Universe 1, above Dargoona Castle located on a privately owned island…

“Dr. McNamara?”

“Yes,” Sheena answered, lifting her gaze from the useless staring she’d been doing at her hands to look at her pilot.

She uncrossed her long legs, surprisingly long for a woman with her average height, and checked to make sure her long blonde hair was still caught up in its clip.

“I greatly appreciate you coming to pick me up here. Please remember to remove the island’s exact location from your flight log. It’s a Level 1 priority to protect the residence of the existing AAS Matchmakers.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered. “My orders from central said as much.”

Sheena sighed internally. She hated lying about her deceased parents, but her sister was still on that alien ship. She’d left several of her older, reprogrammed droids behind with Carleton and Elsa at her parent’s castle. She hoped they would be enough to keep them safe until Brianna’s future was more secure.

“Are you sure you want to do this? People who visit the Alien Abduction Services airship tend not to return. There are few exceptions.”

Her conscientious airship captain was used to flying her all kinds of questionable places, but it was not surprising that he’d been reluctant to make this particular flight with her. She completely understood his concern, shared some of it even, but worry over things out of her control would not change her decision. Nothing could lessen the burden of what she had to do to help Brianna, but they were all each other had now, regardless of what the damn planet thought.

“Don’t worry about me, Captain Jordy. As a precaution, I’m taking a few of my special boys with me,” Sheena replied, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded. It wasn’t getting back off the airship she feared. She’d been to the ship many times and left when she wanted—or at least she had a hundred years ago when she’d been married to the man now its current admiral.

The rumors most believed about the airship—and the ones about the danger were all true—tended to keep the airship safe from hostile takeovers. She accepted that her nervousness merely validated what might be the most propagated political ruse on New Earth. The real reason for her apprehension, which was having to deal with her ex-husband again, only made Sheena angry at herself. Such a personal issue wasn’t something she’d be sharing with her worried pilot though.

“How will you recharge the SDDs on the floating airship? It’s not really equipped for the kind of power they require, is it?”

Sheena was glad their discussion was moving to more comfortable ground. She could talk about her self-directed droids all day. “The boys are self-charging now. Their batteries are good for fifty years so long as they can shut down for a few hours a day to rest their processors. I intend to rotate them on guard duty to make sure that happens. That’s why I brought all four. I’m well prepared for whatever happens.”

Sheena wanted to smile, but didn’t, when her pilot’s interested gaze went to the four walking weapons sitting behind her. All four were staring off into space, but instantly turned to smile and nod at the pilot in recognition of his gaze. She was still very proud about teaching them to respond normally when someone looked their way. And to think, it was nothing more than a simple face recognition program. In every case where they had tested self-directed droids interacting with humans, the responses of hers were so human-like no one knew the difference until an arm suddenly transformed into one of several dangerous weapons.

“No offense, Dr. McNamara, but I’d feel much better if General Montgomery was accompanying you like he usually does. At the risk of sounding as sexist as my wife accuses me of being at times, I wish you had some supportive human company for your trip.”

Sheena sighed again internally, fighting hard not to let it out.

She’d inherited the sighing tendency from the woman she considered her mother who coincidentally was also her biological egg donor parent. She’d inherited her quick temper from her father, the man contributing the sperm that had no doubt eagerly invaded that donated egg.

The woman scientist who’d actually carried her in her womb had contributed nothing genetic that managed to stick, or at least nothing Sheena had ever been able to identify under the best of electron microscopes. However, what she had gotten from that woman was an insatiable curiosity about her beginnings that had led her to her current life’s work.

“General Montgomery was too busy to come on this trip. Also, he has no involvement with its purpose or outcome. Unfortunately for me, this is more of a personal quest than an official mission,” Sheena said stiffly, her gaze dropping to her hands again. “If successful, we’ll be adding a person to our return trip, Captain Jordy. I’ll keep you posted about my progress to that end result. The identity of the passenger needs to be kept secret until I’ve secured her agreement to return with me.”

“As you wish, Dr. MacNamara. Sorry if I’m overstepping with all my questions.”

“I’m sure General Montgomery would appreciate your concern for my welfare. I know I do. It’s nice to have someone like you covering my back.”

Because there wasn’t really anyone—at least not anymore. It was yet another truth she couldn’t share with her pilot.

