Alien General's Beloved (Brion Brides 6)(53)

She couldn't see much, but the valor squares were providing enough light so she didn't run into things at least.

The initial shock had subsided and Lana was already working on a new plan. The wound in her stomach was gone, like it had never been there at all, not even a scar left behind. After hearing it had been the Brion scientists that had healed her, Lana really didn't want to ask if it was normal or they used some of the Palian teachings on her. Since they normally handled the clones, it wasn't out of the question, but she doubted the warriors would have allowed her to be genetically altered.

Considering the alternative had been bleeding to death, Lana took that little gift without question.

"We should get back up there," she said, referring to the active parts of the ship. "You have to help Corden."

The warriors exchanged looks again. Lana felt like she was a puzzle to them, that her ideas didn't make sense to the Brions.

"We would help the general," Ilen said, "but we are sure he would like us to protect you. It is not like he needs protection himself."#p#分页标题#e#

"No," Lana agreed with a smile she couldn't fight down. "But I want to know what's going on. And there must be something else you can do."

"The control room is lost," Arben told her. "That was the general's command to us and we did our duty. Only now General Worgen knows and has doubled the guards around it."

Lana heard the same bottomless hate toward the mad general. She listened and thought that although Corden was an infinitely better commander, the three had simply switched one master for another. Like dogs, they trusted Corden to lead them by a leash and were unwilling to do anything without him.

Since he wasn't there, Lana decided that she could make use of them.

"We are going back," she said.

"The general would—"

"The general wants to win this and to kill Worgen. We must help. He can't conquer the whole ship alone, can he?"

The looks on the warriors' faces told her they wouldn't have bet against Corden.

Again, Lana felt ridiculous pride, as if it was her that was being praised. With every second, she was becoming more and more like a true gesha, who was one with her other half. Perhaps that was the reason she so badly wanted to do something instead of sitting and waiting.

In the meantime, the warriors seemed to have come to a conclusion.

"What do you want us to do?" they asked.

Lana thought. Being a Brion commander didn't come naturally to her, but years of being a captain had taught her to think like a leader at least.

"The Claw is out there," she said, the plan coming together in her head. "But it can't fight back because the fleet is in the way. I think we can help."

"How?" Arben asked.

"By opening the landing bays again. At least one of them. That would allow the Claw to send help."

"It would also let the Brion units dispatched to the fleet back in."

"There aren't so many out there and most of them are clones," Lana said. "It's a risk we have to take."

The warriors were silent for a while, but eventually they nodded.

"This is a good plan," Ilen said. "I think the general would like it."

That definitely lit up a warm flame within Lana, but it came with a bittersweet taste. She wanted to believe that if Corden had been killed, they would know. Surely Worgen would broadcast his triumph over the comm links, right? But Lana would have liked to be certain. Even better, she would have liked to see him.

Lana told herself that the sooner they would take the Abysmal, the quicker she would see him.

"What about all this?" Tuven asked, gesturing around them. "The clones."

Lana looked at them, the bodies in every possible stage of development floating in the transparent tubes. Some of them were only children, but even those who appeared grown had technically not even been born. They hadn't done anything wrong yet, hadn't been taught to follow Worgen's creed.

"We will leave them," she said with certainty.

"They might become our enemies," Ilen said and Lana heard the disgust in his voice.

She knew the originals hated the clones, but these were nothing more than empty shells.

"Or they might not," Lana replied. "Your Elders will judge that once we get out of here."

Not wanting to start a philosophical debate over clone rights when time was of the essence, Lana turned and walked away. After a moment, the three warriors followed, as was the Brion way. She wasn't their leader, not really, but she was the closest thing they could get to Corden himself.

Lana let them take the lead again, ascending through the levels between her new guards. The valor squares showed the way to her through corridors until she started to feel the stench of death again.

"How are we to take over a whole bay?" Ilen asked. "We can try, but as soon as the bridge hears, there will be reinforcements."

