CHAPTER 2
Staring over the Shardon’s shoulder at Korban, Selene watched as he roared his frustration. No matter how fast he moved, he’d not make it across the cavernous room in time to intervene. Everyone knew that, including the Shardon. Therefore, they ignored him completely as they continued on their way.
She offered to go with them if they ceased all hostilities and left immediately. They’d immediately agreed to her demands. Now that it was happening, she began to second guess her strategy. What if she never managed to get away? She should have refused to allow Shafra and Tref to shadow her. If she got stuck, then they’d be stuck as well. Then again, she’d have a better chance with them along for backup. Round and round she went in her head until she had a huge migraine.
When they entered the Shardon ship, she was taken aback by the stark contrast between it and the other ships she’d been on since leaving Earth. It was more like an older Earth vessel, in that it was kind of low tech. It fascinated her to watch the Shardon open and close doors with their hands. Their control panels had three-dimensional buttons instead of the smooth streamlined holographic displays on Korban’s ship. She wondered if actual gears and other moving parts were safely hidden behind the consoles. The mischievous rebel inside her wanted to pop open a wall and have a look.
The somber alien led her into a small room, fitted with an office in one corner, a small seating area in another, and a conference table taking up the other half of the room. Gesturing her over to a seating area, the male spoke as a couple of others brought them refreshments. It felt like they were totally unaware that they’d just waged a horrific little battle to acquire her.
“My name is Shar Jalon of the Shardon Contingent. You are to be commended for joining the Contingent freely of your own accord. You save much bloodshed today.”
“I haven’t joined your Contingent. I only agreed to come with you to keep you from attacking my people. That hardly makes me willing.”
“Then you have already chosen a mate?”
“The Imperial Prince Korban has extended an offer of mating and I have accepted. We consummated our union last night.” Now Selene knew that was only partially true, as there had been lots of great sex but no formal announcement. Under the circumstance, she thought it best that they believed her decision had been made.
“That is unfortunate.”
“If there is any other matter I can assist you with, please know I would be more than happy to cooperate.”
The Shardon male’s expression was totally blank, but the bottom of his earlobes turned a deeper blue color than the rest of his skin. Did that mean he was angry, embarrassed, or anxious? She didn’t have a clue.
She couldn’t help being a little curious about him. She wondered what his weaknesses were rather than the typical curiosity associated with meeting a new species. He had little rolled ridges of smoke-blue skin that ran horizontally from one side of his head to the other. At irregular intervals, the ridges were pinched tight with little silver metal bands. His large almond-shaped solid black eyes were closed, indicating he was deep in thought.
Not knowing what else to say, she tried for a compliment. “Your cranial pattern is nicely done. I noticed you all have different patterns. Yours is particularly nice.”
His eyes popped open. “Thank you, earthling. I had them done yesterday in preparation of doing battle for you.”
“Sorry you went through so much trouble to acquire me. The timing was just bad. If I hadn’t met Korban first, I’d have given you a shot. You really shouldn’t fight over women though. It’s not ethical and makes us feel bad.”
Shar Jalon blinked at her once and then again before answering. “Under normal circumstances, I might agree with you. However, our situation is even more desperate than that of the Krylons. We haven’t bred totally unique embryos for over fifty years and rely upon cloning to continue our race. We face a collapse of the fragile chromosome that defines us as Shardon.”
“I’m sorry to hear of your difficulties. If I could help, I would.”
“We hoped you might consider one of our males, but in truth, we were more interested in getting a look at your physiology to see if you might be compatible with our people. I won’t lie, the tests are invasive, but they won’t harm you or cause you discomfort.”
“Why didn’t you just com me and ask?”
“We are shunned by the Krylon. They think that because we rely heavily upon cloning technology, we’re not really people. I can assure you that we mix the genetic material carefully to ensure each clone is a totally unique being.”
“You think he would have forbade it?”
“He was appointed your guardian, though we objected vehemently against it.”
“Why would you care if he was my guardian?”
“He contracted with the Candorian who took you.”
“He told me that he turned the man into the Galactic Union and had me rescued.”
“Both are true.”
Her lips pressed into a firm line. “I see; he was intent on having me by hook or by crook.”
Shar Jalon bowed his head.
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. You can test me all you want. You are welcome to take any samples that suit your needs, but I forbid you to remove any eggs or mess with my reproductive system. Would that be an appropriate compromise?”
“You are generous beyond even our wildest hopes.”
“I want to make it very clear to you that I really don’t appreciate how you handled this situation. A lot of good men got hurt on both sides. I feel that it was totally unnecessary.”
“You have our apologies. We never dared hope you would be sympathetic to our plight. Most females from other species avoid us. It bothers us little, since they aren’t biologically compatible with us. Honestly, we never thought to win the battle, as the Krylon far outmatch us technologically.”
“I don’t know anything about how that happened, but it makes me mad. When you behave that way, it makes us feel like we’re objects to be inspected, valued, and carried off, rather than people. It’s disrespectful and I worry about trusting you after what you did.”
“You have my word that no harm will come to you and we will not overstep the bounds you have laid down for us.”
Looking the man in the face, Selene knew in her heart of hearts he was lying to her. Still, all she could do was play for time.
“Would you like to eat, refresh yourself, and rest before meeting with our medical personnel?”
“Yes. Thank you. Your consideration is much appreciated.”
Nodding, Shar Jalon stood and escorted her to a spacious suite of rooms. As soon as the door slid shut, she went into the restroom. Sitting quietly, she waited for about a half an hour for Tref to work his magic on securing the room. Sure enough, they both materialized and they got to work coming up with a game plan. They needed to gather intel and figure out some way to contact Korban. Then they needed to contact the Candorian vessel carrying her mother.