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  When the pod shifted around a corner, Ziggy swayed and the dwarf reached out to help her. He was a navigator and had a wife and two little ones here on the ship.

  From his mind she saw star charts and calculations for travelling to planets she had never even imagined.

  “Thank you. I wasn’t expecting the turn.” Her voice was soft but the fairy turned to smile at her.

  He frowned as he noted the dwarf’s hand on her shoulder. “Makinaw, what are you doing?”

  “Steadying her. It wouldn’t do for her to get a concussion before she sees the council.”

  She swallowed. “The council?”

  The dwarf nodded. “Yes. Tomorrow morning, before the ceremony you will meet with the council of the Nine.”

  “Why?”

  “We are not aware of why you have been called to the ship, we only know that if the councillors want to speak with you, we have to bring you.”

  “What am I supposed to do until tomorrow?”

  The pod rocked and shimmied as it passed through the ship’s common areas, the vistas of the interior of the huge ship were lost on her as her stomach knotted with nerves.

  The fairy grinned. “We have been ordered to take you to VIP quarters. The other humans are simply being brought in for the event tomorrow, but the quarters have been booked for you for at least a week.”

  “Tonos! Need to know.” The dwarf growled.

  The fairy scowled at him. “Mak, you think she doesn’t need to know that?”

  “Gentlemen, please. If it is a problem, I will just wait until tomorrow.”

  The pod slid to a halt and the door opened.

  Makinaw extended his hand and helped her to her feet. They left the pod and he led her past two guards, both of the tree clan of the Nine.

  “You will remain in your quarters until someone comes for you tomorrow morning. Appropriate attire has been selected and will be delivered.” Makinaw patted her hand lightly.

  The doors were framed with ornate carvings and as Tonos pressed the lock to open one of the rooms she noticed that the elegance continued within. She passed the fairy with a slight nod and he gave her an appreciative leer.

  Makinaw punched him in the ribs and the door closed. The pale light panel next to it went from white to red and Ziggy knew she was locked in.

  The rooms were huge. An entertaining room was the first that she walked into and the bedroom was just beyond through another ornate archway.

  She rifled through the dwarf’s knowledge and picked out the instructions for using the entertainment unit. Seeing as how she was basically under arrest, she spent her evening watching the entertainment options offered by the mother ship of the Nine.

  As she watched the images appear on the wall across from the couch she flipped through the options and though she was curious, she steered clear of the sexual programming. There were only so many traumas she was willing to endure in a day and watching members of the Nine having sex was far beyond her tolerance for weirdness.

  * * * *

  Councillor Rothaway smiled as the request for entertainment vids came up on the screen. “Do you believe me now?”

  He had tried to explain to his people that he had met a Gaian with the ability to speak the language of the Nine. While his survival and that of the rest of his team had proved that someone else had a hand in their escape from the Tokkel ship, it was only in the past week when the salvaged vessel was dredged from the ocean that he was able prove his experience was not just a hallucination born of torture.

  “Yes, fine. You are right. She knows our language. I am still not sure what it means.” Lyneer brought up the scans of the human and blinked rapidly.

  “How long have you been out of the tanks?” Rothaway scowled.

  “I have the humidity turned up in my chambers, I am just surprised at how easily she moves in our environment. What have you been able to learn?”

  Rothaway sat back and stared at the images of Signy Alora on his screens. “She is third generation Gaian. There were no reports of her being taken and none of the survivors could recall precisely what the woman looked like. They only know that she released them and sent them all home. Aside from that they were not very concerned with what she looked like.”

  “What about satellite scans?”

  He grinned. “None of the satellites were operational in the area where the escape pod was found.”

  Lyneer blinked again. “How could she know where to land?”

  Rothaway smiled. “That is the mystery that I want to solve. Her knowledge base is far beyond anyone from her world.”

  He didn’t mention that her lips were soft, she smelled like roses and he wanted to feel the silky skin of her hips under his hands again. She woke every shifter instinct that he had and that alone had shaken him to his core. When he recovered, he did so with the realization that his mate was down on the planet below and he simply needed to find her.

  The issue of finding her had seemed simple until the images of the crashed ship began to stream over the Gaian news reports. His confusion had stemmed from the sense that she was alive and well.

  Signy Alora would face the council tomorrow and when the footage from the Tokkel ship was displayed she would have to explain what it was that she did and how precisely she did it.

  Chapter Four

  Ziggy jerked awake at the knock on the bedroom wall. She rolled over and blinked sleepily, trying to bring the newcomer into focus. “Hello?”

  “Please excuse the intrusion, Ms. Alara. I have your clothing for the meeting and the official reception.” The male was distinctly green, even to Ziggy’s exhausted gaze.

  “Oh. Hello.” She sat up and looked down at herself, sighing in relief when she noted that she had slept in her clothes.

  The male was leaning in her doorway and he had a silky wave of blue fabric over his arm.

