by M. K. Eidem
"That the taking of females made us no different than the Ganglians, and it might be the thing that finally ends us."
"Grim said that?" Ull looked at him in disbelief. "When?"
"Right after we secured the last female. Queen Lisa."
"If he truly believed it would have such dire consequences, then why did he secure them?"
"Because his Emperor ordered him to."
Ull instantly understood it was as simple as that. A fit and worthy warrior, the first male of a Lord or King, always followed his Emperor's orders, whether he agreed with them or not. That King Grim had doubts about that order only gave Trisha's words more weight.
"Our warriors need those females," he quietly told Veron what he already knew.
"Truth," Veron agreed, "which is why you must make sure the keeping of them doesn't interfere with us obtaining this treaty."
"Trisha says that isn't possible."
"You have to convince her and the Earth Council otherwise. Now the Emperor is waiting for his daily update." With that, Veron left the room.
Chapter Twelve
Ull watched as Trisha led the second group of Earthians up the shuttle ramp the next morning. He’d been up all night replaying her and Veron's words in his head.
Did she genuinely believe Tornians were no better than Ganglians?
That he was no better?
He could have harmed her last night. Could have forced himself on her. After all, they'd been alone in her quarters. He was a highly-trained warrior, the first male of a Lord. He could have prevented her from calling out for help if he'd decided to abuse her.
That had him drawing in a sharp breath.
Abuse her?!
He would never harm any female, never abuse one. Especially not Trisha.
But wasn't taking one away from all she knew to fulfill their own needs a type of abuse?
How had he not realized that before?
When he'd been in the room and heard the stories the Earthians had told Trisha about what had happened to them, he hadn't listened or, in truth, cared, mainly when the males spoke. What fit and worthy male allowed himself to be captured by a Ganglian? Yet he'd found the Earthian warriors fit and worthy, courageous even, especially after they continued to fight against a superior foe.
Not all Tornian males were suited to be a warrior. Their skills lay in other areas, but that didn't make them unfit or unworthy. Perhaps it was the same for Earthian males. If that were the case, then there was no dishonor for these males. They'd gone to great extremes to protect the two females taken with them, a truly honorable thing to do.
"Are you planning on returning to the planet, or am I taking them down?" Veron asked as he walked up to Ull.
"I am," Ull growled, refusing to let the Emperor's Captain know he'd startled him. "Why do you ask?"
"Because the second group has been in the shuttle for five minutes, and you're still standing here."
Giving Veron nothing more than a grunt, Ull walked toward the shuttle.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Trisha kept up the light and easy chatter as they waited for Ull to enter the shuttle. She'd seen him silently standing there on the other side of the landing bay, so she didn't know what was taking him so long. She knew she'd upset him last night, but she'd hoped he'd be over it by now and not take it out on the abductees who were anxious enough returning home. They didn't need Ull adding to it. She was just about to find him when he entered the shuttle.
Ull felt the mood of the shuttle immediately shift once he entered and closed the hatch. Even though there was underlying tension, he'd heard her light banter as he walked up the ramp, and the ease in the replies she received. Now there was only tension, and he knew it was because of him.
"My apologies for the delay," he couldn't prevent himself from saying even though a first male never apologized.
"Was there a problem?" Trisha asked, knowing the others wanted to know.
"No, I just needed to discuss something with Captain Veron before we left." Ull moved to the pilot's seat as he spoke, and after strapping in, started the engines and looked over his shoulder. "You'll be back on your planet shortly."
Trisha remained silent as Ull piloted the shuttle down to the NACB, but she discreetly watched him. There seemed to be something different about him, but she wasn't sure what. When he glanced her way and held her gaze, she felt her heart begin to beat faster.
"Is there something wrong, Trisha?" he asked quietly.
"No," she responded just as quietly, not wanting anyone else to overhear their conversation.
"You are sure? You are staring at me."
"Maybe I just like what I see." She couldn't believe she just said that and quickly looked away.
"Do you?"
The insecurity in the question pulled her gaze back to his. "You know I do, Ull."
"Even though you believe I'm no different than a Ganglian?"
"That's not what I said." She quickly glanced behind them to make sure no one could overhear them before continuing. "I said your actions were no different, not that you weren't. I know you would never abuse me or any other female. It's not who you are, Ull."
Her absolute belief in him was easily heard and drove the lingering darkness from his mind. When was the last time someone expressed that much faith in him? It had him quickly facing forward and blinking rapidly.
"Ull?" She placed a hand on his arm.
"I need to concentrate on landing."
The gruffness of his tone had Trisha jerking her hand away. Again, Ull pulled back the moment she believed they were becoming closer and were beginning to understand each other. "Then, I'll let you get to it."
Ull heard the cold distance in Trisha's tone and knew his curtness had hurt her. That hadn't been his intention. He just needed a moment to figure out how to deal with the unusual feelings she brought out in him.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"Are you alright, Vanessa?" Trisha asked, surprised to see the woman in medical when she entered with the second group of abductees. Vanessa had initially planned on staying on the Searcher until the last group came down, but it had been Zandy, the youngest one taken, that had convinced her to be in the first group. With Vanessa's age and health conditions, Zandy felt she needed to go first. The rest of the group had agreed even though Vanessa claimed to be feeling fine, even without her high blood pressure medication.
