Chapter 10

Xivthar hoped his brother had a good reason for pulling him away from the human female.

"What bad news have you uncovered now?"

His brother Drake's color remained a deep maroon, indicating anxiety bordering on fear. Fear was never a good thing to put on display in front of their people, especially not for the Minister of Defense.

"I've received word from Major Ontarii. He has reason to believe a Hareema operative is already on Zanthar."

The regent exhaled heavily. Since the Hareema had the power to mimic any living organism, the operative could be anything around them. Or anyone.

"Could the Earthling be the operative?"

Xivthar shook his head. "She took a shock big enough to jolt a Hareema into gelatinous form. She's human."

Drake frowned. "It has to be impersonating someone in one of the Ministries. It only makes sense that they'd go after someone powerful, someone with access to our defense systems."

The regent eyed the two guards stationed at the door suspiciously. Protocol required that no Zantharian be alone when a Hareema infiltrator was suspected. Because the Hareema had to change back into their original form, seven-foot tall rectangles of jelly, every six to eight hours, a single operative would have to find somewhere to hide while in its gelatinous state. Working in pairs was hoped to prevent this.

If it didn't, at least the Hareema could be determined by process of elimination.

It was the member of the pair that was still alive.

"If it isn't someone in charge, it would be someone who works closely with someone in charge."

"Like a guard?" Drake approached the pair. "Initiate electrical exchange."

The guards clasped hands, waves of light appearing on their skin, building up the charge. A powerful burst of light flashed between their hands, but their shapes remained the same.

"Where do we go from here?" Drake asked. "Even hourly electrical exchanges and the pair protocol doesn't ensure our safety. There could be multiple Hareema agents, or they could take the shape of another life form, something no one would notice, a plant, or a pet."

His brother was not exaggerating the Hareema threat, but panicking wouldn't help keep his people safe.

"I want a planet-wide curfew established and increased patrols. Anything that appears at all suspicious is to be reported."

Drake nodded, rushing to pull up his display and start sending orders.

"And I want that defense shield back up." Without the shield, they were vulnerable to the Hareema armada.

"We're working on it, but so far we've got nothing. Our scientists haven't figured out how to activate the damn computer, and all of the samples we've taken from the hull and essential systems haven't shown any incompatibility with our shields."

Drake stopped working the console to look at his brother. "We hope to uncover something during the dissection."

"Dissection?" The word made him shudder. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it might be.

"The Earthling. She's to be searched for technological implants or biological weapons."

Xivthar rounded on his brother. "On whose authority?"

"Mine. I am the Minister of Defense. And she is a threat."

Xivthar grabbed his brother by the neck. "She's not a threat. She's just a human female."

"You've lost perspective, brother. I was afraid this might happen."

The regent flashed yellow and slammed his brother into the wall. "I told you I'd take care of that threat. I don't appreciate your meddling."

"Is this what you call even-minded, Supreme One?" The words came out rough, as he was squeezing Drake's neck hard enough to impair his speech.

With a growl, Xivthar released his brother. "A dissection is ridiculous. None of the scans turned up anything on her, and it’s unlikely cutting her to pieces will either. But if we keep her alive, we can question her, or at the very least use her as bait to lure out the Hareema operative."

He gave his brother a withering stare. "I think the Minister of Defense has lost perspective if he thinks it wiser to dissect the only source of direct information we have rather than make use of it."

Drake stood, straightened his clothing, and returned to his console. "You're the regent. Do with her whatever you please."

Xivthar headed toward the door, hating the red stripes that appeared like deep grooves in the yellow of his skin.

"Remember, brother," Drake said from behind him as he departed, "one way or another, that female is a threat. When it comes to pass, I hope she only takes you down, and not our entire planet."