I open my eyes and see Stela staring at Lucian with her mouth agape. She stays rooted in place, her feet fixed to the floor even after his threat. Lucian frowns at her but she doesn't budge, she just keeps looking at him with a starry eyed expression.
"So beautiful," She murmurs, looking dazed and he scoffs at her. He grabs my arm and walks away, dragging me along with him.
"Lucian, I'm at work," I reiterate. I try to wiggle out of his grasp but it is to no avail, his grip is too strong.
"Your shift is over." It isn't a question, more like a statement.
"My boss-," I say, once we are outside but he interrupts me.
"Your boss will not piss off the Trinity," He says and then he nods at one of the glider attendants who rushes to retrieve his vehicle.
"You know who my boss is?"
"It doesn't matter who your boss is. No one on this planet would defy me over such a trivial matter." His glider arrives and the Plutonian attendant jumps out and casts a cautious smile at Lucian. He releases my hand and gets in the driver seat and after a long pause I get in as well.
He pulls out of the driveway and drives along the busy streets of the city while I sit in cautious silence. I cast a glance at him and then finally ask the question on my mind.
"What made you come over to Onyx tonight?"
"I wanted to visit my girlfriend at work. Is there anything wrong with that?" He asks me in a clipped tone, making me wonder if he is angry with me.
"Girlfriend?" Oddly enough that is the first thing I wonder about.
Lucian looks at me and his gaze softens slightly. "It's a term they use on Earth. I thought you would like it."
"It's nice," I give him a small smile. "It's definitely better than paramour or mistress."
He grins at my response and then he takes my hand in his and squeezes it. "I've been busy these past few months. We've barely spent any time together aside from sleeping."
His hand is warm in mine and even though I am worried about whatever he has been up to, the smile on his face makes my heart melt. Stela is right, he is breathtakingly handsome especially when he smiles.
"I saw you with your friends. Looks like you are having a fun time at work," Lucian turns his attention back to the road while he maneuvers the glider with one hand. "Must have been having quite the party back there since seven people came out of the back with only three carrying the meat."
My hand stiffens slightly under his hold and I nearly have a heart attack because I am certain he felt it.
"Yeah, one of the guys created this new mixture of alcohol and they wanted us to try it. We couldn't do it outside since we're all supposed to be working," I reply after a short pause and wait in silent tension as I anticipate his reaction.
"Playing truant? Aria, you surprise me every day."
His gaze is fixed on the road ahead but my heart is a frenzied mess in my chest. Why did that sound like he was talking about something else?
"We don't do it often," I quickly say and I notice his grip tightens slightly. My hand throbs under his hold and I stare up at him in shock. He looks down at our intertwined hands and quickly loosens his grip and I slide my hand out of his.
"You don't have to explain to me. I'm not the boss," He says.
I nod my head and stare out my window while I rub my hand silently.
"We're going to a planet in the Pleiades star system tomorrow. This trip might take a few days," He tells me suddenly.
"We're going to stay there?" I ask him curiously and he nods his head.
"It's a diplomatic trip so we will be staying there for a few days. The Generals and the Trinity are going along with our Sergeant Commanders and squads."
"What planet is it?"
"Taygeta," He turns to look at me once we reach his home and his gaze is somewhat unnerving. It might be my paranoia but he is staring at me almost suspiciously.
"It seems they have been supplying weapons to a rebel force that we have been trying to track down for years. Our intel tells us that this news is true and therefore Taygeta must be dealt with seriously." He shuts the glider down and turns his attention fully on me.
"There's a rebel force buying guns from one of your planets?" I fake incredulity as I ask him because this isn't the first time I've heard of this. "Who are these rebels?"
The mere fact that there are some aliens out there in the universe with the guts to take on the Plutonian empire fills me with awe. I can't help but admire their bravery even though half of me thinks it is purely suicidal to attempt such a feat.
"We don't know who they are but they have been a thorn in our side for awhile. Their influence is slowly spreading from planet to planet like a disease," Lucian seethes with anger when he speaks about them.
"What? You mean they come from more than one planet?" I ask him in shock and his eyes narrow on my face.
"Try not to look so happy, Aria," He says and then he gets out of the glider.
I freeze in place, wondering what he meant by that. I don't look happy, do I? I pinch the skin on my forearm hard, trying to get it together before he figures me out and everything's ruined.
I still have another file to look into.
I rush after Lucian and keep up with his long strides as he walks through his foyer. We reach his room and he walks to his table where dinner has been set for us. I join him and we eat in a rather uncomfortable silence. I take a bite of the grilled meat and stare at him warily.
"I'm not happy about this whole situation, Lucian," I say after I swallow that piece of meat. "In fact I've been worrying about you almost every second."
It's technically not a lie.
