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Trex

ON THE WAY TO THE brIDGE , I encountered Commander Krin. ‘ Is the Calti settled?’ I asked.

‘Yes. She seems content, but she inquired about the humans and their well-being. She told me to keep her aware of what we intend for them,’ he said with a genial smile.

I grunted in acknowledgment as we strode next to one another.

Drakkari society was run strictly by females, with the males in more subservient roles. Not that they were weak. The Drakkari were a proud warrior race.

The Calti, also known to her people as Mistress Joele, would have put her life on the line to protect the humans.

Krin added, ‘The Calti told me the females are from the Sol system. It would appear the Zinids ships are now capable of faster than light speed.’

I nodded. That confirmed it. My female was a very long way from home.

‘The abduction of beings by the Zinids and Krilex, who are venturing into our territory, is unacceptable. But learning they have FTL ability is alarming,’ I huffed, and rubbed the back of my neck.

‘The question is why venture as far as Sol space?’ Krin scratched his temple. And switched to speaking out loud. “The level of organization possessed by the Zinids is not very high. The Krilex must be making them do this, but why? They would have to get through Imperium space just to reach us.”

I ran a hand along my chin. It was odd that they would go to such lengths to capture human females so far away, but not entirely surprising.

Capturing and selling captives to the reptilian race of aliens was a common practice for the Zinids throughout the galaxy.

The reptilians were from the Ashrak Cluster and had ties that extended beyond a single star system.

“The Krilex are not considered invaders. Their recent unwelcome visits on Graacux and Alara suggest a search for something near the mining areas.”

I expressed my frustration with a growl.

Failing the citizens of Alaran space was unacceptable to me. We needed to protect them from those that would exploit them and their planets.

A frown appeared on Krin’s face. “It would be helpful to know what it is they were after.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Our warriors and ships are already stretched too thin to investigate theories. The King needs to encourage the remaining planets like Graacux to join the Alliance. They could provide more warriors and ships. If war comes, we need to be ready.”

“I agree with you, Prince-” Krin winced, realizing his mistake when I stopped walking and narrowed my eyes at him.

We trained as warriors side by side when we were younger. I chose him to be my Commander on the Chetok. He held the title of my most trusted warrior and friend.

It was out of the ordinary for him to use my correct title while speaking privately. It was clear that he was more affected by the events than he admitted.

His brows came together in a frown. “My apologies. I was going to suggest we have the unaligned planets meet with the Protectorate Alliance Forces on Alara. That way, the King himself could be there?”

I raised my chin and let out a grunt, and then we kept walking.

My jaw tightened as I thought about my last conversation with my father.

“Bringing up the topic of a meeting on Alara likely won’t change his mind.

Despite hearing about the Krilex, he believes our area of space will stay free from conflict.

It worries me we’re heading in the wrong direction, leaving our citizens vulnerable.

It has been one-hundred tenris since the last battle in our section of space.

There is no guarantee things aren’t headed that way again. ”

While my father, King Vark Ul, ruled Alaran space, not all planets in our sector recognized our authority or aligned themselves with the Protectorate.

The Protectorate Alliance Forces had been established by the Alaran royal Ul family during the last war. Certain planets within Alaran territory remained primitive and untouched until they were prepared for space exploration.

Included in our military Alliance were the planet Zeynon’s Drakkari warriors and various space stations in the local sector. Some smaller planets that were space faring also joined our Alliance for protection and sent their own warriors to join our ranks.

Both the Ixul and Tulian people were reluctant to become part of our Protectorate Forces.

Each government on their respective planets had their own reasons.

For hundreds of tenris, the Ixul and Drakkari were enemies until my grandfather, King Tvar Ul intervened and negotiated a peace treaty, thus ending the long war between them.

However, the Ixul people who lived on Graacux still distrusted anyone not from their planet.

Sometimes a few of their inhabitants would leave their home planet to join us, and we welcomed them.

Regardless, it was time to let go of old grudges and unite as a stronger force within Alaran space.

My recent visit home was filled with intense debates between my father, the elders' council of the Protectorate, and me. And despite the pleas of the royal advisors, he remained oblivious to the urgency for additional help.

He was certain he knew what was best for the people of Alara. He failed to see their need for reassurance, leaving them to speculate about the Empire’s affairs.

We needed to tackle the current problems in our section of space before it was too late. If not, there might be nothing left to govern once I became King.