Page 34 of Sway's Peace
Instead, he stood there, briefly frozen as he considered, for the first time, the possibility of consequences for his choice. The fact that he was even letting the barrel of the pistol drop told Sway all he needed to know about how likely he was to use it again.
Sway let the combot get a look at everything – the injured purple male, the weapon bearing baemoth, and, most importantly, the obviously injured, stunned Grace – before asking-
“Captain, this is the situation. May I have permission?”
Tanin did not need him to clarify what he meant. He didn’t even hesitate to answer. “No. Deal with it as you see fit, but you do not have permission.”
That was a little disappointing, but not altogether surprising. Tanin’s only goal in life was to keep them free. And doing so while allowing them to kill whoever they pleased would make an already difficult task outright impossible.
That was why Tanin made it a rule that they must always get his permission before they killed anyone. A rule that was easier to follow for some than others. The twins, for example – the avanava twins, not the human females – were frequently frustrated by it. Sway, however, had yet to come across a need to request that permission.
It was a bit annoying to be denied, honestly. He’d never asked for permission before, whereas the twins used to be unable to go a full tenday without asking twice. That should have earned him a bit of leniency, he thought.
But the captain’s word was law. Sway would not disobey him. If he didn’t have permission to kill, he’d just have to stop short of that. One kick to either side of the chest then.
He grabbed the combot out of the air and slid it back into the pocket of his jumpsuit.
The baemoth male, finally having gathered himself enough to remember that he thought he was the powerful, intimidating one here, finally yelled. “You’re the one she was out with, aren’t you? A weak little farasie? You’ll be easy to deal with too.”
Though he tried to cover it, Sway’s ears picked up that slight tremor in his voice. A hint of fear and regret as a choice made in the heat of the moment finally registered in his logical brain. Reality was catching up to him, and he was already finding himself unable to deal with what he had done. But he was trying to mask it to himself with bravado and anger.
Loudness equals strength. There were so many people who had that same strange idea in their head. Sway wasn’t sure where it came from, as the Master had never yelled. He’d always been gleeful and happy, even – or especially – when conducting hismost wicked tortures. Back when Sway’s stomach used to turn because-
Ah.
Right. He should probably make sure that Grace wasn’t negatively affected any worse than she already was.
He focused on her, trying to sound peaceful for her sake. “Grace, you don’t have to do anything, of course, but I would be much obliged if you’d close your eyes.”
She stared at him, open mouthed, like she was stunned beyond thought. But her eyes didn’t close. That was her choice. He would rather she not look and be forced to see any more than this, but he couldn’t deny her the right to watch if she wished.
“Hey!” The baemoth male barked.
Sway ignored him – he still wasn’t even pointing the pistol at him properly – and instead looked down at the purple male, finally recognizing what he was seeing. That coloration, that glow…
Interesting.
“How long are you going to lay there?”
The male turned over onto his back, giving him a smirk. He drummed his three fingered hand against his own chest, right over the healing burn scar. The only thing left of the blood that had been on the rug was a purple stain. The fluid itself was gone.
“Wha-!” Came the surprised gasp of the baemoth male.
The one that looked like a ratchi smirked. “Well, aren’t you clever? How’d you know?”
“I studied many species and their abilities. Yours included. What are you doing here?”
“Same as you. Trying to help the female.”
“She is not yours,” Sway said, no heat at all in the words. Though he wanted to make sure that it was perfectly clear, there was no need to argue about it. Sway would simply deal with him if this ratchi thought he had any right to her.
“Doesn’t have to be. She was polite to me. That’s enough for me to be nice to her.”
Sway glanced up. The baemoth male had fallen back a few steps, absolutely stunned that the purple male was up. His entire arm was drooping now. Too shocked from seeing the male he murdered moving to realize he’d left himself vulnerable. Grace’s gaze was darting quickly between them, her chest heaving with each gasping breath.
“I don’t think she knows what you are,” Sway said.
“Wouldn’t surprise me really.” The purple male got to his feet, dusting off the seat of his pants. “You are being rather nice to me as well. Don’t you fear me?”
