The team sat around and listened as Anderson outlined the mission and the relevant cultural information.

  

“Demeter is primarily agrarian.  Their technological development is similar to where Earth was one hundred years ago.  There planetary government is along similar development to Earth's at that time, very factious and with many nations preferring isolation to globalization.

  

“They are not wholly a member of the Federation yet; however, they have been under our protection for the last fifty years.  We have a small outpost there as well as an administrator to advise their International Union.  Despite the fact that for several centuries they've been targeted by more advanced planets who have plundered them for their resources and decimated their population, they've not shown any interest in space exploration.  After an attack half a century ago, more than two hundred people were kidnapped to be sold as slaves. We later rescued them and they sought salvation within the Federation.  Some asked to be returned to Demeter and that was when we opened a dialogue with the International Union and asked to place an outpost on the planet.

  

“Not all of the nations were happy about this.  One of the nations that pulled out of the Union because of its acceptance of the Federation was Gantese.

  

“Unfortunately, it seems that our outpost and the planet’s vast agrarian resources have now drawn the attention of planet Spectra.  We believe Spectra is working with Gantese to undermine the IU and slowly conquer its nations. Our outpost in the country that hosts the IU, Palporta, has recently reported possible Spectran activity within Palporta.”

  

“You want us to go and investigate this, Chief?”  Mark asked anxiously.

  

“But, Chief, if no attacks have been made, is this really a job for us?”  Princess asked.

  

“Yes, we've been asked by the IU which voted unanimously to invite you, but also by personal request of the leader of Palporta.

  

“You will leave the Phoenix at the Federation outpost, be given more specific mission and cultural information from a Galaxy Security operative at the outpost, and then blend into the society and keep watch.  It is our hope that the arrival of the Phoenix will squash any plans for attacks.  While you are there, the Security Council will assess the gathered intelligence and determine whether to approach the IU for a larger security presence or to appear to withdraw completely.

  

“Good luck.”

  

The team saluted and headed towards the Phoenix hanger bay.

  

“Jason, will you hold back for a minute?” the Chief requested.

  

“What?” A variety of voices cried.

  

“Why?” Jason asked, his voice containing a tenuous hold on his anger.

  

“Chief, you're not planning on leaving him behind?”  Mark asked, but his voice held a bit of a challenge. He knew why the Choef wanted to speak to Jason, but that reason was also why they needed him on the mission.

  

“No, but I do need to speak with him privately before you leave, if that is all right with the both of you?”

  

Jason stood against the wall, one leg over the other and his arms crossed on his chest as the others walked out at the Chief's order.

  

“Have a seat, please,” the Chief suggested.

  

“I'd rather stand.”

  

Anderson sat behind his desk and took his glasses off to clean them.  No matter what he tried, he and Jason always seemed to be at odds and this was not the best conversation to have when G-Force's stubborn second was already on the defensive.

  

“You will need to be extra careful on this mission.”  Anderson did his best to keep the statement from sounding like an order, but it still came out that way.  Jason stared at him, his face showing a mixture of curiosity and defiance, but he said nothing.  “Demeterns are humanoid and have chromosomes nearly identical to those from Earth.  The difference is on the genomic level of one of the reproductive chromosomes and a few others.”

  

“I know that. You told me all about it when I was sixteen.” Jason snapped, resistance in his tone.

  

“You are part Demetern.  Your grandfather was the planet’s first ambassador to the Federation and chose to stay on Earth when factions within Demeter and the Federation protested Demeter becoming a full member-planet.”

  

“I still don't. . .” Jason started, but the Chief cut him off.

  

“Remember, Demeter is a polygynous civilization, since 75% of the population is female.  After puberty, the male will go through several phases to find his mates.  If you are not careful, you may find yourself Imprinting upon several women.  That will lead to Enthrallment and that leads to their version of marriage.”  He looked up to see Jason looking perturbed.  “Are you ready to come home with a harem? Just be careful, focus on the mission, and stay away from pretty faces.”

  

Jason took that as a dismissal and left to join the team without another word to the Chief.

  888 

Diary of Keeri Donigel

  

‘I love to watch the blue foxes with their kits. They are so loving and gentle. It doesn’t matter if one is gnawing on her tail while another is gnawing at her ear; the mother lies there with the most contented look on her face.

  

'The male has returned with a rabbit in its mouth. He drops it before his mate. As she rises, shaking off their chewing children, the mated pair rubs muzzles and yip at each other in greeting. The kits dig into their meal with little grumbles and growls and yips of their own.

  

'This is the only species of foxes on Demeter I’ve studied that feed their young before themselves. The adults will eat what’s left and if it wasn’t enough, the male will go hunting again.’

  

Keeri looked up from her notebook, pushing a strand of brown hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. Her blind stand gave her an excellent view of the den. She closed the notebook and rose slowly, making no sound as she moved to her camera stand and snapped a few last shots for the day.

  

She was starting to feel hungry herself. She didn’t want her own stomach to start growling. She’d made that mistake the first time she’d gone into the field to start her research for her doctorate in biology. She looked at her watch and wasn’t surprised to find it was late afternoon. It was so easy to lose track of time when she was watching her subjects. She gathered her things and returned them to her camouflage backpack and grabbed the last remaining water bottles. She took a few swigs before returning it to its pocket, making sure the empties were stored inside. She needed to get back to the cabin.

  

The cabin had been a gift from her father when he realized his eldest daughters, Keeri and Jessi, were different. Neither had shown the usual interest in finding a mate when they finished high school. In fact, each had been more interested in having a career than a husband. While their friends Imprinted and later became Enthralled, Keeri had gotten an undergraduate and then graduate degree in biology and Jessi had joined the Fire Department.

  

Keeri picked up the backpack and slung it over her shoulders, fastening the belt around her waist. She had a two mile trek back to her truck. She wanted to make sure she was back to the cabin before Jessi arrived.

  888 

“Problem, Donigel?” the man sitting next to Jessi asked.

  

Jessi opened her eyes and looked around the room.  Most of her collegues were sitting or leaning as comfortably as possible in stiff, upright chairs with their eyes closed as the department's counselor droned on.  In fact the only ones sitting at attention were the women trying to beat a man out for the upcoming promotion review or those who had never seen a barbecued body.  Jessi didn't qualify for either.  She had seen a few barbecued and even a couple of deep-fried bodies in her two years as firefighter, and she still had to finish one more class before she could test for the next promotion level.  Unfortunately, when that promotion became available, it would likely go to a man instead of her.

  

“Which one you want, Cap? The double standard or the fact that my vacation should have started three hours ago?” Jessi answered.

  

“Is your sister as career oriented as you are?” Captain Brandt asked, not paying much attention to the counselor, either.

  

“Worse,” Jessi answered.  “And likely to kill me on sight when I show up at the cabin.”

  “No wonder no one's Imprinted on either of you,” Brandt stated.  “What did you do this time?”

 

 

“I didn't get the shopping done like I was supposed to since you insisted that I sit through procedural counseling because some idiot tried to blow up the fertilizer plant this morning before shift change and cooked himself in the process,” Jessi explained.  “She's likely been up on the mountain all day sketching and taking pictures and hasn't eaten and I'll get the blame for her not having food.”

  

“Well, if she kills you, no one will be able to tell Cletus how to do his job. So take some of the protein and vitamin bars out of the storage cupboard.  They need to get used anyway.”  Brandt paused.  “Why is it that Cletus will listen to you and not try to Imprint on you like he does all the other women in the station?”

  

“Probably because none of the others have ever threatened him with castration.  Stupid thing is, when it's time for us to face the promotion board, he'll get it while I have to wait.”

  

Finally, the counselor finished.  Jessi wasted no time in changing into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.  She grabbed a large box full of meal bars and a few jugs of water like the captain told her, jumped into her beat up jeep and headed towards the cabin in the mountains.

   

Keeri was going to be upset that she was late and didn't get the shopping done.  However the meal bars would work much better on the boat or the trail than sandwiches would anyway.

  888 

Jason watched the six men leave the building and head for a black SUV parked in front of it. He glanced at his watch. It was just past one in the morning.

  

He’d never thought much about his Demetern grandfather: his father hadn’t known him and his grandmother had rarely spoken of him. He’d heard of his father’s promiscuity from his mother, even though he hadn’t known what promiscuity meant back when he was six. That promiscuity had led to his parent’s divorce when he was three. If he believed his mother, he had some half siblings running around, but she’d had no proof. His parents had died in an auto accident when meeting for an attempted reconciliation when he was seven and his grandmother had died only months later.

  

It wasn’t until the Chief sat him down at sixteen and informed him of the unique nature of Demeter and its population that he’d become concerned. He couldn’t comprehend the idea of having multiple wives and the more he’d thought about it, the more nervous the idea had made him. His father had obviously had trouble being with just one woman. Did he, too? Was that why he found it hard to only date one woman at a time?

  

The feeling of uncertainty had become worse with time and when the Chief informed them of the mission, he’d become terrified of the idea of stepping foot on Demeter. What if being in close proximity with his grandfather’s people brought out his Demetern biology?

  

To his relief, he’d instantly become comfortably with the natives and talking to women hadn’t turned him into a raving sex maniac. So far, none of the women had struck his fancy any more than any of the women he knew on Earth and he hadn’t felt as if he’d Imprinted on any of them, even though he really wasn’t sure what Imprinting might feel like.

  

He had found he could pick non-Demeterns out of a crowd just by focusing on them. He’d found his first Spectrans that way and started following them around serendipitously. As soon as he’d determined what vehicles they were using, he’d put tracers on them.

  

The men got into the SUV and drove away. Jason waited until they were out of sight and activated the tracking capability of his bracelet to follow them.

  

It became apparently a short time later they were heading out of Donotrep. Jason debated contacting Mark to tell him but decided to wait until he knew more. For all he knew, they were seeking someplace that sold Spectran Ale under the table.

  

They left the city, passed farmland and came to the edge of the mountains over the next two hours. From what Jason could remember of the topographical maps they studied, the mountains were small, all under three thousand feet but they were heavily wooded. There were no settlements but several camp grounds and individual cabins scattered all over, with one or two logging camps thrown in.

  

The city hadn’t been that different from a mid-sized Earth city and he hadn’t found any sign of a Spectran base, so following the Spectrans in the SUV was his only lead. The last time he’d checked in with Mark, he’d learned no one else had had any luck, either.

  

Jason couldn’t see much in the dark beyond his headlights. It was so cloudy there was no ambient light from the stars or moon, but he knew the countryside was breathtaking during the day. He could have sworn the tall grass he had seen swaying in the breeze was infused with neon greens, oranges and yellows that practically glowed in the sunlight.

  

The four lane road he’d been driving narrowed down to two lanes as he started up the first mountain. All he could see was trees.

  

Eventually, the Spectrans stopped. Jason was five minutes behind them and slowed when the tracker indicated they had turned onto a one lane gravel road that was about a mile long. He drove off the road there, making his own in order to hide his SUV behind some trees. Using the signal he was getting from the tracker in his bracelet, he followed the signal.

  

He trekked into the woods, being as quiet as he could. If they were, in fact, going to the base, the perimeter was more than likely guarded by men, dogs or electronics.

  

He debated transmuting but the Chief had asked they only give away their true identities if absolutely necessary. It wasn’t necessary yet.

  

Jason looked for signs of a patrol: broken twigs, flattened grass, footprints. He didn’t see those but did see some squirrels and rabbits.

  

When he was within one hundred yards of the signal, he hunkered down. He was seeing no sign of an active base.

  

As the night sky began to lighten with dawn’s approach, Jason noticed it was getting warmer. Demetern late summer in this area was similar to the that in the northern American continent: hot days but pleasant nights. Nonetheless, he found himself sweating from the trek and wished he’d brought some water with him. That thought made him chuckle silently. Mark would have a fit if he knew. ‘You followed goons to their base and you were worried you’d forgot to bring a bottle of water?’

  

He moved in another fifty yards as the sky lightened further. He wasn’t due to check in for another few hours. He wouldn’t bother Mark unless he really had found the base.

  

Another twenty yards in and his enhanced hearing picked up voices. Low and behold, they were speaking Spectran. Jason smiled.

  

Ten more yards and he could see three men standing outside a small building Jason thought might be a ranger station. They were smoking: Spectrans loved tobacco. The men were in casual clothes versus the typical green uniform. None of them were the Spectrans he had been following.

  

Jason knew from experience Spectra used small innocuous buildings as personnel entrances to their underground bases.

  

He listened as he crept closer. The men were discussing the need for Spectran females to provide for ‘the release of tension’ as there was no way they were going to risk bedding a Demetern female to have one of the witches take over their minds and make them a slave.

  

Jason shook his head with disgust. Typical Spectran, to demoralize another way of life, yet if that belief was fostered through the ranks, the Demetern women would more than likely be safe from rape.

  

The men finished their smokes and returned to the building. Jason moved in the rest of the way and crouched behind a bush below one of the windows. He ought to just transmute and bust in to scare the shit out of them before having target practice, but Mark would be pissed if they got an SOS out that G-Force was in the area. They might move the base.

  

Jason heard a twig crack behind him and reached for his cable gun, twisting around in a fluid motion only to find the barrel of an automatic rifle inches from his face.

  

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” the man holding the rifle asked, smirking. Jason took his hand away from his hidden weapon and slowly stood, raising his hands up to his chest, palms out, angry with himself for not spotting the Spectran first.

  

“Hey, Vance,” the Spectran yelled, “we got ourselves a pussy whipped local spying on us.”

  

“Hardly.” Jason roundhouse kicked the rifle away and knife handed the Spectran in the throat. The trooper clutched at his throat as his eyes bulged. He would be dead in a moment, so Jason wasted no further time on him.

  

Since they had no idea who Jason was and it would take his buddies a moment to come investigate, Jason could get away and call in the rest of the team.

  

He’d taken only a few steps when a shout rang out farther behind him. The one he had killed apparently hadn’t been the only one out for a stroll. He spied three men appearing from nowhere to his left, all armed and making for him.

  

Jason ran and found himself ducking splintered bark and wood as they shot at him. He zigzagged, drawing his own weapon. It was one thing to act his cover, another to allow that to get him killed, but he would only return fire if left with no other choice.

  

Between his exodus and his pursuers, the noise level was driving every animal and bird away with noise of their own. It took a moment for the sound of fast moving water to register.

  

Jason found himself at a roaring river and cut to his left, running alongside it, looking for someplace to cross. It was wide, filled with boulders and it churning violently. It was the kind of river only the most experiences kayaker or rafter would ever attempt. Swimming across it was out of the question.

  

Unfortunately, having to turn was making it easier for his adversaries to get closer. He should have headed back for the SUV.

  

The sound of the water changed and Jason skidded to a stop as he suddenly came to a precipice over a waterfall. He slid, pebbles tumbling over the edge to fall the one hundred feet below. The roar was deafening and the water cascading over the edge hit the rocks below with thunder and spray.

