His Highness the Duke

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Aeron wondered at the easy agreement, but didn’t stop to question her luck. A sense of urgency filled her each time she thought of the Qurilixen. “I have a ship that can get us off planet, but—”

  “Yeah, yeah, tell me all about it in flight, sis,” she said easily. “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up in space.”

  Aeron bit back a scream as her body slammed hard into the right side of the cockpit. Riona flew like she had never taken a lesson in her life. Just as Aeron was about to insist upon taking over the controls, Riona jerked the ship in the opposite direction. Aeron skidded across the floor to smack into the other side.

  “Try to hold on there, sis!” Riona said, grinning.

  Blast it! Her sister was enjoying this.

  Riona straightened the flight path and engaged hyper drive. Aeron moaned and pushed herself up. She grabbed the back of a chair to steady herself in case her sister decided to slam on the controls again. Lights began to blur on the viewing screen and the ride became smoother. The view of Torgan’s surface faded from the ship’s sensors.

  “I can’t believe you, Ri,” Aeron hissed. “I’m with you for two seconds and we’re already being chased off a planet because you owe money to a space pirate. I knew coming to you was a mistake.” She half expected someone to blast the ship. If not for her ordering a biological quarantine of the Torgan space docks under the guise of Federation authority, Riona’s pirate pursuers would probably be giving chase. As it stood, the space pirate would have a hard time getting clearance for takeoff.

  Riona pretended not to hear her, as she pushed several buttons on the console. “Ok, you got me out here. We’re in space. What’s so important you had to slum it with the lowlifes?”

  Aeron frowned as her sister turned away from the control panel to let the ship guide itself. “I need your help. I have to get to a planet on the outer edge of the Y quadrant. I can’t keep this ship.”

  Riona arched a brow. Aeron hated that smug look.

  “The planet is called Qurilixen,” Aeron explained. “The Federation has no authority there, and quite frankly little interest in it or the people, but for their mining operations. The Draig and Var people who inhabit the planet keep to themselves and by all reports live quite primitively. About five months ago, I intercepted some data that leads me to believe the people there might be in trouble. The Federation refused to get involved. So long as they get the ore mined on the planet one way or another, they’re keeping their hands clean of the whole situation. But, after seeing our home world explode, I can’t stand by and watch another race of people get wiped out—especially over something like mining rights. If something happened and I did nothing—”

  “So let me get this straight.” Riona’s self-satisfied look only intensified. “You left work without permission and you stole a Federation ship, which you now need to ditch because you’re heading to a primitive planet in the Y and don’t want the military tracking you. And you need my help to get you there.”

  “Yes.” Aeron bit her lip and nodded. “Will you help me?”

  A slow smile spread over Riona’s lips. “Ah, little sis, I’m so proud right now I might start crying. Of course I’ll help you break a bunch of Federation laws. Besides, you know me, I’m always up for a little mischief and adventure.”

  “Mischief and adventure?” Aeron frowned. She would hardly dismiss her self-given mission as something so trivial. “Is that what you call what just happened down there? One minute you’re playing games and the next minute we’re being chased out of port by space pirates? You’re lucky I was able to invoke Federation privileges and get us out of there before the pirates could make chase.”

  “Got anything to eat in this floating bucket?” Riona stood, completely ignoring her sister’s irritation. “I haven’t had a decent meal since before the tournament.”

  “If you found yourself decent employment, you would eat at decent intervals and wouldn’t have to subject yourself to… to…”

  “To having fun?” Riona ducked out of the cockpit. “To living on my own terms? To… Hey, never mind, found the food simulator! You want something?”

  “A different sister?” Aeron whispered irately. “One that’s sane and normal and not a criminal.”

  “This is your brilliant plan?” Aeron stared at her sister in disbelief. She threw the flyer she’d gotten from one of the other passengers onto Riona’s bed.

