Brute's Challenge

Chapter 1

Kilar

Swords clang against shields, and breastplates are hammered by proud fists. A victorious Kraaj chant echoes throughout the endless avenue, and the loud voices of a thousand warriors are only drowned out by an artillery salute, the sound of battlecruiser cannons exploding in the air. 

I march down the avenue, head held high as petals rain down upon me. The women of Luvon cry out my name, and the Kraaj troops respond to that by beating on their chests even more furiously. 

I wave at the crowd with my free hand, and the cheers of adoration and envy become almost too deafening. Tugging at the chains in my other hand, I force my prisoners to up their pace, and they trail behind me with their heads lowered, shame covering their faces. 

 “Not so tough now, huh?” I ask the red lump of Vakutan muscles behind me. Zuvok the Terror doesn’t say a word, but his shoulders slump down in defeat. Once the proudest warrior of the Trident Alliance, the most relentless enemy anyone could have, he has become the crown jewel of my achievements. 

To his side, a Shorcu high-priestess drags her feet across the pavement, oblivious to the cries of victory all around her. Her eyes are devoid of any spark, the machinations of her people snuffed out by me. 

“Kilar! Kilar! Kilar!” The crowd starts chanting, and I smirk at my brothers-in-arms, their envy making me hold my chin up high. After years of looking down on me, they have finally come to respect me. Not only that, but they’d give anything to be me. 

Then again, who wouldn’t? 

I have crushed the Coalition under my heel, and turned the Trident Alliance into dust. I have made my enemies bleed and cry in shame, and my name has been heard all across the galaxy. 

“Kilar! Kilar! Kilar!”

That’s me, alright. 

“Kilar! Wake up!”

Around me, the crowd starts melting into nothingness, the towers and battlecruisers turning into powdered sand that the wind carries away. The avenue before me crumbles before it vanishes, and the cries of all the adoring voices are silenced forever.  

“Kilar, wake up, you lazy fuck!”

I open my eyes and look up at Mokur’s glowering face, his brow creased with disapproval. Squad leader of The Red Blade’s assault team, he isn’t exactly known as a forgiving officer. 

“I told you what would happen if I caught you sleeping on the job,” he continues, the anger in his eyes almost palpable. His lips are pursed so tightly they’re nothing but a thin white line, and I can tell that he’s struggling against the urge to wrap his hands around my neck. “What kind of example do you think you’re setting in here?”

“A well-rested warrior is a good warrior,” I tell him, lazily putting my hands behind my head. Stretching my back, I yawn loudly. “I mean, it’s not like there’s anything for me to do in here.” I wave my hand at the cramped room I’m in, a dozen Kraaj officers hunched over their holographic terminals. The constant beeping of our radars fills the room, and the sound of it is only occasionally punctuated by the yawning of a tired soldier. 

“You know what your job is,” Mokur says. “You ought to keep your eyes glued to your terminal, and look for any—”

“Yeah, I know.” Yawning once more, I lean back in my seat and prop my feet up on the desk. “I have to keep my eyes peeled for any odd activity in Luvon’s orbit. Seriously, give me a break. Do you seriously think we’ll be able to find Zuvok like this?” 

“We have to try.” Shaking his head, he rakes one hand over his face and sighs. “Now do your job. If I find you asleep one more time, I’m going to have you lashed. Then it’ll be latrine duty for the rest of the month.” 

“Wouldn’t be any shittier than being here,” I grumble, but Mokur has already turned to leave. I follow him with my gaze and, once I’m sure he won’t come back into the room, I close my eyes once more. Unfortunately, my dreams of glory don’t return. Instead, I’m left with nothing but the beeping sound of our terminals—a sad soundtrack for a pathetic job.

I was promised Luvon would be the place to be, a border planet that would inevitably be attacked by the Coalition, but nothing of interest has happened so far. You’d think both the IHC and the Trident Alliance would be up in arms, all with us Kraaj occupying a pacific human colony, but it seems like no one gives a shit about this planet. Even the Coalition doesn’t seem too worried about the fact that the Kraaj have set up shop in their border. 

Yeah, it sucks in here. 

For a moment I actually believed things would get interesting, all with Zuvok the Terror attacking our supply lines, but that Vakutan asshole seems more interested in performing hit-and-run attacks than truly facing us head-on. 

Zuvok the Terror? More like Zuvok the Terrier. 

It annoys me to no end. Instead of having the chance to kill one of the most renowned Vakutan soldiers, I have to sit here in this damp little room looking for signs of his stupid ship. 

If only Mokur transferred me to some ground-based force. If I had my boots on the ground, at least I could keep myself busy with all the human riots going down on the surface. As it is, I’m holed up here with nothing to do but dream of a victory that never comes. 

