Against all odds, Meg actually made it to her new place of work a little early.

Waystation Helios was situated in the middle of a crater, which was apparently an instant plus for Ash. The station itself was on a raised platform--a dome-shaped building that looked like it was floating in midair when viewed from a distance. Glass formed the outer shell, and it also covered two walkways that led to and from the main building.

The bus dropped them off at an intake hub specifically designed for human workers and visitors. What little they'd brought with them was temporarily confiscated for decontamination, and they themselves were "hosed down" with some sort of gas that reminded Meg of a fire extinguisher. White puffs clung to her clothes and skin before quickly dissipating, leaving behind no trace that they were even there.

"What is this stuff?" Ash asked.

"It kills any micro-bacteria you may be transporting," one of the attendants said.

Well, that was... something.

"I thought the aliens were immune to all human diseases," Meg said, arching one brow at the man.

"The Karuvar," he said, stressing their name, "are not immune when they first arrive on Earth. Their implant needs time to adapt."

Wow. Apparently, somebody was the leader of the Karuvar fan club. Pity she'd left her honorary #1 fan button at home. She did grudgingly have to admit he knew more than her, though.

"You're cleared to go. Proceed to the second intake hub."

Meg followed her sister, far less eager than her to get where they were going. As they walked through what was essentially a long glass tube, she spared a glance at her right arm, where her own implant had gone.

The skin was raised there. Just a little bump that indicated the hunk of metal and organic material below. She'd never really been sure what the implants were made out of, and that bothered her. The thought was that humans needed them to survive; that they wouldn't be able to even breathe the air above ground without them.

Meg had been born long after the first implants were ever placed in humans, so she couldn't say one way or the other. All she knew was that her parents were perfectly healthy when they'd gone to get their implants upgraded, and they'd both keeled over the very next day.

The only thing she could admit about the implant was that it was... pretty, in its own way. Or at least what it created was pretty, because from the moment the implant had been placed in her arm, it'd traced patterns into her skin. Dark, inky lines that almost looked like a tattoo, radiating outward from the implant site.

Her sister's pattern was different. Other people's patterns were different, too. She'd heard them described as fingerprints, in that no two people had the exact same pattern.

But that was one beautiful thing in a sea of awful, as far as Meg was concerned. And she had a feeling she was going to become intimately acquainted with the rest of the awful as soon as she stepped through those doors.

When she and Ash reached the second hub, they were stopped again. Just in case they'd managed to sneak weapons past the first one, apparently. Meg showed them her transfer notice to speed things up, and the attendant told her to look for Dr. Monroe, whose office was the third door on the second tier.

"Is there a waiting area? My sister's with me today, and I need someplace she can stay."

The man nodded and pointed in a direction that was currently obscured by thick metal doors. "To the left, first tier."

When the doors slid open, Meg braced herself. She expected a room full of Karuvar, with only a few humans tending to their every need like glorified slaves. She expected to be snapped at the second she set foot inside, forced to do a physical on one of them so they could get back in their little ship and fly away until they needed to use the silly humans again.

But what she saw was... not that.

The interior of Waystation Helios looked like a cross between a hospital and the space terminal her parents had taken her to when she was a kid. A large monitor showed the arrival and departure time of different vessels, along with the occupied rooms and who, exactly, was occupying them.

Humans in scrubs and white coats milled about, some more humans sat in the waiting area, and there wasn't a single Karuvar to be seen.

"Wow. Did we come on no-alien day?" Ash asked. "Bummer."

It wasn't a bummer to Meg. It was pretty freaking great, actually.

"Are you Megan Cauthran?" a feminine voice asked.

Meg turned to see a woman walking down the few stairs that apparently separated tier one from tier two. Her long red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and a genuine smile spread across her freckled face.

"I am," she confirmed, walking toward the woman.

"Dr. Addison Monroe," she said, extending a hand. "I'll be overseeing your transition. I'm so happy you could join us! You picked a great time for it, too. The Pathfinder's ship is docking in... oh, about five minutes."

Meg considered telling her new... boss? That she hadn't exactly picked this place. In fact, it was dead last on her list. But the doctor seemed so enthused that she didn't bother.

"What's a Pathfinder?"

"This is my sister, Ashley," Megan said, giving her a warning look, "who's going to entertain herself in the waiting room."

"Not until I see a Karuvar in the flesh," Ash said. "That was the deal."

There was no such deal, but Ash had taken on the bratty little sister tactic of bringing up something she couldn't argue about in front of strangers.

"Oh, she can shadow you. I always like to meet young people who are interested in the Karuvar," Dr. Monroe said with a smile. "The Pathfinder is... kind of like a President? Every Karuvar reveres him as a leader. But he's also the chief explorer. He decides where the Karuvar go."

"Cool," Ash said.

"Why would a Pathfinder need to come back to Earth? It's already been... found," Meg said, trying to curb her resentment.

