His to Claim

by Taylor Vaughn

  Had I missed some important point?

  A Kel never admits to mistakes, my father’s voice intones inside my head, instructive as ever, even though he passed into the next realm nearly a solar ago.

  “You will repeat your last point,” I command the main diplomat.

  The diplomat nods, his expression respectful if not quite deferential as he repeats, “The emperor has agreed to most of your terms, Kel D’Rek of Xalthuria. In addition, we will provide you with access to our vast arsenal of weapons and ally with you in conflicts with other races and/or systems. We will also relinquish our occupation of the Darlanz Asteroid Belt in exchange for half of the hu’man colony. I also put forth that if all parties agree to these terms, I believe our races can go on in peace and begin to repair much of the damage the war and the Extinction Virus has wrought upon our populations.”

  “Then I said, ‘I agree,’” N’Ure reminds me, touching his ridges in polite deference. “But, of course, the final decision is yours, my Kel.”

  Yes, it was. And N’Ure is correct. Our former enemy’s terms are more than fair. Some might even call them generous. Having studied Kaidorian history thoroughly, I cannot remember any of their conflicts with other species ever ending so pacifically, with both sides agreeing to pave a path forward together.

  I can tell everyone expects me to quickly agree and be done with it. But…

  Ki’Ra would never forgive me.

  Essh! There’s that infernal thought again. Her pain does not matter. It should not matter when the future of my people is at stake. Yet it does.

  Stalling for time, I pretend to consider the matter while discreetly making a deeper study of Emperor Zalias. We are of equal status among our respective races, but I must admit he strikes a much more intimidating visage.

  He is larger than everyone else at the table, and even many of the soldiers he has brought along as a protection force. His horns gleam bright enough to make me wonder if he had them polished and sharpened for this meeting. And though his eyes have remained a neutral silvery blue throughout the proceedings, I can sense their underlying blackness in the set of his thick jaw.

  Savage.

  This emperor, the entire race strikes me as savage. And I cannot imagine what they’d do to a hu’man woman as fragile as my Ki’Ra.

  Yet, this is a good deal. A very good deal….

  The image of Ki’Ra smiling up at me as I donned my armored clothes suddenly floats across my eyes. And I can all but feel the press of her lips against my forehead. How many times have I touched that spot when no one was looking, trying to recapture the memory of our parting?

  I miss her. Funny, I had no word for this feeling days ago, yet I feel the emotion as deeply as an open wound now.

  “What say you, Kel D’Rek of Xalthuria?” Zalias asks, breaking me out of my silent musings.

  I glance up sharply. These are the most words he has spoken in five days of negotiations. And his eyes have darkened to true blue. Not battle rage, but I can clearly sense his impatience.

  “I will think on this,” I answer slowly.

  N’Ure leans over and whispers, “My Kel, it is a more than generous offer—”

  “I wish to ponder this further,” I tell Zalias before he can finish, forcefully silencing my one diplomat.

  A chuckle erupts from the other side of the table, and I look up to find Emperor Zalias laughing, his eyes now a light blue.

  I furrow my ridges and narrow my gaze. “You will tell me what amuses you.”

  From the corner of my eye I see T’Kan move closer, as if preparing for sudden violence.

  “Calm yourself Xalthurian General,” Zalias says to T’Kan over my shoulder.

  He then returns his light blue gaze to me. “It amuses me that you believe me to be a patient male. I am not.”

  With a blink his eyes go from light blue to black, and his voice becomes little more than a series of growls and snarls as he says, “I will give you three moons, and then you will find me on your doorstep. And if you make me hunt down your planet, I will not ask for half your humans, I will take them all, including the one I am told now sleeps upon your mats.”

  I surge to my feet, ready to fight the broad-chested emperor or any other male who dare threaten my Ki’Ra. Just as abruptly T’Kan and the rest of my force falls in behind me, prepared to fight to the death even if we are outnumbered four-to-one.

  Yet Zalias remains in his seat, the lazy smile lounging like a house pet underneath his black battle gaze. And though his warriors observe us ready to battle, they do not move from their spots against the wall behind him.

  “You have nothing to fear from me, Kel D’Rek of Xalthuria…now.” With those words and another blink, the emperor’s eyes return to silvery blue. “But I will give you fair warning, the future of my people comes before all treasure. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that we thrive.”

  Since none of us were allowed to bring weapons to the meeting, I consider lunging across the table and killing the savage emperor with my bare hands.

  As if sensing my intention, T’Kan moves forward to stand beside me. Willing to die for his Kel.

  But then reason finally catches up to my raging thoughts. As arrogant as the emperor might appear, at the moment we both know that neither of our sides can afford to partake in another devastating war.

  The extinction virus has made an uncertain mess of both or species’ futures. And the mere fact that the Kaidorians requested these peace negotiations tells me they, too, are much more concerned with the continuation of their species, than personal feelings and the three generation claim war we have waged over this belt.

  Xalthuria first, I remind myself as I return to my seat and motion for T’Kan to return to his post.

  With an awkward click, N’Ure thanks the emperor for allowing us more time to consider his offer and assures him we will have an answer for him soon.

