Star Alliance by Ken Lozito Page B

species do as they command. They are ruthless,” Kladomaor said.
    “Don’t you see? That’s why even if Zack becomes lost to the Humans, they must learn what is at stake so they can take that lesson back to their home,” Ma’jasalax said.
    “Their planet will need more than just the account of nine Humans to invoke change. They don’t even have a unified global government,” Kladomaor said.
    “We must do everything in our power to ensure the Humans survive here. They will be as a pebble cast into a pond that will evoke a time of great change for their species,” Ma’jasalax said.
    A silent alarm flashed on the main holoscreen. They were running in stealth mode, and given what they were about to do, they couldn’t risk their alarms being overheard by the enemy.  
    “One of the Xiiginn warships broke off from the rest to investigate our decoy,” Triflan said.
    “Acknowledged,” Kladomaor said. “Stand by for the other decoys to engage.”
    Kladomaor had wondered if he could entice one of the warships to break formation. He had raced their ship to the outer star system, leveraging the strength of his ship, which was in speed and stealth. He would loiter and coordinate their decoys to distract the Xiiginn warships for a while. By now they must have received a report of the Boxan presence in the Nershal star system. He would entice them to give chase, and the Xiiginns would be restricted in their response to the threat he represented. They were in an occupied star system and couldn’t exactly unleash the full measure of their arsenal here, but the Xiiginn’s alliance with the Nershals was growing more fragile. If it came to open conflict, Kladomaor had given Udonzari a way to send communication to the Boxan fleet.
    “Are you just deploying decoys?” Ma’jasalax asked.
    “You mean there’s something you aren’t able to foresee?” Kladomaor said, baiting Ma’jasalax. “The decoys we’ve deployed will put their warships on a path of our choosing, forcing them to fly through whatever we have lying in wait for them.”
    “You mean to only wound them?” Ma’jasalax asked.
    “I only need to wound them. We don’t have the arsenal to destroy all of them. We’ll ratchet up the pressure and see how they respond,” Kladomaor said.

    *****

    Mar Arden disembarked from the transport ship that had taken him from Selebus to Nerva. It seemed his agents had been unable to silence the vid of the research facility on Selebus that exposed the truth of the Xiiginn activity there. He was surprised by how fast Nershal unrest was spreading. Perhaps the Nershals weren’t as weak as he had originally thought. The younger generation clamored for the chance to use more advanced technology by serving aboard some of the Xiiginn ships. Initially it had been the elder Nershals who had posed the greatest risk to the Xiiginn interests here, but like any species, they had just needed the right push.
    A comms signal was relayed to him from Selebus that had Kandra Rene’s identification associated with it. Mar Arden accepted the signal. “What’s the status with the Human?” Mar Arden asked.
    “He continues to resist us. I’ve sent him to the pit to soften his resolve,” Kandra Rene said.
    Mar Arden frowned. “If he dies, that will reflect poorly on you.”
    “I’m operating from within the restrictions you put in place. You’ve forbidden me to attempt our more aggressive interrogation techniques, and he seems to be able to resist compulsion,” Kandra Rene said.
    “Understood. I will remove you from the project then—” Mar Arden began.
    “Don’t do that. I allowed the Human to reconnect with his Nershal companion in the pit, and then I took the Nershal back into custody. Since there are no restrictions on what I can do to the Nershal, I should have more information about the Human shortly. There is a bond between the Nershal and the Human, which I plan to exploit,” Kandra Rene said.
    Mar Arden rubbed his