{ Chapter Seven }
The airlock opened after registering a successful docking sequence. Unlike on other ships where an acutely-mechanised screen of security would pop up to identify the stranger, on this particular spaceship that wasn’t the case. That’s because it was a complete rust-bucket.
An old trades-ship which had long since been decommissioned, abandoned to float around in the endless abyss of cold space. The previous owner, plagued with the same issue of extortionate landing fees as many other Captains had, cut his losses and parted ways by the use of an escape capsule.
Leaving behind a three-hundred ton spaceship that quickly became the residence of squatters.
The figure who stood just in the doorway looked around at this unfamiliar setting. Having expected to find a sight of misery and squalor, what instead greeted him was a thriving drinking establishment with a strong thrum of life and an endless supply of raucous laughter.
Minimal lighting filled the confined space; whether purely because the lights were running out of energy, or by design, it restricted ones view of everyone present. Making the man’s job instantly more difficult, as he habitually tugged his cloak closer to his skin and trudged towards the makeshift bar.
His presence caught the eyes of those nearest, but there were no grounds for lingering looks as everyone was biding their time for one reason or another.
The woman behind the bar was an Alpha, barely sparing him a glance as she worked on cleaning the glasses as if they weren’t already old and chipped. She was able to stack a few of them on a shelf before the man in the cloak tapped his hand against a surface to grab her attention.
“We don’t have anything fancy, but we do pack a few liquors strong enough to knock a Beta on their ass.” She recited her usual sales pitch as she gestured with her thumb to the shelf behind her, but not once turning her back.
To keep people happy and to drown out people’s conversations, a variety of music was playing in the background. For someone like the man in the cloak, who wanted to go about his business as quickly as possible if it meant getting out of such a place, he struggled to keep his anger in check when his words were lost among the cacophony of drunken cheers.
Knowing better than to lean across the counter and leave herself exposed, the bartender who scrunched up her face when she completely missed what he had said, asked him to repeat it. So the man was left with no other option but to raise his voice, and in doing so attracted more attention that he wished for, especially with what he had to say.
“I want something with wings.” He repeated, through clenched teeth.
A knowing look transformed her relaxed demeanour and directed her towards other customers. Under the bouncing music and lights that added an extra layer of delirium on top of the homemade liquors, the woman shouted back, “I’m just a bartender, if you don’t want a drink then I can’t help you.”
As soon as a coin slammed down on the bar-top, she returned in no time with renewed hospitality.
He asked for nothing in particular and she returned with a glass-full of something akin to piss. Only then did she rest her forearms on the bar and in doing so showcased her features more clearly. It had the man determined to keep his identity hidden, easing backwards and away from such a war-torn looking face.
His skittish reaction alone spurred her next words, “I don’t care who you are, why you’re looking for them or what you’re trying to hide underneath that cloak, but I advise you choose a different time. This here’s a rare occasion for them to grab a drink. We only come into orbit around these parts one week in every year, and on this vessel there’s no prying eyes. So I suggest you leave em’ be.” Her words of caution sounded more rehearsed than if they were out of genuine concern.
As much as the cloaked man tried not to look at the woman’s face, it was impossible to do so when he was trying to express his determination in finding his targets.
A vertical scar sliced cleanly down the left side of her face and took her vision as a result. Her one clouded eye fixed on him with just as much intensity as her visually-perfect brown one. Regardless of what may have been considered her vulnerability, it was clear to see that she knew he didn’t belong there.
The stark difference in attitudes towards the different sub-genders depending on location was abundantly clear in that moment. In such an isolated environment, where every person naturally watched their own backs, it meant nothing if they were Alpha, Beta or Omega. No one, especially not the Alpha female who continued to revere him with a bland look on her face, was going to cater to him and do as he asked.
It made the stranger who had grown silent, truly begin to appreciate what he had lost in such a short space of time. But the anger was ingrained in his very DNA and a consequence of a lifetime’s supply of overindulgence.
He had come too far to give up now. If she wasn’t going to help him then he would turn the wretched hovel upside down to find who he was looking for.
