With almost three hours to kill before her first pairing with Tausson, Tierney went to the nutrient supply and ate dinner. She wasn't really hungry, but she knew Tausson was training and didn't want to disturb him, and she couldn't concentrate enough to do any work.

Should she tell Tausson what Elic had told her? The obvious answer seemed to be a resounding yes, but with all that honor and loyalty talk, Tierney worried if Tausson's own sense of honor would be compromised too much by knowing. Had they each already committed to their weapon choice? If Tausson switched this close to the match, would it be obvious that he suspected Rasmus of foul play? Would Tausson then be accused of cheating?

Tierney walked to the Medic Lab still uncertain. She just didn't know enough about the rules of the blood walk to be able to solve this problem.

As she approached the thick, metal door of the Medic Lab, her stomach lurched, reminding her that there was something else to be thinking about right now. She wasn't sure how she should feel about what she was about to do. She was excited to see Tausson, and her core was already swelling at the thought of feeling him inside of her again. But she was also nervous -- and kind of grossed out -- about having the Senior Medic in the room.

Yes, their bodies would be hidden beneath a cloak, and maybe, if Aspri didn't know what they were doing, it could even be a fun experience to make love in the same room as someone else. But he was well aware of what they were doing, and that sucked any thrill out of the idea.

A couple was leaving the pairing room as Tierney walked into the Lab, and as they passed by they both thanked her again for her service to the Relican people. Aspri stood by the back room door, waiting for her.

"Is Tausson here yet?" she asked, looking around.

The Senior Medic was entering something in his mechasuit and didn't look at her. "You're early. Go in. Don't touch the pairing bed." Tierney looked anxiously back at the closed Medic Lab door, then went in.

The room was small and looked just like the one she'd woken up in after nearly freezing to death. But instead of a shallow tank of oil, the pairing bed, a narrow padded table that resembled a massage bed except with armrests and footholds on the sides, was set in the center. Aspri had shown her how the table could adjust in height to accommodate the male, and assured her that it was sanitized after every pairing. That cleaning appeared to be taking place now, with a line of pale green light shining down from the ceiling, slowly traveling down the bed, like the drying light in the shower. A rack of pairing cloaks stood against the steel wall, but otherwise the rest of the room was empty.

She heard Tausson's voice behind her and spun around to see him walk in. Quickly stifling her wide, relieved smile when she saw Aspri glowering at them, she moved out of the way and greeted her mate.

"Fair dousing, Tausson," she said, the Relican phrase for good evening.

A flame lit in his eyes as he replied in kind. "Fair dousing, Tierney."

"Disrobe," said Aspri flatly, following Tausson into the room and taking up his position by the door.

Tausson picked a pairing cloak from the rack. The cloak was basically a king-sized sheet with a hole cut out at each end for their heads to go through. But the holes also had a built-in collar that monitored their vital signs, ensuring that the act of pairing was actually taking place and successful. Slipping his head through one of the collars, Tausson draped his body in black fabric, then held out the other collar to her.

Tierney had half hoped that since Aspri was supposedly on their side, he might let them forego the trappings of Relican pairing and allow them to make love like they wanted. The outcome was the same, after all. But one glance at his hard, unrelenting gaze told her that, while he had broken the rules for them before, there was no way he was going to do it again -- not here, in his sacred Medic Lab.

Locking her eyes on Tausson, Tierney accepted the collar. She slipped it over her head, but then had to lift it off again to take off her shirt. Making a mental note to wear a button-down next time, she undressed, placing her clothes on the shelf on top of the cloak rack.

Though she was naked, and hardly five feet from Tausson's naked body, any desire that had swelled within her was gone. The Senior Medic's cold gaze was too overpowering, the room too sterile. Tausson gave her an encouraging smile, and she felt his fingers graze her bare stomach.

"On the bed," directed Aspri.

