Chapter 35
Vytln
Two team meetings within two tendays was a lot for them. At least these days. They used to have meetings daily back on Rik-Vane to make sure their plans were working well. Things had calmed down a lot since they escaped and were earning their credz honestly and, mostly, safely.
But they had a lot of planning to do now, so it was necessary.
The current job they were on their way to was a pretty standard one for them.
They were transporting weapons for a private army.
A lot of delivery companies wouldn’t transport weapons en masse like that, especially not explosive ones.
But the job paid very well, and they were paying extra for expedited delivery, so off they went.
And while they were en route to pick up the cargo, they were gathering so they could go over everything. And it was a lot more than Vytln expected.
He sat with Haven, his arm around her shoulders as she curled into his side. Tanin and Alred stood at the front. Garnet was there as well, sitting on top of the cleaning robot she’d named Spot. And they all started breaking down everything.
And they started with his brother.
“This is Kldyn y Ntlm,” Tanin started, a holo recreation of Vytln’s brother appearing in the air.
His expression was mostly blank, but even the holo couldn’t be free of the small smirk that was tucked into the corner of his mouth.
“He’s Vytln’s former brother, current head of the Ntlm family.
They are a criminal family on Nct’nl. Their credz are mainly gained through smuggling.
Drugs and weapons, of course, but they mainly specialize in transporting resources that are carefully controlled across their own planet.
Things we wouldn’t consider illegal, but is because of the fact that trading is so controlled on their planet.
Under Kldyn’s leadership, they’ve expanded and now have a fleet of three delivery ships that work off planet as well.
They’ve expanded into smuggling things in from off planet.
They’re very wealthy and very well connected. ”
“They’ve also continued tracking us,” Alred said. “The commander who hired us for this job does not have connections to him, but Grace and I have already fielded two job requests that are actually just him trying to get us into a position where he can attack us.”
Vytln huffed once, amused. His brother was predictable.
Tanin waved his hand and another holo appeared.
It was a symbol this time, not a person.
An upside down triangle with a line bisecting the top.
It was simple, and familiar. Sorbet and Tebros had those marks carved into their arms. The two of them wore sleeveless shirts, but they did have one sleeve each, pulled up to cover their arms. Underneath the cloth, on their upper arms, he knew that mark was inscribed.
He didn’t ask about it. The twins were secretive and distant even to them.
They were as loyal to Tanin as anyone else, but their pasts were secret to all but Tanin.
Even now, Vytln didn’t expect an explanation for that mark.
So he was surprised when, years after first seeing those scars, he actually got one.
“This is the symbol of an assassin group,” Tanin said simply.
“They’re fully legal on their home planet only, and don’t have the right or legality to work anywhere else in the Coalition.
That, of course, doesn’t actually stop them, and they will work anywhere for a price.
They will also recruit their assassins from anywhere.
Sorbet and Tebros, like many in their group, were taken as children and trained as assassins growing up. ”
Vytln wasn’t the only one who glanced over at the twins.
The two of them were standing in the corner, always with each other.
They had dark blue scales and snow white hair, shaved on opposite sides of their head, the rest left long.
Sorbet had a scar through the left side of his lips, while Tebros had burn scars covering the entirety of his right arm.
You would never be able to mistake one for the other, like some avanava males.
However, they considered themselves to be a single person.
Avanava males were always born as twins, and they had a deep connection that bonded them at the level of the soul – similar to that which bonded mates.
Avanava males considered their personhood on a spectrum, with some males seeing themselves as two completely separate people, but some, like Sorbet and Tebros, seeing themselves as a single person in two bodies.
Both were considered legitimate views on their home planet.
Vytln knew they were assassins. He was well aware they were trained killers. Tanin initially got them on their team by paying them. But he hadn’t realized they were members of a group of assassins. He didn’t even know that group existed.
Or what they had to do with anything.
“Sway and Grace saw this symbol recently,” Tanin said.
