Page 135 of Decadence

“Don’t move,” Ikriss said softly.

The pilot froze, making a soft whimpering sound in the back of his throat.

Slowly, his sword still pointed at the human’s neck, Ikriss leaned in and yanked the protective armor-helm from the human’s head. The creature that stared back at him had pale grey eyes and weathered features and a closely cropped growth of black-and-white hair covering his lower face. He looked like a typical hardened mercenary of the human variety; the kind of creature that might normally be a hard, self-serving bastard, but right now Ikriss could taste his fear as it mingled with the stale stench of his bodily secretions.

Ikriss bared his fangs. “They didn’t tell you about us, did they?”

The human blinked, as if surprised that Ikriss was actually talking to him instead of killing him. “Wh-who the fuck are you?” His Universal was thickly accented.

“The very last person you should have fucked with,” Ikriss said calmly. “Although I will acknowledge that you may have been fed misinformation about exactly who and what you were dealing with. If you tell me who sent you, I might consider sparing your life.”

“Shit,” the human snarled in English, before switching back to his clumsy Universal. “Maybe you’re gonna kill me, maybe not. Doesn’t matter, because I can’t say shit. I work for the Syndicate. That’s all you’re gonna know about me.”

Ikriss ground his boot in. “Are you sure about that?”

He felt a few ribs crack.

The human screamed. “I-I can’t tell you shit!”

“You can. What do you fear more than death?”

A complicated mixture of emotions danced across the man’s face. Fear. Hatred. Anger. Dread. Regret. Hope.

Only a human could look like that.

Ikriss eased the pressure of his boot just a fraction. “Think carefully about what you should be most afraid of. It isn’t them.”

The human’s resistance melted a little. “S-syndicate knows where my family are. My wife and my daughter. She’s only five.” Suddenly, the human’s fear melted away and his eyes became fierce. “Just get it over with, Kordolian. Kill me already. You’re not going to get anything out of me.”

“If you tell me what I want to know, I will personally guarantee safety for your family. The Syndicate will cease to be a problem for you.”

“You don’t understand shit, alien. You can’t beat the Syndicate. They’re everywhere.”

“No. We are everywhere. And you have one last chance before I grow tired of this. Since you failed in this mission, your precious ones will be in danger anyway, won’t they?”

The human shook his head and let out a string of vicious English curses. “Fucking aliens,” he spat. “You better be telling the truth.”

“Believe it or not, I do tend to keep my word.” Abruptly, Ikriss released the human. “But I am running out of patience. I will ask only one more time. Decide. Who are you working for, and why did you attack my people? They were defenseless.”

The man gasped and wheezed, clutching the side of his chest. “Fuck you. You’re anything but defenseless.”

“Those women are my people too.”

“Unghh…” The human let out a dismayed groan, as if realizing he’d just made a very big mistake. His shoulders slumped. The fight went out of his eyes. “We were hired by The Praetorian. Word is that they’ve been contracted by some big money players from the old Kordolian Empire to provide merc support to the Syndicate.”

“The Praetorian?” Ikriss arched an eyebrow. “What is that?”

“You don’t know? You must be new around here.” The man’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “They’re just the biggest black ops mercenary outfit on the planet.”

“How did you manage to obtain Kordolian tech?”

“Praetorian sent it to us. They got it from the Kordolians. The market’s been flooded with contract work lately. You get one of the juicy contracts, you might get plasma guns as part of the payment. Everyone’s going for the high-risk stuff, because they want the guns. I was just following orders, man. They told us to get on this alien ship and retrieve the women. They didn’t say nothing about no fucking ambush.”

Fool. Ikriss stared down at the human, contemplating whether or not to kill him. You would sell out your own kind even though you have a mate and daughter?

The screams of their enemies filtered through from outside. Clearly, Kail had the situation under control.

Ikriss turned on his heel, leaving the human groaning on the floor. “Do not move, do not say a word,” he said quietly. “Unless you are in a hurry to join your companions in the otherworld.”

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