General Scott Montgomery, her latest intimate relationship, had been too busy to be involved in her life for several months now. She well knew the woman keeping him occupied had every right to do so. Though he had a legally open marriage, Scott was still ethically bound. He and his wife had produced their allowed two children together. There was nothing Sheena could say about Scott putting the welfare of his official family before her. It was both his moral duty and his obligation.

From the beginning, she had known her relationship to him, even though intimate, was just a matter of convenience for Scott. It was even more of a convenience for her, when Sheena felt like being super honest with herself. Most of her relationships with men were just that kind—on the side and only a convenience. In fact, she’d been very careful in the last seventy years of her life not to ever date anyone who didn’t have a legal commitment to someone else.

One of the most inconvenient things for her about this particular trip was being forced to visit a one hundred year old ex-husband she’d never quite gotten over. Her brat of a sister was the only idiot she loved enough to endure such torture for, and especially just to rescue Bri’s rebellious ass. She’d refused to visit her insane matchmaking parents while they had worked on that damn airship Nate had chosen to honor instead of their exclusive vows to each other.

So Scott spending time with his legal wife and children? That was absolutely not a problem for her.

She admired men who put their families first. More men should be that committed to the women in their lives. She had learned long ago that there were many, many ways a New Earth born man could manage to be unfaithful. Neglect was a very painful example that she’d felt the sting of more often than she could forget.

“We’ll be docking in three minutes, Doctor.”

Her gaze lifted so she could nod because Captain Jordy would not dock without knowing she was ready to debark.

“Set our transport down whenever you’re ready, Captain. I’m anxious to get this over with. I’ll contact you when I need a ride home.”

“Yes, ma’am, Dr. McNamara. Docking now.”

* * *

A hundred years had passed since Nate had seen Sheena in person, but the math still surprised him every time he thought about how much time had gone by. He’d maintained near daily contact with her matchmaking parents during that entire time period, yet both the MacNamara’s legal born daughters had somehow managed to keep their distance from him.

Well, they had until now.

It was unfortunate he and Sheena hadn’t been able to remain friends after their divorce. Sheena McNamara had been his first in nearly everything concerning his love life and he’d not forgotten a single moment. His four other marriages hadn’t left any serious dents when they ended, but mostly that was because his time with all of them had never matched his time with Sheena.

His body tightened when four men as big as most aliens on the ship walked down the ramp. Though not openly carrying weapons, he knew the infamous Dr. McNamara never traveled without serious protection. He doubted the men were human even though the airship’s sensors reported they were. He for damn sure knew they weren’t aliens. Sheena despised aliens on principle… an aversion she’d never worked through.

Nate knew Sheena’s career had progressed beyond what he used to know about her skills. His mother had taken on the task of keeping him apprised of the now infamous geneticist’s many accomplishments. As he’d always suspected she would, Sheena had made quite the scientific name for herself. Words like genius and innovator were most typically attached to her profile.

His body tightened more when the pilot captain of her shuttle stopped her at the door with a possessive hand on her arm. He saw Sheena pat the attractive male on his ample chest, obviously reassuring him about something. The captain tipped his hat to her as she exited and lost no time in pulling the ramp back in once she’d reached the bottom.

Time fell away as Sheena, looking as good as she had at twenty, walked across the transport bay and back into his life. Her body displayed its absolute fitness in the red leggings and tunic, both pieces molding to her brightly colored curves.

As he walked out to greet her, Nate found himself wishing it wasn’t only because she was here to see Brianna. He knew it was foolish to indulge such thoughts—knew it as sure as the ship would continue to float on its spinning electromagnetic crystals. But he was only human, a fact he’d grudgingly come to terms with about thirty years ago when his last and final marriage fell apart.

Sheena glared when she finally spotted him, and that look blasted his sentimental wishful thinking all to hell. The similarity to the glares he often got from Erin struck him hard. It was all he could do not to laugh at the irony. Now he’d have two strong willed women chewing his ass at every opportunity.

“Dr. McNamara,” Nate said softly, letting her title fall from his tongue for the first time in a century.

“Admiral Tiberius,” Sheena replied. “You’re looking very well. I see the effects of the rejuvenation serum have lasted. Another fifty years and I can probably make it available to the masses.”

