Saleeta glanced at Kurrs. "Byron is planning his own escape."
Kurrs raised his eyebrows. "Son of a bitch. That little shit is goddamned determined, isn't he?"
"Indeed." Skarr tapped his fingers on the table. "This must be put down quickly. He cannot give the other prisoners another escape plan. That one might actually work."
Kurrs folded his muscular arms over each other. "This has gone far enough. Are we really going to let the whole planet get vaporized over one man? Orders or no orders, this Jones has got to go."
"I would tend to agree. Unfortunately, Lady Necralia can be rather persistent. If she were to find out we killed him, we would be on our way to Necros, and would suffer the tortures intended for him. His death cannot be connected to us in any way."
Saleeta raised her head as her ears flicked forward. "Fear not. I already have made arrangements to dispose of him on this very night."
Skarr spread his thick hands. "Wonderful. This is why you have been such a fine agent for us. Well done."
"And so, that means I will be taken care of, will I not?"
Kurrs began to chuckle in a way that Saleeta didn't like.
Skarr tried to wave his arm in a circle, but it was too fat. "Oh, of course. When this is over, you shall have the reward you deserve."
Saleeta looked up at Kurrs. She saw the scorn and contempt.
She bowed and walked out.
As she walked into the hallway, she pretended to stumble and fall to the ground. There, she winced and clutched at her leg while looking up at the Death Troopers escorting her. "My leg is hurt. One moment."
She turned her ears towards the office. The Necrosi always underestimated the hearing of the Nikora. She could hear their voices, even through the walls.
"You believe that bitch?" Kurrs asked. "Gonna kill Byron for us. You think she can pull that off?"
"It's no matter," Skarr rumbled. "If she succeeds, we have gotten rid of a thorn in our side. If she fails, the Firestorm will still be in place. In some ways, I welcome the destruction of this world. I look forward to leaving this Necralia-forsaken planet and returning to Necros with my new brides."
"We've got the control console set up in mine shaft forty-two. Should be deep enough to trigger the weapon and keep us safe. You really gonna bring that Saleeta pussy down there, too?"
Skarr laughed and it sounded like a wheeze. "Of course not. Space in the underground bunker will be at a premium. Let her roast with the others of her kind. That will be her well-deserved reward, eh?"
They both laughed, and she felt the fur on her back stand up.
She rose to her feet and began to walk again. She knew what she had to do.
∆∆∆
Byron woke up to something tightening around his throat. It felt like a furry rope but squeezing like a python.
He opened his eyes. He still saw the prison cell, surrounded by sleeping Nikora. Khloe and his other girls still lay against the wall, but he had been dragged a distance away from them. He tried to reach up to pull the rope away. Something had his arms pinned to his sides.
Someone crouched behind him, wrapping thin arms around his torso to keep Byron's arms held down. The thick tail of a Nikora wrapped around his neck. The arms seemed to be thinner than his own, but Byron couldn't even budge them. His eyes began to bulge as the tail grew tighter and tighter.
A thin voice whispered in his ear, "Forgive me, but my Mistress commands your death."
Byron jerked his legs as his lungs began to fight for air. Once again, he wished he had his strongman code to fight the incredibly strong person holding him. He jerked his head back, striking something soft, but the arms didn't let go. Stars began to creep into his vision as his head felt like it floated away. He could feel his health bar draining away.
Byron wanted to scream, but couldn't even gasp. He kicked at Khloe. Too far away.
He kicked further.
He managed to hit her foot.
She grumbled and her breasts swung down as she sat up. "What's on--"
She saw Byron and seemed to wake up immediately. "Oh my God! Byron!"
Khloe leaped up and grabbed the tail around his neck. She really did have high strength stats, because she managed to peel the tail away, slowly but surely. When it loosened enough, he took a deep and ragged breath.
Chetaara awoke next, and crossed the prison in a flash. She roared like a lion as she swept her claws at the arms around Byron. The person behind him shrieked and let go.
Byron threw himself forward, out of the grasp of his assassin, and rolled over onto his back.
