And likely would, right there in the chamber if this did not go as he wanted. His father was a strong scientist, but he also had a violent temper that Khalzin had endured most of his life. His mother, still bound to him by their laws, did not reside with him anymore. His temperament was too difficult to bear.
Like his father, Khalzin was a scientist.
And whether he liked it or not, he had a temper of his own. Unlike his father, he worked very hard to keep it under control.
Mostly. He had a passion for creative arts, which he liked to think was why he had the idea of bringing in the Galactic Alliances Alien Mating Program. There would be a considerable test pool of potential candidates, and they all would be willing to participate because they were already in the program.
And from what he'd read from the Galactic Alliance, the program carefully screened all applicants before bringing them to any world and decided upon what each species needed as far as traits and particular cellular needs. In short, they took a lot of the guesswork out of the process of finding potential candidates.
That would make the process easier for everyone. Not that he had any interest in mating immediately with a stranger.
He would insist on invoking Courtship if only to make sure this would work.
He couldn't imagine just--
The Speaker sat up.
"I have concluded. Xaul, you must continue your path of developing your project. We need to have a backup plan. Yours will take years to cultivate."
Xaul opened his mouth to speak, but Fowles waved his hand, then turned and looked at Khalzin.
His father walked out of the chamber, and Khalzin had seen that march before. His father was furious.
But he didn't know why.
His father had gotten what he wanted--permission to create his project.
What would he be mad about?
That it was considered a backup plan?
Probably.
Likely it wounded his ego.
Which would not be pleasant to deal with later.
The speaker's voice jarred Khalzin out of his thoughts.
"You, on the other hand, can easily develop your theory. So do it. Find three other volunteers to participate in the study and connect with the Galactic Alliance and begin the process to get potential mates here.”
"I can orchestrate this with the Galactic Alliance and start moving the process forward."
"Perhaps you misunderstand me," the speaker said. "You will be leading this because you will be one of the volunteers."
He blinked. "I will--"
"If you cannot be on the front lines of this concept, then how can you expect us to back it on a larger scale?"
He started to open his mouth to say something, but his gaze darted to his mother, if only for a moment.
And her expression was very firm. She shook her head, barely perceptibly, but she did.
He closed his mouth.
"Dismissed," Speaker Fowles said.
Khalzin nodded and turned to leave the chamber. The finality of the decision hit him hard. His footfalls seemed to echo off the walls as he walked toward the exit. The guards inside the room opened the doors for him to pass. The chamber remained silent until the doors shut behind him. No one breathed a word.
