Deus
I didn’t mean to think of Dylia. I didn’t mean to bring her into my current existence. I already know she would be disappointed in me. Not just because of the Ulep, but because of the way I’m treating the tiny, delicate female.
She would scold me. She would threaten to envenomate me.
Not for the first time.
And she would be right, of course.
Females are always right.
I make my way through the overgrown path in the vegetation, away from the dwelling, and up to the comm center where I can plot what I need to do next in order to get what I need.
The Sarkarnii seem relatively settled, and what I will need to do is unsettle them, create some conflict, bring some warriors over to my cause. I’ll likely start with Dante’s. The nevver has always been lax with their discipline.
A light blinks on my comm console as I slide into my seat. It means someone has been attempting to get into my sector and failed. I pull up the feed I have from the entrance. It’s Darax, naturally.
My fingers flick over to comm him. It chimes until finally there is an answer.
“Deus, what have you done with the female?” he fires at me.
“Is she precious to you?” I snarl back.
“She is precious to my mate. That’s all you need to know,” he responds.
“If you hurt her…” A female voice booms down the comm. “I won’t be responsible for what happens to you.”
“Are you getting your mate to fight your battles now?” I snarl at Darax.
“I don’t need to. She will kill you without my assistance if you harm her friend,” Darax replies. “My mate can fight her own battles, should she so choose.”
“The female is unharmed,” I respond. “And she will remain so as long as you accede to my demands.”
“You are hardly in a position to demand anything,” Darax says, but I hear the female voice in the background.
“I believe I am. I want a ship, I want warriors. I have a new life waiting for those who want it.”
“You’re a nevver, Deus. We have females, we have jewels, we have shelter, food, and respect in this galaxy. My warriors are not going anywhere.”
“You have my demands.” I terminate the comm, imagining my brother seething on the other end.
Darax always thought he was above all other Sarkarnii, especially me, given he rose further and faster than I did within the fleet.
But it was never about power and glory for me. It was about exploration, obtaining anything which would help my fellow Sarkarnii. To forge a way forward.
I extend my claws on the console. The huge appendages dig into the metal, leaving gouges where there are already old gouges from a long time ago.
A time I don’t remember, or at least not so well. There was a fog which filled my head, a loss so great my brain couldn’t cope with it.
I shut down. Whatever happened in the intervening time was only half of my conscious doing. The rest was not me. The rest was some other Sarkarnii warrior.
I do not know who I am anymore.
The red light of the comm continues to blink at me. I stare at it. The on off on off is soothing somehow. It causes my mind to slow, to be in a moment which isn’t anything but a moment. On off. On off. Red not red. Red not red.
By the time I blink, the suns have set, and there is an all-encompassing darkness. I stand up with the realization I’ve left the unnamed female for too long.
She wanted to escape. She will have escaped.
The growl flows behind me as I stride out of the comm center, lifting my head to scent the air, to catch any vestige of her as she flees me.
She will not escape.
She belongs to me.
But there is nothing other than the creatures who dwell within this place and the vegetation releasing their nighttime scents.
Could she have outwitted me? Perhaps she knows this place and has lied to me about being so small and weak. Perhaps these humans are more warrior than Sarkarnii?
I reach the dwelling, scanning it for signs of an exit or escape. Around it, the lights glow, casting gentle shadows among the plants, some of which move in a non-existent breeze. Through the window, I see her, lying on the cushioning, her eyes closed again.
She didn’t escape.
She stayed.