Chapter 119: The Stowaway
Midnight returned to his quarters and strolled down the empty halls until he reached his private suite.
"Alpha," came a voice from just off to the side, and Midnight turned to see his first officer, his head bowed low.
"Silver is the Moon; you know it is inappropriate to call me Alpha. We only have one after all," smirked Midnight as he turned away from his friend and disappeared into his room, leaving the door open for the other male.
"You are our Alpha. The one on the planet is nothing compared to you," said Silver with a shrug of his shoulders as he followed his leader into the room.
Midnight only grunted as he removed a device from inside his nostrils. His ability to scent things was too strong to be able to allow him to leave the ship without taking some form of precaution. Too much stimulus, and he was more than likely to fly into a rage as a result.
And since he was supposed to be keeping a low profile, that would not be a good thing.
"You have... changed," remarked Silver, looking his friend over. "Not a bad look. You almost appear to be one of our ancient Gods."
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," smirked Midnight. "Just admit that you are jealous," he continued as he walked over to a section of the wall and pressed a button. The wall started to shimmer and change until a highly polished mirror appeared.
Midnight took the time to truly study his new appearance, not knowing if he should be upset that he had lost most of his fur or rejoice in the new muscle mass he had gained. He rubbed a hand up and down his now hairless pelt and marveled at the thick texture of it. Taking one of his claws, he cut the exposed section of his arm, only to have his claw bounce off, his skin completely fine.
"I am jealous. Want to tell me what happened?" replied Silver as he went to sit down on the couch while his Alpha continued to inspect himself in the reflective surface.
"A female the size of a pup stood in front of me and a blaster," said Midnight, seemingly unconcerned about the matter, but Silver knew better. Their planet, Nuzora, was very much one where people only looked out for their own best interests, and if they should leave a few dead bodies in their wake, all that much better.
No one would have stood in front of a blaster for another Njeriuujk, even if they shared pack ties. It was simply unheard of.
"Are you sure you didn’t just dream it?" he asked with a chuckle, not believing that tale for a single second, especially if it involved a female the size of a cub. "Or were you dreaming about your Merciless and putting her into a fantastical situation?"
Midnight snorted at his friend’s words but let out a quiet sigh of relief when he saw that he still maintained his tail. He was willing to look more like Merciless, but he was not willing to lose his tail as a result.
"I only wish it was a dream. Some fucking Dryadalis decided it would be a good idea to start shooting up the mercantile deck, interrupting Merciless’ shopping. She didn’t take it well," continued Midnight with a snort. "She took out three of them while her pet took out a fourth. That left only two others for both me and the Saalistaja."
"Her pet?" asked Silver, raising his eyebrow.
"Yeah..." said Midnight, looking around the room for a second. "Where the Demon Lord did that thing go?"
All of a sudden, there was a huge commotion in the hallway. Silver narrowed his eyes as he stood up and strolled toward the door. Pressing the release button, the door hissed open, revealing six members of the security force running down the corridor with their hand blasters out.
There was a blur of motion, and Silver saw something darting into the Alpha’s room.
"Report!" bellowed Midnight as he tried to take stock of what had happened. His little voragyvis lay curled in his arms, trembling in fear.
The six Njeriuujk slid to a stop out of the commander’s doorway and placed a fist over their frantically beating hearts, their heads bowed.
"Alpha, Beta," said the leader of the six, taking a breath. "We have found a voragyvis on board. It must have been aboard your shuttle without your knowledge and slipped into the ship when you disembarked."
Midnight raised a single eyebrow and gently scratched the voragyvis in question on the head. "This one?" he asked, gently raising his arms so the others could see it.
"My Lord?" replied the officer in confusion. "Is that not a voragyvis?"
"It is," confirmed Midnight, "His name is ’He Who Disappears In The Forest’," he continued. "Forest for short."
The voragyvis chirped, looking up at the giant creature who was holding him. Pleased with his new name, he nodded his head like he had seen Night do.
"What a smart little creature," purred Midnight. "He is fine. Pass the word to leave him alone."
"Yes, Sir," said the officer, lowering his head in submission. Spinning on his heel, he turned around and led the other five officers away.
"And if it bites someone?" asked Silver. He had the dubious pleasure of being the only one on the ship who could question their Alpha.
"Then I think that individual would be someone that we should look into," replied Midnight with a smile. The voragyvis in his arms chirped a few times before jumping down to the floor and disappearing into the walls.
"Dare I even ask where you managed to pick that one up?" chuckled Silver as he went to sit back down now that the drama had passed.
"Merciless apparently comes with a few of them. That one got left behind in the chaos," shrugged Midnight as if it were no big deal that they now had one of the most toxic creatures of the known universe on their ship.
"And the transformation?"
"I know about as much as you do when it comes to that," answered Midnight as he pressed the button to release the mirror into the wall. "Is there anyone we can trust who might know what happened to me?"
"I think I know one, but he might be hard to find. The Alpha doesn’t like him all that much," said Silver with a smile.
"Even better. Set a course to find him. The sooner, the better. I need to know what is going on. I am worried about what it will mean for the future," commanded Midnight, and with a wave of his hand, he dismissed his friend.
"Of course, my Lord."
