The First Starfighter by Grace Goodwin (lightweight ebook reader txt) 📕

“You realize if I betray the queen and take Jamie, you two are as good as dead.”

Trax nodded. “Then we’ll just have to go with you.”

“What about finding the traitor? You’ll be throwing away months of work.”

“Fuck him,” Nave said. “We’ll still get him. It’ll just take a little longer.”

13

Jamie

I fell asleep. I had no idea how since the bed made of rock was far from comfortable. The chill from it seeped into my bones. And of course, I was going to be executed. That should have kept me awake, but no.

I’d only realized I’d been out cold when the constant hum and sizzle of the wall of lasers went silent.

I popped up and winced, rolled out my neck.

Then I hopped to my feet at the sight of Alex. While the force-field bars were turned off, he stood on the opposite side of where they would be. He wasn’t alone. Standing slightly in front of him was a woman. A creepy-ass woman in all gray like the other Dark Fleet uniforms, but she had on some kind of jacket that went to her ankles. The pointed collar of it was a cross between something Maleficent from a Disney film and someone with a bad vampire costume would wear.

So this was Queen Raya. Her image had been shown in the Starfighter Training Academy, but it hadn’t been detailed. It was as if they’d had to create her avatar from an image only, not from real body scans. It made sense since it seemed she hadn’t even known about the idea of recruiting from other planets until Alex delivered me to her.

I guessed she was in her fifties. Her black hair was slicked back from her face in a low bun. Her eyes were striking and dark, but it was the look I saw in them that scared the shit out of me. They were as cold as the rock bed I’d slept on. Her face was devoid of expression. I saw no weapons on her, but there were two guards looming in the background, most likely ready to do any dirty work she ordered.

I doubted she had a bondmate of any kind. If she did, the guy was a doormat. I had to wonder if she had lovers and if so, if they froze to death when they got their cock inside her.

“You don’t look like an Elite Starfighter,” she said. Her voice was deep and husky, like a three-pack-a-day smoker.

I took a step toward her, lifted my chin. I was so damn scared, but I wasn’t going to show it. There had been no lessons on being captured by the enemy. No etiquette lessons to be applied when speaking to an evil queen.

I knew one thing, though. It hadn’t even occurred to me until now. She wouldn’t kill me. She couldn’t. Not if she wanted details about Earth, about the simulation, about exactly how many future Starfighters might be coming to assist Velerion. Based on the popularity of the game back home, I’d guess that literally millions of people were playing it right now.

Millions. M-I-L-L-I-O-N-S. Sure, I was good at video games, but so were a lot of other people. A lot of other people. I didn’t know what made flying a starfighter so difficult for native Velerions, but I had no doubt there were probably a thousand hard-core gamers about to beat the game. So, yeah, fuck this bitch.

Knowing all that, I took a deep breath and said, “You don’t look like a queen.”

She sucked in a breath, and her dark eyebrows curved up into high arcs. Alex’s jaw clenched, but I didn’t give him more than a flick of a glance. He wasn’t worth my time or my attention.

“Well, well. I wondered what a human would be like. Now I know. Rude and impertinent.”

I crossed my arms over my chest as if I wasn’t insulted. I wasn’t. I’d been called far worse by people receiving packages.

“Thanks.”

“I shall offer you one last opportunity, Elite Starfighter. Join the Dark Fleet or die.”

I looked up at the stark ceiling of the cell and tapped my finger to my chin as if deep in thought. “You’re not going to kill me.”

“Yes, I will.”

“No, you won’t,” I countered.

She laughed then, her head tossed back. “Pray tell me why I shouldn’t have your bondmate break your neck right now?”

I saw the subtle tightening of Alex’s muscles, but he didn’t move otherwise.

“Because I’m no good to you dead,” I told her. “You want intel on Velerion. On the training program that’s been created to recruit new Starfighters. If you kill me, you won’t get your answers.”

“I can get them and then kill you.”

I shrugged. “Are you sure you’ll get all the information you need? I mean, I am the only one in the entire galaxy who’s graduated from the program. I’m the only one who has been through the new training, step by step. As you know, I wiped out a squadron of your fighters the first time I flew my ship.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You dare taunt me?”

I shrugged. “I only point out the weakness of your threat. A strong leader doesn’t threaten something she can’t carry through on.”

If smoke could come from her ears, it would have. Her eyes narrowed even farther, and I knew she hated my guts. Hated Velerion. She was evil through and through. And I’d just defied and humiliated her.

Was I stupid? Probably, but I was in a cell. The worst outcome was that I was going to die. Which I believed was her intention all along. Maybe I’d buy myself some time. Maybe… something. I was on my own here. Alex was only a few feet away, but he might have been across the galaxy for all the help he would be.

She turned her head to Alex. “Did you know your bondmate was this much trouble? One would think the training program would have a better selection process.”

Alex said nothing