“And…” Kiel tried to interrupt once more—unsuccessfully—as Kael-ven continued.
“May that rat-faced finger-fucked shit-goblin forever be tormented in the acid belly of a Deer’ghlock!” he hissed as he slapped the table.
Kiel waited for a moment to see if Kael-ven was finished.
“What?” Kael-ven asked, rubbing his hand.
“Ok, just wondering about that tirade. I seem to have noticed a little Bethany Anne-inspired motivational conversation there at the end.”
“Oh, yes.” Kael-ven tapped the side of his head. “I memorized some of the colorful language she used on multiple occasions.”
“Do you have any idea what it means?”
“Not a damned clue. For instance, what’s a rat?” Kael-ven started chuckling. “I have no idea.”
“Something ugly, I’m sure. I imagine that in the future whole university classes will be based around her colorful language and tear it apart to find the nuggets of wisdom each contains, no doubt making up complete stories about the true meaning when really she just meant they were fucktards.”
“Another one of my personal favorites,” Kael-ven admitted.
Kiel got back to the problem at hand. “Ok, Straiphus?”
“Talk with the Empress, find out what they know and how we might help if she needs us.”
“That simple?” Kiel asked.
“I would think you need to worry more than I do,” Kael-ven pointed out. “You are the mercenary in her employ. My job is to help run Yoll. She is responsible for the rest of Yoll’s territories in her Empire.”
ADAM interrupted, “Do you want me to patch Bethany Anne in? She has just left a meeting and has a few minutes.”
“Yes,” Kael-ven answered.
Both Yollins had waited a moment before ADAM came back on. “Bethany Anne, Kiel, and Kael-ven are on the other side of the line. They are discussing the situation with Straiphus, and want to make you aware of what they know.”
“Hi, guys.” Bethany Anne’s voice popped in. “Sorry, no video.”
“That’s a shame,” Kiel told her. “My muscles have muscles now.”
“How the hell can a human tell?” she asked. “You guys have that chitinous armor, so aren’t your muscles hidden?”
“That is why he is saying he has more muscles,” Kael-ven answered. “It is a favorite strategy of militarily-focused Yollins.”
“Which strategy?” she asked.
“The time-honored strategy called ‘lying through our mandibles to get a female to touch us in appreciation,’” Kiel answered.
“Same shit, different species,” she muttered, but there was amusement coloring her voice.
“Yes,” Kael-ven answered. “I don’t want to continue taking up your time with Kiel’s attempts at humor.”
“No, it’s ok. I find him funny,” she replied.
“Ok, may I admit I didn’t want Kiel taking up more of my time with his attempts at humor?” Kael-ven ignored Kiel’s smile at her catching his lie.
“Mmmhmmm,” she said across the tablet. “Now that I believe.”
“I didn’t think you could read minds at this distance,” Kael-ven stated.
“Same shit, different species,” she repeated.
“That wasn’t a full answer,” Kiel pointed out.
There was silence.
Kael-ven got the message. “All right, we asked you to join this call to discuss new information Kiel has found related to an effort by Yollins in the Straiphus system to attack here in the home system. They are both formulating a plan externally in the Straiphus system and seeking support here.”
“I understand,” she replied. “We were made aware of some questionable maneuvers in their system by a few spy ships we have over there, but we haven’t pushed into the system because we needed to get the damaged ships from the first fight fixed. Also, I’d like to have additional weapons capabilities tested and online.”
“They have three capital ships over there, right?” Kael-ven asked.
“Yes, but that is our biggest concern, Kael-ven,” she replied. “We can only find two.”
“How the hell do you hide a capital ship?” Kiel interrupted. “It’s not like you can park the sonofaGro’lick in a barn somewhere.”
“Well, on the other side of a moon works,” Kael-ven started before Bethany Anne interrupted.
“We looked everywhere we could think of, and while it should be around, it isn’t.” There was a pause before she added, “Suggestions, guys?”
Kael-ven tapped the table, then answered, “Why don’t we talk with the Defense Minister?”
Planet Yoll, Executive Prison
E’Kolorn had been considering the implications since his wife had left to his cell with the promise that she would be back in a week's time. That she had spoken of what amounted to better conditions under the aliens, not worse, had been very surprising.
No one had come to get him and no one had changed the routine, but something had changed inside him.
He had hope.
Hope that he hadn’t made the wrong decision to stop King Yoll, to force him to fight the alien Empress. He hadn’t expected the king to fail—and his people to fall into the hands of the aliens.
No different, he supposed, than the Yollins forcing other people to be under Yollins.
Except that the Etheric Empire was making the Yollin world better, at least according to his wife.
He was pondering these things when continued knocking on his door finally grabbed his attention. “Yes?”
“You are requested to clean up and meet with the Etheric Empire’s agent. Do you consent to this meeting?”
“I have a choice?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m told you do,” admitted his guard from the other side of the door. “But I can tell you that if I were you, I’d go.”
E’Kolorn stood up from his bed, walked to the door, and spoke through the slot. “Why is that?” he replied, his voice normal since he wasn’t yelling from across the room.
