The crew remained where they were even after Carterra had passed out of sight. Her speech continued for several more minutes, and every second was agony for Tierney. Finally, when the commander's soft, gentle voice stopped, Rasmus's grating, gravel voice took over. He said several phrases in Relican, and then -- for her benefit, she was certain -- he spoke in English.

"I am now commander of the Irral, and I accept all responsibilities, and benefits, of my position."

The Relicans around her let out shouts and cries of victory and congratulations, but it was all Tierney could do to keep from sobbing with frustration. While everyone around her broke formation, going back to their stations in one giant triumphant mob, she shrank against the wall, closing her eyes and wondering how she could have ever been so stupid as to think this would work.

A hand gripped her wrist, and she opened her eyes to see Tausson tugging her into the crowd. She was so devastated that she almost pulled away, thinking now was as good a time as any to end it. But she allowed him to draw her in, and soon she was lost in the sea of people, unable to see where they were going through the thick mass of bodies.

Another tug on her hand and she was being pulled into a dark room. The door shut behind her and all was quiet, the raucous, deafening crowd reduced to a din of voices.

A solid, steel body pressed her against a padded wall.

"Tausson," she whispered into the black air. Invisible hands cupped her face, tilting it upwards. She felt his cool breath, smelled his metallic skin, tasted his smooth lips. His kiss was desperate, consuming. He knew the truth too: they had no future. This was their last moment together.

Despite her hopelessness, her body still responded to him. Her core swelled, sending pulses of bittersweet pleasure rippling through her body. Even though they were standing, the padded wall and the pitch black made her feel almost like she was lying on a bed, and the disorienting sensation made her head spin with desire.

She jumped at a metallic click behind her, but Tausson whispered, "I locked it," and closed her mouth with his yet again.

They cast off their clothing in seconds, despair fueling their need. Tausson's naked body, still hidden by the complete darkness, pressed against hers. His cock dug into her stomach, hard and unyielding.

He started to bring her down to the floor, but she pulled back, saying, "Lift me."

"Malha?"

What?

She tucked her hands under his arms and pushed up, then brought his hands back to her. Suddenly the floor and wall fell away as he easily lifted her into the air. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she grabbed his rippled, metallic rod, and they both gasped as she guided it into the wet, aching lips between her thighs.

Tausson leaned forward, and the wall was behind her again. Gripping the soft padding in her fists, and keeping her legs clenched around him, she supported herself as much as she could. With a tear trickling down her cheek, she said, "Now make me forget this is the last time."

As if he could understand, he began hammering into her. She felt weightless, his hands tight on her rear, holding her up as he pounded frantically. She swallowed him over and over. His cock rammed into her wall of pleasure, and each rapturous collision sent tremors of ecstasy ringing through her body.

Too soon the waves of bliss overpowered her. Drowning in pleasure, she bit her lip to keep from calling out his name, to keep from screaming in rage and cursing every Relican who would keep them apart. Her spasming body seized him, demanding that he push even deeper, leaving him no choice but to answer. Tausson gasped and shivered as he surged into her. Tierney could hardly breathe with him leaning nearly all his weight against her, but she didn't care. She could have stopped breathing altogether at that moment, and she wouldn't have cared.

Still inside of her, Tausson pressed his cheek against her chest, at the top of her breasts. He tilted his head slightly so his ear was cupped against her skin, listening to her frenzied heart calm down. Then he gently eased out of her, and she gave a soft cry, knowing she'd never be that close to him again.

He began moving around in the darkness, but Tierney held still, not wanting to return to reality, wanting to stay in their hidden world where Tausson didn't have to leave her. A square of light shone a foot or so in front of her, illuminating Tausson's face. He pressed a few buttons, and the lights around them switched on.

She almost laughed when she recognized where she was. About three stories tall, with pads on the floor, ceiling, and walls, this was the anti-gravity room, or free room, as the Relicans called it. The first time Tausson had touched her -- with his gloves on, of course -- had been in this room.

Her clothes were strewn about, but all she could do was stare at Tausson. His uniform was back on, and he once again belonged to the Squad. He met her gaze, and then his eyes traveled down her naked body.

"You are more beautiful than the diamond desert at sunrise," he said, his voice hoarse.

