Chapter 20

They were led back into Minister Turon's chambers and left alone for a few minutes. Soon they heard the bellowing voice of the minister.

"Ahhh, Captain, Colonel, how did you sleep?"

"You drugged the food," Buck complained.

Minister laughed. "I truly am sorry, Captain. Lately it seems that is the only way I can get a good night's rest. Especially the night before another conquest. I tend to lie awake at night quivering with excitement!"

"Thanks," he muttered. "That wasn't a visual I needed."

"I trust you slept well?"

"Too well."

"Hmmm?" Minister suddenly smiled. "Oh, I see. Did I rob you of your last chance at human pleasure? I'll have to make it up to you later. Oh, that's right! I won't be able to! Because you'll be dead! I truly do apologize, Captain. But look at the bright side: at least you'll have the knowledge of what caused the extinction of all human life on the planet Earth, at least until you die yourself. I would provide you a port where you could watch the destruction of life on Earth, but there won't be any action. It's all rather quick and humane."

"Humane? You're planning on-"

Wilma placed a hand on his arm. "Buck, it's not helping. The minister is only doing what he thinks is right for his world."
Buck and Minister Turon both turned to look at her in amazement. "Huh?" they said in unison.

"Wilma, what are you saying? He's planning on destroying the whole human race! How can you condone that?"

"You don't know the whole situation, Buck. Maybe the minister has good reasons for doing this."

They both turned to face the minister who smiled. "Yes, yes I do have good reasons! My people need your world to survive!"

"So do we!" Buck almost yelled.

"Minister," Wilma started. "Do you mind if we talk privately? I think the Captain has become too emotional. Maybe it's a side effect of the sleeping agent you gave us last night. He's not usually like this."

"Wilma, what are you doing?"

"Of course, my dear Colonel." Minister tapped a button on his chair. Six armed soldiers entered the room. "Please escort the captain back to his cell. The lady and I have some… business to discuss."

"Wilma! Don't do this, Wilma!" Buck screamed as he was led out of the room and back into the corridor.

Wilma turned to Minister. "What would you like to do first? Business or pleasure?"

The large man's face began to glow with excitement. "Pleasure? Pleasure you say? What kind of pleasure?"

"You robbed me of getting my final pleasure last night when you laced the food with your sleeping potion. If I am going to die today, don't I get my final request?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I've been with many different men," Wilma grinned seductively. "Generals, athletes, world leaders… In fact I even had a religious leader, once. But I've never had someone from another planet before! Have you?"

"N-n-n-no."

"You mean to tell me that you have never experienced the act of being with a woman of another race?"

'N-n-n-no," he stammered.

Wilma smiled broadly as she approached the lounge chair. "Bring in the food, drink, and the dancing girls and I can show you the time of your life," she said huskily, smiling seductively.

Buck and his six-guard escort were walking down the hall in silence until his feet suddenly became entangled with one of the guards behind him. Buck tripped and fell to his knees, bumping into the soldier who had been walking directly in front of him. He turned to see Buck kneeling on the floor.

"What's the big idea, klutz? Watch where you're going, Earth scum!"

Buck shook his head, pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "He tripped me."

The soldier behind Buck grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the floor. Buck whirled around to face him. The guard winked ever so slightly and secretly shoved something into Buck's hand. Buck head-butted the guard beside him as the other soldier took out another guard. Buck turned and bum-rushed the lead guard, slammed him into the nearby wall, and hit him over the head with the object in his hand, which he finally noticed as a pistol. He then spun and kicked the final guard in the chest. In seconds the skirmish was over. The soldier stepped up to Buck.

"My name is Aaris. Vaahn told you about me?"

Buck nodded once. "He said I would have assistance and a sign. That's all he said. I take it that was my sign?"

"Yes. I really appreciate what you and your friend are trying to do."

Quickly they went to gather up the guards and shove them into a nearby room. "No offense, but I'm not doing this for you or your people. I'm just trying to save the lives of my friends, family, and everyone on Earth."

"I am too. Maybe someday our worlds can become friends and allies."

Buck nodded. "That's definitely much better than the alternative."

"There are many of us who believe what the minister is doing is wrong. I promise you that if this works, things will be much different between our two worlds."

"I can only hope." He paused and pointed to one of the guards they had dragged into the room. "Hey, he looks about my size. Come here and help me get his clothes off."

The girls came into the room with the food and drinks, followed closely by the dancing girls and the music. Wilma picked up one of the fruits and pretended to inspect it closely. She looked at the minister.

"This isn't laced with your sleeping potion, is it?"

He smiled. "No, no. That's only my evening meal that gets the treatment. This meal is perfectly natural!"

Wilma grinned as she seductively placed the piece of fruit into her mouth. "Excellent. I wouldn't want you to fall asleep!"

She carefully moved her hand toward the minister's chest. Somewhat surprisingly, her fingers rubbed against the fabric of his clothing. "What happened to your personal shield?" she wondered.

"Oh, it's still there," he assured her. "It only activates when it recognizes a threat to my personal being."

"And I'm not a threat?" she asked.

He smiled. "Not at all."

She eased away from the minister and moved onto the dance floor. She began to sway and move to the rhythm of the music, almost matching the movements of the other dancers. After a few moments, she came back to the minister and gently grasped his hand. She tugged on it slightly.

"Oh, no, no, no," he chuckled. "I don't dance. I just watch."

"Do you want to watch your pleasure? Or do you want to participate?"

"I don't know how to dance."

"Do you know how to move?"

"Of course."

"Then you know how to dance. Dancing is an excellent form of foreplay! It also makes you hungry so you want to eat! I know how much pleasure you get from that! Come on," she urged. "You don't have to do much. Just feel the music and sway. I'll help you!"

Finally she convinced the minister to join them on the floor. They danced for only a moment before Wilma stopped.

"Where are you going?" Minister asked.

She placed her fingers against his lips. "I just want to take my shoes off. I'll be right back."

She went back to the area of the table and the food. Carefully she pulled the vial of poison out of her shoe. As she took off her other shoe, she cautiously poured the poison all over the food. She then threw the vial back into her shoe and placed them underneath the table. She then rejoined the minister on the dance floor and smiled seductively.

"Now I'm ready to get down!"