Page 14 of Warrior (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #2)
It would take little effort to subdue the guards. Yet I hesitated. Despite their lack of skill, Aljani were fiercely loyal to their Duke. The guards might not talk easily. Torture would make their tongues loosen—I knew that from experience. But torture would take time, a luxury I didn't possess.
There was one way to get the information quickly. I needed to let them capture me. Ego always loosens the tongue. Capturing a Vaktaire warrior, especially the war chief of the Bardaga, would be a tremendous ego boost to these three dumbasses.
No, Ewok was more important. There would be other guards, especially a scarred one I could take my time with and torture until secrets littered his screams. Shifting, I silently slid my axes into my hands.
The tall one, I’d nicknamed him Cocky, turned slightly as though he’d heard me. I knew better, but his movement allowed a better glimpse of the weapon at his belt.
Aside his laser blaster, the guard held a weapon with an elongated barrel that flared at the end.
A mortar. One mis-aimed shot from the weapon could explode my ship.
A risk I would take only after having the medi-unit in hand.
Letting them capture me was the best plan.
I could get to the skiff, then kill them at close range—quickly and efficiently.
I slid behind the stone and unsheathed my other axe, enjoying the weight of the weapons in my hands before sliding them into the shadows.
Not even Aljani were dumb enough to think they got the drop on an armed Vaktaire warrior.
I had to make this appear they got lucky—and I knew exactly which one would be easiest to fool.
Dumbass.
He earned that nickname again, placing a finger along the hull of my ship and yelping, apparently too stupid to realize all the outer panels of my skiff held an electric charge after getting zapped several times.
Yeah, I would easily convince Dumbass he felled me in a fight.
I just needed to get rid of the other two first.
Pulling several small stones from the ground. I crept to the edge of the stone closest to my skiff. The shadows were too deep for them to spot me as I tossed the first rock. It landed with a loud thwack far on the other side of the skiff.
The sleeping guard, the one I named Bored, jumped to his feet while Dumbass gave a yelp, whether of surprise or from receiving another shock, I couldn’t tell. Cocky raised the mortar, saying something to the other two before ambling off to check on the disturbance.
One down.
Grabbing a handful of smaller stones, I tossed them one after the other just past the nose of the skiff; the sound mimicking heavy footsteps. Bored and Dumbass exchanged a glance. I almost wished I could see their faces, but cowardice disgusts me, so it’s probably better I could not.
As expected, Bored appeared braver, lifting the blaster to his shoulder before heading off to investigate.
The movement of Dumbass’s head suggested fear, but he turned back to the skiff, hand poised to touch the hull. Maybe he had some kind of odd fetish where he enjoyed pain. He would not want the pain I had in mind for him later—not a bit.
Stepping from behind the rock, I made no attempt to silence my approach. Still, I thought I would have to tap Dumbass on the shoulder before he noticed me. As it was, I waited until he’d turned away from the skiff, waving his hand from its latest shock.
Through the air mask, I watched his pale blue eyes go wide, mouth working but issuing no sound. He was young, as I expected, age perhaps explaining his ineptitude.
Sweet Valana! I could have killed him six times over in the minutes he stood gawking at me.
Finally, a trembling hand shot to the blaster at the side.
With a flick of my wrist, I disarmed him, sending the weapon thudding into the dirt.
Getting shot by the dumbass wouldn't help anybody.
Although I doubted he could hit me, even though I stood only inches away.
He didn't carry a blade, which was a wise choice on his leader's part. For a moment, I thought about knocking him out and setting the scene to appear he was injured while capturing me. Finally, though, Dumbass grew some balls and swung.
I stepped into his punch, barely feeling it register on the side of my head.
Trying to move as naturally as possible, I spun and landed against the skiff', giving a jerk as I pretended to feel a jolt of electricity.
Thankfully, Dumbass didn't notice the absence of a shock as the skiff was coded to accept the touch of any Vaktaire DNA.
I crumbled to the ground, gratitude surging that I’d come alone to this moon. I would die of embarrassment if any of my fellow warriors witnessed this farce.
Dumbass was saying something, his air mask obviously equipped with a comm unit, as I felt the thud of his comrades returning footsteps. One of them kicked me. He'd pay for that in a minute. They could always shoot me and be done with it, but they wouldn’t. I was too great a prize.
One of them knelt and pushed me on my back for a better look.
"He's Vaktaire." His voice held surprise and I had to bite my tongue to suppress a grin.
