“Did you enjoy yourself?”
“I think I’m getting the hang of things.” I sit down next to a bulkhead and put the platter down, picking at the items I like and putting several in my mouth at once.
“By my reckoning, we should reach the planetoid within the next three nova-days,” Driok says.
“I’ll be ready.” I eat a couple more savory items which are similar to olives and which I seem to crave all the time. “But I could really do with you explaining exactly what we’re up against. Like who the actual enemy is, if it isn’t the Veseli or the Gonoz.”
“Their species is the Ulep, although what they were once is not what they are now.” Driok sighs. “Eons of attempting to enhance themselves, to become a master race of sorts, means they do not resemble anything of their original form.” He sits down beside me and rakes a handful of meat from the platter. “They are single-minded in what they want and the way they will get it.”
“In what way?”
“What they want, they take, and nothing gets in their way.”
“So, all this time on Vorostor, you’ve been fighting to stop them.”
“I have. They want the star fuel Daxx mines, along with anything else Vorostor might offer. The entire galaxy, although most of it is primitive, save as for Xracak City, which is on the boundaries as it is, is rich in natural resources. Resources which draw a species like the Ulep from any corner of the universe.” Driok consumes his meat and takes another handful. “The onlything which has stopped them is the distance. We had the worm hole, but they have had to travel here using stasis pods.” He inspects the food. “It hasn’t done them any favors.”
I pick at the olive-a-likes and take a sip of my water. Emotion is welling up inside me, and I can’t seem to stop it. A fat tear drops onto my leg, making an uneven circle. I stifle a sob, not entirely sure what is wrong.
“My mate?” Driok is staring at me like I’ve sprung a leak, which I sort of have.
“I’m sorry, Driok. It’s just…I guess everyone, even me—we all thought you were just being a warlord. Not protecting the entire planet from annihilation.”
“It’s my job. I took it seriously. I appreciate the other warlords had other ideas about what I should be doing, how often I should be on Vorostor, and when I should show up, and believe me, I wanted to do all those things, but it wasn’t like the Ulep would turn up when it was convenient.”
He slides his arm around my waist and pulls me close, lifting up the platter and balancing it on my belly, making me laugh snottily as he snaffles a few more treats and eats them in a single gulp.
“I am the butcher of Haldane, Maggie,” he says. “I have a reputation to uphold.”
“What does that mean, the butcher of Haldane? Did you slaughter an entire army or something?”
Driok chuckles and bows his head. “No. I found meat for my warriors during a particularly onerous mission, and we ate well that night.” He laughs harder, pulling me against him. “But the title stuck, and some took it more seriously than others.”
“You mean you lied?”
“I just didn’t correct anyone who took it literally.” Driok grins at me, his fangs in full evidence and his face so alive, so young. “Not my fault if they got it wrong.”
I shake my head, but I’m smiling too. I can’t help it…I rather love his approach. It means he gets left alone to do what he needs to do.
Although, it would appear, he believes some of his hype, given the situation we’re in.
“So, Lord Driok, member of the High Bask and descendant of the great General Draxx, what exactly is the plan?”
“That’s the fun part.” Driok’s eyes glitter with badness. “And you’re going to love it.”
DRIOK
From the look on Maggie’s face, I’m not sure she does love the plan. In fact, I’d go so far as to say, she’s probably going to envenomate me.
“That’s it?” she says. “Sounds like something Dante would make up.”
That hurts far more than being envenomated.
“It’ll work,” I say.
“You think?” She purses her lips. “If you had warriors maybe, but there’s just you and me and some remote tech. It’s not enough.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
