Chapter Twelve

AXL

Three Urwanian military spacecraft had set down on either side of our starship. The Urwanian vessels were so massive that they took up all the space behind the Neyonite restaurant. I watched the workers load the last of empty food crates onto trolleys, pushing them off the ramp of the Magnum spaceship and toward the restaurant.

The skies of Neyon were clear at midnight. Glowing red dots which could only be starships sped past the twinkling white stars. The odd spacecraft could be seen speeding past the restaurant and shooting up into the haze of clouds above us.

“Bottoms up, comrades!” Barthan raised his goblet, toasting everyone aboard the starship. The Urwanians raised their cups and reciprocated with a spirited cheer. Not wanting to put a damper on the festivities, I joined them and took a long swig of my ale.

“May Zamos lead us on the path of nobility and eternal glory!”

When the goblets were empty, the crowd dispersed and went their separate ways. Some headed to a large table on one side of the briefing room, digging into a feast of rotisserie meats, fruit platters, and Echilean bread. The entire room smelled like an aromatic blend of herbs and spices, but it failed to whet my appetite. Others formed an impromptu band in the corner, jamming on instruments they had brought along with them. The ruckus they caused did little to appease my foul mood.

I flattened myself against the wall and stared out the window. I was irritated with both my team and myself. We had come breathtakingly close to the pillar, and it still managed to slip through our fingers. The professionals had allowed ourselves to get outwitted by a single Earthling.

It went without saying that Christine Blackwood was not your ordinary human. I had only encountered three before, but I consumed quite a bit of their media in my spare time. Christine illustrated all of humanity’s worst stereotypes: she was arrogant, insolent, and impulsive. On the other hand, the humans had an unrivaled affinity for showmanship. Reels of human advertisements and infomercials could keep me thoroughly entertained for hours.

It was impossible to guess what Christine would do with the pillar now that she knew everyone wanted it. She was a time bomb on the run, and we didn’t know if she had chosen a side. In any event, we would need to get to her before the Makroid discovered Christine was a threat. With luck, we had only spooked her, and she was currently in the process of selling the pillar to a third party for a lot of credits.

What I did know was that she was in over her head. I wondered if Christine had a clue what she was doing. She seemed quick on her feet but did not stand a chance against Lord Silas. None of us did alone.

Perhaps the lone ranger was simply self-serving and willing to put aside ethics for the sake of financial gain. Other than a few instances of speeding, Christine had a clean record in the intergalactic database. We were not allowed to access any of her records on Earth, and that was the only background check we could run on her. I wasn’t willing to let her beautiful face sway me from doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of all Urwanians.

“Hey, Axl!” Barthan threw an arm over my neck and spun me around. “I have a little rascal here who wants to say hi.” Barthan stretched out his other arm, holding his communicator in front of us. Bam-Bam, my godson, appeared on the screen.

He looked identical to his father, just smaller. He had the same bright almond eyes, a thick set of eyebrows, and a short black braid of hair.

“How’s it going, swanu?” I waved at the screen. “Bam-Bam, you get bigger every time I see you. I think we’re about the same height now, aren’t we?”

“Of course not, swan-moiru! You’re silly!” Bam-Bam chuckled, which put a grin on my face too. He held up a wooden figurine carved into the form of a small child wearing an acquirer’s uniform and walked it across the table. “Thank you for the toy.”

“He loves it,” Barthan added, shaking his head affectionately. “It never leaves his side. He tucks it into bed with him every night.”

“I’m glad to hear it. It was the least I could do after your father told me that you scored full marks on your last exam. Keep it up, swanu.”

“My son’s a genius,” Barthan exclaimed. At the same time, Bam-Bam stuck his little finger up his nose and started probing. “Isn’t that right?”

“He’s the most intelligent kid I know. He must have gotten it from his mother, Zamos rest her soul.”

Bam-Bam broke out into another fit of giggles.

“Well, that’s enough out of you.” Barthan twisted his knuckles against my shoulder. It’s time to sign off now, Bam-Bam. It is well past your bedtime.”

“Just another minute?”

“We had another minute ten minutes ago,” Barthan spoke sternly. “Off you go.”

“Okay. Be careful out there, and come home soon, papa. I love you.”

“I love you, too, little one. Give my regards to your grandmother.”

Barthan ended the transmission. “Your goblet is looking a little empty.” He peered into my drink. “Do you want me to top you off?”

“No, thank you.”

“Why the sour face, Chief? You haven’t touched any of the food, either. You better snag yourself a hunk of meat before these gluttons devour it all.”

“Let them.”

“Come on, don’t you think we can celebrate a little bit?” Barthan swiped a crispy drumstick from a passing plate. “I know we don’t have the pillar yet, but it’s as good as ours already. I attached a tracker onto your girlfriend’s ship before we went down into the cave.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.” I scowled and leaned away from him.

“I see what I see.” Was Barthan taunting me? “And I saw the way you were looking at her. It was the same stare you gave Commander Leeva on the first day of training. Back then, we could have pulled down your pants, and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“You are full of shit. I didn’t look at Leeva differently than anyone else.”

“I’ve known you for fifteen years.” He leaned away from me, staring across the room with squinted eyes. “Do you think you’re going to win this one?”

“Go ahead and say whatever you want to say. I’d get more out of arguing with a wall than I would with you.” I fought against the urge to smile.

“Whatever the case, cheer up. We’ll get to Christine before you know it. When we do, I promise that we will go on easy on her.”