In fact, it wasn’t hard to find them. They were the only group of people that had been given a semblance of space in such a compacted area. Those who were closest to them had their backs turned, in doing so dashing any hopes of unintentionally making eye contact. No one would be foolish enough to approach them so openly, not when most who frequented the rough-around-the-edges bar knew exactly what the symbolism of their hidden trinkets signified.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Kalel’s confident pace took a beating as the air immediately became oppressive. This wasn’t the effects of leaking pheromones intent on intimidating someone, it was instead the biological response on behalf of those originating from Calix. With a cluster of them in one confined area, the result was as expected.
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Kalel knew more than most when it came to all varieties of subject matter, including the main aggressors of the increasing tensions between Nova and Calix. At first glance, they were exactly how he imagined them to be— rugged. But the dominance they exuded that seemed to come naturally to them, was nothing the Alpha had ever experienced before.
Under the restriction of low light, the deep blue of their uniform was barely detectable. Over their shoulders they wore cloaks not too dissimilar from the one Kalel wore himself, but unlike him, they weren’t so intent on keeping their identities hidden. Only when their heads turned in response to his sudden an unannounced arrival, like a pack of genetically-enhanced wolves pinpointing their next meal, did the quiet voice in the back of Kalel’s mind suddenly ramp-up in volume.
A cowardly part of him, the same part that once reared its head and propelled him to his knees as he begged for Nova to be lenient with him, told him to quickly come up with some foolish excuse and run in the opposite direction.
But in place to counteract his cowardice was an equally as vocal obstinance that cemented his character. It proved to be the driving-force behind a sporadic boost of confidence as he straightened his back and looked down at the men enjoying their drinks.
“I’m here to trade.” He demanded.
One of the men seated closest to Kalel, who had a single grubby boot propped up on the table, tilted his head to the side and regarded the newcomer with a contemptuous raise of the eyebrow. When he opened his mouth, smoke billowed out.
“Do we look like traders to you?”
Under the collective gaze of the soldiers belonging to Calix, only fools would continue to tempt fate.
“I’m sure that depends on the quality of what’s on offer.”
One of the men scoffed, tipping a glass in Kalel’s direction. “And what those individuals want in return; which is never something simple when it comes from someone shielding their identity to the extent that you are. The quality of your scent-blocker alone makes me wary of what’s next to come from your mouth.”
In support of his comrades words, a large man who was slouched in a chair with one leg over the other and his collar unbuttoned, tipped back his head and finished off his drink.
With his head tilting backwards into the surrounding shadows, his unflinching gaze continued to linger on the cloaked figure that was bothering them. Who in turn felt the air swiftly lodge itself in his throat.
Kalel forced himself not to retreat a step when the weak lighting from behind him revealed a familiar and truly bestial characteristic that flashed across the other Alpha’s eyes.
A reflective layer some animal’s possessed which undoubtedly enhanced their ability to see in the dark. It once again blurred the lines on how Kalel perceived the animals in front of him.
Balling his hands into fists, the rough and uneven edges of his nails dug into the fleshy parts of his palms. Ignoring the sweat that clung to his body, which he convinced himself was purely the result of moving around with thick material draped over his shoulders, he scanned the faces and found one man who hadn’t even twitched as he arrived.
The upper part of his body was completely immersed in the darkness of the room and the only thing he offered was a mouthful of smoke. It was merely by how they were all sat that alerted Kalel.
“I want your protection.” His eyes remained fixed on the unknown man that he suspected was the highest ranking out of all those present.
Apparently he said something hilarious, as the same men who had been the most vocal were now laughing in his face. Their eyes filled with nothing but ridicule.
“So what you’re saying is that you are the quality item. I mean, you need to take off your hood and let us be the judge of that.”
The rest chimed in with crude jokes and only came to an abrupt halt when the man Kalel continued to stare made an unclear gesture as he leant forward and stubbed out whatever he was smoking on the table. A flash of ink licking at the bones of his knuckles was momentarily captured under the light.
“Given the size of that request, it must mean you have something invaluable to offer us in return, correct?” The deep voice taunted, the owner now swirling a glass of the same piss-like alcohol that Kalel had once been offered.
“I wouldn’t have taken such a large risk if I didn’t have something.” The obnoxious moods of the other men had quickly fallen, and now they looked like obedient dogs. “I have information I hazard a guess you need.”
“There is copious amounts of information I want, not necessarily much I need. Where does yours fit in?”
Teeth grinding to the point of dulling, Kalel instinctively presented his wrist where his Communicator would have sat. But all that was revealed was a nasty scar that was a long way off from being healed. The memory of how he obtained it triggered the unrelenting phantom pains that made it difficult for him to breathe.
