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  Coop had a feeling the words sounded weird to her.

  You are correct. I am translating for her.

  Coop glanced at the dragon. “Thanks,” he said, though not happily. Still didn’t like the idea of an alien dragon poking around inside his head. Not that he’d find that much in there—according to his last girlfriend anyway.

  “I would like to rise,” Arian said.

  “Maybe you should wait for the doc,” Coop suggested. He wasn’t shocked when she ignored this suggestion. She might be an alien, but she was still a woman.

  He helped her up, noting, even though he shouldn’t, that she was very much a woman, with everything where it should be. Definitely closer to his idea of satisfactory first contact. Which was pretty much inappropriate to circumstances. Good thing a guy could be politically incorrect inside his own head. He shot the dragon a look. The dragon looked away. Had a feeling if it could have whistled, it would have. He tipped his head to one side. Kind of looked like a bearded dragon, now that he thought about it.

  The dragon’s gaze turned back toward him, something in their depths that indicated amused.

  Draze Dragons are very similar in appearance to your Earth bearded dragons.

  How did this dragon know about the Earth ones? Or Earth?

  The dragon didn’t say. Just looked away once more, as if its bank of instruments were the most interesting thing on the ship. Coop bit back the urge to demand some answers. Not his job. He turned his attention back to Arian. Found her looking at him with remarkable calm, a look that was almost ceremonial, he decided. It wrapped her like an invisible cloak. Impressive, considering she’d been bounced off the decking and woke up with an alien looming over her.

  “How do you feel?”

  “I believe I will continue to exist, thank you.”

  Okay. “That’s good.”

  A silence formed, not a comfortable one. Not threatening, but her fixed, almost unblinking gaze made him want to shift from one foot to the other like he was back in school. Or boot camp.

  “A bit tight in here.” He spoke more to fill the silence than because he had anything to say, tugging at the top of his zoom bag and wishing he’d taken it off, too.

  A tiny frown formed between her brows. “Tight?”

  “Not big. Cramped.” Was he hoping for a tour of the ship? Probably. It was his first alien ship and he had a feeling he wouldn’t be invited on the tour by the geeks. This might be his only chance.

  After a pause, she nodded. “That—yes, it is very efficient.”

  Another silence. He cleared his throat. “Looks like you took some fire on your way here.”

  “Fire?”

  “Saw some damage on the exterior of your ship.” He hesitated. “Looked like weapons fire? Somebody shooting at you?”

  She stared at him for a long moment. “There was debris in the anomaly.”

  That wasn’t exactly a no, I didn’t take weapons fire. “Anomaly?”

  We transited through an unstable space channel.

  Her lashes flickered as if she’d heard this, too. Space channel? The geeks would love hearing about that. “Debris? You mean the big rocks?”

  I thought your people called them meteors?

  I’m not a geek. Coop turned back to Arian. Riding a channel—was that like a wormhole?—with that bunch of rocks would indeed be rough transit. “I’m surprised your ship made it through intact.” He hesitated. “What was it like?”

  Her lashes flew up. It almost seemed like she wanted to grin. “It was…very…interesting.”

  He’d wondered, looking at her, if she really was the pilot. She didn’t have the look of one, but that sounded about the right amount of crazy to be a pilot. Odd the geeks hadn’t mentioned any anomalies, channel or wormlike, during the briefing.

  This particular one seems to come and go.

  The dragon sounded a bit wry.

  That didn’t sound good. Not that he knew a lot about anomalies of any kind.

  “Captain?” The voice was a little hesitant, and the deck vibrated slightly as someone—most likely the doc—stepped onto the ramp.

  “Come on in, Doc.” Coop met her gaze, holding hers with his. “My people will have questions.”

  She didn’t flinch or look away. “I’m sure they will, Captain.”

  He grinned. “Call me Coop, ma’am.”

  The smile flickered at the edges of her mouth again. “Please call me Arian…Coop.”

