Lux Mori

“Have you given any thought to what this honor bound young one has said or do you adhere to your choice to save yourself and your mate?” Enebrian only asked out of observing human cultural niceties, he already knew the answer.

“He has no influence here. I am the Prime Minister and I stand by my decision. Freedom for my mate and myself and you may have as many as you need.”

“Make no mistake, Prime Minister, I intend to take them all. They will each serve a purpose, even your Chief that was in charge of your pseudo-military. He, too, will have his orders. You will watch as the people who trusted you dwindle in numbers and eventually become extinct because you are selfish. That is what happened to this planet; that is why you were so easy to capture as a species. And that is one of a plethora of reasons that we are superior.”

“One more request Enebrian, if I may.” Griffin had the audacity to speak up.

“I await your request, both curious and annoyed.”

“Since your race does not need our wealth, I ask for the riches that are in the treasury and that belonged to my citizens.”

Enebrian scoffed “Earth money will mean nothing outside of this rock, but the fact that you would ask for the money of a people that you just abandoned to slavery disgusts me.”

“Is that a yes or a no? My moral compass is my concern.” Griffin had nerves of steel in the face of this enormous being before him who obviously disapproved of his methods in every way.

Enebrian looked back over his shoulders at his people and a moment of unspoken communication passed between them.

“You May have the worthless money, but there will be dire consequences because I grow tired of your dishonor and your callousness regarding your race. We value logic over emotion, but we value the continuation and evolution of our species over anything else.”

Griffin had only heard about every third word, calculating all of the money he had just come into, assuming there would be a way to make him and his wife affluent members of any society. Even the one they were traveling to. He just didn’t believe that the aliens wouldn’t want money and power over all else. Surely their leaders felt otherwise. Now that he had money in spades, Griffin believed the power would eventually follow.

Enebrian was already plotting the man’s punishment because he heard every last thought and understood what the man sought. It was unacceptable, but his punishment would provide entertainment for Enebrian and his men, at least for a fleeting moment.