Page 19 of Alien Prince’s Fake Bride (The Tentacle Throne #1)
- Mareliux -
Umbra falls asleep, exhausted after her experiences.
“I hope she won’t be traumatized by that gun turret,” I say softly as I push some of her thin, alien hairs from her forehead. “It must have been a terrible thing to go through.”
“ She’ll be fine,” Bellatriz says. “ That experience will fade in the shadow of the more recent and more intense one. Passionate sex can be good therapy. I wouldn’t be surprised if she can laugh about it at some point. But not yet.”
“I think that’s all a guess,” I tell her as I put my pants on. “But you do know how organics work.”
“ Of course,” she snorts. “ I’ve been around for seven hundred years and been owned by some really interesting warriors. You think this is the first time I’ve been around when someone’s needed to get rid of fresh emotional trauma?”
“You are a legendary sword,” I agree, looking down at Umbra’s sweet face. “You have seen more people at their worst and their best than just about anyone.”
“ Yes,” Bellatriz says, then switches to an old battle language for privacy. “ That AI of hers is smarter than I thought. I’ll lock all doors so Umbra can’t keep hurting herself or try to escape.”
“No need,” I reply in the same language. “She won’t try again. I’m using my own knowledge of organics for that assessment.”
“ I’ll at least instruct the elevators to alert us whenever she uses them.”
“That should have been done already,” I tell her as I leave the room.
“ Have you considered,” the sword asks in our usual Khavgrese as the door closes, “ how strange it is that this alien female can hear you through the Syntrix? And that she climaxes so hard with you?”
“It may not be weird at all. Probably her species has a particular gift for using Syntrix. There must be a reason someone put that Syntrix veil around her planet. Maybe they can become so strong that they could use their Syntrix for evil purposes. And maybe Umbra simply is one of those women blessed with extra strong…um… peaks.”
“ There’s another possibility,” the sword says as I get to my war room. “ Have you thought about it?”
I give a hoot of laughter. “Are you about to suggest that Umbra, an alien woman, is my Soulbound?”
“ I’m not suggesting anything,” the sword says, miffed . “It’s simply a possibility.”
“In which way is it a possibility?” I ask as I reestablish contact with my generals. “She’s an alien! From a different world! Of course she can’t be my fated mate.”
The leaders of my armies reappear with their images. Some are in space on ships like mine, some are on planets, and some are in the middle of a battle. They all greet me respectfully.
“Before we continue,” I tell them, “I have a new training scheme for gunship squadrons that show special promise. They will be deployed in this remote solar system and guard this planet against any intrusion.” I pull up the location of Earth and share it.
“There will likely be no intrusion, so they can spend their time with drills and war games. Ten days for each squadron, rotating…”
- - -
When I finally finish with the first of the war councils I will have today, I return to the bridge. Both Umbra and Caret’ax are there. Caret’ax is standing by the door, as usual, and Umbra has taken the weapon officer’s seat.
“Sir,” my bodyguard says, “I have taken the liberty of updating Umbra on the state of the Emperor and why the fake marriage is necessary.”
“Ah, very good. I was going to do that myself. You need to know, Umbra. The Emperor has demanded that I be married in order to inherit the throne to the Empire. The Empire desperately needs a new emperor. A strong one. That’s really all there is to it.”
Umbra nods. “Sounds simple enough.”
“We’ve increased the speed of the ship,” I inform them. “We will be on Grefve tomorrow. And then we can not get married, Umbra.”
“That is part of the agreement,” she says. “Have you arranged for Earth to be protected?”
I pull up a diagram on the main screen. “This is a two-dee depiction of our Ninth Fleet. Notice that little group of green dots that’s peeled off from the main force?
That’s the Ninety-Second Gunship S quadron on the way to Earth.
They will stay there for ten days, then be relieved by another. Good enough?”
She studies the display for a while. “That looks good,” she finally says. “Can you keep me updated about them?”
I nod. “As far as I can, without giving away secrets.”
She looks over at me. “They will keep their distance, right? They won’t actually land on Earth or invade or anything?”
“Everything will be as we agreed,” I tell her. “They will guard Earth from any attack, staying well away from the planet itself. And its mysterious veil. Now I wonder, why are you so eager that Earth should be protected? It’s not a very attractive planet for anyone to conquer.”
Umbra looks away. “Some aliens came by a few years ago. They abducted many of our people. They never came back. They were just… gone.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. Who were the aliens?”
“I don’t know. They had round ships that we call ‘flying saucers’. Round and flattened.” She shows me with her hands.
“Sounds like the Plood, sir.” Caret’ax growls from behind me. “Small, dirty little aliens that serve dark forces.”
I have to think about it. “The Plood? From the old fairy tales? The servants of the Dracos? Surely they never really existed. They’re as fictional as the Dracos themselves. They are the bogeymen that you threaten kids with if they don’t go to bed.”
“The Plood exist, sir,” Caret’ax says tightly. “Although they nearly died out. The Dracos are also around. They were also weak for a while, most of them stuck on a planet they had trouble leaving.”
“Mmm,” I nod, not believing it for a second.
Of course Caret’ax is a barbarian from some backwards planet where they still use iron swords, so it’s no mystery that he’s superstitious.
“Be that as it may, we want the wedding ceremony to be simple and quick. That’s the way it must be when we’re getting married on an army base.
I’ve told the general to expect us. And the legion’s pontifex. ”
“So what is the fake part about this wedding?” Umbra asks. “If there will be a priest and witnesses and so on.”
“Firstly that we have no intention of getting married for real,” I tell her.
“There must be genuine intent for a marriage to be real. But we don’t have that.
