Page 54 of Alien Captain's Prisoner

I don’t refute that – instead continuing:

“Aurelians are normally a tough nut to crack – but once that captain’s stopped pissing his pants, he’ll think back about encountering The Instigator and see an opportunity. I know, because I’d see it myself.”

Aelon says nothing, listening.

“Your ship is alone, isolated, and you’re not officially aligned with the Aurelian Empire.”

“The Instigator is awarship,” Aelon responds. “We have a fleet of Reavers on board. Batteries of las-cannons. Gods be damned, we have abattalionstationed on board.”

“You have a battalion stationed on thatmoon– along with most of your Reavers – and The Instigator might be fearsome, but she’s old. With enough reinforcements, and at the right time, the Toads could take you.”

Aelon bristles at the assumption.

“They’re too cowardly…”

“Greed outweighs cowardice – especially for a Toad – and the bounty of afortunein stolen Orbs is going to make you a juicy target even for cowards. It’s all a tossup between profit and risk to their kind, and the balance of the two is closer than you might think. Captain Hoplan…”

“Hopper,” Aelon snaps, and I don’t correct him.

“…will consider his options, gather up like-minded fighters, and he’ll be back.”

“Then he’lldie,” Aelon snarls. “I have a fleet of Reavers. A battalion of warriors. Even with them stationed on the moon, I have enough manpower and firepower to raze a city from orbit. I don’t fear any Toad.”

I stare at the captain. There’s more to this bluster than a lack of fear. It’s as if hewantsthe Toads to come back and try their luck against him. I need to drill it into his thick skull that it won’t be just one or two attack ships that will come for The Instigator this time. It’s going to be a fuckingfleet– one that will cut his ship apart, and then sift through the wreckage and floating bodies for those near-indestructible Orbs.

I shift in my seat. Even with the pillow, it’s uncomfortable.

“Look. Can you project the map?”

Aelon nods, commanding to the ship’s computer: “AI - project.”

The holographic display I’d spotted when I first entered this room appears in front of me. That moon, the planet Tarrion, The Instigator and blinking lights indicating Aelon’s troops, Reavers and mining colonies appear on the table between us.

“Okay,” I gesture towards the projection, “so, your battalion returns to the ship at night, and in the morning, they head to the moon’s surface to clear out those Scorp nests. They kill as many as they can during the day, and then they come back to the ship at night. Is that correct?”

Aelon nods wordlessly, waiting for me to continue.

“So, what I would do, if I was trying to take you on?”

His eyes narrow as I take on the role of a hypothetical assailant.

“Well, first I’d wait until you send the bulk of your men to the moon’s surface.”

“They’re close enough to assist The Instigator if anyone attacks.”

“Yes, that’s true – but if I was that Toad commander, once your ships land on the moon, I’d strikehere,here, andhere.” I point to three of the spread-out mining camps on Tarrion’s surface.

Aelon’s eyes narrow into slits.

“That’s cold-hearted. Innocent humans are working on those camps.”

I snort. He must be joking. “You’re thinking like a human.”

“How dare you!” He acts offended, but Aelon seems to laugh at that comparison.

“It sounds cold-hearted,” I clarify, “because Toadsarecold-hearted – and cold-blooded. You know that as well as anybody.”

His eyes are so narrow now, they’re practically closed. I seem to have struck a nerve – and I wonder if Aelon might know the cold-blooded nature of Toads even better than I do.

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