outside are getting more daring, coming closer. And just today a band of cavemen came pretty close to this ship. It looked like they were scouting. But the bad part is that they didn’t fight the dragons. The two groups were within fifty yards of each other, and it looked like they were both aware of it. They didn’t fight. If anything, it looked like they were measuring each other up. Not even as enemies, but in some other way.”
“Ach, verdammt! That’s all we need,” Heidi groans. “The dragons and the cavemen joining forces against us. Then our only allies are the spidermonkeys, who have already told us they expect us to deal with all of this on our own.”
“And the Plood are here again,” Caroline adds. “They are most definitely not on friendly terms with us. Or rather, we are not on friendly terms with them.”
The control room is silent as we all consider the implications.
“Even so,” I pipe up, “did I do the wrong thing when I told Caronerax where he could stick his Plood? I mean, he only offered to take me along. But if I could have negotiated with them, maybe they would have been willing to bring all of us along. I don’t know.”
Emilia comes over and puts her arm around my shoulders. “You did the only right thing. I am never trusting myself to the Plood. If we have enemies in this universe, they are the worst ones. I want no fucking Plood anywhere near me, ever!”
“No fucking Plood,” some of the girls repeat with feeling. “No fucking Plood!”
We all chant if for a little while, and it releases some of the tension in my stomach. I wasn’t off when I recoiled so totally from having anything to do with the abductors that brought us here.
“In fairness, these are not the same ones,” I state for completion.
“That’s right,” Delyah says. “Those that abducted us died when not-Alesya shot their ship down. I know we usually shouldn’t judge a whole group by the actions of some. But in this case, we will. Didn’t you say they are a hive species? If so, they act as one. The Plood are our mortal enemies. No fucking Plood.”
“Do we know how the weapons on this ship work?” I ask. “Wasn’t there a beam weapon of some kind?”
“There was,” Aurora says and nods to a distant part of the control room. “The controls are right over there. We think we know how it worked. But it seems to be out of order. If not, we would have shot down a good few dragons already, just to show them.”
“Let’s sum up,” Delyah suggests. “We are all safe and sound. We have this old spaceship with many big levels, where we can live indefinitely. We have medical supplies and food and scenic places to spend time. We have guns and gunpowder, but they’re not too effective against dragons. Well, mostly. We have thirty caveman slayers, including our husbands. We have two full dragons on our side. We have crossbows and spears. And soap!”
A loud cheer goes up at the mention of that, and we all slap Dolly on the back in sincere appreciation.
She blushes. “That’s mostly Jennifer’s brand. I haven’t made that much Døl’äy yet.”
The girls cheer again, and this time it’s my back they’re slapping.
“That’s all well and good,” Sophia says as we calm down. “On the other hand, we are under siege. We can’t leave this ship without being attacked by dragons and maybe cavemen. Are we willing to spend the rest of our lives here? And our children, too? It’s a nice spaceship. It’s huge and it sustains us. But do you know what else it is? A prison.”
The control room is silent again. We are in a serious bind here.
And I can’t help noticing some of the girls are sending me quick, casual glances.
Fuck. This probably has to happen.
Well, why not? I’m already dead on the inside. Might as well go the whole way.
I clear my throat. “Okay. We might have a third possible ally. It’s a stretch, but Caronerax is an agent of his king, who I think is his father. But don’t quote me on that, it was a tense moment, and I may have misheard.”
“Now, Jennifer...” Delyah begins.
I hold my hand up to stop her. “No, we have to try this. He might be a game changer for us. I could go to him again and throw myself at his mercy. If he’s still