Azxaron savored the Hom’s surprised look as he turned to find him relatively close, his weapon drawn. Even if the Hom were an inferior species… like all other species except his own in fact, he had to recognize a certain panache in his ability to remain calm in such circumstances. The Homs were far from the real top of intelligent species, but it was understandable how they had managed to bluff their way into a good place in the official rankings.
In comparison, Xini was visibly shocked, furious, humiliated and confused, unable to hide her emotions. Her ears oscillated in all positions before choosing the questioning-hostile posture.
“Azxaron? Here? Now? How did you get in?”
“Through the door.”
The Hom smiled upon hearing this answer. Was it a total lack of survival instinct in his species or a remarkable composure? Xini, she, got annoyed by his ironic response and felt obliged to find the answer:
“Oh yeah? I imagine then that you have been following us for a while in stealth mode, slowly enough to fool my sensors... And then, you must have hacked the door and parked in our hangar... How did you hack my systems?”
“I guess they are not that good...”
“It's not my fault! You did not win!”
“I have the impression of the opposite... You, Hom, do not try to shoot me manually: I have detected your use of the jammer, but I want to point out to you that as much as the reflexes of my weapon are infinitely superior to those of yours, my capacity to react without technology is high compared to yours. Do not force me to seriously injure you: I will not use the paralyzer mode if I shoot.”
Libre grimaced a smile and moved away his hand that was approaching the butt of his weapon. He slowly opened his other hand to reveal his jammer and let it fall under the haughty gaze of the opponent.
“For your information,” the Xerinean added, “I’m also using a jammer right now. Its range is calibrated to encompass your entire vehicle except for its mediocre cloaking systems…”
“How did you track me,” Xini asked, “well, how did you track me through time? I suppose you’re using some sort of universal DNA tracker, but… At least tell me how you did that?”
“I created a device that could function outside of stasis, and as soon as it detected the reappearance of your DNA in the universe, it allowed me to exit on the same date. Then I only had to track your ship while remaining invisible. The local sensors may not see you, but what a cheap invisibility yours is…”
“I made do with what I had on hand, and quickly!” Xini protested furiously. “Of course, you have one of our ships, with the best technology in the universe! You can't say you won when you're cheating!”
“We're not in a competition, Xini. You're a fugitive criminal and I'm an agent of the Administration. An inspector, even.”
“And you're going to throw me in prison? Me?”
Azxaron bit his lip inwardly. Xini was not only a member of his people, but also a friend... But he didn't only obey the orders of the Administration.
“I have orders from our superiors...”
“Oh yeah? Xzeonia, I suppose?”
“Yes, but...”
“I'm sure she's also involved in Xerina's assassination!”
“Stop with that: she's no more involved than the new Xerina!”
“Find out who benefits from the crime!”
“She didn't murder her own mother; your theories are as ridiculous as they are unfounded!”
As the tone rose, the two Xerineans had begun to speak in their own language, untranslatable to the others. Looking at each other furiously for a moment, they recovered their composure and Xini addressed reproaches to him in the administered language:
“Whether I am right or not, I was alone in doing the necessary research. YOU left me all alone!”
“You're the one who insisted on pursuing your ridiculous theories!”
“But you still left me alone! And why are you coming to find me? Oh, to stop me, how nice of you...”
The emotional pout that Xini imitated had exactly the desired effect: Azxaron felt more and more annoyed.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Stop it! You know very well that we'll do what it takes to get you out of here, but legally...”
“Because bribes are legal now?”
“It's not about... our species is essential to the scientific development of the Administration: it's normal that we have certain privileges. All you have to do is promise that you'll never leave the base again, and you'll be free...”
“To stay on the base forever. Yes. It's nice, with all the labs and workshops, but it would totally harm my investigation.”
“Stop this stupid investigation! It only brings you trouble. Besides, you're not the only one trying to find out...”
“There must be some of our people responsible: no one could have gotten past the defenses of the presidential palace! Even if the Hogloos and Titanesque terrorists, and all the others, had combined their knowledge, they could not have defeated defenses led by Xerina herself! And then, why was all our staff absent from the palace that day, with the exception of a few black guards? It's suspicious!”
The inspector sighed. He would never convince her. But she would come, willingly or by force. He would carry out her orders… in the best possible interpretation of them… No physical elimination for example: just eliminates her from circulation…
“You know Xini… You, the Hom, stop moving immediately! I don’t know what you’re plotting, but no device will react to your gestures, except my weapon when I pull the trigger!”
