"All right. Would it be possible to do something that looks like giving that bastard what he wants?"
Understanding started to dawn on Yarel's face, and it took on a much more positive expression.#p#分页标题#e#
"Yes, I'm sure there is."
"Tell me about the Flora's scientists. Are they trustworthy?"
Yarel sighed, like all Palians did when they had to deliver bad news. It was as good as an answer, but he went on anyway.
"There are weaker specimens in every species. I regret to say their resolve isn't strong. Worgen has them petrified."
"Yes," Corden noted calmly. "We all have those. The ones we'd rather not call brothers."
The Palian nodded, understanding that a legendary nightmare was also a bad chapter in anyone's history pages.
"They'll do as I say," the commander continued, "but I can't know what they'll do if Worgen threatens them again."
"That is hopefully not an issue. It's your task now to keep them away from him. Insist that you and Lana are the only ones Worgen needs to speak to. Make up any excuses you need to not let him see what is actually going on. Bore him. We get bored easily."
Yarel accepted his joke with a quick smile.
"And what will be actually going on?" he asked.
"We will target the originals," Corden said with emphasis, to make sure the Palian understood what his intention was. "I've met a few, but he keeps most of them on the Abysmal. If you pretend to obey, he'll have to send them here. And we can take care of them. Once all or at least most of them are gone, the warship poses less of a danger once I kill Worgen."
The Palian's eyes lit up when he said that.
"It is good to hear you say that," Yarel noted.
"In the meantime," Corden continued. "We will have time to figure out how to take out Worgen. The best possible outcome would be to do it on the Abysmal or there is a danger they'll destroy the fleet as revenge. We can't let that happen."
Yarel nodded.
"I will do my best," he promised. "What about the Brion units?"
Corden grinned.
"I will handle them," he said. "After all, this ship isn't a safe place for them."
It wasn't often that Palians looked angered or anything else resembling cruelty, but that made Yarel smile.
"You led that unit to the Torons. And they killed the Brions."
"They helped."
From there, Corden told him as much about his plan as he needed to. Having allies was necessary, but he thought it better to only tell the Palian what concerned him. Besides, the general was trusting him with the most important task. Before he let Yarel leave with his new instructions, Corden stopped him.
"You understand," he said, allowing his voice to drop to a low growl. "Nothing can hurt Lana. Tell her only what she needs to know. And no matter what, don't leave her alone with him."
***
Trusting a whole part of his plan to another felt fundamentally wrong to Corden, but he had no other choice. Someone who could be seen and heard had to organize things on that end. And if you couldn't trust a Palian, who then? He was certain Yarel wouldn't betray him on purpose, but it was another matter entirely if he'd pull off the tasks Corden had entrusted to him.
But there was no other way. The general had considered the situation from every angle and come to the conclusion that he needed time. He had to signal the Claw and call his flagship to him. No matter what happened to the Levi, it was clear the fleet was in danger and any protection he could offer was good.
What he'd told Yarel had been the truth. He couldn't kill Worgen aboard the Flora or there would be no knowing what the Abysmal would do when it heard about the general's death. He could hope that the vessel would be thrown into disarray by the fighting to see who would succeed Worgen, but that was a fool's hope and Corden didn't want to rely on that.
Getting rid of Worgen's actual crew was a close second best. If he had no more warriors, ultimately he had nothing. Even the mightiest general needed an actual army to call himself that. The creatures Corden had been fighting were nothing of the sort. Only those Worgen had sent to kill him on the Raptor had been able to put up a decent fight. He grinned, thinking how important it had to have been for Worgen to kill him if he didn't spare his best.
Corden found the Torons easily enough.
They recognized him, it seemed. In the case of the great beasts, it meant seeing him and then pointedly ignoring his presence. If he'd been an unwelcome entity, they would have attacked already.
