Veska grunted in satisfaction, and Shadow’s ear turned toward her as she clasped her fist to her chest as well.
“Thank you, Captain.” Warmth radiated through him at their confidence, though he didn’t know if claiming that title—especially without talking to his siblings—was entirely appropriate. “Krif’Hosh, Night Song, is an ancient clan of the Zuul, and we,” he gestured at himself and the siblings sitting to either side of him, “are all that remains of it. I’d like it to grow.”
“It must grow,” Veska said, thumping the table with a fist. “The Zuul need you.”
“Then we all have equal stake in E’cop’k?” Yanow asked, holding very still. “And in the Astatine-222?”
“Yes. We would become…the Engineering Guild, I guess. Equal stakes, and we can contract out to others as we need to.”
“We would need to be clear of decision-making, profits, and contracts,” Yanow warned. “This isn’t about bossing the Lumar around and sending us to die.” She shook her head solemnly. “We are tired of being the Mercenary Guild’s laser fodder. We are an ancient and proud race, despite how we’ve been laid low. I would like,” she paused, looked at Ulan, then continued, “rather, we would like this to change.”
“You care about your clan,” Shadow said, leaning forward. “I want you to be my clan, and I want us to be yours.”
“I have a question first,” Drake said, his head cocked and his eyes as intent as Yanow’s. “What’s the deal?”
“The…deal?”
“Is Ulan pretending? Are all Lumar pretending? Why are you so smart, and…” He waved a hand at her, then at Ulan off to the side. “Why are they…”
“Stupid?” she asked, and Drake blanched. “It is okay, our new friends.” She looked at Ulan, and despite their race’s differences, her care for the male was obvious. “They do not pretend.” Yanow sat back, tapping three hands’ worth of fingers as she considered. “Our males are exactly how they seem. The story of how we ended up as we are is ancient. They are, we are, as we sit here…simply as a matter of revenge. That is all I can say.”
Shadow had a million follow up questions, but he forced them away for the moment. “If it’s something we can help with, we would commit to that, too.”
“Song of the Night,” Yanow said, thoughtful. She glanced at Ulan, who grunted.
“Night Fist better.”
“Fair enough. Night Fist, the Lumar portion of Night Song?”
Yanow held Shadow’s eyes for a long moment and nodded.
“Niss?”
“We are happy to work for—”
“No, Niss. No more working for someone. You’re slaves no more. The Aku are more than worthy of being an equal part of our clan. Someone needs to unlock and run the gate. You know the most about the mines, the guild, and the Astatine-222. We need you to administer the mines and handle the business of the guild.”
“There are at least five more effective ways to harvest it,” Niss said, leaning his shell against the Aku next to him. “We have no use for credits.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out something,” Sonya murmured, dropping her jaw slightly when Ripley elbowed her.
“You have listened every time we have shared our knowledge, Shadow, which is something new to us. We like Humans and you. Yes, we agree to this plan. As for the stargate, as some of you may know, we were the ones who locked it at the Zuparti’s direction. We are happy to unlock it and operate the facility.” His great rocky head moved upward as if focused on the stargate. “We are most eager to go there and see more of its workings after all we have learned. Fascinating.”
Shadow nodded and hoped the Aku would at least fix the thing before they got too curious and took it apart. “That’s settled then,” he said. “Tucker? Bana? Anderle?”
“Some of the mercs might have rolled off when we got home,” Bana said, shrugging, “but they would have to be triple idiots to do it now. I’m too old to go to another company, and I like the idea of being rich. In.”
Anderle and Tucker nodded, smiling.
“I care less about being rich,” Tucker said. “I followed your dad. I watched you kids grow up and knew something special was happening. I thought it would be Rex one day…”
“We all did.” Shadow lowered his head for a moment and swallowed back a soft sound of grief.
“But the more I hear about your leadership during a desperate fight, the more I realize I missed it. I hadn’t realized Alan was taking more time with you, not to try to push you along, but to grow the seeds of a commander. Rex was a natural warrior. You, lad, are a natural leader.”
“He told me as much,” Bana admitted. “He planned to make you a corporal after the contract. Despite your being late for muster.” Bana managed a glower, but there was no heat to it.
Shadow looked between his siblings, each of whom nodded with clear affection.
“Silent Night is yours,” Tucker said. “I’ll continue to follow its leader.”
“Good.” Shadow stood and faced the two Pushtal guarded by Ulan. They had followed the conversation closely, with nary a hiss or spit to reveal their reactions. Shadow took a steadying breath and committed to the riskiest part of his plan. “Why did you attack us?”
The slightly larger one blinked, not expecting the question. “We were ordered to.”
He waited, silence blanketing the room, until the second one twitched and lashed his tail.
“Meesh said we were being cheated, that we would be paid nothing
