Chosen by the Governor (Under Alien Law Book 1)

A gong

sounded, resonating around the room.

“It is time for breakfast.”

Freya thanked Gellis. Why hadn’t she bothered to show any interest in her maid before now? She was ashamed of her dismissive attitude—assuming Gellis was a simple woman. Before she left, she asked one more question. The name of Gellis’s lover.

The maid hesitated before replying. “Jophran. Planet nine.”

Freya would have to find some way to help them. How, she didn’t know. Not yet.

* * *

Marco had to read the letter before it was sent. Paper turned out to be easy to produce using the reeds from the riverbed. Why humans used such a primitive form of communication he couldn’t fathom. The paper had a tinge of green and was rougher than he expected. The ink, which was produced from a natural chemical that leached out of the ground, covered the page. Her handwriting was tricky to read.

Freya painted a picture that glossed over the truth of her situation. She described the ‘beautiful’ canyon and the desert sun that glowed all day. She never mentioned the men who nearly raped her, or those early days of toil in the laundry. She skipped past the reason she was in the Volta; instead she implied she had a coveted position in the city as a trusted prisoner. Not exactly a lie.

He sighed as he read the note and the positive swing she placed on her situation. She should be rallying her supporters, and even with the lack of dialogue between Vendu and Earthlings, she had more chance of freedom if she could engage her own side to fight for her release. She ended the short note telling her parents not to worry. She was in good health.

Marco traced his finger around the stains on the paper. He guessed they were watermarks produced by her tears. It surprised him how attached she remained to her parents. Once any Vendu reached maturity, they went their own way, often never seeing their parents again. His mother, having fulfilled her maternal duties, had returned to live on Halos in the emperor’s court. His father had another son somewhere. Marco had never met his half-brother and neither had he ever wept tears over his absent family. He rolled the paper into a tube and placed it in the delivery capsule. Hitting the intercom button, he summoned Puto.

The young assistant, whom Marco had grilled over Freya and Gellis’s visit, had spent his subsequent spare time in the company of the barracks’ least friendly drill sergeant. The vigorous exercise had been sufficient punishment for Puto, who would never pass the rigorous examination to join the warrior orders. He moved stiffly toward Marco’s desk. “Sir?”

“This capsule is to go out in tomorrow’s transporter to planet sixty-two.” He waved the cylinder at Puto. “Ensure that whoever takes possession of it for the journey knows it is to go directly to Commissioner Hadro.”

“Hadro?”

“He’s a friend of mine. He knows to expect it.”

Puto took the capsule and snapped his heels. “Anything else?”

“Everything is in place for tomorrow?”

“It’s all arranged, sir.”

After Marco had dismissed Puto, he stood for a while looking out the window of his office. The dots of the prisoners’ heads moved about the compound. The place would be bursting at the seams soon if more kept arriving. He’d read the report from Dr. Han, who cared not for the logistics of running a prison, but his precious alien studies. What he’d demanded again was access to Freya. Marco had turned him down again, stating it wasn’t necessary. The alien health division had all the data they needed. Putting Freya through a battery of humiliating examinations wouldn’t alter a thing. If the empire was to be saved, it had to act on what it already knew, instead of waiting for another solution to present itself.

Dr. Han unfortunately had a stubborn streak. According to the latest report, he intended to contact his superiors and demand the governor cooperated.

Marco leaned on the solid force field. He’d intercepted the report and deleted the request for intervention from the communication package. Han had crossed the boundary of permissible behavior with his studies. Marco wished he had the evidence to throw the doctor off the planet.

How long he could go on protecting Freya, he didn’t know. At some point, he would be moved on, not this solar cycle or the next, but eventually he would be selected for another post. Then, Marco would have to face a future without her.

His usually sturdy shoulders slumped against the false glass. A passion burnt inside him and it failed to extinguish itself even when he thought he’d been sated by Freya’s attentiveness and improving sexual skills. The need for her was immense, the fear of losing her unbearable. Freya would tell him it was love. Ever since he’d punished her, during his recent visits, she’d hinted at her feelings, whispering in his ear, and he’d tried to steer away from confessing what he knew was true and no longer could be denied.

Tomorrow, when the second sun dipped lower and the heat of Tagra diminished slightly, he planned a different day for her. He’d some good news to impart and above all else, he needed a couple of days away from his post and the opportunity to be alone with Freya.

Chapter Fourteen

Out of the window of the speeder, Freya could see the golden landscape stretch out until it met the blue sky of the horizon. Occasionally, an outcrop of rocks and canyons punctuated the desert. Marco hadn’t revealed their destination; he wanted it to be a surprise.

“It looks like there was water on the surface.” She pointed out the erosion on the rocks.

Marco tapped the intercom and spoke to the pilot. “Circle a vent, will you?”

“Yes, sir,” the pilot replied.

The speeder lurched to one and altered its course.