Secondly, this must all be registered with the Imperial Noble House, which we won’t.
There will be only the ceremony, but nothing else.
No documents signed by us or by witnesses.
And of course we have agreed that I will take you back to Earth as soon as I can, meaning that there is no actual marriage. ”
“Uh-huh. You don’t think that people will check with that Noble thing to see that the prince is really married?”
I nod. “I’m sure they will. However, Imperial bureaucracy is notorious for working slowly. It’s one of the things I will fix when I ascend to the throne. If there are no documents to be found, it’s simply because the Noble House hasn’t gotten around to it yet.”
“ People may check, Umbra,” Bellatriz says, “ but if they find that the documents don’t exist, they will hesitate to state it out loud from a fear of offending the next emperor. It would be very risky to become Mareliux’s enemy.”
“What if the old emperor checks?” the alien woman persists. “He’s the one demanding that you get married. What if someone whispers in his ear that you’re not?”
“ That’s a really good point,” Bellatriz chirps.
“We will be married at an army base in the middle of a war zone,” I state.
“Nobody can be blamed if it takes time for the documents to make their way from there to Khav. Or if the documents vanish entirely on the way. Who knows what can happen these days? But the key here is that the Emperor will want everything to be in order. He will really want to find everything as it should be, just the way he ordered. Then his world is just as it should be. We simply have to give him reason to believe that everything is the way he wants, even if he has weak evidence to the contrary. That’s why you must play your part so well.
We must be believed to be married. We must act as if we love each other. We must be the perfect married couple.”
“And then we’ll wait for the Emperor to die,” Umbra says flatly. “Hoping that he dies soon.” It’s obvious from her tone that she disapproves.
“It’s not my favorite part of the scheme,” I admit.
“I have no great love for the Emperor, perhaps, despite him being my stepfather. But the idea of waiting for him to die is distasteful. Perhaps he can be persuaded to let me take over some of his duties while he’s alive.
Perhaps he can turn over the Throne to me, so that I can use my Syntrix to give strength to our desperately fighting forces. ”
“ Umbra,” Bellatriz says, “ the Tentacle Throne is an ancient entity that amplifies Syntrix. The emperors use it to send their Syntrix power to their armies, improving their morale and determination and strength. It’s a common belief that the Throne is the main reason that the Khavgren Empire could conquer so many worlds so fast, and then keep them in the Empire for thousands of years, always prospering.
Because the emperor’s intention and power was immensely strengthened by the Throne and felt by all his forces, making them brave and powerful and determined in battle.
The Tentacle Throne is the most valuable object in the galaxy. ”
“And now it goes unused,” I fret, getting to my feet and pacing back and forth. “The Emperor doesn’t have the strength to use it! Even if he did, I doubt it would make much difference. His own control of the Syntrix is weak now. How can such a feeble man strengthen our forces?”
“Sounds like you need a new emperor.” Umbra looks at me with her enigmatic, dark eyes. She sometimes looks extremely alien, but it only makes her all the more alluring.
I’d love to take her back into my stateroom, get her naked, and take my pleasure from her lavish body.
I’ve been torturously close to it, having seen all she has to offer, seen her in total ecstasy, but not feeling it right to take my pleasure, too.
I’m sure she would enjoy it. She’s blessed with a remarkable ability to climax.
But I promised her she would be under no obligation to do those things, and I can’t apply any pressure. Oh, I long for it. I can only hope that she will want it again.
I adjust our course unnecessarily, just to do something. The ship’s systems will take care of everything until we’re ready to land on Grefve.
“Is there a tradition for marriage on Earth?” I ask. “I mean, you clearly understand the concept. But perhaps there’s something special you’re supposed to wear or say. We can probably use some of those things if you want, although it has to be done by Imperial rules and traditions.”
“I’d like to wear a green suit,” Umbra says. “Dark green, with splotches of lighter green here and there. Thick boots that go above the ankles. Black. And I should have a gun. Do you have handguns on your planet?”
I bring up some pictures of guns on the screen.
“On my planet and all over the Empire’s army bases.
There’s even a good few of them on this ship.
We can look for a suitable one later, but the base probably has a better selection.
That’s an unusual outfit you described, but it will look perfectly alien. Anything else?”
She taps her lips. “I should have a maid of honor. Another woman who can be my assistant and support me through the ceremony and the rituals.”
“Bellatriz, are there noblewomen among the officers on Grefve?”
“ Checking… there are two. There’s Colonel Sigise Grast of the House of Topiuz and a Captain Girael Borrana of the House of Sekepte.”
My mood brightens a fraction. “Ah! Grast is a highly renowned. I pinned a medal on her myself just two years ago. Perfect!”
“Should we rehearse the ritual?” Umbra asks. “I’ve never seen a Khavgren wedding before.”
I scratch my head with a tendril. “I’ve seen too many to count. But they’re all different, and ours will be short and efficient. Suggestions, Bellatriz?”
“ I suggest something like this: The Pontifex declares the purpose of the ceremony and invokes the protection of all the gods. Then both your identities are affirmed. Then there’s the exchange of Syntrix rings.
That will be extra important for this fake wedding as a symbol.
Then the vows, which can be short. The Pontifex will state them, and you two will simply say ‘this I vow.” Next the Pontifex will join your hands and pronounce you married.
And then… normally, this is when the final wedding documents are signed.
You two will have to either pretend to sign them or just ignore that part. ”
I allow myself a tight smile. “Quick and efficient, as suitable for a soldier prince marrying an alien soldier ambassador. Minimal room for error. I like it. What do you say, Umbra?”