I Married Amreth (Prime Mating Agency)

Chapter 16

Amreth

W e gave chase to the vessel in stealth mode. Judging by their flight pattern, they seemed to have a very specific destination in mind. I entered a few instructions in my navigation board so that the artificial intelligence would calculate their potential trajectory.

Sitting in the copilot chair, Aku suddenly muttered a string of curse words in his language. I glanced at him inquisitively.

“That map your device is showing is pointing directly to Lenph,” Aku said angrily. “It is another temple similar to Svast but located in another territory. We are close to crossing the border.”

“Is it illegal?” I asked carefully. “Are there any conflicts between your territories?”

He shook his head. “Kreelars are a peaceful people. We would all be one if the land wasn’t so vast and the distances so great. We’re all an extended family. But it would be unrealistic for every tribe to attend the same temple. The journey would be too long.”

“How many such temples do you have?” I asked Aku.

“Three in total. But those two other territories—Lenph and Durgh—have not been touched by the sickness. Only the tribes that worship at Svast Temple have been affected. The disease has not traveled beyond our territory.”

I nodded grimly. “The berries have not spread beyond your borders, yet. Let’s make sure they never do.”

I increased our speed to further close the gap with our quarry. I wanted to be able to intercept them before the Raithean could begin to release his poisoned stones in the river. The gods only knew what damage had already been done at Svast Temple.

A glance at the overlay display from the drone’s camera feed showed me the area that the enemy ship was flying in, as well as a ghostly outline of the vessel itself. From our current location, we couldn’t see through its camouflage.

I tapped a few instructions so that as soon as we were five hundred meters from them, the autopilot would kick in and maintain us at a steady distance from them. The goal was to sneak up on them as soon as they lowered their ramp. Judging by their previous actions at Svast Temple, they were fairly careless and overly confident that no one was onto them.

“What are you doing?” Aku asked when I began typing a message on a different screen.

“Sending images of the two intruders to my friend,” I replied. “We have facial recognition technology that might help them find their identities and hopefully locate any accomplices they might have or maybe even who their employer is. We need to find the source before they attempt to strike again.”

“Good. They must answer for their crimes,” Aku snarled. “We would know—”

An incoming com request interrupted him, startling us both.

“What in Tharmok’s name…?!” I whispered.

There shouldn’t be such a quick response, let alone a direct com request. There were no relays or satellites nearby. Or at least, in theory…

“What is it?” Aku asked.

“A communication request from my friend. I’m going to accept it,” I replied.

He gave me a stiff nod, his tension almost palpable.

A million thoughts fired off in my mind when Maeve’s face appeared on my screen as soon as I accepted the communication. She said she would be away on a different mission. And yet here she was, in close enough range to have a live vidcom in an area where that should not be possible.

“Maeve,” I said in greeting. “This is Aku, the leader of the tribe hosting us. Aku, this is Maeve, my friend.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Kald Aku,” Maeve replied.

“Likewise,” Aku responded in a non-committal fashion, his voice polite but cold.

“I do not mean to be curt or rude, but I cannot maintain this connection too long,” Maeve continued. “We’re analyzing the data you sent, Amreth. What’s your status?”

“We’re closing in on them. We intend to confront them as soon as they land. We believe they are headed for another temple,” I replied before glancing at the overlay of the drone’s camera feed. “In fact, I can see it in the distance. They’re almost there. We need to hurry.”

“Chase them away from Kestria, but do not give pursuit,” Maeve ordered.

“WHAT?! Absolutely not!” Aku hissed. “We’re going to catch those murderers, and they will answer to my people.”

“They must face justice!” Maeve argued. “The law—”

“To Dramsta with your laws! This is Kestria!” Aku shouted, his muscles swelling with anger. “You off-worlders caused the death of countless numbers of my people, and now you dare to dictate how the culprits will be handled?!”

Maeve raised her palms in an appeasing gesture. “We’re not trying to dictate anything or to impose our will upon your people. Despite the tragic events that took place, please rest assured that we respect your sovereignty. However, we need irrefutable proof against the people who ordered these crimes and funded this attack so that they can face justice. You cannot kill them.”

“Why shouldn’t we?” Aku challenged, his anger still audible. “Their remains will be proof enough. Unlike them, we will not use poisons that will liquify their bodies to the point they are unrecognizable.”

“She makes a valid point, Aku. Without them alive and forced to testify, it will be harder to prove their guilt,” I said in a soothing tone. “The fact that we have their bodies does not mean they came to your home world with evil intentions, or that they even came intentionally. It could be a setup to harm someone we have a conflict with.”

“You have your recording devices,” Aku countered.

“We do,” I conceded. “However, those videos can be doctored, modified to show what we want them to show. Many courts will not grant them a lot of weight when it comes to passing judgment.”

“They’re landing!” Aku said, his attention shifting to the overlaid display on the screen showing our quarry beginning its descent. “Go faster!”

