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Tears filled his eyes as Aporal thought back to the past months.

He had been abducted by an alien species before. A species that had tried to turn him and other Andorians into the ultimate fighting machines. He and so many others had been tortured, turned against each other and transformed into the broken survivors they were now. Only a few had survived their time aboard the ship.

And then? A ray of hope in cruel times! Aporal and the other few who had made it to the end were saved!

He could hardly believe it when he was beamed aboard an alien shuttle. After all the time he had spent expecting certain death, he had long since given up hope of rescue.

And he should have left it at that.

As it turned out, his end was only postponed by this rescue. And replaced by a far crueler one.

Their rescuer – Miss Nomira Farie – turned out to be a much crueler kidnapper. A restaurateur from the planet Thyriuk IV. The richest inhabitants of this planet fed almost exclusively on the flesh of other intergalactic species. It gave them a long life and was the key to eternal youth.

Nomira Farie was probably the most renowned restaurant owner in the capital. And the latest main course on her menu? Aporal.

"Oh my goodness, you haven't even put a blindfold on the poor thing yet! We don't want our customers to lose their appetite at the sight of those sad eyes."

Miss Farie had moved closer and knelt down next to the Andorian, who was glaring at her angrily. She stroked his white hair. There was a smile on her violet lips and as she spoke, she bared her pointed teeth.

"You must know that we are offering a very special dinner today. Our guests can choose which pieces they would like. We've never done anything like that before."

Aporal tried to put all his hatred into his gaze. What did this woman expect from him? Should he feel honored now?

It was only a short moment before one of the employees blindfolded him from behind and Farie's handsome face disappeared. The Thyriuk species really was exceptionally good-looking. Purple skin, adorned with darker spots. Snow-white hair. Long, pointed fingernails.

But Aporal would probably never see this species again.

Miss Farie clapped her hands.

"Chop, chop. Time for the main course presentation."

The Andorian felt some staff lift the tray he was lying on and carry it into another room.

He felt sick as he heard the voices of various diners in the restaurant.

He didn't know what they were saying – only Miss Farie used a translator – but he was pretty sure it didn't mean anything good for him.

~

Dalita also felt sick when she heard the voices of her fellow species whispering to each other.

A tray with an Andorian had just been carried into the dining hall and was now being placed on a table.

For a brief moment she thought that the young man was already dead, but another member of the rebels, who had been brought into the restaurant as an employee, had assured her that the Andorian would be presented alive. After all, according to Nomira, no one knew how long the selection would take and the marinating and preparation of the meat was supposed to be fresh.

Dalita's stomach churned at the thought.

Farie had a special method of processing her "goods". The victims were prepared alive for consumption because the marinade was supposedly better absorbed that way. They were only beheaded at the very last moment.

Dalita shuddered. Fortunately, she had never witnessed a slaughter like this herself. But she had heard about it.

It was cruel and wrong! No one was allowed to treat living, sentient beings like that – no matter what species they belonged to!

Dalita carefully stepped a little closer to the table.

The Andorian's body was almost completely exposed. Only his private parts were covered and a blindfold concealed his eyes.

"May I present you with today's feast? An Andorian that we just got in a few days ago."

Nomira Farie beamed from ear to ear as she pointed to the body.

"As already announced, dear guests, this time you get to choose the best piece of the roast, as they say."

The guests laughed in amusement. Dalita also forced herself to smile. She had to do a good job if the plan was to work.

"I've heard the antennas are a real delicacy," a woman spoke up and the restaurant owner smiled at her.

"Oh yes, I can confirm that, Miss Tujari."

"Then I will gladly settle for that and leave the juicy pieces to others."

More requests quickly followed.

"A sirloin."

"Bacon."

"Ribs, please."

"A steak for me."

"Your famous wine made from Andorian blood, of course!"

"How about the organs? I'd like a well-roasted lung."

"A brilliant suggestion! Heart."

"Kidney."

"Perhaps a piece of brain? I hear you have a most delicious recipe, Miss Farie."