I had the feeling that I didn’t have Barthan’s full attention. I felt his thoughts in my head.

I cannot wait to drag my tongue all across your body and between those sweet, soft thighs.

“I don’t want you anywhere near my soft thighs.”

“Sorry about that.” Barthan patted my shoulder consolingly. “I must have been on the wrong frequency.”

I glanced over my shoulder. Isley stood across the room in a middle of a conversation with three other crew members. As she spoke, she played with her earrings, sneaking quick glances in Barthan’s direction.

“I’ve been tuning into Isley’s head all night. The waning crescent moon is making my blood boil, and I need to take the edge off. Know what I mean?”

“I see you’re using your telepathic abilities responsibly, as always.” I raised my eyebrows.

“It’s called making sure my skills are in prime condition.” Barthan sucked off the last meat on the drumstick and threw the bones into the trash. “You never know when I’ll need to be ready in a combat situation.”

“How was the drumstick?” Isley appeared behind Barthan. She moved a little too close to him, pressing her bursting cleavage against his arm. “I’ve been craving a little meat myself.”

It was starting to feel like a bad movie. Isley wasn’t looking at me, and I mimed gagging myself at Barthan.

“What would you say about getting out of here? I can show you the special package of meat I’ve been saving for you back in my chamber.” Barthan casually slipped an arm around her waist. “Go on. I’ll see you in a minute.”

“Don’t keep me waiting.” Isley slurred her words together as she overtly pinched Barthan’s crotch. “I’ll see you later, Chief.”

“Isley.” I nodded at her.

“Mmmm.” Barthan’s eyes were glued to the ample, jiggling shape of Isley’s ass as she walked out of the briefing room. He whistled under his breath. “What about you? Care to join in on the fun?”

“In your dreams, brother.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that you join us, necessarily.” Barthan tucked in his chin. “Although I remain adamant that our brotherhood will not truly be complete without having worked together in every field. I meant you should go out and live your life. I know you do not like fraternizing with anyone at Magnum, but you could have your pick of the Empress’ women. They aren’t half-bad to look at.”

“I’ll pass.” I dismissed him, gesturing at the exit. “Go enjoy yourself.”

As Barthan headed for the door, I scanned the room for Natya. In a sense, Barthan was right, but we had different definitions of how to live my life. We were due to leave in the morning, and it wouldn’t be long before we reached Christine. We didn’t want her discovering the tracker on her ship.

My roving eyes found Natya in the opposite corner of the room. She was sitting on the floor, using the surface of an empty barrel as a table. A small group of Urwanian females from the Empress’ troop crowded around her. I drank the last of my ale and crossed the floor to join them.

“I see.” Natya’s smooth voice came from inside of the circle. “Your airi is a kind and sensitive soul, but does not seem to have warrior blood.”

“Tell me more.” A soldier knelt next to Natya. She had her elbows perched on the edge of the barrel and dreamily cupped her face in her hand. “What does he do?”

I peered through the gap between a pair of shoulders. Natya had a collection of divination tools neatly laid out in front of her. She grabbed a handful of herbs and blew into her fist. A few of the red plants shot out of her hand and landed on the barrel. As she leaned in to analyze the patterns of the herbs, the Urwanian soldiers looked on with interest.

“There are many possibilities. They are artistic and spiritual. Perhaps they are a skilled craftsman or a writer. Maybe even a musician.”

“A lover of the arts. It sounds fantastic.”

I smiled and cleared my throat. “I don’t mean to intrude, Natya, but when you finish, would you mind talking to me for a few minutes? I need to discuss something with you.”

“Commander Axl! How wonderful of you to join us! Natya was doing an airi reading for us. Hey, Natya, why don’t you do one for the commander?”

“Just call me Axl. I don’t do that stuff.”

“Come on,” whined the soldier on the far right of the circle, linking arms with the teammate next to her. “Don’t be a downer. The reading will take less than two minutes.”

“You don’t have to be worried about your well-being.” Natya carefully maintained an expressionless face. “It won’t hurt a bit.”

“Fine, but make it quick.”

The soldiers cleared a space for me. I sat across from Natya and watched her pour steaming black tea into a shallow bowl. The crowd leaned in for a better look. One was so close that their hair tickled my ears.

“Take these stones.” Natya pulled out three translucent pebbles from a satchel and dropped them into my palm. “Blow on them before you throw them into the elixir.”

I shook my head but closed my fist, blew on it, then tossed the pebbles into the bowl. When the rocks hit the dark liquid, they cracked open. Puffs of red smoke rose from the fluid. For an instant, the particles formed the image of a lomas bird. The puffy, pint-sized creature flapped its wings and flew away, vanishing into thin air. I blinked at the hissing black bowl.

“A lomas bird! The omen of serendipity. Isn’t that sweet? I had no idea you were such a romantic. Do you have any idea who the lucky woman might be?”

“Axl’s airi is the lucky one.” I felt a finger lightly drag across my cheek.

“All right, I did my time.” I stood up and rolled my pointed finger around in circles, indicating that I was in a hurry. “If you’ll excuse us, ladies, Natya and I have some business to attend to.”

As soon as the giggling soldiers were out of earshot, I turned back to Natya. “We need a plan.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Have you ever heard of TerraMates? Some of the guys from Magnum know all about it, and you’d be surprised at the Earth girls who want to marry an alien.”