Dr. Monroe motioned for them to walk as they talked, and she followed the perky woman up to the second tier. They passed two doors, with the doctor stopping before the third.

"Our primary initiative at Waystation Helios is to repair, replace, and upgrade the Karuvar implants. We do research here, of course, and a few other tasks, but that's our main purpose." She opened the door and motioned for them to step inside, not continuing until they were alone. "Most of the center believes the Pathfinder is here for a diplomatic mission, but the truth is that his implant is malfunctioning, and we need to find out why."

Meg frowned and looked around her, wondering yet again why she'd been chosen for this job. The room was filled with familiar equipment. An exam table, tools to conduct an exam, supplies, a portable EKG machine and even a portable X-ray. It just looked like a high-end room at the hospital, not a place to "repair, replace, and upgrade" implants.

"But I don't know anything about the implants," she said.

"Oh, you don't have to," Dr. Monroe said brightly. "That's my job. I'm a bio-engineer, and I've been studying the implants for most of my life. I'm sure you've done a physical exam before, though? Taken vitals? Your file said you had..."

"On humans," Meg put in, watching her sister as she ventured into the room to explore.

Dr. Monroe smiled. "Then you're halfway there already. The anatomy is admittedly a little different. I have some cheat sheets you can use for that. But the physiology is almost identical to humans."

That was... not what she expected, and she wasn't sure if it made her feel better, or worse. At least she wasn't going to be completely useless at this job, though.

Before she could ask any more questions, she heard the sound of static over an intercom. A garbled male voice said: "Addison?"

"Yes?" Dr. Monroe answered.

"Your 0915 is here."

"He's early," she mused aloud.

"You're gonna have to ask somebody else if you want him detained. Last time I tried to tell one of them to wait, one of the warriors threatened to turn me inside out."

Meg's eyes widened at that. She'd never believed the Karuvar were a peaceful race, but that sounded... violent.

"No, no. Have him escorted here, please. And be discreet."

"Yes, ma'am."

Static crackled again before the intercom fell silent. Dr. Monroe sent her a harried smile.

"Well, trial by fire, I suppose. I trust you can handle it."

"Sure..." It was nice that Dr. Monroe had faith in her, but she seemed like the kind of person who gave that faith without much discrimination. "Should I prep anything?"

"Everything you'd normally use. There's a chart on the counter I'll need you to fill out, as well."

Ash had parked herself in the room's only chair and was apparently waiting for the show to start, so Meg went over to the cabinets and started ferreting out the things she'd need. The chart Dr. Monroe mentioned just looked like a standard patient's chart, with a few more fields added.

"Horn texture...?" she read aloud.

Ash snickered, but Dr. Monroe was ready with the professional answer. "The base of the horns conveys a great deal of information." A sheepish smile followed this. "So I suppose their physiology isn't completely the same."

Definitely not. She didn't have much of a chance to read the rest of it, though, because the room's back door--something Meg hadn't even noticed initially--was opened, and the frame was almost completely filled by an alien form.

She'd seen picture of Karuvar before, yes. But never in comparison to humans or manmade structures. The one that stepped into the room was massive. At least seven feet tall, and carved from a block of solid muscle. His golden skin almost seemed to glow under the fluorescent light, and oh, there was plenty of skin for her to look at, because he wasn't wearing a shirt. Just a harness of some kind that was pulled taut over his massive chest.

Even from here, she could see the ripple of scales that followed sleek, elegant patterns across his body, almost like natural armor. They didn't cover every part of him, they just seemed like extra protection for any vital organs.

Her gaze continued down, following the delicious V that led her straight into very, very tight pants. There were muscles galore down there, too, and a package that--

God. What was wrong with her? Meg snapped her gaze back to someplace safe, trying to ignore the fact that she was starting to feel that deep, maddening ache between her legs; that carnal need to be filled.

But not by this man. Alien. No. Absolutely not. It was just the fact that he looked sort of human. Aside from the scale plates. And the swishing tail. And the long ears she was now noticing as she focused on his face. Long ears and huge, dangerous horns that probably cleared a foot on their own.

Not human.

Not.

Human.

So why was she practically salivating still?

He had a sharp, angular face, but even that was mostly humanoid. Full lips set into a hard line. A jaw that could cut glass. A strong, muscular neck she just wanted to bite--

Damn it.

"Pathfinder Drol'gan, it's so good to finally meet you in person," Dr. Monroe said, snapping Meg out of her dirty little fantasies.

"And you, Adi'sun," said a warm, rumbling voice that was oddly soothing to her ears.

A voice she could actually understand, aside from the botched pronunciation. What...? Oh, right. The implant.

