“General Vogron.”
“Kill the Jareet!” Vogron hissed and I spun around and stuck my Ro Sword into the Jareet’s chin, then shoved it up into his brain.
“Mitto, go!”
“Mitto, off he goes!” he replied cheerfully as the ship shook for a long second and then blasted out the docks, leaving nothing behind.
We were out of the Lifewomb but the giant world-ship was still more than close enough for an incredible volley of laser cannons and missile fire. Several projectiles hit the surface of the Tanaree as we moved away at sub-light. The projectiles, however, were easily deflected by the surface of Tanaree and exploded around us without effect.
“Mitto, press the paddle!”
“I don’t have a paddle, boss.”
“Fly, fly faster, now!”
A squadron of Frey fighters immediately came after us, and despite Tanaree’s fancy tech, they managed to catch up. The fighters were smaller and faster just by the sheer fact they had less mass than our frigate.
The ship was shaking as dozens of superheated plasma bolts struck the hull. Mitto hadn’t yet figured out the ship’s shields, so the hull took the brunt of the attack.
“Light-speed jump in T-minus…”
“Light-speed? Mitto, are you telling me this frigate has light-speed capabilities?”
“Yes, boss, I thought you knew that.”
This was incredible news. No ship of this size had its own light-speed engines. I then realized why the Frey commander didn’t want us on board in the first place as theoretically we would be able to get back to Federation space given enough time and resources.
“Mitto, how the fuck can you calculate light-speed?” was my second question.
To have a light-speed engine was only half the work, but you needed a mind that could bend it to your will. In the Federation, there were the Imminy. For the Aloi they had specially bred creatures called Divine Cerebrium, with minds the size of a car, but none of them knew of a third variation. It was my variation called Mitto.
“Short jumps only, boss.”
“Then jump!”
Within several heartbeats, we were already out of the star system and in interstellar space. There was no trace of the Lifewomb or the fighters, only the pain that lingered from the battle. But also joy from succeeding where I thought we were about to fail. Only a terrified Greth, a wounded Aloi, a dishonored Eres, an unconscious Frey Takkari, and a terrifying Jareet General were still alive and kicking. They were all chauffeured by a weird little puddle of goo that knew how to kick ass in its own way.
9
“What have you done?” the Frey commander said as he came to his senses.
Vogron was sitting across from him with his four arms folded above his chest. The smug look on his face said much more than the commander would like to know. All kinds of things must have raced through his mind when he came to, but no, he had to talk shit.
“Let’s throw him out, Stavos. I don’t understand what use he could ever be,” Vogron said.
It had only been an hour since we hung in the blackness of interstellar space. We had mended our wounds in the automated infirmary and felt as good as ever. The ships’ medical facility was extraordinary, and with Mitto’s help, we managed to quickly acquaint ourselves with the machinery.
I wanted to ask Vogron what his use was and why he shouldn’t have been hanging out in the vacuum together with the commander, but I thought better of it than to ask. The bastard showed up out of nowhere and saved the day, so to speak, so I’d cut him some slack. For now.
“And what use do we have of you?” Fars said as if he had read my mind and decided to do the opposite.
Vogron just grunted and waved Fars’ comment off. The tension on board was still very tangible and could be sliced with a knife. The Frey commander kept promising the end of the world for what we had done. The Greth lord, Maelstrem, still sat in the corner while trying to look dignified as his whole cybernetic body rattled like a washing machine of old. Rinslo was still unconscious in the infirmary and Vogron… well, Vogron was a Jareet general so he did what Jareet generals did: he tried to command everyone around him.
“Even if you were reinstated by your federation rank, I would still outrank you!” he protested. “I am a general, Stavos!”
“Take it up with the Jareet navy, Vogron. We all know who the boss is.”
“Yes, that would be me,” Mitto said through the ship’s speakers.
“Really? You want to stab me in the back as well?”
He let out a nervous-sounding cackle that felt close to laughter. A hole opened in the ceiling and a turret appeared out of nowhere.
“I would recommend no one does anything stupid, as every room has one of these and I won’t hesitate to use them for my friend Stavos,” Mitto said once he finished cackling.
“What he said!” I cheered and pointed at the ceiling. “Mitto, my man!”
Vogron grunted and said something, but I ignored most of his comments because I had more pressing issues. Still, instead of being a smart general, he did the stupidest thing possible when he decided to sit his giant grey ass down in my captain’s seat. Fars came to tell me of this very obvious power move as I was doing something in the hallway, and I realized I couldn’t postpone the conflict with Vogron anymore.
The command deck was small considering the size of the ship but that was only because it didn’t need many hands to operate it. Everything from weapons and defenses to piloting could be completely automated but everyone knew that even the best AI’s couldn’t account for all variables as well as a biological mind could.
Some said its survival instincts were far worse than ours and it was the one real thing that separated us from the AI, but I didn’t believe in instinct. I only believed in one’s capacity to react to new circumstances. There were unconscious reactions a good pilot or weapons master had that they ascribed to instinct, but I ascribed it to years of experience.