The slot opened and his jailor stared at him. “Because the alien is offering you a choice. I confirmed that you saying ‘no’ is just that…no. They want you to come because they have questions you can answer. I’m told if your heart isn’t in it, to have you stay.”
“What is ‘it?’”
“Above my responsibility,” the guard replied.
E’Kolorn softly tapped his mandibles together in thought for a moment before he answered, “I’ll go.”
It had taken only a short while to shower, fix his face, and put on the clean badge of office which had been brought to him.
When he walked out of the shower room, the guard was waiting. “No locking devices?” E’Kolorn asked, expecting to be cuffed before they left the prison.
The guard shook his head. “No.” The guard looked around and then stepped closer to the ex-Defense Minister. “But if you want some unasked-for advice?”
E’Kolorn nodded. “Sure, I’ll listen.”
“The person here to escort you is one of those aliens who stays around the alien Empress. Those guys don’t play around. They are professional, and they take care of business. I watched one go into a building this week and wipe out everyone in there who was trying to kill him. He was blown out of the damned building from the fifth floor, and he never hit the ground—just flew back to it and finished his job. Not one of the those who had killed other Yollins made it out alive.”
“He just killed everyone?” E’Kolorn asked.
“No, he spared some stupid youth who thought he knew how to operate powered armor.”
E’Kolorn grimaced. “How badly did the fight go between the two?”
The guard looked at him. “You really have been out of touch. What fight? He knocked the kid out of the window, then dropped down from the third floor, yanked something from the back of the kid’s armor, and walked back into the building.” He shrugged. “He just ignored all the idiots thinking they were joining a grand riot.�
��
E’Kolorn shook his head. “How badly are we overmatched?”
“What overmatched?” the guard asked. “The aliens are bringing good changes to our planet. Sure, there are some hotheads, but so far I’m thinking the leader is doing a better job than the king ever did.”
“Their Empress?” E’Kolorn asked, surprised.
“No, Leader Kael-ven, the Yollin captain who had been sent by King Yoll to spy on their system.”
Now E’Kolorn realized he hadn’t asked his wife enough questions, but he was willing to forgive himself. He had needed the companionship, as well as the knowledge and reassurance his family were safe.
He had needed her time, her affection, her respect, and her love, and she had provided all of that and more.
He nodded to the guard and the two of them started heading out of the prison—to what future, he wasn’t sure.
14
Skaine Slaver Ship Kalifo, Eubos System (Etheric Empire, Yollin Territory)
“What do you mean, ‘we need to keep our heads down?’” The five-foot-tall blue skinned large-headed, bulbous-blue-eyed and thin-bodied Skaine yelled at the communications device.
The space station manager’s voice was annoyed. “Keep yelling at me, Gyrm, and I’ll forget to warn your ass and you can suffer your ignorance.”
Gyrm looked down and made a note, taking ten points off Space Station Two-Seven’s manager’s score. The station manager had been in the good zone, but two more drops like this and Gyrm would need to make a permanent example of the Yollin.
No one talked to the Skaines like this, no matter how powerful they were.
“I find your communications disrespectful, Ghy’luck,” Gyrm answered. “Why would you think there is anything in this pitiful excuse for a system that would make me worry?”
“Don’t you know shit about what has happened, Gyrm?” the frustrated Yollin’s voice came back. “Damn, didn’t you get the memo?”
“I would have to know what a memo is to know if I got one, ass,” Gyrm replied. “I’ve got over one-hundred and thirty prime candidates for the outer marker mining efforts. No tags, no tracebacks, and all clean.”
“That is the shit I’m trying to warn you about, Gyrm.” On the other side of the conversation, Ghy’luck wiped his mandibles. “Hold on... Go to active frequency 222.72.”
“Frequency 222.72,” Gyrm confirmed and set the new frequency on his communicator. This time the connection had video, not just audio. The station manager wasn’t on the screen yet, but Gyrm could hear movement off-screen. A door shut, and then he came into view and sat down.
“Video, Gyrm?”
“Right.” Gyrm set the communication to two-way video. “There.”
“Better.” The Yollin stared at the screen a moment. “Weren’t you in green robes last time?”
“Yes, you are perceptive. The blue you see me wearing are due to a rise in rank. I’m now in charge of our group.”
The Yollin glanced off-screen. “I see only one ship, Gyrm.”
“There are three of us here. The other two are lying silently in the asteroids.”
The Yollin nodded his understanding before facing the screen. “Ok, I’m going to assume you have been out in the scavenger worlds.” He put up a hand to forestall any comment from Gyrm. “Don’t deny it, I don’t care.” He dropped his hand. “Yoll has been conquered by an alien group.”
Gyrm barked out sibilant laughter. “Isn’t that some shit?” The Yollin looked uncomfortable. “Wait, did you guys try to take over someone who fought back and kicked your ass?”
Gyrm slapped his chair and hooted. “That’s it! Oh, that is just too rich for words.” The Skaine continued to laugh.
“Keep it up, you pirate prick,” Ghy’luck ground out, “and I’ll let you learn at the end of one of their lasers.”
