After an hour of this, Pedro showed signs of fatigue, and that was as good an excuse as any to take our leave—although, where we would go from here was a mystery.
“Oh, Stellarian!” Krunk called to us as we prepared to depart the cave. “If you know how we might schedule an audience with thenewAstrum Force Command, we would be grateful. TheLacertuswish to form an alliance between our planets and settle our differences once and for all.”
I froze as the enormity of that request sunk into my borrowed bones. “Yes… I believe I could help facilitate a meeting with the new Head Commander.”
Micah scoffed. “Of course, Honnor would be willing to meet, Zig! This is exactly the type of outreach they’ve been pushing for. Plus, you’re their offspring. Plus,youwere originally supposed to be Head Commander.”
So ridiculous.
Krunk cocked their head again. “Is that so? I did not realize I was in the presence of such a prestigious Star Unit warrior! It is no wonder you were prepared to take on an entire clan ofLacertusby yourself.”
I yanked my helmet on as my cheeks heated. “You kidnapped my mate,” I grumbled as Micah snickered.
TheLacertussighed. “We may have overreacted at the pier. My kind is known for our short tempers, unfortunately. The tiniest offense or threat could result in a rampage of epic proportions.”
“Well, that sounds familiar?—”
“Behave, sunshine.”
“I would like to bestow a parting gift.” Krunk gestured toward the scene of the crime. “Take Uuktar with you—to guide you to Karn.”
Micah blinked. “Wha… you’regivingus your prisoner? What about revenge on the Hydrassians?”
Krunk shrugged. “You have the power to remove the shields imprisoning them, so go ahead. It will help you get your Trol home.” His mouth spread in a fearsome grin. “What you decide to do with the seer—withallof them—after that is entirely up to you.”
39
MICAH
I usually preferred honesty and clear communication, but I also saw no problem in letting Uuktar believe we’d slaughtered a bunch ofLacertusso we could all track down a planet full of innocent Trols.
Snitches will get their stitches.
Dissolving the Eki-made prison surrounding the seer was way easier than I’d thought it would be. First, I got out of my head about it—that was key—then I focused on reverse-engineering my own creations.
Instead of gathering the particles on hand and either pushing or pulling them into a solid shape, I made contact with the existing barrier and then abruptly blasted it back into the millions of particles from whence it came.
Simple.
Besides feeling like a bad bitch, the exercise showed me exactly howmyshields were “more advanced” than the Eki’s.
And I will just tuck that intel in my pocket for later.
As soon as we were back on the Lodger, I repaired first the ship then SWOL-E—again—before putting Pedro in their questionable care, far away from our temporary guest. I also made sure the anti-hypnotism feature was still activated in my glasses, just in case the Hydrassian thought they were gonna pull a fast one on me.
I wouldn’t put anything past this fool.
Ziggy had already told me Stellarians were immune to such tricks, so I wasn’t worried about him. If anyone should have been concerned for their safety, it was Uuktar, but they were acting as self-righteous as ever.
“We assume there will be a great feast in our honor once we’re safely returned to Dionaea…” the seer’s voices filled the cockpit with a pompous chorus as Ziggy piloted the ship. “But to show our gratitude, we would like to offer you an in-depth reading from Ulvin and us, free of charge!”
“How generous,” Ziggy murmured dryly, and it was all I could do to keep my laughter contained.
Ain’t nobody judgier than my man.
“So why doesn’t Uulvin also know the coordinates for Karn?” I casually asked. “You know, since you’re siblings and all.”
Since you can communicate telepathically with each other—even through an Eki’s shield.
