Page 11 of The Stolen Tribute
FIVE
JAXIR
I watched the Tribute selection process from a monitor on my starfighter. The hacked image wasn’t perfect, but it had enough detail for me to confirm two things: One – Dal was on that platform and Two – the pretty human was too. The one from Dal’s shortlist of human women. Tributes.
I did my best to focus on my real task. Getting to Dal. Once the ceremony was over, everyone would be shuttled to the mothership for a night of eating and fucking. If I could get to him before that, then I’d finally have my revenge. His guard would be down, and hopefully, he’d be more than a little drunk.
The camera drone panned away as some Elder did his speech about the bond between Earth and Zexia, our home planet.
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t care about any of that.
I absent-mindedly touched my arm, where scars were now covered with tattoos on my scaled purple flesh.
The Zexian warriors started claiming their mates. It went by random draw, totally by chance. I had to wait through every single one, watching each warrior stand up and shout out the name of his chosen mate.
Static rolled through the image and made my teeth ache. Ugh, this hacked signal was getting shittier and shittier.
My starfighter was cloaked nearby the mothership, and I just had to hope that the cloaking device would keep its signal strong enough to not be noticed by their sensors. I rubbed the dashboard. The old machine kept going.
Based on my distance from the Earth satellite I was getting the signal from, I was probably watching with a few second delay.
I tapped my fingers on the dash of the starfighter. My stomach turned as the camera panned across the waiting warriors. Seeing Dal made my blood boil. He was a colossal warrior from a reputable family. He towered over the others, probably eight feet tall, but his physical strength was where his good qualities ended. He was a liar and cheat and a murderer. He let me take the fall for it all.
I swallowed my rage and focused on the screen.
Dal stood up, looking down at the pit of beautiful women. He could have any of them as his mate, but he only wanted one. He pointed at the pretty blond, the one with freckles and a perfect pear-shape to her body.
The woman tried to smile, but the repulse was visible on her expression for a moment.
Anger surged through my body. I didn’t want him to have her. She was too beautiful, too pure to be touched by a monster like him. He didn’t deserve a mate.
My knuckles popped as I watched the ceremony continue. The blond was caught up in a bubble and brought to the ceiling of the platform.
I wanted to burst in there and kill him. I wanted to use my laser blaster to permanently get rid of his cocky grin and the rest of his face, too. Dal was my sworn enemy, and as much as I hated this pageantry, I had to bide my time and wait for his guard to be down. Based on the look of him, that wouldn’t take too long. He was already a few glasses of wine deep.
“Soon, Dal, soon,” I growled to myself.
The camera moved through the girls again, and I caught a flash of the blond Tribute. My cock jumped at the sight of her in the tight purple dress. Maybe if I was lucky, I’d get another prize, too.
***
After the ceremony on the platform, the Tribute women were rounded back up and sent in a separate shuttle to the mothership. The warriors shuttled back as well. Those transporter ships were slow and clunky compared to my starfighter. If I really wanted to, I could have blown the transporter to nothing.
I was no murderer. I could not bring myself to take the lives of others when I only wanted the one. That was too easy. There was no honor in it.
I only wanted to take one life – Dal. I was sure others in the shuttled deserved punishments, but it was not up to me to carry out their sentences, whatever they may be.
I double-checked the cloaking device on my starfighter. Still good.
There was a service-only airlock on the belly of the mothership. It wasn’t often used, but it was one of those small details in the design of the monstrous starship that I would exploit to my own benefit. There could never be only one way in or out. This was my secret hatch.
With considerable ease, I connected to the airlock, overwriting the alarm code so no one would be signaled inside. Then, I changed out of my usual black clothing into a roughed up mechanic’s outfit. I wasn’t sure if it would match what the crew used, but it would help me blend in anyways. I made sure my tattoos and scars were well hidden.
The mothership trembled as the shuttles touched down in the main hanger. Perfect. The halls would be swimming with Zexians and humans and robots alike. I could get in and out like a shadow, and no one would be the wiser.
I closed my eyes and picture the ship’s blueprint in my mind, making a mental map as to where Dal’s quarters would be. He’d likely go there before the feast, to change and get ready for his mate. I could get him alone and kill him. I’d be long gone before anyone noticed.
The airlock hissed, and I was in.
