Skaarg smiled as the steak sizzled in the pan, its purple texture slowly turning to a perfect shade of dark blue. Cooking was the first skill he'd ever taught himself. It wasn't easy either. He couldn't count the amount of times he had stolen from the bins of other, more privileged Enzen'ozus. Mostly those of orange-shades. To steal from a green or red could be punishable by death and he wasn't willing to risk that.

He'd spent a lot of his childhood feeling bitter towards the orange-shade. They were accepted into society despite having only two arms. The only difference, bar skin colour, that Skaarg had from them was that they had two eyes. Why should that be the difference between acceptance and rejection?

Skaarg sprinkled salt, pepper and some ready-made blue steak seasoning on top of the slab of meat in front of him. Cut from one of the finest purple crabs farmed on Platform 842. A place engineered to have the perfect environment for such beasts to roam. He knew that if this plan was ever going to work, he would have to make the most impressive piece he could.

Commander Traarg's call to remove the human from the holding cell had proven to be a wise choice. Their initial plan had been to keep him hidden in plain sight. The High Leader was so focused on the invasion that there was no way he would have noticed them taking the old man from under his nose.

But Traarg knew holding Hyke on the planet for too long could attract other members who would come to his aid. Skaarg admired his foresight. If he could match that level of ability, he would become unstoppable.

Skaarg had spotted an opportunity when the human boarded the ship. It was no secret that Hyke Henderson was one of the Ironclad Five. A group of humans who helped turn the tide of the Eternal Wars. That was the reason why he was so important to Traarg. If Skaarg could get the information out of him first, there was no doubt that Traarg would favour him. Especially when they finally took the reins from Zvuurg.

All his life, Skaarg had been fighting to prove that his blue skin and single eye wouldn't hold him back. He thought by following orders like a good soldier that he would earn points with Traarg. But maybe it was time that he went further than he'd ever gone before. Listening to orders was one thing, preempting outcomes was another.

The stake now burned a beautiful shade of blue. Skaarg smiled and pressed a button on his communication column. "Have you readied the human as I requested?"

"The human is almost ready," came the squeaky reply of Skaarg's service Syntheticon, BZ11.

"Great, let our guest know that dinner will be served in five minutes' time," said Skaarg. "We don't want to let it go cold."

He took the pan off of the heat then turned to his deep fat fryer and had a look inside. A collection of crisply cooked chips sat within the dish. Skaarg took in the divine smell as he sorted their plates out into equal portions. This was going to serve his purpose perfectly.

He placed knives and forks at the long glass table which stood in the middle of his quarters. Then sat down and looked out through the glass into the depths of space. A place of infinite possibility. The sheer view was enough to send bolts of excitement through him. This ship was beautiful. A true piece of Engen'ozus ingenuity. Known as the Space Seagull, it was one of the thousands crafted over the last milenia in a desperate hope of seeing space once again.

Skaarg chuckled to himself as he thought about the irony of a blue-shade walking the decks of a vessel designed for a red-shade. Traarg's personal command ship.

The double doors slid open and the husky form of Hyke Henderson was marched in by BZ11. "The human is ready, sir."

BZ didn't look very impressive. With his gangly arms attached to a clunky steel box and a glass dome head. Despite this, the metallic structure made him stronger than a human. Then there was the fact he stood at over seven feet tall. His frame towered over Hyke, who wasn't exactly very tall even for a human.

"Thank you BZ, you may leave," Skaarg said and then gestured to the chair in front and looked up at Hyke. "Please, take a seat. I cooked you a blue steak. I considered corn beef hash but honestly I couldn't hold off on trying my hand at this. You should see the farm the purple crab was bred on, quite an impressive place."

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Hyke didn't move. "You've cooked for me?"

"I felt a bit peckish and we are overdue a little chat, aren't we?" asked Skaarg. "Sit down, old man. You might actually enjoy yourself."

Hyke glanced down at the meal, Skaarg guessed that he can't have eaten since before he'd been captured. By now the hunger should have kicked in. "How do I know you haven't done something to it?"

"You don't," said Skaarg. "But I assure you all I've done is season it with some of the best ingredients found on Voidlight Base. If you don't have it, then I can always save it for myself."