Fumbling around under his cloak, the slight trembling of his fingers made it hard to grasp what he was looking for. But when he found it, he tossed the ancient means of taking notes onto the table. On the paper was the exact thing that Calix expressly forbade its soldiers from speaking out loud. That much Kalel knew for certain.
To see it written down, at first no one moved. Then slowly but surely, heads turned to face him wearing altered expressions. Only now did they regard him as a threat. But ultimately the dogs waited for their owner to make the decision on how to respond.
‘FX9J 33’’ 29, -775E’
A series of jumbled-up numbers and letters.
The glass landed on the table with enough force to cut through the rhythmically-lacking music and draw the attention from the other tables within the rust covered spaceship; who immediately snapped their focus elsewhere when they identified where it had come from.
Still holding onto it, the man’s body followed his hand by coming into the light. Stalking forwards like a beast finally coming out of hiding to make the final kill. However instead, fingers reached across and took the paper. There was no clear recognition, as would be expected from someone so dedicated to keeping something a secret.
“And what,” the man never moved his head, instead his burning green gaze bore into Kalel, exactly like the pair of golden ones which had watched on as he was tortured for days, “would you know about that?”
Kalel shuddered. “If I told you everything without guarantee of my request, then I wouldn’t be a very good businessman.”
“Yet look at you now.” The man muttered with dark, furrowing brows as he then shot a look to his right. At another man who had also not spoken a word, nor offered a laugh at Kalel’s expense. He had sat, up until that very moment, with his focus on his drink. Now he shared the same haze of bloodlust.
“Very well, I can guarantee you will be leaving here with us after we have finished our drinks. Does that ease your mind?” The man tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, leaving more expanses of his inked skin exposed.
“How do I know you won’t just—”
The glass shattered under his hand and the oxygen being pumped into the enclosed space seemed to draw to a halt.
“If you don’t want us to remove all of the fuel from your transporter and abandon you here, you will rethink your next words and perhaps give me something that I want to hear.”
It was humiliating for an Alpha like Kalel to feel the oppression of the soldier’s natural intimidation add even more weight to his cloaked shoulders. He was almost chewing his tongue off as he clamped down so hard.
“The Omega.” He forced out.
The green-eyed man sighed loudly, “We already know that they are the primary focus this time.”
“No.” Kalel blurted. “The one causing Nova’s Governing Body the most stress. The one they cannot get their hands on for the time being.” He gave a pregnant pause, waiting to be scolded just like before. It never came.
“Go on.”
Relief flooded his body and Kalel attempted to redeem some pride he had lost. “I know of an occasion where you can get to him first. But Nova have their spies in place, so they will figure it out in no time and try to snatch him back.”
“Leave that to us, all you need to do is tell us of this occasion you’re so confident about.” Just like the bartender who had a sudden change of heart when presented with money, the baritone voice belonging to the leader seemed to soften ever so slightly, becoming less assertive.
That sense of inclusion worked wonders on someone as egotistical as Kalel. While before he felt like an outsider, a weak and useless Alpha who was ridiculed, he was easily lured into a false sense of security. Presuming that any and all Alpha’s were going to be on the same wavelength as he was— especially soldiers as notoriously aggressive as Calix.
But Calix wouldn’t have been so much of a threat to the prestigious Nova if all they did was beat their chests and act like rabid dogs. It was hidden gems like the two men in charge of the small group who made the real difference.
Once the remainder of the drinks had been consumed, minus the one which had been brutally smashed, the group of soldiers began to move. Only in this moment did Kalel get a full view of the man who had managed to keep himself relatively hidden throughout the duration of the exchange.
He was older than Kalel had first suspected, but hardly to be mistaken as someone frail. He was tall and packed a frame of muscle. The lights occasionally flashed over his uniform, where sparks of metalwork would react by glinting. He had dark features such as his hair colour and eyebrows, which appeared to naturally draw down into a frown.
He gestured to one of his men, “Take our guest to the ship.”
Kalel instinctively kept his eyes on the man in charge. Even after his order was given, and a soldier nudged him in a certain direction, Kalel looked back. Uncertainty riddling his thoughts as he suddenly had to trust they would stick to their word and take him to safety. But he was quietly confident that, with the quantity of information he had amassed, they wouldn’t be so quick to get rid of him.
