by Maia Starr
“Yes, that is true,” I said.
“You, Evlon, are my second in command, and although you are preparing in practice for these war games, I want you to entertain this envoy,” Rangellis said.
“Me? What do you mean by this?” I asked.
“I want you to be the one to speak with their leader about the peace talks, but not right away. I want you to delay it as long as possible so that they don’t discover what I really have planned for them,” he said.
“And what do you have planned?” I asked arching a brow.
“You will find out in time as well. For now, I just want you to keep this leader occupied. Show this leader around Waysaw or the games, just anything about Zenkian life in order to occupy their time. If they bring up talk of the peace treaty, just say it will be talked of in a few days.”
“I understand, Leader,” I said saluting him.
“Good, whatever it takes to keep them occupied. But we will not be making peace with them or Earth.”
Chapter 2
Miranda
I took my work at the alien relations agency very seriously. I had made my way up the ladder and had worked hard to get where I was. I had made it the position of President of the Communications Department and I was excited about it. They placed a lot of trust in me, and I was bound by that honor. I would do anything to get this mission right.
I was an intelligent woman with a background in the medical field. It was this background that led me to alien communications, even though it seems like that is a strange climb. You see, I had studied medicine and human anatomy, but when the aliens first became known to us five years prior, I began to study their anatomy too. Once I began to study their anatomy, that quickly led me to studying their brain, and the brain then led to behavior. After that, the way they communicate was my next area of study. So, I became a leader in the science of these Zenkian aliens. That was how I became president of the alien relations agency communication department.
Then, something amazing happened. After many raids by these alien Zenkian soldiers, the humans finally had enough. We could not fight them because they were twice our size and they were far more advanced in military terms. So, the humans of Earth began to talk about how we could possibly strike a peace accord with these Zenkians. They wanted to conquer Earth for our resources and enslave us. We, of course, did not want that to happen. So we would try to strike a treaty to share our resources with them if they agreed to stop raiding us and fighting us. This was the plan, and I was the one that was going to deliver this plan to them.
So amazingly I went from President of Alien Relations Communications to an astronaut. We set out from space and headed to the Zenkian planet of Anvin where we were expected by the Waysaw Zenkians.
Upon arriving on the planet of Anvin with my team of four, to speak peace with the invaders known as the Zenkians, we were all very nervous.
“Miranda, there it is,” Brad said to me. He was the pilot of our small ship. We were dropping down into the city of Waysaw.
“Yes, that is it. That is where we land,” I said looking at my instructions that were sent to us from the Zenkians. We were landing on a giant X, like a helicopter pad. There were Zenkians waving us in.
As far as we knew, there were two sects of Zenkians. The Waysaw Zenkians from the region of Waysaw were thieves, and they had red skin. They constantly invaded Earth, stealing resources and women. The other sect of Zenkian was the group known as the Grantsions who were from the Grantsion mountains on Anvin. The Waysaw Zenkians called the Grantsions the rebels, though we weren’t really sure why on Earth. We were still learning about these alien invaders after five years of them invading us.
“I will never get used to seeing them in person,” Trevor said. He was part of my team and my assistant.
“No, neither will I. Look at their red skin. It’s so unusual,” I said looking at the Zenkian warriors guiding our ship’s landing. They wore military-style black uniforms but their quarter sleeves left their forearms exposed. You would see their toned arms and smooth red skin. It was as red as an apple. Other than that, they looked fairly human, except for their extremely tall nine-foot heights and exceptionally strong bodies.
“I heard the Grantsion Zenkians are blue-skinned,” Captain James said. He was the Captain of the ship and knew a lot about space.
“I’ve never seen one in person,” I said. “Only in photos and video.”
“All right. Landing successful; permission to turn off the engine?” Brad said.
“Permission granted. Are you ready for this, Miranda? President?” he said looking at me.
“Yes and no. But we don’t have a choice. We have to get out there. If we don’t, they will think this ship is a bomb or something,” I said moving toward the door.
“Um, and they have normal air like on Earth, right?” Trevor asked.
“I believe so. That is why they want Earth, because it is like Anvin,” I said looking out the windshield.
Outside I could see a vast city. There were very tall skyscrapers. Flying cars sped around the bustling place. In the far distance, I could see grey mountains. It was very beautiful. The sky was blue with clouds, and I could see trees and plants dotting the cityscape.
“It does look a lot like Earth,” Captain James said.
“It is uncanny. I can’t believe that we are really here,” I said.
“I still have a bad feeling about this. Is it too late to change our minds?” Brad asked.
“Yes, it is,” I said. We all looked at each other. This was the moment of the unknown. We were about to be the first space mission to set foot on an alien planet. This was not your standard everyday occurrence. I was very excited about it. I had been completely fascinated by these Zenkian aliens ever since I first learned they existed. Some could even say that it was an unhealthy obsession.