Unlike Svast Temple, there was no need to walk a narrow path to the river that led to the entrance. A large clearing framed each side of the river, which led to the rocky formation that this temple had been carved into. A few trees, placed at equidistant intervals, adorned the edges of the shore, their long branches almost forming an arch over the river.

“I’m sorry, Maeve. We must go,” I said apologetically.

“Please, Amreth! Do not kill them! They’re vital to this case!” Maeve pleaded.

“Noted. Goodbye,” I replied in a non-committal fashion.

She pinched her lips in resignation and gave me a stiff nod. I terminated the communication and sped towards the temple. I cursed myself inwardly for not having pushed harder earlier. Despite the long journey we had traveled, I stupidly thought we would have had a bit more time and therefore reined in our speed to reduce the chances of being discovered.

To my surprise, although their ship landed, they didn’t lower the ramp right away. In fact, nothing seemed to happen in the five minutes it took for us to catch up at high speed. I slowed the ship down and landed two hundred meters away from them. Still, they remained inside with no sign of coming out.

Another incoming message nearly had me jumping out of my skin. Tharmok’s blood! When did I become so nervous? To my surprise, it was an analog signal from Ciara. My initial relief quickly gave way to worry that something might have gone awry.

“Ciara?” I said in lieu of greeting as soon as the communication was established. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes. We took care of everything at the temple,” she replied. “If you find more stones, do not touch them. Just send the coordinates, and we will come handle it.”

“They are at another temple, right now. But for some reason, they are not coming out of their vessel. Our systems do not indicate that they have detected us, but I’m beginning to wonder,” I replied, hating that I could not see her face.

“I’m not surprised,” Ciara replied immediately with confidence, taking me aback. “Raitheans need time to create more of those stones. Considering the quantity that we retrieved from the river, and depending on how skilled he is, it should take him about an hour to create a similar amount with a comparable thickness of fibrous shell. That means at least another fifteen to twenty minutes.”

Relief flooded through me. “That’s excellent news.”

“Is Svast Temple safe?” Aku interjected.

“So far, we have every reason to believe that it didn’t sustain any damage. The initial tests indicate that the water is safe, but we are going to continue running more in-depth scans,” Ciara responded.

“Perfect. We’re going to try to prevent them from putting anything in the water. I will message you once things are handled here,” I replied.

“Understood. Be safe,” Ciara said.

As soon as the communication ended, I turned to look at Aku.

“We can’t kill them, my friend,” I said in a gentle tone.

His face immediately hardened. I could deal with his anger, but the glimmer of betrayal in his eyes cut me deeply.

“I am not letting them escape and then just hope that some off-worlder will catch them and make them answer for their crimes,” he snarled. “You above all others, as a Warden of the principal prison of your alliance, should understand that local laws should be enforced when a crime has been committed against the people.”

“I do, my friend. Believe me, I do. But these two males are mere grunts in the greater scheme of things,” I said in a reasonable tone. “If you choose to torture or kill them, whatever my personal feelings on the matter, I cannot interfere. This is your planet and therefore your rules.”

“Exactly. And our rules say they will stand before the Kalds to face our wrath,” Aku snapped.

I sighed, my mind racing to find an argument that might sway him. It was an odd predicament to find myself in. As a Warden, and even during my compulsory service as a Peacekeeper as part of my training, I never had to juggle this type of diplomatic conflict. As I’d only ever interacted with member planets of the UPO, we had a set of laws that applied to all, which also took into account their individual planetary laws.

“You have incredible power right now. Dead people don’t talk. From them, we can gather enough proof to lead to the masterminds. If they’ve done this to your people, chances are they have done the same or maybe even worse to others. The powerful people your friend alluded to must be stopped. These two could help us achieve that.”

He stared at me for a long time without a word. For a brief instant, I hoped I might have gotten through to him, but his face hardened again.

“They will talk,” he replied.

I opened my mouth to argue again, but the look in his eyes clearly told me to let it go. Heaving another sigh, I rose to my feet. The suspicion that instantly sparked in his eyes stung again. As much as I understood his anger, I hated how this situation had sufficed to severely undermine the friendship and trust that we had gradually built since our arrival.

“I’m going to place EMP charges on their ship,” I said in response to his unspoken question. “They are devices that will release a powerful electric discharge that will destroy their engine and navigation systems,” I explained. “Should they attempt to flee, I can remotely activate it and make sure they cannot escape.”

Aku immediately relaxed, suspicion giving way to a mix of approval and gratitude. There was no question in my mind that he intended to beat them into a pulp. Frankly, in his stead, I would want to do the same. I only hoped I could talk him down if and when we got to that part.

The main question for me was who and how many ships lurked nearby in orbit. I couldn’t tell for sure that Maeve was among them. In fact, I suspected that she had been honest by claiming to be on another mission elsewhere. But the clarity of our vidcom implied that the UPO had likely snuck in a satellite, a relay, or one of those communication ships that acted as a satellite. I was heavily leaning towards the latter option as it would avoid suspicion since such vessels were camouflaged to look inconspicuous if detected.