“I’ve got another one down,” one of the radar engineers says, and everyone in the room turns to him. “Another containership has disappeared. It should’ve gotten here two hours ago, but I can’t find its signal anywhere.” 

“Zuvok,” I merely say. “That bastard has a hard-on for our supply lines.” 

“You can’t wage war without effective supply lines,” another engineer says, “and he’s been at it for a couple of weeks now. He keeps that up and I don’t know how we’ll feed the troops on the ground.” 

“This is fucking bullshit,” I mutter under my breath. How the hell are we supposed to fight that Vakutan bastard if he never comes out of the shadows? I’m tired of hearing his name whispered in The Red Blade’s corridors, almost as if he’s some kind of mythical creature that has risen from the depths of the galaxy to devour us. If only I could take that bastard head on. 

“Someone should talk with Captain Rokav,” the engineer continues. “We should escalate this situation. Maybe we can convince Magistrate Kavan to ask for reinforcements. There’s no way we’re going to stop Zuvok with so little ships stationed in orbit.” 

Alright, screw this. 

I’m not going to stay here and listen to these little bitches tremble in fear. Jumping out of my chair, I make me a beeline toward the door. Even though I still have three hours left in my shift, no one says a word as I bolt out of the room. 

After all, they know better than to talk to me. 

I might live at the bottom of the Kraaj hierarchy, but I still have a reputation. Not a reputation that makes others respect me, but at least they fear me. Some might say that I’m just a lowly grunt, but I prefer to think of myself as the grunt. I don’t care about strategy, tactics or any of that shit that leaves you with fried circuitry and scrambled brains—just point me in the right direction and let me take care of the rest. 

Unfortunately, I’m a victim of my own success. 

Both the captain and Moruk were afraid I’d wreak havoc on Luvon’s surface, and so I’ve been forbidden to leave The Red Blade until there’s a serious Coalition attack. That, of course, means that I’ve been trapped inside this ship for months, no reprieve in sight. 

Mulling over my situation, I decide to pay a visit to the rec room instead of going to my quarters. In there, a few off-duty grunts like me are busy drinking themselves to death, a barrel of liquor propped up on top of their table.

“Weren’t you working the radar shift tonight?” One of them asks me, and I reply with a shrug. I make my way toward the group, and they shuffle in their seats so that there’s a space for me. 

“Who cares about radar shift?” I grumble, grabbing a pitcher of liquor and downing half of it with one single gulp. “It’s not like we’ll ever find Zuvok. Not to mention that I haven’t seen a Coalition ship in weeks.”

“Maybe that’s for the best.” Leaning on his seat, Nakro refills his glass and looks straight at me. A gunnery officer, he has had nothing to do these past few months other than ensure our ammo isn’t eaten away by rust. “Zuvok’s one tough fucker. I heard he has a human female with him too.” 

A few of the soldiers around the table nod carefully, and it doesn’t take a genius to realize these assholes are afraid of Zuvok. They’d probably piss their pants if they ever saw him on the battlefield. 

“He has a woman,” I repeat after Nakro. “Big fucking deal.” 

“C’mon, don’t be jealous, Kilar.” Throwing me an amused smile, Nakro looks around the table as if looking for backup. “Just because you can’t get a woman, doesn’t mean you’re a lesser warrior.” 

I take a deep breath, trying to focus on the fact that snapping Nakro’s neck would land me in the brig. These guys know that I’m a far superior warrior, and they know that I could kill them all in under a minute...and yet, they can’t stop themselves from puffing up their chests and talking shit. All because I live at the bottom of the fucking hierarchy. 

“Why would I even want a woman?” I ask him, fully aware that the rest of the table has grown silent, everyone listening to our little exchange. This isn’t the first time the subject of human females has come up and, more often than not, these conversations always end with punches being thrown. “I didn’t come here on vacation. I came here to fight.” 

“You’ve gotta admit, though,” he continues, fully knowing that he’s getting under my skin, “all of the greats have managed to get a woman. Look at our former captain. He got one of those human females, hasn’t he? And now he’s running things as the Magistrate. That guy that used to work for Udrak also got one, and he became District Chief. As for Zuvok...well, everyone knows about Zuvok.” 

“Any asshole with money can get a woman.” 

“It’s not that easy.” His tone acquires an almost conspiratorial edge, and all the other soldiers lean close to hear him. “See, you can buy a woman and have her as your property. But these human females...it’s not easy to have them stand by your side.” 

“And what the hell do you know about that?”

