Chapter 188: The Alliance’s Dog
Once again, the Uugazt caught me off guard. Instead of leaving the screen to get changed, he simply ripped the shirt and jacket off in a single pull. I blinked at him a few times before shaking my head. The number of low growls around me made me realize that my mates had caught my faux pas and were calling me out of it.
I just shrugged my shoulders, not at all concerned. Each one of them had a drool-worthy body, but this was my first time actually seeing an orc, so sue me for being... intrigued.
"Better?" I asked as the Uugazt head searched my screen, looking for the source of the growls.
"Much," he grunted, a frown appearing on his face after not being able to find my mates.
"Then let’s start over again. What do you want?" I asked him simply. My claw-covered finger tapped a steady rhythm on the armrest of my chair as I waited for him to answer.
"I want to know your feelings on the Alliance," came his reply. A bark of laughter came out of me before I could force it back.
"I think that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. The cat’s meow. The be all end off of everything good in the universe," I shot back, not missing a beat.
"Really?" he asked, his head tilting to the other side as if he was trying to get a read on me.
"No, not really. I think that they are absolutely horrendous, and in their attempt to play God, they have brought about their own destruction. I want to watch the Alliance burn to the ground," I answered truthfully.
"Really?" he asked again.
"Yes, really," I said with a sigh.
"Then why didn’t you just say that in the first place?" asked the orc, who still hadn’t given me his name.
"Because you are working with them to trap me." I mean, wasn’t it obvious? In both distress calls, they have named the Uugazts as the reason why they need help. I am not exactly going to trust them any farther than I could throw them. And looking at the head, that’s not going to be very far.
"And yet, the female I have made a deal with has reneged on her word twice now, leaving us holding a ticking time bomb," sneered the orc, his bottom tusks emphasizing his displeasure.
"Not possible. There are no females on the Alliance council," said Da’kea, coming into view beside Midnight. "They do not believe that females are able to govern well enough to allow them into any aspect of the Alliance."
"And yet, it was a female that gave me the Alliance’s assurance that they were willing to work with us," shot back the head, his eyes briefly going to the Saalistaja behind me before giving me his attention again. "And for someone who hates the Alliance, you certainly have one of their dogs at your beck and call."
My finger froze, and I looked at the orc in front of me. "I’m sorry," I said slowly, and I could feel Midnight stiffening behind me. "What did you say?"
"I said that for someone who hates the Alliance, you have one of their dogs standing behind you," sneered the orc, and any fascination I had with him quickly died away.
"Well, now," I drawled, my temper rising. If there was ever a day not to fuck with me, it would have been today. "Considering that you have been fucked over by the Alliance twice now, I don’t think that you are in any position to speak. You are nothing more than a puppet dancing to the tune of someone claiming to be the Alliance, and you bought the scam completely."
I rose to my feet, and I took a step toward the screen. If I could reach through it and strangle the imbecile in front of me, I would have. Luckily for him, he is safe on his ship... or is he?
"Jun Li," I called out, never taking my eyes off of the male. "Are you still inside the Uugazts’ ships?" I continued, my voice sweet and gentle. I made sure that I was speaking in Ethawainian so that the orc translation device would work for him.
"I am," replied my oh so perfect ship.
"Perfect," I purred. "How about you turn off their lights for a second so that they truly understand the repercussions of pissing me off."
The screen in front of me was black, and I could hear the panicked cries of numerous orcs.
With a nod of my head, the lights turned back on.
"Should I have Jun Li play with a different system? How about the environmental systems. Should I see how long you can hold your breath until you die?" I asked. I would have to give it to the head; he never flinched, but I could see wrinkles forming around the corner of his eyes. "Do you understand the situation you are in?"
"You have an AI," said the Uugazt, his disapproval evident on his face. "They should have been wiped out a long time ago."
"And yet, I have two. Although to be fair, you now have on board, too. In fact, every last one of your ships has one hidden in their systems. And blowing you up is no more strenuous than nodding my head." I once had a calculus teacher in high school who used to tell her class that a little bit of fear was a good thing.
Might as well apply that theory outside of math.
"What do you want?" This time, it was the orc asking the question.
"I want you to apologize to my mate," I shot back quickly. There were a lot of things that I could ignore. Hell, there was even more that I didn’t give a shit about. But insulting someone that belonged to me would be met with swift repercussions.
"But the Saalistaja don’t take mates."
"They do now."
