Angus led Erin away from soft chairs at the conference table and over to lean against the wall. He bent until his lips were near Erin’s ear. “I’m betting we’ve had more of a tour of this fecking place than most get. Sheena seemed surprised by her inclusion since she said she’s been here several times before.”

Erin nodded and slipped an arm around the worried man at her side. “This is the politics of it, Angus. I doubt there’s any getting around their niceties.”

“Aye, I told myself the same thing. At least the mid-day meal was good. Their food is far superior to the fecking airship’s. Only Carlton and Elsa feed a body as well.”

Erin chuckled and hugged. “Well, our time to be heard is nearly here. I’m sure they’ll show up soon enough.”

They looked at the table where Sheena calmly sat working on a portable while they waited. A small light extending from the edge created rows of silver letters and numbers shining on the table. Sheena’s fingers moved across their reflection, confident of her work.

“Do ya think Sheena’s actually doing something or just pretending to be busy?”

Erin chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure she’s working. It seems to be all she does. I don’t know how she and Nate ever find time for having relations.”

“Relations?” Angus chuckled low at her words. “Ya sounds so formal, Miss O’Shea. Any other time ya would just call it fecking and be done with it.”

“Can ya not mind yer tongue just this one blessed time?” Erin demanded. “Most believe being a horse’s arse is optional, Angus. I’m pretty sure ya could be polite if ya tried.”

Laughing loud enough to draw all attention his way, Angus leaned toward Erin and stole a quick kiss. “This place would drive me crazy without ya, Erin. That be my God’s truth and yer Goddess’s as well.”

Stepping out of kissing range, Erin walked around him and back to the table. She chose a soft seat, purposely leaving one empty beside Sheena. Angus felt them coming long before he saw the first of them enter the room. As he walked to his seat by Erin, Sheena quickly turned off what she’d been doing.

Angus remained standing as they entered. They were silver-haired and elderly, every last one of them, and yet they each also seemed vibrant and strong despite their physical states. Where he and Erin came from, someone of their advanced years would barely be functional.

The last to enter the room was an older version of Nate, looking slightly younger than the rest and far sprier. Still standing, Angus met his gaze and nodded. The man nodded back and then favored Sheena with a smile.

It wasn’t lost on him that his sweet Sheena did not return the man’s friendly gesture completely. Instead, her gaze moved from one silver-haired person to the next until she’d thoroughly studied all seven. Angus could tell Sheena had reached a conclusion of some sort because she suddenly smiled and relaxed.

“Greetings, Guardians. I am pleased to see you all looking so well. I trust you’ve found your physical health significantly improved,” Sheena began.

Angus watched the elderly Nate smile at her again. This time Sheena returned it without reservation.

“Greetings to you, Dr. MacNamara. You honor us with your rare presence. And yes, your gift to us was very effective.”

“Guardian Tiberius, the better news is that your improvement will continue for a good bit more. While I cannot reverse the aging process entirely, I have been able to wind back the clock about fifty years on each of you… if my visual observation is correct.”

“Yet you haven’t aged a day though over hundred years have passed since I met you,” Guardian Tiberius observed.

Sheena shrugged. “I was sixty and too eager when I gave my family the prototype. Sadly, I have not been able to replicate the results my sister and I have experienced. Though I gave it to your grandson as well, Nathaniel has still aged more than me or Brianna. Simply put… outcomes have varied greatly in individuals. No complete reversal has ever taken place, as was proven by my parents, though health improvements are always felt and seen. I’ve only managed to slow the clock’s ticking.”

Angus listened to the conversation with interest. Nate had mentioned he was the grandson of a Guardian, but he hadn’t mentioned that his grandfather was the main one. Angus could see it clearly and the resemblance was uncanny. He turned his head when a silver-haired woman spoke.

“How long before the serum becomes available to the masses?” she asked.

Sheena shook her head. “Sadly, the serum’s results are unpredictable, and in some cases, unimpressive. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. It will be many more years before I get a formula stable enough to distribute.”