  Jason cursed and turned again, but not fast enough. Something scraped his right side under his ribcage, bringing a burning pain with it. He’d run out of time.

 

 

Jason raised his left arm and began the arc to activate transmutation.

  

“Trans-“

  

His bracelet shattered and the screeching pain that filled every inch of his skull was unbearable. Consciousness fled as his body collapsed in on itself, toppling over the edge to the chasm below.

   888 

Keeri laughed at the glare Jessi was giving her as they trudged down the path from the SUV to the river, carrying the raft over their heads, Ajani, their large mixed brown dog, loping along in front of them.

  

“You’re the one who likes to fish and we wouldn’t have to do this if you’d brought the food,” Keeri reminded her. Jessi’s glare narrowed.

  

“Again, not my fault, ” she countered, “but not at the butt crack of dawn. Being forced to get up while it’s still dark when you’re on vacation is grounds for justifiable homicide.”

  

“Oh, come on.” Keeri put on her older sister look as she glanced over her shoulder again. The sound of rushing water was getting louder, so she had to raise her voice. “The salmon are spawning, so it won’t take us long to catch enough for a few days.”

  

“They spawn all day. We could have done this after lunch.”

  

“And fight the grizzlies for them?” Keeri shook her head, her ponytail bobbing with the movement. “We’d more likely end up as their lunch.”

  

Jessi grumbled under her breath and rolled her shoulders one at a time. She loved to fish, but on her own terms.

  

Kerri stopped at the end of the trail as Ajani barked and took off at a run down the bank. She shifted her hold on the raft as Jessi came up alongside her so they both could see the rapids. “Right or left?”

  

“Does it matter?” Jessi asked.

  

“Left then.” Keeri turned and followed the river bank. Above them, towards the waterfall several hundred yards upstream, was a series of boulder filled rapids with pools in between where the salmon rested between their drive to return to the place of their births to spawn. They were headed for one such pool where they could easily launch the raft.

  

They carefully made their way over the muddy sand and rocks. A doe was drinking at the first pool and once he spotted her, Ajani was off.

  

“Ajani, get back here!” Jessi called. She didn’t want to have to chase him, although he was good at following them along the bank.

  

Ajani started to bark.

  

“Crap. You don’t think he cornered that doe, do you?” Keeri asked.

  

Jessi shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  

They carefully lowered the raft to the sand and trotted off after their dog. The barking continued until the dog spotted them from his position behind a large downed log that was half in and half out of the next pool. He ran to them, circled and then ran back over to the log.

  

The sisters looked at each other and rounded the pool to see what he’d found.

  

“What the…?” Keeri said as she squinted at the dark lump lying in the sand beside the log.

  

Jessi didn’t say anything but jogged over to Ajani. “Keeri, get over here!” she shouted as she dropped to her knees and leaned over the form. Keeri heard the alarm in her voice and quickly joined her.

  

Lying in the sand beside the log was a soaking wet man.

  

“We’ve got to get him out of the water,” Jessi instructed and Keeri nodded. This was Jessi’s area of expertise so she would do whatever her younger sister told her. Before moving him, Jessi quickly checked his neck, back, and shoulders to make sure that moving him would not do irreparable damage. If those areas had been injured, they’d have to find a make-shift backboard before moving him. “I’ll steady his head. You grab his legs.”

  

“Okay.”

  

Jessi leaned down and slid her hands and arms under the man’s back. She held the man carefully under his shoulder blades, barely supporting his neck with her forearms while Keeri held his legs.  The two girls carried him off of the rocky shore and onto the grassy river bank.

  

“Keeri, get the emergency supplies out of the raft and anything from our own packs, too,” Jessi said as she did a more in-depth assessment of the stranger’s injuries. 

  

“Well?” Keeri asked when she got back. “How is he? What happened to him? I wonder who he is?”

  

Jessi ignored her older sister’s questions. She was used to them, and used to working on victims with people around wanting more information than she could give, though usually it was more along the lines of “will he be all right?” or “you can save him, can’t you?” She wasn’t sure who started it, but the standard answer among her crew was, “only if you shut up and leave us alone.” She carefully padded down each side and along his spine feeling for any injury.  After that, she checked his pupils, unequally dilated, good sign of a concussion.  No blood in the ears, that was good.  He may have taken a hard hit to the head but there was no closed head wound.  His nose looked clear, too.

  

“He’s unconscious, so I believe he’s got a concussion, along with lots of bruises and cuts, a strange wound on the left wrist and it may be broken. He also has what appears to be a bullet wound on his right side. I’d say someone was shooting at him, got him at least once or twice and he either jumped or fell off the cliff above the falls.  As for who he is, not a clue,” Jessi finally answered as she lifted his feet onto a rock to raise them and covered him with one of the emergency blankets in their packs.  After she treated him to prevent shock, she dressed the wound on his side and wrapped his wrist. “His breathing and heart-rate are fine.  I’m concerned that he hasn’t regained consciousness yet; that and going into to shock are his two biggest risks at the moment.  Not sure if we should move him in the raft, wait for him to wake up, or call someone to transport him to the hospital.”

 

The man moaned and turned his head a little. His eyes fluttered but he didn’t open them. Jessi leaned down close to his head.

  

“Hey, you need to wake up,” she told him and rubbed his cheek. His eyes opened just enough to squint at her. “What’s your name?” she asked. His eyes closed again. “Come on, buddy.” Jessi rubbed harder. “We need to know your name in case we have to take you to the hospital.”

  

His eyes opened half-mast. “No…hospital,” he slurred as his eyes closed and he lost consciousness again. Keeri leaned in as well and tried to see what color they were. She thought they were a pale blue.

  

Jessi sat back and looked up at Keeri. “Let’s get him back to the cabin and then worry about the rest. We need to get him out of the wet clothes and warm.”

  

“We need both of us to carry him and the raft back to the SUV. I don’t think we’re strong enough to carry it if he’s in it.” Keeri turned to look upstream. “We don’t know what happened to him. Whoever shot him might come looking for him. We can’t leave anything behind.” They locked eyes and Jessi nodded.

  

“Let’s take him first. We’ll put down the second seats and lay him down. Ajani can stay with him while we bring the raft back up.”

  

 Silently, they picked him up and carried him back to their SUV as quickly as they could.

  888 

Mark stood staring out the window of the motel room. Princess sat in one of the room’s two chairs at a small table, while Keyop and Tiny snored away in one of the room’s two beds. Jason was late checking in. This wasn’t the first time he hadn’t checked in on time, but it was one of the few times that he hadn’t responded with a “Buzz off,” or worse. Those times were few and far between and never amounted to any good.  Mark ticked off the times in his head: captured by acid spewing female robots, ran over a civilian on the way to join with the Phoenix, two other injuries and one other capture; although Mark’s personal favorite was the time his second was arrested in Bay City for street racing.

 

This time felt different.  If Jason had been with a woman, he would have responded.  If he was hurt or captured and in a situation to respond he would, but what if he couldn’t.  They’d been quite fortunate that when hard luck hit Jason, it was usually on Earth.  Rarely had it been on another planet or if it had, he was seldom alone.  Unfortunately, if all five of them were in the field and a threesome too conspicuous, he was the most competent to be left on his own. 

  

Mark decided he would definitely rethink that theory.  But who to pair him with?  If they paired up together for routine assignments, Jason would get defensive and think that he was no longer trusted.  Tiny had a hard time keeping up with him, and he wasn’t patient enough to be with Keyop too often; besides Tiny and Keyop had learned to work well together even if they did get into trouble from time to time.  That left Princess as the ideal candidate to partner him and something within Mark vehemently hated that idea.  Princess partnered with him or Keyop.  If she ever went with Tiny or Jason, it was because the met up to investigate something they both saw or because the Chief ordered it that way.  Either way, Mark never liked it when it happened.

  

Shaking his head, he looked back out the window.  Where was Jason?

  

“He’s only a few hours late checking in,” Princess yawned. “If he’s in the middle of something, he could wait until he’s finished before contacting us.”  Neither she nor Mark wanted to think about what he could be busy with at three in the morning.

  

At seven in the morning, after a restless night, Mark decided it was time to look for Jason. He rolled out the map of Donotrep onto the small table.  Jason was assigned to watch suspicious activity at a building at the edge of town.  There was one main road near the building that lead out of town and a dozen smaller roads that lead back into town or dead ended.

  

“Princess,” he said.  “I want you to start here, at this building.  It's Jason's last known location.  Don't worry about the building unless you see the SUV he was driving.  Just ride around the area checking out these streets.  This road here,” he paused and pointed at the road, “leads out of town.  We're not one hundred percent sure if Spectra is confining themselves to urban areas.  They could be anywhere, so be careful. Go ahead and use your motorcycle.  The Chief was just worried that my plane and Jason's car might be to conspicuous here, your bike should be okay.

  

“Tiny, you and Keyop check out the hospitals, police, any where you think someone who's been injured would be taken for help.”

  

They both rapidly agreed and began looking at the map to get locations to check.

  

“What are you going to do, Mark?”  Princess asked.

  

Mark sighed.  “I'm going to break orders and take my plane out and look for him in the same area you are only from above.”

  

“Are you sure you should do that?” Princess questioned.  “The Chief had to have good reasoning for ordering you not to use your plane.”

  

“He thinks Spectra has figured out who it belongs to.”  Mark's voice was weary.  “Right now, I just don't care.  We're supposed to head back to Earth in twenty-four hours and were not leaving Jason behind.”

  

Keyop and Tiny went to two major hospitals, one small one, and three clinics, and two police stations.  They could not get any information; no one that they talked to recognized their description of Jason.  The police officers that they talked to told them that a picture would be needed if they intended to file a report of a missing person; however it was to soon to do that, even for an off-worlder.

  

Princess looked over all the side roads near the area that Jason had staked out and found no sign of him, his vehicle, or even a possible confrontation with Spectrans.  Nearly an hour into her search she headed up the road that lead out of town towards the farms and mountains.

  

“Princess, where are you?”  Mark called her over their communicators.

  

“About five miles out of town, Mark.  Why?”  she answered.

  

“I've been flying over the mountains for about a half an hour now,” he answered. “There's something I want to check out, but there's no where for me to land.  About thirty miles out of town is an old dirt field with nothing around.  It's just after the highway drops from four lanes to two.  Meet me there and we'll ride up together to see what's there.”

  

“All right, Mark, on my way.”

  

Forty-five minutes later, Mark was on the back of Princess's motorbike and the two of them were heading up the mountain.  It was late morning when they got to the spot that Mark wanted to check out.  The began to traipse through the trees and brush.

  

“Princess, over here,” Mark yelled.

  

“This is what I saw,” he said as she joined him. “Jason did a good job of hiding it.  If the sun hadn't reflected off the windshield right when I was flying over, I'd have never seen it.”  He moved to the rented SUV hidden among the trees and underbrush.  “It doesn't look like the Spectran's found it, though.  So where is he?”

  

“What if we don't find him?” Princess asked.

  

“We will, Princess, we will.” Mark sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as her.  “Come on, there was a ranger station or something like that not to far in that direction.” He pointed towards the building. “Let's check it out.  Maybe they've seen him.”

  

“Mark, stop,” Princess said as they came within sight of the small building that looked like a ranger station.  “Something's wrong here.”

  

“What is it?”

  

“I don't know, something just feels wrong.”

  

“I don't think anyone's here, Princess,” he stated. “Let's walk the perimeter before we get closer.”

  

They walked around the station just inside of the tree line.  The area was eerily silent: no person or animal sounds except for their quiet footsteps. The only signs that the building was recently occupied were tire tracks from vehicles no longer there and a cigarette butts.

  

“Funny, I didn't notice many Demeterns smoking while I was out,” Princess noted.

  

“Spectrans,” Mark replied.  “I think they're gone, though.  Let's get Tiny and Keyop up here.  Then will split up and look over the station and cover more of the surrounding area.

 

By mid-afternoon, the team was tired and disheartened.  The Spectrans had abandoned the station leaving behind nothing but one small emblem that could have fallen off of someone's uniform while packing up the station.  A single shell casing was found near a waterfall.  Mark picked it up to have it analyzed to see if it was a Spectran shell or from a Demetern hunter.

  

“Come on, team, let's go back to the hotel,” he said with as much authority as he could muster.

  

“But,” the others stuttered.

 “That's an order,” he said wearily. 

Keeri stopped the SUV in front of the cabin and shut it off. They’d spread their spare blanket on the floor of the rear of the SUV to lay the man on and Jessi had sat with him during the drive, rubbing his arms and legs to try to warm him up.

  

Keeri ran into the cabin and headed for the smaller of the two bedrooms, the one Jessi used. On the way, she stopped in the bathroom and grabbed all their extra towels. She pulled down the bedspread and laid out the towels so the bed wouldn’t get wet.

  

She ran back out and helped Jessi carry him in. They placed him in the bed and Keeri held him in a sitting position as Jessi peeled off his wet T-shirt. Keeri lowered him to the bed and took off his shoes and socks as Jessi worked on his jeans. Jessi didn’t stop at the jeans and Keeri raised her eyebrows as Jessi pulled off his briefs.

  

“Bare skin is best for getting a victim’s body temperature back up,” she explained professionally.

  

Keeri pulled her eyes away from the view and started going through his jeans’ pockets. She found a water-logged wallet and pulled it out, along with some change and keys. Kerri threw the wet clothes into the corner as Jessi pulled the comforter up and cocooned the man in it before looking up. Ajani, who had been watching at the door, jumped onto the bed and lay next to the man as soon as Jessi had him wrapped up.  Both girls ignored this, and let the large, wolf-like dog stay.

  

“Is there an ID?” she asked as Keeri opened the wallet and started carefully taking everything out to lay them on the nightstand.

  

“Yes.” Keeri held it out so Jessi could see it as well. It had a good picture of him and Keeri had to admit to herself he was good looking dry. “His name is Jaze Tillet. He’s twenty-five.”

  

“Anything else?” Jessi reached over and sifted through the items. There was a credit card with the same name and a few restaurant receipts. The heavily printed names were the only thing still visible on them. No insurance card or In Case Of an Emergency Call card either. There was also nearly fifty dollars. “Guess he’s not rich.”

  

“Are you sure we shouldn’t have taken him to a hospital?” Keeri was more than uneasy about having Jaze Tillet in their cabin. They knew nothing about him or how he had ended up in the river.

  

“He didn’t want to go,” Jessi pointed out as she checked his pulse.

  

“So?”

  

“Keeri, do I need to remind you how much you hate hospitals?” Jessi looked at her pointedly.

  

“He could be a criminal.”

  

“He could be a cop,” Jessi countered.

  

Keeri shook her head in exasperation and gave up. “I’m going to make some coffee and get on my laptop to search the wanted posters.”

  

“Check missing persons too,” Jessi requested as her sister left the bedroom before turning her attention back to Jaze. He was shaking some, probably still chilled from being in the river. She went back to work on his limbs, talking to him to try and get a response.