“Well, are we going to do this or not?” I anxiously said as I moved to the door.
“Right, open the door, Brad!” Captain James said.
The door of the ship slowly opened. A rush of fresh air hit me. I inhaled a big breath. “I think it is good. Actually, it might be the cleanest air I have ever breathed in,” I said to my team. Yes, they were my team. Captain James was in charge of the flight, but I was in charge of the mission. I was a president, after all.
“Let’s do this then,” Captain James said.
I gathered all my courage and stepped outside onto the ramp of the ship. I looked around in the bright sunlight. Then I walked down the ship ramp onto the ground where we landed. There were three Zenkians, one looked like an official in a long red robe that almost matched his skin, and the other two were soldiers. They were armed with blaster guns in their holsters and shields and swords.
My team followed behind me. We were unarmed. It was part of the deal in coming here. We were to bring absolutely no weapons and that included not using a military ship to come to Anvin. We of course abided by their requests. They had the upper hand here. We were just visitors, and we were on their terms. Earth had very few options when it came to the terms. We wanted peace, and to share our resources instead of being conquered in the future. As I approached the Zenkians, my adrenaline spiked. They were our enemy, and they wanted us humans dead. The element of danger was exciting to me, but also frightening. I stepped in front of the three Zenkians, and my team stood behind me. It was all very ceremonious. It was thrilling.
“Hello. My name is Miranda. I am Communications President at the alien relations agency on Earth. Thank you for allowing us to come and speak peacefully with you,” I said nodding my head in greeting.
“Yes, Miranda. My name is Leader Rangellis. We are honored to have you here. Please follow me,” he said.
He turned and walked. I looked at my team, and we followed. It was a short greeting but what did I expect from such brutes? As I followed the leader with my team, I looked around. Anvin truly was a beautiful planet, and this area seemed a lot like a beach city, like Miami. There were toweri
ng buildings, like skyscrapers, and massive long buildings. The air was just like Earth, and I could see why they wanted our resources, our planets were so much alike. In the distance, I could see a white-sand beach outside the city with crystal water.
“It’s like Miami,” Brad whispered to me. I nodded my head in agreement.
“Please follow me into the war game complex. I will introduce you to your Zenkian escort. He will show you around and be your appointed Zenkian,” Leader Rangellis said.
“War games?” I asked as we entered a massive tunnel on the side of a long building that looked like a football stadium.
“Cool,” I heard Trevor whisper.
“Yes. It is what we do to keep our soldiers in the best shape possible,” Rangellis said.
“I see. Forgive me, but I thought we could start our talks as soon as possible,” I said. Rangellis stopped and looked at me. He did not like my defiance; that was evident.
“In due time, Miranda. For now, let us establish some trust. I want you to see the ways of the Zenkians,” he smiled a fake smile that made my blood run cold. Then he continued walking. I looked at my team confused.
We followed him, and soon the war game complex opened up to a massive field with stadium-style seating. We followed the leader to the sidelines where there were many Zenkian soldiers that all stared at us.
“Watch and observe,” Rangellis said as he stopped on the sidelines and turned us toward the field.
There were about twenty soldiers on the field engaged in some kind of game that required swords and shields as they tackled each other and ran up and down the field. I did not understand it, but it was interesting to watch. I had to admit that I found myself mesmerized by being surrounded by all these alien soldiers. I knew a lot about anatomy, and these god-like bodies of these alien men fascinated me.
They were the ones that I compared every man to. I wondered what was underneath those tight uniforms they wore out on the field. It was always forbidden fruit. But I had to put that desire aside and focus.
I watched them tackle and fight each other. It was like some warrior video game come to life. I was fascinated as I watched the strong bodies fight and collide. I even found my mouth watering a little. A sound pierced the air, almost like a whistle, and the soldiers stopped. Then they all lined up facing each other on either side of the field once more.
But as I looked at them and scanned over their faces, I found that one was looking directly at me. I sucked in a sharp breath of air. He was breathing hard, and his strong chest was going up and down as he stared at me. Then he grinned a brilliant white grin. His long black hair was just above his shoulders, and it was messy and rugged. His eyes were a light brown, like an amber color. His black latex uniform hugged his muscular, tall body.
I started to feel nervous as he stared at me. Why the hell was he looking at me like this? His grin was as if he could see me naked, and it was making me uneasy.
“This might be the coolest game I have ever seen,” Trevor whispered to Brad.
“Yeah, none of us would last two seconds out there. Not even our most skilled soldiers would last out there,” Captain James added in.
They were right. These Zenkian soldiers were making extreme and brutal battle into a game. No wonder they were not afraid of real battle, and were excellent at it. This was an everyday occurrence.
