The rooms prepared for her were probably very nice by Ra'hom standards. Lots of draped fabric and an upright bed and a bewildering variety of pools in various temperatures and current speeds. There was barely any floor for all the pools. She had a feeling she was going to end up with pneumonia if she stayed here too long.

She was locked in most of the time. She was allowed to leave, under escort and in the company of the Councilwoman, on a handful of 'diplomatic outings' during which she was shown around the city and the various 'achievements' of the Ra'homi people, which included museums, great buildings, and works of civic achievement. It was all very impressive and not Jewel's speed at all.

But they did give her an opportunity to ask about Kay. He had, as he'd said he would be, been cleared of all charges, the killing of Zee declared justifiable. Apparently, part of the snarling when they'd attacked each other had also been a formal declaration of a duel, which was a legally binding contract clearing Kay of responsibility for any resulting injury or death.

It had only taken as long as it did to clear him because of the personal vendetta between them and the political clout of Zee's family. Now that he was no longer under active investigation, things were under way to elevate him to the Peritas for the discovery of the human species, and there was already talk of grooming him for a Council position. Jewel was relieved to hear all of this, but she still hadn't been allowed to see him, and somehow, she didn't think she would, at least until she was behind glass in the zoo exhibit.

She was sitting in her room, swamped in one of the intricate diplomatic robes she'd been given, dangling her feet in one of the pools. Her toes were pruney and she felt waterlogged, but there was precious little else to do. The knock on the door didn't surprise her. It had been more than a week since she'd been brought to these rooms. The days here were different, and she had trouble keeping track. But every few days, the Councilwoman would arrive to take her on one of her outings. She pulled her feet out of the pool and stood up.

"Come in," she called, straightening her robe. Teaching them not to come in without permission had been a trial.

The door opened, and she was surprised to see her bodyguards standing there without the Councilwoman.

"What's up?" she asked.

"A lift is waiting for you," one of them replied. "To bring you to the Council Zoological Park."

"Oh." Jewel froze for a moment, caught off guard. "Just like that?"

The guards glanced at each other, apparently unsure how to respond.

Jewel didn't really have any belongings to gather. She kind of wished she did. Something to remember Kay and her time on the Diviner by, if not a souvenir of Earth. But all she'd brought with her in the escape pod was Kay's sword. She went and got it, wrapped in a blanket, just because it felt wrong to leave it. Maybe if Kay came and saw her at the zoo, she'd be able to return it. She thought it was much more likely that her new keepers would just take it away from her as soon as they realized what it was.

The lift didn't take her directly there, but to the airport she'd arrived in, where she would transfer to another ship.

"They wish to make the trip as quick and un-stressful for you as possible," one of the bodyguards explained.

"I appreciate it," Jewel muttered, lying. She was resigned to it, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She followed them through the airport toward her ship, head low, clinging to the sword and wondering what the rest of her life was going to be like.

Suddenly, a hand closed around her arm and dragged her sideways into another hall as another clapped over her mouth to muffle her startled yelp. She looked up as the stranger hurried her away, eyes widening as she realized who it was.

"Kay!" she whispered in delight. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking you back to the Diviner," Kay replied with a mischievous smile.

"I thought you were being made a Perita?"

"I was," he replied. "And for the traditional boon offered upon elevation to the Peritas, I requested to continue my work on the Diviner and for you to be put into my care for study, permanently."

"That's great!" Jewel said, delight flooding her chest. "But then why are we sneaking away?"

"Because they did not completely approve of that plan," Kay said with a shrug. "So I am going to get you onto the Diviner before it leaves on its next year-long mission. And hopefully, they will claim that they approved my request to save face."

"And if not?" Jewel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well then, we will be on the run."

Jewel grinned.

"Sounds good to me."

There was a shout behind them. Jewel's bodyguards had found them. They began to run, Jewel pulling the sword from its blanket and pushing it into Kay's hands.

"Thanks for letting me borrow this," she said. "But I think you need it."

Kay laughed, and holding her hand, they raced for the sky elevator.

The Diviner was waiting for them in orbit, and Kay wasted no time in telling it to take off. Jewel watched Ra'hom recede behind them with a smile as wide as the sky, then she turned and kissed Kay until she couldn't breathe. Whatever else happened, she was never letting him out of her sight again.

* * *

A few months later, Jewel lay on a sandy beach, her head on her arms, soaking in the simulated warmth of an alien sunset. She took a deep breath, relishing the breeze on her flushed skin. Then she squeezed down harder on Kay's throat with her thighs, tightening the triangle choke hold she'd secured on him. He wheezed, struggling, face purple with exertion, but he couldn't break the hold.

"You ready to give up?" she asked, easily avoiding his wild swings with his free arm.

"Never!" he growled.

"You sure?" she asked, squeezing a little harder.

He snarled in frustration and slapped the sand.

"Fine!" he hissed. "I give!"

Jewel laughed and released him immediately, letting him roll away onto his back. He lay there panting as she basked in her victory.

"You are getting better," he said breathlessly.

"I've got you figured out now," she said, heaving breaths. "You can't beat me at grappling anymore."

"Remember when I just had to catch you to beat you?" he muttered. "Those were good days."