"I'm fine. Really." She squeezed Trisha's arm reassuringly. "I'm just here to greet and reassure the next group."
'You're sure?"
"Yes, the doctors gave me a clean bill of health."
"That's great."
"It is." She looked over Trisha's shoulder, and seeing Ull standing there, moved around Trisha to stand in front of him. "In case I don't get a chance to see you again, Warrior Ull, I want to say thank you for bringing us home. I know it wasn't your first choice and that you have other reasons for coming to Earth. But thank you anyway. You'll never know what this means to our families and us." With that, Vanessa did something Trisha knew shocked Ull. She gave him a massive hug before stepping back. "Now, I'm going to go see if I can help settle some nerves."
Trisha watched the older woman hurry to where Kara, the young mother of two, sat sobbing. Knowing there was nothing for her to do here, she looked to Ull. "Let’s go."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
When Trisha and Ull again entered the Council chambers, the mood was vastly different. She hadn't had the chance to talk to her tío alone yet, so she wasn't sure what was going on.
"The second group has been settled in medical?" President Garcia asked once she and Ull settled.
"Yes," she told him.
"And our remaining citizens on the Searcher?"
"They are doing fine. Anxious to return home and get back to their lives, of course, as I'm sure you can all understand." She let her gaze travel around the room. "The Kaliszian representative, Minister Ruskin, is also looking forward to coming down and meeting with t
his esteemed Council to negotiate for his people."
"We look forward to meeting with Minister Ruskin," President Garcia told her, "but we need to deal with the Tornian issue first."
"Tornian issue?" Trisha wasn't exactly sure what her tío was talking about.
"Yes, Last night, I met with the other world leaders to explain to them how I can speak and understand Tornian, and the full extent of the situation in the Tornian Empire."
"I see." That explained the change in the world leaders’ mood. They'd learned that the Tornians had also come to Earth and taken females but had no plans on returning them, and the leaders weren't happy about that.
By his low growl and with his knee touching hers, she knew Ull had realized that too. She'd told him this was going to be an issue, but it seemed he hadn't believed her.
"I'm sure you do." The President shifted his gaze from his niece to Ull. "The other leaders have expressed interest in using your educator, as I have, so we might all speak directly to you and Minister Ruskin. Would that be possible?"
Trisha looked to Ull when he didn't immediately respond. "Ull?"
"I will arrange that," he finally replied, his gaze slowly traveling over the leaders. "Although it will take some time."
"Why?" the African Chancellor demanded suspiciously.
"Because there is only one educator available, and each session will take several hours and need supervised."
"Are you the only one qualified to do that?" the Chancellor questioned after Trisha translated.
"No. Captain Veron and Minister Ruskin are also qualified."
"Then I move we start these sessions as soon as possible." A volley of agreements filled the room at the Chancellor's motion.
"It seems we are all in agreement." President Garcia looked back to Ull. "Warrior Ull?"
"I will bring the educator down tomorrow when we return with the last of your people."
"Why not now?" the Australian Chancellor asked. "Don't you have another shuttle?"
"There is another shuttle on the Searcher," Ull acknowledged.
"Then why can't this Captain Veron or Minister Ruskin bring it down?"
"Minister Ruskin isn't qualified to fly a shuttle, and while Captain Veron is, it would leave the Searcher without anyone to fly it, putting those on board at risk."
That had Chancellor Khatri leaning back in her seat. "Well, we don't want that."
"So, are we in agreement that the next time Warrior Ull returns, he will bring the educator with him?" Aaron looked around the room, and once all the other leaders nodded their agreement looked back to Ull. "Then, with that settled, we need to move on to a more concerning issue. The Tornian abduction of our females."
All eyes zeroed in on Ull, including Trisha's, but he remained stonily silent.
"Warrior Ull?"
"Yes, President Garcia?"
"Were you going to respond?"
"To what, Mr. President? I heard no question."
Trisha winced internally at Ull's tone and the way her tío's eyes narrowed in response to it. Tío didn't get to be President by taking crap from anyone, but he especially hated being condescended to, which was what Ull was doing.
"Then let me speak words you can hear. When will you be returning the women your people abducted?"
"We won't be."
Ull's short, succinct answer had Trisha wanting to pound her head on the table. No, wait, she wanted to beat Ull's on it. Didn't he know this was not how you negotiated with someone you needed? He was a first male, for God's sake.
"Then, you're going to have a problem with this Council."
Ull had argued against allowing Queen Lisa to include that they had taken more than just her and her offspring in the educator. This is why. What the Earth rulers didn't know they couldn't hold against them. The Emperor and King Grim had disagreed, so now he had to deal with the fallout.
"Those females are vital to the survival of my people. They have been well treated and have their choice of every interested Tornian male. Just as every other Earth female shall once we reach an agreement."
