She was floating. Everything was warm and silent. Tierney tried to smile, but an unfamiliar tightness pressed on her cheeks, making the simple movement more difficult than it should have been.

Am I dead?

Her eyes fluttered open, and the world above her was a swirling, blurry mess of dim orange lights. The sound of her own breath rattled in her ears.

I'm alive.

Wiggling her fingers, she felt the faint resistance of liquid pushing against them.

I'm underwater.

The thought filled her with panic. She shot up, prying the oxygen mask off and taking deep, healing gulps of air.

"Ta bursu an ewa," said Aspri's unmistakably apathetic voice.

Tierney rubbed the water from her eyes. No, this was too slimy to be water. She was coated in it, and it dripped down her face, threatening to clog her nose.

A towel appeared, gently but efficiently rubbing her face dry and clearing the way for her to breathe deeply again. But when she finally opened her eyes, the Senior Medic -- who was the only other person in the room -- was already facing away from her again.

"What happened?" she asked, memories rushing back to her. "Why did my room get so cold?"

"Not my purview," said Aspri, his back still to her.

Okay. She wouldn't be getting any answers out of him.

"Well, thank you for helping me," she said.

"It's my obligation," he said, sounding almost exasperated by her gratitude.

Note to self: never thank this guy for anything ever again.

She was in a space about a quarter of the size of her bedroom. It looked like every other room on the ship, with metal walls and a grate floor, but no windows. She was on the floor, in a steel tank as big as a queen-sized bed but only about two feet high, and filled with the same oil that had come out of her bathroom faucet. The sensation of the warm oil against her skin was incredible -- like a hot tub and a massage at the same time.

A door opened, and a silver Relican -- the Communications Officer -- stepped in. His eyes widened when he saw Tierney, and he quickly turned around.

"Na saf antazar falharij," he said, starting to go back through the door.

Tierney looked down at herself and realized she was naked. The oil clung to her body so much that it had felt like she was wrapped in a wet suit.

"No, Hoff," said the Senior Medic. With a glance at Tierney, he said, "Officer Dojo, please remain." He quickly moved to the silver Relican's side, and Tierney was startled to see Aspri actually smiling. It made his usually sour face look almost handsome.

"I was hoping to examine you while she dries." He put a hand on the uncertain officer's shoulder. "RMR 12-19 states that exposure in a medical environment is to be expected and not considered malign; there will be no conflict. Keep your back to her if you prefer."

Officer Dojo tapped his sleeve. Looking slightly over his shoulder to make it clear he was speaking to Tierney, he asked, "Is that a satisfactory arrangement?"

Aspri shot her a lethal look, promising the full brunt of his wrath if she disagreed.

"I guess," she said, starting to push herself up. "Can I get out?"

"No," Aspri snapped, but when he looked back at the Communications Officer, his affectionate manner had returned. "You come over here." Tugging gently on his arm, he placed the silver Relican a few steps from Tierney's feet. "Would you be so kind as to please remove your gloves? We must be certain there are no lingering effects from your contact last night."

Turning a frown on Tierney, he said, "Lie back," and began pressing on his sleeve.

Keeping her face above the surface, Tierney did as he requested, enjoying the gentle massage of the oil as it once again enveloped her. A thin line of blue light shone down, scanning her body from head to toe and back again.

"You can shake your toes and fingers?" the Senior Medic asked, his voice muffled by the oil in her ears.

Tierney did so, but he wasn't watching, so she said, "Yes."

"No patches of numbness?"

"No."

Satisfied, he tapped his sleeve again. The oil began to recede, draining through two holes that had suddenly opened on either end of the tank.

Tierney started to get up, but again Aspri said, "Not yet," and ordered her to lie back down.

As the oil drained, he turned his attention to Officer Dojo, who was waiting patiently with his gloves off. From her low position, she could see them pretty well, smiling and speaking softly without the translator as the doctor gently inspected the other's hands. The Communications Officer appeared to be about Aspri's age, maybe late thirties or early forties, but the similarities ended there. Officer Dojo was silver, and nearly as buff as Tausson, but maybe not quite as tall -- that was hard to gauge from her vantage point.

They both started chuckling, and Officer Dojo gave Aspri a playful shove on the shoulder. The doctor smiled wider and gazed up at him with bright eyes.

Are they flirting?

The thought shocked her. Tausson had given her the impression that there were no gay Relicans, but watching these two made her think otherwise.

