by Ivy Barrett
“Then why the hells aren’t they firing on us?” Galzar muttered.
“I don’t think they know we’re here,” Kryit concluded. “Our shields must be working for a change.”
They’d only pulsed the sector long enough to confirm that there were multiple ships here. Each time they activated the device, they risked discovery. According to Kezma’s lover—who apparently knew what he was talking about—the rebels had thirty-eight battlegroups. Each group had between one hundred and one hundred fifty spaceships, which meant Ram’s fleet was nearly as large as Bron’s. However, it was impossible to know how many of Ram’s ships were right in front of them.
“Orders, sir?” Kryit prompted.
That was definitely the question, but Galzar still wasn’t sure how to answer. “A few days ago, I would have told you to blast them all back to hells, but the chancellor tied our hands. How the fuck are we supposed to capture Ram and free those females without killing anyone?”
“Deception, sir,” Teff suggested. He was Galzar’s first officer, and the only crewmember Galzar had been allowed to requisition for this new assignment. This was the sixth ship they’d served on together, and it was wonderful to have a trusted friend at his side. Galzar didn’t mistrust the others. He just didn’t know most of them yet. “We have to convince Ram we’re here to negotiate.”
Galzar glanced at Teff thoughtfully. It wasn’t a bad idea. Galzar just wasn’t sure he was that good an actor. “And once a small team is onboard, inside their defenses, we kidnap Ram.” It seemed promising for a moment, then he shook his head. “We’d all be dead before we could fire up our engines.”
“Not if they can’t detect our ships,” Kryit reminded.
“And we do it in stages,” Teff clarified.
“Meaning?” Galzar finally dragged his gaze away from the main display.
“Meet several times, earn their trust, appear honest and hopeful, even a little desperate.” Teff was crafty. That was one of many reasons Galzar had always liked him. “Once they let their guard down, we walk in as usual, but a team of our best dogs will be on the shuttle dressed in those fancy new suits. If they can get Ram to the shuttle bay, we can mol-port him onto our ship.”
The Elizian was the only ship able to mol-port without lowering their shields, but like so many of these new toys, the integrated tech was largely untested.
Still, this was exactly the sort of mission the dogs of war did best. They could blow shit up with the best of them, but they were also stealthy, fast, and efficient. Someone could cause a diversion while the others got Ram to the shuttle bay. He sighed. The only way it would work was if all the dogs remained invisible. One blip from any of those suits and everyone was dead.
“The shield suits are untested.” Galzar shook his head. “Chancellor Savator wanted us to try them out, not use them for the actual mission. It’s too big a risk.”
“What choice did Savator leave us?” Kryit asked, clearly frustrated by all the obstacles. “The same technology that’s concealing this ship right now is in those suits. I don’t think we have any other option. Something’s got to give. The Yashonty can’t go on stealing our females.”
Our females? Galzar wasn’t sure when Ventori males started thinking of Earth’s females as theirs, but he wasn’t going to argue. Any Ventori that wanted a mate would have to claim an alien. The Skarilians had seen to that.
This plan was sketchy as hells, but it was the only one available to them. “Then you’re going with me, Kryit. Teff will take command while we—”
“That should be the other way around, sir,” Teff objected.
Galzar shook his head. “Ram will be insulted with anyone other than the ship’s commander. Not a good start for the negotiation.”
“I’ll claim to be you,” Teff said with a shrug. “The Yashonty won’t know the difference.”
“Ram’s first officer is a magister. That means he’s a powerful psychic,” Galzar told him, another fact he knew thanks to Kezma’s lover. “They’d know you were lying as soon as you introduce yourself.”
“Then how the fuck do we pull off any sort of deception?” Kryit wanted to know.
“We’re not going to deceive them. At least not to begin with.” Galzar rolled his shoulders, then stood and stretched out his back. “I’m going to actually try to negotiate an alliance with the Yashonty. When it all falls apart, and I strongly suspect it will, we should be deep enough into negotiations to forgo the magister. That’s when we’ll bring the dogs along to kidnap Ram, maybe even take control of his ship. But the dogs of war are literally a contingency plan, so I won’t be lying when I tell Ram I’m there to negotiate.”