"That is not acceptable," the President argued.
"Then you will continue to have your females taken," Ull fired back.
"That makes you no different than the Ganglians."
Trisha watched Ull bristle at the accusation and fully expected him to react as he had when she'd said the same thing. Instead, he took a deep breath before calmly replying.
"If that were truth, then my Emperor would have sent ships full of Tornian warriors. We would have easily conquered your world and just taken what we needed. And we both know there would be nothing you could have done to prevent it." Ull's eyes glittered as his gaze traveled from one leader to the next, letting that sink in. "That is what many wanted to do, but my Emperor is a fit, worthy, and honorable male. He refused to allow it. Instead, he sent me to negotiate a mutually beneficial agreement. One where your females voluntarily Join with the Tornian male they choose while we protect your planet from the Ganglians." Ull paused, his gaze moving to Trisha. "It is my understanding you already have something similar to this on your planet called Internet dating."
Trisha's eyes widened, but she continued to translate Ull's words. She hadn't thought he had been listening when she'd told him that. Not with everything else happening.
"This would be the same," Ull continued. "Except the male would be Tornian."
"It would not be the same," President Garcia argued. "Internet dating most often is a one-time meeting between two individuals. It's not permanent."
"But isn’t that what these 'individuals' are looking for? Something permanent?"
The President had no answer to that.
"There are things that still need to be worked out, of course," Trisha entered the conversation for the first time. "But at its essence, that's what this program will be. Internet dating just on an interplanetary level."
"That still doesn't address the issue of the women you already took against their will."
Trisha spoke before Ull could. While she didn't agree with what the Tornians had done, she was beginning to understand it. She also knew Lisa wouldn't allow any of those women to be forced into something they didn't want. "Perhaps that is something that we can address at a later date?" She asked as she made eye contact with each leader, trying to gauge their thoughts. "I know that at this time, those women under Lisa’s and King Grim's protections aren't forced to Join with any Tornian male. They are going through something similar to internet dating on Luda."
"And if they chose to never Join with a Tornian?" the President demanded.
"It would be up to the Emperor if they would be allowed to return to Earth." Ull took back control of the conversation. "But I can vow to you that will never be allowed unless willing females are allowed to Join with a Tornian."
"President Garcia," the Prime Minister of Canada spoke up. "While I understand and respect the concern you have for your citizens, I believe Representative Burke is correct. The return of the females taken from your country needs to be set aside, for now, so we can decide what is best for all the citizens of Earth."
Trisha watched as her tío gave Prime Minister Gagnon a shocked look. "You can say that? When only yesterday it was a group of your citizens at risk?!"
"It's because of that that I can say it." The Prime Minister argued with a voracity that surprised Trisha, and she could see it had her tío too. After a moment, the powerful woman composed herself and continued. "I contacted my husband once you briefed us on the exact location where the Ganglians landed. Our daughter and her family traditionally vacation in the Rockies in Southern Alberta.' Trisha felt her heart clench at what she somehow knew was coming. "Philip contacted her, so it didn't go through official channels, and learned they were fine but forced to leave early." The Prime Minister's gaze went to Ull. "So, I would like to personally thank you, Warrior Ull, for keeping my daughter and her family safe."
Ull dropped his head slightly, accepting the
Prime Minister's gratitude before speaking. "I'm glad I could be of assistance. While Tornians are a warrior race, we still hold all life sacred, especially the lives of females. Which is why I don't understand why you allow so many of yours to be unprotected.”
"Our females… women," President Garcia corrected, "aren't unprotected. They are independent creatures that have the right to live their life as they see fit. Just as our males do."
"That makes no sense. Females are the most important resource in all the Known Universes. For without them, there would be no life. To not ensure they are safe from harm is irresponsible."
Stunned silence met Ull's statement, and that included Trisha. While Ull had said something like that to her before, he hadn't been nearly this intense. Although she wasn't sure, she liked being referred to as a 'resource.'
"Are you saying that Tornian females are allowed to participate in your society?" Chancellor Smyth leaned forward as she asked, clearly profoundly interested in Ull's answer.
"Define participate."
"Do they hold positions of power as I," she gestured from herself to the other female leaders, "Chancellor Khatri and Prime Minister Gagnon do? Are their opinions heard and taken seriously?"
Trisha looked to Ull finding she wanted to know the answers to those questions too. Lisa hadn't included much about that in the educator, but Trisha had gotten that Tornians pretty much cloistered their females away. God, she hoped Ull knew how important his answer was going to be. It could make or break these negotiations.
"All a female’s wants and needs are taken seriously," Ull began slowly. While he refused to tell an untruth, the look in Trisha's eye told him to choose his next words carefully. "But no, until recently they had no voice in the Assembly of Lords."
Trisha could feel the world leaders’ displeasure at Ull's admission. It had taken centuries of struggle and repression for all the women of Earth to receive the same rights and protections as men. None of these leaders were going to allow them to subjugated again. She had to do something.
