Page 59 of Orange Tundra
I stood, offering respectful nods. "I won't disappoint you."
"See that you don't," Nialla purred. "I'd hate to lose such a valuable asset."
Knowledge was power. Now that I understood their game, I could play by my own rules.
The communications center occupied a converted storage room near the northern wall. I nodded to the technician onduty—a nervous young one who spent his time monitoring transmissions.
"Priority message," I said, settling at an encoding station. "Kilo's orders."
He didn't question my authority. I activated the equipment, fingers flying across controls with practiced efficiency. The message was brief, coded:
Tomorrow dawn + 2. Trap confirmed. Three exits—north service tunnel, main gate, emergency shaft. Bring minimal force. Signal on execution.
I buried it in routine supply data, disguising it as mundane logistics. To casual observers, standard administrative traffic.
The real challenge was delivery. I pulled up the courier manifest, scrolling until I found a drop point near the neutral zone. Close enough to the Orange Tundra for interception. I modified the manifest, adding my coded message to existing payload.
Not perfect. The message would take hours to reach its destination. But better than nothing.
"All set," I told the technician. "Standard delivery."
He nodded absently, already back to his monitoring. Perfect cover for treason.
The armory lay just off the main corridor. I signed out standard guard kit—shock baton, restraints, medical supplies. Nothing unusual.
Hidden in the medical kit was a small vial of concentrated healing compound. Military grade, designed for emergency treatment of crystal contamination. Enough to counteract Shura poisoning for several hours if administered correctly.
It wouldn't cure Zirc completely—the damage was too extensive. But it might give him the edge he needed to survive.
Back in the detention level, I approached Zirc's cell. He looked up, wariness and resentment warring in his expression. I activated the privacy screen again.
"Medical check," I announced for surveillance. "Standard procedure before tomorrow's event."
I knelt beside the bars, pulling out a scanner. Real equipment providing perfect cover. As I ran it over his crystallized arm, I palmed the vial, keeping it hidden from cameras.
"Contamination is extensive but stable," I said aloud. Then, bringing the scanner close to his throat, I whispered: "This will slow the poisoning. Give you a fighting chance."
"Why?" The question was barely shaped air.
"Because some things are worth the risk."
I slipped the vial into his hand with practiced smoothness, the exchange hidden by equipment bulk. To observers, routine medical checks on a valuable prisoner.
"Vitals stable," I announced, standing. "He should be functional tomorrow."
Zirc's hand closed around the hidden vial. "You..."
Words escaped Zirc. If our positions were reversed, I might have ended him to end my competition. But his eyes held something new—not just hope, but trust. This was what separated me from him. Though he'd become a mercenary, his word of honor, his loyalty, and most of all optimism, could unite enemies. His Silver Beast was feared by many, but it was his manastian self that proved his worth. No wonder Roqs would fight and wait for him. He had firm belief in the power of fated mates.
Despite everything I'd done, despite my role in his capture, he was choosing to believe in my change of heart.
I couldn't let him down.
"Rest well," I said. "Tomorrow will be demanding."
"I'm looking forward to it," he replied, and for the first time since capture, I heard genuine steel in his voice.
I made my way back through the stronghold, past guards and administrators and all the other cogs in Kilo's machine. They saw me as one of them, trusted me as one of their own. The betrayal I was planning would shatter that trust completely.
