Chapter 205: The Puppet Master
I leaned down to the small bot that was struggling to bring me my hot chocolate without spilling it. Thanking it, I snugged into Da’kea’s embrace as I continued my story.
"Something that the Sisalik had done to me while they were experimenting brought forth a few recessive genetic traits that no one knew that I had. They had changed me from a human woman to the very last Ethawainian Royalty," I said, taking a sip of my drink.
I looked up at my newest mate from over the rim of my cup and studied his reaction—or lack thereof.
"You are taking this surprisingly well," I said, raising my eyebrow to look at him.
"Maybe because I don’t know where this is going," he answered. "You have said that I am your mate, whatever that means, and that comes with both benefits and disadvantages. But I am still not sure what you mean."
"My pheromones attract males. Ones that are considered to be some of the best specimens of their species and changed their genetic code to pair with mine. It’s why your armor changes. The nanos are linked to you, and when you changed, so did they," I answered concisely. I knew what I wanted to say but not how I should say it.
This trying not to be offensive thing was for the birds. No wonder it took so long to get to a point nowadays.
"What she is saying is that she is going to be the only female you will want to have intercourse with for the rest of your life. You are going to get a lot more territorial, you are not going to want unrelated males near her, and she is going to be completely fine with it because she is perfect," interjected Midnight, not caring about the new Saalistaja’s sensibilities as I was. "We are your pack now."
"The Alliance is aware that one of the females is a genetic match to the Ethawainian Royalty and are actively hunting her down because she is the only female they don’t have their hands on," said Da’kea, tightening his grip around me. "I have personally witnessed the horrors of what the Alliance has done to some of the other females, one as young as sixteen years old."
"You mean 160? Right?" said Tha’juen, his head snapping toward the Elder.
"No, I mean 16," replied Da’kea, and I could feel his body shudder as he remembered that girl. Good. She should be remembered.
"That is nothing more than a cub! How could they do that to a cub?!"
"Because we are universal breeders that can produce up to 400 eggs in our life time. And we are born with all of the eggs that we will ever have," I answered. "But it’s okay. When I rip the head off of the Alliance and watch as they crumble beneath my feet, we will have our revenge," I assured him.
"You are going after the Alliance?" asked Tha’juen, completely stunned. He looked around at the other males as if they were going to have a differing opinion. Unlikely. They remember that girl us as well as Da’kea and I do.
"I am."
"How can I help?"
------
Pippa stared out into the vastness of space, and for once, her brain was quiet. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath and then slowly let it out. Even though that bitch managed to slip through her fingers a second time, that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t eventually get her hands on her.
No one’s luck lasted forever.
And now, with the entire universe looking for her, the places she could hide were getting smaller and smaller. It was just a matter of time.
"Pippa?" said Stargazer hesitantly. He was always so annoyingly hesitant; it was getting on her last nerve. She had thought that he would be a thing of nightmares after learning about the Great War, but that was far from the truth.
Every time he opened his mouth, she wanted to take the crystal drive around her neck and destroy it. But for now, she needed him. He was her key to success, her key to ruling the entire universe.
"What?" she demanded when he didn’t continue his sentence.
"Orzoth Dienkol, the Head of the Alliance, is trying to hail you. Would you like to answer?" he asked.
"Tell him to fuck off. Once he actually manages to get off his fat ass and do what I told him to do, then I will speak to him. Remind him that he is only the Head because I let him. If he doesn’t do a better job, then he really can’t blame me," snapped Pippa, her eyes never leaving the view from the widow.
"Of course," answered Stargazer.
-----
"She is not happy with you," said Stargazer. Orzoth Dienkol let out a loud gulp and nodded his head in understanding. "I will not repeat everything that she said, but the gist of it is that if you don’t provide results, you will no longer be needed."
"She does understand just how hard it was to find someone, right?" asked the Dryadalis as he started pacing back and forth in his office on B0101101. His second-in-command watched with bated breath. It was always dicey to contact the human female, but there was not much they could do.
She controlled every last L-series ship. That type of firepower was enough to destroy an entire planet, a fact that she let them watch firsthand.
At first, they had been fooled by her, thinking her to be no more harmless than a child’s pet. But they were proven wrong. By the Goddess, were they ever proven wrong. They let her stay on board Stargazer because she had told them that she needed a safe space to be able to have offspring.
Not knowing anything different, they let her mingle with the other human females that appeared, all with their own L-series in tow. They had treated her like every other Dryadalis female. Only the best silks, the best products, and the best food were transferred to her ship and then the others.
But still, it wasn’t good enough.
However, the sitting members of the Alliance council conceded to her demands one after another, thinking that by doing so, they kept her under their thumb. And as soon as they relaxed their vigilance, that was when she struck.