  888 

Two hours later, Keeri rubbed her eyes and hit the page down key yet again. She heard footsteps and turned as Jessi came out of the bedroom.

  

“How’s our guest?” she asked, hanging her arm over the back of her chair.

  

“In and out.” Jessi grabbed a chair from the small dinette and pulled it over to sit beside her. “Not talking. I got him to drink some of that energy drink you had under threat of going to the hospital. He really doesn’t want to go there. Next time, I’ll try to get him to eat some of a meal bar, see if he can keep it down. Ajani is still lying with him.”

  

“So he didn’t give you any other information.”

  

Jessi shook her head. “It’s not uncommon for concussions. His brain is scrambled. Hopefully, he’ll start coming around more over the next few hours.” She pointed at the laptop. “Any luck?”

  

“Nope.” Kerri pulled the band out of her hair and shook it out. It was several shades darker than Jessi’s honey color, but still had some natural summer highlights. “I checked all of the wanted posters by name and then looked at them in case he’s using an alias. He doesn’t look like any of them. I’m still looking through the missing persons.”

  

“It could be no one has noticed he’s missing yet,” Jessi suggested and Keeri nodded.

  

“That’s what I was thinking. Most people have pictures of their family in their wallet or purse. He didn’t have any.” She sighed. “We can check again later, I guess.” Keeri grabbed her lower lip and squeezed it out. Jessi knew that meant she was thinking hard. “Is it possible he’s an off-worlder? There have been rumors for a while that the area above the falls has been a hotbed of alien activity.”

  

Jessi shook her head. “Not with those slanted eyes, skin tone and eye color. They’re purely Gantesen.”

  

“That’s no better. They’re always stirring up trouble and that puts him a long way from home. Why would he be here?”

  

“We’ll have to ask him,” Jessi said and got up to get a cup of coffee.

  888 

“What are you looking for?”  Jessi asked as she watched Keeri rummaging through the closets a few hours later. It had started to cloud up and the distant roll of thunder echoed around the cabin.

  

“The shotgun Dad gave us when we moved,” Keeri answered from inside the closet. “I know we put it up in the back of this cupboard somewhere.”

  

“You mean the shotgun that you told Dad we didn't need because you shoot animals with cameras not guns?”

  

“Yes, that one, now where is it?”

  

“I loaned it to Brandt a month ago,” Jessi said casually.  “He was taking his kids out to learn to shoot and needed an extra.  I didn't think you'd miss it.”

  

Keeri stopped and turned around to stare at her sister.  “Now what are we going to do?”

  

“About what?”

  

“If he's Gantesen, how are we going to protect ourselves?”

  

“Look, I don't agree with the Gantesen government any more than you do, but just because he looks Gantesen doesn't mean he's going to hurt us.”

  

“It doesn't mean he won't either.”

  

“I don't think he has the strength right now to do much of anything,” Jessi sighed.  “Liquids are staying down, but nothing solid.  It could be the head injury, it could be something else.  I'm not a doctor, I'm a firefighter: my training is in triage and stabilizing for transport, not diagnose and treat.  It will be awhile before he's strong enough to hurt us, and by then, maybe you'll have found out more about him.”

  

“Why are you so quick to defend him?” Keeri charged.  “You're the one who brought up that he is most likely Gantesen.  Why cater to his whims?  We should just load him up and take him to a hospital.”

  

Jessi slid down the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest.  “My first week on the job was right after some Gantesen extremist blew up a building downtown in reaction to some stupid proclamation or other political crap.  We got this call.  It came over as a simple medical aid, no other details.  When we got there, the paramedics from the hospital's ambulance company and a few cops were standing around staring at this guy who'd been burned.  No one was helping him.  We did the work ourselves, transported him on top of the hoses, and watched him die on us.

  

“The ambulance drivers and cops knew some of the victims from the bombings: hell so did half of our station.  The guy was a refugee from Gantese, and his only crime was being Gantesen.  For that someone decided he should be burned alive.  They don't have a monopoly on trouble or cruelty.”

  

“Jessi,” Keeri said softly.  “Why didn't you say anything?”

  

“I did, just not here,” Jessi laughed a little.  “It was the only counseling session I ever fully participated in.  After that, I think they were rather happy that I either slept through them or tried to at any rate.”

  

“You don't?” Keeri laughed and Jessi nodded her head to indicate that she does.  “Okay, so what do we do with him?”

  

“Well, I'd start with washing his clothes before they start to mildew.  Unless you want him to walk around in nothing or just sheets or towels once he can stay wake for more than a few minutes.”

  

“Can't he just stay in bed?”

  

“And let his muscles atrophy? Not a good idea.  He’s fit: I’m betting he works out regularly. Besides, think of it this way: he wakes up, remembers who he is, we get him to walk without exhausting himself, and we can take him into town and put him on a train if that's what you want.”

  

“Those clothes are starting to smell, aren't they?” Keeri agreed.  “Okay, I'll keep looking to see if I can find anything on him yet, you wash his clothes and make sure he doesn't attack me.”

  

Jessi bit back several sarcastic comments to that.  The simple fact that Keeri appeared to back off of the Gantesen paranoia for now was a good concession.  As she walked into her room where Jaze was and picked up his clothes to wash, she looked at him sleeping on her bed and hoped that Keeri was wrong about her fears.

  888 

It had been three days since Keeri and Jessi found Jaze Tillet a little below the base of the river's waterfall.  Keeri was still attempting to find out more information about him, while Jessi was charged with being the primary caregiver, despite the grousing that the job was beyond her field of expertise.

  

“Find anything yet?” Jessi asked as she came out of the room where Jaze was sleeping.

  

“No, nothing.” Keeri looked up from her computer, rubbed her eyes, and then looked back to her laptop.  “There are no Tillets in Donotrep, or Palporta, for that matter.  The only reference I can even find for a Tillet was an ambassador to the off-worlders' Federation.  But that guy never came back and didn't leave any family behind.  The only connection between them is the name and the fact that they’re both Gantesen.”

  

Jessi went into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water and two meal bars.  “Any chance that he's a descendant that came back to trace his roots?” She asked on her way back in, handing Keeri a water and a bar.

  

“Not likely,” Keeri said.  “I'd have found that if it were the case.  The outpost is supposed to keep the public informed of all off-worlders visiting or living among us.  Plus, wouldn't he have gone to Gantese instead of Palporta?”  Keeri took a bit out of her meal bar and made a sour face.  “What's the longest you've ever lived on these things?”

  

“About ten days last summer on the Ridge Fire,” Jessi answered, eating hers without problem. “But, anytime we've been out for more than three hours, Brandt makes us eat one and drink a bottle or two of water on the trucks on the ride home.”

  

“Well, as soon as he wakes up, we're going to town and get some real food,” Keeri said.

  

“I know you're hungry, but give him a day or two,” Jessi laughed as her older sister continued to make faces while eating the meal bar.  “As long as he's been asleep, it wouldn’t be a good idea if we try to over-exert him upon waking.”

  

“Are you this over-protective with everyone you rescue?”

  

Jessi shrugged.  “Never stayed with them this long.  Usually pull them out of whatever mess they're in and then pass them off to someone else.”  She paused.  “Ajani's asleep with him.  You okay if I take a shower?”

  

“Unless I want to continue smelling you, I'm going to have to be.” Keeri's voice was lighthearted, but Jessi could tell it was forced.

  

Keeri quickly turned her attention back to her work as soon as her sister had left.  She had taken a break from looking for information about Jaze Tillet and was currently doing research for her doctorate.  It relaxed her and allowed her to temporarily forget the stranger in her house.  The sound of the shower running in the bathroom was reminiscent of the waterfalls.  It was not long before she was completely lost in her work with no concept of time.

  

“Where am I?”

  

Keeri jumped at the voice behind her.  She turned around and saw Jaze attempting to stand, bracing himself heavily on the door jamb separating the bedroom from the living room.  The comforter was wrapped around his waist looking like a long sarong. Ajani was standing beside him, just looking at her.

  

“Where am I?” he asked again.

  

Keeri put her computer down and was about to answer him when he slumped even further into the door.  “Jessi, get out here!”

  

Jessi had not had a real shower since her vacation started, but she'd kept herself clean.   Between caring for Jaze and her sister's paranoia, she just didn't have the time until now.  The warm water felt good as it ran down her body, relaxing tense muscles that she had learned to ignore. She had barely got the shampoo rinsed out of her hair when she heard Keeri's panicked yell ring out over the water.  Knowing that Keeri rarely, if ever, panicked, Jessi turned the water off, wrapped a towel around her herself, and ran out to see what had startled her sister.

  

Keeri was barely holding up Jaze, who was awake and demanding answers despite not being able to stand up properly.  As she watched she thought it was just like at the station:  all the calls seemed to come whenever she was asleep or in the shower.  Why couldn't they come during chores or drills?

  

“Where am I?” he groaned again, his pale blue eyes rising to look at Jessi. They didn’t seem to be totally focusing on her.

  

Jessi helped Keeri keep him upright, ignoring his questions as she did so, and took him back over to the bed and sat him down.

  

“Our cabin in the Eostel National Forest of Palporta,” Jessi finally answered as she handed him his clean and dry clothes.  “Put your underwear on, while I go and get dressed and after I check your wounds, you can ask more questions.”  She reached into her dresser drawer and grabbed some shorts and a tee shirt and left the room.

  

Jaze stared after her, looking confused and then he looked up at Keeri as she hovered over him, afraid he was going to pass out. “Who are you?” he asked as Ajani moved to his leg and nudged it, whining. Jaze looked down at the dog, frowned, but then reached over to pet him. Ajani licked his hand and Keeri could hardly believe it. Ajani had taken to him immediately and Ajani normally took to no one but family.

  

“Do as my sister says, Jaze,” Keeri said, not knowing what else to do. “You're here and not in a hospital because of her.” She left so that he could have some privacy and paced the living room, butterflies in her stomach. It was one thing to have him unconscious, another for him to be demanding answers to his questions. She had questions of her own.

  

He stared at the door the women had gone through, swallowing convulsively. His head was hurting so bad he could barely see, he could swear the bed was swaying and he thought he might throw up. He was naked and had no idea where he was or why or who the two women were.

  

He didn’t want to be naked in case he had to leave, but would he even be able to leave as dizzy and sick as he felt? His head was so muddled he just couldn’t think. He stared at the clothes and grabbed the briefs, barely managing to get them on without keeling over. Then he just stared at the door, unable to do much more than push the comforter off him onto the bed.

  

The door opened and the young woman with the lighter hair came in, the one who had ordered him to put on his briefs. He tried to look at her but the lights seemed like strobes and added to his nausea.

  

“What am I doing here?” he asked in bewilderment as she walked in.

  

“I told you, I'll answer questions after I check your wounds,” she said as she looked at his wrist.

  

“Are you a doctor?” he asked. He just couldn’t focus from one moment to the next. The way his head was feeling, he had to have a concussion, but how did he hit his head?

  

“No,” she said, but her voice sounded more puzzled than sharp. He didn’t know what she was looking at. She shifted her attention to his side and peeled back the bandage he hadn’t even noticed and frowned harder. “Keeri, come in here, please,” she requested.

  

“Who's Keeri?”

  

“My sister.”

  

“Is she a doctor?”

  “Not yet, and not that kind of doctor.” 

“Who are you?”

  

“Jessi,” she told him.

  

“What?” Keeri asked as she came in. She glanced at him and then away. He had the urge to grab the comforter and cover himself at her obvious unease about his being in his underwear.

  

“Look at his wounds,” Jessi requested, motioning at his wrist and side. He looked with Keeri as Jessi pointed out the butterfly band-aids lining his side. The skin under them was perfect.

  

“What wounds?” Keeri sounded confused. What were they expecting to see? All he could see was a pale ring around his wrist and his side looked fine.

  

“Exactly,” Jessi answered.  “There's no way they could have healed that fast.”

  

“I was hurt?” He tried to study his right side, but his eyes weren’t cooperating. “Where?”

  

“You had a gash in your side. It looked like a bullet wound. I had to use butterflies to seal it up.” Jessi traced the butterflies just below his ribcage.

  

“I was shot?”

  

“Yes.” Keeri sat down on the bed on his left. “We found you half drowned along the river and got you out.”

  

He turned to her, the movement making stars flash in his vision. He closed his eyes, bile rising. “What river?” He really didn’t know what they were talking about.

  

“What river? Are you kidding?” he heard Keeri snap.

  

“Hold on, Keeri,” Jessi said. “Jaze, look at me,” she ordered. He squinted at her, not recognizing the name. Was that his name? It didn’t sound right, yet it did. “Jaze, what’s the last thing you remember?”

  

His head was still pounding out a rhythm he could barely deal with.

  

“Jaze?”

  

“Yeah.”

  

“Talk to us. What’s the last thing you remember?” He took a shuddering breath and reached up to press his fingers to his temples and rubbed. He tried to think and push the pain aside. Food, he needed some food on his stomach. Steak. A salad. He could see it and the table cloth. It had been green.

  

“A restaurant,” he answered. “I had a steak.”

  

“Good.  Anything else?” Jessi pressed. He continued to search his memory. It was so fuzzy.

  

At his silence, Jessi patted his arm and stood. “I’m betting you’re starving. You’ve been in and out on consciousness for three days. I’ve been trying to keep you hydrated. I’m going to get a meal bar and some more water for you. You’ll feel better if you eat. Keeri, give me hand?” she requested and motioned with her head at the door. Both women left the room and moved far enough away from the door not to be heard.

  

“He’s got memory loss,” Jessi said right off the bat. “He doesn’t remember what happened.”

  

“Is that normal for head injuries?” Keeri looked at the door nervously.

  

“Depends on the injury.” Jessi sighed. “Let’s get him fed and resting. Hopefully his memory will start to come back over the next few days.”

  

“What if it doesn’t?” Keeri wanted to know.

  

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Jessi promised and went into the kitchen to get the meal bar and water.

   888 

Mark, wearing his civilian clothes, paced in Anderson's office.  It was the first place he went after the Phoenix arrived at Center Neptune three days ago and he’d seldom left since, except when he was ordered to do so.  Princess sat on one of the sofas watching him.  Tiny had taken Keyop to the small fishing village that he grew up in, mostly to keep the youngest member out of Mark's hair, something for which Mark was extremely grateful.  The last thing he needed right now was Keyop trying to cheer him up, or worse not being able to handle the disappearance of a teammate again.

  

“Mark, would you please sit down,” Princess pleaded.  “You're going to wear out the Chief's carpet.”

  

Mark looked at Princess and then down at the carpet.  He stared aghast at the dirty track he'd left on the rug.  First he leaves a teammate behind, his second in command, his best friend, and now he was ruining the Chief's carpet.  He wanted to cry, to laugh at the absurdity of it, but all he could do was pace.  He couldn't even go back to Demeter and look for Jason. 