Lhom shrugged with a smirk… but not too much anyway, for fear of convincing his opponent to shoot. Azxaron turned his attention back to his fellow:
“Xini. I don’t only obey Xzeonia’s orders, nor those of the new Xerina. If I have to arrest you, it’s also because I respect the wishes of the deceased Xerina. You are not the only one who would do anything to avenge her… She was the very wisdom of our species. She was the one who freed us from slavery and allowed us to hold the highest rank in this Administration that had exploited us in the shadows for so long. So, even if she is dead, I will follow her orders and stop you.”
The asymmetry in the orientation of her ears aligned perfectly with the expression on her face: Xini was perplexed.
“The queen… asked you to stop me?”
“She knew you tend to go too far, systematically. You’ve already caused quite a few similar problems when we were at the base…”
“Hey, I wasn’t systematically wrong!”
“The queen asked me personally to monitor you and eliminate you if you went too far. And, I think you went too far…”
“To eliminate me? Are you crazy?”
Her ears pinned back; the young woman was furious, ready to rush forward to attack him. With his thumb, he changed the calibration of his weapon to “paralysis” and pointed it at her, keeping an eye on the Hom.
“She was aware of the threat you represented! Xerina has always watched over the future of our people! Afterwards, she didn’t expressly mention a physical elimination…”
“What exactly did she say?”
Xini knew perfectly well that he wasn’t lying, so once the surprise had passed, she accepted his statement. Perhaps she would also agree to surrender peacefully? Paralysis was quite painful for beings with their cerebral capacities.
“She said that I had to watch out for you and that if you crossed the line, I had to eliminate the problem…”
“Eliminate…”
“Yes, I still asked for more details, because I was surprised too. She then said ‘you can also marry her if you prefer’…”
“You… you want to marry me?”
Xini’s face expressed surprise, but her ears fluttered, especially their tips which moved more intensely than the rest. She also blushed, giving her green face a slightly purple tint. He felt embarrassed, but it didn’t show as much on his dark skin.
“That… I… That was a joke she made at the time… I think… Stop doing that!”
“Stop what?”
“Your ears!”
She seemed to suddenly become aware of the movements of her ears, which accentuated it and her flush. Apparently lamentably unable to control her own ears, she gently grabbed them in her hands to stop their movement... but their tips continued to move.
It was rather embarrassing: she hadn't taken seriously this joke he was reporting... But, even then, she wouldn't have had such a disproportionate reaction if... if she hadn't thought about it seriously...
Without letting go of her ears, she pointed a hesitant finger at him.
“Uh... Azxaron...”
“What? You still can't stop?”
“Well... you neither...”
Azxaron's flush became clearly visible, despite his dark face, as he realized that his own ears were beating in unison. Without letting go of his weapon, he put the other arm behind his head, pressing both ears together in the same movement.
“That...” he justified himself, “it’s just nervous... it’s your fault too: you’re the one who started... doing that...”
His heart was pounding and only the strong pulsations running through the veins of his ears prevented him from hearing Xini’s. He wasn’t lying when he said it was just nervous: his brain had not yet accepted what his logic had already deduced.
To think that this stupid little word, which he had let slip while quoting the queen, had triggered this reciprocal reaction, releasing long years of repressed feelings. There was only one circumstance in all of life when those of his people lost control of their feelings, and he had to trigger it now, at the worst possible moment? Deep down, he had always known he loved her, well for a few years now, but the realization of that fact and his acceptance were necessary for these idiotic reactions… Well, he was going to tell her they were all under arrest, and he would think better when they would all be in stasis cells…
Azxaron and Xini stood there stupidly, avoiding looking at each other directly and trying to control their ears. Lhom raised an eyebrow in astonishment. Who would have thought that of the proud and haughty race of the Xerineans?
The barrel of Azxaron’s gun moved slightly, indicating that a negligible part of his brain was still attentive to the Hom’s movements. Probably at the cost of considerable effort, considering that the inspector regularly tried to say something but stopped after two words or less.
A sly smile appeared on the Homtest’s face, but the Xerinean did not have time to be able to worry about it. With a cry of surprise, he jumped and collapsed, motionless. Behind him, her pistol in manual, Sava Domeria released her finger from the trigger.
“Azx!” Xini exclaimed, coming out of her daze.
She immediately rushed to her counterpart's, feeling points on his head in the same way one would measure a pulse.
“Ah?” Sava asked cynically. “So, this wasn't a trick to distract his attention?”