  “See that you do,” the emperor answers N’Ure. While looking at me.

  Our negotiations end a day early, but as we leave the station, nothing feels resolved, in neither my mind nor my chest.

  The return journey to our ship is both silent and tense. I expect for N’Ure to argue on behalf of the Kaidorians as soon as we board. But most likely reading my mood, he wisely chooses to remain quiet as T’Kan issues orders to prepare for take-off, a full day before previously scheduled.

  It is not until hours into our flight that N’Ure finds me on the observation deck staring sightlessly at the colorful streaks left behind by our faster than light travel.

  “My Kel, I am aware of your great anger over the Kaidorian Emperor’s threat to the hu’man you have chosen to breed. I would not blame you if you refused to have any further dealings with him or his uncivilized race. His words were not respectful, as is common with those savages.”

  I agree, but remain quiet, sensing a “however” at the end of my prime minister’s statement.

  “However,” N’Ure continues soon after, just as expected, “before you make your final decision, I would humbly request that you look over the findings in the report you asked me to curate on the New Terrhan colony.”

  I furrow my ridges. “The report is not due until three weeks from now.”

  “Indeed it was, my Kel,” N’Ure answers with a deferential bow. “However, seeing how vexed you had become over our lack of information on the New Terrhan colony, I moved it up to the top of my priority list, in the hopes of assuaging any worries you might have about our supply process.”

  He swipes a hand across the air between us, producing a holo screen glowing with the words, NEW TERRHAN SURVEY. My brow once again furrows when I see the star date written underneath the title.

  “You compiled this report nearly half a moon cycle ago. You will tell me why you have waited until now to present it.”

  N’Ure lowers his eyes even further. “Knowing how important the Kaidorian negotiations were, I did not wish to distract you, especially since the report, as you
said yourself, was not yet due. Please forgive me if you feel I made the wrong decision.”

  As preoccupied as I had become with learning more about the civilization from which my hu’man originally hailed, even I could not find fault with N’Ure’s reasoning. Of course, the peace talks with the Kaidorians had required my full attention.

  “Would you like to review the survey alone, my Kel, or have me stay to answer any inquiries you might have as you go over it?”

  “You are dismissed,” I answer, suspecting I will want to be alone when I read the report—especially if N’Ure believes it will affect my final decision about the Kaidorians.

  Several hours later, I find myself regretting my command to compile the survey. N’Ure’s report is both thorough and damning.

  This time he had provided a much more detailed account of what had happened upon home planet of the New Terrhan colony. Apparently, the planet had not merely been the victim of overpopulation.

  For the vast majority of their history, this home planet had not been much more advanced than the New Terrhans were now. They were so stupid and incurious, it had taken them several millennia to move beyond agricultural hunter gatherers into a technological age.

  But then in a shocking display of short-sightedness, instead of using their technological breakthroughs to advance their civilization and explore the space beyond their one soon-to-be overpopulated planet, they had turned on each other. Every single solar of their record history is marked by war, genocide, and fierce squabbles over matters of religion and most baffling of all, skin color.

  The exploration of space had become a sort of competition between countries, one that no land seemed to take all that seriously. Most mining rights for the lucrative natural resources found on the galaxy’s asteroids and planets had been claimed not by the Earth itself, but by businesses referred to as corporations.

  In fact the entire planet seemed to be run and owned by the merchant class, creating class rifts so wide, often the planet’s poorest citizens were left to fend for themselves when it came to food, shelter, or access to medical care, while the rich merchant class enjoyed the spoils of Earth.

  There were vastly more poor than rich or even middle class on Ki’Ra’s home planet. However, for some reason, those numerous poor had not united as one against the merchant class.

  Instead they had given these merchants what little money they had, often voting against their own interests in hopes of one day becoming part of that merchant class themselves. Even worse, they often squabbled and warred with each other as opposed to working together toward a common cause. For all intents and purposes, the hu’man poor were even more hopelessly short-sighted than the merchant class and were often considered the most violent of their species.

  As it turned out, the New Terrhan colony was made up almost exclusively of these extremely short-sighted and poor hu’mans. Many of them were given seats on their colony ships with the promise of a better life in the distant stars. And unsurprisingly considering their history, conditions on their new planet had already deteriorated to unstable.

  After making the New Terrhan deal, the leaders of the colony had immediately begun to squander the resources they had been given. They claimed to work together for the greater good, but N’Ure suspected the leaders were hoarding much of the supplies they had been given.

  The hu’mans as a race were also dangerously lazy, he reported, often complaining of having too little no matter how much they were given. He feared no matter how many supplies the generous Xalthurians rationed to them, once their population doubled, a new era of squabbling, corruption, and warfare would break out amongst the hu’mans of New Terran.

  The utterly discouraging report ended with a recommendation that the colony be split in half, and placed on opposite sides of the planet, so as to cut down on the race’s apparently natural inclination to fight amongst themselves. Furthermore, N’Ure proposed that several of the hu’man females be brought to Xalthuria for complete reconditioning.

  It is my hope that by allowing the hu’man females to serve our males as bed mates and raise our hybrid young, they will assimilate to the superior Xalthurian way of thinking.

