All threeLacertusstared at my mate with so much predatory intensity, it was all I could do to not star hop him all the way back to Earth.
I hope you know what you’re doing, Micah.
The largest of the pack, a gigantic purple beast with coloring like Micah‘s eldest brother in his true form, shifted their attention to the Hydrassian in question.
“You told us your visitors would be a Stellarian and an…Earth-ling, whateverthatis. You also insisted they would have a Trol with them. Do youdarelie to us again, Uuktar?”
Again?
I wanted to take advantage of the distraction to discuss this eerily specific intel with my partner, but Micah jumped on the chance to discredit the seer before I could check in.
“Can a Stellarian do this?” he huffed, expertly crafting akatanaout of thin air to demonstrate his Eki-like matter manipulation powers. “Last I heard,Trolswent extinct.”
“Good riddance,“ the third, umber-coloredLacertusmuttered under its breath, and the other two nodded in agreement.
What in Stellaria’s name…
I could sense Micah’s surprise at this statement as well, but I didn’t have the chance to ponder its meaning before Uuktar joined the conversation.
“They are the ones who are lying!” they shrieked. “Check their ship for the Trol.”
Micah scoffed. “Why would I require an entire ship when I can star hop to my destination? Not to mention, all I needed to bring with me for this maintenance visit was my powers and the shell of anOpertum—for protection purposes.”
My mate was clearly making up his story as he went along while also being extremely careful in his responses. He wasn’t quite lying, but he also wasn’t completely telling the truth.
Dr. Micah would call it redirection.
The purpleLacertuscocked its head, observing my mate shrewdly. “I do not recall any mention of ongoing maintenance being required. In fact, the alarm system the original creator installed supposedly ensuredno onewould be getting close to our prisoner without our knowledge—not even a fellow Eki.”
Fuck.
This did not look good, but I forced myself to defer to Micah’s ability to handle it. As I’d hoped, Commander Babygirl had the situation under control.
“Our shields have improved over time,” he elaborated. “So the focus of this visit is more of an upgrade.”
Does he intend to fortify the shields?
Or just fool the Lacertus into thinking that’s why we’re here?
My mate had been undecided on what to do with Uuktar as we left the Lodger, although he'd also mentioned he didn’t fully believe the Hydrassians’ story, which was surprising coming from my normally trusting mate.
Either way, webothwanted to return Pedro to their home planet—for slightly different reasons—so we’d decided to assess the situation as it evolved.
Han Solo-style.
At the moment, we seemed to be at a standstill, as theLacertuswere still squinting suspiciously at my mate.
Micah sighed heavily. “If you prefer, I can leave the shields in their current state… That is, If you’re unconcerned how your prisoner is somehow gathering intel…”
The Hydrassian froze as all three enormous reptiles swung their heads to peer into their transparent cage.
“Now that you mention it…” the headLacertussnarled. “You never did name your source, Uuktar.”
Perhaps I was being generous, calling these creatures intelligent.
The seer sniffed haughtily, even as they shifted on their feet. “Why would we share such information with those who’ve unjustly kept us prisoner?”
“Unjustly!” Micah scoffed, as if either of us knew the reason for the Hydrassian’s imprisonment in the first place.