I only knew of their existence because of my high security clearance as a Warden, since such vessels had previously been used during raids to apprehend some of the inmates that landed in my Sector.

The UPO couldn’t have a small fleet up there. Even if they managed to do so undetected, once they decloaked to catch the assassins—assuming they managed to flee from us—it would create a different issue within the justice system if they raided the Dead Zone without a warrant. One or two vessels were far more likely. But it also meant that the assassins would have an easier time of escaping. The EMPs would make certain they didn’t.

I retrieved the EMP devices from the armory as well as a pair of blasters, one of which I extended to Aku. He lifted his nose at it before glancing at me as if I’d done something offensive. Nodding in concession, I put the weapon back in its place and offered him a bracer.

“It has an energy shield that you activate like this,” I said, demonstrating it by activating the one on my own bracer.

“That won’t be necessary,” Aku said.

This time, I glared at him with annoyance. “If things turn ugly with those two males, they will fire their weapons at you. Blaster shots are nasty and will kill you. It’s fine if you don’t want to use a Blaster as they do require some training, but there’s no reason for you not to use a shield. I have no intention of returning to your village without you walking on your own two feet.”

“Careful, Obosian. You’re starting to sound like you care,” he replied in a taunting tone. “But I will be fine. Let’s not dally. Based on your mate’s estimate, they will come out any minute now.”

“At least, use the personal stealth shield feature of the bracer,” I insisted with preemptive exasperation, waiting for him to turn me down again.

To my surprise, he pursed his lips before giving me a nod. “The invisibility feature could be useful. I consent to that one.”

I gaped at him, my mouth closing with an audible sound when he raised a mocking eyebrow at me. After showing him how to turn it on and off, we quickly discussed our strategy, then exited the ship.

I double checked that his stealth shield was properly activated before we stepped outside of the camouflage radius around our vessel. The look on his face was almost feral. Despite the multiple days spent among his people, Aku had done a great job of keeping us mostly in the dark about them. I didn’t know how they chose who would be their Kald, but I suspected that it included not only leadership and diplomacy, but also being the apex alpha. And right now, his face loudly expressed that a savage and ruthless predator lurked within him.

I gestured for him to stand back as I quickly approached the ship. Heart pounding, I snuck up to the back of the vessel, crouching as low as I could to place the EMP charge as close as possible to the engine, but also at an angle that would be difficult to visually notice without having your attention deliberately brought to it.

I was just about to circle to the other side to place the second magnet when the whiny sound of the ramp lowering startled me. My head jerked towards Aku. Through his stealth shield, he appeared to me like a ghostly silhouette. But it hid nothing of the savage expression that descended over his features as he took a defensive stance, ready to lunge forward. I gestured for him not to move just yet. His eyes flicked towards me for a brief second before refocusing on the two males exiting the Nazhral vessel.

Aku removed his blowpipe from his belt while I stealthily approached him. My eyes widened as he extruded a set of vicious claws I didn’t realize he possessed. Not even during the hunt against the Murthis had he extended them that much. I knew the Kreelars could extrude their claws a little, which they regularly did to help them more easily climb on trees. But this was something else. It sent a cold shiver down my spine as I realized this could be yet another sign he wouldn’t let them live.

“This planet is truly beautiful,” the Raithean said as he walked down the ramp in that strange fashion his people did whenever they twisted their tentacles into makeshift legs. “It’s quite a shame to poison it and its people. There’s no pleasure in killing the innocent ones.”

“Who cares?” the man said with a mix of annoyance and contempt. “Don’t be a fucking pussy. They’re just a bunch of talking monkeys. We don’t even have to get our hands dirty to get rid of them. This is the easiest pile of credits I will have made in a long time.”

“It’s not about the credits,” the Raithean grumbled as he stopped walking a few steps after getting off the ramp. “Some things are more important than that.”

“Nothing is more important than that, you dumb fuck. Since when have you gotten so damn sentimental?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sentimental. I will not lose any sleep over them. I just take no pleasure fucking over someone who hasn’t done me wrong. There’s no honor in poisoning people who aren’t bothering anyone.”

“Dude, spare me the repentant scoundrel act. Just go poop your shit out so that we can get the fuck out of here. There are a few fine bitches on Galathea Space Station that will be bouncing on my cock with all those credits we’re making. So get to pooping already!”

“I do not defecate in the water. Creating Puricis takes time, and they must last forty-eight hours before they unravel,” the Raithean said with a look of contempt for his companion. “Their people are still traveling here.”

“I don’t give two shits about any of that. Just get it done!”

“You will care when you do not receive your credits because of a botched job, you stupid human! If the poison releases too early, the flora, fauna, and fish nearby will all be dead by the time their people arrive. They will know something happened. What do you think Marilia will do to us once the Enforcers are alerted?”