Aspri caught her staring at them. The oil was all gone except for a residual film that coated her and the smooth steel floor, so with a quick word to Officer Dojo, he tapped on his sleeve and addressed her, saying, "Lie still." Without any further explanation, he returned his attention to the Communications Officer.

Another beam of light shone down on her, this time red. As soon as the light touched the top of her head, she felt an intense heat. It wasn't unpleasant -- like holding a steaming cup of coffee on a cold day, but a faint sizzling sound made her nervous. When she started to reach up and touch her hair, Aspri ordered her to remain still.

"I'm not on fire, am I?" she asked, only half-joking, although she didn't feel any pain. Either she didn't ask loud enough, or the two men were too focused on each other to hear her. "Dr. Aspri? Officer Dojo?" she said, trying to get their attention.

"You are drying off," the Senior Medic snapped.

"Call me Hoff," said the Communications Officer, "everyone does. How are you feeling?"

Though she was rather distracted by what sounded -- and felt -- like eggs being fried on her head, she said, "I feel great, actually. Was it you who found me?"

Still politely keeping his back to her, he said, "I was on my way back to my lodge when the night shift Com asked me to stop in, saying there might be something wrong with your interface. Your hatch handle was frozen solid. I used my heat stunner, and even then I had to kick it open."

"He suffered third-degree ice burn by carrying you to me," said Aspri proudly, though he shot Tierney an accusatory look as if she had intentionally harmed Hoff.

"How did that happen?" she asked.

The light had reached her forehead, and Tierney discovered Aspri hadn't been lying. The sizzling sound, where the heat was most intense, was the oil instantly drying up.

"Our bodies are very sensitive to extreme cold," Hoff explained. "We deal well with heat because we already have a much lower body temperature than humans, but anything below freezing gives us ice burn almost immediately."

"Your mechasuits don't protect you?"

"Not standard issue suits, no."

"Everything seems to be in order," said Aspri, handing Hoff his gloves back. "Let's confirm your arms."

As the light swept slowly down Tierney's face, Hoff slipped out of the top half of his uniform, leaving it dangling around his waist. Aspri's hungry eyes at seeing his bare chest -- and Hoff's readiness to bare it -- made it even more obvious what these two men really wanted from each other, even if they didn't consciously realize it.

Tierney closed her eyes, not wanting to intrude on their intimate moment. The sweeping line of light traveled slowly down her neck, and grazed the top of her breasts. The sensation of the oil burning off of her skin was unlike anything she'd felt before -- like a hot stone massage, but with one long, thin stone that pressed on her body and rolled relentlessly downward.

As it moved closer to her nipples, her body responded with heat of its own, making them stiffen. Waves of pleasure passed through her as she imagined it was Tausson above her. She pictured him touching her with scalding fingers, massaging her breasts. She bit her lip when his hot teeth tugged on her nipples, and sighed in disappointment when he continued on.

Her eyes snapped open, remembering where she really was, but Aspri and Hoff were in a world of their own. They both had their backs to her, with Aspri massaging the Communication Officer's shoulders and speaking softly in Relican.

And still the sizzling warmth passed lower over her body. She pressed her hands to her sides as visions of Tausson returned, a fire burning in her core that demanded the relief only he could give. His hands slid down her belly, slowly and fervently reaching for her, tickling her hips, kissing the top of her opening, almost there...

"Are you in pain?"

Aspri's haughty voice broke apart her fantasy, and Tierney opened her eyes to see him glowering down at her.

"What?" she asked breathlessly. Her hands had somehow migrated to her hips, and she quickly brought them back to her sides.

"You were moaning," he said.

"No, I..." She gave a weak laugh. "I think I drifted off there for a moment."

Hoff had put his mechasuit back on and was heading for the door. "Thank you for the therapy, Sir," he said to Aspri, using his translator out of consideration for Tierney.

The Senior Medic beamed back at him. "My pleasure. There are other techniques I'd be happy to show you at any time."

Hoff smiled back at him. "I look forward to it. Take care, Miss Dawson," he added, careful not to look at her as he closed the door.

"He seems like a nice guy," said Tierney, when it was just the two of them again.

Aspri glared at her. He glanced at the drying beam, which had traveled down her legs and was now hovering just below her heels. "Roll over," he snapped, and left the room.

* * *

Afraid that the Senior Medic would return at any time, Tierney kept her thoughts chaste as the back of her body was dried. The process was nearly complete when Aspri opened the door, bringing with him a new set of clothes, though they looked exactly the same as her old ones. Holding them in one gloved hand, he offered the other hand to her.