More concerning was the fact that she hadn't even realized there were other Karuvar in the room. Her gaze had been fixed on the big one who'd barely moved. Now she saw there were two more. The one Monroe called Drol'gan was taking her hands in a decidedly human greeting. Another stood near him, smaller and leaner and--if Meg's eyes could be believed--younger, too.

"This is my son, Drann," Drol'gan said, motioning to the smaller alien. "And this is First Guardian Verkiir."

Verkiir.

The name spoke to her on some subatomic level. And it didn't just speak in a whisper. Oh, no. This was more like a howl that ripped through her, body and soul, setting her senses alight and leaving her head spinning.

Her gaze returned to him, even though some small, mewling part of her begged it not to. She hadn't let herself look at his eyes before, but she did now. The irises were a darker gold than his skin, almost cat-like in the way the pupil was shaped. A pupil that widened in a predatory manner as he locked eyes with her. His gaze was so intense, she could almost feel it wrapping around her, drawing her to him and holding her fast. Fire licked up and down her body, her arm was so hot it felt like it was nearly burning, and her chest hurt with the effort it took to breathe.

She placed a hand over her heart, just to make sure it was still beating. But she couldn't look away from him. He had her pinned, and the look in his eyes...

It was as if he'd like nothing more than to slam her against the wall, tear off her clothes, and fuck her senseless. Right here, right now. In front of everyone.

Meg's insides clenched at that thought. No man had ever looked at her that way, and God, she was so wet already that she just might--

"--Megan Cauthran and her sister, Ashley Cauthran," came Dr. Monroe's voice, interrupting her from thoughts that, frankly, were going to make this room combust any second now.

She swung a dazed look toward the doctor and the Pathfinder. The older alien was smiling at her congenially, and he came to greet her the same way he greeted Dr. Monroe. Her arms came in front of her; useless, stupid limbs. But Drol'gan took her hands just the same.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mei'gahn," he said.

Before she could open her mouth to respond, she heard a low, rumbling growl coming from behind her. Coming from Verkiir, she realized with a start. Drol'gan must have realized it, too, because the scaled ridge above one of his eyes rose in question. That single action was enough to quiet the First Guardian.

"Hi," Ash said, giving a little wave.

She was still in her chair, something Meg was able to notice when the fog cleared a bit more. That was... odd. Ash wasn't the shy type at all, and between the two of them, she'd been most excited to meet the aliens.

"Greetings, Azh'lee," Drol'gan said.

The younger one--Drann--started to walk toward Ashley. He stopped in front of her, seeming unsure of himself. His ears twitched, almost like an Earth animal's. Meg could read... apprehension?

Weird.

"Hello," he said to Ash. But instead of holding out his hands, he balled his right into a fist, touched it to the plate that ran where his collarbone should be, then bent his head and lifted his hand so that his brow plate touched his fist, too.

"Is that a Karuvar greeting?" Ash asked, perking right up.

Drann smiled. "It is."

The two started talking, and because no one but Meg seemed concerned about this--and her lust-addled brain only let her be half-concerned at the moment--she let it slide. Her primary mission, for the moment, was to avoid making eye contact with Verkiir or any part of him.

"If you'll sit here, Pathfinder, Megan will begin your examination."

Oh, thank God.

She busied herself with finding a pair of gloves that fit, snapping them on as Drol'gan took a seat on the exam table. Even he was massive, though thankfully looking at him didn't put her in the state looking at Verkiir did. In fact, she felt absolutely nothing when she looked at the Pathfinder. Just the same sort of clinical interest she felt with all the patients she examined.

This was so weird. Not ten minutes ago, she'd been dreading this. Now she was looking forward to doing an exam on an alien she didn't want to lick from head to toe.

"I've never done this before," she found herself admitting, "so if anything I do hurts or makes you uncomfortable, just let me know."

Drol'gan smiled at her. Even sitting on the exam table--which, granted, was raised--he was still taller than her. But he had kind eyes, she noticed. With little crinkles around the edges. They reminded her of her father's eyes.

"It has been a very long time since my flesh has felt the touch of a female, so I dare not complain," he said, a wicked gleam in those eyes she'd just compared to her father's.

Was he... hitting on her? She didn't have time to contemplate that disturbing question, because Verkiir's growl rumbled through her, sending tingles in places she really shouldn't be getting tingles right now. The sound was fiercer this time; more insistent. Drol'gan gave his First Guardian another calm look, and it faded. A little. She could still hear it when she started her exam, checking Drol'gan's pulse, fitting a blood pressure cuff on him, taking his temperature.

Meg followed the chart methodically, checking not just for human physiological markers, but also Karuvar. She examined his scale plates for sign of damage, marking down every scar he had. She checked to make sure his ears and eyes were reactive to sound and light, respectively. But when she touched his horns, feeling the spongy texture at the base, the frequency of Verkiir's growl climbed to a whole new level.

She only had time to glance at him and see him pull a massive weapon from his back before he launched himself at Drol'gan.