“I’ve worked security for a lot of auctions before we came to Luvon,” he replies. “I’m telling you, they’re not like our females. Shit, they’re not like the females from any other species. They’re fiery, stubborn, and smart. They don’t submit to anyone, at least the ones that are worthy. You really can’t deny it, Kilar: only the greatest among us have managed to convince a woman to stand by their side.”

“It’s just like I told you before,” Krivo speaks up. A navigation officer, he has an unhealthy obsession with human culture, and he’s always carrying at least a couple of books with him. “A woman’s heart is the hardest thing in the universe to conquer.” 

I want to pierce my eardrums and gauge my eyeballs out. 

Do I really have to listen to this bullshit, day in and day out? Before we arrived on Luvon, all you needed was to slaughter everyone on the battlefield in order to be considered a great warrior. Now, a lot of assholes think that the true mark of a special Kraaj is a human mate. Either that or these guys have been in space for too long. Maybe radiation has started to melt their pea-sized brains. 

“I’m just as good as Kavan or Raxtar,” I find myself saying and, once more, everyone turns to look at me. 

“Yeah, well, but you don’t have a woman.” 

“I’m going to get one,” I continue, pushing my chair back as I go up to my feet. “I’m going to conquer one of them, and then maybe you guys will shut the fuck up with all this bullshit.” Before they have the chance to reply, I turn on my heels and stalk out of the rec room. 

This is it.

I’ve had it with this madness. 

I’ve proved myself on the battlefield, but apparently that’s not enough. If I need to get a woman for these assholes to respect me, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do. In fact, that’s something I’ve been preparing myself for. 

Once in my quarters, I close the door behind me and sit behind my holo-terminal. Booting it up, I use my credentials to look for an ongoing auction on the planetary network. The really reputable ones require for you to be physically there, but some allow for remote bidding. Sure, more likely than not you’ll be bidding on convicts and whatnot, but who cares? 

It only takes me a couple of minutes before I find what I’m looking for. 

There’s a small auction about to take place in Hela, Luvon’s capital city, and I put my name up on the bidders list. Drumming my fingers on the table, I wait as the video stream takes over my terminal, a seedy little room in a bar popping up in front of me. There are eight women standing on the auction block, all of them wearing the traditional hooded robes.

“Let’s get started,” I whisper, cracking my knuckles as the Kraaj guarding the women starts to disrobe them. The first ones look like average females, nothing truly special about them, and for a moment I start thinking that to bid on an auction is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. 

That doesn’t last. 

When the fifth woman on the auction block loses her robe, my heart quickly rams itself against my ribs. She’s slightly taller than the other women, and locks of dirty blonde hair cascade down her shoulders. Her eyes are kind, a flicker of intelligence hiding behind that gentleness, and her cherry lips look like the most dangerous kind of bait. When I finally take in her figure, her slender curves the most amazing thing I’ve ever laid eyes on, I don’t hesitate before I start bidding on her. 

I watch the numbers roll across the screen as other Kraaj try to outbid me, and that just makes me lose it. Before I can stop myself, I input every single krat I have into the system, all my savings on the line.

A single words takes over my screen.

Processing.

I don’t even breath. I just keep on staring at that word until it finally changes.

Bid accepted.

Relaxing, I close my eyes for a second and pinch the bridge of my nose. When I look back at the screen, the image of the woman I’ve just bought occupies its entire length. 

“Hara Millor,” I whisper, reading her name out loud and allowing the sound of it to roll over my tongue. Not a bad name. Nodding to myself, I then grit my teeth and ponder on the journey I’m about to embark on.

I’ve bought a woman, and now all I have to do is conquer her heart.

Whatever the fuck that means. 

I’ve always thought that ‘to conquer a heart’ involved a blade sharp enough to cut it out of someone’s chest, but when it comes to female humans you have to do it differently. Now, I’ve always preferred to charge without a strategy, but this time I’m willing to open an exception. If I am to follow in Kavan and Raxtar’s footsteps, if I am to earn the glory of having a human female, and if I am to have the respect of all these assholes that look down on me...then I have to do it right. 

Thankfully, I’ve got a secret weapon.

Reaching for one of the drawers on my desk, I grab a folded leaflet and place it down on the desk. I look at it with reverence, knowing that this small piece of paper holds all the secrets that I need. 

It was smuggled into the ship without anyone knowing, and I had to pay a pretty penny to get my hands on it. According to the guy I bought it from, it contains strategies that have been passed down from generation to generation, secrets that have been whispered and rarely written down. In a nutshell, this leaflet contains the map to my eventual victory. 

The title? 

Yeah, I thought you’d ask.

It’s called How to Win a Woman’s Heart in Ten Easy Steps.