I continuously re-read the message from Raydn.

“No progress locating Earth. Will take longer than we initially thought.”

My eyes wander over to my bed, and the small lush body tucked comfortably underneath the covers. Instead of taking Marilyn to her own guest sleeping quarters, I brought her back here…with me. The relief that moves through me from Raydn’s message is a warning to me that I’m getting too emotionally involved. I’m in charge of this mission to return Marilyn to her home. How I am beginning to feel is a huge conflict of interest. Not to mention a distraction.

She moans and starts to stir. The injection from Doctor Trevvula helped her relax and get some much-needed sleep, but she’ll be awake soon and she’s going to want updates. The first thing she’ll probably want to know is why she’s sleeping in my bed. She stretches and lies still. I turn back to the screen in front of me and try to focus on my work.

It’s hard to concentrate. I struggle to resist the urge to keep turning around and looking at her. She looks so different from Gaian women and it isn’t just because of her size. Her facial features are softer than our women. The large oval shape of her eyes makes them stand out when set against her tiny curve of a nose. But most of all it is her lips that entice me with their seductive plumpness and soft pink color. It is her curves that attract me in a primal, animalistic way.

This time, I can’t stop myself from taking another look at her while she lies in my bed. When I turn around, I see her big, brown eyes are open wide, staring at me. The covers are pulled up to her chin, making her uncertainty about the current situation obvious.

“You’re awake,” I say. I stay where I am so I don’t scare her while she wakes up.

“Yes,” she says, slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position.

I click the screen off and turn to face her in my chair. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, I guess.” She rubs the back of her neck, rolling her head from side to side. “Sore, but it helped to sleep.”

“The doctor gave you an injection to help calm your anxiety. Sorry if it took you by surprise.” I stand up slowly and walk over to the bed, sitting in the chair next to her. My bed is a normal size for Gaians, but it reinforces how small she is to see how she is swallowed up by the bed.

“I guess I needed it,” she says. Once I’m sitting next to her, a silence falls over us, like we’re both unsure what to say next. “So what happens to me now?” she asks after a few minutes.

This isn’t my area of expertise. Up until today it hasn’t been part of my job description to console scared, abducted women. Even though it’s new to me, I find myself wanting to do a good job and make her feel at ease.

“Nothing has turned up regarding your planet, yet. We will continue the search. Until we figure things out, you can stay here, on Lunis Station.”

She nods her head while letting that sink in. “Okay, thank you. As long as I’m not in the way here.”

“No, of course not,” I say. Though it does make me think. If this takes a long time, we will need to find her more appropriate living quarters.

She runs her fingers through her hair and looks around the room. “I don’t suppose I’d be able to clean up a little? Take a shower? Change my clothes?”

“Yes. Right here in fact.” I point to the corner of the room where there’s a small door that leads to my own personal washroom. “I will have clean clothes brought to you so you can shower and change. Then we’ll get you something to eat. Unless you’d like to eat first. You must be hungry.”

“I am, but I’d kill for a shower.” She looks at me and smiles and then quickly adds, “I mean, not really. It’s just a saying where I’m from.”

“Of course,” I say. “Come with me and I’ll show you how to work the shower.”

She tosses the covers away and swings her legs over the side of the bed. Her dress is pushed way up, revealing a lot of skin on her legs. I’m so curious about her body that I can’t help but stare. Just seeing her in my bed wearing very few clothes is enticing enough to force me to close my eyes and take a deep breath. It’s my job to be professional with her, not continuously fantasize about her.

She stands up and the dress falls back down. Without another thought I lead her to the washroom. It’s a simple space, nothing more than the necessities. There’s a door that opens into the shower, but otherwise the rest of it is completely enclosed with a waterproof material that keeps the water inside and not spilling over onto the floor, creating problems for the engineers. Water and technology are not a good mix.

