Chapter 3

Excuse me, sir, do you have a moment?"

I paused and turned to find a fellow Khess from the interview group looking up at me with big gray eyes. She had an extra-long spotted gray and white tail and a round face, making me think I remembered her. "Faysa, yes?" I asked, fairly certain that was her name.

She smiled. "Yes, sir. Do you have some time to discuss a candidate?"

"Of course." I set my things down on the table, very willing to be late to this next meeting for any and all reasons that could possibly come up. Alam was still a bit cross with me over the way I'd handled the American politicians, even though it had sparked several worthy debates on the human news channels afterward. I was getting quite tired of defending myself, though.

Faysa turned her tablet around to show me the face of a human male who looked decidedly nervous. There was visible sweat curling the dark hair at his brow, he was quite pink-skinned, and his eyes were wide and shoulders tense. "This is Squire Landry," she said. "I had my virtual interview with him just a few minutes ago, and I believe he was lying the entire time."

"Ah. Cut him out of the?—"

"Actually, I'd like to submit him as a special case and accept him into the program."

I reared back a bit in surprise. "Special case status and acceptance? Whyever for?"

We had established special cases for anyone who applied and expressed reasons like addiction, current prostitution, or other issues that had them feeling like they were without choices or resources. Often, we were able to help them in some other way to improve their lives, and so they were not accepted into the sex worker program. That Faysa wanted to classify this man as a special case plus accept him was a first.

"I believe he was being pressured and coached during the interview by someone who was off-screen. He wasn't just nervous, he seemed terrified and desperate." She gulped and looked up at me with such deep compassion in her eyes. "Sir, I think he could be in a very bad situation, and we need to rescue him. If we accept his application, we could get him to safety. Maybe then he'll be able to be honest with us."

It wasn't that I didn't believe her—each of my interviewers were skilled at reading body language and interpreting what might lie between the lines of things said aloud. But since this hadn't come up previously, I was curious about what she'd seen to get her to this point.

"Let me see some of his interview."

"I created some clips," she said before calling up six videos on her tablet.

The first one showed him trying to answer her question on how he'd feel about leaving the planet. He had a tremble to his voice and his eyes kept flicking from one side of the camera to the other. While his answer was a mix of hesitation and curiosity—normal from what we'd seen so far—I got the impression from the way his eyes moved that he was reading as he spoke. He also mispronounced two words and flinched backward right after saying them. Had someone silently gotten upset with him?

"I see what you mean," I said as the clip ended. "When will we be in his area?"

"Three days from now. He would be in the New Orleans group."

We were going down to the surface to test applicants by simply being in our physical presence during a casual conversation. The first places we would stop were New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans—cities that had provided the majority of our applicants in America.

"I'll be in that city," I told Faysa. "Let Layleen know to add… What was his name?"

"Squire Landry."

"Let her know to add Squire to my schedule, and I'll speak to him personally."

Faysa smiled and relaxed. "Thank you, sir."

I patted her shoulder since she looked so relieved and gathered up my things. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It was the right thing to do."

We parted, and I made my way down to the conference room where those of us heading a portion of the delegation were meant to meet.

After all the weeks of being on the ship night and day, a part of me was eager to return to the surface of Earth. Just a part, given the level of hostility still aimed at us, but it was there inside me nonetheless. I wanted to remove my boots and sink my claws into lush grass—even if it was green instead of the gold back home. Running through a forest would be beyond welcomed, and if I could climb a tree… I sighed as I walked along boring gray corridors. Only the atestia tree log in my room eased me nowadays, though the poor thing was definitely showing signs of excessive use from my claws.

"Ah, our esteemed colleague has arrived," Alam quipped the moment I opened the conference room door. "Do make room for his highness."

So he was still feeling a bit snotty then.

"No need for such formalities with me," I said with a smile as I took the empty seat beside the temperamental Yook. "We're all in this together."

Not to mention I was one of two hundred and six Khess princes, so my royalty mattered very little on Nor, let alone on a ship orbiting Earth.

I glanced around and saw that the rest of the people in the room watched us like a sporting match. I also noted someone's absence. "Is Logan not joining us?"

Alam frowned at me. "He is busy with other matters at the moment."

"Perhaps we should call for him," I said as I woke my tablet.

"Ghosha, he's busy."

"Mm-hm."

Alam growled in a way I was sure he meant to be intimidating but which only sounded rather cute to me. "Don't think for a moment that my mood would be improved by the presence of my mate," he snapped. "You should not have lost your temper with the humans!"

