The Hydrassian rolled their eyes. Meaning, they rolled all twelve of them so I wouldn’t miss how unintelligent they thought I was.
“For security purposes, obviously,” they huffed. “We are incredibly valuable assets, as evidenced by our unjust abduction, so proprietary intel is divided equally between us.”
I glanced down at my phone, positioned where Uuktar couldn’t see the screen, to assess the validity of that statement.
Earth Angel
They’re telling the truth, at least about their sibling not knowing the coordinates.
Earth Angel
Once you’re back on the giant Venus flytrap planet, I can dip into the other one’s mind to see what they know.
I smiled and shook my head, wishing it wouldn’t distract the psychic supervillain for me to send him all my unfiltered thoughts of shock and awe—because what Gabe and his twin could do was amazing.
Even if they need a conduit like me standing in front of their mark at this range.
Uuktar grunted in annoyance, unaware someone light years away was rifling through their thoughts. “What are you looking at over there, Earthling? We are your honored guest and deserve your full attention. Must we remind you that you would not be able to find this planet if it weren’t for?—”
“And we areincrediblythankful for your sacrifice,” Ziggy interrupted, without taking his eyes off the endless stars ahead of us. “However, you must be tired after your ordeal. Shall I return you to your room? Or perhaps I could star hop you to Dionaea—reunite you with your loved ones beforewecontinue on to Karn with the coordinates you’ve already provided…”
Tricky Space Daddy.
I could understand why Uuktar wouldn’t take Zig up on the offer to head to bed, since it was in the same prison cell we’d kept the original Hydrassian, but for someone who’d been so “unjustly” imprisoned for so long, they didn’t seem in a rush to get home.
All signs point to bullshit.
“It's quite alright, Stellarian.” They sniffed haughtily, settling further into the captain's chair I’d offered them. “We would rather guide you all the way to your destination—to ensure everything goes to plan.”
“Do they honestly believe we are this unintelligent?”
Again, I had to swallow my reaction to Ziggy’s words, especially as they were in my head.
No point alerting the seer on board to the psychic warfare already underway.
Zig and I had figured out that if I kept my general shields activated butnotthe one sealing off my mind, he was still able to telepathically communicate with me. I’d then asked Gabe to test ifhecould get into my mind while my main shields were up, just to be sure my thoughts were safe. While the supe could still use my proximity as a jumping off point for accessing Uuktar’s thoughts, he wasn’t able to read mine.
So Operation Oh You Thought is well underway.
I knew my Space Daddy’s question was rhetorical, but I replied anyway.
“I honestly think Hydrassians believe everyone is less intelligent than them. I also think this inflated sense of superiority is shared by many species out here…”
Cough, cough.
“Well, in the Stellarians case, it’s a fact. Although, I have met a certain Earthling whose intelligence puts the rest of us to shame.”
My gaze drifted to the certificate Zig had commissioned from the Kaalas, already getting ideas of my own for how I could return the favor.
I just love seeing him blush beneath those murder freckles.
“That’s odd…” Ziggy abruptly muttered out loud, glancing at his dashboard and back to the Intergalactic Highway head. “The radar should at least be picking up on the planet, even if I don’t have a visual yet.”
“It’s there.”
I couldn’t sayhowI knew, but I did. Despite the wide swath of stars outside the window appearing unbroken, I could sensesomethingwas directly ahead of us. Something big.
Like a whole ass planet.
