He spoke as we walked through the well-kept halls, a vast contradiction to the exterior of the den. "I've acquired a species that struggles to thrive on my planet, but my queen believes the flightless worms make a welcome change to the taste of our nectar. I've been tasked with bringing more, since the first gave us a strong kantos spawn. She believes we need another worm to help her hatch the new generation. That is where you come in. It is the price for my establishment risking the wrath of Lord Zorn. You are to make sure this worm will survive longer than the last."
"And you believe I can do that for you?" I asked, incredulous at the assumption that I had any medical experience with a species he hadn’t even identified.
"Your ship came from the direction I'm told the worms were found, and I did not acquire this one from Lord Zorn, so he would not be pleased that I didn't wait for his return to choose from his own stock. The trader I bought from did not keep his stock in good repair. You can understand I can't trust either to help me, and I've seen one of your kind heal the Hewve Dragon of a similar sickness. But of course, my silence about your involvement with an unclaimed slave is contingent on your own silence about this worm I place in your care."
When we entered an air-locked room, a strange membrane blocked our entry, and the commander tore through it with a stinger extended from his forearm. We entered, only for him to spit on the tear to seal it and tear through another membrane like a containment chamber.
A strange creature with no visible defenses, but of similar build to the trill, lied prone before us. I approached and used a claw to lift its mouth flap open to see it had the blunted teeth of a scavenger that picks the leftovers of other predators, or forages for plants and berries. These creatures had no wings to fly from predators, and no scales, or thick hide, to protect against becoming prey. I pressed against its small claws only for them to bend under little pressure, not even giving the species an ability to defend itself. It was as vulnerable as a bug, and aptly described as a wingless worm.
"What is wrong with it?"
"That isn't my job, that's yours," the commander scoffed in dismissal. "I'll have the estreld female delivered to you shortly, but as long as she is in your care, someone must be with the worm. Bring the medic that fixed the Hewve Dragon, and the estreld is yours."
"I will clarify that bringing my medic does not mean she is yours to keep. I'm not selling her."
His wings fluttered and folded back, disappearing behind him. "As I said before, as long as you have the estreld in your care, your medic will care for the worm."
I understood clearly enough that Belder would be hostage as long as I was with my treasure. Belder would willingly place herself in whatever harm's way to help a creature in need. Prying her from the worm's side would be impossible if she thought she could help him. It did appear to be male by the looks of the appendage between his legs, but I'd met species where gender was less obvious, and females were self-propagating.
"And should your worm be recovered, then our business is concluded. You will leave both my medic and the estreld alone."
"I have no control over whether Lord Zorn has anything to say about your involvement with what is his, but I will not intervene unless prompted to."
That was as good of a promise that I would receive from such an outlaw.
With a smile, I made it clear to him that my species boasted more than just two insignificant fangs—we possessed an entire array of teeth specifically designed to shred through flesh, and my tongue was rough enough to grate against his thick skin if I wished to extend my barbs. A warning not too dissimilar to his own, I replied, "As long as I don't find you've dishonored me, your business is your own."
We were both in agreement, but I wasn't sure he was aware that in my culture, we considered it perfectly lawful to kill anyone who has gone against their word or sought harm against our mates.
He has given me his word that he will let Belder go if the worm recovers, and Belder will be free to kill any of his crew if they do not keep this word. We don't always warn our enemies when we intend to kill them, and Belder didn't have to lift a weapon to end their lives.
I had a feeling they'd find out soon enough that I was not the most dangerous trill of the crew. I pitied any warrior who faced Belder without knowing who we were.
One bite from a trill was all it took to end them.
After contacting Belder and explaining the situation, she was more than agreeable to help not only the worm, but an unknown woman that was tossed to the streets of a barely habitable planet. By sheer luck alone did my treasure find food that was compatible with her digestive system and just so happened to also be considered trash by a species I'd come to understand were called krelins.
I wrinkled my nose at what my scanners had identified the stones she'd been so desperate to gather for herself as being the feces of the Hewve Dragon they'd brought with them. Apparently, they used the creatures as stone and sand processors, and their feces were used for building materials within their hive, and trash compacting during their travels.
It was high in nutrients compatible for a species with high mineral diets such as an estreld. Her teeth were made of crystals meant for breaking down hard rocks, while also making for a dazzling smile.
I grinned at the reminder of how shocked she'd been when I spoke with her, and she gaped at me for a moment before I understood why my scales tightened and flared. Something about her spoke to a primal side of me. Her light green hair was tattered, dirty, and despite her state of survival, she glowed with not merely a light that was inherent to her species, but one that spoke of her fight for life. Her determination to cling to hope tugged at my gut. I had been in a worse state when Princess Klemon found me on the outskirts of the city all those years ago.
Perhaps it was seeing a part of my past in the estreld that made me so feral inside. I wanted to viciously rip through the throats of anyone who stood by and allowed her to waste away without a claw lifted to help. I wanted to tenderly clean the broken skin around the jewels that adorned her body. But it was that fierceness in her eyes that told me she'd kill the one that pushed her so low, and if I wanted to be there to see it happen, I'd have to earn that right.
I didn't care that her species may not be compatible with mine. I surrounded myself with those that lit a fire within me and reminded me that treasures were often thrown away. Reminding me that I wasn't trash. That's what my ship was built on, and it wasn't a secret that my queen's advisors thought of my crew as disposable. I didn't risk our lives for the council or even the Galactic Authority. I did it for the discarded of my planet. The ones with no names that still had hope in their scales.
"Commander Yueril," Belder connected with my comm, distracting me from my thoughts. I kept the line open for her, despite the risks of being tracked or monitored by outlaws. "I'm with the worm you spoke of, and I've confirmed your suspicions. The Solusgors have reached this sector, and the nanotech seemed to work with the Hewve Dragon. It's possible it will work with this worm too, but he seems so fragile. I'm uncertain of how the creature will react to the technology."
"Do what you can. I'll figure out a new bargain if the worm doesn't recover. What is recovery for the few will be sightless for those who are too close," I gave her a solid proverb of reason to manage her expectations and lessen her guilt should her efforts fail.
"In many we rise," she agreed with my proverb for the situation we faced. The worm's recovery may be nothing more than death's embrace, and Belder would not have a creature suffer merely for being a bleeding heart that stands too close to see what must be done.
We were both warriors of the Galactic Authority of Trillume, but we were not monsters, even if our missions fell in the gray zones of morality.
The light above my door buzzed, glowing golden, before opening. I had thought I would have more time between Belder's arrival at the worm's side and when my treasure would come. I reached for my robe to cover my scales. It was more for her own protection than for a sense of modesty. My robes were adept at absorbing the secretions that lubricated my skin and caused varying degrees of relaxation in species that touched us. It was what kept my skin comfortable and soft, but also helped my ancestors in weakening their prey by rubbing against them before they used their claws to flay them, while their teeth tore their meat apart.
"Oh," her soft voice was heard from the doorway as I let the fabric fall back over my chest. My scales flared along my temples when I sensed a change in her perspiration. Her temperature rose as she watched me. A dilation in my eyes had my second lids flicking into place to detect heat signatures, and her body lit up like a star in my vision. Waves of heat flicked from her skin, much more like flames than what I was used to seeing with most species. Even my fellow warriors deflected heat with their scales, and it took concentration to track the heat at their glands, which blended with the natural heat signatures of the ground itself. If we were still enough, and crouched to the ground, we were nearly indistinguishable from another rock.