"Oh, I was very much in control of my temper, thank you," I said through my teeth. "It is because of that control that I did not say more."

"Ghosha."

"Alam."

He growled again before taking a deep breath. "These things are delicate."

"I realize."

"Then why did you?—"

"They want it! There are two million humans down there eager for the opportunity to work with us, but their leaders are getting in their way. With that one uploaded session, we've created a global discussion about free will and shown them how willing their leaders are to get rid of the people they don't want." I leaned toward him, begging him to understand. "They're learning and talking and making up their own minds. When the documentary releases, they'll have even more information to react to and act on."

Alam sighed heavily and rubbed at his eyes for moment. "They're listening."

"Yes." And so, apparently, was he.

"Bashtine," he said to his assistant, "could you have someone gather news clips that might support the administrator's case?"

From her seat behind him, the dark brown Yook smiled ever so slightly. "Yes, Your Highness."

I could've done backflips down the table, but merely nodded at Alam and kept the rest of my triumph and relief contained.

The rest of the meeting was one head of a division after another giving an update from their team, so I supposed what Alam and I had done counted toward that. He didn't call on me for more anyway, and I was glad for it.

Listening to the progress we were making in other areas—like Doctor Revazi's nanobot distribution—was both encouraging and causing a bit of jealousy within me. Some humans might balk at the introduction of hardware into their bodies, but as usage spread, their protests were being drowned out by the cheers of those whose health had improved. Would that my cause could have such happy endings.

Well, perhaps it could. Once we were on the surface for the in-person interviews, we may well see an improvement in the reception of humans relocating to Nor for sex work. I was already scheduled to discuss the event with PBS News representatives—some of our biggest supporters—and I was certain that footage would be carried by several other broadcasters. I held out hope that the more the humans talked and listened, the more they would see the truth. Everything about what I was trying to do was for our mutual benefit.

Even the interviewees could serve as ambassadors. I had no doubt they would share their experiences with the reporters who would certainly gather outside the event locations. We were going to conduct the interviews in the same theme as when worker and client would discuss a potential arrangement. If they showed the right signs of acceptance, empathy, and even arousal, some of the applicants might have several conversations with different interviewers. It was my greatest hope that we might make offers to many of the applicants during the event.

"Ghosha?"

"Hmm?" I looked up only to realize the meeting was over and everyone was gathering their things to leave. "Goddess," I said, horrified to have let my mind wander so far away. "Forgive me. I hope I didn't miss anything vital."

Alam's grin was a touch evil. "I'm sending you to the surface to live amongst the humans."

With a snort, I rolled my eyes and stood. "Honestly, Alam, has Logan denied you for some reason? I had very high hopes that being regularly mated meant one's temperament mellowed considerably."

He clicked his tongue at me. "Is everything about you related to sex?"

I considered that for a brief moment. "Yes, actually."

Shaking his head, Alam swept from the room and began walking for the lift. I caught up to him and walked beside him, assuming we were both heading for our quarters for the evening meal. I was going to order in and possibly even retire early tonight.

I glanced at Alam in the lift and found him still frowning. "I truly do think we're turning a corner with the humans accepting sex work."

"Mmm, no, I know."

"Then what troubles you?"

He briefly met my gaze before sighing. "Rampon has several recommendations for the security of your events."

"I'm sure he does." Sergeant Molwynog was determined that no further human violence would reach any of us for the remainder of this mission. "Will we be encased in electrified armor?"

Alam huffed a laugh. "No, but there will be both our own forces and human ones in place. I now know that they have creatures called bomb-sniffing dogs that can literally scent explosives."

"Goddess," I said in both horror and interest. To lighten the mood, I teased him with, "I wonder if we might train you to sniff out such things."

He shot a glare at me and bared his teeth for a moment, but then he shook his head and grinned. "You ass. I know there's a similar appearance, but I am not a dog, thank you."

"Ah, yes. You're a wolf."

He groaned. "When they cease referring to us that way, it will be a truly good day."

I shrugged. "I don't know. As much as I dislike when they say it as an insult, the tigers of Earth are rather formidable creatures. Some can grow as large as myself and they're fierce and cunning. They're one of many predatory creatures that humans admire for their base instincts."

"So there's a compliment in it?"

"Somewhere."

Alam gave another slight laugh as the lift opened on the level containing our quarters. He patted my shoulder as he walked away, and I was glad to know I might've improved his day somewhat with my nonsense. That his mate would join him before the end of the day would also help, I was sure.

As I walked toward my own quarters, I wished that someday I might have someone to come home to as well.