  

The team was grounded until the Chief ordered them on a mission, which meant they were back to waiting for Spectra to attack.  It had been nearly a month since the last attack from Spectra; that was why the Chief had authorized the reconnaissance mission on Demeter.  All intelligence seemed to point towards either an attack there or an attack from there.  Unfortunately, the mission turned up little other than signs of a Spectran infiltration of Palporta, which was already suspected.

  

“Oh, Mark, if you could see your face,” Princess giggled.

  

“Not funny, Princess,” Mark said sternly.  “He's got to allow me . . . us to do something.”

  

“What would you like us to do?” Princess asked.  “Go back to Demeter and risk losing someone else if Spectra has captured him?”

  

“They haven't, Princess.  If they had, Zoltar would be all over the place gloating.  And if they do have him and don't know who he is . . . .”  Mark paused, not finishing that thought, but changing direction.  “If they don't know who he is, then they won't know the rest of us.”

  

“Mark, the outpost on Demeter knows he's missing.  If he turns up in a hospital, they will let us know.  They put a trace on his cover credit cards; if they are used, we’ll be alerted right away.  There are several hundred thousand people in Donotrep alone. How are we going to find one person in all of that if we couldn't find him before we left?”  She stood up and put her hand on his cheek. “You did what you had to do.  We did everything we could to find him.  No one blames you.  There's nothing else you could have done.”

  

“Princess, I . . . .” before Mark could finish his sentence, Anderson came in.  Mark broke away from Princess and rushed toward the Chief.

  

Anderson put his hand up to stop the younger man.  “Before you ask, there is no word yet.  They have double checked with all the hospitals, clinics, and police stations in Donotrep and the surrounding villages.  No one using his ID or matching his description has been seen by the authorities.  At this point, the next step would be to file an official missing person's report.  However, we have chosen not to do this.”

  

“What?”  Mark and Princess asked together.

  

“Why not?” Princess continued.

  

“Because of the Spectran presence,” the Chief explained.  “They heard reports of a possible shootout between suspected Spectrans and a local in the area where you found Jason's rental.  We feel it is a highly probably that 'local' was Jason.  We also believe that they recognized Mark's plane flying over the area.  At this time there is no indication that the Spectrans have captured Jason, but the last thing we want is to confirm anything by filing a report that will not only confirm that he is missing but that they can use to identify him.”

  

Mark stood, still absorbing what the Chief had told them, his desire to find their missing teammate at odds with the tactician who trusted the Chief's decisions implicitly.

  

“How do we know they will put together the missing person's report, the shootout, and the plane?” Princess asked, breaking Mark out of his revelry.

  

“All we need is one of the goons on that ridge to see the missing person's report, and that report will be headed straight to Zoltar, Princess,” Mark growled, his anger at the situation coming out.

  

“Exactly,” the Chief agreed.

   

“So what do we do, Chief?” The stability that Princess had while Mark was distraught earlier seemed to be vanishing, slowly.

  

“We wait,” he answered.  “Commander, I know you’re all anxious and none of you sit and wait very well, but under no circumstances are you to take the Phoenix to Demeter without my direct order.”

  

“Chief?” Mark asked, while Princess started sobbing quietly at the Chief's order.

  

“You heard me, Commander. Now the two of you are dismissed.  Please leave my office.”

  

Mark escorted Princess out of the room, pondering the Chief's order.

  888 

Jaze followed Jessi out of the cabin, stopping a few feet outside the door as Keeri locked it. He took a deep breath of the fresh air, his heart telling him he was lucky to have gotten the chance to do so again. He was still weak but so ready to get out and do something after two further days of recovering, even if it was just to go to the grocery store. Five total days of inactivity had taken a toll.

  

Jaze walked towards the SUV and turned towards Keeri, his hand out. “Keys,” he requested.

  

Keeri looked at him in surprise. “I don’t think so.”

  

“You shouldn’t be trying to drive yet,” Jessi added over her shoulder, opening the front passenger door.

  

“I always drive,” Jaze protested and then stopped. The statement had slipped from his lips before he realized it. His hands were literally itching to hold onto the steering wheel and he looked down at them. He could almost imagine them in black gloves with white piping.

  

“Are you remembering something?” He pulled away from the thought and focused on Jessi where she stood, not getting into the SUV. She was watching him with concern.

  

“It’s more a feeling than anything else. I love to drive.” He felt amazement at the thought.

  

“Concentrate on it. See if any other feelings come up,” Jessi suggested and motioned for him to get in. “You take the front seat. You’re much less likely to get motion sickness from there,” she said and opened the rear passenger door. Before he could protest, she climbed in and closed it.

  

Keeri chuckled as she headed for the driver’s side. “Do what she says. You throw up in my truck and you’re walking back.”

  

Jaze turned a scowl on her but got in. He’d already learned Jessi took her EMT training seriously and Keeri was still only tolerating his presence. Doing as Jessi asked tended to keep Keeri happier and he wanted them happy. He owed them a lot and was trying to come up with a way to pay them back for their kindness.

  A half hour into the drive, Jaze understood why Jessi had insisted he sit in front. The road started out as a one lane gravel driveway, which widened slightly a half a mile later with lots of ruts and sharp turns for a few miles. By the time they came to a paved road, Jaze’s head was pounding again and his stomach rolling. He stared out the window, consciously willing his stomach to settle down. 

Nausea had been a constant problem since he’d awakened two days earlier. His head hurt more often than not, only making the nausea worse. Dizziness was the third remaining symptom. He’d been on a constant aspirin regimen, which he was sure wasn’t helping his stomach.

  

Yesterday morning, Jessi and Keeri had insisted he get up and get a shower, regardless how he was feeling, complaining he was starting to smell like a dead fish. To his consternation, Jessi had gone into the bathroom with him and watched to make sure he didn’t pass out. He hadn’t liked being babysat and had voiced his opinion. Jessi had crossed her arms under her breasts and offered to take him to the hospital again. That threat shut him up. He couldn’t go to a hospital. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t.

  

Keeri pulled up in front of a relatively large building with a large front porch. A sign above the porch simply stated ‘General Store’. Three other vehicles were parked there as well. She looked over at him as he swallowed hard and resisted the urge to press his fingers into his throbbing temples.

  

“You okay?” she asked with genuine concern. He must look horrible to get that out of her.

  

“Give me a minute. I’ll be okay,” he insisted as Jessi got out and opened his door.

  

“The more fresh air, the better and the more you move around, the more strength you’ll get back,” she told him, patiently waiting.

  

After a few minutes he felt better and slowly got out and to his feet.

  

“They carry a little bit of everything.” Keeri motioned at the store as she joined them. “Get some more clothes so you don’t have to run around in a towel while we wash what you have.” Jaze looked down at the tear in the right side of his T-shirt, marking where he had been shot. He knew it unnerved them when he was only in a towel, but he hated owing the women even more than he already did.

  

“I’ll figure out a way to pay you back. I swear.” He made eye contact with each of them to ensure they knew he was serious.

  

“I’ll hold you to that,” Keeri promised as they walked the steps up onto the porch. Jaze slipped past her to get to the door first and opened it. “Thanks.” Keeri smiled a little at him and Jaze found himself smiling back.

  

While fighting the headaches, dizziness and nausea over the last two days he’d also tried to remember more. He still had no idea why he’d been near the river or how he’d ended up in it. He still wasn’t sure Jaze Tillet was his real name, regardless what the ID said, although he hadn’t told them that. Keeri had looked up rapid healing on the internet and showed him her findings, which hadn’t been much. Mostly just experiments conducted by the Federation over the years that had had mixed results on chimpanzees. All he had was vague thoughts and ever vaguer images.

  

The sisters headed for the counter nearest the door as he started looking around. As they said, the store did have a little of everything. They were going to grab some real food, as Keeri put it, while he got his clothes. Jaze got underwear, socks, two pairs of jeans and a few T-shirts in various dark colors. He could probably use a new pair of shoes as well. He placed the clothes into the cart and looked for shoes.

  

“Who’s the hunk?” the young woman at the counter asked when Jaze was out of earshot. Keeri shrugged.

  

“A colleague,” she lied, pulling out a list she had made from her short’s pocket. They had decided a mix of the truth would be best if anyone asked. Since Jaze had no memory of what had happened, they didn’t know who had shot him or why. “He climbed up the fall’s trail and slipped. His pack landed in the river, so he needs to replace his stuff.”

  

“Colleague, huh?” The young woman was about Keeri’s age and blonde. She wagged her eyebrows.

  

“Belinna,” Keeri chastised. “I thought you were Imprinted.”

  

“I am. Three suitors now.” She smiled brightly. Jessi gawked at her.

  

“Three? Why haven’t you Enthralled?”

  

“They’re all old and already have wives. I want to be Number One.” She pouted and then giggled. “But they’re all well off. I could do worse.” The sisters nodded. Some women insisted on being First Wives so they had a period of time when they didn’t share their husband, but it never lasted.

  

Belinna looked the sisters up and down. “Are either of you Imprinted yet?” she asked hopefully. Jessi and Keeri looked at each other, wondering how to answer. “Or is he really more than a colleague?”

  

Keeri found herself turning to look for Jaze. The thought hadn’t occurred to her that he might be Imprinted. He wasn’t Enthralled – there was no Enthrallment Knot tattoo on his right wrist. He was twenty five, according to his ID. Their father had already been Enthralled to their mother by that age and their older brother Haro born only a year and a half later. Were there one or more women out there worrying about Jaze? The thought made her uneasy. Surely he would remember something like that?

  

Jessi ignored Belinna's question.  She would not allow herself to think about that possibility until she knew that he was well.  Looking at her sister staring off after him, she wondered what Keeri was thinking.  Hopefully, it was how to get away from Belinna and her gossiping.  Most likely everyone on the mountain would know that they had a man staying with them by the end of the day.

  

“Yes, he’s just a colleague,” Keeri told her.

  

“Sorry to hear that. You’ll both find your man soon enough, I’m sure.” Belinna smiled at each of them and turned to take care of something.

  

Keeri lifted her list and pushed the cart she had grabbed at the door towards the rows of food, Jessi on her heels.

  

It didn’t take long to fill it since they were shopping for three. Some steaks and chicken, along with plenty of vegetables. Keeri hadn’t gone fishing, not wanting to leave Jessi alone with Jaze, but now that he was up and didn’t appear to be a threat, she planned to do so to supplement their meals.

  

She was just about to suggest they see how Jaze was doing on his search for clothes when a loud, familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. Keeri cringed and looked at Jessi, who looked equally unhappy.

  

“What does he have? A radar?” Jessi groused.

  

“Let’s head back to the clothes. Maybe he’ll leave,” Keeri suggested. Jessi shook her head

. 

“He saw your SUV. He won’t leave until he hits on us.”

  

Keeri closed her eyes and sighed heavily. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Divalan Sontier.

  

“Let’s just get it over with. Belinna can add up the food while we tell Div to take a hike.” Jessi put on her poker face, turned the cart and pushed it towards the front of the store. Keeri followed her with a sick feeling in her stomach.

  

“What do you know,” the same voice called loudly as they cleared the shelves. “The Donigel sisters. What a delight to run into you.”

  

Keeri tried not to make a face at the tall, heavyset man who had been trying to convince them to become his wives ever since their father bought them the cabin. Sontier was in his early forties and at last count had three wives and seven children. Keeri knew if their race was to continue when genetics gave them a five to one ratio of female births, all men had to have as many wives and children as possible, but she also thought there were some men that really shouldn’t reproduce. Sontier was one of them.

  

“Wish I could say the same,” Jessi muttered and stopped the cart beside the counter. “Belinna, can you total these?” she asked with a plastered smile on her face.

  

“When did you girls arrive?” Sontier asked, leaning back against the counter, effectively blocking their way to the door.

  

“Last week,” Keeri said and glanced over her shoulder. Where was Jaze?

  

Sontier chuckled, crossing his arms over his protruding stomach. “It’s been a while. You’ll have to come over for dinner, meet my newest wife. She’s a sweet thing. It’s a harmonious household. I know you’d both like it.”

  

“That’s okay.” Jessi waved the idea off with a green tinge to her skin.

  

“Div, we appreciate your interest, but were not ready for any commitments.” Keeri put as much steel into her voice as she could. They next time they came up, she was going to drag Haro, their older brother, with them to tell Div to leave them alone. 

  

“Hey, Div, they’ve got a guest.” Belinna interjected with a grin as she counted the steaks. Keeri shot her an angry look. “A male guest,” the woman added.

  

“Male?” Sontier pulled away from the counter. “You Imprinted?” Before Keeri could react, he reached out and grabbed her right hand.

  

“Let go!” Keeri pulled back, hardly believing he had the audacity to touch her. He was too strong for her to break away as he forcefully splayed her fingers.

  

“I don’t see any Enthrallment Knot.”

  

“Let her go!”  Jessi advanced on him with flashing eyes, her hands fisted but before she reached him, Jaze was there, his hand chopping down on the big man’s wrist with blinding speed. Div howled as he lost his hold on Keeri, pulling his hand to his body as Jaze pulled Keeri behind him and interposed himself between the man and the sisters.

  

“You had no right to touch her,” Jaze warned, his pale eyes like flint, his lips thin with barely suppressed anger. “They said they weren’t interested.”

  

“I didn’t mean anything.” Div cradled his throbbing hand against him. “I just wanted to see –“

  

“You have no right to see. Leave them alone, do you hear me?” Jaze leaned in towards the larger man, menace in is stance. Div nodded and began to back away. Jaze turned towards the sisters and Keeri drew in a breath. The look in his eyes chilled her. “Are you all right?”

  

She could only stare and nod even as she realized he had just implied he had some kind of claim to them. He turned towards her sister.

  

“Jessi?” he asked. She nodded, too.

  

Div continued to back away until he was near the door. He turned and pushed it open, walking out.

  

“Wow.” Belinna had backed away from the counter and now returned. Her eyes raked over Jaze appreciatively. “You got a wife?” Jaze’s head swiveled to give the woman an annoyed look. Her smile faltered.

  

“Bel, could you finish tallying?” Jessi asked as she licked her dry lips, her heart still racing. She couldn’t believe what Jaze had just done. She looked towards Keeri and could almost see steam coming out of her ears.

  

Belinna totaled their purchases and bagged them up as fast as she could as Jaze’s eyes stayed locked on the door, his body still tense. When she was done, Keeri snagged Jaze’s arm.

  

“Carry some,” she growled at him as she took two bags and marched towards the door. Jessi took two as Jaze turned to take hold of the last two. He followed them out.

  

Keeri headed straight for the SUV, practically shaking with anger. She yanked the rear door open and dropped her bags in, turning to glare at Jaze as Jessi slid past her to deposit her bags. She quickly got out of the way for Jaze to get his turn. As soon as he put his bags down, Keeri exploded.

  

“How dare you,” she spit out, her chest rising and falling as she gulped air. “You practically implied we’re Imprinted!”

