Pax

by Stella Sky

  “At first he regretted it. He wanted nothing more to do with the bumbling, power-hungry krocha, but they wouldn’t go anywhere. Your grandfather, of course, was very angered by their defiance at first, but then he grew used to them. He kept the correspondence a secret, of course, to everybody but myself. In this binder is a record of their demands.”

  I thought Pecha was going to hand the binder over to me, but his hands gripped it tightly, as if reluctant to let them go.

  “I was the advisor then. The strategist. The one he always turned to for advice, just as your father did. What the Larex were demanding was a price that was far too high to pay. They promised him glory; singular glory. For the price of Earth.”

  I was stunned. We had been fighting for the Earth for centuries at this point. How could anyone even consider giving up the fight to compromise for something so selfish?

  “But my grandfather refused, didn’t he?”

  “Oh yes,” Pecha said, nodding sagely. “But that didn’t stop the Larex. Once they are in your life, it’s almost impossible to get them out again. They flatter you, suck you in, make you feel as if you are a very important and singular person. Then they study you and seek out your vulnerabilities. That’s how they manage their great manipulations. They are weak; they have small numbers. They love to harm those smaller than themselves.”

  “What did the Larex want with my grandfather?” I asked, horrified by the information that was beginning to create a clear picture in my head. “And please, what do you know about Grod’s involvement in all of this?”

  Pecha sighed and looked down at his hands. Finally, he handed me the binder.

  I hesitated. What I found in this book could change everything. Was I really prepared for it?

  “Take this with you, Commander. You deserve to have the truth. Since I was banished, I don’t know what all the Larex have been telling your brother. All I truly know is that they are dangerous, and if anybody can stop them, it is you.”

  “Thank you, Pecha.”

  I left the old man’s house feeling more confused than ever and kept the binder carefully hidden as I mounted my thuse. I couldn’t let anybody know where I had been or what I had discovered. Fortunately, being the second-in-command gave me entitlements to my privacy, so I wouldn’t be answering to Grod about my little adventure anytime soon. Because Pecha had been banished to the old forest, there was sure to be an altercation should my brother discover what I had been doing. It was best to keep my activities to myself.

  When I returned back to my home, I hid the binder quickly where nobody would ever find it, and, with my heart thudding, proceeded to dinner as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.

  Chapter 6

  Dr. Ali Monroe

  I thought that Pax had forgotten my request for a chance to get out of the prison of his home, and it was starting to make me feel very bitter. I was beginning to hate everything about it there; from the furniture right down to the color of the walls. Even the little Pelin man, Kera, had been getting on my last nerve, and we avoided each other consciously much of the time.

  And so, I was shocked when, the next morning, Pax was knocking at my door.

  “Come on, Yula. Let us go. We shall dine at one of the established Verian restaurants before I take you where we are going to go.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked, sitting up groggily.

  But he said nothing more, and I could hear him walking away from the other side of the door.

  I got up and went to my closet, which was full of the beautiful Verian clothing that the Pelin had ordered for me my first couple of weeks at the commander’s home. I picked out what I thought might be suitable for a Verian restaurant, not wanting to embarrass Pax and make him change his mind about letting me get out of the house.

  When I was ready, my chest was heavy and tight with reluctant excitement. I would feel better knowing what it was that the commander had planned for me, and I hoped it wouldn’t be a case of “careful what you wish for.” Maybe he had some kind of condition for my release; maybe he was letting me leave to go work somewhere.

  But I tried not to let my doubts get the better of me. I was going to get out either way. Maybe if I was gone long enough, I could find a way to escape. As dangerous as Helna’s atmosphere may be, I was a scientist. I could probably find a way to protect myself, right?

  There was always a way with science!

  “Yula…”

  Pax’s voice was a breathless whisper, and I felt the heat rising to my cheeks even before I dared to meet his eyes. He was looking at me as if I were some kind of mythical creature, a combination of disbelief and amazement on his face.

  “You look very beautiful,” Pax said, stepping forward. He hesitated as if he had intended to do or say something else, but he remained silent, as if waiting to see my reaction to the sweet words that fell from his lips.

  “Is the outfit appropriate for where we’re going? Because I can change if need be. Will I be doing anything strenuous?” I asked.

  In a way, I supposed I wanted to bait him for information. Was he taking me somewhere I was meant to work and become useful to the Verians like the other human females who had been stolen away to this dying planet? Or did he have something else in mind?

  His face was impossible to read as he continued staring at me, an odd depth to his eyes that I was unable to pinpoint.

  “You are dressed perfectly. And if we wait around here much longer, we are going to miss the meal. Come.”

  I was surprised; normally, restaurants in the Zones were open all day long and closed around late afternoon. They didn’t stop serving anybody. But apparently on Helna, a communal meal was served to all patrons, at only very specific times of the day.

  Before I could ask any more questions, Pax was digging into the closet. When he pulled out a hazmat helmet, I cringed. Putting it on was so confining; almost like going from one prison right into another. But the look on his face was so expectant–so hopeful–that I just couldn’t turn it down.

  “Don’t worry, Yula,” Pax said with a grin, once I slipped on the suit that went over my clothes. “You still look great.”