Nate snorted softly and tried to hide his distaste of her hello. “I see it’s lasted on you as well. There are no visible signs that you’ve aged a day, much less a hundred years.”

Sheena nodded. “That’s a good way to phrase it, but trust me, there have been changes. My hair has gone from light red to a variegated blonde in the interim. If you’d like, I’d be happy to send you my reports about what I’ve noticed.”

Nate felt an eyebrow raise. “Well, I do have the clearance now to see the data, but why…” He paused, not sure how to ask what he wanted to know.

“Why am I being so friendly to a man I still detest?” Sheena asked finally.

Nate nodded, a little afraid to speak. She detested him? After all this time? “Yes. Detesting does not go well with that friendliness you were touting moments ago.”

Sheena smirked. “It matches my honesty though, which is one of those changes I mentioned. You should know I came because I can fix Brianna’s tracker problem. As for the other—her being in danger—my organization can protect her once she comes to work for us.”

“Ah yes… the infamous organization. Why don’t you just call it Novus Prime? I think we both know that’s who funds you.”

Sheena lifted her chin. “I intend to take Bri with me when I leave, Nate. You can fight me if you want, but it will be a waste of energy—I promise you. The Guardians owe me several favors. I won’t hesitate to use one of them to remove her from this floating black hole of death.”

Nate whistled. “Wow… black hole of death. As a scientist, I thought you’d be a little more original in your insults. Black holes were proven to be myth about a hundred and fifty years ago.”

Sheena waved a hand. “That’s shit and we both know it. It’s a convenient lie so we don’t have to explain wormholes and portal travel to the masses. You’re not going to distract me by changing the subject. Now where’s Brianna? I need to see her and get this whole farce over with.”

Nate snorted. “Why? Did you leave a bunch of mutant superheroes cooking back at the lab?”

“Are you going to take me to Brianna, or should I have my guards find her? I can’t promise what will happen to your precious aliens while they look.”

Sighing, Nate motioned with a hand. “Come with me, Dr. Bad Ass. Let me escort you to see your family.”

“Don’t patronize me, Nathaniel. My parents are dead. The impostors, whatever vat they were cooked in, are not my family,” Sheena said tightly. She looked sideways and gave him a hard stare. “I came only for Brianna. I don’t want to see the Frankenstein monsters your gene hacking created out of whatever fallible McNamara DNA you’ve been hoarding.”

“Sheena, stop,” Nate ordered. He physically halted their forward motion with his hand on her arm, which forced her to stop beside him. He met her glare. “The rejuvenated matchmakers are not monsters and I didn’t create them. They’re merely another version of your parents—one I’m unable to explain at the moment—but I swear this particular Angus and Erin are as individually unique as any other human on this planet. If you want to see their DNA profiles, I’ll share them so you can see they’re not clones, at least not in the typical sense. And when we find Brianna, chances are good that you’re going to have to deal with them. Your sister practically lives in their quarters.”

“Using Bri’s grief to support your agenda is just another good reason for me to be angry with you,” Sheena declared. “Brianna was devastated when our parents both died… and yes, despite your wish for the entire world to believe otherwise, we both know they really did die. Now take me to my sister.”

Nodding, Nate turned and started walking. He chastised himself for the knot of anguish in his gut. What had he expected? Their disagreements were a century old and yet not even a tiny bit lessened in intensity. All that passion once had a much healthier expression between them.

He’d ended her willingness to compromise when he’d accepted the admiral position on the airship. Or at least it had been the beginning of the end.

Lots of marriages ended over work. Lots of spouses regretted it afterwards. Nate had deeply been sorry Sheena had disapproved of his acceptance of the position, but he’d had to do what he felt was necessary. When she’d left, he’d let her go without a terrible battle. There had been no other choice.

Until her arrival today, he honestly hadn’t realized how much he’d been hoping the passage of time and some additional maturity would have put their mutual animosity to rest. Instead, it seemed like it might take another century or two before Sheena would be able to speak to him civilly. Thanks to her genetic tinkering on her family and him, their lives might last that long, but his patience probably wouldn’t.

They stopped in front of Brianna’s door. He made himself look at her again. The urge to hug her and reassure her things would work out for the best was so strong Nate could barely fight the urge. He locked his arms at his sides to keep from reaching out.