“And if by some miracle you get Ram to agree?” Teff wanted to know. “Our orders are to kidnap the son-of-a-whore, not make friends with him.”
Galzar shrugged, more than ready to get underway. “We either bring Ram back in chains or join forces with the rebels, which we all know is the only way the Skarilians can be stopped. There is no bad outcome here. It’s a godsdamn win/win.”
Chapter Three
“Should I hail them, sir?”
“Not yet,” Ram said sternly. The bizarre stare-down had been going on for nearly an hour. Still, the Ventori ship refused to blink. How in all of damnation had they found this battlegroup, his battlegroup? It was humiliating. When and how had the Ventori acquired the ability to detect shielded ships? It was definitely new to them. Ram had received reports of Ventori ships searching this area numerous times before and the Ventori had never detected anything.
“Why didn’t they fire on us as soon as they emerged from hyperspace?” Ram asked no one in particular. “This is so unlike the Ventori. They’re up to something.”
“They’re probably thinking the same damn thing about us.” Amusement rippled through Moxtel’s tone, making Ram glower at his first officer. Ever since Moxtel and Belton claimed Lorna, they had been uncharacteristically cheerful. It was disconcerting.
Ram glanced around the command deck. Every officer watched the Ventori warship with a combination of speculation and confusion. Moxtel stood beside Ram at the master command console. They were just as confused as the rest.
“They just launched a shuttle, sir,” Tactical Officer Baylarin told Ram.
“They think we can’t see them,” Ram realized, stupefied at their ignorance. “They’ll circle around the larger moon and approach from the opposite side.” And that’s exactly what they did.
“I’ll be damned,” Moxtel muttered. “You’re right. They don’t realize we saw the entire procession.”
All the Ventori ships were shielded, even the shuttle. Didn’t they know Yashonty scanners had been able to detect shielded ships for years? The Yashonty invented camouflage shielding. Most other species acquired it by backward-engineering Yashonty tech.
There had been five sleek fighters in tight formation behind the massive warship. The fighters were now hiding behind the red planet’s larger moon, but all of Ram’s officers had seen them. Why bring strike teams to your enemy’s back door if you didn’t intend to use them? This entire thing made no sense.
“The shuttle is hailing us,” the comms officer informed him.
“Put it on the main display.”
A Ventori warrior appeared onscreen. “I’m Commander Galzar Ako of the Protectorate, requesting permission to come aboard.” He spoke in Ventori, expecting to be understood. How typical of the Protectorate. Despite their dire circumstances, they continued to believe the universe revolved around them.
The commander looked like most Ventori: large, dark hair, pale gray skin. This one had strange orange-ish eyes with an undeniably cunning gleam. “For what purpose?” Ram responded in the same language. The Yashonty didn’t expect the entire universe to adapt to their needs. Just alien females, he thought with an inward smirk. He would much rather be in his cabin enjoying his potential mate than indulging this Ventori fool.
“I just want to speak with you, General Dulvet. I
know it’s been tried before, but we have a common enemy.” The Ventori cleared his throat, looking intensely serious as he said, “There has to be a way we can help each other defeat the Skarilians. The slaughter has gone on much too long. The Skarilians must be stopped.”
Ram had been thinking the same thing a few hours earlier. Still, he knew a setup when he saw one. “Are you alone?” It was a test of the Ventori’s sincerity, the first of many if Commander Galzar Ako honestly wanted to earn Ram’s trust.
“I have one of my officers with me.”
Ram scoffed impatiently. “I meant your ship, and you know it. How large is the attack force waiting out there should these ‘negotiations’ fail?”
“I have a total of six ships. We are no match for your fleet.”
