And not to be arrogant, but a lot better. If she could get the Resistance members to trust her again, she might be able to get all of them out of this alive.
As for the aristos in the prison shuttle with her… they were terrified, too. Someone needed to give them hope.
“We’re not dead yet,” she said with a conviction she didn’t feel. “Stay strong. Don’t let them defeat us.”
“We’re League prisoners,” one of her men sneered. “Do you not know what’s going to happen to us when we land? What they’re going to do to us?”
Hopefully, they’d be a little more merciful than Pip and crew had been to Darling.
Not wanting to think about that, Zarya patted the man on his shoulder, trying to calm him. Darling would remember his name. But while she recognized his face from missions they’d done together in the past, she couldn’t recall his name or position no matter how hard she tried. “I do. And I’m one of the primary ones they’ll focus their attention on… But I also know people who’ve survived their custody, and they were a lot younger and more inexperienced than we are. Plus, I know for a fact that Governor Cruel won’t allow them to keep us.”
Pip sneered at her. “You’re about to learn a harsh lesson, little girl. You’re nothing to him. Just another replaceable whore.” He raked a harsh glare over her body. “Probably not even that. I’ve heard his tastes run more along the line of pretty young boys.”
She met his glare with one of her own. “You know nothing about him. And if you refer to him again with anything other than the utmost respect in your tone, you won’t have to worry about prison or the League. I’ll fucking kill you with my own bare hands.”
Those words had the effect she wanted them to. Everyone sucked their breath in and held it. No one had ever heard her use such language before. It wasn’t in her nature.
But she was through watching others insult Darling when all he’d ever done was try to help them.
Her conviction fortified by that rage, she scanned the soldiers and aristocrats around her. “We are not pawns. We are not victims. We are Caronese—one of the greatest races in the United Systems. And we’re warriors for a cause. All of us. I’ve bled with most of you and mourned injustice with you all. Yes, the League has us for the moment, but the fight doesn’t end here and neither do we. Others have defied them and lived.”
“Who?” one of the aristocratic women challenged her. “Name me one they haven’t killed.”
“Nykyrian Quiakides.”
Furstan, who’d been one of her more trusted commanders, scoffed. “We’re not trained assassins. He survived only because he was one of them.”
“True. But I’ve met the man many times and while he is a great fighter, I saw our governor toss him flat on his butt in a fight.”
Half the Resistance laughed in mockery, but she could see the doubt in their eyes.
“I saw him do it,” one of the aristos said. “I was there and she’s right. The governor got past him like he was a civ.”
“I saw it, too.”
That quieted the dissenters.
She nodded at them. “That’s right. Darling was trained to fight by Nykyrian himself. He is a soldier well—”
One of the men snorted derisively, interrupting her. “He’s a stupid faggot. He can’t protect himself. How—” Before he could finish those words, Ture got up and punched him so hard, the man went sprawling to the deck.
His nostrils flared, Ture stood over the man with his fists clenched. Never in her life had she seen him like this. For that matter, she’d never known Ture to lose his temper before. Not over anything. He was normally the most laid back person imaginable.
“I have news for you, breeder,” he growled. “Just because we’re homosexual doesn’t mean we lack the physical strength of men. We can still fight. Most of us better than you, because we’ve had to defend ourselves our whole lives from jerks who think it’s funny to attack us. There’s a big difference between not wanting to or liking to fight, and not knowing how.”
Zarya pulled Ture back and separated them. She patted him on the shoulder in sympathy and passed him a silent look that said she not only approved, but was proud of him.
However, they couldn’t afford to fight among themselves. They had the League for that, and she was sure they’d be more than willing to lend a hand in the beatings.
Right now, they needed to stand together or else they’d die alone.
As Ture resumed his seat, she returned to the subject. “I know the governor better than anyone. He will not tolerate the League coming into his territory and taking his people prisoner. Not for any reason. He will come for us.”
The woman to her right shook her head. “No offense, but he has to find us first. Have you any idea how many prisons the League runs? Over a thousand on hundreds of planets and outposts. No matter how angry or determined Governor Cruel is, it could take him years to locate us.”