  

“He grabbed you,” Jaze retorted, folding his arms over his chest.

  

“That’s not your problem! We are not Imprinted!”

  

Jaze stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  

“You have no right to be possessive. We are not Imprinted!” Keeri repeated with more force.

  

“Imprinted? What is Imprinted?” Jaze extended his confused look towards Jessi. Keeri could only stare at him.

  

“You can’t be serious.” She took a shuddering breath and turned away, walking off a few steps before twisting back around. “How can you not know what Imprinting is?” She rubbed her face with her hands and looked towards Jessi. “How can he not remember something that important to us?”

  

Jessi looked on with a mixture of shock and confusion.  She wondered if it was possible that he'd already Imprinted on one of them and didn't realize it.  “I don't know.  I think we need to take him to Dad's for dinner in a few days.  Maybe Dad or Haro would understand: they're doctors after all.  Maybe we should've taken him to the hospital regardless of wishes.  I just don't know.”  Her voice held a touch of guilt and sadness.

  

“Oh, all right,” Keeri said angrily.  “Just get in the truck so we can get home and get the grocery's put away before they rot.”

  

The ride back to the cabin was one long silence.  Keeri's anger seemed to ebb a little, but neither Jessi nor Jaze risked saying anything in case it brought her anger back.  Jaze sat uncomfortably in the front seat, still confused on what he'd done wrong.  He also wondered how he could have forgotten something that seemed so important, but part of him wondered if it had been important to him before.

  

Jessi sat in the back seat feeling lost and out of her element, something that made her very uncomfortable.

  

Back at the cabin, once the food was put away, Keeri packed up her fishing gear. “Trout or salmon?” she asked.

  

“Either,” Jessi answered.

  

“I don't like fish,” Jaze said softly.

  

“Figures,” Keeri muttered.  “You can't remember Imprinting, but you remember that you don't like fish.  Jessi, you deal with him.  I'll be back in a few hours.”  With that she left.

  

Jaze went outside to sit on the deck, followed promptly by Ajani.  Jessi watched him go outside and the way the dog happily followed him as she straightened up the kitchen and prepared some yellow squash, zucchini and peppers to go with whatever fish Keeri brought back.  When she finished, Jaze was still outside on the deck.  After pouring two drinks, she went out to join him.

  

Silently she handed him a glass and he accepted.  “Thanks,” he said, but his eyes were on a bird soaring above the trees and mountain ridge to the west of the cabin.  “That's a Condor of some sort, isn't it?”

  

Jessi looked up at the bird.  “I think so, but you really need to ask Keeri.  She's cataloged all the animals in this area.  She even has names for some.”

  

“Why can I remember that I love to drive, that I don't like fish or sea food, and that although I don't remember ever seeing that bird before, there is something familiar about it, but I can't remember anything about this Imprinting?”

  

“That’s a good question.” Jessi sat down beside him on the top step. “Imprinting is a fundamental part of our lives.”

  

“What is it?”

  

“Its how me find our mates.”

  

Jaze stared at her and then recognition flared in his pale eyes, followed by embarrassment. He turned away.

  

“No wonder she’s ready to kill me, but that guy was threatening both of you. A man should never grab a woman like that.”

  

Jessi wasn’t sure how to address that. It wasn’t that Div had threatened them so much as he was annoying as hell and had gotten into their personal space. She herself had wanted to deck him for grabbing Keeri. Could she really blame Jaze for his actions? There was a difference between questioning them and grabbing one of them. Div had crossed the line.

  

“Keeri and I can handle things if given the chance,” she told him. He reluctantly nodded, resting his arms on his thighs.

  

“What other really important things have I forgotten?” he asked softly.

  

Sighing, Jessi wondered if he wanted an answer to his question.  Finally, she chose to answer his question with a question, “Would you be willing to be seen by a doctor, if it didn't involve a hospital?”

  

“Why?”

  

“Because, I'm not a doctor.  I know nothing about amnesia other than that you have it and it defies my previous understanding.  My father's a doctor and my older brother is in his last year of residency for emergency medicine.  I can arrange to have you see them.  They can check you out completely and answer your questions better than I could.”

  

“I'll think about it,” he said, his eyes still on the soaring condor.

  

“Thanks,” Jessi smiled.  She got up and walked to the door.

  

“What if I've already Imprinted on one of you and don't even know it?” he asked as she opened the door to go inside.

  

Stopping in the door, she responded, “We'll deal with that when you know.”  Going inside and closing the door, she wondered why that thought didn't upset her as much as she thought it should.

  

Two hours later Keeri returned with several trout on a string. “Where’s Jaze?” she asked, taking the trout into the kitchen.

  

Jessi looked up from the book she was reading. “He’s out on the deck.”

  

Keeri opened a drawer and pulled out a hand-made wooden cutting board and laid the trout on it before heading for the deck. She opened the door to find Jaze sitting on the steps, petting Ajani. He looked over his shoulder at her. “You can either go hungry or eat trout. You’re choice.”

  “Then I guess I’m eating trout,” he responded as he got to his feet. Keeri didn’t wait for him. She returned to the kitchen to filet the trout.

Keeri woke to an odd sound. She lay in bed and listened. There was a clang, the sound of metal on metal and then a curse. She rose and slipped on some clothes before leaving her room. She looked around the living room. Neither Jessi nor Jaze were in sight. She heard the clang again and determined it was coming from outside. She headed for the door.

  

She opened the door to find the hood of her SUV up and Jaze hunched under it. Ajani was lying in the gravel at his feet.

  

“What are you doing?” she asked as she approached. He had no reason to be messing with her SUV, especially without permission.

  

He raised his head cautiously and she realized she’d placed that caution there. She’d practically bitten his head off all night, unable to believe he couldn’t remember Imprinting and Enthrallment. It was so much a part of their lives; it was ingrained in their deepest biology.

  

“I noticed on the drive back yesterday something didn’t sound right about your engine,” he said, grabbing a rag as he moved a little away from the SUV to face her. He was watching her warily.

  

“Didn’t sound right?” She hadn’t noticed anything. He shrugged, wiping his dirty hands on the rag.

  

“I guess I was a mechanic.” A sheepish grin pulled at his lips for a moment before disappearing, as if smiling wasn’t something he normally did. “It bothered me all night so I came out early this morning to take a look. It felt right to be under the hood.” He shrugged again. “When was the last time you had your engine cleaned? It was a mess and one of your belts needs replacing. It’s frayed badly. I was able to clean where it needed cleaned, but you don’t have any tools for me to do more than that.”

  

“You’re a mechanic?” Keeri looked under the hood. She didn’t know the first thing about engines and wasn’t in a habit of popping the hood to see if it was clean or not.

  

“Seems like it. I know what every part here is, how it operates, how to check it, clean it and replace it. Guess that makes me a mechanic.”

  

“Is that realization bringing any other memories to you?” She leaned back against the wheel well and crossed her arms under her breasts, her anger at his action easing.

  

“Only a feeling that I have a car and its blue.” Jaze placed the rag on the bumper and motioned for Keeri to move. She did and he lowered the hood and gently pressed it down as not to wake Jessi with a loud bang, then turned back to her. “In that vein, I was wondering if you would take me to the river where you found me. Maybe if I see it, I’ll remember why I was there or it’ll trigger some other memory.”

  

Keeri could see the sincerity in his eyes and nodded. “We can, right after breakfast. The grizzlies are around because of the salmon spawning, but they tend to only come out in the afternoon.” Jaze’s eyes widened.

  

“You went fishing yesterday when there were grizzlies about?” He looked as if he was going to say more and Keeri waited, lips thinning, a retort ready to fly. Here he was, being over protective again.

   

He seemed to realize what his words were implying based on the look on her face and his face began to redden. “I didn’t mean…” he stammered and looked down, digging his toe into the gravel. “Apparently, I have a habit of speaking before I think,” he muttered.

  

“Yes, you do.” Keeri glared but then felt the new anger drain away. She was getting tired of being angry with him. She knew intellectually he wasn’t purposefully trying to annoy her but their personalities seemed to constantly clash. “Jessi said she asked you to see our father or brother for an examination,” she ventured.

  

Jaze nodded and suddenly looked up as a large bird screeched and glided overhead, only fifty feet or so above them. It looked like the same bird he had seen the night before. They both watched it turn and glide off. “I told her I’d think about it,” he said after a moment.

  

“Dad’s a thoracic surgeon, but he might know of some ways to help you.”

  

“I’m assuming your family is in the city?”

  

“Yes. Jessi’s vacation is almost over, so she’ll have to go back to our apartment.”

  

“What are you going to do?” Jaze stared at her expectantly and Keeri wondered what his plans were. Was he asking out of curiosity or was he going to base his actions on theirs? He was well now but had made no move to leave yet. Even though he sometimes infuriated her, she didn’t feel right asking him to leave when they weren’t sure he even had a place to go.

  

“I usually spend all summer here doing my research.”

  

“And I’ve been crimping your schedule.” He wasn’t asking but stating it. She nodded.

  

“Yes, you have,” she admitted.

  

“I’m sorry.” Jaze held her gaze for a moment apologetically before running his hand over the hood of the SUV. “I appreciate everything you and Jessi have done for me. If you can get me to a repair store, I’ll take care of your SUV. It’s the least I can do.”

  

“I know you’re thankful.” Keeri realized she actually did. She was getting used to his being around and really wasn’t as anxious to see him go as she had been. “Why don’t we get Jessi up and have some breakfast so we can go down to the river.” Jaze nodded and followed her back into the cabin.

   888 

Keeri parked the SUV along a graveled one lane road in a spot that appeared cleared for just that purpose. Jaze got out and followed the sisters down a path through the tall trees towards the river. He could hear it in the distance and the sound was making him uneasy.

  

 He had to do it. Not knowing how he had come to be in their care was driving him nuts and he knew it was a point of contention with them, particularly Keeri. He hated not being able to tell them what they wanted and needed to know. It was as if he had a second life, one that required secrecy. He didn’t like the idea because he was finding he enjoyed their company. He liked Jessi’s stories about being a firefighter. He liked Keeri’s descriptions of the animal life in the area. She had confirmed just as they were leaving the large bird they had been seeing the last few days circling the cabin was a type of Condor.

  

Ajani ran past him, brushing his leg. He made it past Jessi and Keeri without touching them and disappeared.

  

Jaze took care with his footing on the uneven ground. The headache that started as he worked on the SUV didn’t seem to be interested in abating. He’d developed one every morning so far, some worse than others. This one was building and he didn’t look forward to it. Jessi thought it was an after effect of the head injury she had finally admitted they hadn’t found a sign of. He’d had no cuts or bumps on his head to account for the three days he had been in and out of consciousness.

  

That discussion had been followed by another plea from Keeri that he reconsider going to a hospital, which he shot down immediately. It would be a logical action, but he just knew he couldn’t, even if he couldn’t remember why.

  

“We came down to go fishing,” Keeri said, interrupting his inner thoughts. They’d already told him the story but she seemed to need to tell it again as they got closer to the river. “Ajani ran off, just like he always does.” She smiled as she said it. Jaze knew the dog was her only companion when she was up here without Jessi. “He frightened a doe drinking at one of the pools and she took off. Ajani went after her.”

  

They rounded a stand of trees and the river was before them, running fast, white froth billowing about the huge rocks in it. The sound was louder and made him wince.

  

“We followed Ajani when we heard him barking. I was afraid he’d corner the doe,” Jessi said, continuing the story as she led the way out of the trees onto the stony bank. “He was at the next pool and was barking at you.”

  

Jaze was only half listening. He walked onto the bank and approached the water. It was raging fast, the sound of its passage even louder without the trees to dampen it. He stared at it, trying to remember why he had been near it. It was clearly dangerous at this point. He should have been bashed to death against the rocks.

  

“You were half in and out of the water,” Keeri said, stopping beside him. “Almost as if you’d tried to crawl out.” He heard her, but didn’t answer. He slowly looked to his right and left. He didn’t recognize anything. “You’re lucky you didn’t drown.”

  

“We found you down this way.” Jessi pointed to the left and started to follow the river in that direction. After a moment, Jaze followed, with Kerri on his heels. “You weren’t dressed for fishing,” Jessi went on, carefully picking her way around a few large rocks. Jaze turned to make sure Keeri made it over the rocks all right and found she was as sure footed as Jessi was ahead of them.

  

“I don’t like fish, so I wouldn’t have been fishing.” Jaze took a deep breath. His head was starting to hurt in earnest. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

  

“Your shoes didn’t lend themselves to hiking either,” Keeri added. He looked over his shoulder at her.

  

“I don’t think hiking is my thing, either.”

  

“What is your thing besides being a grease monkey?” Jessi asked, turning around to face them. She was grinning. Jaze found himself grinning back despite the pain now radiating from the base of his skull outward with each step he took.

  

“Grease monkey?”

  

“Isn’t that another term for a mechanic?” Jessi rolled her eyes before turning back around to keep from tripping. She pointed at the pool ahead of them. “That’s where we found you.”

  

The bank became sandier as they neared the pool. The water extended back into the trees. Jaze wondered if it was actually being fed from a mountain run-off. He followed Jessi around the pool to a large log laid half into the river.

  

“You were lying next to it,” she told him quietly as they stopped. “If Ajani hadn’t found you…” Her brown eyes fixed on him and Jaze swallowed hard. There was a touch of past fear in her voice that made his heart beat harder.

  

“I probably would have become some grizzly’s dinner.” He tried to be nonchalant, but she wasn’t buying it. He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it. “But you did find me.” She nodded and made no move to pull away until he started to crouch down to get a better look. Their arms stretched out until either she’d have to crouch down too or he’d have to let go. He let go.

  

“The water’s too swift for you to have just ended up here,” Keeri said as she first looked at Jessi and then him quizzically. “You would have been on the other side of the log if that was the case.”

  

“So I swam over here and passed out?” Jaze shook his head and regretted the action as the pain increased. His vision doubled and he reached out to steady himself but nearly fell into the pool because he couldn’t feel anything with his right hand. Once he got his balance, he pulled his hand back, rubbing it. He could feel his left just fine but his right was numb.

  

“The water’s cold.” Keeri crouched down beside him and ran her hand through the water, pulling it back just as he had but he doubted it was for the same reason. “You couldn’t have been in there for long or you would have developed hypothermia.”

  

“You were shivering like crazy, though, so you weren’t far from it. It took us a while to get you warmed up.” Jessi hugged herself, as if the memory wasn’t pleasant.

  

“Nothing is ringing any bells here.” Jaze slowly stood and weathered his head pounding harder for a moment as his body adjusted to the change in his blood pressure. His hand was still numb, so he continued massaging it.

  

“You mentioned a waterfall,” he said. “You thought I might have fallen in there.”

  

“It’s a huge waterfall,” Keeri acknowledged, looking to her right. Jaze’s eyes followed hers. “If you fell over it, you were lucky. There are rocks at the bottom that could have killed you.”

