Page 48 of Kidnapped By the Alien Chieftain

I struggle to contain my excitement. “A solid sphere of pure Elerium? We could stock the entire fleet for decades!”

Xandor chuckles, “Yeah, we did all right with this haul.”

Felixus clears his throat. “Lad, I must insist you return any Nebian equipment recovered.”

“Those weapons are our spoils of war! Not like we took them in the first place,” Xandor protests.

Felixus rubs his chin, considering his response. “You mentioned returning your warvisors as a sacred duty? Well, this is no different for us Nebians. It is our sacred duty to return our technology.”

“Very well, Felixus, as a token of our friendship and the beginnings of the friendship between our peoples, I will return them into your care,” I say as I offer him a quick bow.

Felixus lets out an audible sigh as he returns a deep bow. “That’s a relief, lad. When I report to the Nebian high command, I will let them know of this kind gesture. I’m sure they’ll send another ambassador to discuss possible truce terms.”

Turning to Xandor, I instruct him, “Have a look through those other items recovered. If Tensin kept it, it’s probably worth something to someone.”

With a smile, I conclude, “Now if you will excuse us, we have training to do.” I continue toward the training halls.

“Enjoy your ‘training’,” Xandor calls after us, laughing, lingering on the word training.

“Goodbye, you two,” Pebbles says sweetly, following closely beside me.

A little distance away, Pebbles turns, checking over her shoulder before saying, “Is it safe to leave them together?”

“The Nebians and my people have bad blood at the moment. But it’s mostly just Xandor joking around with him.” I smile at the thought that there may yet be hope for this war ending.

“If you are sure,” Pebbles says, still not convinced. “What are you going to do with the rescued girls?” she asks, concern evident in her voice.

I consider her question for a moment before responding. “We are very close to Klendathor now. It is my intention to drop them off before taking you back to Earth. Would this please you?”

Pebbles nods, then takes my arm and clings to it. “It does,” she affirms.

I smile, pleased my decision hasn’t upset her.“Good. From there, we can give them passage to anywhere they wish,” I confirm.

We arrive at the training hall door as it whizzes open, revealing an empty room. During campaigns with the ship full of my clan Draxxus warriors, this place would have been a bustling hive of fighters honing their strength and skill. Pebbles runs into the room excitedly, casting her eyes around the room, taking in the unique pieces of equipment.

“Maybe I should start working out again,” Pebbles says as she jogs over to one rope to test her strength. She struggles to climb up it and drops back down, panting heavily. “Phew, I’m really out of practice.” She quickly picks up a belt from the ground and wraps it around herself. “What’s this for?”

“That’s a graviton training belt. You need to be very—” I begin, my voice laced with concern, as I jog over to her.

Suddenly, she’s forced into a fully prone position with a loud thump. “… careful.” I add, my caution coming too late.

“Help, Krogoth, I can’t move! What the hell is this thing?” Her words come out mumbled with her head pressed into the floor. “Like elephants are sitting on every part of me.” She struggles, shaking with strain, the visible sweat creeping from her pores. She somehow creates a bit of distance before rudely being forced down again.

I rush over to her, reaching under her stomach and turn the graviton training belt off. The familiar buzzing sound of the belt dies away. “Are you alright, my little flat Pebbles?” I ask, offering her a hand up.

She takes my hand as I hoist her up onto her feet easily. “I might need to visit the healing pods after this,” she says,brushing the dust off her flustered face, which is now almost the same shade as mine.

“Like I was saying before you nearly squashed yourself, it’s a graviton training belt.” I pat her backside to help get the dust off her and maybe for other, less honorable reasons. “It multiplies the effects of gravity on the body’s muscles to create resistance, without it affecting the organs.” I carefully remove the belt from her and inspect it. “This dial here controls the amount of resistance. It is set at ten, which made your body ten times heavier,” I explain, pointing to the dial. “If someone had set it any higher, it could have crushed you like a znat bug.”

“I think you should put it on and we can have our little rematch,” she says, flashing a wicked smile.

I place the belt around my torso and adjust the control dial before activating it. Immediately, I feel the increased weight on my muscle like I’m wearing an impossibly large suit of armor. It’s a sharp contrast to my normal weight, but it’s not something I’m unaccustomed to - I’ve had many training sessions climbing ropes and leaping platforms with this added weight, and it has helped build my muscular frame over time.

“I’ve set it to twenty,” I announce, walking to the center of a wrestling circle.

Pebbles follows me to the circle, looking surprised. “Twenty! You’re just showing off now,” she exclaims, pointing at the belt. I flash her a grin and confirm that it’s on.

“You’re joking, right?” she asks, stunned.

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