My heart leapt upon hearing that name. Was he referring to Marilia Hesper, the CEO of Typhoon Pharma, the biggest intergalactic pharmaceutical conglomerate? That name was too unique to be a coincidence.

The human muttered something inaudible under his breath, the threat apparently convincing him to back off.

“I’m almost done,” the Raithean finally said reluctantly. “Give me five more minutes.”

“I don’t think so!” Aku hissed as he dropped his stealth shield.

I groaned inwardly that he gave us away so soon. The Raithean could have made a few more revelations that would help us round up all the people involved in this mess.

Both assassins gasped as they abruptly pivoted to their right to face us. The human instinctively reached for his blaster while the Raithean raised the two remaining tentacles that he hadn’t wrapped into his makeshift legs. Before either of them could fire, Aku shot a dart at the human with his blowpipe. It found its mark into the man’s neck. The human’s left hand flew to the point of entry even as he tried to fire. The shot went wide, and he stumbled back, the strength of the paralytic on it working at an insane speed on him.

Barely sparing him any attention as he collapsed, his eyes becoming glassy, I darted forward as I activated my energy shield to parry the volley of poisoned darts the Raithean launched towards Aku from the suction cups of his tentacles. They crashed against my shield, making it sparkle. My hands tingled as I invoked my Lumiak and blasted it at the Raithean. He dodged to the left into a roll, before getting back onto his now unfurled tentacles.

This time, he raised four tentacles to shoot a second flurry of darts while slithering in an erratic pattern towards the ramp to make himself harder to target. But I cut him off, flying in his path while blasting more Lumiak at him. Aku was also already on the move. He ran towards the Raithean, jumping at an impossible height to avoid the projectiles.

The Raithean activated his own energy shield, blocking my lightning, but leaving himself open to Aku’s dart. He shouted in anger when he felt its sting as it embedded itself in his hip. Realizing he would never make it back onto his ship, and that he couldn’t face off against the two of us on his own, he made a dash for the river. He kept his shield raised in front of him while slithering backwards at an astounding speed and firing his own darts at us.

I felt the psionic energy emanating from Aku half a beat before the Raithean faltered. He blinked multiple times and shook his head like someone trying to recover from a brutal slap. I flew towards him, unimpeded, as he was focusing his attacks on my companion, who was still not using a shield. It was a foolish endeavor as the Kreelar was moving much too fast, jumping and leaping out of harm’s way at dizzying speed while shooting his blowpipe almost like an automatic weapon.

Many—if not all—of Aku’s darts hit their target. And yet, the Raithean didn’t instantly go numb or paralyzed like the human had. It struck me then that he was likely coating each dart with his fibrous membrane before the venom could negatively impact him.

But can he truly neutralize them this fast?

That was a question for another time. Despite Aku’s psychically disrupting his mind, the Raithean managed to slither all the way to the edge of the shore. I swooped in, hoping to catch him before he got into the water, which would make it extremely difficult to tackle him. To my shock, Aku leapt onto a tree by the shore, right above our prey. He swung around the branch, throwing his tail like a lasso, and latching on to one of the Raithean’s tentacles just as he was diving into the water.

Like a gymnast spinning around a horizontal bar, Aku rotated back towards the clearing, yanking the Raithean back with him. He flung him onto the ground with brutal force. Stunned, he attempted to get back onto his tentacles and raise his shield to deflect any attacks from us, but he wasn’t fast enough. My Lumiak struck him straight in the chest. His body seized, and he flopped back onto the ground, shaken by spasms. Fighting the urge to zap him once more with even greater intensity, I whipped out my blaster instead and shot him at the highest stun setting. His body jerked once more before going limp.

Aku landed on his feet and ran the short distance to his fallen prey. The murderous look in his eyes sent another chill down my spine.

“He’s unconscious for now,” I said preemptively while crouching next to the Raithean. “It will last about ten minutes. I’m going to put the control collar on both him and the human. It will keep them from trying to escape or otherwise attempt to attack us. In his case, it will also prevent him from producing his poison darts.”

Aku didn’t answer. He just stood there, observing me, claws fully extended, and his fingers twitching as if he was fighting the urge to tear the unconscious male to shreds. I removed the collar from my belt and quickly set it around the Raithean’s neck before configurating it for his specific species. It would send distinctive neuronal signals inhibiting certain functions.

I moved to the human who was still very much conscious and aware, merely paralyzed. He could still speak and think rationally, but his limbs were too heavy to move. Even his speech was slightly slurred as he began to shower me with insults when I closed the collar around his neck.

“Let’s bring them back inside their ship,” I said, unnerved by the cold—not to say sadistic—intensity with which Aku was still staring at the unconscious male.

I picked up the human and carried him in my arms back up the ramp. I had mixed feelings about Aku grabbing the Raithean by the wrist of his right arm and dragging him behind him like dead weight. By galactic standards, it would be deemed an abusive and illegal mistreatment of a prisoner. I itched to request that he carry him in a more compassionate fashion but held my tongue. This minor roughness was better than a summary execution.

