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  Aciel pulled the skimmer to one side outside a gorgeous temple surrounded by mint and lavender grass. “Why did they choose to invite your species?”

  Billie laughed lightly as she exited the skimmer. “Races have been using ours as slaves, breeding stock and experimental subjects for thousands of years. The Dhemons and Enjel carried out part of their war on our world; The Admaryn almost killed all of us because some of theirs were muddying their genetic waters. We are a popular species, and we became more so when our Champions were tapped.”

  Aciel paused, “You are in your first generation off your world, and you already have a Champion?”

  “Five of them, a Seeker, Archivist, Hunter, Reader and a Negotiator.” Billie walked up the pathway past a stunned Aciel.

  She turned when she realized the older woman was not moving. “Is something wrong?”

  Aciel shook herself and straightened with a smile. “No, nothing is wrong. I am just beginning to think that my son is far more intelligent than I gave him credit for.”

  Billie snickered as Aciel came even with her, “Considering that you thought he had flung himself away on a worthless tart, this must be a bit of a relief.”

  “I never thought you were a tart, Wilhelmina.”

  “Billie, please. Wilhelmina was my grandmother.”

  “Billie then. We are meeting with the Matchmaker, and she will give confirmation or denial of your link.” Aciel smiled and inclined her head with respect.

  Billie straightened in her best formal Enforcer pose and inclined her head, “Let’s get this over with then.”

  Chapter Seven

  The interior of the space was cool, bright and had tables set along all the walls leaving the centre clear. A woman in the robes of the Citadel stood and waited calmly for them to enter.

  The Matchmaker was wearing a hood that obscured her face, but there was something familiar in her stance. It was the stance of an Enforcer, and as far as Billie knew, there was only one Enforcer who had ever turned Matchmaker.

  “Gwen Steryio?”

  The Matchmaker casually dropped her hood. “It is Gwen Mathijen of Raxos now, but hello, Billie. Good to see you again.”

  The women cried out and hugged tightly. Billie’s heart swelled. It was so good to see another Terran, and to have one who used to be an Enforcer was like a dream come true.

  Billie paused and held Gwen at arm’s length. “Are you a dream?”

  “No, Billie, you are not dreaming. This is very real, and you are about to go through a bonding ceremony here on Chysan.” Gwen’s features were sober, and she took Billie by the arm, guiding her to a table that was hosting a tea service.

  Aciel trailed after them, confused. “You are of the same species as Billie?”

  Gwen inclined her head to the older woman. “I am.”

  “But you are wed to the Alpha of the Raxos colony.”

  “And Billie is about to be wed to the Clan Chief of Chysan. There is little difference, madam. We came from the same world and appeal to the Oefric. We are not the first nor will we be the last. The Oefric are returning to the Alliance, and they are seeking mates of an adaptable species. The Terrans qualify.”

  Aciel sat heavily and looked as if she had just been told that there was no Santa Claus.

  Billie smiled as Gwen turned back to her. “It takes them some time to adjust. Now, hold still for a moment, and I will just verify something.”

  Gwen’s mental touch was light and left Billie feeling that her mind had been brushed with mint. When she figured it out, she giggled, “Really? Mental floss?”

  Gwen grinned, “It took me a while to learn how to do that. Don’t insult my talents.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it. Now what?”

  “Pour yourself some tea, this will take a moment.” Gwen closed her eyes and concentrated.

  Shrugging, Billie poured a cup for Aciel and herself, then Gwen.

  They sipped at the brew and Aciel asked quietly, “Have you known her long?”

  “We left our world on the same transport, went through basic training together and finally both were assigned to the Enforcers.”

  “But she is a Matchmaker.”

  “Well, she is now, but years ago her talent hadn’t bloomed. It apparently is common in my species. Traces were identified in the Volunteers, but the exact nature of the psychic talent that had not yet manifested was not known. I am a communicator of sorts, but there is no discernible detail on it.”

