The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 85

POV: Lyra

Juan shot up from his chair and threw his fist at the rogue's jaw, breaking it with an audible crack. Orion pulled the rogue by his prison suit across the table toward him.

The Emperor's eyes turned complete black, his pathways going dark as he growled, "You sought to murder our Empress. If you think you can live without painful repercussions for what you did to MY match, I'm telling you right now you're going to live a long cycle of torture and recovery. Now, answer me, who sent you?"

And we felt it. Everyone did, even those of us in the observation room. We felt the Emperor's Neural Compulsion radiating strong from Orion's being when he said the last three words, compelling compliance.

The rogue tried hard to avert his gaze and resist the compulsion but after about seven seconds, he muttered, "The company." His eyes showed anger for being unable to keep his knowledge to himself.

"What company?" Orion asked.

The rogue pressed his lips together, refusing to speak. Orion radiated his compulsion again as he repeated, "What company?"

The rogue fought the urge to give in again but eventually spat out, "Wu Bi Corp."

My eyes widened in shock. Wu Bi Corp? The same one from the corruption case? But Christian's and Orion's expressions in the other room remained unperturbed.

Toby noticed my reaction so he asked, "Do you know the company, Lyra?" Everyone pulled their sights from the glass and waited for my answer.

I knew I wasn't supposed to speak about the research from the corruption case beyond those who knew, so I tried to explain vaguely, "It's a company that the government is looking into. They haven't found out much about it yet, and whatever information they have so far is... not exactly connected to Rogue Lyrokans."

"Looks like it's connected now." Tate uttered and everyone's eyes returned to the glass.

Orion asked, "Who's in charge of Wu Bi Corp?"

The rogue glared at the Emperor as he muttered, "I don't know."

Orion slammed the rogue's side profile against the table before pulling his head up to face him again. "I asked," he radiated his compulsion for the third time, "Who's in charge of Wu Bi Corp?"

The rogue smirked victoriously. "I. Don't. Know."

So it was true. He didn't know.

"How is it possible that you don't know who you work for?" Orion didn't bother trying to play fair anymore.

The rogue gritted his teeth as he tirelessly tried to defy Orion. When his strength snapped, he uttered in defeat, "Seeing there's a risk of getting caught, our employer never allowed anyone of our rank to know their identity."

"So, it's a he." Orion asked in confirmation.

The rogue sighed when he realized the gender slipped. "We guess it is. Could be a she, we don't know."

"What makes you think it's a he then?"

"Because that's how everyone addresses the boss. 'He'."

"You said anyone of your rank doesn't know your boss. Which rank of employees do?"

"The Tacticians."

"Who are they?"

"Personal advisors to the boss. As far as we know, they're the only ones who have met with the boss and spoken to the boss. The Tacticians are the team maneuvering any contracts the boss accepts. They study tactics, strategize attacks, and deploy us fighters according to our credentials."

"Credentials?"

"The number of successful untraceable attacks, and the environments in which the attacks were launched. The more difficult it is to attack at a particular place, like an attack at night cycle, the better our credentials are if we pull it off."

"So, your credentials were good enough to kill our Empress?" Orion's claws extended and pierced through the table where his hand rested. The hand holding the rogue's suit now went around his neck, strangling the prisoner.

My eyes widened in the observation room, and I mind-touched my match in haste, 'Orion, darling. Breathe. Just breathe, okay? We're okay. Everything is going to be alright. Breathe, my darling. Just breathe.'

Only then did Orion realize he was losing control. As he and his inner Lyrokan concentrated on my soothing voice, Orion managed to retract his claws and calm down. He released the rogue, whose body slumped on the table before sliding to the floor. The rogue coughed profusely and took in large breaths of recycled air.

I sighed audibly with relief. Toby noticed my glazed-over eyes cleared about the same time as Orion's, so he teased, "It's no wonder you never had problems calming down hot-tempered Commanders. You can even tame the fiercest of beasts—the Lyrokan Emperor."

Everyone's eyes left the prisoner and shifted to me while throwing me cheeky smirks. I looked at Toby in annoyance. "Did you really have to say that out loud, Toby?"

Zelena joined in, "I personally think the one with Caunterberg the other night was much more impressive."

Raden exclaimed in excitement, "Agreed, Commander! I thought I was going to be vaporized that night with the Emperor losing it." Everyone started laughing at Raden's candid admission. He was considered one of the fiercest and strongest Specialists, so it was hilarious hearing that from him.

Lovelace then said matter-of-factly, "We shouldn't worry about getting terminated now. The Emperor listens to Lyra, and he wouldn't do anything to upset her. I'm confident we'll be just fine."

I was getting more flustered by the second, my skin cycling through embarrassed purples and reds. There were two security officers at the back of the room listening to our conversation, so I urged, "Maybe we should focus on the rogue now, guys."

Zeke then teased, "C'mon, Lyra. It's nothing to be shy about. You should be proud! We definitely are. I mean, it's one thing that you were able to turn the infamously selfish and hot-tempered Commander Tate into a calm and considerate team player, it's another to be able to make the Lyrokan Emperor kneel at your feet." Tate averted his eyes from everyone to hide the color changes creeping up his skin.