  I wasn’t quite sure how to take the compliment. In a way it made me feel warm; extraordinarily beautiful and flattered. But at the same time, I was angered by it. He didn’t have to lie to me to get me to comply. I still didn’t know for sure whether or not I could trust him, and the strange statement just put that mistrust over the edge.

  And so I bit my lip and followed Pax out the door.

  “We’re taking your thuse?” I asked, remembering how, on my last day on Earth, they had denied me the pleasure of riding the mysterious machine.

  “Yes,” Pax said, eyeing me. “Why?”

  “It’s nothing,” I said, looking away from those pensive, beautiful eyes. They were unlike any I had ever seen before, and would probably never see anything like them again.

  “Do not lie to me, human. I despise lies.”

  He said this statement with such vehemence that it actually made me cringe.

  “I wanted to drive one on Earth. But the men at the lab…”

  “Ah,” Pax said, nodding. “They were unfair to you?”

  “Yes,” I said, stunned that he was able to put it so simply. The men at the lab had always been unfair to me. Especially Dr. Cranston. He simply set the example for how I was meant to be treated in the laboratory. It seemed far too gratifying to them to be able to put me down, to take out their own bitterness and inadequacies on me. I was an easy target. And they could use me to make themselves feel better. So that’s what they did.

  “All right then, human. Get on.”

  “What?” I asked, confused out of my thoughts.

  “You are going to drive us to the restaurant.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, shocked at the amount of trust he was putting in me. I could probably use it to my advantage somehow; perhaps throw him off the thing and run him over. But when I met his ey
es, I felt guilty immediately.

  “I am sure. Get on.”

  He seemed so pleased to be able to do this little thing for me that I couldn’t help but obey. I threw one leg over the motorcycle-like machine and felt a small surge of excitement. Driving was one of the few pleasures I was able to indulge in on Earth, and the idea of being able to drive a hovercraft on Helna rather than being stuck in the same bedroom as I had been for the past few weeks was very exciting.

  “Do you know how to drive a thuse?” Pax asked.

  “No, not specifically,” I said, my face turning hot as I felt his strong body mount the thuse behind me. He was so strong and masculine that my body responded immediately to his touch, even through the thick hazmat suit.

  “All right,” Pax said, reaching up from behind me and gripping the bars in his hand. My heart thudded hard in my chest as I felt his broad, muscular chest press against my back. “You are going to want to hold the handles here.”

  I followed his lead with shaking hands, hoping he wouldn’t notice just how affected I was by his nearness. Fortunately, he seemed very focused on the task at hand.

  “Now,” he said, his deep voice resonating in my ears even through the helmet. The effect was unnerving, “put your foot on the pedal.”

  I did, and pushed down, and we were immediately hovering on the ground and shooting forward. I was terrified, but Pax let out a laugh that immediately made me feel better.

  “You have control over the machine, human. You just have to believe that. Confidence is 90% of good thuse driving.”

  “Okay,” I mumbled. I sat up a little straighter and put my focus into controlling the machine, and to my surprise, it was extremely intuitive.

  “That’s it, Yula,” Pax said, the approval in his voice intoxicating. “You’re getting the hang of it.”

  My heart fluttered in my chest at the sound of his voice, and again, a hot flush crept across my cheeks. Pax adjusted, and I could feel his groin pressed against the small of my back, and the heat in my body spread quickly from my face to my loins. It was sudden and alarming, and suddenly the thuse was jerking to the side.

  “Whoa, Yula!” Pax exclaimed, gripping the handlebars of the thuse and pushing it back into a straight line. “Please, you must focus. I believe in you.”

  “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, doing my best to avoid the inappropriate feelings that Pax’s body was eliciting within me. I couldn’t let myself give in. It was just too difficult of a situation. I couldn’t let myself get invested in unwanted feelings for this man. Whether I liked him or not, he was my captor. I just couldn’t trust myself.

  “Do not apologize, Yula. Please, just believe in yourself. That is the one true thing that you can do to improve at all things in life.”

  I pursed my lips, surprised to receive such level-headed and positive advice from a man who had literally stolen me away to this planet. What was his game? Was he truly trying to teach me something or was this all just a ploy to get me to trust him for some reason?

  I knew I had to be careful. What if he was just being manipulative? I had heard horror stories of Verian men talking their abducted humans into thinking they loved them, only to use them to infiltrate the bases on Earth and provide them with confidential information, all in the name of love. An emotion that, as far as I knew, was outlawed on the planet Helna. Verians were not allowed to love humans. Unless, apparently, that love was a lie and a manipulation tactic.

  “All right,” I sighed, reaching deep inside of myself and searching for the strength I needed to ignore the tempting pull of Pax’s words and body and focus solely on the task at hand. “Let’s get to that restaurant.”

  ***

  “You did well, Yula!” Pax exclaimed, dismounting the thuse and beaming at me. I was dazzled by his broad smile and had to force myself to look away before those unwanted feelings made their way back to me. That was the last thing I needed.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, following behind him.

  He had given me the directions to a large, rectangular building. From the outside, it was dingy, like a shack you might find on Earth. In fact, the wood probably had been stolen from my planet for this project.