We took them to the bridge and sat them in the chairs near the science and tactical stations. After shackling them to their seats, I turned to the navigation board and attempted to hail Maeve. To my shock, she once again answered almost immediately. Whatever doubt I still held about them either having a communication vessel or temporary satellite in orbit vanished.

“Are they alive?” she immediately asked.

“For now,” Aku replied in a cold voice.

Maeve pinched her lips but didn’t argue. “Give me access to their computer. I will show you how.”

I followed her simple instructions, and within seconds, the entire navigation board lit up.

“Thank you,” Maeve said, her voice tense as she glanced towards my companion who was still towering over the prisoners. She returned her attention to me, her eyes doing all the speaking. “I’m counting on you, Amreth.”

I nodded, understanding her unspoken request. It was a tall order, but one I hoped to manage.

“The Raithean mentioned something about a Marilia. I suspect it might be Marilia Hesper. You may want to look into her.”

The enigmatic smile she gave me, laced with a hint of triumph in her dark brown eyes hinted that she was already onto her.

“Noted,” she replied in a noncommittal fashion. “Maeve out.”

Although she ended the communication, I knew the Enforcers’ top hacker was currently scrubbing every single piece of data from the ship including their communications logs. Anything that could be gathered wouldn’t escape her.

As soon as I joined Aku by the prisoners, he turned his attention to the human, who was conscious and furious. Judging by the general stillness of his body, the paralytic still affected him.

“Who sent you?” Aku demanded, having apparently waited for me to be done before beginning the interrogation.

“I want a lawyer,” the human said with arrogance.

“You’re on Kestria, you smarva ! Here, you do not get a lawyer. This is my world, and you will follow my rules.”

“I don’t care about your rules, you stupid monkey. I’m not talking without a lawyer,” he spat, lifting his chin defiantly.

The fool didn’t seem to realize how precarious a situation he was in. He foolishly believed my presence provided him with some kind of protection. On any other world, that would have been true, but not here.

Aku tilted his head to the side, and a menacing grin stretched his lips.

“You know, we recovered the little rocks your friend dropped in the sacred waters of Svast Temple earlier,” he said in a sickly-sweet voice. “As we Kreelars believe in treating others as they treat us, I’m feeling rather inclined to give you a bath with them. Our friend Ciara mentioned something about warm water speeding up the experience. Tell me human, what would you prefer? A hot bath or a friendly conversation?”

With each of his words, the human grew a little paler. He had the tanned skin of someone used to working outdoors. He appeared to be in his early to mid-forties, with greasy black hair to his shoulders, a two-day beard, beady blue eyes, and a crooked nose that indicated it had been broken at least once or twice. Tall and lanky, he struck me as the type who promptly tried to resolve issues with a blaster, but who would run from hand-to-hand combat.

“Torture is illegal,” he hissed, trying to sound brave despite the fear seeping into his voice as he turned his attention to me. “Tell him!”

“I have nothing to tell him,” I replied nonchalantly with a shrug. “You’ve heard him. This is his planet. Therefore, we observe his rules.”

“But you’re an Obosian! You are sworn to uphold the laws!” the man exclaimed, his panic steadily growing.

“Exactly. And his people make the local laws. I will abide by them. If the Kreelars authorize torture, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“You’re bluffing!” he shouted, clinging to denial. “This planet is a member of the UPO. We perform trades with the Sangoths!”

“This planet is not a member of the UPO,” I corrected. “The Sangoths have a limited agreement with them, but it does not extend to any other species here. This is the Dead Zone. The United Planets Organization has no jurisdiction here, nor do the Enforcers or the Peacekeepers. So, unless you want to see your guts turn into mush, I suggest you start speaking. Because I assure you that Aku will be more than happy to give you a taste of what you had in store for his people.”

This time, the seriousness of his situation finally sank in. He licked his lips nervously, his wheels spinning as he attempted to come up with a reply. He glanced at his companion bound next to him only to find him still unconscious. The Raithean would be awakening any minute now, not that he would be of any assistance to him.

“I don’t know anything,” the human said at last. “I’m just a hired hand. This was one of many contracts. My job was to fly him around so that he could drop his shit in three temples and in the wells if needed.”

“Why?” Aku snarled. “Why would you do this to us?”

The human shrugged, his movement barely noticeable due to the lingering paralysis. “It’s pretty damn obvious. They told us to exterminate the monkeys and scientists.”

A blinding fury swelled within me, not only because of the continued disrespect towards the Kreelars, but also the callousness with which he expressed his intention of murdering an entire species alongside with my mate and her colleagues.

“You would do well to watch your tone, human,” I hissed. “You’re in no position to talk down to people that are far better than you ever will be. Now answer the blasted question. Why were you sent to kill them?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t give a shit. They were offering a nice chunk of change, and I just wanted to get paid. Why, and who gets hurt in the process is not my fucking problem,” the man replied belligerently.

“You lie!” Aku ground through his teeth.

