“Will you keep doing this to other worlds?”
“We will.”
“Why?” I asked, my lips sticking together as I moved my mouth.
“My world’s water is contaminated. We are many, billions upon billions, and water becomes the most important resource in the universe.”
I thought back to exiting the forest on the way to the Bhlat city, and how life crept away from the snaking river we’d passed.
“What about the metals?” I asked, knowing they weren’t just mining water on Earth.
“If we’re taking water, why not take every resource we can? It would be foolish.”
Kareem’s face floated to the forefront of my mind. Change the universe.
“Empress, what if I had a solution to your resource problem? What if I offered you coordinates to places out there that you could colonize with fresh water, and metals unheard of? Would you be willing to stop invading? Stop killing innocents for your own sake? Would you work with me, and change…” I cut myself off, not wanting to make it too cheesy. “Change the future?”
Her red eyes twitched, and a wet line streamed down her cheek. She glanced to her daughter, who looked back with wide eyes at her mother. “I would.”
If she was acting, I was buying it, but I had to proceed with caution. The ship jostled and landed, presumably inside the Bhlat ship where my friends were being kept. Mary. I had to end this all and see her one more time. I felt like screaming in anguish for my lost love. It was my fault. If only I’d brought her with me to get the Empress, none of this would have happened. She’d still be at my side. I was so selfish, and I’d never live it down.
The doors whistled open, jarring me from my own thoughts. We started to walk forward; the Empress turned to me and said, “Dean Parker, we will give in to your terms. Let me speak with Blel, and you will be allowed to leave with your…” She cut herself off, remembering my mate. “You will be allowed to leave and evacuate your planet.”
The guards went first, and when no one was looking, I slipped the Relocator out and saved our current location into it. A quick escape might be necessary, and I wasn’t taking any chances.
Leonard went in front of me, still holding the little Bhlat girl near him. We exited the ship, and the Empress called out in her native language as a large group of Bhlat warriors lined the immense open hangar we’d landed in.
The ship must have been huge, because there were at least twenty drop ships inside the hangar, and a full hundred or so warriors stood there, suited up and ready for battle. I felt like a fool wearing an oversized Bhlat servant’s robe, but at the end of the day, I didn’t really care what they thought of me. I only wanted to get my friends and leave.
The group of Bhlat separated, making a path for us to walk out of the large room. The hair on the back of my neck rose as I moved forward, leaving dozens of armed soldiers at my back. I waited for the feeling of a pulse blast ripping through me, but it didn’t come.
We exited through a cold metal slab of a door, the two guards from the ship still leading the way. I wanted to look around, to see the inside of a great warship from one of the universe’s most deadly races, but I kept my eyes forward, watching the back of the Empress’ head as we passed groups of gawking Bhlat. Here we found Bhlat in normal uniforms, men only slightly taller than humans, and women of all sizes. A ship this size wasn’t housed by warriors and guns alone.
“Where’s Blel?” I asked the Empress, who shrugged.
“They’re taking us to him now,” she said, her posture stronger and straighter than it had been since we’d first met.
We moved slowly down a couple of wide hallways. Some people shouted out to the Empress; others kneeled when whispers about who she was reached their ears. We kept moving, the Empress stoic and unresponsive to her people as we went.
My grip was tight on the pulse rifle, anxious sweat making my palm slick. I was almost there; I only needed to hold on for a little while longer. Long enough to make the deal and start moving our people.
TWENTY-SEVEN
The walk felt like an hour, but after a few more minutes, we were brought to an elevator. I didn’t like the idea of entering the cramped space with the guards.
“Where does this lead? To Blel?” I asked.
The Empress asked something in Bhlat, and the guard grunted and nodded. “Yes, to the bridge.”
“Then the four of us go alone,” I said.
She relayed it, and one of the guards looked ready to pull a weapon. I tightened my grasp on the Empress, and she said something to them in a calming voice. He stepped back and let us enter the lift alone.
Unlike the elevator back at her palace, this one functioned like a normal one, and once inside, we lifted quickly. When the doors opened, I was ready for the fight of my life, but didn’t need to be as we were greeted by two tall thin Bhlat in dark gray uniforms.
The first one spoke, her words coming through a translator. “Welcome, Dean Parker. Your Majesty.” She bowed, and the other followed suit. “This way.” They turned and walked toward the main bridge.
It was immense, at least ten times the size of our small ships’ bridges. I spotted around twelve Bhlat officers on board. The lights were bright but not severe, and the space was spotless and shiny. This Blel was obviously a man of cleanliness and order. Almost familiar sounds emanated from the computers, once again reminding me that our races might not be as different as we seemed on the surface. I could use that.
“Mr. Parker,” a thick accented voice said in English. The man rose from what could only be his captain’s seat, front and center to the thirty-foot viewscreen at the far end of the bridge. He turned, and I expected to see an eight-foot-tall behemoth of a Bhlat warrior. Instead, I was greeted with a shrivelled, ancient-looking creature, shorter than myself and hunched at the back. He was bald, save for a tuft of hair that stuck out to one side from the top of his head. His eyes were black and beady; from this distance, I couldn’t make out any of the swirling visage the other Bhlat had. Blel wasn’t a young man. He breathed heavily, and gray hairs fluttered by his three nostrils as he did so.
“Blel,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Let her go and we can talk,” he said, his garbled words still translating.
I shook my head. “We talk, your forces back down, you give me my friends, and then we leave.” I almost said “show me her body,” but refrained.
“What do you hope to achieve here, Mr. Parker?” I hated the way he was saying my name, almost spitting it out through his dull, yellowed teeth.
“I hope to make the deal and get the hell out of here, that’s what.” He was giving me a bad vibe, and I felt the Empress stiffen as we had our back and forth.
“Is that so? Why should we let you live? Humans are a scourge to the universe.”
“And the Bhlat aren’t? I’ve seen the carnage in your wake.”
“Is it so unlike your own, Mr. Parker?” His accent was heavy, but his words slapped me in the face regardless. “We started the destruction of the Kraskis, who were no stranger to death and slavery. Then you single-handedly destroyed them along with the Deltra, and most of their abominations while you were at it.” His word for the hybrids set my blood boiling, but I let him continue. “We make quite the team, Dean. Maybe you should stay on my ship, and we can work together.”
“Can we cut the crap and make the deal?” When he didn’t reply, I kept talking. “You can have your Empress here, her kid, and Earth. I want my people back, and for you to vacate the area for ten Earth days while we evacuate. Then it’s all yours.”
He seemed to consider this, and a tall Bhlat leaned in to whisper something in their native tongue.