weapons. When one tried to pick up a gun, he was dealt with swiftly and harshly. The whole ordeal lasted for a good ten minutes, although it felt much longer with her constant taunting. Nobody walked away with the prize. In fact, none of them could walk for a while. The guards came down to bring the Floran's victims to the sick bay, and she left the block without further incident. She looked relatively disappointed compared to her excited expression when she was 'playing'. We were ushered back into our cells after that. Perhaps I'll get some answers to all of this in a few days. The inmate kidnapping, the insane Floran, where this ship is headed... And maybe they'll answer my request to have some music in my room.
