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My heart thumped a bit harder with hope that this man and this woman might have a plan to save Earth.
"We can't declare war on the Cryons without risking an interplanetary war with every species out there who has a bone to pick with us," Xandros explained, "and calling in a meeting with the GTU will take a long time. Time Earth doesn't have."
"So what are you suggesting then?" Daryus tilted his head and stared at Xandros apprehensively.
Xandros grinned from ear to ear. "Well, I'm glad you asked. There are no laws stopping us from supplying Earth with weapons to defend themselves. It's a free trade market as you always point out when you make us go talk to Crough."
Daryus massaged his chin. "And what could the humans possibly offer us as payment that would make us want to sell weapons to them?"
Xandros's grin deepened. "Merrilies, healthy child-baring merrilies."
"What?" I gasped, staring at the lieutenant who stood next to Xandros, seemingly in full agreement with the outrageous plan. She noticed and shrugged in a c'est la vie kind of gesture, enraging me until I realized that this might be the only solution to get help to Earth. "You can't be serious. Earth women are not some kind of payment, we aren't…"
Garth put a calming hand on my shoulder, interrupting me gently, "This might be the only way, unless you have a better idea of what Earth might have to offer."
I didn't, at least not at the moment, so I voiced the only objection I could. "The women have to be willing."
"Have you seen these men?" Ashley asked me, shaking her head. "Women will flock to them, trust me."
Like you have? lay on the tip of my tongue but I suppressed it, because honestly, so had I.
"We have merrilies." Daryus dampened the mood. "Plenty of them."
"But none who are our mekarries anymore." Xandros grinned and pulled Ashley closer into his chest, who boxed him in the ribs, hissing, "Xandros!"
"You too?" Garth stared at his friend.
"Me and five of mycrewmembers," Xandros confirmed.
"I need to think about this." Daryus waved his hand as if dismissing us.
"Don't think too long your Imperial Highness. People are dying, ticktock, ticktock," Ashley mocked.
Daryus lifted his head and glared at her, ready to say something, but Xandros pulled her with him to the exit.
Garth pulled on my hand. "Come."
Instead of taking me back to theVyper, Garth led me up some sprawling, floating stairs giving me a glimpse of more of the astonishing palace.
"These are the quarters for the nobles and lord protectors," Garth explained.
The walls here looked like polished marble, but I was sure were made from a different material. Instead of the veins marble usually had, there were scattered specks of gold, making the material shimmer even more.
As you would expect to find in an expensive hotel corridor, tall, narrow tables stood in regular intervals between closed sliding doors.
The lighting was ambient and plush carpet-like flooring quieted our footsteps. Some doors had guards stationed in front of them, raising my curiosity. "Why so many guards? Do your people not trust each other?"
"Many dignitaries from other planets visit here and some have ancient feuds with our nobles. It's better to discourageany disputes or assassination attempts right off the start."
"You are warmongering people, aren't you?"
"Do your dignitaries not have security details?" he questioned.
He had me there.Why did I think life would be any different in this world?I wondered. The answer was simple: because I was being blinded by the splendor and technology around me. It came with the assumption that higher intellect would equal a more peaceful race. A point that was proven wrong to me before in regard to the Cryons. Why I thought it would be different for the Pandraxians, I didn't know. Maybe because they hadn't been the ones who had initially attacked us, but now I wondered if they would have treated us any differently.
"What would have happened to us if your species had discovered Earth first?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, even though I should have known better.
"I would have torn your planet apart, rock by rock, until I found you," Garth said with a straight face.
