Stealing Jia (Coletti Warlords #12) - Gail Koger Page 0,46
plan?”
“My task is to destroy the warriors in this room,” Lipas answered dully.
“Why?” I felt Trayon link with me.
This time Mallox responded, “Once my enemies have been crushed, the Rodan will rule the galaxy and I will take my rightful place as Emperor.”
Dad joined the link and asked, “How are you going to kill everyone?”
“I surgically implanted Peekay, which is an undetectable explosive, into Lipas’s body,” Mallox replied.
Cazzo!
Trayon demanded, “How many replicants do you have on your enemy’s ships?”
“Only Lipas. The others died while seizing the cloaking devices.”
“When is the bomb set to blow?” To me that was the most important question.
There was a growing sense of alarm in Mallox’s fuzzy mind. “Three minutes from now.”
Trayon shot the information to Sariel and the Overlord.
Zarek’s merciless gaze fixed on Lipas.
Lipas blank stare morphed into one of rage. Twenty seconds later a transport beam locked on him and he vanished.
Jubal erupted to his feet. “What is going on?”
“Suicide bomber,” I said.
“Shields are up. Brace for impact,” Trayon announced abruptly. A massive explosion shook the ship.
Chiara flashed the image of a large rat with wormy growths covering its body into my mind. “It has no aura and is heading toward engineering.”
“Good work.” I sent the information to Trayon.
Trayon touched his gauntlet. Klaxons sounded. “Battle stations. All warriors report to your battle stations.”
“Do you know who is attacking the ship?” Commander Zan questioned.
“It was an assassination attempt by Mallox and one of his creations is loose on the ship,” Sariel advised.
“Not for long.” Zarek teleported.
Dad vanished a second later.
Loki exclaimed, “How is this even possible? Your scanners should have detected the explosives and the creature.”
An extremely ugly Farin demanded, “What proof do you have that Lipas had a bomb?”
I looked at him in disbelief. “Oh, I don’t know. The fact he just blew up?”
Trayon bared his fangs. “Jia and Chiara are the reason we still live, Cuylen. You will treat them with the proper respect.”
“I will not show respect to deviant females. They are the ones behind the attacks, not Lipas. Everyone knows Earth females are unnatural,” Cuylen spat.
Were all Farins bigoted asses? “What’s unnatural is your disappointment the ship wasn’t blown to bits. You should be relieved at your good fortune, but you’re not. You got a death wish, or are you a Rodan stooge?”
“You were on duty when the cloaking devices were stolen,” Jubal stated coldly.
Cuylen yanked his weapon out.
In one smooth movement, Trayon drew his pistol, shoved me to the floor and opened fire.
Multiple stun beams hit Cuylen, dropping him face down on the metal deck.
I watched as he seized violently. “I bet Lilkee hired him.”
“She does tend to recruit inept warriors,” Trayon agreed and helped me up.
I clung to him as another explosion rocked the ship. “Looks like the rat creature has been disposed of.”
“We owe much to Chiara,” Sariel said.
“We do.” I stroked her head. “You were awesome.”
Jubal bowed. “Thank you, Lady Chiara. My people are in your debt.”
Chiara raised her head proudly. “I do what I must to protect my family. Until the Rodan are driven from the galaxy, no one is safe.”
“Now we need to find out how were they able to bypass the ship’s security measures,” I said.
Commander Zan added, “And how they are turning our own warriors against us.”
“Greed,” Ivan said.
Sariel tentacles squirmed wildly. “Explain.”
“The Legionnaires have been hiring mercenaries to fill their ranks for some time now. They are offering a million-credit signing bonus and another million if your mission is successful,” Loki advised.
I threw up my hands in disgust. “Why haven’t you told anyone about this?”
“The Bjarke High Command is aware of what the Legionnaires are doing and has taken steps to correct it, but it is not our responsibility to inform the Coletti, Askole or the Alliance,” Loki shot back.
I blew out a long breath. “The Rodan eat Bjarkes too. How many are you willing to let die needlessly?”
“That is a matter for the diplomats to settle,” Ivan said.
Loki interjected, “Lilkee has been hiring Hador mercenaries.”
I jumped about a foot when Sariel and Trayon bellowed their war cries. “That bad?”
“They are without honor,” Sariel snarled.
“Hadors?” I cocked an inquiring eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of them.”
Trayon tapped his gauntlet. A three-dimensional picture of a squat humanoid with a rodent-like face and porcupine spines for hair appeared mid-air.
“Can they fight?” I had to ask.
“Not very well. They strike from behind, hoping to take their enemy by surprise. Their spines are tipped with poison. Any warrior not wearing armor is killed instantly,” Zan advised.
Trayon added,