  Aciel rubbed her forehead. “I see. I had no idea.”

  Gwen straightened and fumbled for her teacup. “Thanks for this. Well, good news, you are a perfect match for Captain Dlenner.”

  Billie had to ask, “What is the bad news?”

  “I won’t be here for the wedding. Etien’s mom is looking after our daughter, and we have to be getting home.” Gwen smiled.

  “You have a daughter?” Aciel seemed impressed.

  Billie recalled that the Oefric birthrate was skewed toward the male gender.

  “One born and one on the way. I am barely able to hold my own child. Etien’s family dotes on her.” Gwen patted the front of her robes where the folds hid all visible signs.

  “You could hide a howitzer in those, couldn’t you? Congratulations.” Billie grinned.

  “The robes have their advantages.” Gwen giggled and looked to Aciel. “Don’t worry, if a man is attracted to a Terran, the chance of daughters goes up dramatically.”

  “Thank you, Matchmaker, it is a relief. I have five sons, and to have a girl in the family would be a blessing.” The relief and sudden friendliness was all over Aciel’s face.

  Billie blinked when it came to her that Aciel’s main objection, aside from her being an alien, was the uncertainty of the gender of the offspring. To know that the chances for a girl were dramatically increased seemed to have set her at ease.

  Billie, however, was taking a bit of a breather as she realized that if they were talking about babies, she might be a little more stuck than she wanted to be. Her tension caused her to hyperventilate, and for the first time in her life, she came near to fainting because of something someone said.

  “Calm down, Billie. The child isn’t going to rip out of you sci-fi style. It will come in its own time. If you aren’t up for being a full-time mom, I am sure that Aciel will be happy to help.”

  Aciel sat up eagerly. “I would be only too happy to help you with any childcare needs. It has been decades since my boys were little ones, but I still have the prams and beds.”

  Billie leaned down, and put her head between her knees. “I am not into the reproducing frame of mind.”

  Gwen rubbed Billie’s back. “Then you just relax and wait until after the bonding ceremony. No sense in worrying about something until you are bonded. Also, be aware that the Oefric men are hands-on fathers. Etien held little Eva for hours after she made her arrival. No problem with the midnight feedings either. Half the time, I would wake up and she would be attached to me without me waking up. Never neglect the Oefric sense of hearing and scent. They change diapers out of sheer desperation.”

  Billie barked a laugh and slowly sat up.

  Aciel was watching her with concern. “Are you all right, Billie?”

  “I will be fine. I just need to adjust to my reality. Do you mind if I walk the grounds a bit?”

  “No, of course not. I will be discussing the details with the Matchmaker.” Aciel was all helpfulness.

  Billie got to her feet and walked out the door onto the expansive lawn. The fliers lazily passed overhead, and she looked up, sending out a question with her mind. Is this the right thing to do?

  The five fliers slowed and circled the field she was walking through. They spiralled toward her with slow, lazy movements.

  Images came to her of Billie standing next to Arcros, taking his hands in hers. From there, they flashed to Arcros and Billie standing back to back while a brawl swirled around them. The next image was of Billie with a swollen belly and Arcr
os rubbing her back, the final image was of her smiling down at the bundle in her arms and there was definite love on her face.

  She blinked, and the wings of the fliers pushed air against her face. They hovered around her, giant feathery butterflies with long tails.

  “Thank you. That was what I needed to know.” She followed it with a mental warmth of thanks, and the fliers took to the skies once again.

  Billie breathed deeply of the clear air of Chysan before she turned to re-join the others.

  Gwen and Aciel were in the doorway, mouths open in surprise.

  “Billie, what were you doing?”

  “Asking the fliers a question. They gave me an answer I can look forward to, so it will be easier for me not to panic now.”

  Aciel looked positively pale. “You asked them a question?”

