Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I needed to be on board the Thiljo , but the transfer was too risky. Both ships were traveling at the fastest safe speed toward my home planet. Neither ship carried a shuttle capable of keeping up, trapping me on Arella.

We kept the connection between the ships open, allowing Scrun and I to share what little knowledge we learned. He transferred the official orders to me, and they provided little additional insight. The urgency was clear. Sulphus was under attack from an unknown source, and all three captains along with their warbirds must return immediately.

The calm focus of battle settled over me. We were more than a day away. Thexit was closest and Drokak was equidistant as us, but navigating an asteroid field would slow his progress.

Thexit would arrive first, but Drokak and the Gi?gope should arrive at roughly the same time as the Thiljo . Arella was smaller and more nimble, but she didn’t possess warp capabilities. I ordered Scrun to speed up, leave us behind, and take command until I was able to reunite with them.

Then I watched on the view screen as they disappeared.

“They’ll be okay. Scrun is smart and Xekil is smarter. The Thiljo coupled with the Gi?gope and the Padhing are more than a match for any threat.”

I nodded, but my gut churned. A direct attack on Sulphus shouldn’t be possible. Sensors which fenced our territory should have detected any foreign ship entering our space. Should one manage to get past them, the warbird on patrol would catch them on radar.

Only—the Thiljo had been on patrol—and I was preoccupied with Danyx.

“This is not your fault.”

I pulled her into my arms and breathed her in until my lungs threatened to burst. “It was, but thank you.”

“It wasn’t.”

“It is my patrol shift. I was responsible for detecting any threat entering our borders. I was the second line of defense, and I failed.”

She pushed me back and put her hands on her hips. “The first line of defense failed. I’m sure there’s a third and fourth defense system that had to fail to allow anything close enough to be a threat. This is not all on you, Khanet.”

“Perhaps not.” It still felt like it was.

Arella’s klaxon startled us both. “Report.”

“This one’s mine. I’m afraid I’ve entered a debris field of some sort.”

I heard a gasp and wasn’t sure if it was me or Danyx. “The planet?”

“Seems intact.” The view screen flicked to life. “This is from the Thiljo .”

Arella had stopped at the edge of the battle, which meant we watched as three small, nimble fighters swooped around the Thiljo , diving out of range of her guns and chipping away at her exterior. Arella tilted and ducked and managed to avoid the larger pieces.

“I won’t be able to remain stationary for much longer. The smaller debris is lodging into my hull and lowering my integrity.”

“Hail Scrun.”

“I’m sorry, Khanet. I’ve been hailing your ship since I picked up the damage on my sensors. They aren’t responding.”

We could do nothing but watch as one fighter swooped low under the ship and targeted the engine. One direct shot and the back third of my ship disintegrated. I watched in helpless horror as the escape pods shot from the wreckage like so many seeds exploding from the head of a dei?n.

“I must retreat, but I will stay in visual range.”

I dropped into the captain’s chair, Danyx’s hand on my shoulder little comfort as I watched the destruction of my ship.

Her fingers squeezed painfully when a voice we both recognized flooded the bridge.

“Ah, Danyx, we would have made an exquisite image, ruling the universe together. It pains me that it is no longer an option.”

“Garble, what the fuck are you doing?”

“Ensuring a life of luxury and power.” His snarl cut off.

One of the small ships breaking away drew my attention, as the Gi?gope seemed to appear out of thin air.

Two of the attackers, caught off guard, were easily defeated. We lost track of the third.

Drokak appeared on screen. “This day has proved more exciting than anticipated.” His grin was unhinged.

Both my and Danyx’s faces reflected our horror and he laughed.

“Don’t worry, all escape pods with every crew member are safe on board and accounted for.” He raised his arms in a triumphant gesture. “I save the day!”

I snorted. “One got away.”

His arms dropped with a frown. “Well, that’s disappointing.”

“Where is Thexit?”

“On the far side of Sulphus, protecting our backs, so to speak.”

“Do you have more details about what happened?”

“A small crew of six attempted to steal the Volnu.”

I tilted my head. “The plans?”

“No. The actual weapon. They made it as far as the room where it was stored before being detected. It seems the khumtu’s largest secret is revealed.”

I shook my head. “How did they get so far?”

Drokak grinned. “That’s the most interesting part. They had codes. Khumtu level codes. They disabled all our detection systems. That’s also how they managed to escape. At least one on the inside helped them evade capture.”

***

“Sorry to interrupt, but I have located the third fighter fleeing into the nearby asteroid field.”

I gawked while Khanet sprang into action. “Does the Gi?gope have short range fighters?”

