by Juno Wells
Nodding Stacy agreed. “I’ll be happy to talk to her. It would be great if your warriors have scared the bejesus out of them overnight.”
“That is not likely, for even the queens of our enemies are revered among our people.”
22 Interrogations
Meric
Glancing at Tabor, Meric caught the lopsided smile on his face and knew what his friend was thinking without asking. Meric’s queen had accepted him for courting. This was a huge barrier to overcome and had been accomplished by a combination of being straightforward about what he wanted in the note and taking the initiative as she’d stated to his father. It was likely also because she wished for young, and he had four of them. Meric didn’t feel as though he was luring her with his scions so much as letting her know up front that he came with responsibilities. His former queen would have dispatched the children to other warriors to care for or simply have killed them to make room in the hatchery for her own young. Human queens valued children, no matter their parentage. They were much like warriors in this regard. Getting another chance felt like a gift from the gods. He had no intention of squandering it.
Queen Stacy gasped when she entered their makeshift detention facility. “This is totally the opposite of what I expected to find. It’s a pleasant surprise.”
“Thank you, my queen.”
The small family was all housed together in one nearly empty room with a transparent force field spanning the door. There was a bed and boxes of hydration packs and food bars inside. Someone had brought fresh clothing and they’d clearly been cleansed. With all the coloring washed off the male, they could see his features much more clearly. Someone had brought in a rug for the little ones to play on and some toys.
“We will need to separate them.”
“Take the man and leave me alone with the woman and her children with the shielding off. I want her to trust me.”
Tabor spoke, his rough voice making him sound more emphatic than the others. “That is an unwise decision, my queen. You are no fighter. She might attack you.”
“Have a look at her. She seems less able to defend herself than I am.”
“It will be as you wish. Guards are right outside the door. Call out if you need help.”
~ Stacy ~
The woman objected loudly when the male was removed from the detention area. Stacy thought she wasn’t as freaked out as yesterday. It was unclear if this was because the warriors had treated them well overnight or because his little ones were nearby.
She walked into the room and sat across from her on the floor. “My name’s Stacy Lionheart.”
The woman frowned. “I know who you are. The other women say you were some hotshot doctor on Earth, and now you have a spaceship named after you.”
“That’s not as great as it seems at first glance. I’d like to help you navigate this situation if at all possible.”
“Why couldn’t you just leave us alone? We were happy and about to make it out of this area and away from the Moltan.”
“Except that you brought one with you.”
“Are you kidding me? He’s nothing like those creeps. If you don’t believe me, just have a conversation with him. You’ll find he doesn’t sound anything at all like the Moltan when he talks.”
“Where did he come from?”
“The Moltan take slaves, usually the women and the males who are healthy and strong. Jasper was taken off his home world when he was younger along with his father. They wanted to kill him because he was just a teen, but his father fought for him. He can’t remember much about his world and his father discouraged him from talking about it. I think it was simply too painful for him.”
“How long ago was that?”
“I don’t know. Jas doesn’t have a good grasp of the passage of time because they used to put them in stasis a lot when they weren’t needed. Since they came to this sector, he says he’s been out all the time.”
“How do you know he’s not lying about being Moltan. We’re getting conflicting reports from the other women about what they look like.”
“It’s because we were all broken up into small groups and spread around the ship for the slaves to take care of. They all wear the same cheap uniform because it keeps the hairy ones from getting fur everywhere and they’re durable. Each woman is describing whatever random slave took care of them. I actually saw one though.”
“How did that happen if they never show themselves?”
“I was with Jasper one day. He heard one coming and shoved me into an air vent. We used them a lot to get around the ship without being seen. He told me not to look. But I did.”
“Tell me exactly what you saw.”
The woman’s face paled and she wrapped her arms around her knees. She whispered harshly, “They’re horrible monsters. The one I saw was so tall his horns almost touched the ceiling. They don’t have horns like the Dracon either. Their horns are more like a deer’s, but larger and thicker and they wrap around the top of their heads in a crazy tangle. They have hooves with fingers that spring out to grab things then retract when they’re not using them. Even though they walk on two legs, they don’t even look humanoid. The one I saw staggered when he walked and used one of his long arms to rebalance himself when almost fell every few steps. He roared at Jas and slapped him across the room with one swipe of his long arm. I was too terrified to breathe, but after he left, Jasper said they were always like that.”
“That sounds horrific.”
“It was. I wasn’t with the other women. Jasper sneaked me out of the group when we were being funneled on board to help with his little ones. His wife died and he couldn’t keep them alive all by himself. We hid out in the ductwork on this very ship the entire time the women were on board. He sneaked us food and what water he could find. I got sick for a few days when we first arrived but he nursed me through it.”
“What was your plan?”
“We didn’t have one until the Dracon attacked. When your captain took this ship, we stayed and moved around to the area they’d just come from when they were doing sweeps with their handheld scanning devices.”