"Rise," he ordered, removing any courtesy that she may have interpreted from the gesture. Once she was standing, he went back to the door. "Knock when you are clothed," he said, and closed her in.

She did so, and this time instead of Aspri, Commander Arrat stepped in. "Feeling better?" she asked.

"Much better, thank you."

"What do you remember?" asked the commander.

"I fell asleep, and when I woke up my room was freezing. Literally. Do you know what happened?"

"There was a malfunction with the automatic temperature sensor. When we checked it, your lodge was reading as..." The commander tapped her sleeve before completing her statement. "... 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The coolant was activated because the sensor thought your lodge was too hot. There are safeguards to prevent such an error, but those appear to have malfunctioned also. If the Com hadn't sent someone to check on you, you would have been dead within minutes."

"Were any other rooms affected?"

"No," said the commander darkly.

"I was afraid of that." Tierney ran a hand through her hair. She expected it to feel sticky and dirty after being completely soaked in oil for who knew how long, but it actually felt remarkably soft and clean.

"You will be relocated to a different lodge," said the commander. "I would have you convey to the cart, but the President still wishes you to remain for as long as she is here. I'll have someone from Protection speak with you and get your testimony, as well as any ideas you might have regarding who might wish to harm you."

"Not Rasmus, please," said Tierney, doing her best to keep the request neutral. He was, after all, a member of the Relican Squad, and second in command of the Irral. Trying to come up with a reason other than he totally creeps me out, she said, "Human females are often nervous around men who are much larger than themselves, especially after being through a traumatic experience. I would prefer speaking with a woman about this."

The commander gave a solemn nod and reached for the door.

"Commander? Why has Tausson been arrested?"

Turning back to Tierney, the commander searched her with hard eyes. "The Protection Officer will also be questioning you regarding Tausson's actions the night before the asteroid struck Earth."

Memories from that night flashed before her: Tausson beneath her, inside her, his hands on her body, the maddening pleasure that had rocked them both...

"Why?" she managed to ask, fighting back the heat of desire that was flooding her cheeks.

Commander Arrat had been watching her closely, and her shoulders drooped a little, as if saddened by what she'd seen. "He has been accused of performing malign acts that night." At Tierney's confusion, she added, "Unsanctioned pairing."

Malign acts? Unsanctioned pairing?

Indignation coursed through her. As if two consenting adults making love is a crime!

But of course it was a crime for these loveless Relicans, Tierney reminded herself -- a very serious one.

"You and Tausson have formed an attachment that is not appropriate for our kind," said the commander, speaking softly so that her translator did the same. At first Tierney thought the commander was angry with her, but as Tierney stared back into that grave face, she realized it wasn't anger, but fear.

"I thought you approved," said Tierney, matching her volume. "He said you covered for him that night, and you let him stay with me in my room up here."

"At first I thought you would be a good mate for him, but then he became obsessed. I thought he might get over it by slaking his frenzy..." Commander Arrat shook her head. "By giving you time together on the Irral, I hoped he would be able to sufficiently explain why it has to end, and to say goodbye."

Her words were a knife through Tierney's heart. "Why does it have to end?" she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"We are taught from birth to avoid pleasure for pleasure's sake, to hold no one life above another. Doing so skews our values and is the first step to a fallen society."

Stepping closer to the commander, Tierney whispered, "Tausson spoke of you as he would a dear friend. I know you care deeply for each other. Don't you see how that kind of bond can enrich life, rather than threaten it?"

"Because of that bond my judgment is impaired," the commander whispered harshly. "I put my entire crew -- almost three hundred lives -- in danger so he could risk himself to save you, because I knew he would grieve for your loss, and his grief would pain me as well. I can lie to others and say I did it for the President and for your people, but I can't lie to myself."

She looked down and touched her stomach, which seemed larger than it had a week ago when they'd last met in Tierney's office. Or was Tierney imagining things?

Do Relicans stress eat?

"Never mind that," said the commander, looking tired. She reminded Tierney of Nelle, always carrying the burden of her people, never living up to her own standards.

Returning her intense gaze to Tierney, Commander Arrat said, "I've read the Culture Report. I know the ideas your people entertain when it comes to pairing, but those ideas are dangerous, pitting sentiment against reason; our people realized that a hundred years ago and have worked tirelessly to move beyond individual pleasure to achieve a higher purpose. If you care for Tausson, as I do, you will either leave him alone, or be with him the only way our culture will allow."

Without waiting for Tierney to reply, the commander opened the door and left.