  

“Can you take me there?” Keeri and Jessi exchanged wary looks that Jaze couldn’t help but notice. “Is it a problem?”

  

“It’s not safe,” Keeri answered.

  

“Why is it not safe?” The first thing that came to mind was the grizzlies.

  

“Aliens,” Jessi said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

  

Jaze wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “Aliens?” he repeated and noticed the feeling was starting to come back to his hand. Now if only the headache would stop.

  

“There are rumors the area above the falls is an alien or terrorist stronghold.” Keeri crossed her arms under her breasts, her eyes on the water, almost as if she didn’t want to look at him. Jaze wasn’t sure why.

  

“Is this something else I’ve forgotten?” he asked. “What aliens and terrorists?” The girls exchanged another look that bothered him. “Just tell me,” he said with more force.

  

“The aliens are Spectrans,” Jessi answered, still sharing a look with Keeri. The word immediately made Jaze’s heart speed up and anger blossom. He didn’t know why. “Demeter has somehow attracted their attention. They stir up trouble.”

  

“The terrorists are Gantesen,” Keeri then said, her eyes now locked on him. They were hard and he didn’t know why. When he didn’t react, she went on. “They don’t like the fact Demeter is leaning towards becoming a member of the Federation and blow things up to make their point. The terrorists don’t care who they hurt.”

  

“What makes you think the Spectrans or these Gantesens are in the area above the falls?” Jaze asked. He felt he needed to know more. Maybe he had been in that area, but why?

  

“People who go up there disappear.” Jessi actually shuddered, lowering her eyes. Jaze stepped over to her and slipped an arm over her shoulders.

  

“I’m not talking about going above the falls, just to them.”  He reached up with his other hand to her chin and lifted it so she was looking at him. “I have to do this, Jessi. You have no idea how it feels not to remember your life. I feel like I’m supposed to be doing something, something important.”

  

“Then by all means, let’s go to the falls.” Keeri whistled and Ajani appeared out of the trees at a run. Together, they turned and started back up towards the path.

  

“Is she mad again?” Jaze asked Jessi as they slowly moved apart. When he had first asked they bring him to the river, he had included the falls in the request. She hadn’t argued against it then. Why was she upset about it now?

  

Jessi started after her. “Let’s just go and hope it sparks some memories.”

  

She led the way and Jaze followed, rubbing his temples as he walked, wishing for some aspirin.

  8888  

The next few days went in a blur.

  

Jaze had found the falls beautiful and after studying it, he understood why the sisters believed he’d be dead if he’d fallen over it: if the one hundred foot drop onto the large and jagged rocks hadn’t killed him, being banged against the rocks for the next quarter mile below the falls would have.

  

Seeing the falls hadn’t spurred any memories, much to his dismay, but the noise had added to his headache. By the time they returned to the cabin, all he could do was make it to the bed and curl into a miserable ball. Jessi had come in a few times to check on him, insisting he at least drink an energy drink each time to keep from getting dehydrated, which could make the headache worse. She’d checked his eyes to make sure they were dilating correctly, the flash from the bright penlight nearly making him throw up.

  

In the hell of the pain, he’d finally agreed to talk to their father about it, but not until Keeri got a chance to catch up on her research. He would go to Donotrep with them when Jessi had to return to work at the end of the week.

  

When his head wasn’t pounding, his right hand was periodically going numb. By the end of the week, the numbness had spread to his elbow and his left hand was joining the party. Jessi believed the cause was neurological, which had resumed Keeri’s litany that they should have ignored his insistence not to go to a hospital. What if the damage was permanent?

  

“It was my decision and I take full responsibility of the consequences,” he’d told them.

  

When he was feeling well enough, Keeri had taken them both to her blind stand and they’d spent the day watching the family of blue foxes she had been studying. Jaze had enjoyed the quiet and nature. To do so had felt unusual, as though relaxing in such a way wasn’t natural for him, but with Keeri and Jessi, it had just felt right.

  

The night before their departure, Jaze sat on the deck steps, watching the Condor fly over, as it had done every day. He felt a kinship with it and closed his eyes, imaging gliding in the air as it was, twisting and turning to remain aloft. He smiled.

  

“A penny for your thoughts.” He opened his eyes as Jessi sat down beside him. She extended a bowl of home-made peach ice cream and he took it. He knew she had spent quite some time making it as it was Keeri’s favorite and she always made it the night before she had to leave.

  

“It’s just so peaceful here,” he told her and took a bite of the ice cream. It was creamy and sweet and loaded with chunks of peaches. “This is good,” he told her after swallowing.

   

 “Glad you like it.” She gently bumped his shoulder as she started on her own.

  

There was something else he had been thinking about since they’d been to the falls and when they were done with the ice cream, he broached the subject, even though he suspected he was going to have to press hard to get her to answer the question he had.

  

“Jessi, what is it about me and the Gantesens that bothers Keeri so much?” he asked, turning to face her. Her eyes darted away from him in discomfort but he wasn’t going to let it drop. He took hold of her arm and tugged on it to get her to look at him. “I need to know. Sometimes, it seems as if she doesn’t trust me. You said they’re terrorists.”

  

Jessi nodded and sighed deeply. “Yes.”

  

“What does that have to do with me?” His hand slipped down her arm to her hand. He took it and she looked down at their intertwining fingers. Her lips began to tremble. “Jessi, please.”

  

“There are…physical characteristics that make Gantesens stand out.” She raised her eyes back to see his face. “Tall, lean but muscular, blonde to light brown hair, naturally tan skin and slanted, pale blue eyes.”

  

Jaze pictured looking into a mirror and saw her description staring right back at him. “I’m Gantesen.” Jessi nodded sadly at him.

  

“We think so.”

  

“Which lends to the story of the terrorists being above the falls.” Jaze released her hand and stood. Was he a terrorist? Is that why he as in the area? He couldn’t believe that. He felt Jessi’s hands on his back.

  

“You’re not a terrorist,” she told him, as if she’d read his dark thoughts. “I know you’re not. Amnesia couldn’t have changed your personality that much. You would still be what you were naturally and you’re a good person. Keeri knows that, too, deep down inside.”

  

He looked over his shoulder at her. The earnest look in her brown eyes made him turn around to face her, suddenly feeling the urge to pull her to him and hold her, never to let go. The thought startled him enough he backed away a step. She was beautiful as she stared at him in concern.

  

“Are you all right?” she asked, snapping him back again. He took a shuddering breath and reached up to rake his fingers through his hair. What the hell was happening?

  

“I’m fine.” He took another step back. “I’m going to take a walk. I’ll be back in a little while.” Before she could say anything else, he turned and strode off, feeling her eyes boring into his back.

  888 

Mark paced the length of the terminal in the public spaceport.  To say he was frustrated would be an understatement.  It had been almost two weeks since he was forced to abandon Jason on Demeter.  In that time there had been not even a sign of him or a hint that he had been captured by Spectra.  The Chief forbade him from taking the Phoenix back.  His first attempt at circumventing that order ended in futility as Neptune personnel had been ordered not to release any interstellar crafts to any G-Force member without direct clearance.  For his second attempt, the team attempted to commandeer their own ship, and it had ended just as badly.  Anderson was randomly changing launch codes, preventing the Phoenix from launching without his authorization.

  

So the commander of G-Force booked an interstellar flight to the planet Sataca, the nearest Federation member to Demeter.  From there he hoped to be able to charter a flight to Demeter.  Unfortunately, his flight had been delayed, causing his current frustration which resulted in him pacing.

  

A spaceport security officer noticed his pacing and walked up to him.

  

“Sir, would you follow me please?” the officer asked.

  

“Is there a problem, officer?”  Mark responded innocently.  “It won't affect my flight, will it?”

  

“I don't think that would be a problem, sir,” the officer answered.  “If you will just follow me.”

  

For a moment, Mark considered running but that would have disrupted everyone, so he choose to follow the officer and hoped that whatever it was the officer wanted him for was just a misunderstanding.  Having left his communicator with Princess, it was unlikely that anyone would recognize him as G-Force.

  

The officer stopped at a nondescript door at the end of the terminal.  “Right in here, sir,” the officer said as he opened the door.

  

Once again, Mark ignored the instinct to run.  Whatever was on the other side of the door could not be worse than facing down Zoltar and a column of Spectra goons.

  

“Thank you,” Mark said and went through the door into the room.

  

Suddenly, he realized how wrong he was.  The idea of Zoltar and a column of goons was preferable to seeing Chief Anderson standing on the other side holding Mark's communicator while a distraught Princess slumped over in one of the room's two chairs.

  

“Have a seat, Commander,” Anderson ordered, handing him his communicator. “I’m disappointed in you. You know better and we’ll discuss this after you’ve thought over how dangerous leaving your bracelet behind was.”

  

For just a moment, Mark considered taking up Jason's defiant stance, but was stopped by a look from Princess.

  

“You okay?” he asked sitting down beside her, hoping his concern for Princess would take some of the sting of the Chief’s reprimand away.

  

“I'm sorry, Mark,” she cried as he took her hand.  “I did my best to stall, but he delayed the flights and threatened to restrict us all to Center Neptune.  I just couldn't do that to Keyop and Tiny.”

  

“That's okay, Princess.  I understand.”  He squeezed her hand warmly.

  

“I believe this belongs to you.”  Anderson handed him his communicator.

  

“Thanks, Chief,” Mark said sheepishly, accepting the bracelet.

  

“Do not thank me yet,” the Chief growled.  “As of right now, you may consider yourself on report.  You and Princess will both accompany me back to Center Neptune where you will both be restricted until further notice.  It is only because G-Force is currently a man short that you are not being relieved of duty.”

  

Mark opened his mouth to say something, but the Chief cut him off.  “I do not appreciate your actions, Commander.  Just because you are not involved, does not mean that we are not doing all we can to find Jason.”

  

“Chief, we still don't know anything.”  Mark's tone was forceful but respectful.

  

“Actually we know several things.”  Anderson began ticking them off.  “We know that he has not been arrested.  We know that he has not been admitted to any of the hospitals or seen at any of the major clinics.  We know that no Spectra transports have left Demeter since you last heard from Jason.  No one has turned in his ID or used his credit card.  Most importantly, no one matching his description has turned up in the morgues.”

  

“Yet,” Mark added the word the Chief left out.

  

“I know that his is hard for you and the team.  It is never easy to leave someone behind.  However, if G-Force goes back there and starts sniffing around, it would draw the attention of Spectra and if they have him, it will only make them look at him more closely.  If they do that, they might determine that he is more than what he appears.”

  

“Chief, what if someone other than Spectra has him?  What if he is out there hurt and can't get back to the outpost?”  Princess asked quietly.

  

“Then we just have to hope that our agents on Demeter find him soon,” the Chief answered wearily.

  888 

Walking into the large house Jaze was overwhelmed by the active family.  Two women were in the kitchen working in concert to prepare dinner.  Two other women were in the great room trying to get the older children to help out and the younger children to behave; neither were having much success.  While there were only ten children ranging from eight to twenty, it seemed like twice that many.

  

“Now you know why Keeri and I don't live at home and prefer to stay at the cabin as much as possible,” Jessi whispered into his ear.

  

One of the women in the kitchen caught sight of the threesome standing at the edge of the entry hall.

  

“My goodness,” she exclaimed and everyone, including the youngest child, stopped to stare.  “Keeri, when you asked if you could bring a colleague by for dinner, we weren't expecting a handsome, young man.”

  

“Yeah, we were expecting another spinster like them,” one of the older girls, Alena, laughed.  She quieted quickly, not from the admonishments she received from the women who had been watching the children, but by the glare she received from Jaze.  Those who weren't looking at Alena were watching Jaze.

  

The woman who addressed them as they entered recovered from the brief moment of awkwardness first.  “Well, aren't you going to introduce us?” she asked the girls.

  

Keeri took a deep breath.  “Mother, everyone, this is Jaze Tillet.  Jaze, our mother, Sondri; she's our father's first wife.  In the kitchen is her younger sister, Pavanna; our father's second wife.”  Here she paused to point to the woman who had been working with the younger children. “Tana is our father's third wife.  Her oldest daughter is the one in desperate need of lessons in tact.”  The younger girl stuck her tongue out at Keeri.  “Then there is Zita, our father's fourth wife.”  A younger woman smiled and waved.  “Where's Dad?”

  

“He and Haro are downstairs, avoiding the chaos.  Vidar wanted to join them, but was told no and has been acting like a brat ever since,”  Pavanna answered, making it clear that she did not like her son's behavior.

  

Vidar, a boy of about seventeen, started to say something but was cut off as the younger children got over the presence of a stranger and began to act up again.

  

“Come on, let's go downstairs,” Jessi said as she grabbed Jaze's wrist and led him to a door on the left wall of the entry hall.  The only one who caught the curious glances sent their way by the women and older children was Keeri.

  

As the three entered the room downstairs they found a tall man of average built and about fifty-five years old.  Next to him was a similar looking man just a few years older than Keeri.  They sat in a pair of recliners positioned in front of a big screen TV, watching a sport that resembled a mix of basketball and soccer. The men turned at the sound of them entering.  The older man said nothing, but after giving Jaze a long look over, the younger man spoke.

  

“So, you two have graduated from bringing home stray animals to strange men.”

  

Jaze's eyes flashed, but the girls ignored their older brother.

  

“Dad, Haro, this is Jaze,” Jessi explained.  “He's, um, sort of a colleague.”  She stumbled over the words.  “Jaze, this is our father, Rine, and our brother, Haro.”

  

The older man reached out his hand in a friendly manner, although, he, too, looked over Jaze as if appraising him.  Haro, made no such friendly gesture; instead he stood stiffly staring down the stranger.  Jaze returned the stare with a steel glare of his own.

  

“So, Jaze, what do you do?” Rine asked.  “Which one of my girls do you work with?”

  

Jaze broke his stare to answer. “I think I'm a mechanic, sir.”

  

“You think?  You aren't sure what you do for a living?”  Rine asked with more suspicion in his tone than curiosity.  “You at least know which of the girls you work with, right?”

  

“No, I don't know.”  Jaze's tone held the terseness of someone who does not like to repeat themselves.

  

“What do you mean you don't know?”

  

“I was involved in an accident at the river.  Jessi and Keeri found me and took care of me.  The only thing I remember before that was a steak dinner.  Some things seem familiar, some don't.”

  

At Jaze's explanation the two other went ballistic.  Haro, who had teased the girls, began yelling at Keeri for actually bringing home a stranger.  Keeri yelled back.

    

As the two older siblings screamed at each other, their father focused his attention on Jaze and Jessi.

  

“Young man, I will attend to you in a few minutes. You!” He pointed at Jessi. “You should know better than to treat head wounds as if they were sprained ankles.  What were you thinking?”

  

Jessi's face lost all its color as her father yelled at her, as if she was not used to being singled out in this manner.  Meekly, she answered, “He didn't want to go to the hospital.”