“How have you been surviving?”
“I’m sorry to admit that I stole from the Dracon to keep us alive. I would venture out when everything was busy and get us food from the dining hall and hydration packets. It was hard to find things the little ones could eat, but we made it work.”
“Did it not occur to you to come to us?”
“We didn’t want to risk the babies. I thought that once we got back to the cluster, I could get you to drop me off at one of the human colonies. Jasper was going to smuggle himself and the little ones out in a shipping container by manipulating the manifest.”
“What happened to all the slaves?”
“Um, your warriors killed them. Jasper insisted in going out among the fallen dead to search for his father but never found him. The majority of them were Lakar and they pretty much all look alike. If you never seen either the Lakar or the Moltan, how would you know which was which?”
A sick feeling churned in the pit of Stacy’s stomach. “I thought we’d taken the ship pretty easily. Rather than being shitty warriors, they weren’t warriors at all. If that’s the case, where are the Moltan?”
“Jasper says they have a section of the ship that breaks away, carrying them all off to safety. It’s heavily shielded so you can’t pick it up on your scans.”
Stacy felt defeat seep into her very bones. She explained grimly, “Well that explains why the last Moltan vessel to arrive stayed only long enough to trade fire and left. They were likely picking up their brethren from the two ships we overpowered.”
“That sounds like the Moltan. They don’t risk themselves or do anything for themselves. That’s what they believe slaves are for.”
“I’m glad you made it. I’ll add your information to the database, so the next time we’ll be targeting our enemy instead of the innocent people they’re using for cannon fodder.”
“What’s going to happen to us?”
“I don’t know. Captain Meric is talking to the one you call Jasper. It will be up to him to determine if he’s a threat. Do you think Jasper has been in contact with the Moltan ship we’re looking for?”
“Hell no, he’d never want to see the Moltan again. Trust me, nobody in their right mind would want to do anything except destroy the creepy beasts.”
“There’s only one thing left that’s bothering me. How did he get the wings grafted onto his spinal cord?”
The woman shook her head in bewilderment. “I’ve got no idea. He just came in with them when the ship was being overrun by the Dracon. I asked but he wouldn’t say.”
~ Meric ~
Meric and Tabor looked at each other. They’d been monitoring their queen’s interaction with the subordinate queen. “Do you think what the woman’s reporting could be true?”
Tabor nodded, “Possibly. It’s true we found some different aliens during the cleanup but most were the same species.” His expression shifted slightly. Since Meric knew him well, he caught the hint of guilt displayed on his friend’s face.
Grasping Tabor’s shoulder, he rasped, “Don’t blame yourself. They could have spoken up at any time. The fools didn’t even break when we interrogated them.”
Tabor pulled back. “They were probably convinced the Moltan were undefeatable and would be back to collect them. That’s what I would have thought in their place.”
“Let us speak with this Jasper and see if his story lines up with his female’s.”
When they entered the room he was sitting quietly at a table. He looked very different cleaned up. His skin was dark with white markings and white fur on the back of his arms and shoulders. Though his face was humanoid and his eyes dark, he had hair and strange ears.
“Your female has been very talkative, Jasper.”
“I will do whatever you say if you spare the lives of Bethany and my little ones. I’m strong and healthy. I can cook and clean and fix mechanical doors and lifts. I am willing to learn whatever tasks you require of me.”
“Have you been a slave for your whole life?”
“Yes, for as long as I can remember. What do you wish of me?’
“To know how you came by those wings.”
“The Moltan like to manipulate biology, not to help the sick, but to better themselves physically. They dissect different species to learn their secrets and then replicate them in their laboratory.”
“We didn’t find a laboratory.”
“There is a large crescent-shaped section of the ship that moves away from the right side of the hull. It had the laboratory and the housing units for the ten Moltan that resided aboard this vessel.”
“There were ten of them and hundreds of slaves.”
The implication was clear and Jasper was quick to answer it. “The Moltan are four times our size, with hard hooves that stomp on us. The weapons they gave us to fight their battles were 0nly effective against the enemy. In all my years with the Moltan, I have never seen them defeated. We were so certain they were invincible that many just accepted their fate.”
“We defeated two of their three vessels and intend to take the third.”
“I think you were lucky to enjoy the victory you did. I would recommend that you stay far from the Moltan. They are intelligent, resourceful, and think nothing of destroying worlds. I fear them more than any other species I have met.”
“Get back to the wings. How specifically did you get them?”
“When you attacked this vessel, the Moltan ran for the safety of their quarters and started the separation countdown. I believed that the species who defeated the Moltan must be fierce, so I pulled up your biology on the computer screen and had the computer select the items I needed for transformation. I did not know how to properly communicate to the bots that I wished to look Draconian so they moved over my body doing the best they could. The wings clearly did not attach to my frame correctly, since they are not operational. The modification was meant to be short term, so I took nanobots and concentrated most of my efforts on retaining the part that was most visible when I wear one of your uniforms.”
