XERIS' POV

I stood in the observation room located above the pods that contained each of the earth females. I watched as the last of the female Earthians brought in by scouting team A were loaded into their individual pods. In total, there were 20 000 000 females specially picked from earth. Each of them would go a long way in ensuring our future.

To think that we had to resort to this; to find our answer with these primitive beings.

"How much longer until the last of them has been placed into their pods?" I asked Pragu, the woman in charge of the storage bay.

"We have 150 minutes left and then all the earth females shall have successfully been loaded into their pods."

She talks as if they are animals.

Understandable.

"When can we set course for Thanzor?" I asked again, knowing that Santhi would answer.

The heads of each department had gathered together when scouting team A docked with the last of the Earthians. Each were reporting the progress of things to me. I needed to make sure everything went according to schedule. I would not allow us to fall behind. This mission had to be a success.

"We can take off ten minutes after the last of the earth females has been placed in their pods. This should be sufficient time for our crew members to ready themselves for take-off," he quickly answered.

"Make it five."

"Yes, Sire."

I was anxious to leave this place.

I turned away from the display glass and looked at the leaders in the room.

"Bulba, I believe you have informed your underlings on the importance of monitoring the earth females' health? It is imperative that they are healthy and remain that way. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your highness, I understand. They have been sufficiently prepared," she answered curtly.

I admired how out of the leaders in this room, she did not try to get on my good side. She was concise and straightforward. She was a no nonsense person who, truthfully, sometimes instilled fear in me.

She reminded me of mother.

I looked at Purit. There was no need to ask if he adequately prepared the men for their roles. I personally knew that each of the men were more than prepared to take on this challenge, myself included. Purit was a man who always delivered above and beyond what was asked of him. He was fiercely loyal and was a good friend. He was the sole reason I had managed to stay sane in all the chaos and happenings of this mission.

I turned back around and watched as the females were loaded into their pods. I hadn't noticed that everyone had left or realised how long I had been standing there until Jarvis spoke, "Sire, we have fifteen minutes till take off. We should be heading to command."

He stood behind me, to my left. I turned my face slightly towards him as my eyes were still focussed on the proceedings below.

In fifteen minutes we will be heading for Thanzor.

In fifteen minutes we will be going home.

"Have you spoken to Bulba about what will be required once we take off?"

"Yes Sire."

I turned around and headed for command.

***

I sat in my chair. It was behind the glass barrier that separated Santhi and I from the rest of Command. Santhi sat in his chair next to me on my right. This would be the last time I sat in this chair. Soon Santhi would be the one seating here and I would be tending to my other duties. We were zooming past Saturn when I spoke.

"Show me Bulba."

Santhi did a series of flicks and Bulba's face appeared before us.

She spoke as soon as she saw us, "The Earthians have been distributed over the 35 medical bays allocated to them. The cleansing process has been initiated. It should take 32 hours. Once completed, the females will be tested for their compatibility with our men. Then the pairing shall take place. This procedure should take no more than 2 hours. The men shall be informed of who they are in charge of. The female that is most compatible with your highness shall be transferred to your personal medical bay immediately. They will then be woken."

"Very good." I gave a slight nod to Santhi who flicked his wrist making Bulba's face disappear.

I stood up and all the commotion happening below us ceased. Every male and female in command stood along with me. I walked up closer to the barrier.

"It has been an honour serving as your commander. We have come a long way together. We have succeeded thus far, all because of your hard work and dedication." My gaze swept over their faces.

"But now my service must end. I have a role to play in guaranteeing our people's future. I know that my leaving command shall not affect your work in any way," a murmur rang through them. I waited until they quieted down.

"Santhi shall take over command. He is just as good, if not better, than I." I looked at him and saw that he was looking at the floor, fear poorly masked.

Santhi was a year younger than me. We started out this mission as mere boys. We were burdened with a great task, the responsibility overwhelming. But he was one of the brightest lights of Thanzor. The perfect person for this mission. I understood his fear, knew where it was coming from. I was much younger than he was when I was put in charge of this mission. I took him under my wing, however small that wing was.

I knew that I had to encourage him. I had to wipe the fear from his face.

I turned back to the men and women looking at me. "Santhi is a great man. He has been on this journey with us from the beginning. He knows what he is doing. Put your trust in him, and we shall return to Thanzor safely."

"Santhi." I called him to me. I turned toward him and unpinned the Commander's pin from my chest.

I spoke a little louder, " I, Xeris Leb Than, hand over command to Santhi Chaviv Doren."

The systems reacted and acknowledged Santhi as the new commander. I then pinned the commander's pin to his chest. It took in his DNA and changed colour from Green, which represented the royal family clan, to blue, which represented his clan. All of command bowed to me.

"You can do this," I said, making sure only he could hear, then turned and left.

I headed towards my chambers. All my duties regarding the ship were now relinquished to Santhi. My new duties would begin once the pairing was complete.

Roughly 34 hours. The hardest part of this mission begins in 34 hours. How will I communicate with a barbarian?

I stopped walking and ran my hand down my face.

"Is there a problem Sire?" Jarvis asked as he stood in front of the two guards who would be my new shadows.

I had forgotten that he was there. I had to relinquish him to Santhi as well. His purpose was to assist the commander. I was not commander anymore.

I turned to look at him, "Jarvis, I appreciate the work you have done for me while I served as commander. You applied yourself appropriately and performed your tasks diligently. As I am no longer commander, I hereby release you of your duties to me. From here on out, you shall serve Santhi, the new commander."