Her eyes burned, but she fought the tears. Picking up her clothes, she began to dress.

"Corwin, nakal," said an impatient voice in Tausson's sleeve.

"Firka, Aspri," said Tausson, watching her.

They went back and forth briefly in Relican, but too quickly for Tierney to understand much, until Tierney heard Aspri say "Dawson" in the middle of a sentence. The alarm in Tausson's eyes was obvious, but when he spoke he sounded exactly the same.

"Firka," he said, and their call was over.

Squad.

"What was that about?" Tierney asked, slipping on her shoes. "Did he say my name?"

"He wants me to report to the Medic Lab, and to tell you the same, in case I see you on the way."

Panic gripped her heart. "He knows we're together."

Tausson nodded.

"But he hasn't turned us in," she said. "That's got to count for something."

"He hasn't turned us in yet," he corrected. Letting out a breath, he moved to her side and traced her cheek with his gloved finger. "We've got to appear casual when we exit. In case someone sees us, I've simply been showing you my free training technique."

"That's one way of putting it," she said, though she couldn't bring herself to smile at her own joke.

Tausson took a step towards the door, but Tierney stopped him. "I'll miss you," she said, hardly holding herself together.

"There's still hope." But when he kissed her, there was no hope in his eyes.

* * *

The crowd of jubilant Relicans had dispersed, with only a single Relican passing by when Tierney and Tausson stepped into the hallway. Hoff hesitated only for a moment when he saw them, quickly taking in their fake laughs and smiles. He smiled back, a sincere, knowing smile, and nodded as he walked on.

They went different ways to get to the Medic Lab, and Tierney arrived first. She hesitated when she saw Rasmus in Aspri's office, but the freshly minted commander waved her in.

"Enter," he said pompously.

"You may come in," Aspri confirmed, with a sideways glare at Rasmus.

"So you were with Corwin," Rasmus said with a sneering smile.

Tierney ignored him and looked at Aspri. "You wanted to see me?"

Aspri was standing behind his desk, using a tablet. "Your status has been changed from candidate to Asteroid Mate," he said.

Involuntarily, she looked at Rasmus. He was staring at her breasts, and she crossed her arms, about to say she changed her mind when the Medic Lab door opened and Tausson walked in. His face darkened when he saw Rasmus's wide grin.

"Yes, Aspri?" asked Tausson, acknowledging Tierney only with a polite nod.

"He can wait," said Rasmus. "As commander of the first contact vessel, I invoke my right of Asteroid Mate selection." Moving close to Tierney, he stared down at her and licked his lips. "I select her."

"I change --" Tierney began, but Aspri spoke at the same time.

"That is not possible," he said.

Rasmus, Tierney, and Tausson all asked, "What?" at the same time.

"You are only able to select from the pool of unpaired Asteroid Mates," Aspri said. "Miss Dawson has already been assigned a new mate."

"How is that possible?" roared Rasmus. "The approval hardly came in an hour ago -- I saw it myself. It takes days to identify an appropriate mate."

"Clearly you did not read the entire approval statement," Aspri said flatly.

"Who is it?" Tausson asked.

Tierney was hardly listening. It didn't matter who she was assigned to. It wouldn't be Tausson, and that meant her time on the Irral was over. Her mind was already two steps ahead, solving the logistical problems of moving to the cart, how she could continue working with Hoff, and grateful that she at least wouldn't have to meet with Rasmus in person every day like she had with Carterra. She was so distracted, that she didn't hear Aspri's answer.

"What?!" bellowed Rasmus. "That is impossible!"

Tausson was staring at Aspri with a dazed expression. His gaze shifted to Tierney, and she could see him fighting his smile.

"What did you say?" Tierney asked the Senior Medic. "Who is it?"

He frowned at her, displeased at having to repeat himself. "Tausson Corwin is your assigned mate."

She didn't believe it. This was a dream. She couldn't look away from Aspri, who had already returned to his work.

"Chief Raleth won't allow this to pass," growled Rasmus.

"Chief Raleth has nothing to do with mate selection," said Aspri, not looking up. "RMR 9-3 states that Relican Squad pair assignments are the jurisdiction of the local Senior Medic, with approval required by Control." Was that a hint of a smile on his lips?

