Page 82 of Alien Prince’s Fake Bride (The Tentacle Throne #1)

“How do we approach this time?” Mareliux asks. The control room of the Gladiux is dominated by the image of Earth on the main screen.

It feels weird to be back. I can’t really enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Butterflies are having some kind of acrobatic exercises in my stomach.

I am returning from an alien civilization, and I am still an officer of Space Force.

How will they see me? As an explorer returning with great treasure, or as a traitor who’s switched loyalties to a competing civilization that will be seen as a threat?

“I will talk to them on the radio,” I suggest. “Just voice. They can’t see us yet, I think. We should get so close that we’ll catch their attention first, our side to them.”

The Gladiux has had its outside repainted.

There’s the vaguely pterodactyl-shaped crest that symbolizes Mareliux and me, there’s a silver Tentacle Throne symbol that shows the ship as belonging to the Khavgren Empire, and there’s the name Gladiux is both Earth letters and the Khavgrese symbols.

On Mareliux’s order, the gun turrets have been carefully painted to stand out.

Nobody can mistake this for anything other than a warship.

When I protested, he simply said ‘if you don’t want a fight, you have to look like you’d win it’. ”

“We’re about to pass through the veil,” Bellatriz warns. “There’s barely any Syntrix on the other side.”

I notice it when we pass. It’s not dramatic, but I immediately lose the warm connection with Mareliux. Instead I reach out to put my hand on his arm. “That’s unpleasant.”

“But not painful,” my husband says calmly. “That’s all we can expect.”

Our rings have gone dark. It’s weird to see them just as brilliant crystals, not shining with an inner light.

Mareliux has a short conversation with the commander of the gunship squadron that’s patrolling the Solar system for flying saucers. I’m not surprised that they are actually here, but it makes me relax a fraction to have it confirmed. Mareliux is as good as his word.

And now we’ll see how well I can do.

“Can you get the right frequency?” I ask, fiddling with my jumpsuit.

Just for appearance’s sake, I’m carrying a small gun very visibly at my hip, proving that I’m not a prisoner to anyone who might wonder.

Mareliux would have put me in a colonel’s uniform, but I doubt I can hold rank in both Space Force and the Khavgren army. At least for now.

“There’s the station,” Dester says. She’s serving as the Gladiux ’s comms officer, which is a significant promotion for a Messenger.

“Radio traffic is increasing greatly, indicating they see us and are communicating with their planet. Anytime you’re ready, Highness.

Give me a sign, and anything you say will be transmitted clearly. ”

The station looks the same as always. But of course I’ve only been gone for four months and no expansion was scheduled in that time. It’s so small and fragile, spinning through the nothing with Earth in the background.

“I’m ready.”

“Channel open,” Dester says calmly.

They all look at me. I take a deep breath, wanting to sound unemotional.

“This is Space Force Second Lieutenant Umbra Hadley aboard the cruiser Gladiux of the Khavgren Empire, calling the Space Force station in orbit around Earth.” There was only ever one Space Force station, so it doesn’t have much of a name except ‘the Station’.

“ This is the Space Force station in orbit around Earth,” comes the militarily clipped reply. “ State your intentions, Gladiux .”

“Our intention is to dock with you and exchange friendly greetings,” I tell them, having expected that reply.

“The Gladiux and its crew represent a friendly power, called the Khavgren Empire. We will vacate your space if you’d prefer us to leave.

” That part I’ve made up myself, just to keep the guys on the station from worrying too much about an attack.

There’s no chance they’ll tell us to beat it.

“ Confirm your identity as Second Lieutenant Umbra Hadley,” the station says.

“I am Umbra Hadley,” I repeat, so thay can check with the voice print on file.

“Dog tag SF-UH-8749-30. Callsign Shadow. I was on a mission with a test shuttle on October second of last year when I was taken in by a spaceship and vanished. I have now returned. I am here with Crown Prince Mareliux of the Khavgren Empire. He is in command of the Gladiux .”

“ Stand by, Gladiux ,” the comms guy on the station says. It sounds like Major Franco himself, the station commander.

“Now they’re scrambling to relay this to Earth,” I explain, “and they’re getting someone to confirm that I’m really who I say I am. Probably Emma, if she’s still there.”