But in all his ignorance, he never once factored in the likelihood of Calix having their own spies. And what he had to offer them was merely a scratch on the surface.
The Supreme Commander turned his head to find his Shield already having anticipated his next move, looking equally as decisive. There was a silent conversation between them both before the Supreme Commander turned to one of his soldiers awaiting orders.
“See if you can get anything out of him until we reach the next isolated planet, then get rid of him.”
“Aye, sir. Shall we use a serum?”
He shook his head, “Refrain from doing so, he stank of toxins in his blood, so I doubt he would be able to physically handle it. I can’t say he didn’t deserve it, but obviously someone powerful really wasn’t happy with him.”
“You know him, sir?”
The Supreme Commander scoffed. “You didn’t recognise him even though you were sat closest to him the whole time? His face has been all over the galaxy lately.” He admonished as he grabbed his furs that usually sat over his shoulders.
He went on to say, “He must be really desperate to come to us, but even if we were feeling hospitable to one of Nova’s ex-lackeys, no cloak can hide the fact that he’s been tagged.” He gestured to his throat and the men thought back to the stranger who had tried his damnedest to keep areas of his skin from being seen.
Most crucially his neck and the black band that clung to it.
“Could they still be tracking him?”
His Shield shook his head, “No. Our ship would have picked up on the homing beacon and notified us by now. He’s evidently wise enough to have disarmed it. But even so, it’s in our best interest to get rid of him as quickly as possible, in light of our new objective.”
As much as the Supreme Commander was unwilling to admit it, the fragment of information the deadweight had given them actually proved highly beneficial. Especially when catalogued with previous intel they had received via a scrambled transmission.
{ To Be Continued }
[ A/N: Just so there aren’t any confusions, ‘Shield’ is a rank. Which is probably bottom of the list in terms of questions people have lol. Answers will come~ these chapters are the equivalent of a prequel. ]
Thanks for the update!!😀
so this guy might one of the possible ML? RIGHT!? RIGHT!? RIGHT!?
Considering MC’s age, I hope not.
Lmao +1, unless slow aging is a thing in this book. Some futuristic novels do have that, after all
Let me reassure you, there is no huge age-gap between the pairing. 😂😅
lmao thank goodness!
Maybe he’s Caius’s other father?? 0_0
So much for a simple life, this is getting interesting…
Life’s a bitc-
Interesting. Now we’re moving into politics.
Thanks for the update ❤️
sigh.. they should have jailed Kalel when they had the chance.
what does this mean for our father/son duo?thanks for the chapter <3
Kalel couldn’t stay put, huh? Even If they’re going to get rid of him, he has already cause trouble for Caius and his dad. Aish
Thanks for the chapter!
Oops.. Almost forgot who is Kalel.. 😂
Welp that was basically Kalel looking for death he really wants to die doesn’t he. I’m quite curious that with this level of dumbness how did he manage to deceive Finian before.
When it comes down to it, Kalel is completely blinded by his own self-importance. While before he could uphold his act when “top of his game”, since then he has been completely undermined. (Such as being humiliated by Finian and Silas Quincy, who are fundamentally lesser-beings in his eyes & tortured by Nova, who have no problems with letting him know that he’s a low-grade Alpha) so I think he’s just neurotic lol.
Serves him right thats what he gets for trying to mess with ma boy XD
Thanks for your hard work!
Thanks for the chapter! Nothing is simple here…
am i the only one feeling stress as hell over the small lovely family of whitehaired fairies?
Your comment is so cute! 😂😂 You’re not the only one!
Aaaahhhh! This is so f*cking entertaining, yo!
oops– I did not mean to reply to this comment (O-o)!
WOWOWOWOW! Absolutely enraptured by this chapter!
Man, Kalel is. So annoying! Lol which I guess makes him a good third tier villain BUT ALSO 😂
I really love that there’s so much information coming our way in the future. The setup is already so great!!
Thank you for the chapter!!!
Oh no! Cockroach Kalel is creeping around, looking to cause trouble for Finian and Caius…more knots in my tummy! Aiyaaaa!
I swear!!! The amount of secrets and tension hidden in this novel so far has me stressed! But I love ittttt!!! Ahhh, so good, author-san! Amazing 👏🙀