Lana almost winced. As a high-ranking officer, it was natural that she spoke Brionese, even if it was technically impossible for any non-Brion to fully master it. Their complicated language was always changing, every word gaining and losing meaning according to how it was said. Lana was sure she missed more than half of it, but the harshly most definitely meant your death now.#p#分页标题#e#
She considered that. A whole ship full of innocent people—that was already on her conscience. Now she risked even more. But somebody had to stop this lunatic, and now that Corden was gone, Lana had to come up with a new plan. Win the general's trust first, then look for a weakness and strike.
"I understand," she said, knowing that it was a devil's bargain and would more than likely cost her life.
Outside, the Flora had still not moved. It looked like the carrier was not going to be drawn in as easily as it should have been. To Lana, it was a clear sign that somebody aboard had lost their mind.
Guessing where a refusal like that lead, she quickly said: "Let me talk to them."
Worgen didn't respond immediately, his dark eyes back on the Flora. Annoyance had replaced the earlier hunger, but it was not gone.
Think, what might convince a maniac like that?
"I don't know what you want with them," Lana began, hoping she wasn't bringing about more death. "But people are easier to question when they're alive."
There, the same crooked smile again. So she was amusing him. That was good. Tyrants and madmen always liked their fools and if that was the part Lana had to play, she was fine with that. If it helped her cause, she was willing to put up with a lot.
Worgen nodded toward the comm console. Gratefully, Lana dashed to it, watching the standoff outside. It was the most ridiculous one she'd ever seen, an ant stubbornly refusing to get out of the way of a boot. The amount of lives at stake was less funny.
"To the Flora, come in," she said. "This is Lana Cormac, captain of the... formerly the captain of the Raptor."
The seconds of silence that followed were one of the scariest in Lana's life. She didn't know that much about Brions or their personalities, but she knew psychopaths and Worgen definitely ticked all the boxes. Guys like that weren't known for their patience and forgiveness. The Flora was edging very close to being destroyed, useful or not. Lana didn't understand how the carrier's captain didn't see that.
A male voice answered, most certainly a human male.
"This is the Flora," the man said. "Where are you, Captain Cormac? What the fuck is going on here?"
Oh good God, Lana groaned in her mind. A warship the size of a fucking moon is telling you to surrender, what do you think is going on? This man is a moron. How did he get put in charge?
"I'm aboard the Abysmal;" she responded, trying to be calm. "But that is not important. I think you see the situation fairly well yourself. I will come aboard and explain everything, but right now, just do what the Brions say."
"You're on that monstrosity?" the man asked. "Why?"
Lana's heart was once more racing so hard she could barely breathe, only this time it was from sheer agitation. The guy she was talking to was an idiot, a certifiable one. Captains of ships like the Flora had only one command when it came to unknown enemies. Try to be diplomatic and don't push your luck. If they demand something, give it to them and fly away alive. The union would replace everything. Threatening the crew was another matter entirely. In that case, the orders were even easier.
Surrender. Do whatever it takes to protect the passengers.
"Am I speaking to the captain of the Flora?" Lana asked. "It doesn't matter where I am or why. All that is important right now is that we are in a bad situation that will get considerably worse if you don't listen to me."
"Yeah, I'm the captain," the voice said, but Lana had serious doubts about that.
Something very weird was going on aboard the Flora. At first she'd thought the captain of the carrier had severely misjudged the situation, but now it was clear to her that she wasn't talking to the real commander. No man in charge of a ship like that could have afforded being so stupid.
Caught between two madmen, Lana thought with morbid amusement. Only that one of them has an army and the other is too dumb to understand that means he's already lost.
Picking her words very carefully, she said: "All right, Captain. If you want to know what's going on and if you want to keep living, do as they say. I will explain everything when I get there."
She held her breath while on the other end, the supposed captain was hopefully looking for his eyes, brain, and good sense.
"Why would I trust you?" the voice finally asked, hesitant.
Because I'm trying to save your life, you fool, since you're clearly too dumb to live yourself.
