Page 67 of I Married Amreth

“I do, my friend. Believe me, I do. But these two males are mere grunts in the greater scheme of things,” I said in a reasonable tone. “If you choose to torture or kill them, whatever my personal feelings on the matter, I cannot interfere. This is your planet and therefore your rules.”

“Exactly. And our rules say they will stand before the Kalds to face our wrath,” Aku snapped.

I sighed, my mind racing to find an argument that might sway him. It was an odd predicament to find myself in. As a Warden, and even during my compulsory service as aPeacekeeper as part of my training, I never had to juggle this type of diplomatic conflict. As I’d only ever interacted with member planets of the UPO, we had a set of laws that applied to all, which also took into account their individual planetary laws.

“You have incredible power right now. Dead people don’t talk. From them, we can gather enough proof to lead to the masterminds. If they’ve done this to your people, chances are they have done the same or maybe even worse to others. The powerful people your friend alluded to must be stopped. These two could help us achieve that.”

He stared at me for a long time without a word. For a brief instant, I hoped I might have gotten through to him, but his face hardened again.

“Theywilltalk,” he replied.

I opened my mouth to argue again, but the look in his eyes clearly told me to let it go. Heaving another sigh, I rose to my feet. The suspicion that instantly sparked in his eyes stung again. As much as I understood his anger, I hated how this situation had sufficed to severely undermine the friendship and trust that we had gradually built since our arrival.

“I’m going to place EMP charges on their ship,” I said in response to his unspoken question. “They are devices that will release a powerful electric discharge that will destroy their engine and navigation systems,” I explained. “Should they attempt to flee, I can remotely activate it and make sure they cannot escape.”

Aku immediately relaxed, suspicion giving way to a mix of approval and gratitude. There was no question in my mind that he intended to beat them into a pulp. Frankly, in his stead, I would want to do the same. I only hoped I could talk him down if and when we got to that part.

The main question for me was who and how many ships lurked nearby in orbit. I couldn’t tell for sure that Maeve wasamong them. In fact, I suspected that she had been honest by claiming to be on another mission elsewhere. But the clarity of our vidcom implied that the UPO had likely snuck in a satellite, a relay, or one of those communication ships that acted as a satellite. I was heavily leaning towards the latter option as it would avoid suspicion since such vessels were camouflaged to look inconspicuous if detected.

I only knew of their existence because of my high security clearance as a Warden, since such vessels had previously been used during raids to apprehend some of the inmates that landed in my Sector.

The UPO couldn’t have a small fleet up there. Even if they managed to do so undetected, once they decloaked to catch the assassins—assuming they managed to flee from us—it would create a different issue within the justice system if they raided the Dead Zone without a warrant. One or two vessels were far more likely. But it also meant that the assassins would have an easier time of escaping. The EMPs would make certain they didn’t.

I retrieved the EMP devices from the armory as well as a pair of blasters, one of which I extended to Aku. He lifted his nose at it before glancing at me as if I’d done something offensive. Nodding in concession, I put the weapon back in its place and offered him a bracer.

“It has an energy shield that you activate like this,” I said, demonstrating it by activating the one on my own bracer.

“That won’t be necessary,” Aku said.

This time, I glared at him with annoyance. “If things turn ugly with those two males, they will fire their weapons at you. Blaster shots are nasty and will kill you. It’s fine if you don’t want to use a Blaster as they do require some training, but there’s no reason for you not to use a shield. I have no intention ofreturning to your village without you walking on your own two feet.”

“Careful, Obosian. You’re starting to sound like you care,” he replied in a taunting tone. “But I will be fine. Let’s not dally. Based on your mate’s estimate, they will come out any minute now.”

“At least, use the personal stealth shield feature of the bracer,” I insisted with preemptive exasperation, waiting for him to turn me down again.

To my surprise, he pursed his lips before giving me a nod. “The invisibility feature could be useful. I consent to that one.”

I gaped at him, my mouth closing with an audible sound when he raised a mocking eyebrow at me. After showing him how to turn it on and off, we quickly discussed our strategy, then exited the ship.

I double checked that his stealth shield was properly activated before we stepped outside of the camouflage radius around our vessel. The look on his face was almost feral. Despite the multiple days spent among his people, Aku had done a great job of keeping us mostly in the dark about them. I didn’t know how they chose who would be their Kald, but I suspected that it included not only leadership and diplomacy, but also being the apex alpha. And right now, his face loudly expressed that a savage and ruthless predator lurked within him.

I gestured for him to stand back as I quickly approached the ship. Heart pounding, I snuck up to the back of the vessel, crouching as low as I could to place the EMP charge as close as possible to the engine, but also at an angle that would be difficult to visually notice without having your attention deliberately brought to it.

I was just about to circle to the other side to place the second magnet when the whiny sound of the ramp lowering startled me. My head jerked towards Aku. Through his stealth shield, heappeared to me like a ghostly silhouette. But it hid nothing of the savage expression that descended over his features as he took a defensive stance, ready to lunge forward. I gestured for him not to move just yet. His eyes flicked towards me for a brief second before refocusing on the two males exiting the Nazhral vessel.

Aku removed his blowpipe from his belt while I stealthily approached him. My eyes widened as he extruded a set of vicious claws I didn’t realize he possessed. Not even during the hunt against the Murthis had he extended them that much. I knew the Kreelars could extrude their claws a little, which they regularly did to help them more easily climb on trees. But this was something else. It sent a cold shiver down my spine as I realized this could be yet another sign he wouldn’t let them live.

“This planet is truly beautiful,” the Raithean said as he walked down the ramp in that strange fashion his people did whenever they twisted their tentacles into makeshift legs. “It’s quite a shame to poison it and its people. There’s no pleasure in killing the innocent ones.”

“Who cares?” the man said with a mix of annoyance and contempt. “Don’t be a fucking pussy. They’re just a bunch of talking monkeys. We don’t even have to get our hands dirty to get rid of them. This is the easiest pile of credits I will have made in a long time.”

“It’s not about the credits,” the Raithean grumbled as he stopped walking a few steps after getting off the ramp. “Some things are more important than that.”

“Nothing is more important than that, you dumb fuck. Since when have you gotten so damn sentimental?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sentimental. I will not lose any sleep over them. I just take no pleasure fucking over someone who hasn’t done me wrong. There’s no honor in poisoning people who aren’t bothering anyone.”

“Dude, spare me the repentant scoundrel act. Just go poop your shit out so that we can get the fuck out of here. There are a few fine bitches on Galathea Space Station that will be bouncing on my cock with all those credits we’re making. So get to pooping already!”

---