“This is a delicate time,” Mareliux mutters. “We must appear friendly, but exceedingly powerful. Do not obey any orders they may want to give you. We are royals and must be in charge here.”

“Don’t worry,” I tell him. “They won’t do anything silly.” I cross my fingers, hoping I’m right. So far, Earth’s experience with aliens has been terrible. Everyone will doubt our good intentions.

So we’ve decided that this has to happen gradually.

We will visit Earth space for a short while and tell them what our plans are, about the ten spaceships and the engineers and so on.

Then we’ll leave, and it’s up to Earth to say if they want it or not, and also when.

I’m painfully aware that the answer may well not be the same from every country on Earth.

Some people will find the Khavgren assistance abhorrent, and some will enthusiastically accept it.

Most will fall somewhere in between. I’m sure my country will welcome Mareliux and his help, but for the others… I have no idea.

Well, it’s not my prob-

“ Umbra!” comes the eager voice over the comms. “ Is it really you?”

I grin from relief. “Hi, Emma! Can you believe it? I’m back! Oh, I have so much to tell you!”

There’s a short silence.

“She’s telling them it’s me,” I explain, “but they will need more confirmation. You awake, Vera?”

“I’m ready.”

“ Sorry about that, Umbra,” Emma says. “ We have to make sure it’s really you. Who won the last time Red team played in the Cube?” She sounds out of breath. Maybe she was training in the Cube when we suddenly arrived.

“ We did,” I reply. “Red team, you and me. We beat Vector and Hammer. But the wall cracked and you were nearly sucked out.”

“ And you saved me,” Emma says. “ All right, last time we spoke I told you about a relationship with a Norwegian guy who was just like a viking. What did he use to drink?”

I grin. She may be acting like she’s sure it’s me, but she’s doing her job, trying to trip me up.

Just in case I’m some alien AI or just an alien invader, posing as me.

“ He wasn’t Norwegian. He was Swedish. At least that’s what you told me.

And he drank mead, you said. That he made himself. What else do you want to ask me?”

She asks me a couple of other questions about my training and old things that I have to struggle to remember. They are clearly topics they’re having radioed up from Earth, and I seem to answer them correctly.

“ Is your AI there?” she finally asks. “ What was her name? Daria?”

“ Vera is her name, and she’s here.” I hold up my wrist.

We had a talk, and Vera has promised to tell me whenever there is a conflict in her between her Space Force duties and her duties to me. I think it’s a good sign that she had that conflict in the first place. It must mean she has bonded to me, however that works for AIs.

Vera gives off loud, electronic beep that lasts for a second and must contain most of her internal state. She’s then challenged by another AI and there’s a lightning fast back and forth of electronic sounds.

Finally Emma is back. “ That all checks out. Sorry again, Umbra. We just have to make sure. So you want to dock with us? Will that work?”

“We don’t want to dock this ship, of course,” I clarify.

“The Gladiux is too big to dock with your tiny station without pushing it out of orbit. But we want to dock a shuttle with you and bring some of your people over here to confirm the things I’ve said, and to meet Crown Prince Mareliux.

His own AI will now transmit relevant facts about his civilization in a form that your AIs can handle. ”

“ Done,” Bellatriz says almost immediately. “ If they need it on a different wavelength, just say so.”

“Did you receive that?” I ask.

“ Got it… oh my!” I can hear Emma gasping. “ What are those, tentacles?”

It all goes on for a while before we agree that I will come over to the station in a shuttle and bring back Emma, Major Franco and a couple of others.

Mareliux makes me bring along two shock troopers in full mirrored armor.

They don’t bring guns, because there are no offensive weapons on the station.

But I know those experienced legionnaires can take over the station in thirty seconds, if they so choose.

I am not expecting trouble, but Mareliux wants me to be completely safe.

And, I suspect, to give Earth a display of our power.

It takes a while to dock with the specially designed part of the station that doesn’t spin to create gravity. I spend the time admiring how menacing the Gladiux looks from the outside.

“No wonder they had to be sure I’m me,” I mutter. “That thing could scare anyone.”

The docking ring sucks itself onto the station and pressurises the shallow airlock.

I make my way over and knock on the hatch, aware that there are cameras everywhere that can see me and the two shock troopers right behind me. “Hello in there. Temu delivery.”

It slowly opens and Emma sticks her head out. “Is it the swimsuit I ordered- oh, hi, Umbra!”