  I fear it may already be too late for the hybrid females currently left behind on the planet, but I would also recommend collecting our female issue from the planet along with the male Xallings from now on. If raised here, we could send these right-thinking hybrid females back to oversee the New Terrhan colonies—

  The blare of my hailing system interrupts my reading.

  “Conversation request from Kel D’Rek.”

  My ridges furrow at the announcement that I am requesting a conversation with myself, until I realize who must be calling me.

  “Put the hail through to my rooms,” I command the ship before exiting the observation deck and rushing down several hallways to get to my private quarters.

  When I walk into the royal suite, I find Ki’Ra lying upon my bed. Life-sized with only a thin blanket covering her body.

  My diijo immediately hardens at the sight of her, even if it is merely in hologram form. And that makes it difficult to keep a straight face as I chastise, “You have somehow figured out how to use my hailing system. Without my permission.”

  “Yup!” Ki’Ra answers with a proud smile. “You were supposed to call me two hours ago, and I was getting impatient. So I decided to figure out how to use your room’s holosystem to call you.”

  This goes against the picture of humans as a stupid and incurious race that N’Ure painted in his report. But perhaps Ki’Ra was somehow different from her counterparts. I think of the way she struggled to help her sister, while all the other hu’mans stood and looked on, too afraid to risk their own lives to offer aid to another of their race.

  While a few of the New Terrhans work hard in the fields, the vast majority are lazy and unmotivated. The line from N’Ure’s report floats across my mind, and, some of what I’m thinking must be reflected in my expression.

  The sly smile falls from my k’vani’s lips, and her ridgeless forehead lifts with worry. “Is something wrong?” she asks.

  Before it had been my intention to present N’Ure’s findings in full to Ki’Ra, assure her that the Xalthurians had indeed been honoring our part of the deal. But now…

  It would upset her too much, I sense, even as I wonder if perhaps some of the hu’mans would be better off with the Kaidorians.

  The Kaidorians were a savage race to be sure, but they were also renowned throughout the galaxy for their deep sense of discipline. Perhaps the Kaidorians could help the hu’man colony in ways that we have failed. In truth, agreeing to the Kaidorians terms might provide a necessary solution to all of the problems plaguing New Terrhan, as a race and a fledgling civilization.

  “D’Rek?” Ki’Ra asks again. So disrespectful, though I have instructed her repeatedly on the proper way to refer to me.

  “My Kel,” I remind her. Yet again.

  “Okay, what’s going on with you?” she asks, so obviously ignoring me, it borders on insolence. “Why haven’t you commanded me to start playing with my breeding slit yet?”

  Her teasing shows how little respect she holds for the deference owed my station. Yet the memory of how my Ki’Ra looked the night before as she played with her breeding slit, invades my mind. Causing my diijo to stir and replacing my previous concerns with a desire to burst through the holo screen and taste her.

  “Oh, there he is,” she says with a knowing smile, most likely gleaning my ferocious thoughts from the way my ridges flatten, hard and rigid upon my nose. “I missed you, Kel D’Rek.”

  More teasing. I should feel infuriated with her right now. Instead my chest swells with a feeling, familiar yet unexplainable. As disquieting as this day has been, seeing her smile has instantly made it better.

  “Greetings, k’vani. My apologies for keeping you waiting,” I say, forcibly pushing the report from my mind. “The negotiations with the Kaidorians did not fare as well as I
had hoped they would today.”

  “Oh, D’Rek, I’m so sorry to hear that,” she says, holding the blanket to her chest as she sits all the way up upon my bed. “Want to talk about it?”

  I hesitate. I have explained to her the importance of forming a successful treaty with the Kaidorians, so she might very well understand how consequential these past several days have been.

  However, I cannot bring myself to tell her about the Kaidorians’ offer and what they want in return for a new peace. My k’vani has a mighty temper. Instinct tells me that Ki’Ra will not only dislike the prospect of her colony being divided, but also break yet another one of our laws, by vociferously protesting the matter to her Kel.

  “No, I do not wish to speak of this day with you,” I tell her.

  “Are you sure? Because if something’s bothering you, we should talk about it. That’s the human way.”

  The hu’man way…

  “I miss you, too.”

  My sentimental profession dissolves the worry from her face. “Really?” she asks with a soft smile.

  “Yes, k’vani, truly,” I answer, not sure how to feel about the fact that my words are true.

  “You have never used those words before.”

  Had I really never said the words out loud? She looks pleased now, but how will she feel when I tell her about the deal I must make with the Kaidorians to prevent further warring?

  “D’Rek?” she says again. Her expression shifting back to worry.

  Essh! Ki’Ra, I am finding tonight, has become too perceptive of my moods. Perhaps that is another hu’man trait. One not listed in N’Ure’s report.

  Once again pushing all thoughts of that report away, I scan her blanketed image. “You will tell me if you are naked beneath those covers.”

  Her smile widens and she wiggles her eyebrows. “What do you think?”

  It is on the tip of my tongue to answer, but then I discern this is what the hu’mans call a rhetorical question.

  “You will take off your cover and touch your breeding slit. Your Kel commands it.”