“Welcome among us,” Daeko said, in a surprisingly deep voice. “Thank you for answering our call, honoring your word, and assisting us in attempting to reestablish proper order to our homeworld.”
“It is our sworn duty as Peacekeepers of the galaxy,” Wrath replied in a polite tone. “Also, enemies of General Khutu are our allies. It is time to put a stop to his bloody rampage and restore peace between your people and the Coalition.”
“Hopefully, that time is near. Please be seated,” he continued, gesturing at the dark-red stone conference table.
I settled next to my woman, finding it interesting that the rebellion leaders were already deferring to their future General. It was unnerving looking at him, so similar in appearance to the younger General Khutu before he performed all those crazy experiments on himself. His eyes glowed with intelligence, his body was strong and healthy, promising he would reach maturity as a formidable specimen.
However, the wall of silence that struck me when I tried to read him and the three rebellion leaders set off all my alarm bells. While Kryptids didn’t wear clothes, it was standard for them to have a weapons or tools belt, a bracer on their arm, which acted as a portable computer, and occasional other accessories serving a specific function. In their case, they all wore a short necklace, almost a choker, with a crystal I wasn’t familiar with, but that I quickly guessed its nature.
The smug smile that stretched Lekla’s lips framed by her tiny mandibles when she caught my eye looking at her necklace further confirmed my suspicions. Although I couldn’t blame them for wanting to keep their secrets, it also made me uneasy. If they had nothing to hide, then they shouldn’t mind me poking around—at least, not too much.
Lanam—one of Shuria’s two modified Mimic sisters—walked into the room and took a seat next to Lekla. Wrath, Linette, and I immediately tensed, waiting to see the female’s reaction. She had been indoctrinated by the General to attack and kill on sight anyone who belonged to the Vanguard or the Coalition. After we’d captured her and Serida on Zekuro, the Vanguard’s psychiatrist and I had worked relentlessly to try and deprogram her in vain.
I hadn’t believed it possible when Shuria had demanded we send her sisters back to her, that the Kryptid Workers would be able to help. And yet, as I explored the female’s mind, it was phenomenally peaceful. Lanam had regained control and held no hatred towards us, only the same hope as the others but for a different reason. She didn’t care about Kryptor returning to its former glory; she wanted to see Khutu’s blood spilled and the light fade from his eyes.
“They have fixed Lanam,” I mind-spoke to my two companions, making no effort to hide how genuinely impressed I was. “She is no threat to us. Shuria and the other Workers we’ve previously met are also honest about this collaboration. But Daeko and the rebellion leaders are blocking me.”
“Acknowledged. We’ll keep a close eye on them,” Wrath replied.
“Let’s get straight to business,” Shuria said, drawing our attention back to her. She leveled Wrath with a stern gaze. “Before we dive into the details of the mission, I would like to discuss the matter of you tagging along with us. I understand your protectiveness towards your Soulcatcher, but your presence will guarantee our failure.”
Wrath frowned. His jaw clenched, and his face took on a stubborn expression that spoke volumes as to his intention to argue unless she presented a solid justification. His love and protectiveness for my mate were unquestionable.
“Your constitution is too broad and massive to be able to infiltrate inconspicuously where we’re headed,” Shuria explained. “The Queen’s Palace only has wide corridors in specific areas leading to the larger gathering rooms and the Throne Room. All other passages are narrow to more easily create chokepoints in case of an attack. Units and Workers circulating within do so in tight groups. In order to reach our destination with no one being the wiser, we’ll be using holographic disguises for the two of them. The way we will travel, it will be impossible for you not to trigger glitches in all of their camouflages.”
A sideways glance at Wrath forced me to admit she was right. The Xian Warriors were indeed tall, broad, and massively muscular. At 6’2, I didn’t consider myself short, but with most of them averaging 6’6, I did occasionally feel like they were towering over me. Although proud of my own muscular body, my people weren’t as bulky, our sizes being more in line with that of the Kryptid Soldiers.
“But that’s not even the biggest issue,” Shuria said. “The Palace’s defenses include a similar bio scan as the one you have set up on Khepri to catch any Mimic that would attempt to infiltrate like my sister had in the past. Except, theirs is set up to detect Gomenzi Dragon DNA, which you and the hybrids possess in large quantities. You will never pass.”
Linette bit her bottom lip and cast an apologetic glance towards her Warrior. I understood the logic of the Mimic’s argument, but I had to swallow back my disappointment. I would have felt a million times safer with him tagging along. At the same time, I had already grabbed from her mind the plan she had prepared for us. Looking at her memories of the Palace’s layout, I concurred that more than two of us accompanying her would be a recipe for disaster. In truth, in an ideal world, she would have gone there alone with my woman. But there was no fucking way I would let my Linette go into that wretched place without me.
“I see her plan,” I telepathically said to my companions. “She’s right. It won’t work if you tag along with us. The risk of being caught will increase exponentially.”
Wrath didn’t speak, but his displeasure was almost palpable through our link. Staring the Mimic straight in the eye, he gave her a stiff nod.
“Very well,” he said. “However, I reserve final judgment based on the details of your plan.”
Shuria launched into a thorough explanation, which triggered many more questions from my mate and her Warrior. I listen absentmindedly, having already a clear picture from reading the details from both her and her sister. While Shuria answered most of them, Lekla and Rakma intervened a couple of times to add further clarifications.
Like me, the young General Daeko was present more as an observer, even though he had initially acted like the one in charge. Despite my inability to read his mind, his body language betrayed much of what he thought. It was subtle, enough that most people might miss it, but for someone like me, he was like an open book. Lucky for him, none of what it betrayed troubled me, only his strange fascination for my mate did.
“I would speak with you once this is over,” Lekla suddenly mind-spoke to me.
My head jerked towards the female, annoyingly revealing the fact that she had taken me by surprise. My eyes flicked to the necklace around her neck then back up at her face. Her wretched smug smile stretched her lips again.
“You may not reach me, but I can reach you. A simple nod on your part will suffice,” she said in a taunting fashion.
I’d never so much wanted to brutally mess with a female than with this one. Her hateful words about my species still resonated loud and clear in my mind from our first encounter on the Moon of Melibos. I didn’t trust her one iota, but the Mimics did, implicitly. The question was whether or not she had conditioned them to do so. Nevertheless, I nodded my assent as I, too, had questions for her.