by Kahaula
“What?”
“Whatever you’re going to say, just don’t. I don’t need or want your pity,” I spat.
“I know it’s been a while, Welo, but this isn’t pity,” he replied angrily. I saw the hurt in his eyes. I didn’t want to lash out at him. We were finally in a better place, but after a year of cold interactions and distance, my old habits were resurfacing. “I know he wasn’t just a fuck to you. And I know it’s eating you up inside.”
“He’s going to betray me,” I scoffed, “And I can hardly have feelings for someone I just met.”
“L’Ryx doesn’t have a choice,” he was making the point I was earlier, “we knew the central worlds would take notice of us eventually. You planned for this.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” I laughed hollowly.
“Yeah, well, shit happens,” he joked. I laughed against my will. Then I laughed harder until I sobbed. Hs’tar pressed me into his chest as I cried and bunched his perfect uniform in my fists.
I cried for everything that had happened to me.
I cried for everyone I couldn’t save.
I cried for the family who would always wonder what happened to me.
I cried for my mates and all we had suffered.
Four rotations on this planet were the equivalent of nearly seven years on Earth. So much time had passed and so much had happened in such a short time. Terrible and horrific things soaked in blood and pain. Beautiful and heartbreaking things drenched in love and hope.
“We’re playing such a dangerous game,” I shook and cried in his arms, “Oh, my love, we could lose everything and everyone!”
“Listen to me, Welo,” Hs’tar held my face firmly in his hands salt tracks marked lines down his face where his silent tears had fallen, “You’ve been strong for us for years. You. You’ve made all this possible. We’ll follow you to whatever end it may lead us.” His kiss was hard and full of faith. Our teeth smacked as we kept kissing and kissing. Our bruised lips held unspoken words of encouragement and love. They said we could do this. We could prevail together. We would reach our goal.
Foreheads pressed together and arms twined around each other we breathed as one. “We can do this,” I stated. I cleared my throat and looked up into the burnt copper eyes that I had put my faith in years ago, “We will do this.”
“Damn straight,” he asserted. I laughed and he smiled. My breath caught in my throat. Hs’tar was smiling at me. He was smiling for me. “I love you Welo,” he said softly.
“I know,” I said in wonder.
“Do you remember your third heat?” He asked quietly. My brow scrunched up in confusion and pain. “You asked me a question. Do you remember what you said?”
“I...,” memories of Merooth bloody from another bait fight curled up behind me, Hs’tar naked and on the dirty floor of my cage, surged unbidden into my mind. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Hs’tar lifted my face and made me look at him. I didn’t see the disgust I was afraid to see. Instead, I only saw love.
“You asked me what the point of living was if you inflicted only pain and suffering on others,” he whispered low like we were back in those cages and any loud noise would bring the anger of the old leader down upon us. “You said you selfishly wanted to live but at what cost if nothing got better—if you never saw the stars again?”
“I remember,” fresh tears dripped down my face. “I remember Merooth being too damaged to service me during my heat and so I took it out on you. I gouged at your stomach and back and left you bloody all because I was angry you couldn’t make the never ending lust go away. Gods, I’m so so sorry, Hs’tar.” I cried and hiccuped from the force of my guilt.
“That’s not how I remember that heat,” he shook me and brought me back to the present, his eyes fierce and strong, “I remember how you never once hurt Merooth even though you were suffering so badly. And even though you hurt me you only did it because I wouldn’t let you hurt yourself.”
“I deserved—“
“NO!” He shouted, “Don’t you ever fucking say you deserve anything other than to be loved,” Hs’tar gripped my arms tightly, his hands shook with the power of his words, “None of us deserved what happened in those stinking hell holes he shoved us into. Now listen to me when I tell you what I remember the most about it.”
“What?”
“It was the first time that I knew I loved you,” he breathed out.
“What?” I asked in shock.