"I heard the Brions killed some of you," he said.#p#分页标题#e#
Lana had told him that, but it was nothing but a confirmation for Corden. After Worgen had received news of the dead warriors, there was no other possible outcome. The Brion units had hunted Torons all over the carrier in revenge. The beasts could hide quite well, but a few of them had been found.
Corden definitely had their attention now. One by one, they rose to stare down at him. It was a new experience for Corden, who had been the tallest person in the room for most of his life. Torons were giants, however.
"They did," said one of the Torons.
With them, Corden had found, it was impossible to tell if you were actually speaking to the leader or just the one who felt like talking to you.
The general could have said he was sorry, but he was not and neither were they. If he hadn't led the particular unit to the Toron quarters, the beasts would have found the Brions eventually.
What he said was: "I offer you revenge."
He'd said that in the Toron language. The beasts inclined their big heads, looking at him, as if trying to sense his true meaning, the value of his spirit.
"We accept," several thundering voices said then, speaking over each other.
The huge furry wall of bodies around him mumbled approvingly, sounding like wind blowing through a deep forest. The Torons were in agreement. That was good.
He explained the plan to them, as simple as it was. Any Brion they could find, they would kill. Corden wanted to empty Worgen's reserves, to lure the other general out with his best. To leave only the incapable on the Abysmal. All in preparation of eventually taking the warship.
It would make a nice addition to the Brion armies, Corden thought. He could imagine parading it above Briolina, the long-lost treasure of their kind. After all, it wasn't the ship itself that needed purging, only its master.
He didn't know if he should warn the Torons that they might be hunted down with even greater vigor for ading with him. Eventually he settled for saying:
"More of you might die."
"We accept," said the Torons.
***
After the trip to his fighter to call the Claw closer, Corden hunted too.
He hadn't done it in a while and found it to be as challenging as he remembered. During warrior training, with no one else to practice with, it was natural for Brions to hunt other Brions. They didn't kill, only humiliated those who got caught, but this was different.
Corden hunted the ship, looking for any originals he might find. He took down a few clones too, but with every one he killed, it felt more and more wrong because it was too easy. Corden was grateful to leave that nasty task to the Torons. He took no pleasure in killing those who clearly had no way of matching him.
The originals—that's how he'd taken to calling the original members of Worgen's crew—were harder to find. In fact, after a while it started to look like there were none at all, until he found one.
It was him. The man Corden had already killed twice. It had to be fate, there was no other explanation.
He dropped down from the ceiling on top of the warrior. Unlike others who had lost their grip on their spears, this one caught Corden's strike that was about to kill him. The general pressed down, not hurrying as he should have, too interested in the process. It was a rare occurrence, after all. He hoped that it would be his last time fighting someone to the death three times.
Corden was so merciful he allowed the other warrior to stand, but not before slashing a clear cut through his comm link. Since it was embedded into the device on his wrist, it took a good chunk of flesh with it.
The warrior cried out. Even his valor squares flashed a bit, the hint of red hanging in the air. Not completely gone, then.
"Your name," Corden ordered, knowing he shouldn't stall.
They were in an empty hallway, but it wouldn't be like that forever. It wasn't a shut-off part of the ship or some unused hangar, merely the spot where Corden had found the man patrolling. Yet he couldn't stop his curiosity from demanding that he take his time with this one. Somehow, he felt as if he owed it to the man, after being his killer twice already.
It must have been instinct that made the man answer his question, Corden’s authoritative voice commanding attention even in times like these.
"Prelen," the warrior said before glaring at Corden, his eyes reflecting the anger he felt.
The general circled him, keeping the man clearly in sights while checking both ends of the hallway. He held the spear in his hands languidly, seemingly at ease, noting with a pleased smile how the warrior didn't take the bait. Prelen followed him step for step, crouched, spear held at the ready before him.#p#分页标题#e#
"Tell me," Corden said. "Do you know that I've already killed you?"
"We don't have the Palian techniques yet," the warrior answered, still irritated that the general's tone made him reply.