Hyke squinted down at the food and took a sniff. Then sunk down in the chair and picked up his knife and fork and cut himself a slice before bringing it up to his nose.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I like to get to know my enemy," Skaarg said, a smile flicked across his lips. "And I feel we can relate to each other. You're a human, I'm a blue-shade Engen'ozus. We have about as many rights as I have eyes. We are a minority. It's important for us to stick together."

Skaarg slipped a piece of steak in his mouth and allowed the taste to roll along his pallet. Hyke sheepishly took a bite into his own. He chewed far too quickly for Skaarg's liking. He preferred to savour his food. Growing up with nothing to eat but other peoples scraps gave you a better perspective on it.

"Between me and you," said Skaarg. "I'm not supposed to be doing this. The guys in charge, they want to see you broken down bit by bit until finally you squeal everything they need to know and trust me, with the methods Traarg's agents have up their sleeves, everyone speaks before long."

Hyke nodded. "I had a feeling there was an ulterior motive to this performance. You think by giving me nice food you can make me squeal as you put it and, let's face it, a blue-shade like yourself needs all the points he can muster."

Skaarg held up his hands mockingly. "You got me. How could I ever win in a battle against your superior intelligence?"

Hyke leaned forward. "Listen to me, I'm not here to play any of your games. Where is my daughter?"

Skaarg had expected this. "Marcella Henderson is still alive, or at least I believe she was before we left Displincia."

"How can I be sure?"

"Don't you think this is all a little rude?" Skaarg said. "I've brought you here to have a candlelit dinner for two and all you want to talk about is your daughter. We don't have any interest in her if that's what you're worried about. I won't mess around with you any longer. Tell me the location of Quentin Ford."

Hyke shook his head. "Can't give you that information."

"Can't or won't?"

Hyke stared out of the window at the stars which were slowly passing them by. "Can't. No one can tell you where Quentin is except his own crew members. We all agreed that if we didn't know, we couldn't tell anyone. That's how I know that I can't help you."

Skaarg nodded. "A wise plan. The thing is, I don't think that Quentin Ford would have left home without some way of communicating with his son."

"If he has, then that is between him and Axel," said Hyke.

"Funny you should mention the boy," said Skaarg and he raised his hand to flick an image on the screen. "It's just your daughter has been spotted in his company."

Hyke took in the picture of Marcella, Axel and Raz. They stood in the corridor which his holding cell had lined. Skaarg smiled. Until this moment, Hyke would have thought his daughter had been at the mercy of the invasion. Now he knew she was alive. It offered him hope. And hope was a great motivator.

"So, as you can see, this is a bit of a problem," said Skaarg. "Because if my people get hold of them, it won't just be you who they'll be trying to make squeal. These lot are public enemy number one right now. You've just admitted that Axel should know where his father is. Who knows what he might have told your daughter."

"I never confirmed that Axel knew anything," said Hyke, his eyes wide. "You're twisting my words."

"I'm not the one who wants to torture people," said Skaarg pouring out a glass of wine for Hyke. "As you can see, I'm a man of more sophisticated tendencies."

He sat back letting Hyke piece it all together. He could see the battle going on in his mind. He'd been sworn to secrecy by the Five but now his daughter could be on the line. Things were shifting. Loyalty was a powerful thing and there was only one person in the galaxy that Hyke was more loyal to than the Five.

"Listen Hyke, can I call you Hyke?" Skaarg said. "If I can get the information out of you here, over this beautiful blue steak and crispy chips, then I doubt my superiors will be interested in your daughter and that half-rate pilot-in-training."

Hyke gritted his teeth. "I've already told you, none of us know where Quentin is. He kept the whole thing a secret in case this very situation occurred."

Skaarg clicked his fingers and another image projected in front of them. This one showed Rutan Kaarzee and his men aiming a plasma cannon at a fleeing spaceship. "That might be so but, as you can see, your daughter is in a spot of bother. See that ship flying away there? That's the Homesteader. A proud piece owned by Rutan Kaarzee of the Kaarzee clan. Now you and I both know that my people don't have any reason to hurt your daughter. But to steal from a family as powerful as the Kaarzee clan is basically suicide."

Hyke's hands balled into a fist.

Skaarg had him right where he needed. "If you tell me what I need to know, my people will have no further use for you, we could work out a deal with the clan. Keep your daughter safe. No one needs to be harmed."

Skaarg let him think about it.

Hyke slammed his knife into the steak. "Alright. I'll tell you what you need to know."