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in the experience of life?
    What could a being that chose to alter itself to the level of mere machine possibly want in mating? Not one !Dakos warrior hosted a biological brain for eight hundred years. They were emotionless. Machines.
    A chill prickled down my arms.
    The healing of Prall couldn't begin without the King. All that remained would continue to fall one clan at a time. Maybe that was the !Dakos plan in keeping Solvun all along? Maybe they could think for themselves beyond perpetuating their existence. Whatever that entailed. But the rest of us caught in their reckless attempts to grasp to some semblance of existence had to end before the destructive wave of the !Dakos was unleashed upon another planet's shore.
    Yes, now Theone felt the tremors of the !Dakos war so distanced from my home world.
    At my request.
    I owed her release from this insanity.
    She was a prize.
    A goddesses to my people.
    Treasured beyond all else.
    Female.
    To have something as remarkable as a mate like Theone was a gift from the stars. Literally. A blessing. And I had no right making the choice for her.
    Her wishes were more sacred than any clan feud or off-world skirmish.
    Forming a mate bond with her against her will would be the ultimate sacrilege. Dare I have a hand in the madness? I unfurled my blue fingers and stared at my blue palm.
    An empty hand.
    What had I brought to the table for almost three-hundred years while the rightful King lived under lock and key, imprisoned? Second in line to end the bickering and bring peace back to the most sacred place in the universe through finding a way to defeat the microbe, my actions must remain exemplary.
    Theone must have a choice.
    Alas, in that same empty hand dwelled the answer.
    My Handler abilities.
    But a Handler detecting energy from every atom among the stars risked dark temptation. Craved control. Through the ability to sway who loves him with the slightest touch of his skin. Through manipulation of elementals. Manipulation, an abhorrent choice in the realm of social interaction for a being wielding my powers. But I could force her to bend to Prall's needs and help me in my people's salvation.
    If I dared touch her with my flesh. Weave a spell she couldn't refuse. Bind her heart and soul to mine. She'd willingly assist in liberating Solvun from his cell afterward.
    But my touch would set the countdown for her complete submission. Her heart. Her body. Her soul would yearn to meld with mine. Die without my touch. Fade away until there was nothing left but a motionless heart and her cold body without my touch to save her life.
    Unforgiveable.
    Damning.
    Sacrilege.
    My touch, far more addictive than any alcohol or drug. How would I be any different from the !Dakos in their repugnant methods to perpetuate their species? I curled my fingertips until my nails bit into the meat of my palm and stared at my faint reflection lost among space's dense blackness and piercing points of starlight beyond the viewport's glass.
    Neither my people, my heart, nor my soul were worth such wasted power. Not when I stood as an example of what my warrior brethren should strive to achieve. Honor.
    Everything circled back to honor.
    Simply sensing her agony was enough to make an honorable man feel as if he'd breached a confidence. Or simple boundaries. Like mindreading without permission. And that broke free-thinking law.
    Never.
    Bringing peace to Prall meant teaching everyone how to live in peace. And doing so by manipulating a female would do little to reiterate my point. We must live free. We must seek harmony. Or we will never find the means to eradicate the microbe and give birth to live female offspring on Prall again.
    A mind pushed out to mine, requesting permission to mindspeak.
    Theone's lesser-evolved mind wasn't evolved enough for telepathy. The visitor must be the commander. “ Yes ."
    " Don't worry about the captain .” Goro said. “ You have two days to convince her of your planet's peril.