Lucian chews on his food while he stares at me. He takes a sip of his oxygen infused drink and leans back.
"You have?"
I almost feel guilty for hitting his weak spot. Lucian has admitted to me before about how he feels most people around him don't care about his well being and instead want to use him. He always softens up when I admit to worrying about him.
"Yes and it doesn't help that you can't tell me much." My eyebrows knit together in a frown.
He suddenly sighs loudly and rubs a hand over his face. "I don't know, everyone is making me suspicious nowadays. Just forget I said anything. You're the last person I would expect to betray me and probably one of the few I still trust. I'm sorry I doubted you."
I gulp silently after he says this and my entire body feels heavy with guilt. I force a smile to my face and concentrate on my food. My appetite seems to have disappeared after what he just said.
Lucian finishes his food much faster than I do and he gulps down his drink.
"I'm going to take a bath. You can join me once you're done," He says and then he gets up. He places a soft kiss on the side of my head and then walks into his bathroom.
I stay rooted in place and my eyes fall to my work bag, lying idly by my feet. My finger pad is inside, ready for the taking.
The door to the washroom shuts and I shiver slightly in apprehension. We are going to Taygeta tomorrow so I will have no time to check Lucian's computer till who knows when. No matter how guilty Lucian just made me feel, I can't lose this golden opportunity.
I push the plates in the middle to the edges and grab my finger pad from my bag. I then cast a wary glance at the washroom door, making sure it is still shut and then I place my finger into the recess in the middle of the table.
Lucian's computer comes to life and my heart beats frantically in my chest as I stand up and search for the file named OP-20. I hear the sound of the shower running but I can't help sneaking a glance at the door every few seconds.
My fingers shake as I open the file on Earth out of instinct and then search the numerous rows of folders. Blood thumps in my ears and my body starts to shake as I pass each row without seeing the name I want to see.
I know I am running out of time and I scroll down quickly until I finally see the words OP-20. I jab my finger on the icon and it opens immediately. This folder is further divided into a few subsections and I quickly click on the first one.
My eyes crease together as I see Earth's world map with small diagrams drawn all over each continent. I study them closely and realize that they look like the signature Plutonian military bunkers.
A lump forms in my throat when I see a few numbers written below - 10/12/20. It looks like a date log but it doesn't match the dates here on Pluto which confuses me.
I hear the shower stop and I quickly exit the folder and click on the next one. A large image fills the screen and I almost forget to breathe when I see Earth, my Earth filled with the same diagram I saw in the freezer drawn by 'S' and the one Remulus described to me.
They are drawn on each continent and there is a small circle located in the center of the world map with the words Capital City written inside. I see a similar row of numbers at the bottom of the file but the date is different - 10/12/22. Again those numbers don't coincide with the dates here.
I hear Lucian shuffling around in the washroom and quickly exit the folders. I shut the computer and stuff the finger pad in my bag just in time for Lucian to come out.
"You haven't finished?" Lucian stares at my untouched food and walks over to his cupboard to take out some clothes.
"I ate a bit but I'm not so hungry anymore," I answer softly. I'm afraid if I speak any louder he will hear the tremor in my voice.
I get up and ignore Lucian's watchful eyes as I make my way to his bathroom. Once I am in the shower I sink to the floor and stare at the wall. My body trembles slightly as everything slowly comes together like pieces of a puzzle.
The military bunkers have either been set up or are in the process of being set up on Earth. It makes sense now that Jade's commander had to go to Earth's moon for a mission, this must be what they were monitoring. I wonder if they are setting up their underground bunkers right now while the humans on Earth remain oblivious to everything.
And the diagrams that 'S' has been trying to expose must be what they are planning to impose on Earth once they take over. The system here with the slave quarters, the fights in the pits and the paramours was just an experiment to see how we would adjust to this same system on Earth.
Now I know why they are monitoring Earth so closely. Since they've seen how we have adapted to their slave system here, they will be able to in cooperate it much faster on Earth with more surveillance on Type 2 variables than Type 1 variables.
My head begins to throb as Lucian's report makes more sense than ever.
He doesn't want to bring more humans here to Pluto. The Plutonians are planning to invade Earth, to take over and to make it a larger version of what it is here.
A strangled cry escapes my lips and I lean forward as my food inches its way up my throat.
This is why 'S' asked us that question about whether we wanted to escape to Earth or save it. I lean my head against the wall, feeling sick, tired and hopeless.
How the hell are a few humans supposed to save an entire planet?
Okay guys now you finally know why the humans have been experimented on. The whole thing was actually a social experiment to see how they would adapt once on Earth.
But now I have another question for you guys. Why do you think Lucian said time is running out? Why do the Plutonians want to invade Earth? I've given I think two hints since the begininng of this story and I'm really curious if you guys caught them. Let me know what you think below :) :)