  

“That is completely beside the point.  Someone with your training and background should know better than to . . . .” Her father was building up steam for a long lecture when Jaze stepped in between the father and daughter.

  

“I told her not to take me to the hospital and repeated that request several times over the last two weeks.”

  

Jessi's eyes went wide as Jaze forcefully interrupted her father.  Keeri and Haro stopped their argument to watch.  Keeri's eyes, though not as wide as her sister's, showed surprise and concern.  Haro watched Jaze with surprise and more suspicion while their father looked past Jaze to Jessi, who ran back upstairs under the scrutiny.

  

Keeri and Jaze moved to follow, but were stopped by Rine.  “You two can stay here.  Keeri, you will explain this situation, while I examine him.” He pointed to Jaze and then led them into a small exam/treatment room he had built when his oldest children were young.  With his first two wives being nurses, it made sense to have an area to treat minor injuries or illness at home.

  

As her father examined Jaze, Keeri began the story of how they found him and the condition he was in.

  

“I don’t like the fact you’re experiencing numbness,” Rine said after having looked at his eyes, ears and throat and then running his hands over Jaze’s head to feel for any bumps or indentations. “I’d feel better of you’d allow a CT scan.”

  

Jaze shook his head. “No.”

  

Rine glared at him. “Give me one good reason why not.” Jaze glared back.

  

“All I know is its imperative that I don’t,” he responded.

  

“Why?” Haro asked, thin lipped. “What do you have to hide?” Jaze turned his attention to the other man.

  

“If I could remember, I’d tell you.”

  

Haro huffed. “Yeah. Right.”

  

“I can’t force you to go,” Rine admitted, giving Haro a look that the younger man rolled his eyes over. “You’re an adult and our laws are very strict that no one can be forced to seek medical attention against their will.”

  

“Good.” Jaze crossed his arms over his chest.

  

“Then let me ask you something else,” Rine said as he put away his instruments. He turned back to him. “What are your intentions towards my daughter Jessi?”

  

That caught Jaze off guard. “What?” He looked to Keeri for help but she was staring with her mouth in a shocked O. Rine repeated the question. “I don’t understand.”

  

“Imprinting is serious, young man.”

  

“Imprinting?” Jaze looked to Keeri again, lead forming in his stomach. She had her mouth closed now but her eyes said it all. “I’ve Imprinted on Jessi?”

  

“You don’t know?” Haro rolled his eyes. “Give me a break.”

  

“Haro, he doesn’t.” Keeri got herself under control and dropped down into the nearest chair. She’d known, deep down, that it was happening. She could see it in the way they looked at each, the way they talked, the little touches. They hadn’t even realized it. “He doesn’t remember Imprinting or Enthrallment.” Haro shook his head.

  

“Is that even possible?” he asked their father. Rine rubbed his chin as he continued to regard Jaze.

  

“There have been cases, but it’s rare.”

  

“I’m pretty sure Jessi has Imprinted on you, too,” Keeri told Jaze. He paled.

  

“What do I do?” he asked her. Keeri shrugged.

  

“Go talk to her, I guess.”

  

“Where did she go?”

  

“Probably the tree house. Come on. I’ll show you where it is.” Keeri rose and motioned for Jaze to follow her back up the steps.

  888 

Jessi sat in the tree house her father built for her, Keeri, and Haro when they were kids.  Not only was she not used to having her father reprimand her, but she knew he was right.  If she had been on duty there was no way she would have let anyone in that condition persuade her like that.  Jaze should have gone to a hospital, that's all there is to it.

   

She looked out over the roof tops toward the hills that were miles away.  A large bird soared closer to the city.  It looked like Jaze's condor.

  

“Mind if I come up and join you?” he asked.

  

For a moment, Jessi thought he might have been called by the bird.  “Plenty of room,” she answered.  As he sat down next to her, she pointed.  “He's following you.  I don't think I've ever seen one in the city.”

  

Jaze looked out in the direction Jessi indicated.  “I envy him,” he said somberly. “His ability to feel the air ruffling through his feathers, to change his speed by simply shifting his wings, to swoop down on his prey before it even knows he's there.”

  

“You sound like you've experienced that before,” Jessi teased.

  

“I wish,” Jaze sighed. Inside he felt the sense of loss that had been plaguing him off and on since he woke up in the girls' cabin.  It came whenever he tried too hard to remember, most often when he felt there was something important that he had forgotten and if he just tried hard enough it should come back to him.  More often both feelings came when he tried to stop thinking about what he'd forgotten and accept that he couldn't remember and might never.  The sense of loss or the sensation of forgetting something important, seemed to be even more important than his sense of self, or tied to it somehow.  At times he just thought he might be crazy.  He debated telling Jessi as much, but for now, they had something more immediate to discuss.

  

“We need to talk,” he said lamely.  Even as he said the words, he felt as if they weren't his own, like he could hear someone else saying them in that tone.  If only he could remember who.

  

“Yeah,” was the only thing Jessi said.

  

Instead of talking they sat in silence watching the Condor circle closer and closer to the city.

  

After several minutes Jaze broke the silence.  “I think he's trying to tell me something.  Just wish I knew what.”

  

Jessi sat quietly not knowing how to respond or if a response was necessary.  She knew they were both avoiding the discussion.  As she sat there, she admitted to herself they'd been avoiding it for several days now, at least since he’d held her hand at the river and only let go when it became necessary, if not before that.  Considering the talk they needed to have, she was surprised the drive down the mountain to Donotrep had been as comfortable as it was.  Jaze really did love to drive and was ecstatic when she let him drive her jeep if he agreed to follow Keeri.  Once or twice he complained about the clutch or the suspension and had asked if he could work on it, to which she had replied, “You can try.”

  

The quiet was broken as Jaze blurted out, “We're Imprinted.”

  

“I think so,” Jessi sighed, afraid to look at his face to see his expression.

  

“What happens now?”  His voice held no anger or disgust, just uncertainty.

  

“What do you want to happen?” she asked, sounding just as unsure as he did.

  

“That's just it.  I don't know!” he growled out more harshly than intended.

  

“There's no reason to rush.” She hoped to reassure him that it was okay not to know.  Then she went on to explain, “My mom and dad were Imprinted for a few years before becoming Enthralled.  So were Dad and Pavanna.  He and Tana were only Imprinted a few months.  I'm told there was another one in there somewhere that didn't work out.”

  

“What about the fourth one?” Jaze asked, not remembering her name.

  

“Zita?  Well, he went to a weekend surgical conference in Esotel on the other side of the mountains, near the coast and came back with her.”

  

“Weren't your mom and the others upset about that?”

  

“Tana wasn't too happy, but Mom and Pavanna really like her.  They just had to get over the shock factor first.  But as you can see they're pretty good at that.

  

Jaze thought for a moment about how the girls' mother and aunt recovered first at the surprise of seeing the guest the girls had brought home.  “You and Keeri both have that ability,” he commented.

  

“I suppose.  Keeri more than me sometimes, but she'd tell you just the opposite.”

  888 

The dining room was more like a banquet hall. It held a long table and Jaze counted twenty six chairs. To the left of the table buffets were set up, where warmed covered silver serving dishes rested. Plates were on one end. The teenage girls were filling goblets on the table with water and each setting already held a napkin and silverware.

  

Jaze looked to Jessi and Keeri for guidance.

  

“Father is first, followed by our mother, as the First Wife, and the other wives in order,” Keeri explained. “Then the children of the First Wife by age, then the Second Wife’s children by age, etc. There’s plenty of food, so don’t worry about it. Leftovers will be used tomorrow for lunches.”

  

“Were do I fit in?” he asked as Rine began to serve himself.

  

“You’re our guest, so you’ll sit between us,” Jessi said. “Father sits at the head, our mother to his right, then the other wives. Haro sits to his left as the eldest son, then Keeri, you and I, since we’re the children of the First Wife and you’re our guest. Then it’s a free for all for seating.”

  

“We’ve been very informal at home when we have dinner,” Keeri said as they got closer to the food. “Normally, we wait until everyone is seated and Father gives thanks for the food before digging in.”

  

It took a few minutes for everyone to serve themselves and sit. Jaze watched in amazement as he had expected chaos with nineteen people, many of them children, getting food and eating at once

.  

Rine looked about the table and caught the youngest, a boy named Pader, sneaking a slice of vegetable into his mouth before Rine had given thanks for the food. The boy was chastised, which gave Jaze a vague memory of his hand being slapped by a smaller feminine one during dinner as he reached for a bowl and someone stating, “The longest reach gets the most”.

  

Rine gave thanks and everyone dug in. He asked each of his younger children how their day had went and what they had learned at school. Lively discussion ensued and Jaze found he actually enjoyed it.

  

After dinner, Jaze and Rine talked privately for several minutes, leaving both Jessi and Keeri anxious.   When it was time to leave, Jaze instinctively climbed into the driver's seat of Jessi's jeep, while the girls loaded Ajani into Keeri's SUV.  The ride home passed in much the same manner as the ride down the mountain.

  

“Why don't you have a GPS for this?” Jaze asked as he followed Keeri and Jessi pointed out streets he should learn, especially ones that should be avoided.

  

“Don't need one,” she answered as she pointed out the street that would lead to the fire station.  She had told him he could use her jeep while she was on duty.  She also pointed out the repair shop that one of her dad's sisters owned.  Her aunt was always looking for reliable mechanics.

  

Finally they arrived at the apartment complex.  Jessi showed Jaze where to park and lead him to the building with their apartment.

  

“Half of this complex is for families and half for single people, or first couples just starting out,” she explained.  “Not too many places for single people and most are geared towards those anxious to Imprint.  This place is nice in that it respects people’s privacy and that Imprinting will happen when people are ready.” 

  

He followed her up a flight of stairs.  Keeri was well in front of them, but Ajani waited for them, smelling all the smells he missed while up at the cabin.  They walked down a hallway until Jessi stopped at a door slightly ajar.

  

“Well, here we are.  It's not much, but we never needed much.  Kitchen is on the left, living room and patio on the right.  Straight back is the bathroom.  Keeri's room is the bigger room on the left; mine is the smaller on the right.”

  

“Why does Keeri always get the bigger room?”  As soon as he asked the question, Jaze cursed his impulsive nature.  That sense of nagging familiarity was back as if he might have experienced something similar.  If only he could place it.

  

“She's older, and she's here more often than I am.”  Jessi shrugged.  “Anyway, you better be nice.  Starting tomorrow morning, I'll be gone for a few days and if you piss her off, she just might throw you out.”

  

“But you'd come looking for me,” he flirted.

  

“Depends on why. . . .”

  

“Jessi, can we talk for a minute,” Keeri interrupted sternly from her room.

  

“All right,” Jessi answered.  She turned to Jaze.  “You can put your stuff in there and make yourself at home.”

  

As soon as Jessi was in the bedroom and the door closed, Keeri laid into her.  “What do you think you're doing?  You can't keep him here.  Besides, he's better now and there's no reason why he needs to stay with us.”  Keeri stood with her arms crossed as if to say there's no point arguing. She didn't feel she needed to add ‘just because you’re Imprinted’.

  

Jessi sank onto her sister's bed.  “Where else does he have to go?”

  

“He can go home,” Keeri stated as if it was obvious.

  

“A hotel that has never heard of him,” Jessi countered.

  

“What about one of the homeless shelters?”

  

“You mean one of the two that have been shut down for fire and health code violations, or the third one that should be, but isn't because the city doesn't want them all shut down at once and  is so overcrowded they are turning people away.”

  

“He's not our responsibility!”

  

“Not yours, but he is mine.” Jessi sighed.

  

“Just because you're Imprinted does not make him your responsibility.”

  

“Says the girl who's never been Imprinted,” Jessi blurted out.  At the stunned look on her sister's face, Jessi immediately apologized.  “Keeri, I'm sorry.  That was unfair.  If I knew for a fact that he had someplace to go, someone to help him in an emergency, I wouldn't even press the issue.  But none of us knows of a place or anyone.  He may be better, but he still has symptoms and the only memory he has past waking up in our cabin is vague impressions.”

  

Keeri sat down next to her.  “You trust too blindly, you know that.”

  

“No, I just read people the way you read animals.”

  

“He could be a terrorist, you know,” Keeri argued weakly.

  

“You don't believe that any more than I do,” Jessi chided lightheartedly.

  

“How do you know?”

  

“Because if you really did, you would have turned him over to the cops, regardless of what I said days ago.  Anyway, if he were a terrorist, then we wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation.”

  

“We'd be still at the cabin tied up or worse,” Keeri finished.  “Then who or what is he?  What would a mechanic from Gantese be doing up at the falls?”

  

“Maybe he's part of a counter-terrorist operation,” Jessi joked.

  

“You could be right,” Keeri said thoughtfully.

  

“Oh, Keeri, I was just joking.”

  

“No, think about it, Jessi.  He has no real address, no contact information, he's Gantesen, and he was up at the falls where reports of terrorist activity have occurred.  It makes sense.  If he's not a terrorist, he could be a counter-terrorist agent.”

  

Jessi tried not to laugh.  “Keeri, I think you're paranoid, but if it helps you relax around him, you can think he's from another planet for all I care.”

  

She got up and walked for the door.  As she opened it, a pillow hit her in the back of the head.

  

“Thanks.” She picked it up.  “Got an extra blanket, too?”  Before Keeri could respond, she sprinted out of the room.

  

Keeri retrieved the pillow and threw it back onto her bed before dropping down onto it.

  

Jessi was right. She’d never Imprinted before. She had no idea what it felt like to want to be with a man, to consider spending the rest of her life with him.

  

It was rare for a twenty four year old woman not to have Imprinted at least once. Whenever she talked to her mother about it, her mother had said she just hadn’t met the right man yet.

  

Jessi felt she might have. A stranger. Keeri was happy for her sister, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

  She fell back onto the bed and hugged her pillow, trying not to cry.

When Jessi came out of her sister's room, Jaze leaned against a wall in the living room, seeming standoffish, radiating anger. His arms folded across his chest, his legs crossed below the knee. His head was bent down and his eyes were closed. At his grumpy demeanor, she wondered if he had heard the argument she and Keeri just had, even though they had tried to keep their voices down.

Since he didn't react to her presence, she went into the kitchen and began pulling vegetables and meat out of the freezer for breakfast. She wiped down the fine layer of dust that accumulated over two and half weeks of vacancy. Then she did the same in the bathroom, putting out fresh towels. Finally she went to her bedroom and put away the clothes she had taken with her to the cabin and pulled out a fresh set for the morning.

When she was done with the prepping, she sat on the small couch. Jaze still had not moved or spoken.

She broke the silence. “Just so you know, I'm up at five in the morning. I'll make breakfast, and put it in the oven to keep warm for you and Keeri; then I'll clean the kitchen. I'm out the door at six thirty, so I can get my locker situated and get a work out before the eight AM briefing; if you want the jeep, I suggest that you be up and ready to go by that time. Unlike the couch at the cabin, this one isn't very comfortable for sleeping on, so I'm not giving up my bed. However, you are welcome to it, when I'm not here.” She paused. He still hadn't moved or flinched; nothing to show that he heard her. “Look, I'm on duty for a full seventy-two hours, minimum. Whatever's got you upset, you might want to let it out now, instead of stewing on it for that time.”