“Brianna went with Erin to the matchmaking office in the women’s common area. You can wait here in her quarters. I’ll send Darcone to escort her back. Angus and Erin’s quarters are next door. You’re going to want to remain here in Brianna’s rooms if you truly plan to avoid them.”

“Darcone?” Sheena asked, ignoring what she didn’t want to discuss. “He’s still around?”

Nate nodded. “Yes. I think he’s given up anyone choosing him, but he’s stayed anyway. You don’t know what optimism is until you see how many of the aliens choose to remain in the program despite no one choosing to mate them.”

“After all this time, I’m surprised you didn’t just force some poor female to go with Darcone.”

Nate’s sigh was long and loud. “We don’t do that, Sheena. Your parents wouldn’t allow it. That was only done in the beginning which was over four damn centuries ago.”

Sheena pushed open the door. “I know about the five year deadline. Don’t lie to me, Nate. This whole situation is just as fucked up now as it was when it started. You, your mother, and the Guardians see these poor women who come to you for help as commodities. I’m sure telling yourself you’re helping them lets you sleep at night, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re buying planetary peace by bartering human females for it.”

“The mating alliances keep New Earth safe,” Nate argued.

Sheena shook her head. “There are a lot of us who think the price is too high. One day, you and people like you, are going to have to deal with us.”

She pointed to the room and all four of her guards went inside. Sheena looked back at the man who had broken her heart. Nothing about him… absolutely nothing… had changed. Nate was just as handsome, and just as hard-hearted, as the day she’d left.

“We never did agree on this subject and we never will. Further argument will not gain either of us any ground. Thanks for letting me come here to help my sister. After I talk to Brianna, I’ll let you know what I work out.”

Nate sighed as the door closed behind the most frustrating woman he’d ever known. Knowing he still desired Sheena after all this time, and after all the hateful things she’d said to him, made him doubt his sanity. Giving in to McNamara Madness could too easily lead to him doubting every decision he’d ever made… starting with the one where he let Sheena MacNamara walk out of his life a hundred years ago.

* * *

“I can’t believe Sheena is here,” Bri said flatly, sighing over the future fight she knew waited for her in her quarters.

“Yes. In your room, she is,” Darcone said, matching her tone.

Brianna looked up at him while they walked. “You speak my language much better than you give yourself credit for doing.” Feeling obstinate, and wanting to slow him down, she looped her arm through Darcone’s and dragged him to a near stop. “Please don’t rush this. I need time to think about what I want to say to her.”

His nod of understanding had her sighing again. Sheena was going to try and get her to leave. But she wasn’t ready to leave. The Erin and Angus clones needed her. Plus, this was the safest she’d felt in a very long time. Being here was a true vacation from the rest of her dangerous life.

She tightened her grip on Darcone and saw him look down at her breast now resting against his arm. “Sorry,” she said, easing away.

Not being a clingy type, she was just as surprised as he was by her action. She was more stunned when Darcone stopped completely and pulled her to a stop with no one than a hand on her arm. She kept forgetting how strong he was.

“Her, you fear?” he asked.

She laughed until his hand lifted and held her chin. She was forced to hold his gaze.

“Am I afraid of Sheena? No. Am I afraid of leaving the airship? Yes.”

“Stay. All good it be,” he said with a shrug.

Bri chuckled at his simple advice and missed his fingers when they dropped away. Darcone was the strangest mix of gentleman and fierce warrior. He made her feel safe. He’d always made her feel that way. Next to her parents, the alien in front of her was the only person who seemed to accept her for what she truly was, even when she was being bad.

They stopped again outside her door and Bri sighed heavily. She pulled her arm from Darcone’s. “Thanks for listening to me whine. I promise to behave with Sheena if you’ll wait and walk me back to Erin after I say hello.”

She grinned when all she got was a shrug for an answer. What if she left with Sheena and didn’t see Darcone again for another gazillion years. Sighing, she shook her head and her strangely sentimental attachment to the alien away. She stared at the door to her quarters with six kinds of dread growing inside her.

“Bri-an-a.”

“What?” Her head whipped back to the male still at her side. Darcone had called her many things in the time she’d known him—mostly mean ones in his own language—but never had he said her actual name in hers. Not until today.

