CHAPTER FOUR
, D'Arek A'Renoq
Arek sat in the chair offered him, and watched a phalanx of holo-cams zip into position around the small stage. Across from him sat the Egglantian reporter who'd introduced herself as Su-Su. He'd seen her kind reporting on various galactic events, usually zipping around in news-hovies, black hair gelled into ridiculous shapes on their pale-purplish ovoid heads, black eyes avid as they gushed.
Eggs loved to sensationalize any event, from a disaster to a peace treaty. Thus, D'Arek's father and indeed most Aurelians avoided the networks on which they reported, preferring factual accounts of galactic news.
But now, he must deal with this Egglantian. He eyed her fatalistically, waiting.
The short, round being settled herself in her own chair, elevated more than Arek's to give the illusion of height. She wore a bright orange suit and her small lips were painted with bright, shiny pink.
Arek's race partner, annoying as she was, could probably wear those colors, but they made this female look grotesque.
"So, Commander D'Arek A'Renoq," the reporter began, fluttering her strangely long, thick lashes at him like mini fans. "Or should I say... Prince A'Renoq?"
Arek's jaw tightened. "No, you should not. The title is ceremonial, and not for common usage. You may address me as Commander A'Renoq."
"Oh, may we?" She tittered, a sound that grated on his ears like the screech of a bent tatt tread. "Tell us more about yourself."
He nodded. "I am Aurelian, from Planet Aurellon, in the Milky Way System. As a platoon commander in the frontier guard forces, I live on Hamor Base on our western frontier."
"Tell us what it means to be an Aurelian warrior, commander. For example, your armed forces are feared and distrusted by many other races of beings, are you not?"
Arek eyed her impassively, letting none of his disgust and irritation show.
"We are a strong race, who protect our territory from those who would enslave us, or destroy us outright. We do not seek conflict, but nor do we flee when it is forced upon us. Thus, we are feared by our enemies and respected by our allies. As for those who distrust us, perhaps it is because they have shown themselves to be unworthy of trust."
"Really, a most impassioned speech," the reporter smirked. "So, tell us, are the Tygean race worthy of this trust of yours—such as your partner?"
Arek raised a brow. "Tygeans? As a race, they are vain, sly, and quick to anger. With one of them as my partner, I will be the voice of logic and reason... if I'm not forced to immobilize her to keep her out of trouble."
And that was the truth... but hells, he probably shouldn't have stated it quite so baldly.
Or at all.
He'd blurted out his unvarnished opinion like a raw recruit, when he'd been sent here to set the foundations of a new era in Aurelian relations with their neighbors.
His father had asked him to attempt diplomacy and restraint... and he'd already failed, on intergalactic holovid. He stared stoically into the cameras, wishing he could have the last few moments to do over again.
Did they show these interviews to the other teammates? Because if the Tygress was hostile now, wait till she saw this.
He'd have a hissing virago on his hands.
* * *
Race Contestant Interview #1, Mia Jag
"So, Mi Jag, tell us about yourself."
"Surely. I am Tygean, from Planet Bryght in the Milky Way System."
"Excellent. Tell us about being Tygean. For example, you have the ability to shift into a felinoid, correct?" The reporter gave her a knowing look.
"Yes, of course." Did the Egglantian really expect Mia be embarrassed by any facet of her heritage? "Once or twice a year, when our particular mating moons are in ascendance, we Tygeans undergo a partial shift."
"And you then cloister yourselves with a partner, do you not?" The reporter tittered, a sugary sound that made Mia's sensitive ears shudder with discomfort.
She fought the urge to glare at the Egg. "Yes. When we're wed, this is a time when we can choose to procreate."
The reporter smirked, and unease built in Mia's middle. The Egg wanted to make an embarrassing thing out of Tyger shifts. Too bad, for Mia had said all she was going to say about it, at least on inter-galactic holovid. Let the audience figure out for themselves what unwed Tygers used their shift for.
"Tygeans are also exceptional navigators, both on planet and space," Mia said quickly. "We are known for it throughout our galaxy. I hope to use this ability to win the Great Space Race."
There, let the Egg try to use that to embarrass Mia.
Unfortunately, Mia had underestimated her opponent. The Egglantian reporter batted her ridiculous lashes. "Oooh, I see. So, are you as skilled a navigator as your older brother, Commander Tryon Jag? He has won so many commendations."
Mia gritted her teeth. "Tryon has years of experience as navigator for some of the largest cruise ships. We are all very proud of him. But as a Tygress, I have the same innate ability, and I am academy trained."
She'd done her academy training after working a full day at her family's import company, and paid for the classes herself too. She'd finished in the top half of her class... not that Tryon had cared when he refused to hire her at JagNav.
So, she'd use her skills now, and show him how wrong he'd been to refuse her.
The Egg gave a moue of amusement toward the nearest camera, as if to say of course she didn't believe Mia, but she would be merciful and dig no further. Mia stared at her, imagining how the Egg would look bowling end-over-end across the stage, shrieking with pain. As her fingers tingled with the urge to unsheathe her claws, she folded her hands in her lap, fighting for serenity.
Then a larger-than-life hologram of D'Arek A'Renoq sprang to life where Mia could not avoid looking at him. At his ass, more like, as the hologram had his back turned to her, and his broad shoulders, tapering back, tight ass and long, thick legs were outlined by his snug suit.
"And what is your first impression of your partner?" the reporter cooed.
Mia tore her gaze away from the hologram and crossed her legs, tapping her nails on the arm of her chair. "Oh, he's all right," she said, hoping she sounded as blasé as a sophisticated Tygress surrounded by splendid male specimens every day. "If you like them long."
She blinked. Oh, quark. Had she just said that on holovid? She'd meant that he was too tall, not the measurements of his—meyowl, just laser her now.
Her face pulsed with heat.
The Egglantian tittered. "Oooh, you Tygeans, so frank." She simpered at the hologram, which began to revolve slowly. "So, you find your partner attractive, yes?"
"I... I don't think of him in a sexual way at all. We've been forced to be partners, so I view him as simply a—a co-worker."
The reporter eyed her coyly. "Really? No attraction there at all? Despite his fabulous length?"
Mia could almost hear the roars of laughter from inter-galactic audiences—and the groans of dismay from her own family. Her face pulsed with heat again. She tipped her head so her hair fell over her shoulder, and narrowed her eyes at the reporter. She was so done here. "None. At. All."
"Hmmm. If you say so. In that case, let's move on. How do you find the commander as a race partner?"
"As a race partner?" Mia snarled, goaded beyond discretion. "I find D'Arek A'Renoq cold, cruel and exceedingly arrogant, like most of his kind. As his partner, I will have to be the voice of reason and temperance... if I don't kill him first."
She bared her teeth in a smile. "Any other questions?"
The Egglantian sat back in her chair, blinking rapidly. "Erm... no. Thank you so much."
Mia crossed her arms, tossed her hair back and waited for the holo-cams to whiz away. And then tried very hard not to worry about what she'd said, on holocam... in front of two galaxies.
Not that she cared about the opinion of 99.9% of the beings in either galaxy.
But she did have a tendency to snarl whatever was on the tip of her tongue when she was angry. She knew this, and most of the time, controlled it. Okay, some of the time she controlled it.
Being a female in a family of over-bearing alpha males wasn't easy. She would never be big enough or strong enough to thump a Tyger male upside the head and get away with it, so she'd learned to use her words.
Sometimes, like now, she completely and totally over-used them.
Goddess, she hoped the Aurelian never saw this interview.