Drokak shook his head. “She is designed to fight alone.”

I swallowed. Hard. I’d never intended to reveal this ace up our sleeve, but drastic times and all that. “Arella?”

She knew what I was asking. I couldn’t do this without her approval.

“I’m in.”

Her thrusters glued us to the floor as she turned, then sent me sliding as she took off at a speed I didn’t know she was capable of.

“That bastard isn’t getting away this time.”

I had to giggle. Determination sounded funny coming from her. Her usual tone was a constructed bored indifference.

Khanet popped out of the captain’s chair when we stabilized. “What is she doing?”

“Running the last fighter to ground.”

“But… what will she do when we get there?”

“Arella possesses a healthy ego, a gracious plenty snark, and a good amount of offensive and defensive weaponry.”

“That’s right big guy. I intend to blast that ship from existence.”

“Why so much venom, Arella? Everyone on board Thiljo is safe.”

“Not everyone. Pax was a friend.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. I never realized she was friends with the A.I. on the Thiljo . “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“You both should strap in. I might need to perform sharp maneuvers.”

“Right.” Khanet retook the captain’s chair and I slid into one reserved for the second officer I’d never had. I had just clicked the restraints into place when the bottom fell out and threw us to the side.

On the view screen we saw the small fighter as Arella locked him into her sights. A bright burst of light from her smallest rail gun was all it took to obliterate the other craft.

I cheered.

“Good work, Arella.”

“Thank you, Khanet. You can now vacate my captain’s chair.”

He smiled and stood. “Please take us back to—”

“We will arrive in Sulphus orbit in a quarter of a cycle.”

“Thank you.”

“Stars above. Every ounce of my adrenaline is coursing through my veins.” My hands shook as I went to raise my mug to my lips, only to find I’d dropped it long ago. Nuhhbi?ykau? turned the deck into a sticky mess.

Khanet sighed. “I’ll get the cleaning supplies.”

I was doing what I could to stem the tide when I felt a prick at my neck.

“Easy, Danyx. This blade is sharp.”

I swallowed and lifted my hands with open palms.

“Stand up.”

I did as Garble instructed, my mind reduced to a single point, focused on the blade cutting into my neck.

“You are going to instruct your fancy ship to take me to Eotune, where we can meet with my associate and regroup.”

“I haven’t been very good at commanding Arella to do anything, Garble.”

“It’s a ship, Danyx, not a living being. You are its captain, are you not?”

I would have laughed if there weren’t a piece of honed metal against my skin. “In name only.”

“Cut the shit! Take me to Eotune or I will gut you and take myself.”

Khanet appeared and came to an abrupt halt.

“Let her go, Garble.”

“This is interesting. Aren’t you the captain of the ship my crew just destroyed? Shouldn’t you have been on board?”

“Let. Her. Go.”

Khanet took a step forward and I hissed as the blade at my neck sank. A trickle of blood ran along my collarbone.

“You just upgraded her from tool to hostage.”

“There is no scenario where this ends well for you.”

Garble laughed. “All the paths lead to me winning in this situation. I will contact my buyer and the Skeall so eager to reign over your people and next time we will be triumphant. I will live the rest of my life as a king!”

Garble jerked to the side with a hiss of pain and the blade slid just enough to let me slip from his hold. I ran to Khanet, who folded me in his arms. I expected to be shoved behind him as he prepared for battle, but he just hugged me.

Garble began to keen in pain. I turned and found him standing stiff, all his muscles locked, Skitter’s tooth filled maw clamped around his calf. I watched as dark streaks emerged from the collar of Garble’s shirt. They snaked their way up his neck, past his cheeks and forehead and into his hairline.

Skitter let go and Garble fell to the deck with a thump.

“What. The actual. Fuck, Arella? You never told me Skitter was venomous!”

“Danyx, the vuhth are venomous.”

My mouth dropped open. “No shit! What if he’d bit me by mistake?”

“The med bay is equipped with antivenin but Skitter would never bite you.”

My cuddly pet rolled into my legs and I bent to pick him up and put him on my head. “I know that now, but what about that first day when he was so panicked he got himself trapped in my hair?”

“If he’d had the inclination to bite you, he could have done so any of the nights previous when he crept into your bunk and slept next to you.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Fine. I love you, but I can still hate you for this for at least a full day.”

“What if I promise never to wake you with the klaxon again?”

“I won’t believe you.”

“I knew you were smart.”

***

“How was Garble able to come on board undetected?” It shocked me to see him not only on board Arella, but also on the bridge with a knife to Danyx's neck. Arella’s systems should have detected the smallest attempt to board.