“You had said what was the point if you never saw the stars again and all I thought about was how it didn’t matter to me if I saw the Gods cursed stars ever again,” his jaw was set and his eyes pleaded for me to understand and listen, “You, Welo, you were my Stars. The only bright and beautiful thing I looked up to. My love, My Stars.”
“Gods, I love you, you romantic asshole,” we laughed and wiped each other’s tears away. “Gah! Where were you hiding all this romance this past year?”
“Well, since I’m apparently such an asshole, I guess you know where,” he joked.
“I missed you,” my eyes got misty again but I pulled back my tears and smiled. Hs’tar kissed me softly and pulled back to caress my cheek with his thumb.
“I missed you too,” he cleared his throat and we both laughed softly.
“Now that we’ve got all this emotional shit out, let’s go kick some ass, shall we?” I smiled mischievously.
“Let’s,” he shook his head and attempted to smooth out his snot and tear streaked uniform top, “but let me change first.” I nodded and he headed towards my upstairs quarters.
“Um... Hs’tar?”
“Merooth’s taken to hiding my clothing and I’m pretty sure I know where,” he rolled his eyes. I laughed and sat down at my desk, waiting for him to come back down in a clean uniform before Mel arrived.
*******
“The way I see it we’ve got more options than we had before,” Mel’s gaze was determined and her jaw set, “We just need to stick to the plan while the girls do what they do best.”
“I’ve already begun trade negotiations with the influx of central world representatives,” added Hs’tar.
“And of course, I’m giving special attention to the proxies,” Merooth smiled wickedly and we all laughed.
“Wait,” I turned to Hs’tar, “I thought we were going to start with the outlier worlds first to create a buffer?”
“Already done,” he nodded sharply with a satisfied smirk. I turned my eyes to Mel and she also smiled.
“Explain.”
“It was a joint effort,” Mel leaned a bit forward on her chair and rolled her hands between her and Hs’tar. “The girls worked up various scenarios but in the end Hs’tar thought up the easiest and most believable.”
“Slave ships,” Hs’tar bit off the two words that we all hated. “Everyone scatters when they see Syleans and their ships. I’ve had my men rotating on various Sylean slave ships throughout the outlier worlds.”
“Hs’tar has kept them as teams of 2 or 4 depending on the size of ship and always has them join separately,” continued Mel, “the girls then equipped them with specific data packets based on the patterns of the crews they joined.”
“Our men are virtually invisible because no one wants to catch the attention of a Sylean slaver,” a flicker of shame passed across Hs’tar’s eyes, “we’ve been having them recruit and send home suitable candidates for inclusion here, not to mention ‘killing’ unsuitable or problem slaves.”
In the two years since freedom we had been purchasing slaves as a way to get people safely to freedom. Selfishly it was also to build ourselves a stable population. Doing that had become more difficult of late because now fewer and fewer slavers would sell to us. Where before they had laughed at us buying up their unwanted, now they understood they had been unwittingly supplying us with a loyal army.
“The men look bloodthirsty and fierce by killing unruly slaves,” Hs’tar’s jaw ticked, “when in reality they’re s
ending those ‘killed’ slaves to us.”
“The data packets the girls whipped up are also genius,” Mel chuckled, “Everywhere our men go, every piece of tech they come in contact with spreads the packets.”
“So they’ve made headway into the central world networks?” I was hopeful but like I had told Hs’tar earlier, our timetable was getting a massive bump. I didn’t know if we had run out of time for our end game.
“I won’t lie, Welo,” sighed Mel, “we’re cutting it real fucking close.” I leaned back in my seat and exhaled through my nose, willing myself to focus and grab onto calm.
“I’ve also tagged every proxy and representative I’ve come in contact with,” Merooth’s contribution was key to our long term goals so I knew he felt a bit like he wasn’t helping enough.
“The girls thank you for that Merooth,” Mel smiled and I wanted to hug her. Merooth chuffed softly and gave me a small smile. “We’ll definitely need your help to tag the ambassadors when they get here. Their security will be higher so we’ll need some sort of physical contact with each.”
