Page 29 of Veras
“I recognize the arena. But what are these other areas?” But my mind, naturally adapted to categorizing and summarizing, had already figured it out.
“This,” he swiped his hand and zeroed in on the hologram of the sky-high, ebony mountains, “is Nozaroc. As you can see, most is dominated by this mountain range we callErdam.”
“What does that mean?”
“She houses and protects the life of this planet, so we give her the greatest honor by calling her Great Mother.” He tapped one of the holograms. It gave me my first view of the planet from space. Sure enough, the mountain range looked like a giant blackX smack in the middle of the planet with pockets of gold swirling in between.
Startling.
“The giant blue sun is only one reason the Nozarocans went underground. It is expanding and will eventually explode in another hundred thousand of your years. The other reason they went deep inside the planet is the Oro. It emanates from the core, which is where my home is located. But there are other habitable pockets on the surface, where we have outposts, and where the Aavvee have taken over.” He tapped the screen, and the planet disappeared. “They have turned my home into a pleasure planet,” he spat out.
I immediately understood. Focusing on the rest of the floating images I studied the different sections. “Explain each of these to me.”
“You know the arena, next is another similar edifice, a giant colosseum to watch contestants battle for their lives. They race and battle against each other. It is a constant competition.”
I stepped closer and saw a real-time view of aliens elbowing and jabbing each other as they ran around a mile-long track. It looked deadly.
“Next is what the Aavvee call genetic tourism. The Oro can be used to heal or drastically change your appearance. It can grant you youth and vitality. All of this is in the beginning stages, but they will soon realize the effects do not last once you leave the planet.”
If that were the case, it was only a matter of time before the aliens started moving in. If you could live forever on the Oro, then they’d never leave.
“Exactly why they must be destroyed.” Veras bunched his fists, but I patted his arm before he worked himself up again. He took a deep breath and continued, “This section is for… debauchery.”
He didn’t need to explain more. From the fuckery going on, it was clearly an alien Red Light District. I shivered, grateful that I’d only ever been a pet.
“This section is mining, where they dig for the Oro and synthesize it.” He spread his hands wide, expanding the view. “Each section is ruled by its own supreme. Your supreme controls the arena, but he can also access the main portal to my home. Although he has not been able to breach it. Yet.”
I gathered myself for another try.I have to convince him. World domination seemed possible, especially with this place. The outpost was a command center that allowed us to view the whole planet. It was a tactical dream. We could use the portals to navigate Nozaroc and take this bitch over.
“I feel the conviction of your thoughts.”
“Good.” I faced him and held his gaze. “Your people had to know a bunch of you were coming back.” I paused. “You weren’t the only one sent out, were you?”
“No. There are others. But many do not survive their time off planet.” He sighed. “Yes, they knew some would make it back but still set the planet for destruction.”
“If they didn’t want to give you a chance, they would have made the Guardians destroy the planetimmediately. Why don’t you get that? They obviously wanted to give you time to fix things.”
“I will not argue with something set in stone. It is as fixed as the stars. Unchanging. Inevitable. I have failed my people in so many ways. I will not fail in this.”
“Failed them? How?”
“You don’t understand. This is all my fault.” He banged his chest. “And I will make it right.”
Here we go.Mylindoalien—and yeah, he was mine for as long as I had him—was over-emoting again. But this time it was raw. Deep and old. I would have to remind him that he couldn’talways carry the weight of the world, literally, on his shoulders. “Do you want to talk about it?’
He paced around the small room, scrambling the holograms as he passed through. “No.”
Okay. Try again.“How could this possibly be your fault?”
He pounded his chest. “I waslate.”
“That’s it? You were late?”
“Yes, that is it. The expectation was that I would return in an exact amount ofsanos. I did not make it back in time.”
“What happened?”
“My travels were… difficult. My mission was to gather information while keeping my world secret at all costs. I urgently needed to tell my people that a frenzy had cropped up around the Oro and its benefits. The rumors had permeated the galaxy. It was my worst nightmare.”