“He had advanced, experimental technology equipped. It rendered him invisible to my sensors. I have heard chatter on the dark bands about such a thing but have never seen it in practice before. To be honest, I doubted its existence.”

“That’s concerning. Can you recalibrate to account for it?”

Danyx shivered in my arms and I wrapped her tighter.

“Yes. I began as soon as he revealed himself.”

I nodded and led my little zhuvof to her cabin. I snuggled next to her, but when her breathing leveled out, I slipped from her arms.

“Arella, contact Drokak and Thexit.”

They were waiting for me on screen in the bridge. Drokak spoke first. “Typical. We do all the work, and the golden child gets lauded as the hero.”

“What are you talking about?”

Thexit snorted. “They are calling you the defender of the Skeall.”

“Songs are already being sung which detail your triumphs. Some of them are even good.” Drokak smirked and leaned back in his chair.

I waved them off. “Garble had inside help.”

Drokak’s eyes cut to the side, focusing on Thexit. “I thought he was brighter. You’re just now figuring that out?”

I rolled my eyes. “He confirmed it was a single member of the khumtu.”

That got their attention.

“Who?”

I looked at Thexit. “That, he didn’t say. He mentioned a buyer willing to pay a significant sum for the Volnu.”

“My ship is destroyed. Scrun will make a fine captain for the replacement that’s sure to be built. I will retire.” I snickered. “Since I am now the defender of the Skeall, I’ll request Arella be granted designation as a Skeall vessel. It will free me to run undercover while I track the buyer.”

Thexit nodded. “A solid plan.”

Drokak smirked. “The first Skeall spy. Congratulations.”

I winced. Duplicity was not in our nature, and the idea I was the first Skeall spy sat heavy in my stomach.

That burden lightened considerably when I saw the damage done to the archive. They had stored the Volnu in one of the lower levels. To reach it, Garble and his crew blasted a tunnel under the surface, collapsing one wall of the room and destroying several ancient texts.

I wished Skitter’s poison was slower acting. He deserved to suffer, for multiple reasons.

Cleanup crews were still gathering the remains of the Thiljo during the ceremony to induct Scrun as an official warbird captain. My retirement party followed a cycle later.

Drokak hadn’t played down the amount of praise I received from Skeall citizens. Several times a day groups clustered around me and launched into rousing renditions of the songs being sung in my honor.

He had overestimated the number of them that were good.

Still, I smiled and swayed along.

My newfound celebrity eased the way for making Arella an official Skeall vessel. She refused to allow any Skeall technology or tracking, so the designation was in name only, but it would ensure we remained undisturbed in the Core.

Xekil tendered his resignation moments after mine. Kevad, a gifted mechanic, also opted to join Arella’s crew. I questioned his decision to leave a warbird post, but he explained that the hustle and bustle aboard a large ship didn’t suit him. He preferred to work with a smaller crew.

Arella approved, so I couldn’t refuse.

Not that I was the captain.

“Danyx is my captain. You may be her second.”

I was happy Arella hadn’t assigned me as chef. I was a lousy cook.

Drokak and Thexit would continue to search for the corrupt khumtu member from Sulphus, while I tracked Garble’s buyer. We hoped this two-pronged approach would yield faster results.

Danyx insisted we begin the hunt on Eotune, despite my reservations.

“He’s dead, Khanet.”

“His goons aren’t, Danyx.”

“Word will have spread by now. I still have friends and allies on Eotune. It’s the best place to start and you know it. I would bet money that Parphad has a ledger somewhere with both the buyer’s name and the name of the council member.”

She would have won the bet. Parphad did have immaculate records concerning the terms of the sale. He couldn’t tell us who the Skeall insider was, but said the buyer would know.

We set course for Rounia. Our target was a Todrorian elite, and our plan was to lure him out with the promise of Danyx’s fresh food shipment. Coupled with her contact’s knowledge of the ruling families, it shouldn’t be a lengthy mission.

Danyx stepped off Arella’s ramp into Todrore’s main dock where a Haflay greeted her by wrapping her in his arms. I growled and he chuckled.

“Easy, warrior. I have a wife at home. I consider Danyx a friend.” He turned to her. “Your message was very vague.”

“I apologize for that. I brought you an extra box of glofilt in both apology and as a small bribe for your help.”

The Creesach, a small, lizard-like race who served as mechanics across the universe, favored the small, sweet fruit. The fruit was also incredibly rare this far from the center of Denchui space, and thus expensive in the Core.

The Halflay clapped his hands in glee. “What can I do for you?”