Gyrm’s eyes narrowed, but his laughter continued. “I’m in the slaving group, not the pirate group, as you should well know. Those ‘pirate pricks,’ as you call them, couldn’t navigate their way out of a tub you wash in if you drained it of liquid. Idiots, by and large.”
Ghy’luck interrupted, “Weren’t you in the pirate group at one point?”
“That’s why I know how bad they are. Notice how quickly I moved to slaving.”
“I’ve no idea. You never told me,” Ghy’luck admitted.
“It was quick, trust me.” Gyrm finally settled down. “So, who are these alien overlords now?”
“They call themselves ‘the Etheric Empire,’ with a human Empress as their lead. A while back we received a torp with a lot of video related to the battle, and frankly they kicked our Home Fleet’s ass. There isn’t much there except them now. I’m not sure what the other two systems are going to do, but Eubos couldn’t stage a counterattack for shit even if we wanted to. This system is only good for raw materials. The local planet’s people are useless as slave labor.”
“Wasn’t that what you just told me…no slaves?” Gyrm asked.
“Yes, they sent something they call a ‘memo,’ which said slaving was to stop immediately. So you need to stop it.” The Yollin smiled into the screen. “Make sure you have no slaves on your ships, and whatever you do, don’t even consider trying to do a system-wide notice like you would have done before. We don’t know if they have spy ships here.”
“What ships do they have there?” Gyrm asked, leaning forward in his chair.
“Well,” Ghy’luck waved his hand, “that’s unknown at this time. We don’t have any on our scopes, but the information in the torp suggested they have cloaking technology.”
The Skaine slave commander thought about the information Ghy’luck was entrusting to him, then glanced down and erased the deduction in his points. He wouldn’t provide Ghy’luck any extra benefit for the warning, but his disrespect had been warranted since his stress level must be high right now.
No one could say that the Skaine couldn’t understand and adjust to the particulars of their contacts.
Gyrm finally looked up. “So, I’m completely good delivering those who wish employment in the far outer asteroid fields for room and board, which is a much better solution than the life they had on their decrepit planets before?”
Not much of a life, Gyrm thought, but completely within the limits of the memo (whatever the hell that was) Ghy’luck was sharing with him right now.
“That sounds agreeable, Captain of the Kalifo. It is my judgment as an Etheric Empire representative in the Yollin-controlled Eubos System that providing transportation for a fee to those who seek employment in other systems is a beneficial occupation.”
Gyrm smiled. The Yollin was speaking bureaucratic like he had sucked on the tit of a politician.
His kind of contact.
The Skaine reached down and added twenty points for the lesson Ghy’luck had just delivered to him. Now, how to pay Ghy’luck his fee…
Gyrm rushed to get ahead of Ghy’luck’s effort to stop him from talking. “Am I to pay the usual charge for recharging our systems from the local sun?”
Ghy’luck shut his mandibles. He had been concerned that the Skaine was going to be stupid. There had never been a fee for solar recharging levied by any system government, except for those whose governments were completely inefficient. They were worse than bandits.
“Yes,” Ghy’luck replied. “I will give you the account number for transferring your fees once you confirm total usage.” He looked around on his desk. “What did we charge you last time for solar charging?”
“I’ll have my second send you the previous bill so you can confirm with your accounting. I wouldn’t want any paperwork to be misplaced,” Gyrm answered.
“That works for me. Good luck with your transportation efforts. May you provide homes for all of those seeking a better life.”
“Agreed, Station Manager. Captain of the Kalifo out.” The Skaine shut down the connection and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling.
There was always more than o
ne way to accomplish one’s goals. You didn’t have to use the same playbook as those in the pirate group would most every time.
Bunch of non-creative hacks.
He leaned forward and touched two buttons on his console. “This is Gyrm to ships’ captains. You need to bring your weapons up and place them on standby. This system may be hot.”
Once the two captains of his support vessels confirmed their orders, Gyrm leaned back in his chair once again.
Now, how to sell his slaves legally…
QBS Achronyx
“Achronyx, can we go through the Annex Gate cloaked?” Tabitha asked as she and the four Tontos sat in their chairs on the ship’s bridge.
“Technically, yes, but the chance for problems during the Gate transfer increase. It is possible the system could jettison the ship on a different trajectory or at a different speed, or even drop it into the system in another location outside normal operation parameters.”
“So you’re telling me it can be done, but it is a bad idea?”
“I don’t have parameters to quantify good or bad, Captain Tabitha. I am simply explaining the risks.”
Tabitha pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to be called “Captain” by Achronyx, but any time she asked something related to the navigation or fighting of the ship he switched to calling her “Captain” instead of “Ranger.”
Typical EI behavior.
Right?
She couldn’t tell. It was like all her hacking into computers and making them her bitch had created a karmic Imbalance, and the universe was delivering the bill—and Achronyx was its name.
Fucking shit. She grimaced.
“What is the chance of us having a reduction of abilities and/or dying on the other side of the Annex Gate if we do this?”
Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Three: Books 15-21, Never Submit, Never Surrender, Forever Defend, Might Makes Right, Ahead Full, Capture Death, Life Goes On (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 35
