Chapter 554: Next Stop

The Strider settled into the steady vibration of the warp tunnel, leaving the Jupiter sector far behind.

Xavier stood in the main corridor outside the bridge, going over the ship's internal logs on a data-pad. Reva leaned against the metal bulkhead next to him, her arms crossed, while Lyra chewed on the last piece of her flatbread.

Heavy, measured footsteps echoed down the hall. Empress Xalvoria approached them. She had removed her heavy crown, leaving her wavy red hair to fall over her crimson mantle. She stopped a few feet away, addressing Xavier in a calm, level tone that honored their recent pact.

"The ship has stabilized in hyperspace," Xalvoria said, looking directly at him. "My time is limited. Come to your quarters. We have a transaction to begin."

Reva let out a low, hostile hiss, pushing herself off the bulkhead. She stepped in front of Xavier, her crimson eyes locking onto the Empress.

Xalvoria's calm demeanor vanished the second she looked at the vampire. Her lip curled in raw, unfiltered disgust. She looked Reva up and down like she was examining a disease.

"To think I must endure this," Xalvoria sneered, her voice dripping with aristocratic venom. "I cannot believe I am forced to share a man already used by the universe's filthiest, nastiest creations. You are a patchwork mistake. A mere parasite leeching off his blood."

Reva's fangs instantly elongated. Her claws snapped out, scraping against the metal floor plating as she prepared to tear the royal mantle right off the Empress's shoulders. Lyra dropped her food and stepped up beside Reva, her demonic fire flaring to life.

Xalvoria shifted her gaze toward the burning demon. The disgust on the royal's face faded, replaced by sudden recognition.

She offered Lyra a stiff, formal nod of respect.

"The Lykaios," Xalvoria said, her tone shifting to one of reverence. "It is an honor to stand before a descendant of a true divine lineage. Your blood commands respect across the stars."

Lyra blinked, the sheer whiplash of the compliment catching her off guard, though she kept her fists clenched and her flames burning.

Xavier stepped out from behind Reva, his face turning hard. "Shut your mouth, Xalvoria. You are breaking the conditions."

The Empress turned her attention back to him, lifting her chin. "I am doing no such thing. Our pact demanded I respect your authority and drop my disdain for you. It said nothing about coddling the abominations you keep as pets. If my words had truly broken the Divine Mother's oath, the fragment would have struck me down where I stand."

Xavier closed the distance between them. "Reva is my lover. You disrespect her on my ship, you disrespect me. Apologize to her."

Xalvoria let out a sharp, mocking breath. "I will not apologize to a vampire bastard."

"Then go wait in my room," Xavier ordered, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Go sit on the bed and stare at the wall. Let's see how many days you can afford to waste while your cells rot from the inside out. Because I will sit in the pilot's chair until we reach Tartarus, and you won't get a single drop of my data."

The threat hit its mark. Xalvoria's face flushed with trapped, helpless fury. The biological ticking clock within her veins left her zero leverage. Her hands balled into tight fists, her manicured nails digging deep into her own palms.

She turned her head stiffly toward Reva. The ancient pride warred visibly against her desperate need to survive.

"My words were... poorly chosen," Xalvoria forced out through gritted teeth, the apology sounding more like a curse. "Forgive my lack of manners."

Reva held the Empress's furious gaze, an undeniable glint of victory flashing in her crimson eyes.

Xavier watched the bitter exchange, making sure the royal understood exactly who held the reins on this ship.

"Good," Xavier said, satisfied that the galactic ruler understood exactly who held the reins on this ship. He gestured down the corridor. "Now go wait in my room. I have a few things to take care of, and I need to make sure my ship is locked on course. I will be there when I am finished. Sit tight and try not to break anything."

Xalvoria's jaw clenched so hard her teeth ground together audibly. Being told to sit and wait like an obedient servant was the final blow to her pride. She shot him a look of pure murder, spun on her heel, and stalked off down the hall, the heavy fabric of her crimson mantle snapping behind her.

'Let her sweat it out a little longer.'

Xavier gave Reva and Lyra a brief nod, leaving the women in the corridor as he headed in the opposite direction toward the bridge.

Inside the cockpit, the blue light of hyperspace washed over the reinforced viewport. Requiem sat in the pilot's seat, his skeletal hands resting lightly on the primary yoke as he monitored the new upgraded thruster outputs.

Kylus stood right behind him, leaning over the holographic starmap projecting from the center console.

"Status," Xavier ordered as the blast doors slid shut behind him.

"Hyper-drives are holding steady. We are locked on a direct vector for the Tartarus Sector," Requiem reported, his hollow voice carrying a metallic edge.

Kylus pulled back from the glowing map and turned to face Xavier. "Since we are already heading into the deep rings, we should adjust our trajectory. I have a detour in mind."

Xavier crossed his arms, leaning against the bulkhead. "I am on a tight schedule. What is out there?"

"The mutineers… the rogue crew who betrayed Bull and left him to die are laying low on a barren dustball planet just two jumps from our current lane." Kylus answered, a hard, vengeful glint in his eye. "Before we left the Jupiter station, my contacts forwarded a localized transmission and confirmed their location."

A vital piece of intel clicked into place.

Xavier pulled out his personal data-pad. He brought up the decrypted research files he had ripped from the AIL servers back at the underground sinkhole facility, right after he pulled Klatos out of the Iron Mandate's hands.

He quickly cross-referenced Kylus's planetary coordinates with the stolen corporate data.

The overlap flashed green on his screen. A sharp grin formed on his face.

"The mutineers didn't just pick a random rock to hide on." Xavier tossed the data-pad onto the main console, letting Kylus see the matched coordinates. "According to the AIL files I took from that sinkhole base, that specific dustball is the exact location of one of Bull's hidden treasure vaults."

Hunting down traitors was a solid objective. Walking away with a hidden vault of pirate loot made it mandatory.

Xavier tapped the edge of the console. "Requiem, punch in the new coordinates. We are making a pit stop before we hit Tartarus."