Ten
Pace was so angry, he didn’t even remember coming back to his ship… although he did remember ditching the frigging planetrome in the departure bin.
How could Lola have done this to him? How could Gerri have been complicit? He felt so betrayed. He’d sworn to the dating agency guru he’d given up men, and he meant it. But even so, the old biddy probably knew his body still craved what a man could give…and receive. Why had she not listened? Why had she defied him and matched him with Lola, who sounded like she already had another man in mind for a triumvirate.
Dammit, dammit, dammit!
The thought was not the least bit intriguing. He’d never been able to share, and all his relationships, be they male or female, had always been monogamous. The thought of another man putting his hands on Lola, even if he was there to participate, was not only abhorrent, it stirred every one of his possessive genes. He wanted her. For himself.
Calamity opened the hatch for Pace without a word spoken, but the usual calm he found when walking up the companionway didn’t come. The question Pace hadn’t asked Lola bugged the shit out of him. Would she forgo another male and commit to a life with him alone? It was something that needed to be answered.
He’d deliver the treasures to her home planet, then stay until she arrived via pod. He’d confront her with that burning question. If her answer was no, that she couldn’t see a future with only one male partner, he’d take off right away. If she said yes, he’d do everything in his power to make her the happiest Hydroxene on the planet. Not that he planned on staying there too long. The wrist monitors, those planetromes, creeped him out. No government needed to know where you were and what you were doing at all times.
Lola had been open to settling on earth, as long as she was able to join him on many of his space voyages. It was one of the things he really loved about her.
Loved about her?! Fuck. He groaned. He’d fallen for Lola.
How could he change her mind about another man joining them?
Pace knew he had an unyielding personality. He had to develop it to remain autonomous where his overbearing mother was concerned. It had served him well with that familial relationship, but he already knew that wouldn’t cut it with Lola.
“You’re back early.” Calamity’s voice cut through the stillness of the ship. “I wasn’t expecting you until morning.”
“Yeah. Change of plans,” he grumbled.
“And does that divergence include leaving your grape goddess alone in a hotel?”
“Not now, Calamity. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Talk about what? Is it Lola who’s having trouble committing…or is it you?” she continued, unrelenting. “Are you already rethinking your choice of a female mate?”
“Listen, Clam. You know more about me than anyone else. You’re a part of me. So don’t tell me you think I’m second-guessing my decision. I’ve always leaned more toward relationships with females. Now that it’s time to settle down, I’ve made my choice.”
“So what happened to pull the plug on paradise?”
“She let me know, in order for us to make a go of things, there would be another man involved.”
“In those exact words?” Calamity asked, an edge to her voice he didn’t quite understand.
“What are you asking, Clam?”
“I’m inquiring as to her verbiage. Call me curious.”
Pace took a deep breath and thought back to the hotel room. “She said, and I quote, ‘What if I introduced a man into our relationship?’ Does that sound like a woman who wants to be monogamous?”
“Ah, I get it.” She sounded suspiciously satisfied.
“Are you seeing something here that I’m not, Calamity? Because, from where I’m standing, it sounds like Lola already has a male in mind. Which means I’ve been duped. Gerri sent me careening off to another galaxy on false pretenses.” He ramped up for another rant, but his ship cut him off.
“You’re correct in one regard. I’m absolutely certain Miss Mulberry has a man she wants you to meet. It’s just that I’ve never seen you quite this closed-minded before. Unyielding, yes, but unwilling to explore new possibilities? Never. Perhaps you’ll find the situation Lola suggests appealing.”
Pace narrowed his eyes. “Do you know something I don’t? Did Lola talk to you while I was asleep?”
“Speaking of sleep, if we’re going to be skids-up in the morning, you need some shut-eye, and I need to do a much-needed diagnostic on my sphetzer valves.”
Goddamn her. She changed the subject. “There’s no such thing as a—”
His computer took herself offline. She hadn’t even let him finish his tirade. Damned female. He had half a mind to change her gender and see how she liked that.
****
With the morning came no epiphany. Not that Pace expected one. He’d been awake all night, tossing and fuming. One minute, he felt betrayed; the next, he wondered whether he should hear Lola out and try to come to an arrangement that would suit them both. The problem was, the only arrangement he wanted was the two of them, together, without a third party. Was Calamity right? Had he lost his ability to roll with the punches? The possibility made him feel damned old.
“Good morning, gorgeous and gloomy. I take it you slept like shit, but I’m ready to hit the space road.”
“Stop being so chipper. It’s annoying,” Pace said, having done a complete system check before sitting at the control console. “We’re headed for Gemma-Hydrox, not a fucking vacation.” He flipped the necessary switches and fed in the coordinates. “Now, take us out and get us there at 10AM their time. That’s when the planet Lords told me to arrive.”
“A leisurely stroll then,” Calamity returned. “You’ve got it. Would you care for some traveling music?”
She turned on some tunes, ramped up the engines and began the planet’s exit protocol, signaling the station’s bay doors to open.
