The Human Bearer
30.
As he had suspected, the elevator voice still didn't seem to care that he wasn't a strapping 7-footer with half of his body covered in snake skin, so the way down was uneventful. The eerie silence wasn't so eerie anymore, and Riordan took pride in feeling like he was in charge of things for a change. So much information had been revealed to him lately, and now he had someone else he could use to trade ideas. Florent was, after all, a powerful empath, whether he was aware of his powers or not, and that meant that he might have overheard things that could be used to make sense of it all.
He hurried towards Florent's cell without hesitation. Xana appeared to approve his actions even without saying anything, and that gave him a giddy feeling of empowerment. Kyle rolled right behind him and knowing that he had a partner in crime to rely on was assurance in itself.
Florent was already on his feet as he must have heard him approaching. His pretty eyes were wild and, even without knowing him well, Riordan could tell that there was a new kind of tension making his shoulders hunch and his gaze to dart sideways as if he was expecting a surprise attack.
"Don't be spooked, man, it's just me," Riordan said and walked closer to the invisible wall of death holding Florent in his cell.
"Riordan, you came again," Florent said and moved towards him, too. He stopped only inches away, his mind probably tortured already by the knowledge that a wrong step could bring him a horrible death.
"I couldn't stay away. In case you didn't know it already, I like trouble." He tried to make light of their conversation, as a sensation of uneasiness crept up his spine. Florent was unnerving him with all those anxious glances he was throwing around, although it was only the two of them there.
Florent leaned forward as if he was trying to communicate with him in a conspiratorial manner. "Then you should know that trouble is heading our way."
"What trouble?" Riordan knew he had to trust his gut because that part of him rarely failed if ever.
"My former master... he's heading here. He wants to launch an attack on Tu'lek."
"Shit, are you sure?" Riordan could sense his ears starting to ring. It was as if a myriad of conversations were taking place, but just outside how much his sense of hearing could stretch. Focusing on it served only to give him a major headache. He caught his temples between his forefingers and groaned.
Florent took a step back. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to make you hear them, but it can be painful."
"What? For real? Man, I heard you're a badass empath, but this is out of this world. Any world."
Florent crouched and grabbed his head in his hands. "I'm trying to tell him but he won't listen," he lamented and rocked his body as if he was trying to offer himself a child's comfort.
"By he, you mean the high commander? Yeah, Kanto is a stubborn mofo," Riordan said and crouched so that he could be on the same level with the other. "Hey, talk to me. Tell me everything."
"But if you don't hear them yourself, how are you going to believe me?"
"I believe you anyway. I'm not one of these Xenos. Between you and me, they're full of themselves, and that doesn't always work to their advantage. So, just put it into words. By the way, the fact that you have mindreading resistance is really awesome."
Florent stopped his rocking and looked at him. "It has only brought me problems. I'm here, in this cell, because the high commander doesn't believe any of the information he's extracted from me so far. Information I've willingly offered. He doesn't believe a word I'm saying... or thinking."
"That sucks balls, man. Okay, now tell me everything you know. I'm going to take it to the powers that be. They might not like you much but I do. So, spill the beans. Leave nothing out."
Florent gave him an uneasy look. "You should be caring about your egg right now, Riordan."
"Yeah, well, I've heard it all before. The problem is that if those immortal assholes are taking over this ship, there might not be an egg for me to care about. I might be dead, along with everyone else."
"You're not mincing words, are you, Riordan?"
"Never been known for it, no. Where are they? How fast are they approaching?"
"Wait, did you say... immortal?" Florent stared at him, looking confused and scared.
"That's something I heard recently. Your former owner and others must have gotten into their heads that if they reach Tanez first, they can become immortal and will need no bearers."
Florent's face moved in such a way that Riordan feared that he was starting to cry. That didn't happen, though. "I suppose that is why... my master always cared to tell me what a waste of space I was. I couldn't understand why he hated me so much. But why did he want a bearer in the first place?"
"There will be a time and place for us to explore all the theories that are running amok in my head, but here and now aren't those. Come on, tell me what your super brain caught from our enemies."
Florent took a deep breath and appeared to struggle to collect himself. "Gamni Gafilos, my former master, is the high commander of Galatea. Galatea is a warship but also more than that. It is a flagship, which means that there's an entire group of ships following him."