  He liked the way she said his name but he’d always been a sucker for an accent.

  * * *

  Arian watched with interest as Doc fitted something over her arm and tightened it, the fabric making an audible—and most unusual—crinkling sound. She had never been this close to any male before, let alone two of them. The male presence changed the feel of the bridge, the energy in the room much different from the pact bonding visits. She stole glances at the two men through her lashes. Doc seemed younger than Coop. Fresh-faced. Nervous. A hint of something pungent clung to his person, a contrast to the clean, crisp scent of Coop when he’d leaned over her to help her up.

  The obvious concern in Coop’s eyes had helped smooth the shock of waking with a strange man looming over her. It had eased the chill she felt from laying on the cold decking, replacing it with an unfamiliar warmth. There was concern in Doc’s eyes, not to mention curiosity, but it did not affect her the way Coop’s gaze did.

  You like him.

  I don’t know him. And he didn’t know her.

  Liking is an emotional reaction, not a logical one.

  She glanced at the Companion. Emotion had brought her here, where ever here was. Do you know where we are?

  Scanning is currently offline.

  She knew how it felt to be offline. And he hadn’t exactly answered her question. She considered this, then decided she did not mind not knowing where they were as much as, perhaps, she should. If the Consortium didn’t know where they were, chances were good that no one else could find them.

  You don’t call this “found?”

  She ignored this interjection, though she did shoot him an annoyed look.

  Doc’s hands shook some as he finished adjusting the device he’d affixed to her arm.

  Is he frightened of me?

  I think it has more to do with you being a female. And alien.

  Interesting. In their eyes, she was the alien. Instead of unsettled by this, she was intrigued.

  He caught her looking at him. Color tinged his cheeks as he smiled at her.

  “This measures your blood pressure, ma’am.”

  But blood flowed inside the skin, she wanted to protest, as he turned her arm so that it rested on the supports of the pilot station seat. She braced for the pain to come.

  “Try not to move until it’s finished. There will be some pressure, but it won’t last. Okay?”

  It seemed late to ask her permission. But he seemed to need reassurance, so she gave a slight nod, trying to calm her breathing.

  He did something, and the band began to tighten. As he had said it would, it quickly became uncomfortable, but not painful and there was no sign of blood being spilled for him to measure. Just when she thought she could not endure more, the pressure stopped, then began to ease. He stared intently at a screen on the band. When the symbols on the screen ceased to change, he seemed satisfied and removed the device from her arm. She gave the area a surreptitious look, relieved to see no blood.

  “You have great blood pressure, ma’am,” he told her, folding the device up and stowing it in the case he’d brought with him.

  “Assuming her blood pressure is in the same range as ours,” Coop pointed from where he leaned against the bulkhead by the hatch opening.

  That earned him a slightly wide-eyed look from Doc. He looked the question at Arian, but she did not understand the question, so what answer could she give? Her stomach knotted, but her shoulders rose and fell in their usual slow rhythm. Her hands lay relaxed on the grips on either sid
e of her chair.

  “Do you…know what your blood pressure is? When it’s normal, I mean?”

  She gave a slight, noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. Doc did not seem to mind this non-answer.

  What is his purpose?

  He is a Healer, her Companion said.

  The fingers of one hand moved before she could stop this tell-tale sign. She stared at Doc. Had he already begun the process of re-wiring her brain—

  It is not his purpose to alter your mind. He is concerned only with your physical well-being. He came to help you.

  Why would they do that when they do not know me?

  Perhaps you should ask them that.

  She ignored this and considered Doc instead. If he was a healer, then perhaps Doc was a designation of his purpose on this vessel, rather than a name. She stole a glance at Coop. What was his purpose on this vessel? What did the designation “captain” mean?

  He is the pilot of the ship that towed ours to this hangar bay.

  Pilot. He flew ships.

  You flew this ship.

  Into a wormhole. She thought she felt the Companion give a mental shrug.