Elo crouched behind him, hugging his bleeding forearms to himself with tears flowing down his face.
Byron took deep breaths until he could manage to whisper, "Why?"
Elo bared his teeth. "She ordered me to kill you."
"You could have said, no."
"I am bonded! You know what that means. I cannot disobey her." Elo lowered his eyes. "I have done so many things since our bonding. So many things that leave me unable to sleep at night. Things that leave me wondering how I shall face judgement at the Great Temple. I have watched Saleeta go to the commander and betray us, night after night. I have sabotaged our attempts to escape. I have even killed others who opposed her. But this is the end."
He raised his eyes. "I know now you are the true Outsider, Byron. I know you will save our people. May the goddess forgive me."
He brought his claws up to his throat and dug them in deep before ripping them out.
"No!" Khloe ran to him, cradled his body as it slumped over. "H-He's gone."
Chetaara nodded. "It is best this way. Truly, care must be taken in bonding. He chose the wrong master."
"No, he did not." Saleeta walked through the crowd. "He chose the Outsider."
Byron stood up, fighting the urge to cough from his aching throat. "Is what Elo said true? Have you been working with the Empire? Sabotaging the escape plan? Killing your rivals?"
Her upper lip curled in a sneer. "What if I have? I have no need to explain myself to you. Or anyone else."
"Traitor," someone snarled.
She spun around, sweeping the cell with her fierce eyes. "I am the Outsider. I am the chosen one who will free Nikor. I must be preserved or I cannot fulfill my destiny."
Chetaara's ears flattened against the top of her head. "That is not your destiny to fulfill. You do not have the right to decide."
Saleeta whipped around to face her. "Yes, I do. As a child, I defeated my tribe's elder Amsun in ritual combat. Amsun claimed to be the Outsider, but I proved that I am stronger. I fought many more since then to the same result. I have earned the right to call myself the Outsider. What has this Earthling maggot done? Who has he challenged?"
"Is that all you need?" Byron straightened to his full height, despite the pain of his back. "Then I challenge you. In ritual combat."
Saleeta burst into laughter. "You, challenge me? A tiny harless Earthling who couldn't even beat a whelp like Elo? You expect to defeat me?"
Chetaara whispered, "Master, no."
Byron ignored her and nodded at Saleeta. "That's right, I challenge you. And if I'm really the Outsider, then I'll beat you. If I'm not the Outsider, well, might as well get that out of the way right now."
He tapped his bracelet as he spoke to check Saleeta's stats.
SALEETA
LEVEL 15 MARINE
STR: 38
DEX: 5
NRG: NULL
ARMOR: 2
HEALTH: 250/250
That made him pause for a moment. Her stats really were high. Still, the time had come to settle once and for all if he was the Outsider. If he could beat Saleeta, he could prove himself.
NEW OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT SALEETA
REWARDS: 5,500 XP, 3,000 CREDITS
Saleeta's smile showed all her fangs. Her claws grew out of her fingertips as she held them up. "Jones, I will fight you. And I will kill you. And then I will be the one and true Outsider."
; Byron clenched his fists. "No, Saleeta. Even if you win, you'll still just be a huge bitch."
He charged at Saleeta, throwing a fist as he did so.
Saleeta easily stepped to one side while sweeping one hand across his back. Her claws tore into the cuts left by the whip, leaving him screaming. The pain kept him from noticing her coming at him from behind.
She grabbed him by the waist to hurl him across the cell. If he had hit the hard ground, he probably would have broken his neck, but a group of Nikora gathered there broke his fall. He knocked them down like bowling pins, and their bodies cushioned his fall.
They didn't seem to be hurt, but he was in agony. He tried to sit up when she lunged at him again.
He kept his eyes on her claws sweeping towards his throat. He had to keep them off.
He swung his left arm up, letting her claws tear into them, but leaving his throat intact. He grit his teeth to keep from screaming again, and grabbed her arms as they swept by him. He pulled them to keep her off-balance, and swung his fist into her jaw. It felt like punching solid rock but her head snapped to one side and she staggered.
