Matty and Jax crashed through the front door of the HAB, one under each arm of the large Malakim. I followed closely behind, still trying to comprehend exactly what I was seeing. The Malakim's wings were enormous. Stark white feathers covered the wings, each ranging from around six to twelve inches, depending on where they were on the wing. For all intents and purposes, I knew this as an angel.

  Like many people in the South, I grew up in a religious family. I had heard stories from the Bible about angels, demons, and other supernatural creatures. It seemed that they were all real, just not real in the way I expected. Apparently, what we had come to know as angels and demons were no different than the aliens that people of past centuries had encountered. The Rerek were giant red, horned creatures. The Malakim were large, regal, winged beings. Both races had at some point spent time on Earth and had been seen by humans, much like the Trimeans who had become known as grays to every tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist on Earth. Did this shake my faith in God? No, it just changed my perception of what he was capable of. Deep meditation on theology would have to wait for another day, though, for now we had to figure out exactly what to do with this prisoner.

  The Malakim was still unconscious as we entered the HAB. His external wounds were closing, but I knew from personal experience that it would take some time to completely recover from a wound that serious.

  “Get him on the table and find something to strap him down!” Tiff said as she ran up to help with the prisoner. “Captain, this was not advisable. This being is capable of tearing you in half and is loyal to no one save the Council.” She looked into my eyes sharply as she spoke. I could tell that she was not a fan of this plan of action. I also knew that the Malakim hadn’t attacked us, and I wasn’t ready to kill it if I wasn’t provoked.

  “What can you tell me about the Malakim, Tiff?” I asked.

  “They serve as the personal guard to the council. They are often tasked with enforcing council sanctions on offending species. Their entire race is bred for war and policing based on the whims of the Council," she said, shaking her head in disgust. “When the Council makes a judgment of reaping, the Malakim will come in and police the seeded planet. They will quell rebellion and assist with the roundup of livestock. They aid whatever species initiated the reaping until its completion, which could sometimes take decades.”

  “What do you mean, livestock? Like cows and sheep? Things like that?” I asked.

  “There is no value in animals to species outside of the originating planet, Captain. Most species have very specific dietary requirements based on their physiology. Other than niche curiosity, they would not be interested in consuming animals from your planet,” she replied.

  I knew the answer before I asked again, but I needed to hear her say it. “Then what do you mean by livestock, Tiff?” I asked nervously.

  “People, Captain. People can be used across the universe for a variety of purposes. Cheap labor, fighting pits, medical experiments, the list goes on and on. Outside of the exponential elemental value of your planet and solar system, the livestock would be the next most valuable commodity.” I stopped what I was doing as a wave of nausea rushed over me. Billions of people would be enslaved or killed; I knew that was a possibility. The fact that they would be considered little more than livestock and hearing Tiff use that term shook me to my core.

  “Tiff, you will not use that term for humans, or any other sentient race moving forward. Do you understand?” I lifted my head and made a point to make eye contact as I spoke. I activated my armor and reached toward the Malakim, who was starting to move slightly on the table. I placed my hands on his shoulders and slammed him back to the table, still staring at Tiff. “This Malakim did not move to harm us. He asked for our assistance, and I gave it. I did all that because I am a human being, not livestock. I am not a cold-blooded, mindless killer. Maybe I should have just killed him when I had the chance; only time will tell. What I do know for sure is that he is here now, and we will see if he can give us any information that will be valuable to us.”

  “I didn’t mean any offense, Captain… I… that is just the term generally accepted when referring to an enslaved race,” Tiff wilted as she spoke.

  “Red, get some rope and tie his wings, feet, and arms. When he wakes, we will talk,” I said, ignoring her apology.

  “Got it, Captain!” Red said as he rushed to get some rope from one of the cargo boxes. Five minutes later, the Malakim was secured, and everyone stood around gawking. To their credit, they stayed fairly composed in the presence of what we all, until today would have considered a supernatural being. The Malakim began to stir again, and I lifted my hands from his chest to let him gather himself.

  “Where am I?” the Malakim asked.

  “We will get to that. First, what is your name? It will be hard to have a conversation if I have to keep calling you Malakim,” I said as I dismissed my armor. "I am Captain Andrew Dawes, and this is my crew. We represent the Human Faction in this dungeon.”

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  Attention participants: The Malakim Faction has been eliminated. The Lacertine Faction now holds the Malakim Faction Key. The Lacertine Faction now holds three keys. Reminder: the first faction to hold five keys will gain access to the Coeus Relay Station.

  Update – With only two factions remaining, the Coeus relay will populate in 4 Earth hours. After the relay station appears, participants will have an additional 4 hours to open the relay and complete the dungeon. After the 4-hour time period, the surface of the moon will heat to a temperature of +300 degrees Fahrenheit. If no parties have activated the relay at this time, the dungeon will be declared a total loss and results will be null.

  “Sounds like you are the last of your faction, buddy. Ready to talk?” I asked.

  “Unbind me, Human. I am no animal to be bound in this way. I mean you no harm and give you my word that I will not seek to harm you," The Malakim said.