His head dipped quickly and his full lips brushed against hers before she could process what was happening. Her mouth was still tingling from pleasure when one of his hands opened her door and the other shoved her roughly inside. She heard the door click and lock firmly behind her.

Staring from the opposite side of the barrier, Bri glared as reality sank in. Coward. Fucking kiss and run alien coward.

Her flat palm hit the door with all the vicious frustration she was feeling. She was over eighty years old, damn it. Why did he still treat her like a child? And how did Darcone make her feel like one?

“You cowardly bastard,” she yelled as loudly as she could.

Her eyes narrowed to angry slits when she heard Darcone growl in warning from the other side. Everything south of her waist suddenly started aching. What the hell was happening to her? She wanted to know.

She pounded on the door again. “Open this damn door, you growling piece of alien shit. You and I need to talk.”

When everything stayed silent for a full minute, Bri turned a furious glare to her chuckling sister and stalked to the sofa where Sheena calmly sat.

“I’m glad you think my pain is funny,” Bri said.

“Has nothing changed in the last century? You and Darcone still get along about as well as Nate and I do.”

Bri snorted as she fell into a chair. “I just can’t believe the alien bastard did that to me.”

“Did what?” Sheena asked.

Bri studied her sister. Sheena was now digging around in her medical satchel and only half listening. No matter what she said at this point, her sister wouldn’t take it in, or understand. Sheena had given up the better part of herself when she’d left Nate.

“That growling bastard said my name for the first time ever.” And just before he made her tingle in places that hadn’t tingled in a good long while.

However, she wasn’t about to brag to her man-hating sister about her first ever alien kiss, especially from the alien she’d secretly crushed on for years. Sheena wouldn’t react well.

“Darcone said your name? Really, Bri. Just because you look twenty doesn’t mean you can’t act like you’re eighty once in a while. I know you’ve had to mature at least a little in all those years.”

Bri rolled her eyes at the chastisement. “Did you come here and face down a man you hate just to lecture me on acting mature? Carleton and Elsa have taken over for Mom and Dad in that area. You don’t have to fill their shoes.”

Sheena snorted. “No. I didn’t come here to lecture you. I came here to save your brazen ass. Now hold out your damn arm.”

“No. I don’t trust your science any more. Look at me. I look like a frigging child,” Bri said, distrustful of the determination in Sheena’s gaze. She held her arms out of her mad scientist sister’s reach.

Sheena held up a biomedical delivery instrument. “When you’re two hundred and still look thirty, you’ll be thanking me. Now hand me your damn arm. I’ve programmed nanos to seek out and neutralize the bionetic tracers you were shot with. It works on all known kinds.”

“Have you tested it on a human yet?” Bri demanded.

“No, but things went very well in the lab simulations.”

Bri snorted. “Get the hell away from me, Dr. McNamara. I am not a damn simulation.”

“I know. That’s why I spent the last three days looking for anomalies. I found none. Now give me your arm, Brianna. No sister of mine is going to have to sell herself to some horny alien just to keep living.”

“That’s better than being internally disassembled by nanos run amok. I’ve seen that happen,” Bri argued.

Sheena sighed aloud. There was no need to hide the full truth of things from her younger sister. They knew all there was to know about each other… good and bad.

“As soon as the bionetic tracers are neutralized, the nanos will attach themselves to the genetic remains and be flushed out of your system where they will die without leaving a trace.”

Bri hated having a genius for a sister. She could feel herself weakening the more Sheena talked. Only her family members ever had this much control over her fate. Outside MacNamara lines, she was considered a rebel.

“Okay, but letting you do this doesn’t mean I’m coming to work for your alliance of rebels,” Bri said firmly.

Sheena nodded. “Understood.” She scooted down the sofa until she could reach her sister. “Arm, Bri.”

Sighing louder than her sister had, Bri reluctantly held out her arm. The multiple needles hidden in the delivery device punctured her so rapidly that pain receptors in her brain had no time to report it. The cure felt exactly the same as being tagged with over a hundred bionetic darts at once. God only knew how many credits the nanos now inside her had cost Sheena to create.

Bri watched her sister carefully repackage the delivery device and return it to her satchel. She was not surprised that it wouldn’t be going into the recycler. Sheena was very careful with what she created.