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Lana suppressed a painful, hopeless sigh. With every ounce of patience left in her body, she replied coldly: "Trust? I expect you to read the name of the Brion ship and consider that for a moment."
The captain's answer was lost in a sudden surge of voices, all speaking over each other. It seemed to Lana that some were calling to her, but she couldn't make out a single one. One thing was absolutely clear, however. She had to get to the Flora in a hurry and salvage what she could from the mess.
As she'd guessed, Worgen had no patience to listen to the quarreling crew. He walked away, Lana running after him, unwilling to be left behind. An ugly premonition set on her heart like a dark shadow. She wasn't born yesterday to be surprised when Worgen ordered a considerable amount of warriors into the fighters. Much more than he would have needed for his personal bodyguard.
I can't do anything for those people if I die, Lana told herself, but it didn't ease her conscience one bit. The damage was already done and she didn't believe for a moment anything she might have said would stop Worgen. The general had killed for less than the disrespectful manner of the Flora's captain.
She tried every reasoning she could come up with to justify staying out of the killing that was without a doubt going to commence.
I'm helping Worgen to save the fleet, along with the Flora. I'll learn his weaknesses to get revenge for everyone who have died. I'll find out his true plan and what he wants with the carrier, other than his fated.
None of it helped. All the way to the Flora, back in the general's personal fighter, Lana fought herself. Only imagining the Raptor being blown to pieces kept her silent. Her priority had to be the whole carrier, but how could she manage to stay there and help them?
They docked in the carrier after long minutes filled with ominous silence.
When Worgen left the fighter, Lana walked with him. Not because she wanted to connect herself to the general's horrible deeds in any way, but because she felt like she owed the people that were about to die at least that. Her eyes found the would-be captain, dressed like a common officer, coming their way.
"I am the captain of this ship, protected by the Galactic union and you are—"
It had taken the man several seconds to register what he was seeing, but then he stopped so suddenly he almost stumbled. Worgen tended to have that effect on people.
Not a word escaped Lana's lips when Worgen slowly drew his long spear and the foolish captain just stood, pale as a ghost, as the blade smoothly beheaded him. People screamed, but Lana found her own attention firmly on the severed head.
He hadn't deserved it; nobody did. Lana had been furious with him, ready to gnaw his ear off, but she'd known he was dead two sentences into her earlier conversation with him. Worgen could hear everything, standing next to her. There was nothing she could do to shut him up and now he was gone.
She hadn't liked him, but that wasn't the same as wanting him to die. Lana added the man to the long list of people she would avenge and turned back to Worgen.
She refused to close her eyes as history repeated itself, only less discriminating this time. Worgen's warriors charged into the crowd that had come with their captain, killing without reason or regret. Lana waited, watching the bloodbath unfold. Her thoughts returned to Corden, big and strong and powerful. If he'd been there, the situation might have been different. Lana herself was no warrior and the guard standing by her side ensured she didn't even reach for a gun so she could try and score a lucky hit.
Without hurting anyone, she still felt like an accomplice.
Worgen was in the middle of the massacre, slaying people with cold precision. There was no remorse, not even anger there. He killed as if it was his nature.
In the end, the general was standing in the middle of a suddenly very empty deck, bodies heaped upon each other around him. Before, his image was enough to stop Lana's heart in her chest, but there was only loathing now. Even seeing him drenched in blood didn't make her stop anymore.
"What had they done?" she asked silently. "The captain was the only one who spoke to you."
The dark general looked at her as if she was speaking a language he didn't understand. It was in that moment that Lana truly knew he was utterly mad.
"Done?" he asked coldly. "This is a warning to everyone on this ship not to disobey me."
Lana said nothing. Pointing out no one had seemed futile when facing a monster like that.
***
Worgen took in the ship. Standing next to him, Lana wished she could have done the same. The Flora was a gorgeous ship by any standard, but she had a hard time appreciating it. Not when her mind was firmly on the guns of the Abysmal, pointed at the vessel.#p#分页标题#e#