Venik descended the ramp at a more measured pace, a human male at his side. Governor Aldric, I presumed, had graying hair and a weathered face, made all the more pinched as he glanced nervously above.
“Governor Aldric,” I said, snatching his attention from the yawning expanse of the warbird above and the bustle of the Vandar warriors around him. “I am Raas Wrexxon. Welcome to my horde.”
His mouth opened and closed, as his rheumy eyes registered recognition and then surprise at my name. “I’m still not clear why?—”
“You were targeted by the Zagrath for termination,” I told him without preamble. You would have been taken and executed if we hadn’t intervened.”
Then his jaw went fully slack. “Executed?’
“Despite any rumors to the contrary, we are on your side, Governor.” I flicked my gaze to mymajak, who turned to summon a pair of warriors. “My Vandar will show you to quarters and brief you further regarding the intelligence we received that made rescuing you essential. Any information you might have about your interaction with the Empire would be helpful.”
He nodded, eyeing me as if startled that I was speaking to him in measured, intelligible words. The Outer Rim had gotten little attention from the Vandar in the past, which was why the Empire had turned their eye to it. That also meant the people in Outer Rim colonies and outposts hadn’t interacted with us before, mostly going on whispered rumors that we were barbaric monsters to form their opinions.
The governor looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but the pair of warrior escorts approached and motioned for him to follow.
When he’d been led off, his head still swiveling as he took in the warbird, Kolt turned to me. “That was easy, Raas. Too easy.”
“Agreed.” Mymajakrubbed the back of his neck. “If this governor was the top name on their list, where were the Imperial soldiers?”
“Our horde is fast. Maybe we received the list and arrived before they had a chance to mobilize.”
I scoffed at Kolt’s suggestion. “That assumes that the intelligence was sent to us before it was shared with the Imperial fleet. What are the chances of that?
“The Empire is rebuilding, Raas,” Venik said. “It is possible they are not as well-equipped as we assume. They certainly do not have the might and reach they once had.”
“Not yet,” I said, knowing all too well that the Zagrath were like a regenerating monster. You cut off one limb, but another sprang up in its place. I did not trust their purported weakness, just like my people had never trusted the rumors that they’d been completely obliterated. The Zagrath always lurched from beneath some dark rock when you were least expecting it.
“If we didn’t outmatch them in speed or strategy to reach the governor,” Kolt asked, “then where are they?”
Unease rasped the back of my neck and worked its way down my spine, cool and stealthy. “This might have been a distraction, a ploy to draw us away from their true target.”
My battle chief’s top lip curled as he struck the handle of his battle axe onto the steel floor. “I do not like being tricked.”
“Nor do I,” I told him.
“If this has all been a ruse, then should we pay any heed to the intelligence?” Venik’s brow wrinkled. “Or should we assume that all of it is an attempt to lead us around by the tail?”
I grunted. “We cannot ignore the transmission entirely. We will still be returning to Lexxona.”
“The human’s planet?” Kolt exchanged a glance with Venik. “Of all the names on the list that might be intended to lure or trap, isn’t her friend’s the most likely?”
“It is.”
Kolt glowered at me. ”But we are going anyway.”
"Yes."
Venik lowered his voice as a group of Vandar from the mission strode past us. “Does this have anything to do with the dress being made for your war bride?”
“You mean are we saving a rebel from the clutches of the Empire because I am taking my war bride as my Raisa?”
Venik shifted from one leg to the other, his tail darting behind him. “No one would blame you, Raas.”
“We are returning to Lexxona because my instincts tell me that the Empire will be waiting for us there,” I said, spinning the conversation to battle strategy.
Kolt cocked his head at me. “You wish to walk into their trap?”
A slow smile twitched at the corners of my mouth. “I wish them to believe we are walking willingly and unwittingly into their trap.”