He remembered her stats. She was strong, but her dexterity was slow. He could move faster.
At least, that was the idea. Yet she recovered quicker than he could and swiped her claws at him again. He barely managed to jump back, and wind whistled across his chest.
She leaped forward. Her full weight slammed into him, pinning him to the wall behind him.
She pressed her arms across his neck and chest while she hissed, "Jones, you will not win. I am the Outsider."
As he tried to breathe, feeling a moment of deja vu, he realized he was choking again. He could see Chetaara holding back Scarlett, Xana, and Khloe. He couldn't hear what they said from the rushing in his ears but he assumed it was about how they couldn't interfere with the ritual.
The game flashed text at him.
REPAIR COMPLETE
NRG BACK ONLINE
He didn't wait, but went to his menu and activated his fireball code.
Turning his hand up, he released a burst of flame at Saleeta. She screamed and stumbled back as the fire made the fur on her chest and stomach burn.
He kicked her in the gut, causing her to double-over, and followed with a punch to the jaw. She fell onto her back.
Byron grabbed a large rock off the ground and raised it over his head.
The Nikora began to chant. "Outsider, outsider, outsider."
One by one, they dropped to their knees and bowed to him until only Byron and his girls were the only ones standing.
Saleeta spat blood onto the floor. "Do it. Kill me. If I am not the Outsider, I am nothing."
He looked into her eyes before letting the rock fall. "No. You're an asshole. But we need all the help we can get to escape."
OBJECTIVE COMPLETED
+5,500 XP
+3,000 CREDITS
He stumbled back against the wall. "You've been meeting with the Empire. Why?"
She heaved a sigh. "They tell me things. Help me. Like I heard about the Firestorm."
"Firestorm. What's that?"
"A weapon. The Empire will use it to destroy the surface of the planet in hopes of killing you."
"When?"
"In just a few hours."
"How? How'd you get out?"
Saleeta rubbed her smoking chest. "I-I knock on that wall. They let me out. Take me to the commander. But they have armed guards walking me to and from the office. I cannot take anyone else with me or go anywhere else."
He took deep breaths, trying to recover from the exhaustion of the fight. "What do you do when you're there?"
Saleeta sat up and gave the others a sweeping glare, as if daring someone to say something. "I tell them of what goes on in the cell. Give them information. Get instructions."
"Anything else?"
She lowered her eyes. "Captain Kurrs makes me suck on his foul penis."
Byron stared at her for a moment before a smile came to him. "I think your mouth might be our way out."
Chapter 21
SALEETA KNOCKED on the wooden panel on the wall of the cell. She glanced over at Byron who lay nearby, pretending to sleep along with the others in the prison. He nodded.
The wooden panel slid out, and she climbed through the hole into the night.
Two Death Troopers stood by, their helmets tilted towards her. They didn't speak, but she could hear the question. They held their rifles aimed at her.
Saleeta nodded. "I know it's not scheduled, but I need to speak to the captain."
One of the Death Troopers looked away. He apparently spoke into some sort of microphone. "We have a situation here at the cells. Stardust is requesting a meeting with Sandstorm. Roger."
The Death Trooper turned and headed for the administrative building, so she assumed it was approved. She followed, and the second soldier came up behind her.
They entered and turned to a different hallway to Captain Kurrs' office. It wasn't as decorated or fancy as the commander's office. It just had antique weapons mounted on the walls. Kurrs sat behind a plain desk, rubbing an oily cloth along the blade of a sword. The sword had the carvings of a Nikora tanaki blade.
Kurrs narrowed his eyes at her. "Since when do you come here more than once a night? That wasn't our agreement."
Saleeta took a deep breath. "I know, Captain. But I could not sleep. I needed to see you. Urgently."
Kurrs set the sword down on his desk. "What's so important that it couldn't wait until morning?"