  The doorway was wide, allowing for about three people walking side by side into the building. It was strange compared to the doors of Earth, designed only for one person. Pax’s door was wide, but not as wide as this.

  “Quickly now, human; we do not want to miss the meal. The next one isn’t for another four hours.”

  “All right, all right,” I mumbled, picking up the pace to walk at Pax’s side through the huge doorway.

  “Welcome!”

  I was startled when the booming voices of all the Verians in the building welcomed us into the restaurant. In a way, it was almost charming, but at the same time, it was also very overwhelming.

  I felt the curious and judgmental eyes of the Verian people follow me into the restaurant, but none of them dared say anything. I was with the second-in-command, after all. If I was there with him, then he must have had his reasons. The thing they were obviously wondering, just as I was, was what were his real reasons for bringing me here?

  “Before you sit, Yula, please remove the suit. We will dine properly today.”

  I felt nervous about the idea of stripping the suit off in front of all those people, but soon I was being ushered through a narrow doorway.

  “In here, human. Remove the suit and hang it on one of these hooks. Then join your host.”

  The Verian walked briskly away before I could see who it was that had been speaking to me, and I reluctantly removed my helmet and unzipped the suit. When I stepped back out into the dining hall, everyone seemed to be making it a point to ignore me. Everybody, that was, except for Commander Curad.

  His face was radiant as he watched me move through the crowded room, weaving through tables and walking carefully to avoid stepping on my gown and making a fool of myself. When I finally reached our table, he stood quickly and pulled my seat out for me: a strangely chivalrous human custom for a Verian to adopt.

  “You truly look stunning,” Pax said, his broad smile lighting his face. Despite my major discomfort, his reassurance was comforting. I blushed, and he quirked his brow. “Are you all right, human?”

  “Yes,” I said, avoiding his eyes quickly and pulling a glass toward me. A server had come by while I was gone and had filled both of our glasses with sparkling pink liquid. Pax had already drunk half of his, while mine was untouched.

  He continued to look at me with that peculiar expression on his face, which made me laugh softly despite myself. his face relaxed into a broad smile and soon we heard the sound of feedback. A Verian man’s voice filled the room around us.

  “Welcome! Please enjoy your meal. We have something very special today. A delicacy from Earth!”

  My heart leaped in excitement. I hadn’t eaten anything from Earth since I had arrived on Helna, what seemed like centuries ago.

  Soon the room was wafting with the mouth-watering scent of chicken and potatoes, and a steaming plate was placed in front of me. I glanced up at Pax, who smiled, his magnetic eyes sparkling.

  “All right, it is now time to eat!”

  I dug in eagerly, trying not to pay attention to the kind, amused expression on the Verian’s face. It was hard not to feel self-conscious as he watched me eat, but I was too excited to care too much about his interpretation of me. When I looked up at him, I could tell he sincerely was enjoying the display, and soon we fell into an easy conversation as he, too, partook of the meal.

  “What is this made of?” he asked, poking at a small piece of chicken. “It tastes strange.”

  “Well, when it’s alive, it’s a bird,” I said.

  Pax looked at me strangely and I couldn’t help but laugh a little. He seemed so perplexed by Earth’s customs at times. And I couldn’t blame him. Helna was so different from what this strong, handsome man was used to.

  “We do not have any animals left on Heln
a,” he admitted, poking at the chicken on his plate thoughtfully. “The idea of eating something once so sacred and coveted on my own planet seems…strange.”

  He pushed the chicken away, and I felt a pang of appreciation for the man. He seemed to be truly compassionate. I quickly tried to halt that fondness I was feeling toward him, but it was impossible. Even the way he was picking carefully at the food around the chicken was cute in a way, and I had to direct my attention back to my own meal before I found myself losing my determination to stay angry at him.

  “Here, take my bird,” Pax said, pushing a small plate toward me. He had piled all the chicken in one spot and was smiling at me, his handsome face radiant. “We do not believe in waste on this planet.”

  “Of course not,” I said, taking the small gift of food and studying it. I should have been repulsed by the thought of eating after my captor, but for some reason, I wasn’t. Instead, I enjoyed the food immensely, considering the rest of my experience on the planet Helna, the food I ate would be different variations of oka prepared by the little Pelin man.

  When the meal was over, everybody stood and bowed toward the kitchen, and Pax nudged me to do the same. It felt kind of uncomfortable, but I did it anyway and realized I would have felt worse if I had been the only one left standing. It was a brief, ceremonial thing, but when it was over, we were heading to the thuse, but this time, Pax didn’t let me drive.

  “Are we going back home now?” I asked, cringing at my use of the word “home.” I wanted to feel comfortable, and I was beginning to accept the situation, but it would never be my home. I shouldn’t have said it.

  “No, I have something else planned first,” Pax said.

  I reluctantly climbed onto the thuse behind Pax and pursed my lips, wondering just what this enigmatic man might have in store for me on this strange land.

  “Here we are, human,” Pax said, stopping the thuse and dismounting. He offered me a hand and a handsome smile, and I took it, averting his gaze as my heart fluttered. “Your next adventure.”