“Not too much physical contact,” grumbled Hs’tar.
“No need to be jealous, my mate,” winked Merooth. Hs’tar just huffed and pointedly ignored Merooth’s comment though I’m sure he could see the laughter in my eyes.
“We already know it works,” Mel’s seriousness killed all humour and a somber blanket fell over us.
“Confirmed?” I asked quietly.
“Confirmed,” she stared at me for a beat before tapping something onto her personal holoscreen. Displayed before us on my main holoscreen was a map of our solar system. On it was a small red dot hiding in the shadow of a moon that circled our local gas giant. “L’Ryx’s ship has been maintaining their position since we found them. Your cuff worked perfectly.”
“We knew it would,” I said softly. “Was their location the only thing the girls were able to get?”
“No,” Mel zoomed in on the ship then tapped a few more times, “the girls cracked them wide open.”
We sat in stunned silence and let Mel’s words soak in.
Using our men as data carriers to crack into outlier world systems was one thing, but hacking into a central world warship? That should have been impossible or at least took a while. “How fast did they get in? It hasn’t even been that long!” I know I sounded breathless but I was still in a state of disbelief.
“The girls said that it was near instantaneous from the moment L’Ryx put on your cuff,” Mel may as well have been telling me I could breath in vacuum.
“Instantaneous? I mean, I know the facility is tech way beyond what I’ve ever seen but, shouldn’t there have been even some system translation delay or... Fuck, I dunno, something?” I had never heard Hs’tar so nervous.
“According to the girls they said it was like sliding into a familiar system,” Mel bit her lip, “If what they told us is really true then this confirms it.”
“Well, fuck me,” Hs’tar ran his hands over his head and got a far away look in his eyes.
“There’s more,” started Mel, “the girls said they can’t get into the central world government systems yet but bouncing via the warship they could easily get into Rentok High Command.”
I looked down at my hands. These were the hands that had held L’Ryx just last night. I knew my three closest friends, two of whom were my mates, were waiting for my decision. My people would always come first.
“Do it,” it didn’t matter that my gut twisted because my voice was strong, “we have 2 standard days before the ambassadors arrive. I want everything that the girls can get their hands on. Everything.”
L’Ryx
“What is your assessment of the situation?” Second General K’tos’s question echoed from where I stood on the bridge of my warship. R’Tok stood stiffly on my right as we faced down the Rentok High Council and my three fellow High Command generals. The crew studiously glued their eyes to their workstations but I knew they were listening in to the conversation. The Void’s Blade was my personal warship, I was secure enough in my crew’s loyalty that I could have this conference call on the main view screen.
“The planet is incredibly prosperous for a former slave world. The infrastructure alone is comparable to a central world planet,” I sucked in a breath of air ignoring the alarms of warning that were ringing in my head. I had centuries of loyalty under my belt, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was betraying Welo with every admission. “The Battle Queen’s operation of her entire solar system is efficient and incredibly profitable.”
“You sound impressed,” General K’tos’s eyebrow lifted and it pulled at the scars covering half his face.
“I am,” the council members shuffled a bit in their chairs. General K’tos’s eyes narrowed slightly but remained silent. He was two centuries older than me and I respected him for his firm but fair leadership.
“And your mission?” High Council Leader R’Til, and father of my second in command R’Tok, leaned forward on screen. The obsidian stone of the High Council’s conference chambers gleamed like water at night.
“I believe I’ve completed it,” I hedged.
“What do you mean you ‘believe’?” R’Til practically growled in irritation.
“As you know, there’s no way to be 100% accurate without taking the Battle Queen to homeworld for confirmation,” my face was a blank mask, I couldn’t show how much this was affecting me.
“Is there any chance of that being possible?” R’Til asked.
