"Lieutenant, go with the prisoner to retrieve the empath and try keeping up him with this time," Bethon ordered.

"Right away, sir." Cratus said and started to replace the restraining field back around Hal.

"That isn't necessary," Hal protested. "We've made our deal."

"Leave the restraining field off, Cratus." Bethon said. "If he violates my terms, he dies."

"That won't happen, Admiral. I would like to retrieve Greyla alone if you don't mind," Hal said. "She'll sense the Lieutenant coming and possibly run away, or more likely plan a surprise party for him."

"You may go alone." Bethon stroked one of his tusks and sighed. "I do hate having to change back into human form."

Hal wasted no time in getting out of the council room. The Garwolvens were making him even more nervous than Bethon. He had picked up enough of their comments on the translator system to tell they had lunched on human flesh before.

He found his way back to the storage room. There was no sign of Greyla. He feared she may have been sent back to their quarters with the power outage. He called out to her in case she was hiding. "It's safe to come out now."

The power had returned and the room was much brighter. Greyla emerged from between some free-standing metal columns on the far side of the room.

"Hal! You're back." she sighed with relief.

"I was afraid you wouldn't still be here after the power returned," Hal said.

"I found a power node in the wall which was still functioning," Greyla said. "They kept the power to this area the whole time.""

"Good to know something can go in our favor once in a while," Hal said.

"What happened?" Greyla walked over to join him.

"I have to deliver you to Bethon."

"What?"

"You were right. We can't get away with it," Hal said. "I was caught spying on their war council. You just need to convince Bethon that he needs an empath who doesn't stick to the ceiling and drip blood when she's upset.”

“Convince him I’m not ghoulish and disgusting?" Greyla replied. "I should be able to manage that.”

“I have to wonder if the blood throws a craving on him, distracts him from his duties."

"Okay... "

"I made him give his word that you wouldn't be harmed before I agreed to get you."

"I appreciate that. What about you?"

"I got the death sentence..." Hal began to say.

"No! Hal, I can't accept that." Greyla ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "No deal. It's both of us or neither one."

"Too late," he said enjoying her affections. "But there's an out. I offered to help them and if he's satisfied, my charges will be dropped."

"You really scared me. Don't ever do that again!" Greyal stepped back and gave him a swat on his shoulder.

"Does that mean we're on again?"

Greyla looked at him, her lips formed a thin line. "Not so fast partner. If we get out of this, I'll consider it. Who knows what Bethon will do."

"That's the closest thing to a yes I've heard in years." Hal reached down, pulled her close and stole a quick kiss.

"Give you an inch!" Greyla had unconsciously locked her arms around Hal in a familiar embrace.

"It's just a kiss."

"I said get us out of this and I'd consider it." Greyla said and pushed away.

"I wish you'd consider it whether we get out of this or not."

"Very funny."

"I'm serious. We might die anyway. You never know. The pirates here are more advanced than back home."

"Well, not to change the subject, but I want to show you something." Greyla led Hal to the one of the tall columns she had been examining. “What are these things, Hal?"

"Looks like fuel cylinders of some kind."

"My thoughts exactly. I can't read the markings on the dials, but I'll bet they register as empty. I think they hold fuel for the reactor, and it looks like they're running low," Greyla said.

"Maybe that's why the power keeps shutting off and they don’t return fire," Hal mused. "Bethon seemed a little touchy when I pointed it out. I bet they're conserving a limited fuel supply."

"We may have found a weakness," Greyla agreed. She picked up a piece of pipe and walked up and down, tapping on all the tanks which rang hollow.

"There's your bargaining chip, sweetheart. I have to get you back to Bethon soon."

"How did you get here without a guard?" Greyla asked.

"I'm on the honor system. If I cross Bethon, I die. You should insist on the same deal. Don't let him restrain you."

"Good plan. I have trust issues where Bethon is concerned."

"Same here, but we don't have a lot of choice," Hal said. "Oh, did I mention he's a big lizard?"

"What?"

"Yeah. I saw him in his true form at the war council. He's one scary son of a bitch."

"Well, that explains a lot. Thanks for the heads up."

"I asked him to put on his human interface for you," Hal said.

"I knew there was something wrong about him. I could feel it." Greyla said scrunching her shoulders together as a shiver ran up her spine at the thought.

"Yeah, where he comes from, we would be after dinner snacks."

***

Greyla arrived at the council room and Lieutenant Cratus ushered her in.

Bethon greeted her. "How good of you to turn yourself in for disciplinary action. It will go in your favor."

“You have always treated us honorably, Admiral." Greyla countered with sarcasm in her voice.

She sensed his displeasure at her remark. On changing to human, he had left vestigial tusks in place. They curled menacingly out from between his lips. He stroked one with an index finger.

"As we are at war, the normal legal processes have been abbreviated. What have you to say in your defense?"

"I admit that I followed Hal to the vaults to see if I could find any weakness which might help leverage our release."

"Release? That's far different than Hal's plan for mutiny," Bethon said. "You should coordinate more closely in your future transgressions."

"Hopefully there won't be a need for that. His plan was too ambitious. I simply want to negotiate for the release of the Sora crew."