Saleeta knew the off-worlders well and found them easily distracted by sex, so she threw her shoulders back to accent her breasts while walking in measured steps towards the desk. She kept her eyes locked on Kurrs, trying to imagine he was a night-beast on the plains to give her a hungry look of desire.
"Captain," she said, "what I need cannot wait. I need you."
Kurrs narrowed his eyes further, and she feared that he would see through the ruse. Yet he waved to the Death Troopers and said, "Wait outside."
The soldiers saluted and marched out.
When the door closed behind them, Kurrs stood up and walked around his desk. He looked down at her as she looked up at him with slow breaths.
A little smile flickered on the edges of his mouth. "I thought you hated the very sight of me. Seems like you can barely keep from gagging when you suck my dick."
She lowered her eyes to the floor, fearing he could see her lies. "I made a pretense of it, holding back my need for you, because I did not want to endanger my people. Yet I can hold it back no longer. It has been too long, and I crave the touch of a male such as yourself."
She took deep breaths, trying to calm her beating heart. He had to see through the deception. He would know and kill her.
"You're shitting me." He took a step towards her. "You're not that good an actor."
She swallowed.
"You don't want me, pussy. You want in our bunker when the bomb goes off."
She exhaled, trying to make it seem like a sigh of desire instead of relief. "I admit, I wish to live when the planet is destroyed. But I also wish to be with you. If we can both enjoy this, it can be just."
His hand came down into her view. It went to the buckle of his codpiece and snapped it free. Pulling it aside revealing his throbbing penis.
"Show me," Kurrs whispered.
She smiled as she fell to her knees, and looked up at his hard member in her face. She opened her mouth.
She reached past him to the desk.
She slid his penis between her lips. He exhaled loudly as she began to draw on its length.
She felt along the desk until she felt the handle of his sword.
She bit down as hard as she could.
He screamed as his penis became trapped between her teeth. She tried to bite through it, but his gloved hand slammed into the side of her head, knocking her off. She hit the wall, and rolled while keeping her hold on the sword.
Kurrs howled as
he clutched at his bloody crotch. "You fucking pussy whore!"
The Death Troopers came charging into the office. They aimed their rifles.
By that time, Saleeta had already driven her sword into the back on one soldier's helmet. As the soldier began to fall, she jammed the sword in the side of the other soldier, leaving him impaled.
She grabbed the rifle from the falling soldier's limp hands and whipped it around to Kurrs.
Kurrs had vanished. The open window behind him told her where, and the siren that began to blare told her what he had done.
She picked up the second rifle and began to run.
∆∆∆
Byron leaned against the wall of the cell, counting under his breath to mark the time, while Scarlett paced in front of him.
Scarlett threw up her hands. "She fucked us. I'm telling you, she sucked the captain's dick, told him our plans, and fucked us. Right up the ass. Without lube. Not even spit."
He rolled his eyes up to her. "Maybe. But you gotta trust somebody."
Scarlett stuck her tongue out at him. "You trust way too many."
He went back to counting. He didn't want to admit that she could be right. The plan had been for Saleeta to get out and find a weapon to help them escape. Still, Saleeta had betrayed her people before so he had no real reason to believe she wouldn't betray him again. But she seemed sincere in her regret, and was their last hope of escape. Without this plan, they would be trapped and die.
Scarlett stopped pacing. "Hey, how'd you do that anyway?"
"Do what?"
She waved her hands in front of her in circles. "You know, make the fireball. I thought they disabled your NRG implant."
He looked down at his hands. "I thought so, too. I don't know what happened."
A siren blared over their heads.
Khloe covered her ears with her hands. "Is that siren good or bad?"
Byron stood up. "Bad for them, good for us."
They jumped as gunshots rang out, along with whistles and shouting. A voice over a loudspeaker called out, "Prisoner escaping! I repeat, prisoner escaping!"
The gunshots drew closer to the doors of the cell.
Shouting outside followed, along with more gunshots closer to the gates. The shouting cut short, followed by clicks.
Mine Shaft: A LitRPG Sci-Fi Harem Adventure (Venus Online Book 4) Page 14