Floona sat down on the yellow chair, with a curious mixture of fear,determination and resignation. She sat straight and professional as the interviewer straightened her clothes. The first few minutes ran as the interviewer expected, with background shots on the a huge mech fighting the invading aliens, burning buildings, and screaming humans huddling while the mecha killed the last of the aliens. A shot of the cockpit opening up and Floona stood up and shook her fist at a retreating alien shuttle to thunderous applause of the surviving humans. Floona in the yellow seat, simply rolled her eyes, and then looked at her hands as Ragdoll waved on the screen. The interviewer asked a follow-up question, "Where is Ragdoll? After facing aliens, she surely wouldn't be scared off by us?" Floona's eyes snapped up and were filled with anger as she said simply,"She was arrested under charges of Sedition. That IS a death sentence under flying city law for one of my kind." Floona said with growing energy,"Slavery was OUTLAWED in the Orbital colonies over one hundred sixty-fours years ago. Here on Balaam--Trow, Scav, Duergar, Derro, Fisher or Deva like my kind--We have no rights to appeal, or under the law." "My best friend in the world, and my MOTHER, General Chiboo, were also arrested for crimes they didn't do! I know mentioning my mother is breaking taboo, but come ON! Balaam's a slave to it's own history. Why are so few human heroes mentioned in just what happened? Surely you humans didn't enslave your heroism!" The interviewer looked shocked and choked out reflexively,"Are you saying, that you are in favor of armed uprising?" Floona sighed and said with force, "No. I talked with my Mother, just before coming on. I want what she wants. Simple equality. Civil rights under the same laws as humans! We might be at war with an enemy that will draw NO lines between the children of humans OR slaves! If we keep living in the past, we will have no future!" The interviewer asked, "Do you hate humans?" Floona shook her head. "No! I have every right to, but no. Chol Flamel was a human. He was my friend. He's dead. I wept for him. I still weep for him. He was like a father to many of my kind." "Don't you get it? There are things that make us all the same! Like the stars, we are born, and like the stars, we die. It is neither the death, nor the dying that is significant." "What IS important is how we live our lives between the points of birth and death. We laugh, we live, we love, we strive, we weep, we fear and finally we die! Family,friends and ALL those things give us give give us the strength and courage to do the right thing above and beyond the call of any duty!" The interviewer looked tense as she asked,"What duty might that be?" Floona blinked and took a deep breath and said,"At twelve o'clock noon, I will pilot a craft at near light-speed out of solar orbit to prove it's capabilities, and violate the Quarantine on this planet to carry something to the Rahkoshans and orbitals." The audience stirred, and the interviewer asked, "What's worth your life, if the orbitals shoot you before you can explain what you're doing?" Floona looked into the camera, and said, "It's true. City 64 has the evidence. The Duergar have just developed the cure for the Blight! I'm going to carry to the heavens!" The audience EXPLODED in whoops, hoots and screams of applause. --TO BE CONTINUED!--