  What was done was done and could not be undone. She knew this without being told.

  I wonder if they know where we are? A ruffle that could have been a snort fluttered through her mind. It was true that knowing their current location was only half an answer if they did not know where this was in relation to where they’d been. If she’d been alone, she might have shrugged.

  Being lost was not the worst thing that had happened to her in the many seasons of her life.

  5

  Coop shifted position, his gaze moving around the bridge and then back to Arian. He wanted to ask her questions, but there was a protocol—mostly about letting the pros handle first contact, so no one started another war.

  She didn’t look like the type to start a war. But look what had happened in the Garradian system. No one saw that one coming. It was what you couldn’t see that turned shirts red. And started wars. He’d always trusted his instincts over his eyes, particularly if his eyes liked what they were seeing. And they did, though heck if he knew why.

  She sat there looking meek as a nun. He’d always had trouble reading women, but she was the most closed book he’d ever come across. And she didn’t own the pilot’s seat. Wasn’t sure what that meant other than it bothered him. There was red mixed in the brown of her hair, and the angle of her chin sent a signal that was at odds with the statute calm she projected.

  He’d like to see her smile. The random thought made him shift uneasily. The alien, he reminded himself. He’d like to see the alien smile because she was an alien. That he liked looking at. Because she was an alien? He could be that shallow. Except…she was also a woman. Which didn’t help make him less shallow. No, that thought made him feel like Captain Kirk. Not that he’d had a chance to have a girl in every system. Or any system other than his own.

  If he’d thought about this moment, he for sure hadn’t planned on a Captain Kirk moment with a girl in a space ship with a dragon for a traveling companion. Other than the dragon, the set up wasn’t that alien. It was a bridge of a ship, so it had controls and crap. The smell of it was different though. He wasn’t sensitive enough to parse the smells, just knew it didn’t smell like the Boyington or his Dauntless. He knew some of it was her, which could have been nasty, but wasn’t.

  As if she felt him watching, she looked at him. Her gaze showed uncertainty, worry and yes, fear. Then her lashes swept down, and a bit of color tinged her cheeks as if she were embarrassed.

  He felt the urge to remind her she’d ridden a wormhole here, probably under fire, and was now on a ship with a bunch of strangers. It was natural to be a little nervous. But he wasn’t the guy in charge. He couldn’t make promises. Not even if she hadn’t come trailing signs of trouble. He considered the thought. What kind of trouble was she trailing? The usual kind that always came with women, or the intergalactic war kind? Would it follow her here? Only time would answer that question. Pappy—whose instincts were as good or better than Coop’s—wouldn’t be happy, oh no, he wouldn’t.

  As if Pappy had heard him thinking—which it sometimes felt like he did—his head set crackled.

  “Report, Captain.”

  Coop came to attention, even though Pappy couldn’t see him—not that Coop wasn’t sure he couldn’t. Pappy was rumored to have eyes on the back of his head. Eyes that could see through metal decks, too.

  “Doc is still examining our guest, sir.”

  The silence was not a happy one. Even through all the decks that separated them Coop could hear the old man thinking.

  “Report to my ready room, Captain.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He straightened, pulling her gaze his direction. There was nothing in her face or expression asking for reassurance, so why did he feel the need to offer some? “I have to report to the, to my commanding officer.” He wanted to tell her he’d be back, but would he? “The doc will look after you,” he said, feeling awkward for no reason he could explain.

  She nodded and, without moving, seemed to retreat to a place of resignation. For no reason he could put the finger on, he felt like he’d kicked a kitten. She’s not harmless, he reminded himself. Oh, no she wasn’t. She was a woman, and they were never harmless.

  “It was nice to meet you, ma’am, Arian.” He gave a half salute and left without looking back. With each step, he felt the pull to go back, felt as if he were the one on a tow line now. Outside, he ran into a wall of tense. He’d forgotten no one knew what was going on inside. The first contact team shifted uneasily just outside the security perimeter. The team leader—whose name Coop didn’t recall—stepped forward.

