Smyrna lay on the bed in one corner of the room. She put her hands behind her head and studied the ceiling.

“Have you ever wondered why these aliens look so much like us?”

“Didn’t you read about it?” Emily was sitting at the corner table, folding a piece of paper into an origami. So far, she’d created an assortment of animals.

Impressive, Smyrna thought, if not practical.

“I didn’t. What do they say? Do you know, Katrina?”

Katrina shook her head. “I’m not much into reading.”

“First off, I’ll tell you what I read, but I don’t know anything more about it. And I didn’t understand the technical terms. I had to look them up.”

“Can you just sum it up for us?”

Smyrna got the feeling that patience wasn’t one of Katrina’s virtues.

“The article said that humans splintered off into various parts of the universe. Or galaxy. Like millions of years ago or something.”

“How’d they do that? We just figured out how to get a man on the moon close to a century ago.”

Emily shrugged. “I didn’t read the rest of the article. My niece wanted more origami, and…” Another shrug. “The magazine was handy.”

“Figures,” Katrina muttered under her breath.

“Be nice,” Smyrna whispered, though it seemed Emily didn’t pick up Katrina’s snark.

“Did you feel that?” Emily’s lower lip trembled. “The ship is turning.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“What happened?” Katrina asked her. “Are they going to ransom us? Kill us? Sell us as hookers? I was eavesdropping at the door. I heard some crew members say Marcomal. I know what that place is. I did my research. It’s a place full of brothels and shit like that.”

Emily gasped, clutched her chest.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Emily.” Katrina whirled on her. “Would you ease up?”

For some reason, Smyrna found herself really liking Katrina, but she could completely understand Emily’s fear. Emily was from a sheltered background of missionaries, and her family wanted her to take their faith to the aliens. Essentially, as far as Smyrna was concerned, she was a sacrificial lamb, but for some reason, Emily seemed good with it. And happy.

And who was Smyrna to judge, when she herself had a set of ulterior motives for going to the edge of the galaxy. Granted, hers weren’t quite those of a do-gooder, but she’d feel damned good when she’d done what she came for.

“Don’t worry, Emily. It will be fine.” Smyrna flashed what she hoped was a smile of assurance, designed to build trust and confidence. “Caayn will take care of everything.” I hope.

“Caayn?” Katrina tilted her head. “Caayn as in the one that you were supposed to be marrying? That Caayn?”

At that moment, Smyrna regretted ever answering the question when she’d first met them. “Yes, he—”

She was saved by a knock on the door. She flew out of the bed and opened it quicker than she would have if the bed had been on fire.

Smyrna flung it open. “Hi.”

Caayn blocked the entrance with those broad shoulders and wide chest.

“Could I have a moment?”

At that second, behind Smyrna, the girls began to babble and barrage questions at her and Caayn.

“Be right back.”

She stepped out of the room.

Caayn locked the door behind her.

In the background, Katrina was yelling. Asking, “Why are we being kept locked up if…” Her voice faded away as Smyrna followed Caayn down the hallway.

“We turned,” she said to him.

“You want to go to Janus, right?”

“Is that where we’re headed?”

He nodded. “We need a cover story, for your two friends in there.” He indicated the room they’d just walked away from with his thumb.

“Not exactly my friends. I didn’t know them before I signed on for this. Not that we couldn’t be friends,” she clarified. “It’s just that they aren’t puppets. I’m not their puppet master and they sure as hell don’t have my back.”

“You’re saying you can’t trust them to agree to any story that is concocted?”

“Exactly.”

They were in the same corridor they’d been in when they’d spoken in private earlier, except this time, he opened the door across from that private dining room.

Smyrna stepped into a room that was clearly someone’s sleeping quarters. “Your room?”

“Ours, for now. While we keep up this pretense.” He took a seat in the only chair in the room.

“And what pretense is that?” She wanted to be sure exactly what their understanding would be.

He waved for her to take a seat. Except the spot he waved her to was the bed.

Not going there. Even if he does seem honorable.

“I was so anxious to see my bride-to-be that I decided to meet her at the space station where they’d be stopping off.”

She scoffed. “Great lie.”

“I thought it sounded good.”

“Well, that’s great, Einstein, but can you explain why you brought the other two women?”

“Einstein?”

“Never mind. Explain.”

“You’ll have to say that you didn’t want to be without your new friends. That you wanted them with you. That you planned to have them as part of the hand-fasting ceremony. Someone to help you dress.”

She shook her head. “Uhm, and when they dispute that?”

“You had better work on your acting skills and convince them differently.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“The alternative is to take them to Marcomal and leave them with the locals.”

“You mean, sell them.”

He half-nodded, half-shrugged.

She frowned. “You wouldn’t.”

His face was stoic.

“Would you?”