He looked me in the eyes the down quickly. Was that dejection in his eyes?

"It has been an honour serving you, your Highness. May you be successful in the rest of your duties." He bowed low.

That was the first time he had referred to me as 'your highness'. I would miss having him around me all the time. He turned and headed back to command. I watched him retreat as his own braid swung with each step.

I walked into my chambers and looked around.

What do I do now? I have less than 34 hours to myself. Less than 34 hours....

From the start of this mission, I was always busy, always had something to do. And now, faced with so much free time, I couldn't think of a single thing that I wanted to do. I stood there for a few minutes thinking of what to do.

I tapped my right temple. A mini screen that only I could see was before my eyes. I thought of Purit, and his location was shown to me. It seems he was in his chambers.

Maybe Purit can tell me what to do.

Purit was much older than I was. He was just as old as my brother, Elam.

I being 20 and he being 37, Elam and I had never been close. I still cared for him, and he me. I just could never go to him and talk about my worries like I could with Purit. He expected me to be mature about all things as a prince should be. He was just like mother and father. I knew they cared for me, but I was expected to deal with my problems and worries alone.

I arrived at Purit's chambers and notified him that I desired entry. He allowed it and soon I was in his chambers. He sat by his desk looking at a portrait of his wife and son. I still don't understand why he came on this mission.

"If you knew you would long for them so much, why did you come on this mission?" I asked as I walked over to his viewing glass. We moved swiftly through the stars. He came and stood by me.

"We knew how important this mission was, and how much I was needed here."

Purit was the most knowledgeable person on Thanzor when it came to the physical body. He knew everything about the body structure and muscles and how to tone, satisfy, build and replenish them. He was specialised in all the ancient martial arts and knew his way around various weapons as well. He was so passionate about it, that he turned it into an art. He was well known all throughout Thanzor, and everyone loved to watch his rare performances.

"We would have made due with one of your many subordinates."

He had opened a school where he taught his art to interested Thanzorians. It was one of the most prestigious schools on Thanzor.

"True. However, this mission concerns the fate of our people. If the prince was brave enough to volunteer for it, how would it have looked, if I, did not follow suit?" He turned towards me waiting for my retort.

"Ah. So you were trying to save face in front of the kingdom." My eyes turned towards him but my face still faced toward the viewing glass. I looked back out the glass at the stars.

"Well, that. And the fact that I would never hear the end of it from my wife."

This elicited a chuckle out of me. I knew that he was one of the first people to volunteer for this mission.

"And here I thought 'Purit the Great' was first in line to volunteer. Do you mean to say that the stories about you are false? Are your performances just that? Just a show?"

He chuckled. "Well you know the thing about stories, they tend to be exaggerated the more they are told."

"Indeed. Should I now worry that the men are not in fact prepared for what is to come?"

"We can do nothing but pray to God at this point," he answered.

There was a momentary pause before we broke into laughter. After it died down, we stood staring out at the stars in companionable silence.

"What is it that bothers you? You never seek me out like this unless you have something that needs putting together."

Purit was a man of few words. But when he did speak, people listened. A quality I strove to obtain. He also had a talent for reading people. I was groomed to be unreadable from the moment I could talk, yet he saw right through the image that the countless lessons produced.

"You have a few hours to yourself before you meet your charge. The only explanation for you wasting that time with an old man like myself is that something worries you."

Old man?

Purit was healthier and better built physically than most younger men in all of Thanzor! This was no man you looked at and thought.... old. Purit stood at 6'3, two inches shorter than me, yet whenever in his presence, I felt like a little boy, looking up at his father. He had that effect on me.

When I didn't say anything he suggested we take seats. We sat in his relaxing area. He leaned back in his seat and waited for me to find my words.

"I know how important this mission is to our people. I know that this is our last hope. I know what is required of me as prince of Thanzor. I know that I must set an example."

"You seem to know a lot of things. What is it that you do not know?" he asked.

I thought about his question and formulated the answer in my head.

"I do not know how well I will handle the situation. I do not know how well I will cope with my charge. I do not know if I will be successful. These earth women.... they are so primitive. Barbaric for that matter. They come from a world that is ruled by lust, money and war. How am I supposed to interact with such a creature? How am I supposed to come to an understanding with...it?" I couldn't keep the disgust out of my voice.

He regarded me for a minute. "The truth is, no one knows what the future holds. Only God and the few he decides to show it to. The earth women, they are just like our women," he raised his hand to stop me as I was about to interrupt. "Yes, they grew up in different circumstances and have different values, but they are still human. "

I leaned back in my seat and sighed, "I know that"

"There you go with what you know."

He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, a smile on his face. "The best thing would be for you to go into this with no expectations"

"I did not have any to begin with."

"Expectations can either be negative or positive. Do not go into this expecting the worst. Do not expect anything at all."

I thought about it, "that is easier said than done."

"We were brought up thinking that the earth people were ungodly and rotten to the core, and that is why we kept away. However, now that we are where we are now, the only way that we can go forward is with their help," he said.

"It was instilled in me that God would punish me if I did anything that an earth person would do. All my life, that was the threat that kept me in line as a child. I am sure it kept a lot of Thanzorian children in line. And now I am supposed to forget about it? That is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible. I see now that no words I utter shall bring you any peace of mind. I would only suggest that you judge for yourself after interacting with your charge."

I pondered for a moment, "that sounds fair."

I left feeling lighter than when I had gone into his chambers.

Judge for myself.

I can do that.