"Just like your general," Lana said, smiling. "We have allies."



***



Tracking a furious pack of Torons was not something Lana had ever thought she'd do. It kind of felt like walking right into a blade again. The memories of the atrium played before her eyes, the way the beasts had torn through everything and everyone in their way. Her heart beat faster and faster as the noise level rose all around, signaling that they were getting closer.

Lana wished she had Corden's certainty, so she would know she could get through to the Torons. The captain had strictly warned her three guards to attack only when it was absolutely clear that the Torons were not listening to her. She was going to approach them alone as well, not to give them immediate targets in the form of the Brions. There was no way they could distinguish between the good and the bad kind like that.#p#分页标题#e#

Before her, Lana heard screams and roars. The Torons were not holding back, it seemed.

"Wait," she told the Brions quietly and advanced alone, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

Not that I have to try very hard, she thought. Each and every one of them could eat me in one bite.

The pack of Torons were just finishing up a bunch of clones.

Lana's insides had only calmed down after the healing, but now it felt like a roller coaster again. The Torons weren't cannibalistic, but they sure looked like it, crouching over a pile of bodies that was only mostly dead. Some let out shrill screams when the beasts tore their legs off.

She wasn't sure what she should say, but didn't get the time to figure it out. The Torons had noticed her and arose like one. They came at her, looking like walking boulders, about to crush her. Lana prayed that her Brion guards had the sense to stay hidden until she'd at least given it her best shot.

The only problem was that every word was wiped from her mind as she watched the beasts approach, blood trickling from their fangs. Like before, the thought that was on the top of her mind was a name.

"Corden," she said.

Lana didn't know how much the Torons cared about names or if her gerion had even told them his. But they stopped, a foul smell coming from their mouths. They waited, growling.

Lana wasn't entirely fluent in the Toron language, but she felt it would send a better signal if she tried it out. Searching for something that would show she was there to help, Lana tried:

"Ally. Friend."

A light of understanding dawned in the eyes of the Torons, but they still said nothing. Lana went on.

"I want to help you. Fight Brions."

Roars pierced the air, seeming to shake the room apart. But then the leader of the beasts leaned forward.

"Friend," it said.

Okay. Good. We're getting somewhere now.

"I will show you," she offered, noticing how her three warriors appeared from cover once she'd calmed the Torons.

Apparently the introduction could have gone smoother. As the Torons charged and the Brions drew their spears, Lana yelled:

"No! Good Brions, good! Friends!"





CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Corden



He couldn't find her.

The Abysmal's layout wasn't familiar to Corden, not entirely, but that barely slowed him down. He was a Brion and there was a certain logic to how warships were built, after all. So every corridor and walkway didn't go where it did on the Claw, but the overall picture remained the same. It had not taken him long to find Worgen's quarters.

Fury drove him on, fury like he'd never known before. The mad general's words thundered in his mind, fueling the rage within him. It hadn't been enough for Worgen to simply insult him, he had to unleash the monster in Corden by attacking Lana. The way he'd spoken about her left no doubt in Corden's mind that if he failed, his gesha would suffer for it for the rest of her life.

And while the Brions were renowned for their skills in killing, they were also very good at not letting people die. Worgen could keep torturing Lana forever with the techniques the Palians had given him.

All of that had not happened yet, would not happen. Corden wasn't going to allow it, but the images kept parading before his eyes, more real than the actual ship around him.

He barely noticed killing the guards standing watch before the general's quarters. Corden tore through them without sparing the warriors more than a look. He registered flashing lights and the fear of prey, utterly out of place on a Brion, but they deserved his wrath.

The doors were reinforced, but the battle spear in Corden's hand was capable of cutting through almost anything in the galaxy. Except maybe the Abysmal's outer interior. Stepping back over the fallen originals, he cut his way through the door with a roar, blunting the blade of his precious weapon.