  “Sure. Just ask Arcros, I talk to everything, but I rarely get an answer. In this case, they replied right away. They are very friendly and just happy that someone is here to listen.”

  Aciel looked faint. “I see. Well, that is something extraordinary.”

  Gwen grinned, “Isn’t it just.”

  Chapter Eight

  The Dlenner family home was large, well appointed and full of curious relatives.

  The Mathijens joined them for dinner, and it was their last meal on Chysan before they had to return to Raxos.

  Etien Mathijen had been one of the men that Arcros had been speaking to in the morning.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Billie.”

  “And you, Etien. It takes a man with patience and will to manage not only an Enforcer, but a Matchmaker as well.”

  “I pride myself on being serene, but every now and then, my composure cracks and hand-to-hand combat ensues. I will confess to enjoying the inevitable victory and her very pleasant surrender.”

  Billie blushed as his heavy-lidded gaze was directed to his wife on the other side of the table.

  Billie and Arcros were separated by his brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. There was no chance of a quiet moment alone, but when their gazes met across the table, she felt the heat of his touch start in her mind and creep down under her shirt.

  Her shivers started and kept going throughout course after course of food. Her dining companion looked at her sympathetically and smiled. “The first days of the mental connection can be the worst.”

  “So I have been given to understand. When the herbs wear off, it should fade, or so I am told.”

  Etien smiled, “For some it fades, for others, it grows stronger. It depends on the structure of your mind. The Oefric are not commonly telepathic, but since I bonded to Gwen, it is something I cannot escape.”

  “How do you deal with it?”

  “She keeps her mind separated from mine for most of the day, and we come together when we are alone. The luxury of knowing what your partner is thinking and what they enjoy is quite the compensation for the breach of privacy.”

  Billie blushed hotly. “I suppose that would be a bonus.”

  “It would have been handier when we were on assignments together, but it is still useful on occasion.” His grin was pure enjoyment.

  “How did you know that she was the one?” The words were almost soundless, but Billie couldn’t hold them in.

  Etien pressed a hand to the back of her wrist. “Because there was no one else from the moment that I saw her. She called to me in a thousand ways, and I yearned for her. It took a while before I could get authorization from the Alliance, and she had to undergo her training in the Citadel, but everything worked out in the end, and after the butterflies stopped showing up on our roof, even Gwen calmed down.” His chuckle was deeply amused.

  “Butterflies?”

  “On Raxos, we have a species of butterflies that is attracted to women in love. At a wedding, a batch is released, and they seek out the most likely woman to find a mate. They haunted Gwen. No one on my world had ever seen such a butterfly cloud. She wanted me badly, and she had only to give in to my charms to have her world right itself.” He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Billie looked over at Gwen, and her expression was amused and exasperated in one. She obviously knew the topic, so Billie mouthed butterflies, and Gwen nodded. Giggles started in Billie’s belly and worked their way out. It seemed that being seduced by cake was far easier on the nerves.

  Arcros laughed and coughed on the cup of wine he had been drinking. He gave her a rueful look and raised the cup. “To Billie, the most impulsive Enforcer I ever met.”

  The crowd raised their glasses, “To Billie.”

  Billie blushed and accepted the skewed compliment. He was right. She had never been one to hold back when she sensed that something needed to be done.

  “Officer Praco, what are your findings?” Captain Dlenner was at the com unit and the commanders were on the other side of the conversation.

  “The natural inhabitants of Yelish have no interest in having a resort, visitors or a colony on their soil.”

  Captain Dlenner turned toward her and raised a brow, “You questioned a sampling of the population?”

  “I did. Nine different species were questioned, and six conclusively indicated that they were not interested in having the Alliance put in roots.” Billie had tried to keep a sober expression, but it was horribly difficult.

  The commander of the council nodded grimly. “Understood. Thank you for your efforts on our behalf, Officer Praco.”

  “It is my honour to serve, Commander.” She stood at attention until the screen cleared and then let her breath out on a long whoosh.

