Chapter 4.2
He found the thought disturbed him. That wasn’t the only
things that disturbed him. He let his hand drift up to Varo’s muddy locks.
First thing he planned to do was get Varo cleaned. All his people had black
hair, and he couldn’t wait to see the brilliance of Varo’s, once it was free of
the mud.
Soon, he promised
himself silently. He allowed himself one last touch then strode down the aisle,
boots clicking on the floor, to the cockpit. Time to get his mind out of his
pants and back on his responsibilities. Funny, but until now, that had never
been a problem.
He sat and activated the command console.
Moments later they were airborne, but his mind was only
half on the return trip. He knew better than to do this—distraction could get
you killed, after all—but he couldn’t help himself. Luckily, unless the Yesri
decided to test the collars all at once, not much demanded his attention as he
flew. He’d made this trip millions of times.
No, what occupied his thoughts were those kisses they’d
shared earlier. The explosion of passion had startled him. In all his other
encounters, that had never happened. Just thinking about that tanned skin and
blond hair had his cock reacting.
Even as desire flamed to life in him, so did revulsion.
This was his enemy. If given the opportunity, the Yesri would rape his planet
for its abundance of Black Phospolrock. He discreetly readjusted himself, a
small mocking smile crossing his face.
At least he could take comfort in knowing the Yesri prince
wasn’t any happier. As they flew through the darkened skies, he reached in his
vest and removed the red sash. He could still smell the intriguing scent of
Varo, even though his own scent was now included in the mix.
Their combined smell was pleasant—a blend of light airiness
with undertones of darkness. Adlar silently
laughed at his thoughts. The sexy creature wearing his control collar was
turning him into a romantic.
His mood plunged as he examined the thought. That could be dangerous.
There was no doubt Varo would gut him if given the chance. Fracking
Yesri would probably enjoy it too. He’d have to be careful and not let his
guard down, at least until he broke Varo. He shoved the unsettling thoughts
back as they approached the capital city of El-Deiray.
Signaling Command, he informed them of his destination and
status. The enormous palace entrance, carved directly into the sandstone, loomed
before him. It was beautifully intimidating and an engineering marvel.
The hand carved detail and towering columns proclaimed an
understanding of the surrounding habitat. While there were indeed jungles on
Helkan, there were mountainous deserts and canyons too.
Bypassing the palace, he flew the shuttle to Holding Area
One. Adlar landed the shuttle, and their prisoners were walked one-by-one to
Intake. The plain white room was large, and contained a seating area and three
separate chambers used for the scans.
This was where they checked prisoners for hidden weapons
and existing health issues. Their stats and fingerprints were then logged into
the database.
A flurry of whispers greeted them as they walked the cold
gray hallways.
“—fracking Yesri’s should be—”
“That many got through?”
“—such tanned skin, I didn’t know they were so—”
“One has brown eyes!”
“—only their royalty have that color eyes, right? How
interesting.”
“He’s not royalty now.”
“—what an odd hair color. It’s so light and—”
“Should have just killed them and been done with it.”
The Yesri prisoners were certainly making an impression,
and not all of it good from what he heard. The last remark earned the speaker a
glare. The other Helkan blanched, quickly lowering his eyes. Satisfied he’d
made his point, Adlar turned his attention to the scanning process.
One unit hour later, it was finally their turn. The other
warriors had left with their prisoners. The room had quieted now that it was
just them and the technician.
Adlar pointed to the chamber that would scan for weapons or
explosives. “In you go.”
Varo frowned at the chamber. “All of our weapons were
disabled when we went through the SSN, as you well know.”
“True, but you could have imbedded explosives.” Adlar
shrugged. “Not likely since your mission wasn’t to invade, just monitor. I also
can’t see your king rigging you, or any one near you, with explosives.”
Varo rubbed the bridge of his nose, a strangled laugh
escaping. “Don’t be so sure of that.”
Interesting. That’s
something that definitely needs to be explored. “Then he’s a fool. Now,
step inside the chamber. The scan is painless, and once cleared, another scan
will commence. That one checks for health issues.”
“I’m healthy too. I’ve had regular scans since I was born.”
“Lucky you. From what I’ve heard, the health care provided
to the poor on your planet is worthless.”
“And of course yours is better.” Varo stepped into the
chamber.
“We all receive the same benefits, and everyone has access
to all services. So yes, ours is better.”
Varo snorted. “Right. Your lowest class—which is probably
your slaves—receives the same care as you and your brother, the king?”
“Indeed, they do.” The chamber door closed, shutting Varo
inside. Adlar flipped a switch on the control panel so they could continue
speaking. “And for your information, there aren’t that many slaves here. Most
races respect our desire to be left alone—unlike your people who declared war
on us for a resource you wanted even after being told no.”
Black Phospolrock crystals regulated reactions between
matter and antimatter. When matter and antimatter came into contact, they annihilated—or converted directly
into enormous quantities of energy needed to drive the warp core used by
starships and other massive generators.
Before the discovery of
Black Phospolrock, diamonds were used to regulate matter/antimatter
annihilation, and the cost was prohibitive for many societies.
Varo stood still as the scan started. “Because your king’s
reaction was ridiculous. You’re
sitting on practically an endless supply of the cursed crystals. They’re cheaper
to buy and much more of a stable regulator. It’s the perfect alternative. Or it
would be if you Helkans would just agree to share the massive deposit located
on your planet. Instead, you refuse access to the crystals.”
The crystals were indeed a cheap source of energy. The
crystals could also be used with the electric generator grids that powered many
cities on various planets.
“We have that right, Varo. It is our planet.”
TBC
