Part of me was starting to admire his spirit. Shame that wouldn't stop me from doing what I had to.
I shook my head implacably. “You can give the names to me, or you can give them to the Moset interrogators waiting to question you in the Pain Chamber. I trust you've heard how ruthless the Mosets can be. Make your choice, but make it fast. And make damn sure I hear you call me 'overseer' the next time you open your mouth. Final warning.”
“I got your warning right here, bitch!” Predictably, Gordon raised his fist, swinging it at my head.
Bad move.
I rocked back on my heels effortlessly, letting the wild punch sail right past me and waiting for Gordon to be caught leaning forward and off-balance for a second. Then, with the speed that came from years of survival in the mines, I moved forward smoothly and drove my elbow down into the nape of his neck. He fell on his face, and before he could flip over, I put the heel of my work boot on the back of his skull and pressed. He groaned a wordless surrender, raising his hands off the ground as far as they'd go.
Commandant Gohak, the boss of the N-7 mine, appeared at my side. Like all of the Pax, he was around four feet tall, with thick white fur covering his whole body. “That's enough, Natalie.”
“Fine,” I answered. “I think he got my point. Didn't you, Gordon?”
Gordon's head moved up and down under my heel, and I released him.
“Take him to the Pain Chamber,” Gohak commanded Korthlo.
Korthlo's mandibles withdrew into a nasty grin. “With pleasure, sir.” His pincers clamped down around Gordon's wrists, and the human was dragged off, shrieking in agony and terror.
“The rest of you, get back to work,” Gohak ordered. “As punishment for this disturbance, mid-shift has been cancelled for the day, and your rations will be halved until further notice.” The other slaves obeyed instantly, returning to their tasks.
Gohak looked up at me intently, tilting his head. “You really do seem to take a special joy in laying down the law among your fellow humans, don't you? Your sadism is beginning to rival Korthlo's. Some would argue that's a bad sign.”
I shook my head. “With all due respect, sir, it's not sadism. Merely obedience to you and a commitment to the success of this mining colony.”
“And it's appreciated, of course. But I must admit, my curiosity mirrors that of the slave you just disciplined. Why do you care?”
I was taken aback by the question. “Sir?”
He spread his arms at our surroundings. “Do you have any idea of the current gold reserves of the Pax Alliance? Because I can assure you, we don't. They're far beyond calculation, even by our most sophisticated computers. The same is true of our reserves of silver, platinum, and any other precious metal you'd care to name. We have enough to ensure that the next hundred generations of Pax will never want for anything. And even if that weren't the case, surely you realized some time ago that we have technology advanced enough to operate these mines without the need for slaves. So why do we use them?”
He was right. It was an equation I'd solved on my own long ago. “To break the spirits of the races you conquer. To exhaust us, instill fear in us, and prevent uprisings.”
He smiled, revealing rows of small, flat white teeth. “Just so. I knew you'd be smart enough to figure all of this out on your own. You are, by far, the most intelligent and resourceful human I've ever met. Therefore, I must ask again: Why do you care about the mine's output?”
“To distinguish myself. The collar around my neck means a great deal to me, sir, because I'm one of the few humans who have been chosen to wear it. It, and my responsibilities as overseer, prove conclusively that certain humans can be deemed worthy of advancement. I aim to demonstrate that I am one of those humans, by any means necessary.” I paused, then added, “There have even been...stories...among the slaves. Of humans who served the Pax with such loyalty and devotion that they were eventually permitted to return to their own planet. One day, I would like to see my home world again.”
Gohak put his stubby paws behind his back. When he spoke again, his voice was so quiet that it was almost drowned out by the noise of the mine. “Natalie have you ever considered the idea that it was the Pax who spread such stories? To make the members of your race work harder and even turn on each other, by creating hope where there was none?”
“No, sir,” I answered without hesitation.
“And why is that?”
“Forgive me for saying so, sir, but that seems an unnecessarily subtle and highly implausible psychological tactic for a race like yours, known for dominating through brute force.”
He thought this over for a moment, then nodded. “You're right, of course. It was merely an attempt at humor on my part one which, I admit, was in bad taste. As you were, Natalie.”
“Thank you, sir.”
As he returned to his office, I resumed my post, watching the other slaves like a keen-eyed Nimblexican hawk. There were no other disruptions for the rest of the shift. I was quite proud of that. And whenever Gohak’s words drifted back into my mind, I pushed them away again.
Jokes. Like he said.
That's all they were.
2
Dashel
I stood on the observation platform of Draqqapor II, a small spaceport orbiting one of the minor moons of Thirren, the Hielsrane home world. There were a hundred other tasks I was probably supposed to be attending to in that moment – but all I could do was stare at her.
My own ship. At last, my own command.
I squared my chin and laced my clawed hands behind my back, keeping my stance wide and trying to look as stoic as a captain should. Inwardly,