Angus felt Nate’s grandfather’s gaze land on him and Erin.

“Forgive our rudeness. Welcome, Matchmakers. We thank you for your service to our planet. As you have probably guessed by now, your very lives are greatly appreciated here.”

“Yer words are very nice there, Guardian Tiberius, but let’s not get lost in them just yet. It’s not like Erin and I volunteered for service, now did we?” Angus said with a chuckle, ignoring the sting of Erin’s hand against his arm.

He grinned at Nate senior twice over. Not long ago, he’d appeared to be that same age.

“Erin and I have made the best of the things because we know it’s how ya judge us worthy to be here. That doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten that we were abducted from our true home. It is a fact we live with every day and continue to resent.”

He let his gaze roam the rest of the Guardians. Most dropped their eyes.

“We’ve come today to discuss our take on yer alien situation in Universe 1. Without being able to leave yer universe—because there’s no going back if we believe those like Director John—then Erin and I have had no choice except to become friends with our kidnappers. Like most prisoners, we’ve cultivated a relationship with ya that we hoped would ensure Erin and I didn’t find our throats cut overnight.”

“Are you unhappy here, Mr. MacNamara?” Guardian Tiberius asked.

“Call us Angus and Erin. Yer mister stuff makes me feel like we’re on trial and I’m fighting that feeling as best I can,” Angus said.

Guardian Tiberius nodded. “Fine… Angus. Your kidnappers—as you call us—have given you back your good health and restored you to nearly a youth. Are you telling me you’d rather be in Universe 6 and dead by your own hand instead? If you truly want to return, we will make every effort to make it happen. There are more risks to reinsertion, but we promised the original Angus that we would not keep any of his alternates if they were unwilling to stay.”

Angus felt sincere regret when Erin stiffened beside him. Her hand slipped off his leg under the table and the loss of her support was keen. He hated to bring all this shit up again because he knew she felt differently than he did about this place. But he could see his goal up ahead in the conversation.

There was no backing down from his tactics now.

“That would be a good point yer making about all the magic ya’ve used to improve me. It’s just as impressive as the magic Sheena here seems to have used on ya and yer fellow Guardians. Truth be told, yer grandson informed me first thing I woke that I was more miracle than he was used to seeing in others he’d cooked in the box… I mean, in those he usually rejuvenated,” Angus said, catching himself in his slang. “But what ya can’t take from me, Guardian Tiberius—with all due respect, sir—are the memories and the love and the entire life of over sixty years that I lived before ya brought me here—a life so passionate that it made me emotional enough to want to end it all.”

Angus let his unrepentant gaze travel the table again.

“No one in this Universe changed my mind about living and dying, or even about going along with yer plans. This is the truth ya have to accept for us all to understand each other. Ya got lucky with me. If ya had not brought my Erin O’Shea here with me, I assure ya as sure as I’m sitting here, that I would be just as dead by now as the first Erin ya abducted. There’s a mental cost to humans for what ya have done to us and ya won’t be getting out of paying it. Erin and I have together come to some decisions that have made staying possible. But we cannot promise ya anything more in our current circumstances.”

“Traumatizing you and Erin was never anyone’s intention,” Guardian Tiberius said softly. “From what you’ve learned from us, I think you know that by now. You have inherited all the wealth the original Matchmakers owned, as well as their good reputations for doing the matchmaking work. The few on our planet who don’t value the purpose of the Matchmakers do not influence those of us in this room who guard our planet with a fierceness all other planets have come to respect.”

Angus shrugged. “We do understand that. Despite the seclusion of the airship, yer planet’s reality seeps into it. There appears to be a growing number of people on yer world who would just as soon see the whole MacNamara family dead. Some have already come after Brianna and Sheena.” He turned to Guardian Tiberius and snorted. “Yer grandson is a fine man with good intentions, but Nate can only do so much to protect us. The airship is a flying target. Nate knows it whether he’s talking about it or not.”

Guardian Tiberius cleared his throat. “I sense you’re trying to make a bigger point here, Angus. Why don’t you get to it?”