"This is a conspiracy!" Rasmus spun around, wildly searching for something to take his anger out on. He narrowed his eyes on Tierney, but settled on Tausson, charging at him. Tausson took a ready stance as if he were in the training room.

"Commander Rasmus!" shouted Aspri.

The raging bronze stilled at his new title. Casting a furious gaze about the small office, and then at those watching the scene from the main space of the Medic Lab, Rasmus slowly straightened up. Though the fury still burned in his eyes, he calmly walked past, pausing only to whisper something in Tausson's ear.

When he was gone, Tierney turned to Aspri. "Thank you," she whispered when he met her gaze.

"I'm simply fulfilling my obligation," he said, any trace of a smile gone. "You will both report here tomorrow at udharjarka for your first pairing." He started tapping on his sleeve, but Tierney had been practicing the times.

"Eight o'clock tomorrow night?" she asked.

Aspri nodded at his mechasuit calculation, then went back to his work.

Tierney turned to see Tausson already at the Medic Lab door. His face was calm, stoic, and she did her best to keep hers the same as they went into the hall together.

"Can you show me the way to my lodge?" she asked him, nodding in greeting to a couple passing Relicans. "I just can't seem to keep these hallways straight."

"Not a problem," said Tausson, his eyes bright with victory.

Tierney knew exactly how he felt. She wanted to jump and run and shout with joy, but she remembered Tausson's words of warning from the night he was in her room. They couldn't let anyone see their true feelings about being paired. Celebration could wait until they were behind closed doors.

"What did Rasmus say to you?" she asked.

"He reminded me that there are only six days left until the blood walk." The tightness of his lips told Tierney there was more to Rasmus's comment, but she left it alone.

"Why is he so different than everyone else?" she asked, keeping her voice low. There was no one else around, but voices tended to carry in these metal halls. "I thought Relicans weren't supposed to be lustful, but he's worse than Jonas. Surely others must notice his behavior? Why isn't he considered a malign influence?"

"His kind are given a certain amount of leeway. For some reason bronzes are more libidinous than silvers or golds."

"There are gold Relicans too?"

Tausson nodded. "Not all bronzes live up to the stereotype -- Aspri, for instance, or Inlan. There are nine serving on the Irral, and over three hundred in the entire Squad. Often the need is sated by increased pairing frequency, while some undoubtedly satisfy their frenzy alone, though that is considered wasteful. Rasmus was sent with three designated mates when we first left for Earth, but they all began gestating earlier than anticipated -- the last shortly before we arrived -- and none of the other women on the Irral are compatible. He was already one of the most frenzied bronzes I've ever met, and being without a mate for so long has only made him worse."

He cast a sideways glance at her and said, "I understand him better now."

She felt her cheeks flush and smiled at the floor.

"The fleet supposedly brought a new mate for him," Tausson continued, "but he asked to be assigned an Asteroid Mate instead, and Control agreed."

Tierney felt sorry for the woman who was going to get matched up with him.

"Carterra told me Control has received over five thousand applications from Earth women," she said. "I wonder how Aspri got mine processed so quickly."

"I still wonder why he didn't report what he saw," he whispered. The question in his words was clear, but she wasn't going to tell him what she knew.

They reached her room, and loud enough for the passing Relicans to hear, Tausson asked, "Let's take a look at that flickering bathroom light, shall we?"

Tierney smiled and opened the door, letting him in. "That would be wonderful. Thank you."

As soon as the door closed behind them, Tausson's body was against hers, pressing her against the metal wall.

"We need to celebrate," he said, bringing his hands under her shirt.

It had hardly been twenty minutes since the free room, but the flame that burned in her core flared as if it had been twenty years. "What about Aspri and your readings?"

"If he hasn't revealed us yet, he isn't going to." He pulled off her shirt and dropped it on the floor.

"You're not going to get sick of me now, are you?" she asked with a grin as his kisses traveled down her throat. "We are going to be doing this every day, you know."

"I could never get sick of you," he said, "not when you're full of surprises like the one you showed me in the free room." Kissing her breasts through her bra, he smiled mischievously up at her and said, "Although I'm not convinced I did it quite right. Could we try again?"