Chapter 196: The Least Of Your Worries
Vraev’ox paused for a moment, his mind carefully analyzing the possibilities of such a situation. He had always felt that the haunted ship was nothing more than a hallucination or a made-up story meant to keep people away from scavenging empty ships for their own benefit.
However, he has yet to see anyone besides the three Saalistaja in front of him. That, combined with the fact that he and his hunt mates couldn’t seem to remember anything after getting on board, made him wonder if the stories weren’t based more on fact than fiction.
"I never got your name, Elder," said Vraev’ox smoothly, pressing down his concern. As long as they kept their armor on, nothing should be able to impact them. However, the other three should have done the same... so can this parasite manage to get through the Saalistaja nano armor?
If that was the case, he needed to warn his father and the Elder’s Council. Moving as slowly and subtly as he could, Vraev’ox flipped open his wrist unit and sent out a message to his father, with only his last known location.
"Jun Li," said Ye’tab, his eyes never leaving Vraev’ox. Every last one of his actions was caught by the spymaster.
"Way ahead of you. All outgoing communication has been suspended since they first stepped foot on the ship. Don’t worry," came the voice from overhead. Vraev’ox was startled. How did they catch him?
"What did he send out?" asked the Elder as a robot came and delivered a cup of something warm. Inhaling, Vraev’ox was surprised to smell kahvi. Just what was going on here?
"The location of the ship," answered the voice, Jun Li. "Which seems stupid because even if we were going to do something to him, we would long be gone before any reinforcements could arrive."
"Ah, but they would be able to save him if he was floating out in space," pointed out Ye’tab, and Vraev’ox could see his outer mandibles clicking in amusement.
"If you think that, you really don’t know me," chuckled Jun Li, whoever that was. "I can promise you, if I want someone to disappear, no one will ever be able to find them."
"Duly noted," chuckled Au’dtair. "We will try to not piss you off." Since when did Au’dtair have a sense of humor? He was always the one who kept to the rules and never really interacted with anyone of his own free will.
The idea that there was a parasite burrowing inside of these males’ brains was sound more and more possible.
"Trust me when I say that I am the least of your worries," joked Jun Li back. The other two Saalistaja simply grunted in agreement.
"But back to the matter at hand," said the Elder, causing Au’dtair and Ye’tab to turn serious. "My name is Elder Da’kea of the Saalistaja Tribe Bloody Knife."
"You are the Saalistaja representation for the Alliance," said Cruz’uts, cutting into the conversation. "You are a legend."
"Sure," replied Da’kea, his upper mandible twitching in their version of a sneer. "But I am afraid that I am going to have to resign my commission with the Alliance."
"May I ask why?" asked Cruz’uts hesitantly. No one could do what Da’kea could do. He was one of the most fearsome hunters of his generation, and then to go into diplomacy, something that most Saalistaja are not able to do, it made no sense that he was willing to give it all up.
"Reasons," grunted the Elder, and Cruz’uts dropped the subject. "Now, what are your plans for the ones that stole your technology?"
Vraev’ox looked at Au’dtair and Ye’tab. Their mission was to be secret; his father didn’t want anyone to know that they were weak enough to have something stolen from them like that. Even if the Elder was part of the council, that didn’t mean that they should have told them.
"We will be ripping off the head of anyone caught with our technology," growled Vraev’ox. No one could steal from them and live.
"And if the ones that stole it are already dead?"
"Seeing as we don’t have the technology back, I don’t think the deaths of the original thieves are that big of an issue. But I will repeat myself: anyone caught with Saalistaja technology, whether they were the ones to steal it or are just benefiting from it, will meet the same outcome."
There was silence inside the entertainment as the two sides faced off against the other.
"I vote for killing them," said Jun Li, and Au’dtair knew the AI well enough to be able to hear the smirk in his voice. "Hell, I’ll even use their technology to do it. It’ll be like shooting fish in space."
Once again, silence reigned as everyone digested his words. "What are fish?" asked Da’kea, finally breaking the stillness.
"An aquatic species of lower intelligence that take their oxygen from the water around them," said Midnight as he strolled into the entertainment room. As soon as he sat down beside Au’dtair, a bot quickly brought him a cup of kahvi. He hadn’t really been exposed to it before but found that he had developed a taste for the bitter drink. "So, what are we talking about?"
"Killing anyone that is found with Saalistaja technology, whether or not they were the original thieves or just the ones to profit off of it," said Ye’tab, bringing the Njeriuujk up to date on the conversation.
"What is he doing here?" demanded Cruz’uts, turning his full attention to the unwelcomed species.
"He is our brother," snapped Au’dtair, putting a name to their relationship for the first time since they had all met. And he was. They might not share blood, but they were completely united in all things that mattered.
"So, they are threatening to kill us too?" asked Midnight, diving into the heart of the matter before them. "Because as invincible as you guys are, I am pretty sure that it is not impossible to kill you."
"There are ways," answered Da’kea, studying the men in front of him. Maybe this was how mates ended up killing each other. Not a matter of jealousy but the need to protect their female for those that don’t have the same level of devotion.