“Ya should treat the aliens like they belong here in the same way ya are trying to do with me and Erin. The aliens who’ve been here over fifty years are starting to crack, as all long term prisoners do. Do ya have any idea how many arguments and fights I have to stop among them on a daily basis? It’s a full-time job to keep the peace in the alien common area. The ale might be keeping their manhood at rest, but it does nothing to soothe their souls. The alien lads are like bored school boys looking for trouble, and I’m getting mighty tired of being headmaster.”

“Now I think we’re getting it to it. What exactly is it that you want, Angus?”

Angus felt Erin’s hand slip over and squeeze his knee. He turned to look at her. She nodded once. He turned back and let his determined gaze sweep the curious Guardians.

“Well, I had a few small suggestions to make about the program—like allowing the women to have a wedding with their alien mates—but my instincts rang like an alarm bell the moment I saw the same stoicism on all yer faces that I’ve seen on everyone else I’ve met in yer universe. Everyone living on this planet seems to have lost touch with their real humanity. The aliens starting all the fights at least have some life in them.”

“Are you suggesting the program needs to be ended?” Guardian Tiberius asked.

“Feck no,” Angus declared. “It just needs to be improved.”

“And what might accomplish that?” Guardian Tiberius asked, his tone dry.

Angus could hear in the man’s voice that he’d already lost patience with him, but at least Guardian Tiberius wasn’t spewing the program propaganda crap anymore.

“I suggest we move the base of the alien bride program to the Matchmaker’s castle. It has security features that exceed the airship’s, or at least it has the capacity for them. The place has room enough for the aliens and accommodations that already fit them. When Erin and I visited, the first thing I noticed was how the furniture wasn’t oversized for humans, even big ones like me. I think having the aliens there was what the original Angus was planning when he built that place.”

“The airship is not for the safety of the aliens as much as it is about the women. Keeping them in motion has been the easiest way to thwart their would-be destroyers.”

Angus nodded. “I didn’t say my idea was without flaws. But I think if ya included the aliens in their protection and let the women see them as a group, that nature would take its course. If ya want to speed up the matches and get to more than one or two a fecking year, ya got to do it through more normal means. All that computer choosing is fine, but it doesn’t replace the natural chemistry that occurs between two people who find out they’re meant to be together.”

Angus felt his eyebrow raise when Guardian Tiberius moved his attention to Erin.

“Are you in agreement with him?” he asked her.

Erin nodded, her loyalty instantly siding with Angus. She’d deal with him overstepping their request later. “For the most part…” she said sharply, sitting up straighter. “I agree with Angus that the aliens and their potential brides need to be put in more normal contact with each other. Both groups are like prisoners and that does not make for easy matches. It’s unnatural what we ask of them. And I feel very strongly about giving each bride the wedding of her choosing. They need to have a heroic send-off when they leave with their new alien husbands. It’s the right thing to do for any woman of Earth.”

Guardian Tiberius nodded and turned to Sheena. “Are you willing to see your family home converted into an AAS program base?”

Sheena looked over at Angus. Some change was needed, but Nate was going to have a fit if they Guardians approved the request. “Do I like the idea? No. Do I think my father would like it? Yes. We all wondered why Dad put in that enormous furniture that never got used. He would just laugh when we asked him about it. Now I think Angus is onto something with his theory. Besides, the castle is technically his now. Angus and Erin should get to make this decision. My sister will be fine with their choice. I would just request that the castle keepers be given positions to last for the remainder of their lives.”

Guardian Tiberius sighed. “The three of you have given us a lot to think about. We want the new Matchmakers to be content enough to remain in their roles. It is important that Earth continues to be seen as a supportive member of the Alien Alliance. How many matches have you made since you came here, Erin?”

“Two that have taken. One I did before Angus was helping, and to this day, that match still feels wrong to me. The poor girl was on her last set of aliens, so she made her choice under duress. Her abduction was indeed that and I didn’t feel good about it a bit.” Erin looked at all the Guardians, meeting their interested gazes. “Natural is better. There are another three matches in the works, but two are unconventional. I cannot predict the outcomes just yet, but even accidental interchanges are leading to natural interest between aliens and human females. Yer goal is being met, but in a way that’s far more positive.”

