simple mission to talk sense
into the new emperor. The evils of slavery should not be brought
back. It had no place in an advanced civilization.
But on the way they were ambushed, she has no idea what had
happened in the intervening years. There used to be thousands of ships,
most of them protecting the empire, some exploring the universe. But now,
two thousand years later, she needed to investigate.
She felt a little guilt looking down on Bill’s sleeping
face, as a pre space faring race it truly wasn’t his responsibility. She
would keep him safe. If it became terribly dangerous she would offer to
take him home. The thought bothered her already, losing this man.
For a human it was a ridiculously short time to form an attachment, for her
though? She could read his every thought and emotion, every memory he
had. For her a day was a lifetime.
She went back through her scans and noticed that there were
no ships of the Elvii race either. They had been beautiful ships,
carrying around a forest within it. She knew that didn’t bode well with
what she already knew. That it pointed to war and perhaps the slavery her
people had hoped to stop. But she needed to know for sure.
She saw a small scout ship of the Demonae that was
relatively alone, far away from any other ships of its kind or Angilli ships.
She set an intercept course.
She did not want her presence known, at least not yet.
If she was the last of her kind caution would be in order. She would also
not ambush them. She would need proof before taking so drastic a
step. She decided to keep a safe distance and hail them. It would
take some time for them to trace her signal and fire if they became
aggressive.
Though in stealth mode her skin wouldn’t be able to absorb
their energy, and though only a small part of her was in that dimension if they
destroyed it she would die as well. She needed to be cautious. She
hailed the ship.
“This is the Demonae ship revenge, please state your
business and reveal yourself.”
Ariella said, “I was hoping I could get news of this sector,
it has been a while since I have been here.”
She watched as his face grew suspicious, “News? We are
tracing your signal, if you do not reveal yourself you will be fired upon.”
She didn’t think that would work, Demonae are not
necessarily evil, but they are warlike and their mind control powers make them
arrogant. Of course, she was immune to such tactics. However she
decided to take a chance. Hoping she was being paranoid but knowing she
wasn’t she went ahead and decloaked, bringing her body fully into phase in this
universe.
She saw his mouth drop open when his scans returned what she
was, then the disbelief and fear. His scout vessel stood no chance and he
knew it.
He said, “How is this possible, you were all destroyed in
the great war! You too will meet your end.”
She sighed and disabled his engines with a minimal plasma
shot, melting them into slag. She knew they wouldn’t have enough energy
for weapons anymore, just emergency reserves for life support. She sent
out disrupting energy pulses to stop them from calling for help.
She leaned down and kissed Bill awake. She really
enjoyed the feel of his body against hers. She needed to explain what was
going on. Then she needed to board that ship and download all their
records, learn what had happened. She caressed his cheek when he awoke
and explained about everything. Being betrayed, fleeing to his world in
random chance, her thoughts of what happened and the probable slavery of a
gentle compassionate race.
She would give him the choice to stay, but she already knew
what he would decide, she could feel his anger grow, and his disgust at the
thought of slavery across the universe.
Chapter
4
He had been wondering when the other shoe would drop.
Not only was the shit hitting the fan, apparently it destroyed the fan.
He was filled with