Page 21 of Her Alien Delegate
"What search parameters do I have to find her for a contract offer? If you're in isolation, then I'll make sure to get things settled here at the palace."
"She'll be searchable based on contracts made to mate with a trill diplomat; there can't be many of those." I was sure there would only be the one.
"I'll send word to her of your intention to make her a delegate of AsunGor," Pheyal said with resolve before the line cut off. Did we lose connection?
"Must be interference in the atmosphere today," Romek dismissed before I could ask.
I didn't trust it.
My hand launched at him and squeezed around his throat, throwing him against the wall.
Keeping my voice calm and detached, I asked casually, "Romek, I am beginning to suspect you are not favoring AsunGor's goals to name me the Commissioner of our planet. As it is our planet, not Trillume, that we should be concerned with." He gurgled against my hold, yet did not make a move to resist. Smart warrior. He has heard the rumors of my lack of concern for my own well-being if it means winning. My calm tone added to the false assumptions that I was a dangerous, unpredictable male. I was predictable. I had no intentions of killing him here.
His fingers held onto my own to ease the pressure I was asserting, but he would still have trouble speaking without easing my grip.
"For someone concerned about their commissioner being held hostage, you did not seem phased or concerned about why I had sap on my eyes. Nor were you curious as to where my guard was. You led me to a room with the very garrant that threatened my life. And you seemed relieved to have me stuck in this isolation unit, delaying my title, and more relaxed than one should be when facing two red stars of being unable to leave.Then, you ended my communication with Pheyal before I could give further instruction. Tell me, Romek, do you have a new allegiance?"
I eased my grip to allow him to speak.
He choked out, "AsunGor." His eyes were steely as he answered my accusations. "My loyalty is to AsunGor, you are merely a vessel. You weaken our future by mating with a human when it is the trill that we should be bonding with. Why choose such a fragile mate?"
Ah, it made sense now.
"You are part of the anti-Earthlings," I said with boredom and released him with a shove. "What is your plan then? Hold me here until the Galactic Authority issues me as derelict in my duties and not recognize me as the Commissioner of AsunGor?"
It wouldn't work. I shook my head in disappointment. "You really have lost yourself here on Trillume. The unGor have chosen me, and I have the support of the largest commissions marked on my skin. All you have done is make another story for the universe to spread about Commissioner Broma, a leader who has killed their captor, and uncovered corruption, all while finding a mate in the dangerous bowels of the Blue District. It will add to my honored title, not damage it."
He coughed out a laugh, but I maintained my stoic appearance, though his response made my skin crawl.
"Your mate won't be allowed to stay on Trillume. All humans are being directed to other planets. The Galactic Authority has been banning contracts on Trillume, or with diplomats with direct connection with Trillume. They don't want them infecting our population. Even if the trill don't find her, she'll be stolen by an outlaw and the council won't flex a scale at the loss of a transferred contract. They are only held liable for direct contracts."
"You sound like them," I said with a tut. "Contracts mean nothing to us. They are simply a way to force others to comply without a duel, but I will fight for my mate, if needed, or did you forget where you came from?"
UnGor are a diplomatic species. We've been known to be ruthlessly strict about promises that have been agreed to, even if it meant leaving someone to die. It was a choice they made, regardless if they were aware of the consequences of their agreements ahead of time. But a promise needn't have a contract to be binding by unGor standards. And some contracts meant nothing to us, if we believe that it wasn't a true promise.
I was giving Romek a chance to keep his own promise to AsunGor before he sealed his own fate. My title as commissioner was already a promise made as soon as the ink was placed on my skin, regardless of the Trillume Authority's paperwork.
Romek's eyes turned to steel as he understood my meaning. His trill documents meant nothing to me.
"You would have our species be defenseless?"
I laughed.
"It is you who weakens the unGor, not the Earthlings. You know nothing of our ancestors. Our universe was created in a great explosion, allowing for the elements that make us to be created. Earthlings are ninety-nine percent the same as us. The only differences was what planet they were formed on to create the mutations we have become."
"They are weak," he spouted digging into his beliefs.
"Weakness is isolating yourself from opportunities."
"Then you are the weakest of them all," he said while taking a step back. Brazen, he believed that I needed him alive to receive my title from the trill. There was no other explanation for his contradicting bravery of speech while his body retreated.
"I will grant you a thrall," I said giving him the opportunity to say his opinions about how things should be done.
"The trill have plenty of females, and they are strong with an ability to survive even after life-threatening damage."
"Yes, and their traits would certainly battle for dominance. Would they adapt to our planet? Or would you wish the unGor to populate Trillume instead?"
He sputtered for an answer that he already knew.
