In Enemy Hands 4.5

Chapter 4.5


They were soon they were on their way to Adlar’s private residents after a quick trip to Central. It was a small dwelling located on the outskirts of the capital city. This was nothing compared to his quarters in the palace, but he wasn’t ready to take Varo there just yet.
Outside of the security problems, he wanted time alone with Varo first. Later he’d take Varo to the palace, after he was surer of his prisoner. While Varo came across as a slightly spoiled prince who was used to getting everything he wanted, Adlar refused to underestimate the other male.
Varo was a starship captain, even if his outlook was that of a child’s. Adlar knew Varo was highly intelligent and trained in weaponry. Was he a killer? Adlar was sure he wasn’t. Could he kill? Of course. As a starship captain, he was more than capable of sacrificing lives in order to insure the safety of his vessel.
Adlar, on the other hand, could kill without remorse.
The trip to his home passed quickly and in silence. As he approached, he tried to see his home through the eyes of a stranger. The rock face he’d built his residence into was dark gray with veins of lavender disbursed throughout.
Several flowering bushes covered the rock ledges. As he maneuvered closer, he lined up his shuttle with the opening in the rock face. The second level was shuttle parking and storage. There were windows cut into the rock along with a rather sizable door on the bottom level.
Stairs ran up the side of his house to a flat area on top of the cliff that was his roof for guest shuttle parking. Several areas boasted hanging lamps that glowed softly in the darkened skies. The lower level was his living quarters.
“Is that where you live?”
Adlar glanced over his shoulder. Varo was leaning forward as far as he could to see. If he hadn’t been strapped in, he would have fallen face first into the aisle.
Adlar lips twitched. “It is.”
“Interesting. It’s just so odd. Why do your people use Rock-cut architecture?”
“Just because it’s not something your people do doesn’t mean it’s odd. Besides, this type of structure is easy to defend, it’s better for the environment, and frankly, it’s cheaper. Heating and cooling is very inexpensive too.”
“Huh. Is the inside very… basic?”
Adlar returned his gaze to the shuttle opening, fighting to keep a straight face. “The hole I use as a toilet isn’t near a water source.”
“Oh gods help me.”
Adlar managed to swallow his snort at the whispered curse. Such foolish. He was certainly going to enjoy Varo’s astonishment. He landed the craft, and, after unbuckling Varo, he escorted his prisoner out of the shuttle.
His shuttle bay wasn’t anything special, just cold gray stone walls. He activated the protective force field, and taking the stone stairs down, Adlar led Varo to his living quarters. He opened the door and stood to the side, allowing Varo to enter.
Varo walked in and stood in the middle of the room, slowly turning in a circle. “You… By the stars fading light, this is unbelievably gorgeous.”
Adlar allowed himself a small smile. Varo sounded relieved, among other things. In one corner of the room there was a cooking and eating area furnished with the latest equipment. There were two doors across the way.
Adlar pointed to the door on the right. “That’s the bathing quarters and restroom. And yes, it is modern. I was joking earlier. The door to the left is my sleeping area.”
“I… it’s a nice as, as…. This is fit for a king!” Varo continued to turn, gazing at the surrounding area, shaking his head.
“How about the brother of a king?”
Varo stopped turning, the delight fading from his face. Adlar watch a mask of indifference drop over his face. “I should have known.”
“And why is that?”
“You’re sitting on top of a valuable resource.”
“That has nothing to do with it. The things you see here are made by my people.” Adlar shrugged off the disbelief he saw in Varo’s face. Turning, he walked to one of the doors. “Come with me.”
He didn’t wait to see if Varo obeyed. He’d lost himself in Varo’s childlike enjoyment of his home and forgotten just who was standing there, a smile plastered on his face. Of course, that smile disappeared when the subject of the Black Phospolrock crystals was bought up.
Fracking Yesri acted as if he had the right to just demand the crystals, like they were entitled to whatever they wanted and never mind the consequences. At the door, he turned to see if Varo had followed him. Good. He’d had about enough for the day.

Opening the door, he stepped through, allowing Varo to enter. “This is the bathing quarters. I picked this place because of the hot spring that runs through here.”

The entire room was the same gray stone. There was a small waterfall, off to the side. Adlar had installed several light sources throughout the area, giving it a nice, bright feel. A sizable sunken pool used for bathing dominated the floor. The other side of the room held the toilet. The air in the room was warm and humid.
“Did you build this?”
“The natural layout was here. We did a little drilling to make it work better.”
“I can’t believe how…. It’s so natural.”
“Of course. I had the bathing pool excavated, and the engineer added a plug to the bottom. I can drain and refill the water as needed,” Adlar said.
“Astounding. And the used water?”
“There’s a drainage system to take care of the old water. It’s released outside of the dwelling, as is the water from the falls. The stream cascades down the whole mountain face, so we just diverted it a bit for my use.”

“I had no idea. We just assumed since your people lived in caves….” Varo gulped.
“That we were animals? You’ll learn not to make such assumptions.” Adlar took Varo’s elbow and walked him to a sink. “I need to check your wound.”
Adlar held Varo’s hand still as he unwrapped the bandage. The cut looked much better and was healing well. Satisfied, he disposed of the sullied bandage.
“It looks good, but if it starts to bother you I need to know. Most do not have such a reaction as you did. For now, we’ll let it breathe.” 
He then escorted Varo toward the waterfall. There was a long bench with shelves above it near the falls. Several bottles lined the shelves along with other bathing type needs.
Adlar stopped near the bench and turned to face Varo. “Strip.” 

 Varo jerked his gaze from the shelves. “W-what?”

“We’re going to bathe. Strip.”
TBC