28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

An uninvited guest.

I sat in the amphitheater between Serlotminden and Kalvoxrencol. Seth was on Pest’s other side. Even though he didn’t have a vote, Seth was allowed to attend because he was Kalvoxrencol’s mate, and therefore a prince consort. Father and Mother sat on a pair of thrones, elevated upon a dais, in the center of the arena. Chief Yomqin was on Mother’s left and Uncle Jemtonkilsol, Monqilcolnen’s father, was on Father’s right, as he was Father’s advisor. Hallonnixmin and his mate, Gilvaxtin, were seated just off the dais.

“Do you know what this is about?” Serlotminden asked, leaning closer to me, making his stool creak under his weight.

“No,” I said, and Kalvoxrencol shook his head.

“Did Caleb come?” Seth asked, clinging to Kalvoxrencol.

“No,” I replied. “He’s not allowed.”

Kalvoxrencol raised an eyebrow, and Serlotminden laughed before jabbing me with his sharp elbow. “Who would know besides you?”

Yes, no one would’ve known if he came, but I needed to be honest and to follow the laws.

“Seriously, Zoltilvoxfyn,” Kalvoxrencol started, “you should have brought him. I wouldn’t have left Seth behind.”

“Difference, you two are bound, and I’m not as comfortable breaking laws as you are, Pest.”

Kalvoxrencol immediately drew back like I’d struck him. Seth wrapped an arm around his waist and glared at me, round cheeks red, and I assumed this blush was caused by anger, not embarrassment. Serlotminden caught my eye, and I easily read the disapproval.

A dark cloud surrounded me as I stared at the floor, swallowing. I hadn’t intended to hurt Kalvoxrencol, but Seth and his relationship was different from mine and Caleb’s. We would never be recognized as mates by anyone other than my family. I hadn’t even told my parents, Hallonnixmin, Dontilvynsan, or Monqilcolnen because I was afraid of how they would react.

A loud bang sounded as Chief Yomqin thumped his wood staff on the ground, calling the Cohort into session. The low conversations around the amphitheater disappeared.

Father stood, pushing his long black hair over his broad shoulders. The severe expression on his face made my soul thrum in worry. Father wasn’t a joyous person, but the hardness of his countenance meant the reason this meeting was called wasn’t something trivial, not that I’d thought it would be—the full Cohort wasn’t called for anything less than an emergency.

“Last night, a ship appeared within our borders. Its make is something that we and the Coalition have never seen before. I sent Captain Dontilvynsan to investigate, but the ship’s shields are impenetrable to our sensors. I have reached out to the Coalition, and they are sending reinforcements as well as a team of scientists.

“We do not know why they are here, or what they want, but we must be prepared,” he finished.

Everyone was silent for a few moments as we absorbed the information. An older woman with gray scales, whose name I didn’t recall, stood. “Do we know where they came from?”

“No,” Chief Yomqin replied. “They appear to have slipstream technology, but the energy pattern is not the same as that of the xoi.”

“Can we see their ship?” an older warrior with jagged orange scales asked. Gaxbin had retired from the Planetary Navy before joining the Cohort—they’d been one of Dontilvynsan’s superior officers for several cycles, so I’d met them socially as well as seen them in Cohort meetings a few times.

Father clicked a few things on his screen before he said, “Captain Dontilvynsan, you are connected with the Cohort.”

My second eldest brother appeared. His hulking form was seated on the captain’s stool of his ship. He stood, which made him even more enormous. He was the largest of all my brothers in height and frame. His scales were black like mine, though the skin peeking around his scales was green and white. He resembled the rest of us with our mother’s green eyes and our father’s long nose and wide forehead.

“Emperor Kontolmakqilnen,” he said formally, tilting his head to the side and offering his throat. “Empress Vyn. Honorable Cohort.”

“Show us the ship,” Chief Yomqin ordered.

Dontilvynsan complied, and the ship appeared on the screen on the back of the amphitheater. It was pure white and shaped like a wedge. The metal was perfectly smooth without the slightest seam or bump. The foreign ship was huge, bigger than our warships and similar in size to our long-haul transport ships. Whatever this ship had been built for, I doubted it was for war. It would lack maneuverability. Though perhaps their weapons were advanced enough they weren’t concerned about whether they would have to evade attacks or possibly flee.

I leaned toward Kalvoxrencol and whispered, “I don’t think that is a warship.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, but the size of it.” I shook my head. “This might be an accident. They have slipstream technology. It’s possible mechanical issues threw them into our space. It has happened before. Remember two cycles ago when that xoi ship was thrown into our space and almost crashed into one of our moons. It hadn’t been anything more than a technical malfunction.”