"Let's negotiate then." Bethon smiled, his tusks making his face even more grotesque. "Did you find the weakness you sought in the vaults?

"No, Admiral, I didn't." Greyla said and paused, "Not in the vaults."

That got Bethon's attention and had the desired effect. Greyla sensed a faint anxiety in him now, though arrogance was the prevailing emotion.

"If you've found any leverage, now is the time to use it. I'm about to pass sentence."

"If we all die, there's little point in any of this. I propose we bury the past and move forward as a team," Greyla said in an appeal to common sense. "I will serve the Moz Lidule as your empath until the threat from the devourer has been dealt with. Then you release us."

Greyla felt Bethon trying to read her. She had never been chipped and was not easily accessible. She blocked his probing by misleading, redirecting and confusing him.

"What weakness do you claim to have found?" Bethon asked in defeat.

"First tell me if you accept my offer," Greyla countered.

"It would be cruel of me to do so. I promised that I wouldn't harm you," Bethon replied. "Better that I place you in hibernation for an eternity. That would be a kindness compared to what you ask of me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Where to release you is the question. You wouldn't survive very long anywhere in this sector. The planet you sought out is primitive, geologically unstable, and now in the path of the demon. It could be devoured at any moment. Give me an alternate choice."

"Give us a ship."

"Who's ambitious now? I don't have a spare ship handy," Bethon said with smug look on his face, savoring each small victory in their exchange.

"Once the devourer is out of the way you could spare the resources to build us one."

"Why would I want to? It's much less expensive to lock you away."

"You need an empath," Greyla said. Her confidence flagging and she steeled herself to continue. "I'm also a programmer."

"I have plenty of programmers my dear, though none as pretty as you. And I have Etaine. I've already made a little bargain with her in exchange for allowing Lotee to be a solid man to fill her needs." Bethon smiled to himself. “Lotee continues to report in faithfully so I can monitor all of her activity.”

Greyla bristled at this and what it implied but managed to control her loathing for Bethon. “I know you must enjoy working with Etaine, but my skills are more refined than my wacky ghost."

“I'll manage. She's growing on me.” Bethon leaned back and pressed his fingertip against the tusk, to the point of drawing blood. He licked the drop of blood from his finger. "Etaine has a way of rubbing off on a person."

Greyla scowled in disgust at his ghoulish display. “Don’t expect me to believe you've suddenly taking a liking to her."

“No matter. Give me something or this conversation is over.”

"You need fuel. You're running low."

"There it is, the leverage. We are indeed. What can you do about it?"

"I can get you some fuel. You were going after substrate when you ran into the demon problem. The devourer pissed in your sandbox. You were on your way to the moons of Dezba for resources, but now those moons are far too close to the demon to be safely mined.”

"Excellent!" Bethon said. "You understand my problem. Forgive me if I don't see your solution."

"Come to think of it, you've already made a bargain with Tajlon. I think he's already paid enough to secure our release."

"He did, but we didn't negotiate forgiveness for the Sora crew’s future delinquency."

"For what did you negotiate then?"

"To make you more permanent and grant immortality. Releasing you, as you now request, would violate my agreement with Tajlon. You would all perish."

"Not if we had our own ship."

Bethon laughed. Greyla realized he enjoyed the bantering as much as anything. He liked testing her intellect against his cunning and evolved mental abilities.

"Do you want my help or not?" she asked.

"How do you propose to obtain the fuel?"

"Agree to build us a ship first."

"That would be a rather one sided leap of faith. You can see that I can build the most wonderful ship. What could an empath possibly know about fueling one?"

"With Hal's help I could do it."

"I already have control of Hal."

"He hasn't thought of it yet. And he won't."

Bethon chuckled. "No, I bet he won't. It's a good thing I'm reformed or I could get all the information I wanted from either of you."

"That's why the ancients are in charge," Greyla prodded. "Be careful not to drift off course again, Admiral."

"You should know that I visit the conduct center regularly. Temptations abound on this ship.” Bethon leaned close to her, grazing her cheek with a tusk to speak intimately into one ear. "Some things are worth going back to the retribution chamber again."

Greyla slammed her mental defenses in place. "And sometimes eternal hibernation is the lesser of two evils," she countered.

Bethon leaned closer and spoke barely above a whisper, letting his breath warm her ear. "I accept. Get me fuel and serve on the Moz Lidule until we’ve dealt with the demon."

"We should define ‘serve’."

"Are you offering me a little something extra?" He trailed his fingers across her hand and up her arm causing her skin to prickle.

"To the contrary. I'm limiting you to my empathic services."

"Human skin is so delicate and easily torn. Why would a species make such a sacrifice of defense, unless they valued pleasure more?"

"Go to hell, Bethon!"

He leaned away and laughed. "Get me the fuel I need, and I'll build you a pretty ship later. We barely have enough power to warp again, much less engage the enemy."

"I need detailed information about this vessel, how much thrust you need to get to the next refueling base. And I'll need to work with Hal."

"Lieutenant Cratus will provide the specs. I've promised Hal that I wouldn't harm you, but if he disappoints me, he dies. I haven't chosen the method yet.”