"And liver, of course."

All the suggestions only made Dalita's stomach tighten even more, but she knew she had to stand firm. If she fainted now, it would all be for nothing.

"Slow down, please. I can't write down all your requests that quickly." Farie smiled kindly as she tapped away on her PADD.

In no time at all, however, all the orders had been taken and the woman turned to the only one who had not yet said anything.

"And for you, darling?"

Dalita felt hot and cold at the same time. She opened her mouth to say something, but she already knew that she would stammer.

"I, uh, w-well, I don't kn-know quite. I h-have... never tried Andorian before."

"Oh, but that's not a bad thing at all, dear. How about I make you a surprise plate?"

The young Thyriuk woman smiled uncertainly before nodding slowly. She could only hope that the rest of her group had made all the necessary preparations by now.

"Wonderful. Then my team and I will get to work and serve you the food you want as quickly as possible. Thank you very much for your orders."

With these words, Nomira Farie disappeared into the kitchen while her staff carried the Andorian out. And Dalita? She ran as fast as she could towards the toilets. Not to puke however, even though she felt like it.

Once there, she pulled her communicator out of her handbag.

"They want to start! You have to get started! Now or never!" she hissed into the device before closing her eyes and sending a silent prayer to the heavens.

'Please, let it work.'

~

Aporal heard the clinking sound as the tray on which he had been presented was placed on another surface.

"Start marinating immediately and tell the butcher to stand by. We have a long list of orders and I can't wait to cook it all."

The Andorian could hear how smug Miss Farie sounded as she gave the orders to her staff.

Even though he had thought that after everything he had been through he could no longer feel any fear, his heart beat faster and faster and the blood froze in his veins as hands rubbed him with an oily liquid. He caught the scent of spices, but they only intensified his nausea.

He knew it. He knew he would die in this place. Served for dinner to a cruel species.

And just as he was about to give up his life, loud shouting filled the room. A bang sounded and before Aporal knew what hit him, he inhaled a strange smoke and lost consciousness.

~

"Hey. Hey, you. Can you hear me?"

A strange voice reached his ears and Aporal was slow to open his eyes. Confused, he looked around and realized that he was somewhere in a kind of underground bunker.

And he was not alone.

In the room with him were the other Andorians who had survived. And not just them. Dozens of other species were with them.

And also some Thyriuks.

Aporal's gaze fell on the person who had spoken to him. She was also a native. She had tied her long hair in a ponytail. Her green eyes gazed gently at him.

"What luck! You're awake."

"What the–" Carefully, Aporal sat up and rubbed his head. "Who are you?"

The Thyriuk woman puffed out her chest proudly.

"I am Dalita. And I'm a member of the anti-meat rebels."

Aporal almost laughed dryly, but it was only enough for a snort. He raised an eyebrow.

"Anti-meat rebels?"

Dalita's cheeks colored slightly.

"Well. The name is still a work in progress. But it describes our goals quite well. We are the rebels of this planet who have made it our goal to destroy the cruel trade in the flesh of other species and create a new peaceful order."

Dalita's eyes sparkled with determination. She seemed quite convinced of the idea.

"But it will be quite some time before we achieve this goal."

All eyes fell on an old Tyriuk who slowly stepped into the middle of the room with a walking stick. He looked incredibly frail, but refused to be supported when he was offered help.

Aporal scrutinized him.

"And you are the leader, I presume?"

The old man smiled wearily and shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose you could call me that, yes."

"Malui founded our group!" Dalita blurted out enthusiastically and the man sighed.

"Too late. I should have tried to change things much earlier. I ran away from this planet for far too long instead of standing up for the rights of the weaker ones."

Malui's gaze became sad as he spoke.

"I should have stopped Nomira."

A surprised murmur went through the group of rescued people. And Aporal frowned too.

"You know this monster?"

Pain filled Malui's eyes as he looked at Aporal.

"She's not a monster. At least, she wasn't always." He hesitated for a moment before finding the words again. "She's my sister. And I will do everything in my power to stop her."

~