“If your body’s reaction follows the simulation closely, you should be free of the bionetic tracers tomorrow. You might need a bit of extra rest when those nanos start flushing that crap out of you.”

Bri nodded. “Thanks. I guess.”

“As for the job offer I also brought with me, it wouldn’t hurt you to talk to some of our people. You don’t have to work for Nate’s mother. The Province rulers aren’t the only ones serving the Guardians. It’s time you looked at the bigger picture and at your full range of choices. If you’re going to risk your life on a daily basis, at least do it for someone who has the actual good of this planet as a motivation.”

Bri shook her head and rose. She and Sheena were worlds apart in their political views. She went to the kitchen and made herself a stimulant drink. She hated being reliant on chemicals, but it was better than Sheena whisking her away on some trumped up sick clause. She grabbed a bottle of oxygenated water for her sister.

Bri sat, sipped her drink, and then looked her sister full in the face. “Even if I was interested in working for Novus Prime, which I’m not, frankly I don’t want to leave this airship yet. I like it here.”

Sheena lifted her hand and pointed at Brianna’s neck. “How can you like it here? You’re a prisoner. Don’t think I didn’t notice the restraint collar and cuffs.”

“They match my jewelry… and I volunteered to wear them. Nate doesn’t trust me.”

“It’s not you. It’s him. Nate doesn’t trust his own fucking judgment. I don’t know how in hell he runs an airship,” Sheena said bitterly, drinking the water.

“You need to cut Nate some slack on this one. I sort of gave him a reason not to trust me this time. When I came here and asked to be let in, Nate said no at first. He told me to call you and ask you to retrieve me. I fought a few of his alien guard dogs until he had no choice except to lock me up. My instincts were screaming this was where I needed to be.”

Bri snorted when Sheena’s water bottle lowered slowly to her lap. Once again she’d managed to shock her sibling.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know I’m like that, Sheena. I’ve been staying in the cells below deck. Darcone has been babysitting. The new versions of Mom and Dad came…”

“Do not call them that,” Sheena chastised.

Bri glared and went on. “Hush. This is my story. The new versions of Mom and Dad came, and after talking to them, I decided getting to know them was better than hiding out in a cell.”

Sheena huffed. “They are not new versions. They are not even real clones. Some gene hacker helped Nate create them, but I’m sure they’re not viable for the long term. They could die any day, so whatever the hell you do, don’t get emotionally attached to them, Brianna.”

Bri shrugged. “Too fucking late for that. I like them both… a lot.”

“Brianna…”

“Shut up, Sheena. You’re super intelligent, but you do not know everything there is to know. I’m telling you it’s like Mom and Dad put them here. They readily admit they aren’t them. They seem to know things they shouldn’t know as clones. If they’ve been replicated, whoever programmed their memories did a damn good job. Their story is that they’re our ancestors.”

Sheena snorted. “Genetically impossible. They’d be more like our children.”

Bri held her hands wide. “That’s what I told them. They just laughed at me.”

“For all we know, Nate and his gene hackers used some of our fucking DNA to make them. The Guardians do a lot of things they outlaw for the rest of us.”

Bri shrugged. “You look like her… or Erin looks like you. Take your pick. You really should meet them and see for yourself. Whatever they are, they’re amazing.”

“What I’d really like to do is test their DNA,” Sheena said, deciding that was the only way to put her mind at rest on the matter. She told herself it was necessary in order to protect her sister. “If you stay, some alien is going to abscond with you and turn you into his fucking baby maker. I can’t live with that, Bri. How the hell can you?”

Bri’s eyes went wide and then she laughed. “Well the fucking part sounds pretty good if you want the truth. I haven’t had time for a relationship of any sort in about a decade. I slept with a target once, but don’t worry, I let someone else take him out. I’m not that cold yet.”

“Must you be so callous?” Sheena demanded.

Bri chuckled. “Your disgust is kind of ironic for a woman who only dates married men.”

“They all have open marriages. I check before I sleep with them,” Sheena declared.

Bri chuckled again and rolled her eyes. “I don’t see how sleeping with a target who’s going to die is any worse. It’s not like I’ve ever found anything close to a happy ever after. At least you had one of those for a while.”