“If ya let us have our way with the first wedding at least, I think ya all might be surprised with the acceleration of matches following it. Call it a trial run, if ya want. Wouldn’t that help sell the program to New Earth people and convince the alien planets that we’re not holding back women from them? Maybe ya think the women of New Earth don’t want romance and love from their alien matches, but that’s an illusion not serving yer purposes,” Angus argued.

Guardian Tiberius searched the faces around him. Angus saw several shrugs and a couple of sighs before people looked away. This particular group of heroes was old and tired—probably cynical as well. He had been that way before he’d come here. He well understood how it felt to want to turn away from more change. He felt a bit sorry for them, so he softened his last words.

“We thank the Guardians for hearing us out,” Angus said. He reached for Erin’s hand and took it in his own. He put their clasped fingers on the table where all the guardians could see. “While I never wanted to come here to Universe 1, ya’ve given me something precious. I want this second chance to have a life with my Erin, and she wants to stay here and work for yer good. My humanity is admittedly way larger than my intellect and it’s God’s truth that I live by my gut. I will never be the man that the original Angus was, but I do understand yer alien lads and maybe better than he did. Give us what support ya can. I will use yer concessions wisely and to the ultimate good of yer New Earth. Ya have my word, and in the universe I come from, a person’s word means everything.”

Guardian Tiberius nodded. “Thank you, Matchmakers. Your desire to help us is sincerely appreciated. Change doesn’t come easily to people who’ve had to rebuild their society from scratch. We’ll give your request some thought and send our answer through Director John and Admiral Tiberius. Anything implemented will happen through them.”

When the Guardians stood, Angus stood as well and pulled Erin up with him. Sheena rose too, but more slowly.

“Dr. MacNamara, your paperwork concerning the Matchmakers has been approved. Both of the alternates are now registered as your clones… and the DNA property of you and your sister.”

“Thank you,” Sheena said, sweeping everyone now standing. “We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Fine. I have an unusual request to make. There are some alien visitors who wish to return to the AAS airship with you. They’re resting now. Portal travel from the distance they came is difficult for first-timers.”

Sheena was surprised. “Aliens? But we brought no airship guards with us. We’re not really equipped for such passengers.”

“No guards are needed in this case,” Guardian Tiberius said. He sighed heavily. “But we may be losing one. Darcone’s mother has come to present him with a bride she’s chosen for him. She wants him to return home and marry. Someone from his planet has already volunteered to replace him in the program. Apparently, she came here in person because he wasn’t returning her calls.”

“I see,” Sheena said, her gaze going to a startled Angus and Erin. She looked back at Nate’s grandfather. “Please inform Nate as soon as possible and ask him to inform Darcone.”

Angus was surprised when the man chuckled.

“Do you think Darcone needs to be warned that his mother is coming to visit?” Guardian Tiberius asked.

Sheena smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes. I do. He just found out someone used his DNA to make a clone. I think hearing about his new bride from home might send the alien over the edge. He’s already been involved in an altercation that nearly killed a fellow alien. My sister broke it up, but…”

Guardian Tiberius snorted and lifted a hand. “Okay. I get what you’re implying. An emotional alien is a very dangerous being. I’ll contact Nate personally to give him the news.”

“Thank you,” Sheena said. The other guardians had left. She put her hand on Nate’s grandfather’s arm and asked him to stay. She lowered her voice even after the other Guardians had left. “My sister and Darcone are involved. They’re one of the matches Erin was talking about.”

Guardian Tiberius reached out and patted her shoulder. “I understand, but I’m getting too old to deal with relationship drama. His mother is my priority and she needs some way to get to her son. You don’t have to deal with airship drama unless you want to—think about our offer to you, Sheena.”

Angus saw her nod, but she didn’t look a bit happy about whatever offer the man was talking about.