“That was clever. Were you in contact with the Moltan since we commandeered this ship?”
“I speak but you do not hear. You must know nothing of the Moltan to ask that question. No being wishes contact with them. To know them is to be enslaved, live a hard life, and die early.”
“How did you hide your young from us for a complete planetary rotation?”
“I used a simple disruptor bot which I attached to their fur. I am resourceful, but not knowledgeable of Moltan technology. I know only what I picked up from paying attention to their ways.”
“Tell us your biggest fear in this situation.”
“You act like you wish to track the Moltan. That is not necessary for two reasons. First, they are a vindictive species. You attacked them. They will not rest until you are dead or enslaved. Then there is the issue of my knowing what they look like. They will not stop until I am found and destroyed. They guard this information like it is a fundamental part of their religious doctrine. You would do well to drop me on the first planet you pass and get yourself out of their sights.”
“We do not run from battle.”
“You will wish you had run before this is all over and done with. I can see that you are emboldened by your first stunning victory, and I am glad for you. But know this, even warriors as fierce as you are no match for the Moltan.”
Meric sighed at the male’s extremely negative prognostication. “We wish to know one thing more of you. Did the Moltan come into contact with a strange queen as of late?”
“You know about her? We were forbidden to speak of it.”
“You will tell us all that you know.”
The male looked from one to the other of them before huffing out an exasperated breath. “They took shipment from a race of insectoids. It was a creature that floated in a glass bubble. I heard them say that she was a queen, but to my eyes she had not form or function that bespoke her ability to breed.”
“What did she look like?”
“I dare to say you will call me a liar, but the creature was merely a soft white fleshy cushion with a single strand of fleshy hair growing out of her body in many different places. Some were larger than others and the creature used them to grasp onto things in her bubble. Never have I seen such a thoroughly revolting life form. I cast my eyes away and tried to forget, yet I cannot. For it is burned in my mind for all times.”
“Why were you present?”
“I was curious because the Moltan had shut down half the ship and forced all the slaves to move to the other half before her ship docked. I thought to finally see a Moltan queen and see if she is as depraved as the males of their kind. I know she was not Moltan because they called her alien queen and were very excited to have found her.”
“We rounded a dark star not long ago and found danger too dark for anyone to survive. We drew back because a seer in our midst sensed danger. Do you believe the Moltan can avoid such dangers?”
“They wear strange headgear that makes their antlers glow. It enables them to communicate with the minds of other Moltan and lets them navigate the ‘verse safely. With that in mind, I would say they could see unexpected danger and avoid it.”
“What do you wish us to do with you until we can set you down on an isolated planet?”
“Give us quarters. I was serious when I said my mate and I will work for our keep.”
“This we will agree to, but you will not leave your quarters until we have thoroughly debriefed you and you have learned the rules of our ship.”
“I agree to your terms Draconian.”
“My name is Captain Meric and this is my security officer Tabor.”
Tabor spoke up. “I have only one thing to add. If you endanger anyone on this ship, attempt to contact the Moltan or double cross us in any way, the penalty is death. I mo
nitor everything going on, especially outbound communications.”
“Again, I would have to be mentally unfit to wish to contact the Moltan. My mate and I just wish to survive and live in peace.”
After his warriors had taken Jasper away, Meric and Tabor spoke quietly. His security officer’s expression transformed, showing his emotions. “I suppose we now know why the Moltan wanted human queens.”
Meric gasped, pulling back like he’d been slapped. “You think the symbiont wishes to spawn and needs queens for them to join with?”
“I can think of no other reason they would purchase human queens or sacrifice good ships in a vain attempt to get the queens back.”
“They are among the weakest creatures created by the gods. I can’t imagine a symbiont wishing to join with them, when there are sturdier queens to be had in this sector.”
“Think for a minute, my captain. Human queens are welcomed the ‘verse over, for many wish to breed them. Inhabiting queens is the easiest way to get a foothold on every world and simply spawn, creating thousands or millions of soul suckers.”
An angry growl escaped from the back of Meric’s throat. “The misery and death they bring is something most beings cannot imagine. We must do everything in our power to locate the Queen Mother and destroy her before she can infest the Naxis.”
“Agreed. If what Jasper says is true, they will be looking for us.”
Meric’s wings jerked and he replied angrily. “And we must be ready for her.”
23 Family Time
Stacy
Gazing across the table at Meric, Stacy enjoyed the chatter around his dinner table. The little ones were barely understandable, and their wings were drooping all over the place, but they were a delight to be around. By some freak of nature, Meric actually seemed at ease. Perhaps it was because he was in his own space. Even though the large scar draping down his face looked less severe when he relaxed, it was still a visible reminder that he’d had a difficult life. It still amazed her that he’d spent his life as a warrior and got most of his scars from his former queen.