  “I have your clothing for the event today. Your breakfast is waiting. Please prepare and join me in the outer room.”

  He stepped forward and put the gown on the edge of her bed. She simply watched him drop it off and as he walked out she stared after him with her eyes wide.

  When he was in the outer room she shifted and grabbed the dress while easing into the lavatory. She leaned against the closed door and blinked rapidly. “Whew.”

  With an eye toward speed she stripped and left her clothing in a pile, entering what her mind told her was the cleansing unit.

  The shower was peculiar. She stood on the depressions that were meant for feet and pressed the only button in the area while she closed her eyes.

  Light and wind struck her, startling a yelp out of her. It was exactly as the memories had shown her. Her body tingled but she was squeaky clean.

  Ziggy bit her lip as she held up the dress. It was long, elegant, and would not be appreciative of underwear. The fabric would cling tightly where it touched and she didn’t want to destroy the line of the garment, but she was not keen on going commando.

  She slithered into the gown and admired the fit in the long mirror. It certainly was flattering, and the deep blue made her midnight eyes bright and mysterious at the same time.

  Her long brown hair was hanging straight, the side effect of the cleansing unit. It removed all oil and dirt but it acted as a flat iron.

  The rumble of her stomach drove her out of the bathroom after she had attended to all other morning matters including a peculiar toothbrush.

  She peeked around the corner of her bedroom, watching him at the dining table. “Are there shoes to go with this gown?”

  The male turned slowly and smiled. “Of course. By the door. Now, come and have something to eat. Our cooks made an effort to provide you with something familiar.”

  She sniffed appreciatively as he lifted the lid on the tray. Eggs, toast, meat and a side of an unusual fruit were a charming way to start the day.

  Eating out of reflex was the only way she could keep from staring at the man across from her. The gill slits on his neck
were obvious even though she kept her head aimed at her food.

  “The councillors are excited to meet you.”

  She almost choked on a piece of succulent fruit that crossed the line between berry and melon.

  “What? How many people know about me?” She looked up and met his black gaze.

  He chortled and there was a wicked gleam in his eyes. “You have been a creature of myth and legend for the last five years. The survivors spoke of you, but since you were never reported abducted there were no records to tie you to the Tokkel ship.”

  “What is your name?”

  “I am Commander Lyneer, personal assistant and bodyguard to the shifter councillor.”

  She blinked. “But you are a mer. Why would you work for a shifter?”

  He tilted his head. “All questions will be answered in time. But the mother ship of the Nine mixes species whenever it can to relieve racial tensions.”

  She swallowed and took a sip of the water on her tray. “Well, I suppose that we should get going.”

  He smiled. “You are correct. I should have been earlier but I was ordered to let you sleep in.”

  Ziggy didn’t ask who had given the order. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to know.

  It was comforting to know that the men in the life pods had survived. Launching an escape pod during a firefight was never a good idea, but there had been little choice.

  She got to her feet and checked her gown for crumbs. Coming out clean, she turned and looked for the shoes.

  Satin pumps with an ankle strap were in the same shade as her gown. The heels were sturdy but she would be three inches taller. Ziggy stepped into the shoes and then bent double to buckle them into place.

  When she looked back at an upsidedown Lyneer, he was staring at her backside in a most appreciative manner. “Take a picture because this is the only time you are going to see this view.”

  Standing upright she took a few careful steps and nodded. “Ready when you are.”

  She noticed that he was fighting a grin as he took her arm and escorted her out of the guestroom, past the guards and through the ship.

  “How far are we from where you are taking me?”

  “About ten minutes. May I say, your accent for the language of the Nine is quite captivating.”

  She blushed. “Thank you, I don’t know where I picked it up.”

  She almost missed his muttered, “I have a fairly good idea.”

  She was learning from him as they walked, her knowledge of the tank and humidity system that he required for daily function was becoming extensive.

  It wasn’t the first time that she had wished that her talent let her learn more emotional information, but technical seemed to be her area of extraction.

  She could learn how to rebuild engines, program computers and create the perfect hybrid roses, but she couldn’t find out what folks had done on their summer vacations.

  The block to her learning curve frustrated the hell out of her.

  She tried to keep her mind calm and she accepted the information that Lyneer offered her. He may not have known that he was offering it, but she was learning about the structure and coordination of the ship as they made their way into the heart of the vessel.

  The slow flow of other pedestrians indicated their path, so Ziggy was confused when Lyneer steered her into a side hallway that snaked around the main area. “Where are we going?”

  “You have a meeting to attend before the ceremony.”

  The way he said it gave her a shiver of unease. “What kind of meeting?”

  He opened the door and shoved her through. “Think of it as a reunion.”

  The room was circular, and a long conference table snaked around it. The only break in the circle was the small path that she took.

  Lyneer whispered. “Stand on the central podium and answer what is asked.”

