On the Vessel of the Extractors
How did those foolish wizards manage to escape? That question won't leave my mind. They used magic, of course, but which kind? The place is designed to block magic, yet someone got free and took down the guards so swiftly, no one saw who it was. I only know one person with such powers and speed, but he wasn't there.
I'm screwed!
The stocked material won’t last long and the remaining mines are producing very little. The idiot Julius has no idea about everything I did and the contracts I signed to construct this spaceport. There's a lot at stake with this construction, including the mercenaries. I dread to think what they'll do to me if I fail to meet the deadlines.
Here I am in the command room, sitting in front of the screen, reviewing the footage of the prisoners disembarking for the thousandth time. I started going through it frame by frame, zooming in, until the guards fell. In every image, there was a shadow, like a mist, moving from one guard to the next, especially when I slowed the footage down.
"Curse it!"
"What is it, Tarcila? Who are you swearing at?" Feillen asked as he approached me.
"I think it was my brother who's been helping them all this time."
"Are you talking about since the black mist?"
"No, before. He must've reached there before us and warned the little rat."
"Why do you call her a little rat? She looks more like a grasshopper, you know, those insects with long legs." The fool said.
"Idiot! Of course I know what a grasshopper is. But now I have more important things to think about than that hellish mage."
"Hell? Isn't it Magis?"
At that, I couldn't hold myself back. I got up, fuming, and headed to the command center, summoning everyone.
"All hands on deck, we're taking off."
"Where to?" Feillen asked.
I didn’t bother responding; I plotted our course for the planet Glabro. If my little brother thinks he can mess with my plans, he is sorely mistaken. As soon as everyone was at their stations with the course set, we took off. I called the warehouse and ordered them to set aside the silver nets and chains.
It's time to hunt some Glabros.
We didn’t take long to get there, as everyone recognizes my ship. I sent the crew to Mane village where, upon hearing the ship, everyone came out to wave, and I seized the opportunity to order the attack. Let's see what my little brother does about that.
Mane Village is Alpha’s favorite, for its poverty. He brings supplies to them, especially when winter is harsh and crops fail. He provides wool for them to spin blankets and coats and never charges them for it. Now it's my turn, and they’ll work for me for free. This solves two problems: the shortage of miners and retaliation against Julius’s actions.
I contact Alpha's office, and the Beta answers:
"What's the trouble, Tarcila?" He asked, recognizing me before I even spoke.
"Where is Julius?" I asked straight away.
"What can I do for you, Tarcila?"
"You're a dolt, Gil. If you're not telling me, it's because he's not on the planet; that's all I wanted to know."
I hung up before he could answer. The cells in the warehouse are now full of glabres, and we're departing. I’ll take the chance to re-examine Kompac's moon, near the new spaceport. The materials from the last harvest showed something interesting and might yield a lot of profit. I just need to conduct further studies since it’s only a moon and it doesn’t have the infrastructure to support us.
We can't stay on this little red planet forever; its resources will soon be exhausted and we’ll need to find another planet to exploit.
"Feillen!!!"
I have an hour to devour that idiot, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. He comes in, slings me over his shoulder, running through the ship's corridor to our cabin, locks the door and takes me fiercely, just how I like it. I know when I leave here, I will be light and my normal color will have returned. I hate turning purple.
*
As soon as we dumped the slave cargo, we put them to work. Even though some yelled and complained, soon everyone was laboring. They are far better than the maginos; they are strong and can go longer without food, which means less expense. There were young ones among them, and I ordered them separated for a special job.
We separated six and brought them to me. I examined each one; they were fairly big, no babies, so I called a servant and ordered them to assign the young ones to clean the ship since everyone there was busy. I commanded that no one should touch them since they were mine. At least, by treating the offspring well, Julius won’t be as enraged. That Alpha is a fool, always so concerned with the weak and oppressed. Oppressed by me, of course.
Watching the security footage, I see the slaves are slacking off. I press a button and an electric current runs through the chains, giving them a quick jolt. I spoke into the microphone, and my voice boomed out to them through the loudspeaker:
"Work or, in addition to shocks, I will give a youngster, one by one, to our head cook. BEGIN NOW!" I shouted, and they scurried like ants moving swiftly in all directions.
Quickly, the crater was cleared, and we reached the main ore vein, right where I wanted them to get to. It seems Julius isn’t on planet Glabro, or he would have been here by now. I will wait until we’ve filled some barrels and then head for Magis again, but from the other side. Then we'll see what Julius will do.
Let's see how long he can endure this war peacefully. I’ll run over him with the spacewaste compactor, and not a single piece of Glabro will remain to tell the tale.
Goodbye, Julius.
I will be the new Alpha, leader of the Glabros, and we will dominate the trade and intergalactic transit of our galaxy.
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