  Riona lifted her head and slid the printed flyer under her face and read aloud, “Wanted: Galaxy Brides Corporation seeking 46 fertile, able-bodied Earth females of early childbearing years and A5+ health status for marriage to strong, healthy Qurilixian males at their annual Breeding Festival. Possibility of royal attendance. Must be eager bed-partners, hard workers. Virginity a plus. Apply with A5 health documents, travel papers, and IQ screen to: Galaxy Brides, Phantom Level 6, X Quadrant, Earthbase 5792461.” Riona lifted her eyes, glancing up from where the personal beauty droid massaged the muscles in her back. “So you found out, did you?”

  All around them was every starship convenience known to humanoids—beauty droids, cosmetic enhancements, top of the line food simulators that could materialize anything they desired, an oversized bed to sleep in. Aeron paced the length of Riona’s quarters and then back again. The room was filled with machines and blinking sensors that illuminated in sections as her presence registered.

  Aeron paused at an oval window full of sparkling stars. “You said you found the perfect transport. You said it wouldn’t cost a single space credit. You said this ship was a relief mission to the natives of Qurilixen. You said you could get us to Qurilixen without any problems!”

  “I received a free body lift this morning. I am really not seeing a problem,” Riona answered. She seemed more bored than concerned.

  Aeron frowned. “You didn’t need a body lift.”

  “It was free.” She arched a brow, looking like it was the most reasonable excuse in the world. “Plus free food, free massages, free beauty droid services…”

  Lowering her voice, Aeron glanced at the beauty droid and stepped closer. “Galaxy Brides? Your solution was to sign up to be bartered brides? What happens when we get there? They are expecting you to get married. You can’t possibly be serious about binding yourself to a stranger.”

  “Actually,” Riona said louder, not worried about the robot servant. It did as it was programmed and nothing else. She pushed up to sit on the edge of her bed. “This is the perfect transport. It is a free ride and a pretty happy-happy one at that. Besides, I would argue that primitive males in need of brides, or else their entire race will die off, is a relief mission of sorts. Isn’t that what you’re trying to prevent? An entire race of people dying off?”

  “Don’t be dramatic,” Aeron said.

  “Who’s being dramatic? Go check out the planetary uploads the ship provides.” Riona closed her eyes and concentrated, clearly trying to assess new information she’d recently uploaded into her brain. With any upload, it took awhile for all the facts to commit themselves to memory. “Qurilixian women are rare due to the planet’s blue radiation. Over the generations it has altered the men’s genetics to produce only strong, large male, warrior heirs. Maybe one in a thousand babies turn out to be a girl.” Riona opened her eyes. “Poor lugs.” Then closing them again, she continued, “The fact that they have no women of their own was why the services of corporations like Galaxy Brides are so invaluable. In return, the Qurilixian people mine valuable metal that is only found in their caves. The metal is a great power source for long-voyaging starships, all but useless to the Qurilixian people who prefer living as simply as possible, as they are not known space explorers.” Riona took a deep breath and gave an obnoxiously smug smile. “But you know all about the mine thing, don’t you, Federation.”

  “Don’t call me Federation,” Aeron grimaced. “I thought you’d at least grown up a little in the last five years.”

  “Grow out of irritating you?” Riona laughed dismissingly. Then
, pretending to study her newly manicured fingernails, she said, “Besides, dear sister, they are expecting us to get married. I had to forge your signature to get you on the ship. Really, I should think you would be grateful.”

  “Grateful? You are truly delusional if you think—”

  “Yes, grateful!” Riona scowled. “You show up out of nowhere, ruining my victory—”

  “You got us chased off Torgan by pirate loan sharks—” Aeron tried to interrupt.

  “That’s because you made me lose my bet. You couldn’t have waited, oh, say two seconds until after my throw?”

  “You almost crashed into the ceiling of the docking platform with your reckless flying.”