"How the fuck did you take down a Vaktaire?" This had to be Bored. His voice was deeper, sounding older than Cocky.
"I—I…." This had to be Dumbass. "I didn't really take him down. I hit him, and he stumbled into the ship and got shocked."
I'd give Dumbass credit for honesty. It wouldn't save him, but at least he'd die with my respect.
“Is he dead?”
“I think he’s still breathing,” Cocky answered, rising.
"Can we use him to get access to the ship?" Dumbass asked. Maybe I was wrong, and he didn't enjoy the shocks. Perhaps he was trying to gain entry.
"We can try his palm on the access panel," Cocky agreed. “Let’s get him up.”
At least no one suggested cutting my hand off—but suffering their pitiful attempts to lift me, I almost wish they had.
“This bastard is heavy,” Bored grunted, tugging on my left arm.
"We don't have to carry him far," Cocky said from behind me. So, he was the de facto leader of this little troop, not bothering to do any heavy lifting.
This was intolerable. They were so weak and clumsy it was as uncomfortable as being carried by a bunch of younglings.
Ewok.
My heart squeezed, remembering the sight of his unnaturally pale face and the tears streaming down Daisy’s face.
The fuckers needed to get on with it.
With Bored and Dumbass holding me, Cocky lifted my hand to press against the access panel. The door swished open, and a faint cloud of steam flowed over us, neutralizing the acid.
They dumped me unceremoniously into one of the outer cockpit chairs, binding my wrists with thin metal strips. It was a piss-poor job. Sweet Valana, didn't they train Aljani guards at all?
“Aljani 7-3 to base."
Fuck, this wasn’t good.
"Base, go ahead, Aljani 7-3." The words were garbled, the acid in the atmosphere not conducive to any type of communication, even one as short range as this.
“We’ve located and captured the pilot of the skiff.” I heard a deep swallow and realized the guards must have removed their masks. "He appears to be Vaktaire."
Deep crackly silence reigned for a few minutes. I could imagine the shock and worry reverberating through the base.
“Secure the prisoner and return to base.”
“We’re going to be heroes.” Bored’s voice held excitement.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Cocky grunted as I heard him move about. “This is a four-man skiff. He might not be the only one here."
Cocky had some brains, after all.
He stepped closer, releasing the latch of my air mask and lifting it from my face. Seconds later, a splash of cold water hit my skin.
Time to wake up.
Blinking, I behaved sluggishly. Ugh, this was ridiculous. I should just kill them and be done.
Bored was as I imagined: a stout older man with a deep set wrinkles across his forehead. Cocky appeared a few years younger, his pale hair styled in a myriad of braids coiled atop his head. Dumbass was young—really young—he barely looked out of the youngling stage.
“Are you alone?” Cocky bent to peer into my face.
Trying to act like I still recovered from the effects of being shocked, I winced before speaking. "Yes. I am alone."
“Why are you on this moon?” It was Bored’s turn to act tough.
I gave another fake wince and shook my head slowly for effect. I'd formulated this excuse before landing on Giezo, just in case. "I was a prisoner in the mines after the Vaktaire-Romvesian skirmish. There was always talk of precious gems on Giezo."
The three exchanged glances, but I saw no indication they disbelieved my tale.
Ego.
To believe I knew of the mumje would be to consider themselves less than the superior species Aljani thought themselves.
“What did you find in the mines?”
I considered saying I had yet to find the access panel, but there was no telling how long since the Aljani found my skiff. The tunnel system was massive. It was believable I'd spent some time in the depths without encountering Daisy or the younglings.
"Nothing. I found the access panel, but all the rock I saw was too porous to hold gems."
The guards exchanged looks, again buying my story. Bored showed the biggest ego, a wry twist to his lips, and he bent over to glare at me. "No, it holds something much more precious.”
“You need to be quiet!” Dumbass wasn’t such a dumbass after all, although the way Cocky glared at him, he didn’t appear to be of that opinion.
"Like this bastard will ever see the light of day again," Cocky grunted, then added with a wicked gleam. "We should use him as a test subject for the stuff we pulled from the mines."
"Mining for drug compounds is illegal," I said to a chorus of smirks. "Duke Ako is a respected member of the Alliance. I can't believe he is involved in non-sanctioned mining."
“Duke Ako is weak,” Cocky’s smirk deepened. “Our allegiance is to the worthwhile leader of the Aljani—Nansar.”