The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 98

POV: Lyra

When dawn broke, Orion ran with my enhanced form back to the clearing behind the lodging facility before returning home to cleanse and change for morning consumption. After getting ready, he transported to the consumption hall and instantly spotted my small back as soon as he entered. It was the first time I was standing so close to the entrance that he might be able to surprise me before everyone bowed to give away his presence.

He took quick but quiet steps towards me, taking advantage of the fact that I was concentrating on what seemed to be a very serious conversation with the alliance members. When he stood close enough, his hand went around my waist and rested on my abdomen as I gasped at his sudden touch. He made it to me just in time before everyone started bowing his way.

After pressing his lips to my cheek from my side, he looked into my eyes and he grew concerned about the dark circles underneath my beautiful black orbs. After exchanging bows with his subjects, he lifted up my chin gently before his thumb traced under my eyes as he said, "You really need the cycle off, Lyra."

"It just looks bad, Orion. I'm fine. At least I rested." My sights then turned to Toby who looked absolutely exhausted with his bloodshot optical sensors as he uttered, "Cosmos, don't start, Lyra. I really tried to enter rest mode. And we need to do a rain check on that no-mercy training session. I can't fight you today."

It was then Orion realized the alliance members around him weren't their usual alert selves. Christian came from his side and patted him on his shoulder before he acknowledged me and exchanged bows with the alliance. The Duke grew conspicuously worried when he witnessed the sight before him.

Orion then said, "It really is okay to take the cycle off. You all look like you could use some rest. Scratch that. You all look like you need a lot of rest."

I then assured him, "We'll be fine, Orion. We've gotten through with less rest. Besides, we're needed on the training ground. We'll be okay. We'll just have to be careful..." I locked eyes with Juan before I continued, "...to not overexert ourselves."

Juan rolled his optical sensors, and Hale slapped him on the arm as she said sternly, "You heard her. And me. Don't overdo it this morning."

"Yes, partner." Juan answered dotingly before pressing a kiss on his match's temple.

I then started, "So, uh, Orion, Christian. Let's bring you guys up to speed. We were talking about the Rogue Lyrokan saying that he's almost never involved in a rogue attack, that he did mostly transportation of illegal substances. Raden thinks that perhaps the corporation used the Lyrokans mostly to get supplies, and the rogue Kaelari to attack."

Christian agreed, "That's definitely a possibility. It would also explain why Rogue Lyrokans have never been seen in attacks until recently. But how did the rumors start circulating about their existence, if I may ask?"

I started explaining, "Well, it started about five cycles ago. Blue Crescent and White Blood were alerted about an attack in an ally station, Night Forest. The problem was that Night Forest was very far from where we were. So, we sent a request to Zeke and Zelena, and they got their specialists from Blood Eclipse to get there first while we made our way there ourselves. But..." My fist clenched by my side, and the alliance's eyes were pinned to the ground.

Orion took my little fist and started stroking it soothingly as I continued with optical fluid gathering, "But we were too late. We all were. Raden found one specialist taking his last breaths. The only word that the specialist whispered was 'Lyrokans'. There was so little strength in his voice that Raden didn't even know if he heard him right."

Orion kissed my clenched fist, and I loosened it to entwine my fingers with his. I cleared my throat, "Then, we started investigating. We found familiar prints of Kaelari everywhere, of course. But," I took a deep breath before my eyebrows furrowed, "We also found larger prints. Not many, but they were there. So we started suspecting that Rogue Lyrokans existed."

Toby continued after me, "A few months after that attack, we lost another station. Everyone was terminated there too. And when we looked into the prints. We found the same thing. Most of the ground was filled with smaller prints, and a few larger prints here and there."

I locked eyes with my best friend as I recalled the events with him, "And the pattern just kept repeating itself. Every few weeks, we'd lose an ally."

Lovelace then said ominously in the Emperor's and Duke's way, "These attacks have been carefully-planned. They made sure that stronger, more-equipped stations like ours would not have enough time to get to the stations that they were attacking."

Juan then said, "Which is why the smaller stations around White Blood, Blood Eclipse, Midnight and even Blue Crescent have not been attacked in the past three cycles. Not once. We have an ally that has only ten specialists and a population of a hundred and twenty, and they were never touched, probably because they are only a ten-minute transport from Blue Crescent."

Raden then added, "But we should mention that the pattern started changing." He nodded to his Commander, and all eyes were on Zeke, who said, "That's true. After a few months of station massacres, the rogues...only went for the Commander and Partner. They terminated anyone who got in their way, mostly specialists. But the station leaders were always the ones they were after."

"Why is that?" Orion asked.

I explained, "We didn't know why at that time. But after the fifty-page report last night, we have a theory that—"

Toby butted in, "Lyra has a theory."

I rolled my eyes at my best friend before I continued, "It may be a way to siphon credits from the government."

Orion's and Christian's eyes widened, fixing to my black orbs as they waited for me to continue speaking. I then said, "The government's financial aid for rogue attacks are for stations that 'survive' a rogue attack, which makes sense because you can't offer credits to the terminated. So, if you slaughtered a whole station, there's no reason to disburse government funds. But, if a station has surviving members..."

Orion caught on, "Our system would allow fund disbursement according to the number of surviving station members." I nodded.

"But why terminate the station leaders? The aid doesn't differ with who gets hurt." Orion asked.