  “Blast it, Aeron, I would have been set for life! I’m lucky all that space pirate did was chase me off the planet. If you would have just waited a few seconds, I would have won fifty-thousand space credits off a side bet. Instead, I owe fifty thousand. I should have thrown you into a black hole or better yet, given you to the pirates to cover part of the debt. Then I wouldn’t have had to save your ungrateful ass from them! And I didn’t hit the ceiling. Give me some credit. I know how to fly a ship—better than you, I might add. I didn’t ask you to come to Torgan. You did that on your own. You came to me. You ruined my life and in return I’m doing you a favor.” Riona glared at her sister. “So if you’re keeping score—”

  “I’m trying to save a planet.” This was why they didn’t talk. Every conversation seemed to explode into a fight. Aeron tried to be the reasonable one. “I’m sorry if I think saving a world is slightly more important than your game.”

  “It’s my livelihood, not just a game.” Riona pushed a robotic hand that tried to reach for her hair, batting it away. “You always do that. You belittle what I do.”

  “You play games, Ri. Don’t pretend that is an actual career.”

  “It is a career. It’s my career. It’s not like there is a big list of options for someone like me. Would you rather I take off my clothes with the Galaxy Playmates? Would that be a respectable enough paycheck for you?”

  “You are being dramatic.”

  “You are being a colossal spacebitc—”

  “I will not let what happened to our home world happen to the people of Qurilixen. They’re primitive and cannot protect themselves from a highly advanced race of aliens.” Aeron had already told her sister pretty much everything but felt the need to reiterate. “As long as the Federation gets what they want, they don’t care what happens. I can’t stand by and do nothing. If something happened and I did not do everything in my power to stop it… Ri, they need help. Just like our people did.”

  Riona’s expression hardened. “Don’t talk about our people. It’s bad luck to speak of the dead.”

  “I honor them by remembering them,” Aeron countered.

  “Why would I want to remember a giant minefield of floating rock?”

  “Our home world was beautiful,” Aeron defended.

  “Until it exploded into a billion pieces,” Riona yelled. “It’s nothing but a black empty space now. Even the meteors have floated away.”

  “This isn’t just about our childhood home. This is about a planet that needs saving. If the Tyoe succeed in their plans, they will kill everyone over mining rights. I can’t let the Qurilixian people become exterminated when I can try to stop it.”

  “Send them a communication,” Riona muttered.

  “I couldn’t. You know very well that in my position the Federation monitors all of my communications and, regardless, the Draig are not part of the Federation alliance. It’s not like I can get the local nobility to take my transmission. As much as I’d like to be able to just type them a letter telling them to be careful, that wasn’t an option.” Aeron frowned. “Sorry you were so inconvenienced.”

  “Oh, that sounded sincere.” Sarcasm dripped from Riona’s tone.

  Aeron didn’t answer.

  “You act like I’m heartless. I’m here, aren’t I? You wanted my help and I helped you. You wanted a ride and I found you a ride. It’s not like trips to the outer Y quadrant are around every corner, let alone trips to an isolated planet. A planet, by the way, that houses two warring classes of people, which necessitate landing on the right side of the planet. That’s a pretty tall order, sis. Would you rather I hijacked a ship? Broke a few more laws you’re so keen on observing?”

  Aeron opened her mouth, but didn’t get a chance to answer.

  “Listen, we go, we smile, we pretend to consider our options, we drink, we dance or whatever it is these Draigs do for fun, and then you do what you have to and we leave.” Riona began walking aggressively toward her as she continued, “Now, we have a long flight so I suggest you take advantage of all the services. Go upload mundane planetary and Qurilixen species facts into that brain of yours. Or better yet, relax, if you even know what that is. Have permanent polish applied to your nails. Get your breasts enhanced and enlarged so the other militants will have a reason to promote you to head analyst. Get that boulder removed from your tight ass. I don’t care what it is…” She ran her hand over a wall sensor. The door to the hallway slid open. “So long as it’s not in here. Have a good flight, sis, see you when we land.”

  Riona gave her a light push, forcing Aeron into the hall before shutting the door in her face. Shaking with the kind of rage only her sister could produce, Aeron marched down the metal corridor to her assigned room. Under her breath, she muttered, “I hope one of the barbarians takes you home with him as a wife, and I hope they are the foulest, ugliest creatures to have ever lived!”

