The Spider Queen

"I mean I was getting ready to take a brief nap but… what seems to be the problem?" Rokan asked in a puzzled tone as if he did not know what was going on.

Captain Mordred's heart sank as he heard 'John' 's words. He was now beginning to doubt that the person in front of him was the wanted human.

The human that the Federines government wanted to capture so badly possessed an extremely high cultivation level. If 'John' did not know what was going on then… was he making a mistake?

Why else would 'John' be so calm and collected? The Inquisitors were feared for a reason.

No… he couldn't think like that.

It was better to be safe than sorry. If he brought 'John' to the inquisitor and he turned out to be innocent, then hopefully the inquisitor would let their starship go.

Rokan could see the conflicted emotions playing out on the furry alien's face in front of him. He smiled lightly beneath the mask and used one of his hands to slip a device into the fabric of his robe.

He was not an amateur.

Just using a cloak and a mask as a disguise was not enough to ensure his safety so Rokan had another trick up his sleeve.

"So… John… I need you to come to the command deck with me immediately. There are going to be some adjustments to our original plan to fly directly to the Eaorn system," Captain Mordred spoke with a slight tremor in his voice.

He was lying.

But he could not tell 'John' the truth.

No one in the entire Federines would dare to visit an Inquisitor of their own free will.

Those merciless government dogs barely showed any emotions and possessed an almost fanatical desire to fulfil the mission requests of the politicians who deployed them to seek out and destroy their enemies.

"Well, that does not sound good at all," Rokan grumbled angrily as he strode forward and matched the pace of the small alien captain who was now walking towards the command deck.

"I was hoping to enter Earth Federation controlled space sometime within the next three months, but your delay will really mess up my plans."

"Again… I do apologise, my dear guest. We… we just had an unexpected issue occur so…" Captain Mordred's began to speak a bunch of word vomit as he was clearly feeling uncomfortable with what was happening.

He did not need to be so worried.

Rokan was not going to punish him for the betrayal.

In fact, if he was in the captain's position then he probably would have made the same damn choice. The lives of his trusted crew vs a stranger?

It was an easy decision to make.

The pair wandered through a labyrinth of side passageways and corridors until they finally arrived at a large sealed metalloid door that was heavily fortified.

Three plasma guns were attached to the ceiling above the door and weapons automatically locked on to the figures of the captain and Rokan as they walked forward.

Captain Mordred raised up his right paw and pressed it against the scanner next to the door. A green light flashed around his palm and a cold metallic voice echoed through the corridor.

[Recognised- ID 246 – Cleared for entry]

Captain Mordred used his claws to typed in a series of commands into the scanner and a green light shot out from the center of the machine and swept Rokan's body several times.

[Recognised- Temporary ID 34 – Cleared for entry]

The heavy metalloid doors swung open, and the interior of the command deck was revealed. A skeleton crew was currently operating the machines scattered across the room and there was a sense of tension in the air.

No one dared to make any extra noise or movement.

All eyes turned to the two figures who had just entered the room before nervously switching their attention back to the consoles and machines in front of them.

Rokan raised up his left arm and pretended to scratch his chest. His fingers brushed against the device that he had slipped into his robe and the small disc shaped structure latched on to his skin.

There was a faint crackle as an electric tingle swept across his body.

Fortunately, the disturbance was too small for anyone to notice, even Captain Mordred who was standing right next to him failed to recognise what had just happened.

Rokan adjusted his posture and then focused on the floating holographic projection that was filling up the space in the middle of the command deck.

On the other side of the screen was a unique looking alien.

Tall with a robust and muscular build that was covered in soft downy feathers along the edges of his skin. Completely white eyes with vertical slits as pupils.

An orange beak that was covered in horrific scars and a pair of damaged wings that hung useless behind him which meant that clearly this creature was no longer able to fly naturally.

"Is this the mysterious guest?" the Inquisitor broke the silence in the room with a casual question.

"Err… Mordred… what is going on?" Rokan asked with clear confusion in his tone.

"Yes… this is him," Captain Mordred replied to the Inquisitor while refusing to look at 'John' who was standing right next to him.

"His build does look similar…" the Inquisitor's voice trailed off as his pupils dilated slightly. He got a better look at the mysterious figure next to the smuggler captain and ran a checklist through his mind.

Similar physique… check.

Two legs… check.

Four arms… check.

Hmm… this did look promising, but he was not going to have any high expectations.

There were countless species and alien races across the Federines who were bipedal and had similar builds to humans when covered in robes.

"Do you know what I am?" the Inquisitor smirked slightly as he leaned back in his chair and reached for another glass of wine from his subordinate's hand.

"Yes… I'm just a little bit confused… I am… just a humble passenger. I… I haven't done anything to offend a great being such as yourself," Rokan groveled as he fell to his knees.

He had to resist laughing as he saw an expression of pure arrogance flash across the Inquisitor's face.

Hook.

Line.

And sinker.

"Allow me to clear up your confusion," the Inquisitor darkly whispered as he played with the wine glass in his hand.

"I am searching for an extremely dangerous fugitive who has escaped the claws of the Federines government. Your dear captain over there has informed us that you may be the man that we have been looking for."

"Mordred? Is that true? I… I AM NOT THE MISSING HUMAN!" Rokan desperately shouted as he fearfully shuffled back until his head bumped against the wall.

" 'John' just… remove your disguise and show the Inquisitor then," Captain Mordred spoke in a low tone as he played his paws and pretended not to notice how terrified his guest appeared to be.