Page 15 of Wrath

To my relief, as we approached the base, our scanners and visuals didn’t pick up the presence of any person inside or outside the ship. While it worked in our favor, their excessive confidence either spoke of recklessness—a bad thing considering the creatures they were handling—or of a desperate need to be done and haul ass before our arrival. Although our stealth shuttles were ultra-silent as they were normally used for the discreet retrieval of stranded civilians or troops in hot zones, they weren’t completely quiet. Coalition crewmates hovering nearby might have perceived us.

Linette landed a short distance from the Nomad—the Coalition frigate. We all activated our stealth shields to move about inconspicuously, as well as our body cams so that the rest of our team could hear and see what was happening on the surface. As soon as we disembarked, Dread and I made our way towards the entrance of the underground base, while Varnog and Linette took flight to provide us with cover from above. It was uncanny hearing the flapping of their wings but not seeing them, hidden as they were by their camouflage. Another quick scan confirmed there was no one on board the Nomad.

Just as we were closing the distance with the entrance, the reinforced doors sealing it parted, revealing another set of doors of an industrial sized lift. Three males came out: two Tegorians and one human. Dread and I allowed them to pass with a massive hovering platform laden with all kinds of technological equipment as well as biological sample containers and crates. As soon as they were far enough from the entrance, Dread and I silently moved behind them to make sure they couldn’t try to backtrack into the lift.

We then deactivated our stealth shields, as did Linette and Varnog, hovering in place a few meters ahead by the entrance of the Coalition vessel. The men yelped in surprise.

“Hello,” I said, making the three men turn around to face me.

The fearful expression on the two Tegorians quickly faded, replaced by an unreadable look. The human took a moment longer to regain his composure. He cast a nervous glance at his companions before looking back at me.

“Hello, Warrior,” the human replied in a surprisingly firm voice, considering the anxious look on his face. “You startled 20 years out of my life,” he added with a light chuckle.

“May I ask what you are doing here?” I asked in a stern tone.

“As you can see, we are recovering the research and experiments led by the Kryptids. We were assigned this location by the Coalition,” the man said.

“Is that so?” I asked, my voice dripping with doubt. A quick glance at his aura confirmed he was lying, while the others’ screamed of deception. “No Coalition vessel should have been assigned to this base. Your troops were all clearly informed that any sensitive material was to be handled exclusively by the Vanguard. Assuming you have truly been assigned here, as soon as you saw what the base contained, you should have backed out and contacted the Vanguard.”

The man squirmed before casting another glance at his companions. “We meant no harm,” the human continued. “We were already here. We know how busy you guys are. We have the manpower and the vessel space to handle it all. We were just trying to be helpful.”

“We will see about that,” I said, my voice still icy cold. “How many more are there with you?”

The human hesitated, his face broadcasting his wish to lie. I narrowed my eyes at him in a clear warning. He swallowed hard, and psychic energy began swirling around the three men.

“They’re coordinating their lie,”Dread telepathically said to me.

“More than likely, yes,”I mentally replied, my anger intensifying. “I asked you a question,” I repeated out loud to the human. “You are already in a lot of trouble as is. I would strongly advise you do not lie to us.”

Before I could finish my sentence, one of the Tegorians reached for his blaster and raised it towards us. He never got to fire or to properly aim. He just froze, his eyes going glassy while psychic energy flowed into him. Varnog was mind-controlling him.

“Well, that was stupid,” I said in a harsh tone. “Drop your weapons and get on your knees. Dread, shackle them. Varnog, let’s find out what Mr. Trigger Happy here is trying to hide.”

The second Tegorian bared his teeth in anger, his sharp canines looking menacing. His pointy ears stood straight up in a show of dominance, as did his long, fluffy tail. His species could have been a cross between a Lycan and a fox. In his case, with his black and orange fur, he reminded me of a melanistic fox. His reddish-orange eyes made him even more eerie.

“You have no right to let the Scelk rape his mind. It is a violation of Galactic Law!” the Tegorian shouted in his growly voice.

“He forfeited his rights the minute he tried to attack us,” I retorted in an icy tone. “Be grateful I do not make Varnog read yours and the human’s as well.”

“Mogor overreacted, but we did receive Coalition orders to come here and retrieve the Kryptid research,” the Tegorian said through clenched teeth. “Ask our Division Leader.”

“You can rest assured that we will. Until then, you will be placed in the brig while we sort out this situation,” I said coolly while Dread was shackling the men.

Varnog, his head slightly tilted to the side, was staring at the Tegorian under his compulsion. His intensity would have unnerved me had I been on the receiving end.

“I can confirm that there is no one else aboard the vessel,” Varnog said, his gaze never straying from Mogor.

Linette immediately flew inside the Nomad to start taking control of it and prevent the crew from taking off.

“There are four more people inside the base,” Varnog continued before his face took on an angry expression. “A chaser left about five hours ago. The crew carried half a dozen Jadozor eggs.”

I cursed out loud, the sentiment echoed by Dread. The other Tegorian lifted his chin defiantly.

“Where the fuck are they taking them?” I asked.

“He doesn’t know,” Varnog said. “He doesn’t even know where they are to take this current shipment.”

“Like Pallax told you,” the human said, “we receive our orders from the Coalition. Once we were done loading the ship, our Division Leader would have informed us where to take everything.”

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