“These are the controls for the shower,” I say, showing her the panel on the shower wall. “This button turns the power on. Once the power is on you can choose your preferred water flow here.” I point to the four buttons on the top of the panel that allow you to control a soft or hard flow as well as pulsing or massaging functions. “These buttons on the bottom allow you to adjust the heat of the water. Push the button this way for warmer and this way for colder.” I use my fingers to help her visualize the controls.

“Got it,” she says, after listening and watching intently to my explanations. “Towels?” she asks. “For drying off?”

“Actually, when you are finished, you’ll push this button here.” Again, I point out the correct button for her to push. “This will turn on the air dryers, here.” I signal up to the top of the shower where the warm air will blow once the button is activated. “You can stand under the dryers for as long as you’d like. You’ll be dry and clean when you step out of the shower. I’ll bring in fresh clothes for you to wear. You’ll feel like a new woman.”

“Thank you, Koba.” She smiles and stands in place next to the shower. After a moment, I say, “I’ll leave you, but if you need anything I won’t be far. I’m going to meet with the Admiral, the boss of the station. Fill him in on everything that has happened.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan. I’ll just be here, washing away bad memories.” She motions down to her clothes and back up to her hair and general appearance. It’s clear she’s embarrassed with how she looks, but her looks are quickly growing on me.

“I’ll have food sent over as well. Just in case it takes me longer than I’m planning with the Admiral. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be back before you know it.” I reach my hand up and touch her cheek with my finger, gently caressing her soft skin, imprinting the feel of it in my mind. Her lips part and I long to take my thumb and rub it over them; to feel the warmth and intimacy that is kept there. Instead, I force myself to pull my hand away. Turning on my heel, I walk out briskly before I do something inappropriate … like step into the shower with her.

* * *

The admiral is already at the command station when I arrive. He’s receiving a debriefing from another member of the force. I stand back until they finish and then I step forward, place my palm against my chest and bow.

“Admiral Garon,” I say by way of greeting, knowing that he is expecting me.

“General. It looks as though we have a lot to talk about.” He swipes the screen on the table in front of us and the Star Fury’s logs appear before us. He touches the screen and enhances one section of the report. “This is the exact moment where you chose to ignore protocol and fly into the cut-off zone. You were out of your jurisdiction General.”

He is not wasting any time.

“Admiral, I can explain.” He stands before me, waiting patiently. But I don’t know what to say. How do I explain that I could sense something different aboard that ship? “I knew the Atronox were transporting something, I just didn’t know what it was. We were tracking them when they disappeared from our radars. Completely disappeared, sir. No trace of them anywhere. When they popped back on our screens, I had to know what they had onboard.”

“It was an unnecessary risk, General.”

“Sir, we discovered a female on board. Now we know that the Atronox are also dealing stolen females. If we would have let them go we never would have learned this information. And just think, they must be getting a massive amount of money for these slaves. They’re probably buying weapons for an attack while we speak.”

“I understand your motivation, General. But this was one female. I disagree that one female was worth the risk of traveling into the Draconis Sector. We could have lost three officers and a space cruiser.”

I have to swallow the words that I want to fire back in retaliation. He doesn’t understand what the girl means to me. I don’t even understand it. Not to mention, I know the Atronox well enough to know that they’re up to something and we need to figure out what the hell it is.

“Yes, Admiral,” I finally say.

“And the female?” he asks.

“I have my men working on finding her home planet so we can return her. She was also implanted with a new tracking device that I wasn’t able to destroy. I have Raydn working on that too. I’ll keep you updated to our progress.”

“Thank you, General. That will be all.”

He starts to turn away, onto the next situation that needs to be handled. “Admiral, what would you have us do about the Atronox? Shouldn’t we do a little digging to find out what they’re into now? It’s possible that have taken more women.”

“I’ll consider it, General. I’ll have an answer for you by tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Admiral.” I bow and turn to leave. I’m going to find out what the Atronox are up to because I trust my gut and right now it’s telling me that they’re into something much bigger than we know.