Vall's Will by Linda Mooney Read Free Book Online Page B

third attempt.” A thought crossed her mind,
which Oglet noticed.
    “What?”
    “Unlike the
Anglites and Kordorphats, his cell was locked. On the outside.”
    “Locked?”
The commander looked as perplexed as she was. “Why would they lock him
in?”
    She shook her
head. “I have no idea. None of us did. It wasn’t until we removed Vall
from his cell that we were told of the impending explosion. In all, we were
given less than a handful of seconds before the ship detonated.”
    “You were
still on the ship?”
    “Yes, but
we knew our auras would hold.”
    “How did
Vall survive?”
    “I threw
myself on him and held him in my arms. My shield protected us both.”
    Oglet’s eyes
widened. “I’ve heard of that happening, that a Nion can manage to
encapsulate two bodies, but it’s uncommon.”
    “In this
case, it was. But we females have an extra bit of give in our auras. It’s to
give us the ability to protect our offspring.”
      “You were lucky on that account. So, in
other words, we can assume that by releasing the young man, your actions may
have caused the Objurian ship to explode, correct?”
    She had to admit
to that probability. “It would appear that way.”
    “Hmm.”
The commander pondered for a moment.
    “We did not
plant any kind of explosive on that ship that would totally decimate it,”
Will stated again. “It would go against Nion law.”
    “I believe
you, but it’s obvious that when you released the prisoner, you caused the
explosive they themselves had rigged to go live. Had you not rescued him, the
queen mother might still be alive.”
    “We had to
rescue him,” Will argued. “You should have seen the condition of his
cell. It was filthy and unsanitary, and he was nothing more than a sack of
bones.” She leaned forward and placed her hands on the edge of the desk.
“He’s been a prisoner since he was nine years old, Commander!” She
had tears in her eyes, and no fekking idea why. Quickly, she blinked to
disburse them, and hoped the man hadn’t noticed.
    After a moment,
Oglet asked, “Is it normal procedure to board an Objurian craft after
you’ve defeated it?”
    “Yes. The
crew needs to be contained as soon as possible, to prevent them from doing
further harm, either to themselves, or to others.”
    “And what
of their prisoners?”
    “In many
cases, the Ben Objure are heartless toward their prisoners. We often find them
without proper food or water. There’s never any regard to their comfort, or
needs. If we are aware of prisoners being on board, we bring them back to our
ship and care for them until we reach an outpost or settlement where they can
be released and returned to their home world.”
    “And what
of the Objurian ship? You turn the Ben Objure over to the authorities for
detention?”
    “Correct.
They’re kept in stasis until then.”
    “But it’s
not standard procedure to destroy an Objurian ship?”
    Will bit back a
sharp retort. The Commander was of Old Earth Prime stock, and his background
consisted of thousands of years of brutal, bloody history. Men like him often
had difficulty understanding how Nions, especially the elite warriors, could
control such incredible power, yet remain passively aggressive.
    Sighing, she
tried to cool her rising anger. “We are Nion warriors. Our credo is to
save and serve, not to harm. Our mission is to keep the peace, and to help
those in need. The Ben Objure have no qualms about overtaking vessels and
kidnapping the crews, and forcing them to serve as slave laborers or, in many
instances, as a food source.”
    “But you can kill.” It was a statement of face the commander already knew the answer
to. Will assumed he needed her verbal confession, as their meeting was being
documented.
    “Yes, we
can kill,” she admitted. “But it has to be under extreme
circumstances. Look, Commander, we had contained the Objurian crew and queen.
We were rescuing the prisoners when, for some reason we haven’t figure out