Riordan felt his mouth getting dry and tried in vain to swallow the painful ball in his throat. "Where the fuck did they keep all these ships? Oh, fuck, don't tell me. While the planet got flooded, they were in space, not giving a fuck."
Florent nodded. "And now they're heading here. They want to take over Tu'lek."
"Fuck this shit," Riordan mumbled under his breath. "And Kanto thinks it a great idea not to listen to you, given the circumstances? He can't be that blind."
"I don't know what he's thinking, but all I know is... his hate," Florent said slowly. He buried his head in his hands again. "And he's right, because--" He stopped and began sniffling.
"What do you mean, he's right? Man, don't cry. I have no idea what to do when someone turns on the waterworks."
Florent appeared to collect himself. "He's right because," he said and swallowed audibly, "above all else, Gamni Gafilos is coming for me."
"What? Why? Don't tell me he's that addicted to your sweet ass."
The energetic shake of the head convinced him that wasn't the case. "No, he suspects that I'm spilling all his secrets to the Xenos in charge of Tu'lek right now. As if I had any secrets to spill." The rocking started again. "It's because on me that he found Tu'lek. He's reaching for me," Florent said and began shivering, "like a hand squeezing my insides. And my mind," he added, pressing so hard against his skull as if he wanted to crush it, "sinks into dark, dark water, and I can't--" His breath hitched and the shivering got only more intense.
"Shit," Riordan muttered. "Hey, man, listen to me." He shouted the words to get Florent's attention. "Hey!"
Finally, Florent seemed to pull himself out of the despair gripping him and looked up. His eyes were swimming in tears.
"I will convince these guys. I will tell them what you know."
"And why would they believe you? Don't do it, Riordan. You're only putting yourself at risk."
"We're all at risk, the way I see it. Now, it's very important that you give me all the details you know. How far are they from us? Can you tell?"
"It could be anywhere between tomorrow and a week. I can't tell for sure. Gamni said something, right into my brain. He said," Florent had to stop for a moment, "that soon, he's going to get his hands on me, and then I'll know what real suffering is. He'll kill me slowly. He'll torture me until I wish for death, and not even then will he give it to me."
"Fuck. Okay, it looks to me like there's no time to waste. Tell me more. Tell me everything you know. Not about how that fucker keeps threatening you. You can leave that out."
"I can't know for sure how many ships are, or how many Xenos. Their group wasn't that numerous. I don't know why, in the light of what you told me about them wanting to become immortal."
"Well, maybe not all Xenos are such power-hungry assholes that the entire universe is not enough for them. We'll think about that another time. Anything else we could use?"
"They have a weakness." Resolve lit Florent's face. "Gamni doesn't think I can tell, but I can. As he pulled me to him to threaten me, I too probed his mind."
"Awesome. And what did you find out?"
"Their warships... they're not meant to travel across the universe to Tanez. They don't know the exact location of the planet -- none of them seem to know it -- which means that they might believe Tu'lek to be their ticket there."
"Hmm, so their clock is ticking. Good to know. Desperate assholes tend to make mistakes, right? Plus, this hate he has for you, that's not normal, right? They might think themselves superior, these Xenos, but they're not the kind to have this kind of feelings."
Florent nodded. "I know what you mean. I was surprised myself. Especially since--"
"Since--" Riordan encouraged him to continue.
"He seemed to enjoy having sex with me," Florent said quickly. "At first, I thought that he was just surly and annoyed by everything around him, me included. I even entertained the idea that he would come to like me in due time. He put his egg in me so fast. I was so silly... until I began overhearing him. And then, I realized that he truly hated me, and I was just fooling myself."
"What an asshole. Whatever goes through his head is not our problem unless he thinks things that concern us, like taking over Tu'lek. When did you start hearing him?"
"I have no idea of how time works anymore. But it happened a while after you came here, and it seems like only hours have passed between that and now."
"And Kanto saw you and you talked to him."
"Yes. I couldn't convince him. He still believes I'm trying to lie to him, as if that was possible."
Another wave of uneasiness moved over Florent's face. Riordan caught it right away. "Has anything else happened?"
Florent looked away. "I can't... I mean, I shouldn't."
"We're here, we're supposed to get ready for an attack, so come on, there's no need to be shy."