The whole deck was painted white, and the surfaces were as smooth as the hull but infinitely less durable of course. There was this new-ship smell I really liked, but then I realized the only reason I smelt it was because Mitto and the AI had read my brainwaves and tailored a scent for me that they thought I would enjoy.
On a pedestal in the middle of the bridge sat my captain’s chair, and in my captain’s chair sat the four-armed, angry-looking Jareet. To his right, chained to an extension in the wall, was the Frey commander.
I stepped in front of Vogron with a serious frown on my face. He knew very well what problem I had with him sitting there but he didn’t flinch.
“Vogron, you’re in my chair,” I said flatly, hoping we could skip the seating issue and get to the point, but Vogron had other points he wanted to make a thing of.
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you right where you stand, Stavos. Now get off my bridge.”
“You really want to do this, Jareet?” I knew he would be problematic, but I had no idea that he would go for it even after being warned earlier.
“This is my ship, human, as I’ve taken it for myself. You can either obey me or find your own ship. Right now, you’re all just passengers I’d rather get rid of as soon as possible.”
I listened carefully to what he had to say and pretended that I would perhaps compromise or even entertain the idea of giving the ship over. In the meantime, I was increasing the flow of nanites through my entire system. I activated my whole capacity at once and just let it course through me so it could be used at any moment. The heat the nanites created quickly raised my temperature and my whole face turned red. Vogron noticed, of course.
“I would suggest you move,” I said coldly. My eyes promised death, but he still didn’t budge. The Jareet had balls of steel in the least.
“You don’t want to do what you think you can do,” he just said and leaned his head to the right.
“You have no idea what I can do,” I muttered.
Fars was right beside me and the Nameless
, hearing the commotion, came slowly from the other part of the ship, poking in from the entrance to the bridge. Good, I thought, let’s all gather for this.
“Vogron, I don’t know how you managed to come on board, but I know you told me that you have connections inside the Jareet Commissariat, and I believe you, but this is not your ship. This is not your crew, and I’m not a passenger. Now, we can agree to drop you off somewhere of your choosing if it doesn’t inconvenience me too much, but that’s as far as I’m willing to play your silly game.”
“Don’t speak to me in such a tone, child! Let me remind you that we had an agreement and you broke it. The deal was to kill the diplomats, not to hijack this ship.”
“Don’t give me that shit. You wouldn’t be here if you thought we’d just kill a couple of diplomats and do what? Let them arrest us? Don’t mistake me for one of your lackeys, Vogron. I don’t give a fuck what you want and what agreements you think you made. For all I care, I made several more with other high-ranking officials back on Xan, but here we are.”
I can’t say I played that tactfully, but I was already out of myself. The arrogance of this creature was astounding. Fars was standing right next to me just fuming with anger and ready to jump the Jareet. I knew that whatever anger I felt, Fars’ was tripled.
Vogron was done talking. I saw his neck muscles twitch for the slightest of seconds and I immediately realized he would initiate some sort of sudden movement. I was right. Vogron grabbed for my neck, but just before he could reach me, I cast seven nanite chains at him in very precise places: two for his legs, four for his arms, and one for his neck. The impact threw him back into the captain’s chair, turning it from an emperor’s throne to a torture device in seconds.
Vogron grunted and bellowed as he tried to move, but he couldn’t get the chains off. I tried to play down the stress he created on my chains and it took inhuman strength to do so. Vogron was immensely powerful, more powerful than that Filadron I barely survived in the arena and certainly more powerful than the other Jareet I fought.
The chains held, and I had Vogron imprisoned and humiliated in front of everyone present, including the commander and Lord Maelstrem. He wasn’t going to forget the humiliation, but the idiot asked for it.
“Listen to me carefully Jareet,” I said coming closer. “You either get the fuck out of my chair or you fly through the fucking airlock. What’s it going to be?”
The strain was growing by the second and I was sure I’d falter any moment. I really hoped Vogron would just give in and save us from having to repaint the deck so early into our voyage.
“Get this… shit… off!”
He was a tough nut to crack but I was a very persistent hammer. I used the rest of my nanites to tighten my hold as best I could. This was it, if he wrestled free of my control now, I had no way to defend myself against him. Even if I managed, the rest of my crew would see me humiliated and not fit to be the captain. Fars believed in power more than anyone, but so did the Aloi Templars.
“I won’t ask again,” I said as blood oozed from the places where I held him with my chains.
“To the silver tower with you and your race!” Vogron screamed. “Fine, fine, have your damned chair!”
I loosened my chains and Vogron dropped from the chair to the floor but quickly picked himself up again. His eyes were steaming with rage and I could feel the predator in him radiating bloodlust. He looked around seeing Fars in a very similar state and then noticed the cannon pointing right at him.
“Wise choice, Vogron. We just might become friends at this rate.”
I was far from feeling friendly, but he would respect me for the time being. I hoped.
“You humans look weaker than you are,” he said calmly while stretching his neck and limbs.
It was then when I heard the much friendlier tone in his voice and knew the tension finally cooled. He got up from the chair and moved out of my way. Thinking this whole thing was done, I sat myself down but Vogron wasn’t done.