Ram fought back a grin. This fool thought he’d seen the entire rebel fleet? This was one battlegroup among many. Was recon Galzar’s true purpose? Would the attack be planned based on the information he gathered? If Ram reinforced his misconception that the rebel fleet was a few hundred ships, it would give the Protectorate a false sense of security. This might be entertaining after all. “Come aboard. I have nothing pressing on my agenda this evening.” He only wished that were true. Oh, well, Celeste wasn’t going anywhere, and anticipation heightened the intensity.
The Ventori accepted his decision with a nod and terminated the comm-link.
“Why didn’t he lie?” Moxtel shook his head. “He thinks his ships are undetectable. Why tell us the truth?”
“Maybe he’s serious about negotiating.” Ram pushed to his feet, more than a little curious now.
“Are you serious about negotiating?” Moxtel asked, sounding a bit too hopeful.
“I wasn’t, but I admit I’m intrigued. Find out everything you can about Galzar Ako.”
“I’m on it.”
Ram made it to the doorway before he said, “Moxtel, send someone with provisions to my cabin. This might take a while.”
A knowing smile curved Moxtel’s lips as he said, “Of course, sir.”
Ram strolled through his ship, not wanting to appear too eager. Tension crackled in the air, or at least in the air around him. Galzar was most likely after detailed information, so Ram would make damn sure he saw nothing of strategic importance. The Ventori were convinced Ram was a mindless savage. This was an opportunity for him to prove them wrong. No, it was more beneficial to play into their misconceptions, to behave like the ruthless savage they already believed him to be. Fear could be just as useful as trust.
Even with his meandering, Ram was waiting in the shuttle bay by the time the Ventori put down. He’d seen Ventori shuttles before. Like the ship it came from, this one looked new and rather ordinary. A side hatch opened and stairs unfolded.
“Leave your weapons onboard,” he called out in Ventori. “You’ll be scanned as soon as you offload.”
“Understood,” Galzar called back.
Ram heard shuffling, a low, angry exchange, then, “It’s fine. Just go!” The last had been Galzar, so his companion must be the one objecting to being disarmed. Interesting.
Galzar descended first, followed by a burly Ventori with piercing eyes and a perpetual scowl. Clearly security. Ram was well-acquainted with the type. Galzar was harder to quantify. He looked around curiously as the guards scanned him, but he seemed interested rather than uneasy.
“They’re both clear, sir,” one of the guards told Ram then they both moved aside.
“This is Officer Kryit.” Galzar intentionally left the introduction vague. That was all right. The other male’s role was obvious. “Thank you for seeing me.”
Ram nodded, acknowledging the greeting. Galzar had said, ‘seeing me,’ not ‘us.’ So Galzar intended to conduct the negotiation/investigation while Kryit made sure his commander didn’t get himself killed. Unless the Ventori did something really stupid, Ram didn’t intend to kill them, just waste their time and fill their heads with misinformation.
“Why bring an attack force if your mission objective is securing an alliance?” He led them out into the corridor, hands clasped behind his back. Galzar walked at his side. Kryit remained a step behind continually searching their surroundings, as any good security officer would.
“We were unsure of our welcome, or lack thereof,” Galzar told him.
“I’m feeling particularly indulgent tonight,” Ram said with a tight smile. “Tell me a little about yourself.” This was test number two. Everything Galzar said better match what Moxtel was in the process of learning, or this might end badly after all.
Galzar shrugged. “There is not that much to tell. I’m a Ventori Defender like any other. I’m sure you know the story of the Protectorate, how we formed, and why we do what we do.”
More Ventori arrogance, presuming everyone alive knew about the Protectorate. Ram only knew the story because he researched every adversary regardless of how casual the conflict. The Protectorate, an all-male group of annoying do-gooders, rushed around the galaxy assisting victims of the Skarilian scourge. It all seemed noble on the surface, but they were coming at it from the wrong direction. Rather than protecting the victims, they needed to stop the Skarilians once and for all. Once the bastards were neutralized there would be no need for Ventori Defenders.