  “Captain?”

  The old man would not thank him for briefing this guy first, so Coop kept moving, though he did tell him, “The doc is still giving her the once over.”

  “Her?” His tone was sharp with surprise.

  “Her. Go on in,” Coop turned back, hiding a grin, “she hasn’t bit anyone. Yet.”

  He let that be his parting shot as the hatch slid open, then closed behind him. He made tracks for the lift. As usual, the old man knew how to time it so he came into the ready room on Coop’s heels.

  Pappy nodded toward a seat and sank into the one at the head of the table. When Coop didn’t speak right away, he arched his brows. “Do we have a problem, Captain?”

  Coop didn’t rush into a response. The old man expected him to think before he flapped his lips. Then he shrugged. “Not sure, sir. She’s—”

  “She?” Pappy cut in.

  Funny how they all acted surprised, despite the fact that they had women serving all over the Boyington. Maybe it was because the Garradian Galaxy had been so devoid of equality for women. It should have been reassuring, or something, that Arian had been piloting that craft—but he didn’t sense anything like that kind of confidence from her. Was she coming home or fleeing trouble through that wormhole?

  Under Pappy’s gaze, Coop told him everything except the moment of lust. After a long silence, Pappy spoke.

  “Do you we know how badly her ship is damaged?”

  Coop’s shoulders twitched. Not a question meant for him.

  “She and her lizard could stay on their ship,” Pappy finally said.

  Coop felt the bore of Pappy’s gaze. “It’s pretty tight space, sir. But—” They’d must have lived on the ship. His mouth twisted. “We can wait for the First Contact Team to make an assessment…”

  Again the pause was long. No surprise when Pappy pushed back his chair and stood up. He’d always hated waiting on the diplomats.

  “How about you introduce me to your alien and her telepathic lizard.”

  * * *

  Arian watched until Coop was out of sight, wondering at the odd empty feeling in her chest. She could not miss someone she’d barely met, could she?

  My people will have questions, he’d said.

&nb
sp; Questions that needed answers or, she suspected, their goodwill would fade. She glanced at the Companion.

  Answers can be interesting, he agreed.

  Or dangerous.

  “How do you feel?” Doc asked.

  Almost she turned her hands up for him to study. He was not asking about that kind of feeling, she realized just in time. He was humanoid. He must feel the same way she did. His face was open, his curiosity unhidden. All he thought, what he felt, passed through his eyes. It was almost too much to process. She felt many things but…

  “I feel well,” she said, taking the answer offered to her by the Companion.

  “Any persistent pain anywhere?” he asked.

  After a moment’s hesitation, she lifted a hand to the bump that Coop had probed, angling her head so that he could see it if he so wished.

  The chill of the gloves over his hands soothed the spot.

  “That’s a nasty bump.” He retreated, digging in his case for something. He extracted a rectangular object, ripping off a covering and then twisting it. After a moment, he gave it a shake and handed it to her.

  It was cool like his hands had been. At his urging, she put it against the bump, and it numbed the pain.

  “Better?”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  “I could help you better if I knew more about your physiology,” he said, somewhat diffidently. “Do you have medical records I could look at? Or understand?” he added with a rueful smile that was rather sweet.

  “I will…try…once the ship’s systems are back online,” she said.

  My people will have questions. What questions? How did one prepare for an unknown test?

  “Sounds good.” He hesitated, then said, “I need to go report…some other of my people will probably want to talk to you.”

  She nodded. “Thank you for your assistance.”

  “It was my…you’re welcome.” The doc gave her a final half wave and ducked through the hatch. She heard and felt his steps vibrating through the metal decking as he left the ship.

  And then silence. Not even a murmur of sound from those gathered outside penetrated into this space. She wanted to close her eyes and shut it out, to retreat to the safe place inside her head, the place that had kept her safe from the Enforcers on Bosakli, but she did not dare.