The cloak was long enough to allow them to move relatively freely without tugging on the other's collar too much. Holding up the fabric enough to see her feet, Tierney climbed onto the table as Aspri had shown her during her evaluation. The table slanted slightly downward, so as she lay on her stomach, some of her weight was on her elbows and forearms in the armrests. Her feet went in the footholds about halfway up the base of the table, and soon she was in a similar position to the one she and Tausson had been in when they made love for the first time. Tausson's cool hands found her back, but even as they moved slowly toward her rear, Tierney still felt not a flicker of excitement.

"Is the height sufficient?" asked Aspri.

One of Tausson's hands left her, and she thought she felt it tickle between her thighs, but it was too quick to know if it was intentional or not.

"A little higher," Tausson said quietly.

Aspri entered something into his mechasuit, and the table raised itself with a mechanical whirring sound.

"Now?" the Senior Medic asked.

Tausson's fingers slid down her back and found her opening, rubbing lightly as he said, "Sufficient."

Despite his efforts to stimulate her, Tierney knew she was going to have trouble taking him in. She was trying to figure out how to tell them when she saw Aspri holding out what looked like a toothpaste tube. One of Tausson's hands came out from under the cloak, and Aspri squirted a dollop of a clear gel into it. Tausson reached back beneath the cloak, and the room was so quiet that she could hear him spreading it on his cock.

"Proceed," said Aspri.

Tierney waited to feel him, hoping that when he was inside of her she might be able to pretend they were doing this somewhere else, alone, and of their own volition. But she didn't feel anything. She did hear, however, the unmistakable sound of her mate, and the love of her life, jerking off. His wet hand slid noisily up and down his lubricated cock, and Tierney realized he must be having a hard time getting aroused just like she was. She tried to think if there was something she could do to help, but Aspri had told her under no uncertain terms that her only role here was to remain still and accept her mate's seed. The actual pairing process was entirely up to the male to initiate and complete.

Finally she felt Tausson's hand on her hip, and the round tip of his steely cock pushed its way inside of her with ease, thanks to the lubricant. It was definitely hard, but she didn't feel as full as she normally did. His hands slid up her back, reaching around to cup her breasts.

"Standard positioning only," snapped Aspri, and Tausson's hands quickly returned to her hips.

Slowly he rocked in and out. Tierney closed her eyes, picturing them in her office, remembering the free room. A weak wave of pleasure pulsed through her, but she wished that he was reaching as deeply inside of her as he had before.

"Faster. I don't want to fall behind schedule."

Tausson's grip tightened on Tierney's hips as he obeyed the doctor's orders, but Tierney could feel him softening inside of her even as he sped up. Soon he had to pull out and make himself stiff again. Aspri just stood there, going back and forth between watching them and tapping at his sleeve, saying nothing.

Entering her once more, Tausson immediately went into top speed, as if he were worried it wouldn't last. Despite herself, the feel of Tausson's hips pounding against her, and the friction of his thrusts, began to stir a fire inside of Tierney's core. Once again imagining them back in her room, she let herself enjoy the bolts of pleasure that were streaking through her. But well before she was ready for the end, Tausson let out a soft groan and stopped moving. She felt him spray inside of her, but it was nowhere near the flood that usually came with their lovemaking.

"It is complete," said Aspri, pressing his uniform.

Tausson pulled out and waited for her to climb down before moving to the rack. He reached for her clothes, but didn't meet her gaze as he handed them to her.

"Thanks," she said. She wanted him to look at her. She needed him to see that she loved him, that this sterile loveless thing they called pairing wasn't what defined them. But after taking down his mechasuit, he turned his back on her and begin to put it on.

Tierney wanted to talk to him, but knew she couldn't with Aspri still there. So she quickly got dressed and slipped out from under the cloak. Tausson dropped it in a hamper that was hidden in the wall and, still not looking at her, went out the door. Tierney hastily followed, while Aspri directed the next couple in, saying, "Don't touch the pairing bed."