The soldier with the black hair and amber eyes was still looking at me. I felt a flush of heat over my body and I had to look away. I was so embarrassed, and I did not know why. But my body was betraying me, and I felt myself growing moist between my thighs. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the ground around my feet. Then the loud whistle blew. I looked up.
The soldiers screamed at each and ran at each other full force. Clash! Swords banged together, and shields clashed. They were fighting real combat, not with laser guns. It was brutal. But I could not take my eyes off the black-haired soldier. He was skilled. He was the best one out there. He would take on two fighters at a time. My mouth fell open watching him. Damn, he was good. Damn, he was sexy. Shit.
Chapter 3
Evlon
Seeing the human whose time I was supposed to occupy was pleasing to me. She stared at me up and down, and I knew I frightened her. She had probably never seen anything like me up close and personal.
She wore a black fitted space suit. Her shapely legs gave way to curvy thighs and thick hips. I liked what I was seeing. Her waist was small, but it ballooned out into ample breasts as my eyes moved up her body. Her long brown hair was pulled back high on her head, and her full pink lips looked to be trembling a bit. She was on an alien planet with us, and she did not know what was in store for her.
I had to admit I was now excited that Leader Rangellis had given her to me as an assignment. But even I did not know what he had in store for her. I knew that it could not be a good thing for her, but it could be very good for me.
The game signal shrieked its call, and I put my head back in the war games. I knew that she would watch me. I went at it. I took out two soldiers at a time, swinging my sword and shield as I battled. I was in it. Then the signal rang twice again. It was now a one-on-one battle between the two soldiers that took down the most in the free for all combat. It was me against Tormunt from the rival team. This was just practice, but I took every war game practice seriously.
We lined up facing each other, just Tormunt and I. He growled at me. The game signal sounded.
“Aagh!” I shouted as I lunged at him. Whack! I smacked him with a blow of my shield. He stumbled to the side but came back with a blow of his sword. I blocked it with my own sword. We fought hard. Then he almost got the upper hand. This was not like me. I knew it was because in that instance I had looked over to the sidelines where the human female stood. I could not stop myself from taking a quick look at her. But doing so cost me. Tormunt struck a blow at my right thigh with his shield. I felt it. Shit.
But I struck him with the blunt end of my sword, and he fell down, unconscious.
“That’s what you get for that blow to the thigh, Tormunt!” I shouted then spit on his unconscious body. The signal blew and echoed across the field. I raised my sword high in the air in victory.
“Yes! That’s right! Evlon!” the soldiers on my team shouted as they gathered around me in celebration. They were always happy to win. I looked directly at the human female. She was blushing as she looked at me. I grinned. She liked what she saw, even though it scared her a bit. I could almost taste her already. My mouth watered just thinking about it.
“Evlon! Come!” Leader Rangellis shouted at me.
I snapped my sword into my waist belt and moved off the field to him.
“What was that, Evlon?!” Leader Rangellis shouted at me. “You let Tormunt get that blow to your leg. That won’t be good for the games to come. You are set to break a victory record. I want you to break that record.”
“So do I. I will break it. I do have an ache from that blow,” I said rubbing my thigh. I looked over at the humans, and Rangellis spoke to me.
“You will need to be treated. I think this human can help you,” Rangellis said pointing at the human female. She gasped.
“What? Me?”
“Yes. Evlon, this is Miranda. She is here to speak to us about possibly negotiating a peace accord. But she has the background of human medicine,” Rangellis said.
“I do. How do you know that?” she asked confused.
“We know everything about our guests. It is a matter of security.”
“Oh, I see,” she said looking at the human men at her side.
“This is Evlon. He is to show you our Waysaw and the ways of the Zenkians while we prepare for your talks,” Rangellis said.
“It is nice to meet you. I am Miranda, President of Communications of the alien relations agency on Earth. This is Captain James, Brad, and Trevor,” she said.
I nodded to the other humans. I would probably kill them later.
“Evlon has su
ffered an injury to his leg. I would like to know what a human in medicine would do for such a thing,” Rangellis said.
“Well, in the past I would have overseen an athlete with an injury like this,” Miranda said thinking out loud. “I would have advised a cold bath for inflammation. Then a warm stone massage on the injury. If that does not help, then it is a more serious matter.”
“Good. Get to work. I will take the rest of your team to feast. You have had a long journey,” Rangellis said.
“Wait. What?” Miranda said.
I grinned. I knew exactly what Rangellis was up to.
“Miranda, we must establish trust if we are to speak of peace and honor each other’s words. I entrust my best soldier to your hands. Let us see if we can trust each other. Evlon will show you where,” he said. “The rest of you can follow me,” he said to the human men.
