Page 22 of Alien Prince’s Fake Bride (The Tentacle Throne #1)

- Umbra -

“It is indeed,” Mareliux says. “The gas giant Bru. It’s a ball of gas about two thousand times bigger than your Earth.

Grefve is one of its moons. The Vyrpy sometimes refuel their ships at this gas giant, scooping its gas into their tanks in a breathtaking display of risk-taking and inefficiency.

And there have been a good few battles in this solar system.

There are even rumors of Phrexz being seen here. But not recently.”

“What’s Phrexz?” I ask.

“Bellatriz?” Mareliux prompts as he gets busy with the controls.

“ The Phrexz are an alien species with no particular home planet, we think,” the AI says.

“ They use the Syntrix in the Forbidden ways, using it for evil and destruction. There aren’t that many of them, but they tend to be extremely aggressive wherever they attack someone.

They can create enough chaos to take down entire societies.

Nobody knows why, because they don’t seem to be empire builders or conquerors.

It’s as if they simply enjoy destroying things.

It’s said that the Phrexz can sometimes be felt through the Syntrix, like a sour note.

Some of them are said to be shapeshifters that can inhabit the bodies of anyone, but that sounds like typical superstition to me.

It’s the kind of thing where a mysterious enemy is assumed to have incredible powers and abilities.

I’m sure you know about similar exaggerations from Earth. ”

“So they’re witches?” I suggest.

“They are close to the Syntrix,” Mareliux adds. “The Forbidden Arts is their way of living. And it’s a nasty way. They can take over people’s bodies and change the thoughts and minds of anyone they choose.”

“ With respect, Prince, none of those things have ever been proved,” Bellatriz says with a hint of a sigh.

“ They sound like old wives’ tales. Most accept that the Phrexz are simply dangerous aliens who we don’t quite understand.

But it is probably true that they use the Syntrix.

Almost every sentient species does. With varying degrees of skill. ”

“Be that as it may,” Mareliux grunts, “we’ll be safe from both Phrexz and Vyrpy on Grefve, There’s thousands of legionnaires there. Good, loyal, battle-hardened men and women.”

“Is it common in the galaxy to always be at war?” I ask, curious.

“It’s not,” Mareliux says. “The whole Empire was at peace for centuries. There were only skirmishes on the borders. But then Craxallo, my stepfather, became Emperor. His first years were fine, but then he weakened. And in just ten years, it all crumbled to what we have now, with intrusions ever closer to Khav itself.”

“Why? Is it not a nice Empire?” I probably shouldn’t ask these risky questions. But Vera is right — I shouldn’t feel sorry for my kidnapper so that it makes me pull my punches.

“It’s a good empire,” Caret’ax says from behind us.

“There’s no starvation, no slavery, no suppression of those who disagree.

The Emperor is the uncontested leader, but most planets have some degree of self-rule.

I’ve seen a few other empires in the galaxy, and the Khavgren is by far the best one. If you enjoy freedom, that is.”

“ I agree,” Bellatriz says. “ But then again, I am not completely unbiased.”

“No empire is perfect,” Mareliux says. “And I am even more biased than Bellatriz. There are pros and cons. But we think we found a good way to be the best of both worlds, with both freedom and security. Tomorrow you’ll meet your first normal Imperial citizens.

You can ask them what they think. For now, what do you think about Grefve? ”

It’s the first alien moon I’ve ever seen, the only moon outside the Solar system that any Earthling has ever seen, except maybe the abducted girls.

And nobody has seen an alien gas giant from up as close as this, either.

I’d love to use Vera to film it, but her battery is low, and I’m sure there will be more sights to see that are even nicer than this.

The warmth of pride fills me. This is one reason I joined Space Force — for the remote chance to see places like this. “It looks barren. Brown. Do people live there?”

“Only the legion stays there permanently, at the army base,” Mareliux says.

“There are no settlements. Nobody ever lived there, as far as we know. But there is an atmosphere that we can breathe. You might enjoy the lower gravity there, judging from how well you deal with no gravity at all. Anyway, I’ll be going to sleep.

” He slowly gets up from his seat. “You too, Caret’ax.

We will land a little after sunset. The general already knows we’re coming. ”

“Yes, sir,” the bodyguard rumbles. “I’ll be in my quarters. Good night, Umbra.”