“Ha! Did you not see that fight between the Battle Queen and L’Ryx,” K’Tos scoffed. I was grateful that he had inserted himself into the conversation. “Tell us, L’Ryx, did you see stars when she kissed you with her skull?” The other generals laughed and I gave them a sharp smile. “I’d gladly take a beating as severely as she must have given you, if it meant I could at least get my hands on her.” My smile fell and I took an involuntary step forward. I growled loudly and felt my hands fist.
“We’ve already teased L’Ryx mercilessly about the injuries the Battle Queen gave him,” laughed R’tok. He turned and gave me a stern look that only I could see. R’Tok was trying to cover for my reaction. I tipped my head slightly to let him know I appreciated his save. When he saw my fists unclench he turned back to face our audience.
“Trying to take her by force would be next to impossible,” I had to be firm but cold in my report, “Not just because of the Battle Queen’s own skills in combat but because she commands the loyalty of her people.”
“Her people?” R’Til’s eyes narrowed in consternation.
“The population on the planet isn’t transient nor could I buy them when I tried to get more information,” I confirmed. “Even the Syleans here are deeply loyal to her.”
“Syleans? I don’t think I’ve ever even heard the word ‘loyal’ and Syleans in the same sentence,” mocked another High Council member.
“We’re getting off topic,” R’Til slammed his palm down on the conference top. “Is she, in your opinion, a byproduct of the ancient technology?” This was the moment. I couldn’t put it off any longer.
“Yes,” the High Council members exploded into shouts of disbelief and panic. General K’Tos’s pinched expression mirrored the quiet thoughtfulness of the other two generals. No doubt those three were already planning ways to coordinate their ships to converge on this world.
“QUIET!” R’Til’s shout silenced everyone and the generals refocused on him, “Explain how you were able to come to this conclusion.” I nodded to R’Tok.
“It took a bit of digging but we were able to track down supposed transactions for black market alterations,” R’Tok tapped on the console before him, “As you can see they’re all linked to abilities that we can confirm the Battle Queen has.”
R’Tok pulled up each transaction in different strings of coloured data chains. His analytical mind and attention to detail were some of his finer qualities but it was his ability to make the le
ap into the unknown and unseen that made him a formidable second in command. With a few final taps he laid everything out.
“If I’m reading this correctly,” R’Til narrowed his eyes in concentration, “The Battle Queen appears to be nothing more than a hotchpotch of parts and base gene alterations.”
“No, I see it,” General K’Tos shook his head in clear admiration, “R’Tok’s evidence supports L’Ryx’s conclusion.”
“How so?” R’Til couldn’t mask his perturbed confusion.
“The data, High Council Leader R’Til, is too perfect,” answered R’Tok.
“Large slave houses can afford to keep clean books, which could explain away maybe one or two of these complete transaction logs,” General K’Tos eyes sparkled with far too much interest for my liking, “But muscle and bone enhancements? Those are so common that unmarked credits moving from one hand to another should have been it—no need for a receipt or a log.”
“Exactly,” agreed R’Tok, “when you look closer you’ll see where there are convenient pockets in the transaction data as well.”
“The question is whether or not she set this up to mislead her competitors or conceal her involvement with the ancient technology you were sent to find,” R’Til was still on the fence about what he was seeing. I think the High Council members didn’t want my answer to be ‘yes’ but were more afraid of ignoring the possibility. The hard stares of the other generals told me my statement would be enough to carry out my mission directive. They needed nothing but my word.
“The Battle Queen has already proven to be a master of data manipulation,” R’Tok never shied away from his mistakes but I was still impressed he would admit to one in front of the High Council and his father. “I myself was conned into purchasing data packets on Earth culture that I thought would greatly assist in our mission—“
“Conned?” Asked R’Til.
“Yes,” R’Tok clenched his jaw but continued on, “I brokered deals with various data merchants and used proxy redundancies on top of a false identity to purchase the data packet,” he shook his head slightly, the only sign of his exasperation. “I even backtracked the data to a Sylean slave ship that had no affiliation to the Battle Queen that I could find”