  Captain Dlenner pivoted in his seat. “Who, precisely, did you speak to?”

  “Do you doubt my word?” She fought a grin.

  “No, Officer, but I do know that you have a certain slavish fascination with the literal interpretation of orders when it suits you.”

  She grinned outright. “Well, Captain, I spoke to a bush, a tree, three birds, two crabs and a pair of rodents. I tried to speak to the rocks but that ended up just being silly.”

  He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “They will find out, you know.”

  “What? I questioned the animals and vegetation, and they were not amenable to being eaten or trampled. I simply indicated their opinion. Well, the birds didn’t really care what happened, they feel they can always bugger off.”

  He stared at her for a moment before cracking up with laughter. “Fair enough. Well, it is in your file, so it must be true.”

  Billie sighed and sat back as she remembered that moment. It was her favourite memory of her time as an Enforcer. She had been able to do something good and no one was really endangered, plus she had heard Captain Dlenner laugh for the first time.

  Further investigation had determined that Yelish was a sentient planet just waking and that had changed everything for the research teams who wanted to settle there. Five hundred years of silence was ended with occasional forays and visitations by the Avatars of other worlds. Yelish would be carefully coached into sentience, and the Alliance was content to watch.

  The memory warmed her as she sat at the table full of new people who would soon be related to her via marriage.

  Aciel’s spouse, Coros Dlenner was a striking man. He had bequeathed his startling bone structure to his sons while they obtained their colouration from their mother. Arcros was the eldest, Byral was next, Coriantho, Erican, and Fender rounded out their offspring.

  It was certainly a full house when everyone was there, but the camaraderie between the brothers was comforting. She had seen hostility in families that had run so deep, it caused the local authorities to call in the Enforcers.

  Stomping into domestic situations to part two people who claimed to love each other had always struck her as incredibly odd.

  With dinner over, the men of the family got to their feet and left the room. The women removed the dishes, cleared them and set them aside.

  As Aciel put it, “It is their turn to do the dishes, s
o let’s make sure that they don’t forget.”

  The women chuckled and left the kitchen, wandering out into the expanse of the backyard.

  Billie held her breath as she took in the sight of all of the Dlenner men and Etien stripped to the waist and shifted into a half-form that allowed them to engage in very violent martial combat.

  Aciel came up next to Billie and threaded her arm through the Terran’s. “This is how they work off a good meal.”

  Billie licked her lips as the shifted form of Arcros flipped one of his brothers and sent him skidding for twenty feet before he threw his head back and howled. She cleared her throat, “Yes, I can see how it would help to burn off some excess energy.”

  Images of the night before flickered through her mind, and she tried to squelch them, she really did, but when Arcros turned his head toward her and his nostrils flared rhythmically, she knew that she had dismally failed.

  Oh darn. Here he comes.

  Chapter Nine

  Having a charging Oefric coming at you when you were not carrying a weapon was awkward. Billie pushed Aciel aside and crouched down, the moment that Arcros reached a distance of five feet, she propelled herself up and over his charge.

  She landed flat-footed and made a beeline for his brothers and father. They scattered, but not soon enough. She could feel Arcros’s approach behind her, and when his claws grazed her tunic, she dropped like a stone.

  Her clothing would be stained with grass, but the sound of Arcros thudding into his siblings had her cackling with amusement. Brushing at her clothing, Billie got to her feet and returned to where the women were huddled.

  Aciel was standing next to a grinning Gwen. Her fellow Terran complimented her, “Up and over, very well done.”

  The sounds of fists and feet, growling and clawing gradually dwindled. Billie looked behind her and sighed happily.

  The boys were still busy. They were pinning Arcros down.

  Aciel blinked, “I have never seen a woman do that before.”

  Gwen patted her shoulder. “You can’t say that again. I read Billie’s file. She is perfectly competent at hand-to-hand combat and rarely gets caught by her attacker.”