I wouldn’t allow it.
Vengeance burned bright in my soul for the ones who would harm such innocents. Once the humans were home and safe, I would find those responsible for torturing that young female and I would exact terrible justice on her behalf. Let the council try to stop me.
As Commander, I had far more power than they realized.
Chapter 1 – Motok
“Move in but take itslow,” I commanded in a low tone, whispering through the comm device to the half dozen warriors following close behind. “No surprises. We take out the slavers one by one. I don’t want any females still alive to be compromised by the Zhorn when they discover us.”
MyFirstmet my gaze as his scarred face turned slightly to the right. He nodded, his jaw set in a firm line. I knew this wouldn’t be easy. He’d lost a cherished female of his own to similar circumstances. Slavers were ruthless in their greed and vicious in their quest. Only the promise of credits held any allure. The lives of the females that were taken never entered their thoughts, nor the trauma that inevitably resulted. They enjoyed the violation and grew to crave the abuse and suffering of others. The power was an addiction.
“I detect three bio-signs. Human,” he divulged. “Two female and one male. They’re weak.”
Lifting a brow, I couldn’t hide my reaction. Only three captives? We usually found groups of five to ten or more, not that any of them were still alive. I focused on the one detail that was important. “There’s a male?”
We didn’t often find males among the trafficked humans. Alien species paid high rates for the soft vessels of female sexual organs. Males were considered far less useful as they lacked fertile wombs, but some species were entertained by the degradation and act of sodomy.
MyFirstsneered, his look of disgust obvious. “It is deplorable in every way.”
Valtus wasn’t wrong.
I swallowed hard, my stomach churning with the thought of what these poor souls endured and suffered at the hands of such monsters. The Galactic Conclave did little to intervene. Instead, they kept their powerful seats of prominence and pretended indifference, allowing the slavers to continue with the profitable trafficking of captives as long as it didn’t affect the planets and species that belonged to the Galactic Assembly. Many species were exploited but the human females were the most coveted and at greater risk over the last fifty years. To be precise, since the Interstellar Space Program began.
I still thought the entire thing was a mistake. Humans just weren’t ready and the lack of higher tech or a seat on the Galactic Conclave proved I wasn’t the only one to believe this was true. Protected or not, humans were frail and small. In the vast emptiness of space, they were easily forgotten. There were too many species with far greater problems and entirely too aggressive governments.
Valtus was poised next to my side, index finger hovering above the trigger on his blaster. The weapon hummed lightly, the energy pulsing through its core both powerful and deadly. My own weapon was held firmly in my right hand, leaving my left hand open to grab the jagged blade always present on my back. Most Braxthar trained with these swords in our youth but learned to hone our skills and become adept once we entered into service and were conscripted as warriors.
“You said the bio-signs were weak.”
Something was wrong. My quills felt hot and trembled with anticipation. The likelihood of battle always affected me this way. A low growl left my lips.
“Yes, Commander.”
His answer was no surprise as I detected movement inside. We landed on this planet only a few hours prior after Intel suggested that human captives were being sold in the marketplace as breeding stock for the inhabitants.
Hoynal was rather unremarkable, the tech neither the worst nor the best among the fifty-one species in the Conclave and its society focused on the rich mining ore that resided far below ground. Their species – Ingrog – was wide in girth with massive chests and abnormally long arms that reached almost to the ground, bodies firmly muscled and covered in coarse russet hair. Their heads were overlarge with gaping mouths full of razor-sharp teeth, most of them filed into deadly points. The brute strength helped down in the mines but was brutal upon their youth and females.