She laughed again and rolled on top of him, kissing him soundly. They'd discovered this planet a few days ago, and upon discovering it had a safe atmosphere for them both, they immediately added it to the rotation of habitats they had their daily runs through. They'd already lost their suits as soon as they'd started wrestling. Skin to skin was more fun. And it made the victory lap a lot easier. The run and subsequent grappling had already excited them both.

As he kissed her back, hands moving down to her hips, she rocked against him, feeling the hard length of him sliding between her lips. She caught his hands when he tried to pull her down, pinning them to the sand. This was her victory, and she would set the pace. She took her time, teasing herself as much as him as she slowly rocked her hips against him without letting him in.

"Jewel," he begged, hips straining.

"What's the magic word?" she asked, grinning.

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Jewel."

She laughed and relented, reaching between them to line him up, then she sank down onto him all at once, shouting with pleasure at the thrill of being so suddenly filled. She simply hung there a moment, shuddering at the little waves of pleasure that ran through her every time she clenched around him, spread open to her limit. She rolled her hips, feeling him grinding within her, and moaned in delight.

"If you keep making those sounds, I am going to have to do something about it," Kay growled.

She planted a hand on his chest to hold him down.

"Don't you dare," she said, not opening her eyes, still focused on slowly moving her hips as she adjusted. "I'll kick your ass again if I have to."

He laughed and slid his hands under her thighs to help her as she began to rise, groaning at the sensation of the great length of him sliding out of her. Then she crashed back down again, seeing stars as he struck deep within her, and set up a rhythm. She threw her head back as she rode him, swearing at the intensity of it, holding nothing back. His hands on her hips guided her as she increased the pace as much as she could manage. She threw herself down onto him with ecstatic desperation. Neither of them was trying to hold out or make it last this time. After all, they had all the time in the world to enjoy themselves.

She heard him shout, his hands tightening on her thighs, and felt the warmth of him finishing within her. She squeezed down around him tightly a moment later as the rush of orgasm flashed through her, lighting up her nerves from the tips of her breasts to her toes. She stayed where she was a moment, basking in the fading pleasure, the crash of waves a soothing roar behind her. Then she sank down against Kay's chest, sighing as she caught her breath.

When she could use her legs again, they wandered into the surf to clean up. Jewel lingered longer than Kay, enjoying the warmth of the water while he returned to the sun to dry off. A chime interrupted their quiet reverie.

"What's up?" Jewel asked, climbing out of the water.

"We're approaching a new planet," Kay explained. "I told the computer to alert me when we reached it. Would you like to watch the Diviner work?"

"Hell yes."

They hurried from the habitat area, pulling on their clothes—Jewel had finally talked the computer into giving her proper jeans and shirts—pausing only once to glance through the bow window at the bright blue and pink planet they were hovering over, massive and completely unnoticed.

The Diviner had surprisingly skillful stealth abilities, which had come in handy while avoiding the ships the Council had sent after them. The Council was still on the fence about whether Kay and Jewel were conducting a Council-sanctioned scientific mission or whether they were traitorous pirates who'd stolen an incredibly valuable research vessel (the Diviner) and a priceless scientific subject (Jewel).

They continued to tell the Ra'homi press that everything was fine and accepted Kay's continued reports on the Diviner's findings, but every once in a while, they'd run into a handful of ships hoping to drag them back to port. None had managed it so far. Apparently, the Ra'homi public wasn't fooled at all by the official story and thought the entire thing was quite romantic. There'd been several plays written.

Down in the lab, she and Kay watched through a window in the floor as the Diviner scanned the planet below. Data, uploaded at lightning speeds too fast to even process, appeared on the screens around them. Samples of the local plant life began appearing in containers around the lab. The living specimens were in quickly constructed microhabitats based on the locations they'd been found in. Jewel laughed as a tiny simian with pink fur the texture of a dandelion appeared in a tall, cylindrical container with the leafy branch it was clinging too.

"Oh, it's spotted something big," Kay said as the large tractor beam left the ship, scanning the surface.

"New habitat?" Jewel said with a grin. Kay nodded. They hurried away back to the arc, watching the modules shifting as they made room for a new one. As soon as it came together, they stepped inside, watching soil samples beginning to coat the bare floor and the screens on the walls and ceiling flickering to life with images of a brilliant pink sky and a savannah dotted with trees that looked right out of a Dr. Seuss book. Transplanted saplings of those same trees began to dot the landscape.

Grass seed was scattered. Water began flowing. They watched a tiny world being created. Eventually, the ceiling opened and the ship lowered a huge animal down into the habitat. It was a deep purple magenta and decidedly elephantine in nature. It was sleeping and would remain so until its habitat had grown in, kept safely in suspended animation. Jewel came closer, curiously running her hand over its leathery hide.

"They're about to inject the atmosphere," Kay said. "We should get out."

"Do you think this one might be intelligent too?" she asked. "I mean, it's possible, right?"

"Maybe," Kay agreed, putting an arm around her. "There is a whole universe of life out there. Some of it's bound to be intelligent."

"I want to find all of it," Jewel declared. "I want to see the whole damn universe!"

"I've already found everything I need," he purred, nuzzling her hair.

Jewel laughed, hugging him. "I love you, Kay."

"I love you too, my Jewel."