Infertile females had made the population on Trenu Zel … miserable.
Glancing across his ship, he saw Ella was asleep on his bed. She wouldn’t come to for a couple of days, which was more than enough time to fix his ship. The encounter with the men last night was too much. He didn’t like this species at all. The way they had looked at Ella, as if she were some kind of bug, had to be stopped. If he stayed here, it would put him, his planet, and his people at high risk.
He wasn’t going to have that. Working on his ship was enough trouble. Fortunately, the humans seemed to throw random pieces of necessary equipment away as if it were junk. He’d never repaired or built a ship from pieces just thrown out, and yet, here, he’d have had a great deal of enjoyment. There was so much to be had, but again, he didn’t trust the humans from his brief interaction with them.
Finally, he put the last piece of wire together, sealing it with his heat sensor and stepping back. His ship was nearly as good as new.
He climbed on board. Satisfied.
His mission … accomplished.
Now all he needed to do was get out of Earth’s atmosphere and begin the journey, which would be a matter of a few days, then he could begin breeding with the vessel. No, not a vessel, Ella.
After he closed his ship’s exit door, he moved toward her. She looked peaceful, her blonde hair fanned out on the blankets. He only had a few relaxers left. On his planet, they were used to keep the panic at bay. In his system, they simply mellowed him out. With humans, apparently it had the effect of putting them to sleep for an extended period.
Their systems were built differently, but there were many similarities. Their forms were the same. He was attuned to her emotions, so he knew when she was attracted to him. Humans were so easy to read, their hormone signature changing, pupils dilating, and heartrate increasing.
He stroked back some of her hair. It was soft. He liked it. He held the strands between his fingers. So beautiful. So delicate.
Ella was unique.
The men on his planet would be envious. He would have to warn them about coming to this planet. The men were hostile, and it was rather stifling. The heat had already annoyed him many times, and he prided himself on being calm in all situations.
He’d been distracted long enough. Getting to his feet, he made his way toward the front of his ship, beginning the starting sequence. The moment the monitors came online, he smiled.
A call immediately came through.
“Son, are you okay?”
“I am safe and well, Mother. I am coming home.”
“I’m so sorry your mission was a failure. You were warned.”
He frowned. “I wasn’t a failure. I’ve got myself a female. She is beautiful, and I’ll show her to you in a few days.” He stopped as he looked out of his window. Dust began to fill the air, but he saw what was coming toward him.
Military.
Dhiro would recognize it anywhere.
They were coming toward his ship with an abundance of weaponry attached to their vehicles.
“Son?”
He exhaled his displeasure with this new annoyance. “I will call you back.” He disconnected the call and pressed the buttons that would fire up his master engines. Then he navigated through all the necessary protocols until finally, he had everything ready. As the military brigade neared, he detected their weapons going hot. They weren’t great machines like the ones back home, but after some time, they would do damage. He didn’t want to be trapped on Earth if they hit a vital part of his ship.
Glancing back at Ella, he knew he wasn’t going to give her up, nor would he stay here in this fiery hell of heat and red earth.
His mission was complete. All of those who had laughed at him would only know shame for not believing in him. With hard work and determination, Dhiro always got what he wanted.
After a last glance at the men, he lifted from the ground. They backed up as dust billowed around his ship. At the press of his next button, the ship blasted to the outer edges of the planet. The speed increased in order to expel him from the Earth’s atmosphere.
He pressurized the ship to the necessary levels for Ella to continue to breathe comfortably.
After he moved to avoid a missile, he was in the clear, going past their main satellite and their moon and a couple of their planets.
All done.
He exhaled.
His mission was a success. With his ship set to course, he pressed the monitor and accepted another call from his mother.
Dhiro couldn’t stop smiling.
“Please tell me you’re all right.”
“I am all right, Mother. I’m on my way home.”