“Good night, Caret’ax,” I reply, giving him a smile.

He marches out of the control room.

“That’s a man you can trust,” I comment when he’s out of the room. “Is he from one of the worlds of the Empire?”

“No,” Mareliux says. “He won’t tell us where he’s from.

But he’s suspiciously well informed about strange things, such as Earth women.

We’re not needed here, Umbra. The ship can take care of itself.

We can retire to our cabins. Although my bed is much more comfortable than yours.

Perhaps you’d like to share it with me, just for tonight? ” Mareliux gets up and stretches.

I’m very close to saying yes. That low-level arousal is still there, never wavering.

And it would be nice to take my mind off the fake wedding tomorrow.

But I don’t want to become a sure thing for him.

I have to have the willpower to resist, so I don’t become someone he takes for granted.

And also, I am really sore. “I think we both will need our strength tomorrow. Thank you for reassuring me before. I feel better about it now.”

He looks at the planet on the viewscreen.

“I have arranged the plans in case everything goes wrong. I don’t expect any trouble tomorrow.

If there are problems, it will be on Khav.

But you will be safe, whatever happens.” He points to the screen, changing its display.

“Look, here are the gunships. Not at Earth yet, but getting closer. They can’t travel as fast as we can.

It will be four days before they’re there. ”

“There probably won’t be any abductions in that time,” I ponder. “I’m glad that you’re following through on your promise. I mean, I was sure you would. But it’s good to see, too.”

“It is the deal we made.” He chivalrously walks me to my cabin, says good night, and then closes the door. It’s not locked, I notice. So I may still have a chance to escape while everyone’s asleep.

But I won’t try. If I knew I could get to those gunships, and if I knew I could fly them, and if I knew one of them could take me back to Earth, and I knew I could land there, then…

well, even then I probably wouldn’t try.

It looks like Mareliux is delivering on his promises.

And I’m starting to get curious about his empire.

After all, I don’t have a lot of evidence for it actually existing.

I only have this ship and the impression Mareliux gives me, plus the various things he and Caret’ax and Bellatriz have said.

Even the space outside and the planets could be fake images on a screen.

Two percent of me expects to find this all some kind of simulation.

I lie down on the bed and try to relax. “But if it isn’t, and all these things are actually happening, I have some interesting few days ahead of me.”

- - -

I’m in the control room as Mareliux lands the ship. He’s tense and quiet, but he also impresses me with how softly his football stadium of a ship touches down.

After we land, I walk out of the ship behind Mareliux.

We stop at the top of the wide walkway leading down to the brown, sandy soil of Grefve.

In front of us the soldiers of the garrison are lined up.

There must be ten thousand of them, all in shining silvery armor with an alien crest on the chest. Flags and banners wave, and the alien sun gleams from thousands of strange weapons.

I can’t imagine any military base on Earth being able to produce a lineup like this at any time in history.

“Good morning, soldiers of the Empire,” Mareliux says, his voice amplified by invisible technology.

One second goes by while the soldiers draw breath.

“ Good mor-ning Your High-ness!”

It’s a deafening roar, the syllables coming in a staccato rhythm that makes my whole body shake. Any doubt I had about the Empire being a real thing vanishes for good. This is real, and it’s crazy.

Mareliux turns his head and gives me a little smirk, as if to say ‘told you’.

I return a pale smile, getting nervous for real. There’s a lot of soldiers here, all under his command. Seeing his awesome power this clearly is scary.

“I have brought my betrothed,” Mareliux says. “Her name is Umbra. It is our intention to get married on your base today! May we step onto your moon?”

“ Wel-come to Gref-ve, Prince Mare-liux and Umb-ra!” the soldiers roar, clearly having rehearsed it.

Mareliux straightens and gives them an alien salute, then motions to me to walk down beside him. He doesn’t take my hand, probably because the joining of hands is a part of the wedding ceremony.

My boots touch the soil of an alien world for the first time, and despite being surrounded by thousands of big soldiers, I feel like a pioneer. Nobody from Earth has ever been here.

Officers in golden armor come up to us and salute stiffly. “Twenty-Ninth Legion greets you, Prince Mareliux and Ambassador Umbra!”

They talk for a while, and while Bellatriz does translate, it’s mostly about things I don’t know about. I’m still overwhelmed by all the soldiers and simply being on an alien world.