Chapter Three
Lotor read the message again and again, as if he couldn’t bring himself to truly believe what he read. The private message from Allura had almost been lost in the radio feedback coming from the planet but it was there all the same. The girl was brilliant at hiding her signal but had encrypted in such a way that he would find it.
She wanted to negotiate.
He wasn’t surprised at all. His terms were spectacularly demanding, as he had intended them to be. If he had made the offer too appealing, they might not have taken him seriously. This was his most serious endeavor. Especially now that he could not return to Korrinoth, not with his father gravely ill from poison. It was only a matter of time it was traced back to him, even though he had used Haggar’s own potions to do it.
His fleet now was comprised of Drulians loyal to him; academy friends, those sick of the politics on Korrinoth or in the Supremacy, and other outcasts. His fleet could not withstand an attack from the Supremacy but it was enough to enforce his sanctions on Arus.
His once steady hand trembled as his elixir was overdue. He clenched his hands in frustration. His attempt to ween himself off the potion was proving almost impossible. He had been reducing the dose each time but his need for it remained the same. He could only stave it off for so long before his withdrawal became too harrowing.
He focused on the message again. He was certain that it was Allura herself that had sent it even though he couldn’t place how he knew it. It could have been the encoding or the wording of the message itself. Although formal in tone, it seemed strong and willful; just like her.
The most intriguing part of the message was that she wanted to negotiate alone. Just him and her. Of course, her whimpering friends would only be in the other room so if she screamed they would come running but she would be so close, after so long.
He closed the document on his console and tossed the device on his bed.
He couldn’t see her like this. His temper was bad when he was under the influence of the drug but it was even worse when the withdrawal hit him. He could not be a monster to her or she would wither away from him. Even if her conviction were strong enough, her friends wouldn’t let the treaty be ratified if they thought he were capable of truly hurting her.
Surely if he could be a strategist he could also be a diplomat. Diplomacy was merely another game of strategy, played with words instead of weapons. His father’s version of diplomacy was not to be imitated or duplicated. Allura had seen it before and she would not bend to it.
A little give and take was what the situation called for. He could give a little and take all she had to give, if he planned his moves carefully. Time was of the essence though.
His father would not die from the poisoned wine he ingested. It would only slow Zarkon down. Then the armada would be upon both Arus and Lotor’s fleet.
The much anticipated meeting with Allura was twelve hours away and he hadn’t slept well in days. It was anticipation or dread or any other number of emotions that he wasn’t used to feeling. The potion had one thing going for it, it made all other emotions seem trivial. It kept them in the background as self gratification, greed, and hatred bubbled to the surface.
Lotor had too much on his mind to sleep. He looked forward to seeing her angelic face again even if she wasn’t happy about the circumstances that brought them together. She wouldn’t have wanted the private meeting if the treaty was inadmissible. She would have flat out denied it they had any glimmer of hope left. He had made sure that they would not.
Lotor heard the signal from his door and had a feeling he knew who was ringing for access.
“Come,” Lotor called and as the automatic doors slid open, he was not surprised to see Grieg, his first in command and long time friend from the academy. Grieg was a halfbreed like Lotor, his mother also human from one of the many settled outer planets that the Galaxy Garrison couldn’t protect.
“Engineering has discovered a hidden message embedded in the radio waves coming from the planet,” Grieg stated, looking Lotor over as he sat as motionless as he could on the edge of his bed. Lotor knew how he must look, he hadn’t shaved in days or bothered to brush his hair. His uniform was wrinkled and his hands shook. It was a far cry from the pristine ever confident image he had strove for on Korrinoth.
“Yes, I know,” Lotor replied.
“Was it the princess?” Grieg asked sitting next to Lotor on the bed like they used to do in their dorm at the academy.
“Yes. Everything is going according to plan.”
“Good,” Grieg nodded. And the two sat there for long moments, neither saying a word to one another. Greig and Lotor were never chummy as one might expect of two friends but they understood each other. Greig knew what was motivating Lotor and didn’t seem to care. Grieg was looking for excitement and the opportunity to better is situation. As it were, Grieg’s situation was piteous.
“I hope she’s worth it,” Greig said, being uncharacteristically chatty.
“Yes,” Lotor smiled. “More then worth it.”