“Comfortable, Stavos?” he said mockingly, and just as he did, I sensed he wasn’t done with the topic of who’s boss. He came at me once more and knowing I was too weak to fight him, I used the one ace I still had in my sleeve.
“Mitto, now.”
A cylinder of blue light dropped from the ceiling entrapping the Jareet in place with weak shield emitters. They were, however, more than enough to stop a biological creature in its track. Vogron stopped himself immediately and grunted loudly as electricity coursed through his body. He spasmed and foam came from his mouth.
“You’re not to be trusted, Jareet,” I said calmly while still adjusting my ass to the seat. “This is my ship; it only listens to me. I could have Mitto slowly tighten the shield emitters until there’s only Jareet soup left. Tell me now why I shouldn’t do it because I really could go for some soup.”
“Fuck you, human!” Vogron hissed as he helplessly slammed his fists against the shields.
“These shields can even withstand explosions and plasma projectiles, boss. He won’t be getting out,” Mitto said over the speakers.
“You heard him, Vogron, I don’t think your fists will do anything at all this time. This is your last chance to show you’re also smart and not just a brute.”
“Fuck you, and your pathetic race!”
“Mitto, tighten the beam by a quarter.”
“Wait! Damn you!” Vogron was beyond furious.
I had never seen him like this and despite his reputation, Vogron rarely lost his temper. When he did, though, no witnesses remained to tell the story.
“Mitto, a third.”
The cylinder was now so tight that Vogron had to raise all his arms so he didn’t get crushed.
“Wait, fuck you. No, wait, damn it!”
“Mitto, keep squeezing him with small increments.”
At this point, Vogron wasn’t even able to speak. He was like a cat stuffed into a roll of paper unable to move, talk, and barely able to breathe. He mumbled something but I couldn’t make out any words.
“I wonder what it would look like if Mitto went for half?” the Nameless said as he studied Vogron’s condition with great interest. “Would he pop?”
“You’re asking the wrong person,” I muttered. “What do you think, Mitto?”
“Running analysis,” he replied and remained silent for several seconds. “His arms would push so far into his body that all his bones would first break, then it would be turned to mush. His head is the smallest of all his body so it wouldn’t pop. It would remain intact until the shield became small enough to squash it.”
“I didn’t really need to know that,” I replied and let out a chuckle.
“If you intend to kill him anyway, can we go up an inch at a time? I want to see his body break.”
You could count on the Nameless to make any situation more grotesque. I pretended to give the Templar’s idea a thought, not just to torture Vogron, although I was getting a kick out of it, but also to make a point that I had to make many, many times in Xan: don’t fuck with me.
“Let’s see if he can survive another inch or two. If it drags on, we can move ahead,” I said, humoring the Templar’s idea.
Vogron mumbled something in protest but I ignored him.
“I knew you were as barbaric as any of them,” the Frey commander hissed. “All of you are the same! You don’t have a feel for the finer things in life!”
“Perhaps. Maybe you would like to join him and see for yourself? I bet the two of you would get really close in there.”
It was a warning for him to stay quiet, but I was being deadly serious. I waited for the slightest transgression to stuff the Frey in with Vogron and make a paste out of them. I had to admit that I still hadn’t processed the fact I was killed by a Frey, and though the commander had nothing to do with my death, his very sight made me apprehensive.
“Captain,” the Nameless began with a hint of mockery, “I hope you don’t treat all disagreements the way you’re t
reating Vogron’s,” the Nameless said.
“I haven’t forgotten, Templar. We’re returning to the asteroid belt to pick up your mysterious package. I suppose you still won’t share what it is?”
The Templar bowed his head, reluctant to answer. I was sure it was more important than anything he could admit to, so we would have to wait a bit longer to see what we were risking our lives for.
“It’s fine, I’ll honor it either way.”
The Nameless knocked on Vogron’s tubular prison.
“See, just got to have a way with words, Vogron.”
“Mitto, you heard Nameless. Set course for the Qebia belt.”
I was very intrigued by the Templar’s package and an asteroid belt was a very neat hiding spot for a fugitive ship. I thought we could spend a couple of days there to cool off and come up with a plan in the meanwhile. Sure, we had a ship, but no provisions, no bots to do the maintenance and repairs when needed, and we lacked many other necessities.
The ship lurched slightly and it was only then that I released Vogron from his entrapment. The Jareet dropped to the ground, breathing heavily and wheezing as he was trying to get some fresh air into his lungs. I was ready to stuff him back in for the slightest show of force and a part of me hoped he would try something.
“What do you want, Vogron?” I asked, expecting a concrete answer this time. It wasn’t the time for fun and games, no. We needed to put our priorities straight and come up with a game plan. Having Vogron screwing with me only served to deter us from achieving that goal.
“You know what I want.”
“What? Freedom? Power? I don’t have a fucking clue and I’m done guessing. Tell me what you want so I know what to do with you.”
Vogron stood to his full and rather impressive size. He stretched his arms to the ceiling and then cracked his neck two times.
“What I want you can’t give me, so what’s the point?”
“If I don’t have what you want, then why are we having this conversation? Why don’t I just drop you off somewhere and hopefully never see you again?”
Redeemer: A Military Space Opera Series (War Undying Book 2) Page 10