Ram began thinking of ways to show his unwanted guests how unimpressive he found their pomposity. “I meant you personally. How long have you commanded the Elizian? I thought that was Kellan Styre’s ship.”
Galzar tensed and shot him a sidelong glance. “You know Kellan Styre?”
Ram chuckled. Let the games begin. His spies had always been more daring and productive than Savator’s. Ram likely knew more about the Protectorate than Galzar. “I know many things.”
They’d reached the officer’s dining hall, which was as far as Ram intended to take the Ventori spies. The room was designed for leisure pursuits, so the chance of them seeing anything important was minimized. There wasn’t even an access port in here, just beverage and food replication units. A large display spread across the perimeter bulkhead. At the moment it was set on external view, so it offered a stunning view of the red planet.
Ram motioned toward one of the three round tables. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
“We’ve already eaten, but a drink would be welcome,” Galzar said as he sat with his back to the display. A wise choice if he wanted to remain focused. The display had a tendency to hypnotize.
Had he known that rejecting the offer entirely would have been considered incredibly rude, or did he just want a drink? After dispensing three stiff drinks, Ram joined the Ventori at the table. He slid their glasses within reach, and then sat facing them.
“May I ask a question?” Galzar asked as Ram took a slow sip of the rostau. The liquor went down so smoothly that intoxication snuck up on the consumer if he didn’t know what to expect. Ram frequently served it to annoying guests.
“Negotiating is difficult without doing so,” Ram pointed out.
Galzar took a daring swig of rostau before asking, “When was the last time you tried to negotiate an alliance with the Protectorate?”
“I’ve never approached the Protectorate,” Ram stressed. “I’ve been approached by them on three occasions, not counting the most recent, which was a ruse on my part.” Galzar tensed and his gaze narrowed. It might not have been wise to remind the Ventori of that meeting’s outcome, but Ram couldn’t help it. The Ventori were fun to provoke.
“Did you only negotiate with Chancellor Savator?”
Now that was an interesting question. “Why do you ask?”
“The chancellor is hotheaded and uncompromising. From what I’ve heard, they are traits you share. Pitting one aggressive leader against another might not have been the most constructive environment for negotiation.”
A reluctant smile parted Ram’s lips, and he couldn’t help wondering if he’d misjudged the Ventori. Galzar looked like a common warrior but seemed remarkably astute. “More like a cage
fight?”
Galzar nodded, then took another drink.
Ram shifted his gaze to the display behind Galzar as he accessed his telepathic link with his first officer. Moxtel, invent a reason to visit the dining hall, Ram sent the directive directly to his first officer’s mind. I want you to read Galzar.
No invention is necessary, sir. There really is a minor emergency.
Ram hadn’t expected that. How serious?
It has been contained. I’ll explain when I get there. I’m on my way.
“Is everything all right?”
Ram snapped his gaze back to his visitors. Had Galzar sensed the telepathic exchange or heard what was said? He needed to be more careful. “Nothing too serious. My first officer is on his way to update me.”
“If the timing is inconvenient, we can return at a later date.”
The offer surprised him. Galzar seemed almost eager to leave now. What had changed his mind? All he’d seen was the landing bay, a series of corridors, and this room. “Nonsense. This shouldn’t take long.”
Moxtel arrived a few moments later, looking none too pleased. “Sorry to interrupt, sir, but your other guest managed to leave your cabin and was—”
“How the hells did she—never mind.” She must have gotten the better of whoever brought her the fucking food. Served him right for feeling sorry for her. “Where is she now?”
“She has been returned to your cabin, and a guard is now stationed outside the door. I thought you might want to have a word with her. I’ll entertain these guests until you return.”
Which would give Moxtel plenty of time to read the Ventori. “I’ll be back shortly.”
“You might want to stop by medical on your way. She really did a number on the runner.”
“Excuse me, General Dulvet,” Galzar said.
With a sigh, Ram looked over his shoulder. The Ventori now stood beside his chair. “Yes?”
