Apex

Chapter 27

Hi Everyone! Just a heads up, this chapter is shorter than usual but there was no way for me to make it longer without cutting it off in an awkward place. Next week's chapter should be longer! Enjoy! - Spade

•Zoryne•

The eyes of every species in the room were glaring at me in pure disdain.

I didn't realize I was retreating until my back hit a wall. It was impossible. None of this was possible! How long have they been here? How many Tsosyrans at the base were actually other species in disguise?

"This isn't possible," I heard myself say. "This isn't right...we...your planets were colonized. They're under Homeworld rule now."

A three-legged creature with six eyes and one wide mouth that seemed to split its face in half, leered at me. I stopped breathing.

"Our worlds are not yours to claim!" he roared.

"Gantz," Ky snapped.

"Look at his pitiful face, Captain." Gantz leered at me, giant incisors poking out over his lips. I withered further into the wall, wishing it would swallow me and free me from this nightmare. "Do you see how shocked he is? That were able to survive outside his species' rule of tyranny?"

"He's not with them anymore, they were going to kill him." Ky insisted, but made no move to stop this being.

One of Gantz' clawed hands whipped out and seized me by the throat. What little air I had in my lungs swiftly depleted. He pulled me to the tips of my toes. My hands clawed at his thick wrist, covered in an exoskeleton far too hard for my weak fingernails to penetrate. Killing me would be easy.

"Gantz!" Ky's head protrusions rose around her, floating higher as her shoulders bunched. She still made no move to physically remove this beast from me.

"Don't pretend you don't know what bringing him here means," spittle flew at my face. "He wears their colors, he lives in this new colony, he looks at us as if we don't have the right to be here. As if he has more of a right to this world than anyone else in the universe!"

His arm pulled me forward to slam be back into the wall so hard I think the room shuttered. My movements became desperate, legs futilely kicking in the air, attempting to make contact with his gut and get him to release me.  Black spots filled my vision and a ringing invaded my ears. I saw his mouth moving, but it produced no more sounds.

I choked on my protests.

Suddenly, he let go of me and I crumpled to the floor. The first breath of air was agonizing to my throat, but heaven to my lung. Groaning, my limbs hardly obey as I tried to rise. I almost made it to my knees before a foot rammed into my back. I wheezed, sinking back onto the cold metal surface.

Voices overlapped each other. Different languages mingled. My implant worked at maximum capacity to translate all of the species talking at once.

"Rarely have we been able to talk to sympathetic Tsosyran. He's a well of information which is exactly what we can use right now." Ky said calmly, though there was certainly an edge to her voice.

"Obviously there's a reason for that Ky,"someone protested. I vaguely  processed that they called her by her name and not her title. Ky didn't seem to have any qualms about it at the moment.

"You didn't have to spend years pretending to be one of them. I wouldn't have taken the risk to bring him here if I didn't think it was worth it." She replied firmly.

"Yeah? What makes this one so special?"

"He's a scientist," Ky growled. "He worked in the labs!"

The room went so silent, it was disconcerting.The noise at least meant there was discussion about what my fate would be.