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“I’ll give you Fifth,” I said, and then I watched him with a steely, emotionless expression.
He snarled and jabbed a finger at me. “Second! I demandedSecond, Thuliak. You cunt-stained fucking…”
“As First,” I said, not letting any anger seep into my voice. I’d save that for later if I needed it. “Second is too important to hand over for something like this. We can’t dilute our progeny just because you threatened to blow up a planet.”
He grinned. We both knew he was full of shit. He’d never blow up a planet full of fuckingvirgins, of all things, but he did need the threat of it to bait me into a war. He still wasn’t bluffing about the war part, so I needed to be careful here.
“Dilute our progeny?” he said, putting a hand over his wide, purple chest, “Thuliak, come now. How do you think that makes me feel?”
“We’ve never gotten along,” I said. “It’s nothing personal. Your pack is strong. I respect them. I just don’t like you. I don’t want you as Second. I’m happy to have you as Fifth. Your pack has good genes. Your pack’s got balls, and I want our progeny to have balls too.”
“Fifth,” he mouthed the word as if it were an insult he were trying to hear as something else. “Fifth. You know that I really will fight you, Thuliak. I fucking swear I will.”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll really fight you too. I’ve got something else though. I have a woman for you. Your pack would be Fifth, butyou, Tschenkar, would be Second.”
Assuming I bred with Airlock first. Which I would, at the first free moment I managed to get her alone with me, without a pack- or planet-destroying threat hanging over me.
“I refuse your offer,” Tschenkar said.
My mask fell. I’d been keeping my face neutral to hide my emotions for this entire conversation, but my surprise showed through for a second or two.
“What?” Tschenkar said, “you think a lowly Fifth would never refuse your scraps? No, Thuliak, I will take Fifth, but know that I am deeply and gravely fucking insulted, and I vow, with the force of ten-thousand cocks coming all in unison, to get even with you before one of us dies.”
I swallowed. A vow from a Scion could never be taken lightly. It was as good as true, and I knew Tschenkar would hold to it. The only question was if he’d try to get revenge now, or if he’d wait a few years.
I’d give him Fifth. We’d both come out of this looking strong. All I had to give up was adding one more scion to a long list of scions with vows, blood feuds, and death threats against me.
“I accept your terms,” I said.
“Then I’m Fifth,” he said. “I’ll fall back a good distance. Just far enough away that you still know I’m there, but not so close that you can see me. Fifth, you wouldn’t want a Fifth right up there in the reflected light from those bright blue oceans of that big virgin cherry. I think there’s an icy rock somewhere close by we can orbit around until it’s our turn. Until we’re ready to take our sloppy seconds—sloppy fifths, sorry. Would that work for you, Thuliak? Or will you have to always be worrying just what I’m doing out there where you can’t see me? What am I doing with that extra ship?”
“Whatever suits your needs.”
I couldn’t get Rhulgar back. He’d lost in direct combat with Tschenkar. Even if Tschenkar had ambushed him, it just showed that he and his pack were crafty, and Khetar liked crafty progeny just as much as they liked strong progeny. Even if I bargained hard for Rhulgar’s release, I couldn’t add him to the Breeding Swarm. He’d have to go off on his own for a few centuries, proving himself again and again, before anyone could let him into their Breeding Swarm.
As much as Tschenkar would be a needle in my side, I had to admit his presence added a good texture to the Breeding Swarm. It was good for Swarms to have some bad blood, I’d just have preferred that it were someone else’s blood.
“Thuliak,” he said, “before I go, I wanted to ask you…what does she smell like?”
“The humans,” I said, “they smell like—”
“No, no,” he said, “whythey? She’s the only one you’ve ever smelled, right? You might as well tell me whatshesmells like. Her, right there. The one with the pretty lips.” He pointed to her. Right to Airlock. “That one. You know, the one with the garbage bag over her body. Do they dress like that because they are virgins? Or are they virgins because they dress like that?”
People on my bridge started laughing. I shot them a stern, silencing stare.
“I’ve clothed her like this,” I said, “to keep my crew under control.”
Tschenkar leaned forward. “You’ve got me very curious, Thuliak. I’ve seen the images and videos, but they say it’s always different in the flesh.”
It was different in the flesh. He was right, and even I had underestimated just how powerful the effect could be. I thought I knew what I was in for, and then I’d seen Airlock. I worried that I’d just gone for the first woman I’d laid eyes on, but after seeing the other two, I realized it must have just been luck. Or maybe fate. I’d simply found the one for me without having to do any searching.
“This one is mine,” I said. “She’s of no interest to you.”
“Yours and…” he said, letting the emptiness hang in the air.
“That will be decided later.”
“I see,” he said. He just wanted to get my crew wondering about who I’d form a triumvirate with.
