Page 61 of Malliko
“We’ll talk after,” she said and walked out when the door opened and two of my former soldiers walked in.
I had trained Nerix and Lios and been their superior until I left the Federation to become a speciologist. They closed the door, keeping a professional attitude, and gesturing for me to sit down.
In my many years as a leader on the cultural defense team, Nerix had always been my greatest challenge. I feared that he would take this opportunity to get back at me for all the times that I’d tried to discipline him.
“I see they made you captain,” I said to Lios, whose uniform revealed his new rank. Both men looked incredibly fit and well trained, which didn’t surprise me since Lios had always been the most disciplined among us.
“It’s a role I take seriously,” Lios said. His large ears gave away that he was Ugon. Just like us Eidrons and the humans, the Ugons were descendants of the doomed ones as well. We always joked that their larger ears were a failure of evolution because out of all the humanoid races, the Ugons talked the least. They communicated almost strictly through telepathy and were superior when it came to mind clouding and mental combat. When Lios first joined our team, I had worked with him to start using his verbal voice to speak up because not everyone on our team was as skilled in telepathy as him. He watched me closely, his eyes large and green. “I want to say that it’s nice to see you, Mal, but I wish the circumstances were better.”
“Me too.” Keeping a calm gaze on Lios, I waited for him to go over the procedural questions that I’d trained him to ask.
“You are aware of how this works, but I still need to go over the formal protocol. Do you understand why you are here?”
“I have been accused of doing something wrong, but it’s unclear to me what the accusation is exactly.”
“We’ll get to that. First, I need to state that the outcome of this investigation will be fair and just. You are protected by the rules of the Federation, which grant you the right to understand the accusations made against you and give you the opportunity to explain your side of the story. Should we, the investigating team, decide that further information is needed to determine if a violation of cultural protection laws has occurred then you will need to cooperate. Do you understand these premises?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Lios sat with his forearms on the table and watched me. “How about we just start by you telling us what happened?”
I sighed. “How about you tell me what the accusation is, and I’ll tell you if it’s true.”
“The accusation is that you have used your superior mental powers to manipulate a female human into having sex with you. As you know, humans are a protected species because of their ignorance of our existence.”
Crossing my arms, I pushed my tongue against the inside of my cheek. “I didn’t manipulate anyone to have sex with me. Nor would I have to, since human women seem naturally attracted to us.”
“When you sayus, what do you mean?” Nerix asked.
“Tania, the agent who made the report about me, told me from the moment I arrived that humans were naturally attracted to Eidrons because of our build and looks. If I wanted to have sex, there would be no reason for me to use any sort of manipulation. Plenty of humans have made me offers already.”
Lios watched me for a moment. “We have a description of events that explains how the accuser interviewed the female victim, after she had been to see you in your dwelling. According to the accuser, the female confirmed that sexual acts had taken place between you and her.”
That part made me sit up straighter. “What are you talking about? Tania never talked to Clara.”
“Is Clara the victim?” Nerix asked.
“There’s no victim,” I corrected him. “I’ve been helping Clara, but she has never met Tania.”
“Helping her how?” Lios wanted to know.
My mind was reeling trying to figure out how Clara and Tania could have met. Did Tania find Clara at Go2Match, maybe? The idea that Tania had sought out to find and talk to Clara annoyed me.
“You said that you’ve been helping. Can you clarify what you mean by that?”
“I met Clara during my research and instantly liked her. She’s competent and smart. Since my research project is related to breeding habits of humans, we talked about her sex life, and I was sad to hear that she’s been feeling stuck. Part of the problem was that she felt unattractive and so I felt compelled to help her see that she’s anything but.”
Lios kept watching me without revealing his thoughts. “And how did you do that?”
“By…” Just thinking about last night made my pulse race and I knew both Lios and Nerix would pick up on it. “By complimenting her and making her feel safe with a man again.”
Nerix leaned closer. “So, you’re admitting to having sex with a human?”
“No.”
“Then how do you explain that Clara confirmed with an agent of the Federation that she was intimate with you?”
“I wish to know the extent of the accusations made against me.” Playing that trump card meant there was nothing they could do to deny me my right.