He was right. A quick glimpse at the man’s aura confirmed his deception, and also something else. Treachery came to mind.

What is he up to?

A powerful wave of psionic energy startled me. Not even a second later, the human screamed, and blood started trickling out of his nose. Teeth bared, and a vicious expression on his face, Aku was staring at the man with a hatred that sent a chill down my spine. It took every ounce of my willpower not to intervene. I didn’t believe in torture. But then, as an advanced species, I enjoyed many benefits from technology that helped loosen certain reluctant tongues. I wanted to believe that my companion wouldn’t push things to a point where I would have no choice but to step in.

As much as I believed in respecting the laws of his people, I could not sit back and watch a murder being committed, no matter how much the victim might have deserved it.

The wave of psionic energy ended just as abruptly as it began. The man’s head dropped to his chest, his shrieks fading into pained whimpers as he breathed heavily.

“Speak or I will make you wish you could die,” Aku said in a menacing voice. “Your people brought death and suffering to mine with a sickness that nearly wiped us out. And now, you threaten us with extermination. You will tell me why.”

“I don’t know anything! I swear!” the man pleaded.

Aku didn’t insist and simply gave him another generous serving of psionic strikes. My stomach roiled, every fiber of my being screaming for me to stop him. This wasn’t the way to do it. It troubled me all the more that, although his voice screamed sincerity as far as him not knowing anything, the human’s aura continued to say that he was being deceptive about something.

When blood began to trickle from the man’s ear, I placed a hand on Aku’s shoulder in an appeasing fashion. I didn’t say a word. He gave me a sideways glance, our eyes locking for a moment. He clearly wanted to tell me in a less-than-friendly way to back off. To my pleasant surprise—and utter relief—he relented and stopped his attack.

The man wheezed and cried, all his previous arrogant bravado gone.

“He doesn’t know anything,” the Raithean suddenly said, startling us both.

His head was still bowed, giving us the impression that he remained unconscious. The shorter and narrower tentacles dangling from his head, and which acted as hair, hid his face, reinforcing the illusion he was still passed out. He lifted it, the nictating membrane of his double eyelids blinking as he looked at us with a slightly groggy expression.

“Bruce is just a grunt. He’s too stupid for people to confide anything in him beyond the specifics of his tasks,” the Raithean said in a tired voice.

“But you know what’s going on,” I retorted.

“I know some of what is going on, but not all,” he corrected before shifting his attention to Aku. “I don’t know anything about the sickness that the scientists are trying to cure. But the continued existence of your people has become too great of a threat now that you have found a way to travel off-world. Our employer cannot risk you exposing them.”

“Shut up, Nylar!” Bruce hissed.

“No, you shut up, stupid human,” Nylar replied, as he gave him a disgusted sideways glance. “We’re not getting rescued. But you’re too dumb to see it.”

“You don’t know that!” Bruce countered.

“Look at the monitor,” Nylar said, gesturing with his chin at the overlay screen above the navigation board. “The artificial intelligence is currently transferring all our data. They have someone skilled enough to remotely take control of our ship. By now, they’ve already seen and handled our pre-programmed emergency rescue call. We’re screwed. So, we might as well come clean.”

“We have indeed taken control of your ship’s computer,” I confirmed, while narrowing my eyes suspiciously at him. “But why are you suddenly so cooperative?”

“Because either we die here today, have an accident on our way back, or meet just as dreadful of fate on Molvi. Any way you cut it, we’re fucked. Typhoon Pharma will not want us to speak. So I’d rather do it now for a chance at increased protection from the Enforcers. For sure, they have some of their people out there. There’s no way you would have detected us this quickly, or managed to hack our ships in a Dead Zone the way you currently are.”

I nodded in concession, my heart soaring upon hearing this confirmation about Typhoon Pharma’s involvement. That his aura also didn’t show any deception further thrilled me.

“I knew I shouldn’t have messed with such a pretty world, and especially not places of worship,” Nylar added with self-derision.

“And yet you did,” Aku said harshly. “Why?”

“I had to. It’s my job. For the record, I don’t know all the secrets, but only that if what happened here gets exposed, it will raise too many questions that will have people look far too closely into Typhoon Pharma,” the Raithean replied nonchalantly. “The problem heavily centers around Noah Montel, the CEO’s son from a previous relationship.”

“Noah! I know that name,” Aku exclaimed. “That was the name of the human that Sora bit.”

Nylar snorted. “Obviously. That bastard constantly gets in trouble. Most of my career has been spent burying his shit. After the last big tragedy he caused, I thought he was done for. But Elias Jacobs agreed to take him on his team when no one else would.”

“Why did Jacobs do that?” I asked. “And why would no one else take Noah?”

“Credits, of course,” Nylar replied in a factual manner. “Jacobs was failing at securing new funding for his research. Noah wants to play field doctor but cannot follow rules and quickly gets bored. In this specific instance, the project wasn’t turning out to be lucrative enough.”