Kalvoxrencol stood, wings slipping out of the slits of his shirt before he drew them back in place. The last time he’d spoken to the Cohort was when he was answering for his crime of crashing into a space station; at that time, he’d been on the floor, in the center, and we weren’t allowed to do anything more than watch.

“Might this not be an accident?” he asked, voice remaining even, though his tail wiggled with tension.

“Why would you think that, Prince Kalvoxrencol?” Chief Yomqin asked. “Is your creator soul making it hard for you to see the threat that this ship obviously presents?”

I gripped Serlotminden’s arm when he tried to stand.

The Cohort never saw Kalvoxrencol; they saw his soul type—the first creator soul in the royal family since it had been established. His mistakes were marks against his honor, but those were nothing compared to his soul type. Kalvoxrencol was the only creator soul in the entire Cohort.

Hallonnixmin stood, and the same anger that burned in me and Serlotminden was reflected in him. His voice was deep as he said, “Tell us what you mean, Kalvoxrencol.”

Tail flicking wildly, Kalvoxrencol asked, “Dontilvynsan, have they shown any aggression?”

“No, though they have not responded to our pings.”

“The size of the ship suggests this could be a passenger or transport vessel. For all we know this is a simple mistake. Violence should not be our first response,” he said.

Most of the Cohort was silent before Chief Yomqin asked, “Then what do you suggest, Prince? If you foolishly think they mean us no harm, then what should we do? Hide in our houses and paint?”

Kalvoxrencol fell silent, and the chief sneered as if he expected as much. I burned to challenge Chief Yomqin for his remarks, but I would not win, and such actions would upset Kalvoxrencol—he didn’t like us protecting him. Though if he challenged the chief, Kalvoxrencol would win, but he wouldn’t, not anymore.

Seth stood and asked in a deep voice, visibly shaking, “Haven’t you heard of diplomacy, dickwad?”

I blinked at the odd translation, and I wasn’t alone. Sudden whispers filled the amphitheater. NAID had to be incorrect. As odd as humans were, they did not have piles of cocks lying around, right? That was simply… not possible. Then again, humans were very interesting beings. I would have to ask Caleb.

“These aliens might not even understand you,” Seth snapped, voice breaking, whether in nerves or anger, I didn’t know. “Attacking without provocation is idiotic. But you seem like a moron, so I shouldn’t be surprised, asshat.”

Hats on butts… Humans were indeed odd.

Technically, Seth wasn’t allowed to address the Cohort, but he probably didn’t know that. I very much doubted that Kalvoxrencol had briefed his mate on the proper protocol. Also insulting the chief wasn’t wise, even if I supported it.

Chief Yomqin tilted his head to the side, offering his throat, which made my mouth drop.

Serlotmiden told me, “Seth Harris has the purest warrior soul ever recorded. Much of the Cohort believes he was chosen by the Crystal to make up for Pest’s lack of warrior soul.”

“Idiots.” There was nothing wrong with Kalvoxrencol or his soul type.

“Indeed, but Chief Yomqin is the spearhead of that group, along with the Ranks. They are all quite fond of Seth.”

“What do you suggest, Prince Consort Seth Harris?” Chief Yomqin asked.

“Scientists. Diplomats. Try and reach out. Don’t attack before we know they mean us harm,” Seth said before muttering to Kalvoxrencol, “It’s like they’ve never watched Star Trek . Morons.”

Kalvoxrencol smiled at him.

Father said, “Kalvoxrencol, you will lead your mate’s plan. You will go to Dontilvynsan’s ship.”

I smacked his leg with my tail, and he glanced at me. I gestured to myself and Serlotminden who was practically bouncing off his stool.

Kalvoxrencol’s tail wrapped around mine. “Yes, Father. I would like to request the additions of Serlotminden who is well-versed in diplomacy and Zoltilvoxfyn who is a scholar and well-versed in different cultures.”

I sat up straight. Very rarely had I left Tamkolvanloknol and never in a situation like this. No one, besides my brothers, had ever requested my presence, but I knew Kalvoxrencol would at least ask for me if I wanted to come. Whether I was allowed to go or not was another matter entirely.

“You may take Serlotminden,” Father said, but he didn’t continue, and I fought the sudden wave of worthlessness. Once again, I was being kept on the planet.

Kalvoxrencol opened his mouth, but Seth grabbed his hand, stopping him. Eventually, Kalvoxrencol said, “I understand, Father. Will the Cohort assemble a team of scientists and diplomats or should I?”

Father glanced at Uncle Jemtonkilsol, then Chief Yomqin before saying, “We shall. Be ready to depart within the hour.” He turned to Dontilvynsan. “Prepare for your brothers to arrive.”

Dontilvynsan offered his throat again.