Star's Storm(52)

“She is the first sign,” Mena insisted in an unsteady voice. “It is said she will bring your bride.”

And that, thought Ristéard Roald, was the problem.

He was not looking for a bride and when he did, it would not be to some alien female from an obscure prophesy. Rage built inside him as the strange feeling of helplessness swept through him. His father and his father before him for countless generations had searched for a solution to the radiation slowly killing their world. It was caused by the thinning of their atmosphere. It was a phenomenon that had happened once before almost causing the extinction of his race. His ancestors had no choice before but to live in the great underground cities beneath their soil.

Over time, their world had returned to normal. It was said that a deadly species had come to attack their world only to die themselves in massive numbers due to the radiation. It was their blood that had spilled into the soil, giving the life giving crystals that had kept their world safe for almost two thousand years. The crystals had kept their planet alive but several generations of illegal gathers had depleted the source of the crystals until none remained. His grandfather had discovered what was happening and had tried to stop the sale of the crystals but he had been murdered by the very council ordained to protect his ruling and their planet. His father had executed the traitors and became the first Grand Ruler. He had spent his life and energy devoted to the research to find a way to save their world. Elpidios scientists worked tirelessly on solutions, both through the study of their history and through extensive research. It had finally been determined that there was another source of the crystals. A small amount of Kassisan crystal had been purchased and it matched the crystals from their world. His world needed the crystals to power the shield generators that would create a protective grid around their planet. The problem was they needed a huge quantity of it until they could grow the crystals on their own. His scientist had successfully been able to do so but they could not grow them fast enough at this point to save his people. Ristéard would have to approach Ajaska Ja Kel Coradon. If the Kassis ruling family denied his request he would have to weigh whether to attack or just steal the necessary crystals. Either way did not bode well for his people.

The com on his desk sounded. Ristéard gave the command to open communications.

“Grand Ruler, a Kassisan warship is hailing the planet. Lord Ajaska Ja Kel Coradon is asking for permission to meet with you,” the voice on the other end stated.

“Patch me through to him,” Ristéard ordered without turning around. “Get out,” he added to Mena.

It would seem his meeting was going to take place sooner than he expected. He would see if what Commander Rue was speculating could be true. And it if was, then he would deal with the consequences. In the meantime, he needed to convince a species he knew very little about to give him a large quantity of their power source.

“Yes sir,” Mena said stiffly with a salute before turning sharply and exiting the room.

“How did it go?” Her second in command asked as soon as she closed the door behind her.

Mena leaned back against the closed door and released the shaky breath that she had been holding. “Better than I expected,” she responded looking at her friend with a tired smile. “I’m still alive.”

*.*.*

Jazin looked down on the planet through the conference room viewport. His father had contacted the Elpidios Grand Ruler and they were to meet within the next hour. They had all been surprised when the Grand Ruler asked them to bring the pale alien female with them. Torak had argued that his mate did not need to go. They did not know enough about the Elpidios to expose their mates to such danger, especially with her expecting. Ajaska was hesitant but the Grand Ruler insisted that if the pale alien was not part of the landing party they would be denied permission to land. It had taken Gril, Ajaska and finally River to assure Torak that everything would be fine. The Grand Ruler gave his word that all he wanted was to meet her.

What Jazin didn’t like was the fact that Star would be traveling with them as well. Of course, as soon as Madas heard the other women were going she informed them she wasn’t about to be left behind. Jazin decided it was in his best interest to keep his mouth shut after listening to Torak and Gril. Especially when Star gave him ‘the look’ and calmly informed him to ‘not even think about it’.

“Everything will be okay,” Star said quietly.

He had been so lost in thought he had not even heard the conference room door open. He turned and smiled reassuringly at his mate. She was so beautiful. She was wearing a soft, light blue shirt tucked into a pair of form-fitting pants and the soft brown boots she was so proud of. He made a mental note to buy her a dozen pairs in every color available. Opening his arms, he chuckled when she hurried forward and snuggled up to him.