I frowned, my confusion reflected on Aku’s face.

“What do you mean by not lucrative enough?” I asked.

“The research on the Sangoths was always a huge gamble that no one truly believed in. But it was just a facade. Typhoon always suspected that it wouldn’t pan out. But it gave them a legal excuse to be on Kestria, despite the Prime Directive. There’s a reason why Typhoon tries to get involved in projects on primitive planets. It allows them to always stay ahead of everyone else when it comes to major discoveries. They send people like Noah as scouts to explore forbidden areas of the planet to seek new medicine, plants, or resources to exploit.”

“But why attack my people?” Aku challenged. “Surely, your Typhoon doesn’t go around exterminating the local population of every planet they try to exploit.”

“We don’t, but your case was unique in that Noah’s action made your people sick,” Nylar explained. “There had been many complaints lodged against him over the years for previous infractions and violations of safety and medical protocols. Had Jacobs reported what happened, Noah would have lost his license. Beyond the fact that his mother was always overly protective of him, she couldn’t lose the effective agent at exploiting primitive worlds that Noah proved to be.”

“I get that. But this all went down more than a decade ago. Our current research indicates that the source of the new disease is caused by an invasive species of berries,” I countered. “If that ever came out, Jacobs could argue that there’s no proof that his team brought them to Kestria. Various people come to work with the Sangoths under strict permissions. One of them could be responsible.”

“Which would have applied if not for SS12,” Nylar countered. “That changed everything for both good and bad.”

“How so?” Aku asked.

“Without the serum, everyone would have just moved on once your people were cured. But the serum stirred a lot of questions about the source. The work missions with the Sangoths were also a problem. Sooner or later, one of the seasonal workers would eventually discover the Kreelars, which would expose that incident. But the years passed and nothing happened, so we figured all was good. And then the messages began.”

“What messages?” I asked.

“Our demands that Elias fix what his team did to us,” Aku replied in his stead.

“Except Elias is no longer the weak and nearly broke researcher that he was back then,” Nylar said. “SS12 has made him insanely rich and influential. While Typhoon was able to silence him at the time, they no longer have as huge of a hold on him. He started messaging Marilia, Typhoon’s CEO, saying they were long overdue to come clean about the incident. Naturally, she did not agree with that. She charged me to make it very clear that he was to remain quiet about the matter and let her handle it.”

“Are you saying that Jacobs isn’t involved in any of this assassination plot?” I insisted.

He nodded. “Jacobs is an obnoxious ass, but he never wanted to keep any of this secret. Marilia forced him to in order to protect her own interests.”

“So what else were you going to do beyond poisoning our temples?” Aku asked.

“Nothing,” Nylar responded. “We were going to let my Puricis do its work. In one week’s time, we were expected to come back for a second dose if needed.”

“But why? We sent out those messages many months ago,” Aku insisted. “The attack on your ship was more than two weeks ago. Why come now?”

“Because we received confirmation that you had scientists here treating you. I immediately suspected that it was a trap and told Marilia as much. But she insisted that we come and wipe everyone out.”

“What made you think it was a trap?” I asked, baffled.

“Because the Enforcers never leak anything unless they want that information out there. And every single time, it’s a trap for the idiots and gullible,” Nylar said with a dejected expression.

And that much was true. I remembered all too well how they ‘encouraged’ me to leak similar information about pirate raids involving the Levendoc Corporation after Gaelec completed his sentence on Molvi.

“And yet, you came,” Aku challenged.

The Raithean snorted and smiled with resignation. “Like Elias, I didn’t have much of a choice. I’ve been working for Marilia for far too long. Once you get in too deep, there’s no turning back until you are set free—which rarely ever happens—or death claims you.”

“You are resigned to this death now that you have been captured, but you wouldn’t have risked it to avoid wiping out an entire species that, of your own admission, is innocent?” Aku snarled.

To my surprise, Nylar didn’t respond right away and took a moment to reflect on his answer.

“Truth be told, you were not people to me… not really. You were merely targets… a task. I don’t like hurting anyone who hasn’t done me wrong, but that has never stopped me from doing it, if it was my job. Compassion and empathy have no place in my line of work. Just know that it was not personal,” he replied in a factual manner.

Far from appeasing him, the Raithean’s words further incensed Aku, who bared his teeth at him.

Nylar lifted his chin defiantly. “You wanted the truth, you got it. I never claimed it would be pretty.”

“I should kill you,” Aku replied, his voice dangerously soft and low. “I should bring you to the people so that they can give both of you a slow and excruciating death. But even that would be too kind.”

My heart leapt with hope upon hearing his words, especially when he turned to look at me.

“I hear Molvi is a terrible place to serve on,” Aku said.

I smiled. “It certainly is.”

“It all depends on which Quadrant you serve in,” Nylar said in a nonchalant fashion. “I’ve already been on Molvi and came out unscathed, as you can see.”