Pace couldn’t help but look through his windows at the docking area outside. Part of him hoped to see a platinum head amongst the workers, but no such luck. Was he disappointed? Had he expected Lola to come after him? A thought suddenly hit him.
“Calamity?” He knew his voice sounded hopeful, but he couldn’t help it. “Did Lola approach the ship last night only to have you send her away?”
“Now why would I do that? I happen to like your impeccable intended. There wasn’t a sign of her last night, you sad simian. But if you’re heart hasn’t frozen in your chest, leaving you insensitive for all eternity, I’ve located an interface for her conversalist. Would you like me to get her on the line for you?”
Pace was tempted, but what would he say to her? Nothing that should be discussed over the phone. He needed to talk things over in person. “Not necessary, Clam, but thank you.”
Did he just hear his ship mutter, “Clueless male”?
“I’m ignoring you,” he sniped back. “Just get us where we’re going.”
“Affirmative.”
Great. She’d changed her voice to an annoying computer default. Well, that would make it easy not to converse with her while they traveled.
****
The first thing Pace noticed before entering Gemma-Hydrox’s atmosphere were the small fires spurting up in various places around the outer rim, blazing like bursts of dragon’s breath. Nothing his shields couldn’t handle, but as he continued looking, he realized the conflagrations repeated in the same spots over and over.
He took them down farther. As he left the outer spaces, his gaze locked onto stacks of some sort, reaching out like fingers into the upper atmosphere. He maneuvered the ship closer to one. Holy smokes. They propelled a fine gray powder from their snouts, which hit what on earth would be called the Van Allen Belts, where it burned up.
The detritus could only be the filtrates from the mines on the planet. Charming. But also innovative. The air below looked extremely clean.
Following his given coordinates, Pace took Calamity through the miasma layer, spotting some pretty green land masses and a large body of water that had to be the Anduvian Wash Lola had mentioned. He could also see a sparkling city in the distance.
Pace raised one arm and sniffed his armpit. Not good. “I’m going for a quick shower, Calamity. Don’t port-in until I’m decent.”
“Would it be poking the hornet’s nest to say you’ve never been decent in your life, which makes this holier-than-thou position you’ve taken with Lola very confusing?”
If his computer could do an eye roll, Pace pictured one here as Calamity continued her rant.
“Why don’t you just take the stick out of your…romp and see where this adventure takes you?”
Good advice… Wait… What? Romp?
“Did you eavesdrop while Lola and I were having sex, even though I explicitly told you not to?”
“Explicit is a fine word,” she replied smoothly. “And I only checked in briefly, monitoring for safety as I was ordered.”
Pace chose not to engage in an argument because, unfortunately, he’d programmed her so well, she won every time. “Hover,” he growled, “Then land when I give the word.”
“My pleasure, oh aromatic autocrat.”
Pace stomped down the hallway to the bathroom. He really was going to rethink letting his computer get away with so much.
Twenty minutes later, he stood, washed and groomed with his face clean-shaven, at the top of his companionway, watching the hatch slowly drop open. From the bridge, seeing the crowd waiting to greet him, he suffered pangs in his gut looking out on a sea of people who all had the same coloring as Lola. Acres of platinum hair, in all styles and lengths, surrounded lilac faces…but none of them was her.
The doors hit with a thunk, and Pace stepped forward to be greeted by several older citizens, all male, all sporting military-style, gaudy epaulettes. These had to be the Lords he’d heard about.
“Welcome!” The one in front stepped up with an elbow raised. Pace eyed it as the man waggled the appendage in his direction. It had to be their form of handshake. “I’m Lord Shmegma.”
Pace tried not to choke on his tongue. There were some things that just defied the odds.
With his eyes watering from holding in his mirth, he moved forward and mimicked Shmegma’s action, making brief contact in a solid bump before the other man withdrew.
The Lord turned to the crowd and spoke loudly. “Citizens of Gemma-Hydrox, I give you the earthman, Pace Ruffalo. Do not be afraid. His skin is a peculiar color, but his heart beats like a Hydroxene.”
It was a good thing Pace had shaved. He wondered what they’d think of a hairy intruder.
The Royal’s proclamation wasn’t met with applause, but with a cacophony of loud voices, all repeating Pace’s name.
Okay. That’s not bad. A person could get used to that kind of adulation.
They quieted after a few minutes, leaving an air of expectation. They probably wanted a speech. Pace cleared his throat. The Lord spoke before he got a word out.
“He will follow us, via parade, to the city seat.” He gestured to a large, palatial building fully visible half a mile away. “There, we will question him on the gifts he brings and examine his intentions toward our very own Lola Xeltrax.”
So much for Pace giving his two cents’ worth. Not that he minded. Public speaking was a nuisance.
The Lord turned to a non-decorated person, clearly an aide, who stood by his side. He lowered his voice, but not so quietly Pace couldn’t hear. “Have we located her yet? It would be very bad form if she doesn’t show up to meet her intended.”
“We have, Your Grace. Her planetrome malfunctioned before she left, so we were not aware of her debarkation from our city. But we have it on good authority she’s traveling back, as we speak, from a planet where she’s received some expert grooming.”