  “Name first, then we can go from there,” I replied.

  The Malakim relaxed on the table and took a deep breath." I am called Ka-Jarat.”

  “Okay, Ka-Jarat. Why were you out there alone? What happened to your faction?” I asked.

  “My faction made an arrangement with the Lacertine faction. We did not come to the dungeon in hopes of winning; we were merely stationed in random dungeons to help ensure things didn’t get out of hand. We knew that the Lacertine Empire had invested heavily in this particular dungeon and, as such, were prepared to offer our assistance,” Ka-Jarat grunted and strained against the ropes as he spoke. “Captain Dawes, could you please untie me? I have no weapon, and I am severely outnumbered here. I am at a strategic disadvantage, and I have no desire to fight you.”

  I stood at the side of his table, reactivated my armor, and motioned to Red. "Untie him, Red."

  Ka-Jarat stared at me in amazement as Red unbound him. “Where did you get that armor? I have never seen armor that appears in such a way.”

  “I'm sorry, that’s… that’s classified." I glanced over at Matty and Jax who both grinned and elbowed each other at my use of the terminology.

  “Classified as what? Is it not a drop suit?" Ka-Jarat asked, his confusion at my vernacular apparent. I assumed the translation hadn’t come out exactly the way I wanted it to and cringed at my use of unfamiliar terminology.

  “The origins of my armor will not be discussed at this time.” I tried to salvage some sense of control of the conversation. “Please continue with what you were telling us.”

  Ka-Jarat sat up on the table and hung his legs over the side. In a blink, his wings shot out, stretching to their full length of at least 8 feet on each side. It was impressive, but in an already tense environment, it was not welcome. I immediately summoned my daggers and extended them toward his throat. “No. Sudden. Movements. Malakim,” I said as I held the tip of one dagger to his throat and the other near his ribcage.

  Ka-Jarat put his hands up in the air slowly, “I was merely stretching my wings, there is no cause for alarm.” I slowly removed the daggers from near his body and dismissed them. I didn’t fail to notice that Tiff had a weapon trained on the Malakim the entire time.

  “Can you ask that Phylaxian behind me to lower her weapon as well?” Ka-Jarat asked. I wasn’t sure how he knew Tiff had a weapon trained on him, but I decided to see if I could gain a little trust and further the conversation. I held out a hand toward Tiff, "XO, lower your weapon.”

  Ka-Jarat rubbed his wrists as he began speaking again. “The Lacertine faction sent us a message stating that they were ready to negotiate in good faith. The only downside for them would have been awarding the Malakim government a small percentage of the profits from the reaping if they were to win the rights of reaping. We should have known better than to trust those lizards,” he spat. “They ambushed us at the meeting and wiped out our faction. They will receive sanctions from the Council, but ten Malakim lives won’t cost the Council any sleep. I escaped and ran; we were severely outnumbered, and I had no chance of survival if I fought. My goal was to find a means of escape and inform my people of the betrayal. The Council will likely report that the troops were lost in combat, and I couldn't allow that narrative to exist.” Ka-Jarat shook his head solemnly. “Captain, I have no faction, no resources, and I am now indebted to you for saving my life. My people have served the Council for millennia, but there are a growing number of my kind that grow tired of the political maneuvering and yearn for freedom. I’m sure the Phylaxian has briefed you on my people and told you of our loyalty to the Council, as well as our role within their government,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at Tiff. “What she hasn’t told you is that we value honor above all else. You have saved and spared my life. I am now honor-bound to assist you in whatever way you see fit. Do with me as you will, Captain.”

  “Ka Jarat… is it okay if I call you Kaj?” I asked.

  The Malakim tilted his head. "What is this… Kaj…?” he asked, the name unfamiliar as it came out.

  “It's just an abbreviation, a faster and easier way to say your name. I mean no disrespect,” I replied.

  “I will allow it, Captain,” Kaj said.

  “I will need to discuss this with my crew. For now, I need you to stay here. We will return shortly,” I said. We all walked outside to have a conversation. This Malakim would be an impressive addition to our crew, but could we trust him?

  “Tiff, can we invite Kaj to the crew?” I asked.

  “Captain, how do you know you can trust him?” she asked. “He is Malakim, he is loyal to the Council!”

  “Yeah, so what, Tiff? You are Phylaxian, we are human, he is Malakim. From what he said that loyalty isn’t as firm as you described it. He feels like the Council hung him out to dry and from what he said, he is honor-bound to me now. Is that a thing I can hold him to?" I asked.

  “Yes, Captain. The Malakim have been known to enter into honor pacts in the past. Once they enter into an honor pact, it supersedes any oaths they have taken until they are released by the holder of the pact, or said holder dies,” she said, resignation in her voice.

  “Okay, if nobody has any objections, I will ask Kaj to form an honor pact with me and invite him to join the crew. We are going to need all the help we can get to take on the Lacertine faction, and we are not in a position to be picky.” “Any objections?” I said looking around at the crew.

  Nobody objected. “Okay, it looks like we're adding one angel to the crew of the Bloodhound, then.”