“It was burned on the back of a male who charged at them, saying he needed our females. He was crazed, he’d obviously just been tortured, and he was sent after Sway for a purpose.
We don’t know why he was after Grace, or any of our females, but he was certainly sent after us for a reason.
And judging by the mark on his back, we can say that they sent him.
And they wanted us to know that they sent them.
Specifically, they wanted the twins to know. ”
Tanin looked at the twins, and it was Sorbet who spoke for both of them.
“We deserted their ranks. They need to kill us for that. They can’t have people out there knowing their secrets.
We’re a threat. They’ve been after us since we left.
It’s fairly typical for them to go after their targets’ weakness to gain the upper hand on them.
And for us, that would be our female crewmates. It’s fairly expected for them.
“Sending that male after Sway was a soft attempt from them. More likely, it was a warning. They want us to be sent running. They know we’re stronger together, so they think if they can separate us, they can have a chance at us.
So, either we stay and they go after our females.
Or we go, and they have a chance to catch us in the attempt at fleeing.
They don’t care if we know, because they know that, eventually, they can overwhelm us one way or another.
They’re patient. They’re resourceful. They’re powerful.
They have all they need to get us. With time. ”
“So, we have two groups after us,” Trove said, leaning forward.
Tanin nodded once. “Kldyn is a more immediate problem, however, we will have to figure out how to deal with these assassins eventually. They’re considerably more careful, thorough, and dangerous than Kldyn.
We are still working on what to do about them, but this is a warning that we cannot leave our females alone.
They cannot go anywhere outside the Humility without an escort. At least, until we deal with them.”
Garnet raised her thumb in the air. Vytln did not understand why, though he recognized human sign language when he saw it. Whatever she meant by that, it appeared to be some kind of expression of understanding. Haven even returned the gesture.
Tanin waved his hand, banishing the mark and Kldyn’s holo at the same time. “And our next goal is Alred’s project. He wants to be biological again. He and Haven have already started working on it, but it’s not going to be an easy task.”
“It will almost be impossible, actually,” Alred said.
“We were told when we first made the switch that it could not be undone. We did it regardless, knowing it would be the extinction of our biological species. Of course, my people were facing complete extinction at the time anyway, so it wasn’t like we had many choices.
“First, we need to figure out how to do it. We need to build my body. And we need an energy source powerful enough to perform the transfer. I don’t know how the original transfer was performed, but Haven says if we figure that out, we can start working backwards.
I don’t expect to transfer all my memories from the last three thousand years, but I hope to keep the person I am through this recall.
That is only around fifty years. Not too much, hopefully. ”
“That’s our third problem,” Tanin took over. “We can figure out what to do about his identity once he’s biological again. There will be a lot of problems to solve after he’s breathing again, but we have enough trying to get him there for now.”
“It won’t be a quick process. This will likely take years. And a lot more resources and ability than we have now. Haven, Goldie, and I can work on planning. It’s nothing I expect you to do anything about for now. But I do appreciate your assistance.”
“Stop being so formal,” Trove yelled at him, laughing. “A project sounds fun. We need a hobby.”
Alred chuckled, a tiny glitch showing how touched he was despite his careless expression. “If it keeps your whoring tendencies under control, I’d say it’s good for you.”
Trove laughed once. “As if anything could! I’ll do both at once.”
Some of the others laughed. Tanin waited for them to quiet before continuing.
“Goldie is trying to find us jobs for medical equipment companies. They won’t be dangerous, and we won’t charge as much as typical.
But the important thing is to build that relationship.
We won’t need to worry about Kldyn in that regard, since those are company jobs and have nothing to do with him and his family
“Sorbet and Tebros will need to stop tracking Kldyn for now. They have to focus on the assassins coming after us. They’re a greater threat, and we don’t know when they’re going to try something against us.
Since Sorbet and Tebros know them best, they will be the ones taking charge of figuring out what they’re doing.