He tried to get a look at the Xiiginn soldiers who carried him, but he could barely lift his head. Wherever they took him, it was dark, with hardly any lighting at all. What had they done to him? Waves of exhaustion washed over him. He tried to get his feet under him so he could walk, but the brisk pace the soldiers set was too much for him. The soldiers came to a halt, and one of them keyed in a code. Zack glanced up at the pad and caught a glimpse of the sequence, but he couldn’t read the alien symbols. One of the soldiers caught him looking and struck him on the side of his head. His ear stung from the blow. The door retracted into the ceiling, opening the way, and amber lighting from the holoscreens drove the darkness back. There were other Xiiginns in the room. Some looked over in his direction as he was dragged inside. They were approached by another Xiiginn carrying a tablet computer. This one was covered head to toe in the black battle mesh all the Xiiginns seemed to be wearing.
