“No, but we have to speak with Zonrial.” If Trid was captured by the Velibar, we weren’t waiting around while the local Biks soldiers sifted through their captives in search of one Darlor man.
I glanced at the three Velibar soldiers stationed outside of Zonrial’s temporary cell. They were fully armored, with clear helmets covering their tentacles.
“We’re here to see the prisoner,” Luther told them. The shortest one stood a good foot taller than Luther Payne and was twice his weight, which made them all a hell of a lot bigger than I was.
The lead soldier shook his head and snorted.
“The First Regal of Biks sent us.” I was growing impatient at the postponement, and I came closer. Their potent fishy scent was becoming tolerable, but I almost gagged when he lifted his visor and breathed on me.
“Proceed,” he said in chunky English, and stepped aside, shoving his cohorts.
Luther shoved through them into the crowded entrance. The lights hummed and flickered as I walked inside. Zonrial was behind steel bars. They were solid, with heavy welds marring the walls, floor, and ceiling where they connected. The Hidan woman didn’t react when we entered, just sat on the cold gray floor, knees pulled into her chest.
“You had some guts showing yourself,” I told her. When she didn’t reply, I continued. “Attacking the Velibar on their third most populated territory. I suspect you weren’t aware of their recent upgrades. Pity that you brought all of these Darlor along for the ride. Such a waste of their lives.”
Luther interjected, “Convenient that the Hidan were a barely noticeable presence.”
“Wait.” I grabbed the bars. “Another lie. Your supposed brother Faril. Where is he?”
Finally, Zonrial looked up, her blue skin darkening in anger. “Faril made a sacrifice. He was to be ushered to Tarre, where the invasion originated.”
“Tarre. Another diversion. The Velibar would assume that if any retaliation occurred, it would happen on Tarre, not Biks. You had it all figured out, didn’t you?” I pitied this woman. She’d told us she was a leader among the Hidan. I doubted she was anything of the sort. Probably a disgruntled terrorist. “Too bad my grandfather was up to the challenge. You didn’t stand a chance.”
Zonrial hopped to her feet and limped over. Fury burned in her eyes. “Are you saying your blood relative is here, on Biks? A human?”
I crossed my arms. “That’s right. He’s the First Regal.”
She lunged at me from behind the bars, but I easily avoided her grasp. “Don’t lie.”
“I’m not. Now I need you to answer a few questions.”
“It doesn’t matter what you do to me. It’s too late. Your people are already done for,” she whispered.
“What do you mean?” Luther asked. “Arlo, what is she saying?”
“Your panicking friend has the right idea. You’ve probably guessed already that we used you as a distraction. We’ve always been aware of the Velibars’ interest in Earth, and we were waiting to see how things transpired first. From my understanding, twenty Pursuers, along with thirty Hidan Arrows and twelve Kvan Sabres, went to your solar system. They departed a few weeks before you did. I suspect they’ve already destroyed your Belt Station, the Moon, Mars, and Earth. You think we don’t listen when you tell us something, but we know a lot about humans. We’ve been watching as well.”
“Stin,” I muttered.
She nodded. “Stin has allowed us access to the Velibar drones.”
“What are they going to do to Earth?” Luther demanded.
Zonrial shrugged nonchalantly and walked toward Luther. He looked ready to bend the thick metal rods to grab her if necessary. “From the sounds of things, you’ll probably be happy. Our own government was led by incompetent blowhards. They never acted for the benefit of the Hidan. That’s why we overtook them. Violence is the only true universal currency. Blood gets results. Words fall flat. Contracts can be broken. We and the Darlor are so similar that it was inevitable for us to join forces and make some changes in the hierarchy of this galaxy.”
“You sure have a lot to say,” Luther grunted.
She peered at me, locking gazes. “Take me with you.”
“Why would we do that?”
“You can’t leave me with the Velibar. They’ll tear me limb from limb. You don’t want that on your conscience, do you?” Zonrial lowered her voice, waving the sympathy card, but I wasn’t having any of it.
“What have they done to Earth.”
“I don’t know.”
“You sounded like you had a good idea a few minutes ago,” Luther said.
“Will you bring me?” This time, there was real desperation on her face.
“Yes. Answer properly, and I’ll consider it,” I told her.
“The Hidan and Darlor were delighted to make contact with you. It was far easier than they’d suspected. Stin had laid the trap, hoping someone would stumble across the ship years earlier.”
“That was a trap?” I rubbed my forehead, trying to ease the headache that was slowly spreading.
“Luckily for us, Arlo Lewis was the one to discover it,” Zonrial said.
“You haven’t answered my question, and I’m low on spare time. What do they want with Earth?” I demanded.
“We’ve overstayed our welcome at Refuge. We want a new planet to call our own.”
I spun on my heel and stalked from the room.
“You said you’d take me with you!” Zonrial shouted from behind me.
“I guess I lied.” I pushed past the soldiers, and Luther had to jog to catch up.
“You think the Velibar will kill her?” he asked.
“I don’t care.”
Preston waited at the docking bay, examining his tablet while speaking with his second in command, Beter Con. She took notes, and they stopped when we arrived.
“Are you ready?” My grandfather’s voice inspired me, and I couldn’t believe we were separating again.
“I hope so.”
The others all lingered near the Racers, and I caught Varn standing close to Aster. He said something, causing her to crack a smile.
Jade and Holland were beside R11, looking over details on a PersaTab, and I felt stronger near the support of our people. Luther cracked his knuckles. “I