Sheena sighed and hung her head.

Bri set her cup on the table and sighed too. “Shit. I’m sorry, Sheena. That was too mean, even for me.”

Sheena waved the apology off. “No. It’s okay. Seeing Nate brought the whole thing up again for me anyway. He was always married way more to this blasted airship than he ever was to me. I couldn’t help being jealous of the fact. Once he got permanently attached to this floating can, I was no longer important to him. Neither was our twenty three years together, so I’m not sure my relationship to him counts as anything close to a happily ever after scenario.”

Bri frowned as she shrugged. “Then how much worse off am I going to be with an alien? At least they value the women they get. That’s more than I’ve gotten from any New Earth man. Sheena…” She leaned forward until her sister met her eyes. “Coming here was a mature decision for me. Even if your nanos remove the bionetic tracers, I’m tired of doing other people’s dirty work. No one is going to let me move to the mountains and start weaving baskets. I’d be dead in a year if I left what I was doing. We both know that.”

“Bri,” Sheena said, reaching out her hand. When her sister took it, she closed her eyes. “You’re all I have left in this world that I care about other than Carleton and Elsa.”

Bri tightened her grip on her sister’s fingers. “I feel the same way. So help the new matchmakers change the rules before I have to choose my mate. The new Angus and Erin are stirring shit up and getting by with it. I don’t know why Nate is afraid of them, but he is. And Sheena… they’re both honest, good people. They’re a lot like Mom and Dad, except they don’t get along as well.”

Sheena snickered. “You mean they weren’t programmed to be legendary lovers?”

Bri snorted and let go. “No. They bicker over everything, but it seems to be healthy conflict. I think something must have gone wrong in vitro though. Their speech has reverted to accents that haven’t been heard on this planet in thousands of years. I find it charming, but strange because speech patterns are a learned behavior. I suppose they could simply be imitating something in their subconscious wiring, but by hearing what? I have a trained ear and their voices sound completely authentic—like they’ve been speaking that way all their lives.”

“Well, that’s a short period considering Mom died not too long ago.” Sheena blew out a breath. “Fine. You’re right. I should meet them. If they’ve got you so confused, then I see no other choice.”

Bri smiled and leaned back in her chair. “If you want to test their DNA, just ask. They’ll probably go along with it just to put you at ease. But expect a lot of questions. They’re rather innocent about the world at the moment. Guess that was something else that didn’t get done correctly when they were cooking.”

Sheena rolled her eyes. “Cooking? That’s what Nate said earlier. You know I hate that analogy. Sometimes you’re just as naïve as you look, Bri. How did you ever survive as an agent?”

Bri chuckled and shrugged. “I ask myself that all the time. Being on the run kept me busy enough not to think about the fact that we were losing Mom and Dad every day.”

Sheena nodded. “I know. I’ve often wished they’d had us when they were younger. I never understood why they waited until the end of their lives. Mom would never really discuss the matter with me.”

“Me neither.”

Sheena sighed and closed her eyes. “All this trauma has made me tired. I think I need a nap before I meet anyone new.”

Bri drank until she found the bottom of her mug. She did feel better. “Okay. What are we supposed to do with your walking vibrators? Are you going to share the secret code to run the good stuff?” She inclined her head until it pointed at the wall.

Sheena laughed and closed her eyes. “Stop joking. They’re not programmed for anything sexual. I can’t believe I forgot about my special boys.”

“Are they really robots? They seem pretty lifelike.”

“Not robots… androids,” Sheena said softly. “They’re far more intelligent than robots. And they’ll be fine standing there. They can take turns shutting down and recharging while I nap.”

Bri nodded. “Okay. I’m going to head back to Erin. Angus is with the aliens. We’ll be back in a few hours.”

She smiled when her sister nodded and gathered her bags. She waited to leave until her sister had gone into the spare bedroom. Now she’d be able to torment Darcone into telling her why he’d kissed her. She opened the door and there stood a handsome giant with chocolate eyes and silky brown hair sweeping low over one eye.

“Berg is here.”

Damn the cowardly, pointed-ear bastard for running away. It was all Bri could do to be nice to the pleasant guard.

“Hi Berg. I need to go back to Erin.”

Nodding, the very polite giant walked silently beside her.