Page 30 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Soul

"Why last?" Kian asked. "You should call him first."

"If they got to Luis, he might be compromised, and by calling him, I'll tip our hand."

"The same might be true of the receptionist in the tour company." Kian turned to look at Brundar. "Did you rent the vehicles to collect the women from the same place?"

"No."

"We should call that place as well," Kian said.

"Do you want me to do that?" Brundar asked.

"No, we need Kalugal to make the calls so he can compel the information out of whoever answers."

Turner shook his head. "We should wait until we get there and question those involved in person. Their phones might be compromised."

Kian cursed under his breath. "I don't want to get into the port blind. What if they are waiting for us?"

"We can handle them," Toven said. "If we have megaphones on board, Kalugal and I can freeze them all in place before they can fire a single shot."

"We have the noise cannon," William said. "We can use it to amplify your voice, but the cannon can distort that special quality that carries the compulsion."

"Regular megaphones will do." Kian pushed to his feet and walked to the bar. "So, is that our strategy? We get Yamanu to shroud the area, Toven and Kalugal freeze the scum, and we make target practice out of them?"

"I like that idea," Anandur said. "It's going to be over so quickly that I might even squeeze in a bachelor party before the wedding."

Onegus chuckled. "You forget the cleanup. That will take much longer."

When Dalhu uttered a growl, everyone's eyes turned to him. "I'd rather get up close and personal. Tearing them apart won't take much longer than shooting at them, but it's no fun when they can't fight back."

"The humans their henchmen violated, mutilated, and slaughtered couldn't fight back either." Kian returned to the table with a fresh bottle of whiskey. "I say it's fair to pay them back in kind."

Kian

Kian found it difficult to keep the vehemence from his voice and even more so to keep it from his mind, but he couldn't fix all the world's problems no matter how much he wished to. Together with the Kra-ell, he had a force of about two hundred warriors, and that was barely enough to protect their three locations, let alone the innocents of the world.

He used to wonder if humanity was worth fighting for, and many times he had arrived at the conclusion that it wasn't, but he had a clan to keep safe, and when he'd become a husband and a father, there was no longer a question whether he would keep fighting.

He had no choice but to fight until his last breath.

"I think you should involve Aru and the other two," Toven said. "Not because we need them for this mission, but to solidify our alliance with them. If they fight with us against the Doomers, it will cement their loyalty to us."

Kian refilled everyone's glasses and sat down. "That's a good point. I'll call Aru."

Kalugal lifted his hand. "Before you do, I want us to consider calling the tour offices ahead of time. I know there is a chance someone could be listening on the line, but I can compel them as well."

Turner shook his head. "Not if they are recording all the conversations and listening to them later. I don't think your compulsion is retained in the recording."

Kalugal frowned. "I can't believe I've never tested it before. Let's do it now." He pulled out his phone. "Who should I call?"

"Not someone who is here," Kian said.

"Of course not. You can hear me." He smoothed a hand over his short beard. "The problem is that almost everyone I can call will do exactly what I ask them to, even without the element of compulsion. Jacki wouldn't, but she's immune, so she's not good for testing."

"Record a message and send it to Amanda," Kian suggested. "Ask her to call Anandur to tell him that Wonder had a change of heart and doesn't want to marry him."

"That's a good one." Kalugal glanced at Anandur. "There is no chance that Wonder would ever do that, right?"

Anandur crossed his arms over his chest. "Not in a million years. Wonder adores me."