“We don’t have a king,” Fritz snapped. “And what in the hell does that mean? You had to clean that mess up?”
Drak lifted his drink. “Veslors responded to the distress signal and exterminated your Ke’ter infestation. We all studied the details of that conflict before coming here.”
“Abby Thomas helped that other bitch use stolen codes to take control of the entire ship and kept all the crew locked in their quarters, otherwise our people would have killed them.” Fritz’s face turned even redder. “It’s half her fault we even needed help.”
Roth slowly stood. “The only reason so many humans still live is because they were protected and the Ke’ters couldn’t reach them. A human had locked down the entire ship, putting protective barriers between the crew and the enemy. You’re saying it was the female we saw earlier?”
Fritz looked unhealthy, with his face such a deep shade of red. The color traveled from his face down to his neck. It was fascinating to watch for Drak. Maybe the male would have a medical emergency. It wouldn’t be a great loss. The human was unpleasant.
“She was one of them. The Gorison Traveler’s security forces could have handled those fucking Ke’ters if they hadn’t been locked in their quarters. Injured people died since they couldn’t get medical help.”
Maith glanced at him. “Injured? Had the Ke’ters bitten them?”
Fritz glared at him. “Yes. The bitch and her friend should have gotten them medical aid. Instead, they may as well have fucking murdered them by trapping all the crew in their cabins.”
Maith snorted his contempt. “You should learn more about Ke’ters. I’m a medic, and I assure you, if they’d begun to feed on those humans, to kill them would be a mercy.”
“What the fuck?” Fritz dropped his drink and lunged forward, his fists up. “I lost a good friend on that goddamn ship!”
Roth moved fast, getting between them. “Ke’ters tear open the bellies of their victims to reach internal organs they find the tastiest. They secrete a preservative fluid as they eat that will keep their victims breathing for hours to days, depending on the race.”
“It prevents them from bleeding out and puts their bodies into almost a stasis condition, except they aren’t sleeping…and they feel the pain,” Maith added.
“The process allows Ke’ters to come back to finish their meals hours or days later,” Roth informed the ignorant human. “They only eat what is alive. After the organs, they’ll begin eating skin next, saving the brain and heart for last. It’s a terrifying and agonizing way for their victims to die. Once they’ve started feeding, it’s already too late.”
“And your weapons are ineffective against the Ke’ters,” Gnaw added.
“That’s bullshit! If those bitches hadn’t locked up the crew, the injured could have been saved.” Fritz had drawn a crowd of humans with his shouting. “They’re murderers for doing that!”
Maith shook his head. “You’re talking about replacing missing organs and tissues with transplants, correct? Restoring what had been eaten? It wouldn’t work. The secretions from the Ke’ters make it impossible. Think of a slow-acting poison or genetic changer. With enough secretions, it’s just an agonizing slow death for the victim. If the Ke’ters have begun to feed, it’s too late to save a life. To kill them is a mercy. It would end the suffering of the victims.”
“What’s going on here?” It was another human in a high-ranking outfit, judging by the amount of metals positioned over his jacket front.
“They’re defending what happened on the Gorison Traveler,” Fritz bellowed.
Roth gave a slight nod of his head to the human in charge. “We were explaining Ke’ters. Your race hasn’t been exposed to them for long, but ours has fought them for decades, ever since they began to attack us. They are a scourge against any race they encounter, looking for live food sources. He was accusing one of your females on this vessel of murdering the victims because they couldn’t receive immediate medical help. We were explaining that there is no way to reverse that damage if a victim has begun to be eaten by the Ke’ters. It’s already too late.”
The human with all the decorations grabbed Fritz by the arm. “Walk away now.”
Fritz turned redder in his face but spun, stomping toward the exit.
The human cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about that. I’m familiar with what happened on the Gorison Traveler, and we owe your people an enormous debt of gratitude. I’m Warren Dell. I won’t bother you with my rank and title, since I know you’re not familiar with it. But I hope that wasn’t an example of how you’re being treated on this ship?”
Roth, their peacekeeper, offered his hand. “I’m Roth, leader of this grouping. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Warren Dell nodded. “Come to me if you have any problems. We want our joint effort to be highly successful. Veslors are magnificent fighters. It’s an honor to have you on Defcon Red.”
Drak wanted to list his grievances to the human but remained silent. Roth was in charge, and he hadn’t shared how they were being treated, which spoke volumes. They weren’t going to complain.
The human walked away and they resumed eating.
“This is a bad job,” Maith muttered. “Humans hate us.”
“Not all humans are bad,” Roth reminded him. “That human who just left seemed nice enough. The female stuck up for us, too.”
“It would be more pleasant if the human teams we’ve been assigned to work with weren’t so resentful,” Drak had to point out.
Then Abby Thomas’s image entered Drak’s thoughts. He hadn’t thought humans were as attractive as Veslor females, since they appeared so helpless and fragile to him, but now that he knew the female had been responsible for the Gorison Traveler incident, it changed his opinion.
The information made her very appealing. She must be very brave.
Chapter Two
Abby watched the feeds from the security screens. There wasn’t anywhere aboard Defcon Red that she wasn’t allowed. Howard had given her full clearance. She no longer had to hide her real motive for being onboard, and she had the commander’s permission to investigate to her heart’s content. He had joked that she could hack any system anyway but he didn’t want her to break any laws.
Anger burned as she saw the group of Veslors head toward a waiting transport shuttle. It was clear that it was being prepared for flight. A quick scan of a bar on level four showed Team One there, not in uniform. She reached up and tapped the com link in her ear.
Howard answered immediately. “What’s wrong, Abby?”
“I knew Rogers would pull some shit. Guess who’s about to be sent down to the surface without the human members of S.T.T.01? Rogers and his team are in a bar getting drunk. No other surface team is assembled in the flight bay to go with the Veslors.”
Silence greeted her for a long second. “You’re saying Rogers is sending our allies down alone at night? There’s not another team with them?”
“Yes. I’m in a control station watching the live feeds. The only human team member on the flight deck is the pilot. And he’ll drop them off and fly back to us. I’ve been assured we don’t risk those shuttles staying anywhere near a fight since it’s too costly if they get damaged. Rogers did give them weapons, at least. I just hope they work.”