Varin, Intelligence Core Strike Ship
Iexpected at least fifty Prillon warriors and half that many Atlans to be in Helion’s team. I assumed Governor Maxim would send as many fighters from The Colony as possible.
There were less than a dozen Prillons on Helion’s ship. Only two Atlans. Governor Maxim and his second, a brute of a warrior named Ryston came along, but only because their mate, Rachel, insisted on accompanying Doctor Surnen to the Hive installation in case any of the females or infants needed medical attention.
Helion sat waiting for us in a small, brightly lit conference room. There was a table with six chairs. He sat in one. Thomar led Danika to another. Rachel sat next to her and the rest of us stood. One chair would easily have held both human females. They looked so small and delicate, like children swinging their feet far above the floor as Helion rattled off battle strategy, infiltration tactics and what he knew about the prison ship so far.
Which was next to nothing.
He was supposed to be the most informed warrior in the entire Coalition Fleet. To that end, he knew surprisingly little. I found his lack of knowledge irritating, to say the least. Especially when he was placing our mate in danger. Form the scowl on Governor Maxim’s face he felt the same.
I knew exactly how Thomar was feeling. He fought the urge to finish what he’d started back on The Colony in that medical station.
The thought made me grin. Seeing Helion hanging by his throat up against the wall had been very enjoyable indeed. Not for the first time, I’d been grateful for Thomar’s temper. That fighting spirit had saved our lives more than once. I admired his resolve. He, however, had always seen it as a curse, as had our people. A fact I had yet to forgive.
Danika’s feminine fire seeped into my mind like a whirlwind of flame. She was angry about something. But what?
I had no idea. I’d been lost in my own thoughts, not paying attention. A raid was a raid. I’d been on hundreds. Board. Fight. Kill or be killed. The Hive did not vary their fighting style or ferocity. They were efficient, deadly enemies. I didn’t need Helion to tell me that.
“Excuse me. What, exactly, is a Nexus unit?” Danika asked. “Because, as far as I can tell, you are taking my mates to a prison ship to fight one of these things, but no one seems to know exactly what it is.”
Helion stared at Danika, unblinking. “There is one living being who knows the Nexus inside and out. A human. Gwendolyn Fernandez, matched mate to Makarios of Kronos. Do you know how much of that information she has shared?”
“No.”
“None.”
“Have you asked nicely? Or do you talk to her like she’s an idiot? Kind of like you’re talking to me right now?” Danika glared right back and I felt pride and wonder spread through my chest. My tiny female was glaring at one of the most feared Prillon warriors in the Coalition.
Helion sighed and looked up at Thomar. “I suggest you control your female.”
Thomar’s growl had the Atlan guard that seemed to be within arm’s reach of Helion at all times—probably a personal bodyguard—moved toward Thomar.
I stepped between them, blocking the Atlan’s path. He was Atlan, but I was integrated with enough Hive tech to rip him to pieces. I would not be easy prey, not even for a beast.
“All of you, knock it off. Put them away.” Danika was shaking her head, her palms flat on the table as if that would help her make her point.
“What are you talking about? Put what away?” Rachel asked.
“Their dicks. They’ve all got ‘em out on the table for measuring.”
Stunned silence. Not one male in the room could believe the crude accusation that had come from our mate’s throat.
Rachel broke the silence with a burst of laughter. “Oh my God. You did not just say that.”
Danika shrugged. “Fresh out of prison. On our way to another one, this time, in freaking outer space. What can I say? I like to keep it real.” She turned from Thomar to glance at me, then the Atlan who had stopped in his tracks. When no one moved, she returned her attention to Helion. “So? Spill. I know you know. I can see it in your face. Word of advice, don’t play poker with the ladies in the west wing. They’ll clean you out. Your poker face is terrible.”
Helion blinked. Slowly. “I do not understand a word you just said.”
Rachel took pity on all of us and translated the strange human speak. “She believes you know a lot more about the Nexus unit than you are telling us. She suspects, by the look on your face, that you are lying to all of us and she’s calling you out.”
The doctor, Helion, turned that cold brown stare from Danika to me. I stared right back. “Well? You heard her? Spill.”
Spill. I liked that word. Short. Direct. To the point. A command.
“Very well.” Helion leaned back in his chair and nodded to the Atlan, who resumed his position guarding the door. “Nothing revealed here can leave this room without permission from me and me alone.”
Danika was moving her hand in a twirling motion, around and around as if she were trying to encourage Helion to speak faster. The thought of my small, fragile female giving orders to Helion made me want to laugh.