Chapter 265: Regret
"Do you feel bad?" I asked Pippa. It was one of those questions that my therapists had always asked me whenever something had happened in my life. It didn’t matter whether I had done something or had something done to me; they always asked if I felt bad.
My answer was always no. I didn’t believe in regret. It was nothing but a waste of time. The past didn’t change; it couldn’t change. And everything that you experienced was what brought you to the point where you were currently.
Both the good and the bad shaped you into what you were today. And seeing as I was sitting in the lap of my mate. With another five surrounding me in a protective bubble, I really couldn’t regret anything.
"What should I feel bad about?" asked Pippa, cocking her head to the side.
"Dawn-Marie?" I responded. The poor 16-year-old who had died a brutal death simply so Pippa could figure out the perfect formula to turn herself from an ordinary human to an Ethawainian.
I didn’t experience regret, but I did feel bad.
"Who?" Pippa narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to figure out why that name sounded so familiar. "Oh, you mean that chick from The Eagle? Yeah, she was becoming a pain in the ass, always trying to find a way to get back to Earth."
"Isn’t that what you wanted too?" I replied, raising an eyebrow. I could feel GA tighten his grip around my waist as if he was scared that just by mentioning Earth, I was going to disappear from his sight.
"Hardly," she scoffed.
I was legitimately surprised by her answer. I had believed that she wanted to find a way back to Earth if only to be able to supply more universal breeders.
"I have enough humans around here taking the attention away from me," she continued, clearly in her own world.
I finally understood why so many people got frustrated when they were trying to understand me. Trying to talk to someone who was clearly insane made me want to bang my head against a wall.
Well, that’s not true. I didn’t like pain.
What it made me want to do was to take her head and bang it against a wall until I managed to knock some sense into her.
"Any last words?" I asked with a sigh. There was no point in wasting my breath anymore. She was going to die no matter what she said. I promised Dawn-Marie that I would kill whoever had done that to her, and I would keep my promise.
"You really think that it is that easy?" she scoffed like she thought I was the crazy one. "Do you really think that you can just sit there, press a button, and shoot my ship out of the sky? We have the exact same ship. Stargazer is impenetrable to another L-series ship and to any other ship in the universe."
I could feel my eyes starting to close, the lure of sleep calling my name. Who knew that listening to someone screeching was so exhausting?
"That might be true," I said, opening my eyes just enough to be able to see the smug look on her face. "But unfortunately for you, Jun Li isn’t just another L-series ship. His previous captain decided to install some after-market upgrades. Including a crap ton of Saalistaja technology."
The smile on her lips disappeared as she started screaming at Stargazer to open fire.
All of a sudden, a bunch of alarms started going off on the command bridge.
"Stargazer’s weapons have been activated," said Jun Li with a sigh. I guess he was as impressed as I was with this move. That’s fine. Even the most cowardly of animals lashed out when cornered.
"Do what you need to do," I said, and I saw all of my men rushing to the control consoles and sitting down. Buckling themselves in, they braced for impact.
I let out a tired sigh and cuddled deeper into GA’s arms. He didn’t move a muscle or even bother to buckle up.
"You’re not worried?" I asked, looking up at him. This was going to be the last secret between me and the Saalistaja guys. But it wasn’t my secret to tell, so I had kept my mouth shut.
He chuckled at my question and turned so that he could nuzzle me. "Unlike the others, I have studied exactly what has been stolen from us. I was able to make some informed inferences from there. You and I both know that the Saalistaja were not the only species that had something taken from them."
I nodded my understanding. He was right. Believe it or not, the weapons that the old captain had taken from the Saalistaja were not even the most impressive.
No, Jun Li had given me a complete inventory of everything.
He was literally indestructible.
"I almost feel bad," I said softly to GA as Jun Li warned of an incoming missile. The males in front of me let out a curse as they braced for impact.
"Don’t," answered GA, reassuring me. "The rest of your ships aren’t going to be touched. They are smart enough to have their shields up, and Stargazer isn’t even aiming for them. In fact, I don’t even think he notices them."
"That wasn’t what I was feeling bad about," I laughed. I would fully admit to not remembering the other ships. As far as I was concerned, they belonged to the guys. Even if they did label them as ’Star’s Ships.’
"Then what are you feeling bad about?"
"This last-ditch effort," I said as the ship gently rocked back and forth like waves on the sea as the missile struck. "She thinks she actually stands a chance."
GA chuckled low under his breath as his forked tongue flicked out to lick the side of my neck.
"You smell different," he growled. "You taste different."
I patted his arm as Jun Li’s monotone voice once again came through the speakers to warn us about another missile attack. He sounded bored out of his mind.
However, I had assured him that he could play with his food, so I would let him do what he wanted.
After all, it would only take one strike from him to finish everything.