  Breeding Festival Grounds, Outside the Draig Palace, Planet of Qurilixen

  Lord Bronislaw, High Duke of Draig, eyed the festival grounds before him. Servants busily worked to make sure everything was in order before the shipment of Galaxy Brides arrived. Bron wasn’t necessarily looking forward to the event, being as it was his seventh year in a row, but he was duty bound to attend—especially this year, as it was the first year his four royal cousins, the Princes of Draig, would be searching for their wives. For that he was grateful. The royal family was the only family on the planet who outranked his, and the people’s attention had predictably shifted from his marital pursuits to the princes’. In fact, it was almost as if the people had forgotten he was attending. As an honorable nobleman, his repeated failures were not a kind reminder to others hoping to find a bride someday.

  Bron wished he could forget he was attending. This night weighed heavily on the back of his mind all year round. Would this be the year the gods blessed him? Or would this be another failed attempt? Would he go home empty-handed to the disappointed stares and mutterings of his subjects? Looking up at the green-tinted sky, he could already see the telltale darkening of the normally light heavens. Night only came to the planet of Qurilixen once a year. It is part of what made the Breeding Festival so sacred to his people. It was the only time couples could marry.

  Normally, a soft green haze of light plagued the planet’s sunny surface. Qurilixen had three suns—two yellow and one blue—and one moon, which made for a particularly bright planet. To the left of the valley a colossal forest stretched into the distance. The green leaves of the foliage were overlarge due to the excessive heat and moisture they received. The trees towered high above the planet’s surface, thicker than some of the smaller homes in the nearby village.

  “Here we go again,” his brother, Alek, said as he reined his ceffyl beside Bron’s. He automatically gripped the center horn of the beast to keep his balance on the wide back as it shifted. The animal had a fanged mouth that opened with a hiss of its long tongue. It had the eyes of a reptile, the face and hooves of a beast of burden, and the body of a small elephant. Like all ceffyls in their stable, it was a fine steed.

  This was to be Alek’s fifth attempt and he looked forward to it with all the excitement exhibited by Bron. The second youngest, Mirek, faced his fourth festival. The youngest of them, Vladan, came for his first. Bron pitied Vladan for the
disappointment the night would bring. He could remember his own first ceremony as if it had been the night before. He had stood with the bachelors and waited, his heart full of hope and his stomach in his throat as he searched the faces of the eligible women for the one that would be his. Only, the sacred crystal about his neck never glowed to signify he had found his true mate, his wife. He had tried to warn his youngest brother against such hope, as did the others. Vladan still carried that spark in his eyes as he looked down at the valley of pyramid-shaped tents decorated by waving banners.

  As Mirek and Vladan reined their mounts next to them on the hill overlooking the festival grounds, Vladan said, “Does it always look like this?”

  Bron frowned. Vladan had not heeded their example. Though he tried to hide his emotions, the youngest brother still believed this night might prove lucky.

  “Yes,” Alek said. “Though they still must set up a banquet tent for potential brides and fire pits around the campsite. From this position it will look as if the entire valley is on fire.” At Vladan’s questioning look, he added, “We camp here after the festivities. If you do not find a bride, you do not go to the tents. Whichever tents are empty are taken down early in the morning by servants. No one wants to see a reminder of the failed attempts.”

  “So we will gather here tonight after the ceremony,” Bron stated. He really didn’t expect to take home a bride, and if they camped on the cliff they could make a faster departure in the morning. He had matters to attend to at his castle home.

  “Sounds good. I have mares that are about to drop,” Alek answered. As Top Breeder on the planet, it was Alek’s duty to see to the ceffyl stock. They had a gestation period of three years but only made it to term about half the time. Overseeing the birthing process was very important.

  “We should greet our cousins and tell the king we have arrived,” Mirek said. He was the first to move.