  Ziggy was nervous, there was no correlation for this procedure with any of the minds she had touched. She was in a situation that none of her knowledge donors had experienced. Shadows covered the people at the table, but she could make out nine silhouettes.

  “Signy Alora, you have been brought here to answer a few questions that only you can answer.”

  An image hovered in front of her. She saw a human woman watching the Tokkel near her with suspicion and licking her lips lightly as one touched her skin.

  A deep voice that resonated in her mind spoke from the shadows. “Do you recognize this image, Ms. Alora?”

  She shook her head. “I do not.”

  “Can you guess where this image was captured?”

  “It looks like a Tokkel experimental bay.” She tried to look away, but everywhere she looked, the image remained in front of her eyes.

  “How do you come to be familiar with the Tokkel experimental facilities?”

  She paused. “I saw news reels after the battles.”

  “Do you recognize the woman in the image?” The deep voice continued.

  “No, should I?” She swallowed.

  “Usually, folk can recognize themselves in an image, Ms. Alora.”

  She paled.

  “What about this image?”

  Ziggy watched the image of herself speak to the people in the room and shepherd them out into the hall and to the pods.

  “I have never seen that image before.” It was the truth. She had been in it, not watching it.

  A chuckle ran through the room around her.

  The voice said, “We are aware that you have not seen those images, do you recognize yourself in that image?”

  She sighed and her shoulders slumped. “I do.”

  “What about these events?”

  Clips started and ran of her sprinting down the hall with her ankle clearly showing the black mark where they had started to tag her. They showed her entering the room where the captives of the Nine were held and emerging with them minutes later.

  “Please explain the following image.”

  She blushed to the roots of her hair as the image of her holding her handsome alien and kissing him was played over and over until she held up her hands. “Enough. I was trying to knock him out and the only way I know to do it is to drain his current memory. So, I kissed him, stunned him, and wedged him into the pod.”

  The image of her closing the pod with tears in her eyes was unmistakable.

  “I didn’t want to keep any of them from getting home. They had a place in the fight and I didn’t. They needed to be back with their troops.”

  She waited.

  “How did you know that these were military men?”

  Ziggy looked around the room, her own face superseded over the shadowed figures. “I learned it from their minds.”

  A murmur ran through those assembled.

  “Describe the process.”

  She wondered at the curiosity she could feel swirling in the room. “I touch someone and I am able to copy their technical knowledge to my mind.”

  “This includes languages?”

  She shifted from foot to foot. “It does.”

  A woman’s voice asked. “Does the information fade over time?”

  She bit her lip, unsure of how to answer the shadows. “It goes from immediately accessible knowledge to a dim memory.”

  “How many of our languages do you know?” The woman tapped her fingers and there was a distinctly wooden sound.

  She paused and counted, “Four racial dialects and the common language of the Nine.”

  The masculine voice spoke again. “Why was it a kiss, Ms. Alora?”

  “Pardon?”

  “When you incapacitated the officer in the pod, why was it a kiss? You could have gotten a similar reaction from contact if you had tried.”

  She opened and closed her mouth as she tried to think of a reason. “It seemed like the best thing to do. It was instinct.”

  Low murmurs filled the room and she was suddenly unsure. They were blocking her audio input somehow. She couldn’t make out any of the words
and it scared her.

  She wove her fingers together in an effort to stop them from trembling.

  Her fate was in their hands and she couldn’t even see them.

  Chapter Five

  Just as suddenly as they had become incomprehensible, she could understand them again.

  The deep voice spoke directly to her and she felt that they were the only two people in the room. “Ms. Alara, thank you for coming to this meeting of the Nine Council. We understand a little more about what happened that day. Please follow Lyneer and he will take you to the ceremonies.”

  The shadows faded from the table and Ziggy was left in the centre of an empty room.

  Lyneer came to her and took her hand. “This way, Signy.”

  “Please, call me Ziggy. Everyone does.” She stepped down and let him lead her to the ceremonies.

  The flow of traffic had ceased and Lyneer tightened his grip on her hand as they went through the doorway. A coliseum worth of people were already seated. Ziggy had no idea where she was going to find a seat.

  The Gaian area was full, several of the military officers were wearing their uniforms and their chests were puffed with pride.

  Heads turned to look as she was paraded across the V.I.P. section until she had passed nine dignitaries representing their races and she was seated in the tenth.

  The surprised looks from members of her own race embarrassed her, but she sat with her head high and her eyes watching the podium. Lyneer was standing behind her and a quick glance showed her that each person in her row had an attendant in the same pose.

  A female from the tree folk stood and raised her hands for silence. “Welcome one and all to this celebration of cooperation and unity.

  “The Nine races began on the world below, evolving our characteristics to match the area that we lived in. We left when our destiny took us to the stars and set up colonies on dozens of different worlds. When the humans arrived, they began the same metamorphosis that our race went through thousands of years ago. They are changing, evolving to meet the challenges that Gaia is giving them.”