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There would be no forgiveness for me.
However, my death would come differently than I had imagined. It wouldn’t be from the explosion of theGloryDaze.It would still be by my hand, just in a more intimate way. I couldn’t risk being tortured for info about the Resistance. I could still have a little hope that maybe Braxl would spare me, but I had a tiny hidden poison spike in one of my earrings to ensure I had a way out if I needed it.
Shuttles were pulling away and meandering toward the various ships spread out in narrow space. The beautiful planet below us shined bright golden and blue through the porthole window to the side of me. Dawn was breaking over the area Braxl had pointed out to me as his home city. It was a shame I would never set foot there.
The way the relationship between Braxl and I had blossomed made me think a bit differently about the Alien Auction. Maybe it really did give opportunities to at least some women and men.
After all, as the pamphlet says, this was my choice.
I typed in the last sentence of code but still didn’t give theExecutecommand. I needed to wait a little longer. The new code I had written would only overload the ships that were past a perimeter that would keepGloryDazesafe.
I wondered briefly what my superiors with the Resistance would think about my change in plans. There was no way to contact them. I just had to trust the trust they placed in me.
The alcove of engineering I was in had a door that I was able to lock mechanically from the inside. I was hopeful that once the shuttles started exploding, there would be no way to stop it. If there was an intelligent engineer sober enough to look at a console to try and find the code, I hoped I had hidden it well enough.
I just had to wait for Kressel to board and be out in space as well.
I checked the video feed of the shuttle port again as another three shuttles disembarked through the shield, and another group of drunken, laughing Krafina entered.
Kressel was with them. So was Braxl.
I clicked over to the audio as I watched the son and father confer.
“Your bride isn’t here to see me off, too?”
Braxl shifted his weight from side to side. Was that nervousness? Did he suspect something?
“She’s sleeping. It has been a busy time for her. A lot of overwhelming emotions.”
Holy shit. He’s covering for me.
To be fair, he was covering for himself, too. I was sure Kressel would have a few choice words if Braxl admitted to not knowing where I was.
“Well, you know those weak humans. Ruled by their emotions.” Kressel ducked toward the open door of his shuttle, but Braxl laid a hand on his shoulder.
“I think you’re wrong about her, father. I am grateful for this opportunity to get to know her better. To know humans better. Your ploy didn’t work.” Braxl swung his eyes up to a camera in the shuttle bay, looking directly at it.
I jumped in my seat and nearly hid, but remembered there was no way he could see me spying. There was no other way to explain his pointed gaze at the camera, though; he knew I was watching somewhere.
Or, he hoped that I was, at least.
Was he saying these things for my benefit? Did he really believe this? My already rapidly hammering heart skipped a couple more beats. It had to be true. His eyes pledged care and love for me.
“What ploy, my son? I only want you to be happy.” The sarcasm in Kressel’s voice was thick.
Braxl grunted and shoved his father’s shoulder, pushing him into the shuttle.
“I’ll see you in a few hours for the games.”
“You better be ready. I won’t be pulling any punches.”
“You never do, father.”
Kressel’s minions followed him into the shuttle, and Braxl slammed the door shut. He looked back up at the camera, raising his eyebrows and putting his hands on his hips.
Tulla came scurrying through the throngs of boarding, well-wined Krafina. She pulled Braxl aside and whispered in his ear. He glanced up at the camera again and then the two left through a side door as Kressel’s shuttle pulled away from theGloryDaze.
I hadn’t been able to hear their whispers, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Braxl had reached out to his trusted soldier when he found me gone from my quarters. What had she discovered? Did she know where I was?
