Chapter 199: One of Nineteen
"You stay here," I said, refusing to let the male leave. Maybe the suppressor had something to do with it. Was I seeing his potential? Nope, not now brain. We are going to leave that puzzle alone for right now and concentrate on something else.
What was I supposed to be concentrating on? Not the dragon... no... killing. Yup. That was it.
The new male simply nodded his head and didn’t leave.
Grunting my approval, I looked to the one that should be in charge. His armor was still the same, but he had a reaction to me... nope... not right now.
"The Saalistaja technology is now mine," I said, my tone not allowing any type of argument. "Possession is 9/10th of the law. If you refuse to accept that, that is your right. I hope you are willing to fall on your sword."
Before I could say another word, Midnight knocked aside the Saalistaja kneeling before me and picked me up in his arms before sprinting out of the room. Almost as if they had prepared for it, I heard a fan turn on as Jun Li quickly ran the air in the room through several different filters, trying to get my pheromones out of it.
I guess the suppressor has worn off.
----
Tha’juen rightened himself and looked at the Elder in front of him.
"Sit," said the Elder, cocking his head to the chair where the Njeriuujk had sat seconds ago. The ship’s venting system kicked in just as the three Saalistaja activated their armor.
Nodding his head, Tha’juen stood up and went to go where the Elder had told them to.
"What are you doing to the air?" asked Cruz’uts, looking up into the ceiling as if the venting system was obvious.
"What are you going to do with the information in your hands?" asked Da’kea, not bothering to answer the other male’s question. As far as he was concerned, Mei Xing had made her wants very clear. It was time to draw a line in the sand and see where the other two stood at the end of the rotation.
"We need the technology back," answered Vraev’ox, his eyes never leaving the Elder’s in front of him.
"Technology from 12 planetary revolutions that you never noticed missing? That technology?" mused Au’dtair, and Vraev’ox could hear the humor in his voice.
"It is my mission," said the male, straightening his spine and looking at the four males across the table. Since when did Tha’juen change sides? Was he now infected, too?
"Then call your father, and we will discuss things with him," said Da’kea. "We’ll go to the bridge so we have a bigger screen."
All six males rose to their feet and, with Da’kea leading the way, went up one level and toward the bridge. Cruz’uts noticed the same ventilation system happening throughout the ship. It was almost as if it were the same protocols that were put in place when a highly contagious disease was found in the air.
He shook his head. It was none of his concern; he had his armor, and that was enough for now.
They entered the command bridge, and Vraev’ox expected to take a seat in the captain’s chair, however, the other men surrounded it, but none sat down. That was strange. Did the AI not like them, thinking that they were the captain?
"Jun Li, we needed to open communications between us and Tribal Chief Hayaandp," said Da’kea, standing directly behind the chair. A male that Cruz’uts hadn’t been aware of spun around from where he was sitting in front of the communications console.
"Is she aware?" he asked, watching the six men in front of him. There was a pathogen stored in one of the lower-level med bays that Mei Xing was unaware of. Although untested, it should be small enough, in theory, to make it through the safety protocols of the Saalistaja suits. If they were going to betray her by contacting this tribal chief, then he wouldn’t mind sending six bodies out into space. It was such an easy and convenient way of disposing of bodies. Too bad it couldn’t deal with the blood they left behind or other bodily fluids.
"She is not," replied Da’kea, and Vraev’ox blinked at his response. Why would this female’s opinion matter? Like Tha’juen had said, she is nothing more than the ship’s pet.
The male, Jun Li, spun around and faced the console. However, he didn’t put in any communication codes that would open the channels. Why was he not obeying?
No one spoke or moved; all eyes were on the male in front of them, but he still refused to do anything. All of a sudden, he turned around and looked at Da’kea. "The technology is ours. If they don’t understand that, then there is nothing she can do to fix stupid."
"Understood," nodded Da’kea. "Thank you for contacting her."
"She’s the pet, after all," replied the male, his gaze swinging to Tha’juen.
"I never said that she was. I said that that was how the Sisalik were referring to her as," said Tha’juen from where he was standing beside Au’dtair. The other male had made a low comment for him not to leave his side, and he was more than happy to listen. Au’dtair and the others knew the fascinating female. Tha’juen was not dumb enough to do anything that would put himself on her wrong side.
"Yes, well, if they were any smarter, they would still be considered an idiot," grumbled Jun Li. Da’kea wasn’t sure what that meant but knew that it was probably an expression on his mate’s home planet. Maybe he should get Jun Li to upgrade his system to include Mei Xing’s language and expressions. He knew that Midnight had done so, and it seemed to be something that she appreciated.
There was a chirp, and Vraev’ox looked down on the captain’s chair. He saw something small on it but couldn’t think about what it could possibly be. He reached forward, only to be stopped by Au’dtair. "I wouldn’t if I were you. That’s Night, one of the 19 voragyvis on this ship."