Pace nearly snorted. She’d been groomed all right. If getting licked all over counted.
“Well done,” the ruler replied before turning to Pace. “If you will follow me, we’ll enter the open pod just to the right. You will wave and smile as we make our way to the privacy of our palace.”
Nice of the old guy to tell him what was expected, but he didn’t much like dictators, and that was what Lola’s leaders were starting to sound like. For now, at least, he’d play nice.
He entered the large pod, followed by the dignitaries and the aide. The rear door closed and it lifted into the air to float a foot above the people lining the street before moving sedately in the aforementioned direction.
He began to wave…and take it all in.
It was a world of riotous color and odd uniformity. From what he could see, all women stood at the same five-foot-three as Lola. The men were not that much larger, topping out at a consistent five-nine. The houses they passed were amazing structures of multi-level glass and metal, each a carbon copy of its neighbors. Strange, they lived so plainly for a people vibrantly dressed in an array of fashion that would have given pause to any costume ball on earth.
Around the adults, he caught glimpses of children running about. Boys and girls…no, girls and boys. Huh. That’s strange. No matter where he looked, he kept mistaking one sex for another. Where he was sure he saw a young female, all dimples and sparkly eyes, a moment later, a gangly youth, all elbows and knees, stood there. He leaned forward to get a better look, but was plucked upright by the Lord.
“We have much to show you that delights the eye,” he simpered. “We are about to enter the Square of Statuary. It is a well-loved monument to our people.”
Pace reluctantly turned his gaze ahead to where the man pointed. Sure enough, a dozen purple statues stood up ahead. As they closed in on them and started to travel through their center, Pace had trouble keeping his mouth from dropping open. Each stone monument depicted a man with a woman coming out of his side. Some looked like the miners Lola had told him were held in such high esteem, but some were obviously doctors, clerics and farmers. But what was with the man/woman thing? Was it like some Adam and Eve story? Eve came out of Adam’s rib, right?
But wouldn’t that mean G-Hydrox society saw women as a subjugated sex? Pace shook his head. With the strength of mind and body Lola had shown him, not likely. Clearly, the genders were treated equally. Now he wished Lola were by his side for this. To explain everything.
The path to the palace was strewn with other perplexing sights. A dance troupe, that had obviously been employed to welcome him, seemed to twirl and spin beneath him in a confusing array of costumes. Sometimes the men wore skirts, and sometimes the women.
Fascinating.
The trip ended all too soon as far as Pace was concerned, and he was led from the pod to enter the cool chambers of the city seat, as the Lord called it.
He was ushered to a chair at a long table right inside the marblesque façade, having a lovely view of the street through large windows that ran the full length, between upright columns.
“Let’s get right to business, shall we?”
The Lords all sat and regarded him through what Pace could only call calculated eyes.
“Let’s.” He played it cool, inclining his head.
“We have to know whether you’ll uphold our laws once you and Lola are married and she carries a child.”
Pace raised a brow. “And what laws would those be?” He hadn’t even had a second date and they were already having him procreate.
“That the moment she is pregnant, she will always, from that moment on, be one hundred percent id-female.”
Pace blinked. “And what the hell does that mean?” They were obviously playing hardball, so he didn’t mince words, either.
“You don’t know?” The man steepled his fingers and leaned forward, a shark-like smile on his face.
“Clearly, I don’t.” Instead of moving away, Pace inclined closer to the objectionable fellow.
“Ah, good for Gerri Wilder.” The Lord nodded, almost happily. “She didn’t tell you. That shows great promise for future dealings with her agency.”
“Stop speaking in riddles, man, and tell me what you’re insinuating.” Pace grew impatient and more than a little angry.
“Lola, my clueless earth friend, is a true Hydroxene. We are, and she is, both male and female.”
Pace rocked back in his seat as if he’d been punched. “What?” He felt himself sway. He struggled to pull in a breath while trying to not let the old asshole know he’d been shaken.
“We’re a shifter planet,” the man continued haughtily. “All our people take on dual genders at birth.”
Pace’s brain suddenly kicked into gear. This wasn’t a joke. The guy was dead serious. Which meant Pace had a woman he already loved…who was also a man. Holy shit! I can have Lola and…whatever she calls herself when she shifts. It was like hitting the goddamned lottery. His initial instinct was to high five every guy in the room, but he stopped himself. He recalled what the creep had said about pregnancy, about remaining an id-female…and sobered immediately.
Pace knew what the unveiled orders meant. If Lola married him, she’d be required to remain female…or id-female, as the old guy said…for the rest of her life. Never to shift again. What kind of craziness was that?
Pace opened his mouth to speak and tell the assholes to fuck off when the aide who’d assured the higher-up that Lola was on her way rushed into the room, a look of horror on his face.
“What is it, Morllay?” Shmegma asked.
The ruler was clearly not used to being interrupted because his nose took on a definite twist of disdain.
“Lord, I’m so sorry, but there’s bad news.”
“Spit it out, man,” the Lord said impatiently.
The aide gulped. “Ms. Xeltrax has been kidnapped. The brigands want every piece of the treasure from earth to secure her release.”