“You never served in Dakon’s playground,” I retorted in an icy tone. “No one survives their sentences there. And I can assure you, it is exactly where you both will land for your crimes.”

The Raithean had the decency to look unnerved upon hearing those words. I doubted he believed he would survive a second sentence on Molvi, but he likely never expected it might take place in the worst Sector on the entire planet. Dakon didn’t divide his Sector into Quadrants. All the inmates shared the same space. Therefore, he only accepted the cruelest, most ruthless, and unredeemable criminals. Few people lasted more than a few weeks, some not even a couple of days.

“That sounds like a fitting punishment,” Aku said. “May you think of us every day of your stay there.”

The beep of an incoming communication had all of us jerking our heads towards the navigation board. Even as I went to accept it, my gut told me what had transpired. Unsurprisingly, Maeve appeared on screen again.

“Let me guess, you’ve heard everything?” I asked.

She smiled in a non-committal fashion before shifting her gaze towards my companion.

“With your permission, Aku, we can take over from here. I have full control of the ship. As you would likely prefer not to have any additional off-worlders invade your space, I can remotely get this ship off your planet and take these prisoners into our custody to face justice.”

He stared at her in silence for a moment before giving me an inquisitive look. That struck me hard, but in the most wondrous way. The amount of trust he was putting in me meant a great deal to me. Once again, my chest constricted at the thought that very soon, we would part ways and likely never meet again. I could have seen us forming as close a friendship as the one I shared with Kronos.

“I trust her with my life and vouch without hesitation that she will see to it that they do not escape justice,” I replied firmly.

He nodded then looked back at Maeve. “In that case, they are yours.”

“Thank you, Aku. On my honor, I promise that we will bring to justice everyone that was involved in the tragedy that befell your people. Know that your cooperation today will help us save countless other lives as well as avenge even more people wronged by Typhoon,” Maeve said fervently. “With your permission, we will contact you in the future to keep you apprised of the developments.”

“I would appreciate it,” Aku said begrudgingly.

Maeve turned to me, the glimmer of gratitude mixed with an unmistakable spark of triumph almost made me smile. She didn’t need to speak for me to know she was congratulating me for a mission accomplished. In that instant, I realized that my initial suspicion that I was being recruited as a free agent had been accurate. The Enforcers hoped all along that things would lead to this outcome. My gut further told me that they always suspected Typhoon Pharma but simply lacked the evidence or enough probable cause to get the necessary warrants for a full-fledged investigation.

“Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Let us know if you require anything to help you resolve the situation for the Kreelars. With this arrest, the UPO is now officially able to get involved and provide any support needed.”

“That’s very kind,” I replied politely, keenly aware of how her words made Aku tense. “We will discuss the matter with the scientists and the Kreelar Kalds so that they can make the decision if they wish for more external assistance.”

She smiled again and nodded in concession. This time, I realized that she had not only expected such a response from me, but she had also done it in a teasing way to remind me how she claimed I had better diplomatic skills than I gave myself credit for.

I returned her smile. “Be aware that I placed an EMP detonator near their engine. I can remove it on our way out.”

She snorted and shook her head. “Thanks for the heads up, but don’t worry about it. We will handle it once we’ve recovered the vessel.”

We exchanged our last farewells.

“Let’s go home,” I said to Aku when the communication cut off.

The gentle smile he gave me moved me to the core. “Lead the way, Brother.”

Ignoring Bruce’s pleading voice, we walked out of the ship under the resigned gaze of the Raithean. By the time we settled back inside my vessel, Maeve was already remotely getting the Nazhral ship airborne. It took off seconds before we did.

“Will the other Kalds be angry that you released the assassins?” I asked carefully as we flew back home.

“At first, some will be. But all will align with my decision,” Aku said with confidence. “What happened to us cannot be allowed to happen to others. And above all, the leader must answer for the action that they led others to commit. It would be unconscionable to allow those two assassins to take the entire fall, only to be replaced later by others directed by the same foul hand. I want this Marilia and Noah to see their entire world crumble the same way we watched ours slowly die for years.”

“And we will make sure they do,” I pledged.

“I know you will.”

We completed the journey in an amiable atmosphere during which he pointed out a few landmarks of his world, weaving in some of the folklore related to them. As we approached the village, he pointed to a large open area where I could land the ship.

“It’s a bit of a walk for you. I could drop you off a little closer over here,” I said, pointing at another space sufficiently large to land.

He shook his head. “It’s not that much longer to walk. And you can leave your ship there. There is no need for you to leave it elsewhere and fly back.”

My brow shot up. “Are you certain?”

He nodded. “Thank you for what you did today. Without your warning, we never would have known, and all of us would have died. Our friends told us you would bring our enemies to justice. But you have exceeded every hope we laid at your feet. Know that all four of you have earned your place among my people.”

“You honor us, Aku,” I said, my throat tightening as I smiled in gratitude. I still didn’t know much about their society and people, but I knew enough to realize this was not simply a polite gesture, but a rare gift.

“Let’s go home, Brother.”