It had been several hours since Krem's group had left the small park at the side of the do. Nevle and his n walked back to the ship. They felt different. They couldn't explain what it was, however.
"Sir?" one of Nevle's n asked. "Do you think that's all true? What we just heard. Do you think all that was true?"
Nevle looked at the young scout. He had only been part of the soldiers for a couple of years. "I don't know, Renk, everything in tells that it's all true. I can't explain it, but it all feels true."
All of Nevle's n nodded in agreent. They felt the sa way. In their gut, everything they heard from the group in the part felt true.
Nevle's wrist-com buzzed, notifying him that soone was calling. He pressed the button. "Yes, sir," he stated, trying to sound normal. He didn't want to let the person on the other end of the comm unit know that sothing had changed with him and his team.
"What have you found out!" It was Commander Grev; his voice hissed with each syllable. For the first ti, Nevle and his n could hear the hatred in their leader's voice. Whatever had changed in them as they listened to the group's conversation revealed sothing that had been veiled from them. They knew it in their hearts. This was not a one-ti show of hatred. It was always there. They just hadn't seen it.
Nevle knew he had to say sothing. It had to be real information. "We overheard that Council Leader Tosh has been killed, sir," he reported, trying to keep the emotion out of his tone.
There was silence on the other line.
"I'm coming down!" Commander Grev growled, shutting off communications between the two.
Nevle looked at his n. "If he gives an order that you can resist, act like they said we do when we're given an order. Be stiff with our features, slack. We have to do that, or we all die," Nevle warned. "He will know that it no longer controls us if we don't act like that."
His n nodded in agreent. Fear spiked among the small group of scouts. They didn't want to face Commander Grev. They were afraid they couldn't keep up the charade, nor did they want to receive the injection again, now that they knew what it did.
Nevle's small group waited nervously at their shuttle for their leader to arrive. It took a while for Commander Grev to get there. When it finally did, the commander's shuttle materialized out of its cloaking shield next to the small scout shuttle. They imdiately stood at attention, trying to make their features slack.
Commander Grev stord up to Nevle, facing him. "I order you to tell what you found out about Council Leader Tosh's death!" he growled. His nacing eyes pierced Nevle as he gave his order.
Nevle tried not to swallow in fear. Making his voice monotone, he spoke as clearly as he could. "Council Leader Tosh has been slain, sir," he stated, keeping his features the sa.
"Who killed him!" growled Commander Grev, angry that he received the sa information that he got the first ti he asked.
"Soone by the na of Nik, sir," he stated evenly. He intentionally shortened the na to make it sound male. He wasn't sure how Grev would take it if he found out a female had slain the previous council leader.
"Who is the new Council Leader?" he barked out. He was already angry that Tosh was dead. He was his connection with the Rasians. He couldn't control them through Tosh anymore, which pissed him off.
"That information has not yet been heard," Nevle stated, trying desperately to keep his calm deanor. He knew full well that Commander Grev would kill him in an instant if he figured out that he was no longer under the influence of the controlling serum.
"Sneak into the do!" Commander Grev ordered. His tone was angry, harsh.
Nevle tried not to look fearful; he had to say sothing that was going to anger his leader. "We have not found a way past the blast shields, sir. We are still looking for a way to breach the shields."
This seed to have cald the council leader. Nevle had made it sound like they had already been looking for a way in. They weren't. They were only eavesdropping on conversations with Krem and the girl Mia, who appeared to be Krem's mate.
"Show where you heard this information!" Commander Grev growled. It was an order, so Nevle and his team had to act like the serum was in effect.
The entire scout team imdiately went still, trying to look like they were all emotionless. They walked calmly and with purpose to the spot where Krem and his group were talking on the grass. Nevle liked grass. He didn't have it anymore on his ho planet. He didn't even have a ho planet anymore. It was unlivable. They had to live on one of the three disks their people owned. The grass on his planet had been destroyed with everything else.
Council Leader Grev looked through the do at the small park. "They were here?" he asked, pointing to the small park. "They were on the grass talking, and you overheard it?" he demanded.
"Yes, sir," Nevle answered, trying to keep his voice steady.
Commander Grev growled lowly. "If Tosh is dead, that ans they all have free will again," he mused aloud. Then he chuckled. "It was Tosh's idea to invade this planet. He was so desperate for the serum to control his people that he ca up with this whole plan. He said he would invade this planet and prepare it for in exchange for the serum to control his people. It worked. None of them wanted to invade this planet until he slipped the serum into their food," he laughed. "Idiots. They are all idiots. Their council leader lied to them and told them their planet was dying. It was; we made sure of it for Tosh. It was part of the agreent."
**** ***Inside the do*** ***
Jada crouched down behind the bush, listening. She saw them walking up to the do, so she hid. She now knew what Commander Grev looked like, and she heard every word.
She knew that Vorik and most of his people felt guilt for invading Earth. Now she knew that they had no choice. It was Tosh who made the deal, not Grev. It was Tosh's idea to invade in the first place. The most important information that she heard, though, was that as soon as Tosh was killed by Niki, the serum was no longer effective. That ant that if the Kreq was going to be saved, the best and quickest way to do it was to kill Grev.
Without knowing, Commander Grev himself was the one who told her how to save all of his people from him.
The problem with killing Commander Grev was that he was on the outside of the plasma do, and she was on the inside of it. She needed to be out there with him in order to kill him before he went back to the disk ship he lived on. She didn't know how she was going to do that.
She also knew that he was going to go back to his ship anyway. She needed to do what they were talking about: Mia's idea of baiting him. She needed to find bait to get him back down to the planet's surface and near the do at a ti when she could leave it so she could kill him herself.
She could only theorize that it was Council Leader Tosh's death that brought him down from his disk in the first place. That gave a clue on what they could find to use as bait to get him to co back to the surface again.
Jada peered through the do. Sothing about the scout team looked odd. She wasn't sure what it was. They kept looking at each other when Commander Grev wasn't looking.
Commander Grev headed back toward the way they ca, the scout team following close behind him. At least that's what it looked like they were doing; heading back the way they ca. Jada figured they had ships hidden sowhere in that direction. She didn't follow them to find out.
When they disappeared from view, Jada turned and ran toward Council Leader Vorik's office. She needed to tell him what she found out. It was important information.
She knew how to cure the Kreq. She also knew that the Rasians were not truly responsible for invading Earth. He needed to know that. He needed to know why the Rasians weren't truly responsible.
Council Leader Tosh was responsible for all of it. He had placed the serum in their food, forcing them to take it. It was the serum that Tosh forced into them that gave them no choice. When they invaded Earth, they were under the influence of the controlling serum.
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