She picked up a magazine from an end table and began to read. Half an hour later, he still had not budged. Setting the magazine down, she stood up, walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Goodnight,” she said quietly.

Sometime after she settled into bed, the door to her bedroom opened silently and Jessi heard the soft sounds of someone trying to change in the dark. Considering he was unfamiliar with the layout of the room, he was doing a fairly good job at it, she thought. Expecting him to ask for a blanket and a pillow, she was surprised when she felt him climb into bed with her.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“You said that the couch was uncomfortable and that you weren't giving up your bed; you never said that I couldn't join you.” His mouth was right next to her ear.

“You could at least ask rather than sneaking in here after refusing to speak with me.”

“I was angry,” he admitted. “I don't like people talking about me or making fun of me.”

“Jaze.” Jessi attempted to roll over in the small, cramped bed.

“Shh.” He stopped her movements. “I'm impulsive, remember?” He stopped and paused. “Do you think it's possible?”

“Is what possible?”

“What Keeri said about the counter-terrorism?”

This time she successfully rolled over and looked at him. In the darkness she could not tell if he had put up the mask she'd seen him wear, the one he wore when he tried to protect her or Keeri or when he thought he was vulnerable. She doubted he was even aware that he does it.

“Do you think it is?” she asked in return.

“You should have gone into psychology instead of firefighting.” he evaded.

“I had thought about it. My family expected it – well all except Keeri and my father.”

“So why didn't you?”

“We aren't talking about me. You are either going to answer the question or we are going to sleep,” she stated firmly.

“Goodnight,” he whispered, brushing his lips against hers.

When Jessi's alarm went off the next morning, she had curled into Jaze and he had wrapped his arms around her.

The morning went just as she described it, except that he ate with her, instead of Keeri. They were out the door right on time.

He dropped her off in front of the station. Parking the jeep, he got out and pulled her bag out for her and set it on the ground, which earned him an eye roll and a small smile.

As he pulled her into a hug, she laughed. Gradually, he had learned not to react to her laughter, but he still asked, “What's so funny?”

“You're acting all possessive.”

“So?”

“If I had any doubts of this being your first Imprint, they're gone now.”

“Maybe I'm just naturally protective.” He kissed her with a bit more force and emotion than their previous kisses.

They broke apart several minutes later after multiple cat-calls from those inside the station.

“I have to go,” he said reluctantly.

“Yeah.” Her voice was breathless and sad as she stood awkwardly. “Good luck with my aunt,” was all she could think to say.

“See you in a few days.” He climbed into the jeep. As he drove off, he left Jessi thinking that it would be one long shift.

888

Jaze pulled into the parking lot of the Adornet Repair Shop and parked. He got out of the jeep and looked around. There were three oversized doors, all open. He could hear the various sounds of a thriving garage and it sounded like music to his ears. He could smell grease and rubber. It was wonderful.

He walked through the first door and headed for the man under the hood of the nearest car. The noise level inside the garage was so loud he had to shout.

“I’m looking for Liana Adornet,” he said. The man raised his head just enough to get a view of Jaze.

“She should be in her office. Head straight back.” He pointed at the rear of the garage. “You can’t miss it.”

“Thanks.”

Jaze found the office: it had a large glass window facing the garage. A brown haired woman was sitting in the chair behind a desk, typing on a computer terminal. The desk was cluttered with piles of paper. She looked to be in her late thirties to early forties.

Jaze knocked on the window to get her attention. She looked up and Jaze could see a slight resemblance between her and Keeri. She waved for him to come in.

Jaze opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him. It buffered the noise just enough to make talking easier.

“Mrs. Adornet?”

“That’s me. You must be Jaze.” She rose and stepped around the desk. “Rine called and said I should expect you.”

“Thank you for seeing me. Jaze Tillet.” He extended his hand and she shook it. She had a strong shake.

“I hear you’re a mechanic and you’re looking for a job.” She was shorter than Jessi and Keeri; petite, in fact. Her brown hair was cut very short but feminine. She leaned back against the desk.

“Yes, ma’am.” Jaze didn’t want to assume she’d just give him a job, so he thought it best to be honest and answer all of her questions to the best of his ability.

“You’ve Imprinted with my niece Jessi.” She stated rather than asked. Jaze nodded. “She’s a good girl. She’s a good judge of character.” Jaze didn’t know what to say to that so he didn’t say anything. “I owe Rine a favor, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to blindly give you a job. I also don’t believe in nepotism.”

“I don’t want hand-outs,” Jaze told her and she smiled and nodded.

“Good. I’ll start you on a trial basis. You work today and I’ll be watching. If I like what I see, you get the job.”

“That’s more than fair.” Jaze felt his chest loosen. He hadn’t even realized he was nervous.

“Rine said there’d been an accident, that you lost everything. No tools?” Jaze shook his head. After dinner the other night, Rine had pulled him aside to tell him about his sister’s garage and what he was going to tell her when he called about getting Jaze a job. Rine had flatly said he expected Jaze to repay the girls for any costs incurred in taking care of him. He’d also said Jaze needed to become self-sufficient enough to support a wife should he expect his blessing for a future with Jessi. Jaze hadn’t known whether to be angry at the implications or happy Rine was giving him a chance.

“If you work out, I’ll provide you with tools. I’ll take ten percent of your salary to pay for them until they’re paid off.” She waited with a raised eyebrow. Jaze nodded. Again, she was being more than fair. “So, you ready to meet the crew?” Liana stepped around him and opened the door. Jaze followed her and closed the door behind him.

888

Jaze pulled into the apartment complex and parked in the spot Jessi had identified as hers. He shut off the jeep and just sat.

It had been hard to let her go. The last two weeks had been a whirlwind. His instincts were telling him the feelings he had developed so quickly for Jessi were unusual for him, but very real. He had a nagging feeling inside he’d been looking for a partner for some time and every possibility until now had turned out to be a disaster.

He felt as if he’d been denying a fundamental need in previous relationships. It didn’t matter he couldn’t remember specifics about those relationships. He just knew he’d never felt so comfortable with a woman before. He was meant to meet Jessi and spend the rest of his life with her. Every moment he spent with her just reinforced that feeling.

Now if he could just shake the voice in the back of his head warning him to be careful and figure out a way to get Keeri on his side, he could survive the next three days.

At least he could tell Keeri he had a job.

The girls’ aunt had pointed him at a car in the garage and at a row of clipboards on the wall. He had quickly found the proper clipboard and read it. The engine light had come on, so the owner brought it in to have it checked out.

Jaze had started the car and listened to it, popped the hood and checked a few things. All of the fluids were full, the belts in good condition. There was no sign of excessive wear, the engine compartment was relatively clean – unlike Keeri’s SUV – and nothing was leaking.

He had started the car again and stared at the engine light. In his mind, he had a list of what could cause the light to come on. He went over each thing he had checked off it and pulled up the information screen. It showed how many miles had been driven overall, how many since the last time the car had been filled up, what average mileage it was getting. The average mileage number seemed low for the model of car.

Jaze had shut down the car and opened the flap covering the gas cap. He took hold of it and started to turn it only to find it wasn’t sealed. Trying not to smile, he tightened it, listening for the clicks that proved it was totally closed. He started the car a third time. The engine light was not on.

He then found the owner, a woman in her forties, and explained that she hadn’t tightened the gas cap sufficiently. Air was getting into the gas mix and was causing a large drop in the average mileage. The car was programmed to consider such a drop an engine problem, hence the engine light came on.

“Just make sure when you close it, it clicks at least twice,” he told her. She’d thanked him and drove away happy.

An oil change and tire repair later, Liana had told him he had the job and what hours she expected him to work.

It was a wonderful feeling to have a job and to be working again. It gave him something useful to do and a way to make money. He needed to pay back the girls and save enough money to get his own place and a car. He couldn’t borrow Jessi’s forever.

He looked towards the apartment building entrance and forced himself out of the jeep. It was going to be strange spending time with Keeri without Jessi there to be a buffer, but he’d have to get used to it. He just needed to do his best not to upset her.

Jaze used the key Jessi had given him to open the main door. He climbed the stairs to the girls’ apartment door and unlocked it. As soon as he opened it, he announced himself so as not to frighten Keeri. She had told them once they arrived she’d be spending a few days compiling her notes before she had to report to the University for her fall teaching assignment.

Ajani was lying on the floor in front of the couch and rose when he saw him, coming over with his tail wagging. Jaze reached down to pet him in greeting as he closed and locked the door.

Keeri stuck her head out of the kitchen. “How did it go with Aunt Liana?” she asked, a towel in her hands. Jaze could smell food, which made his stomach growl. He hadn’t had any lunch in his zeal to impress Liana.

“I got the job after a day of tests.” He showed her his dirty hands.

“That’s good.” She completed wiping her hands on the towel. “Dinner will be ready in a little while. Why don’t you get cleaned up first?” She disappeared back into the kitchen before he could say anything else.

Jaze went into the bedroom to get some clean clothes, stared at the bed and smiled sheepishly. He hadn’t even considered Jessi’s reaction when he’d entered the night before and climbed into the bed with her. It had just felt right. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told her he was impulsive. It might even be his middle name. He had been surprised when she didn’t kick him out.

She probably would have if she’d known how much he wanted her.

With a sigh, he went into the bathroom, quickly showering and dressing. He came out to the sound of the television. It was a local news show.

He turned towards the kitchen, noticing the small table was set for two. There was barely room for three place settings: they’d have to fill their plates in the kitchen.

Jaze walked to the doorway into the kitchen and stopped. Keeri was tossing a salad.

“Anything I can help with?” he asked to be polite, even though it looked as if she had everything under control. A skillet had several pork medallions in it sizzling and a pan held mixed vegetables, which were simmering.

“You can get our plates. It’s about ready and the dirty dishes are yours.” She gave him a look as if she was expecting him to argue.

“Deal. I do remember I’m not a very good cook.” His smile was lopsided. “I can boil noodles and microwave sauce. That’s about it.”

“That can’t be all you ate.” Keeri opened the refrigerator and removed several bottles of salad dressing. “You look too healthy.”

“I went to restaurants or got take-out a lot.” He was surprised he remembered that right off the bat. He never knew when a small fact about his past would throw itself out there.

“The steak receipt.” Keeri chuckled, remembering what they had found in his water logged pockets.

“Let me get the plates.”

Once they had their plates full, they went to the table and sat, Ajani lying down beneath the table between them. They ate mostly in silence, the television providing background noise. Jaze tried to think of something to say, something that would put Keeri more at ease. He knew, from the conversation between the sisters that he’d overheard, she still thought he could be a terrorist or a counter-terrorist.

When they had returned from the store and Jessi had revealed to him the Gantesen link to terrorism, he had dismissed the possibility that he was one instantly. Counter-terrorism? That rang a bell within him.

“What do I have to do to for you trust me?” he finally blurted out, unable to stand the unease any longer. Keeri drew in a sharp breath and looked at him like a deer in the headlights before looking down at her plate. “I can’t help that I’m Gantenese,” he told her, setting down his fork. “I can’t believe I was in the area above the falls because I was a terrorist. I’m still not convinced I was above the falls. The thought of terrorists, of those Spectrans you mentioned, makes me angry. I don’t know why.”

“Memory loss is a convenient way to avoid things,” she said.

Jaze laughed, leaning back into his seat. “You think I’m making this up?”

“No. Not completely.”

“Not completely?” He spread his hands in frustration.

“I think you were genuinely confused when you finally woke up.” Keeri grabbed her plate and walked to the kitchen. Jaze got up and followed her.

“And now?” he asked, propping himself against the door-frame as she scraped off her plate and placed it into the sink.

“We’ve only known you for two weeks and you’ve already Imprinted yourself on Jessi, claiming you couldn’t even remember what Imprinting was.” She turned on him with angry brown eyes, her whole body tense.

“So that’s what this is really about.” Jaze crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t want Jessi Imprinted to me.”

“I want my sister happy.” Keeri leaned back against the sink, her hands fisted at her sides. “You don’t even remember having a family. You have to have a sister. How would you feel in my shoes if some guy came out of nowhere and knocked her off her feet?”

Jaze thought for a moment. Concern flowed up from another lost memory. He did have a sister and he was protective of her. He couldn’t picture her in his mind and didn’t know where she was, but he knew in his heart she existed.

“I have no intention of hurting Jessi,” he told her. She huffed and shook her head.

“So you have the best of intentions. What happens when someone shows up knowing who you are, Imprinted to you? Jessi’s going into this thinking she’ll be your First Wife. That’s important. I don’t want her hurt.”

“I know I wasn’t Imprinted before now. Don’t ask me how I know, but I do. Jessi is the first woman I’ve ever even considered becoming attached to permanently.” A little thrill rolled up his spine as he said it.

“So you’ll become Enthralled to Jessi without your family’s backing?” Keeri looked incredulous.

“What difference does it make what my family thinks?” As far as he was concerned, no one else had any say in how he conducted his life except Jessi.

Keeri had a sudden thought. “Jaze, do you remember your family’s Enthrallment Knot?”

“Enthrallment Knot?”

She took his repeat of her question as a no and groaned. “Do you even know what an Enthrallment Knot is?” His frown became embarrassed. “Oh Lord.” Keeri covered her mouth with her hand. She didn’t know whether to laugh or add it to her list of reasons to be angry with him. Rather than state the obvious, ‘How can you not remember it?’ and make matters worse, she forced her tense muscles to relax. “Jessi, you owe me big time,” she muttered under her breath. “We better find out what it is.”

Keeri motioned for him to allow her to leave the kitchen since he was still blocking the doorway. He turned sideways to let her by. She motioned again for him to follow her and went to her bedroom, heading directly for her desk and laptop. Jaze stopped in the doorway.

She pulled out the chair and sat, turning on the laptop. When she saw where Jaze had stopped, she smiled at him in what she hoped was a friendly manner. “You can come in. I’m not going to bite your head off.” He looked doubtful but walked over to her side.

“What are you doing?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest as he watched the monitor come to life.

“There’s a database that carries all of the Enthrallment Knots,” she said as she looked up at him. “Did you and Jessi discuss Enthrallment?”

“A little,” he admitted, somewhat reluctantly.

“I’m not trying to be nosy. Whether or not you and Jessi plan to become Enthralled is your business, but to make it official, you have to have an Enthrallment Ceremony.” She noted he was starting to look more confused than embarrassed. To give him a moment, she turned her attention back to the laptop.

She typed in the name of the site and watched it come up. The home page showed a man’s and woman’s right arms with an intricate matching tattoo around their wrists. Out of the corner of her eye, Keeri saw Jaze lean down over her shoulder to get a better look. “That is an Enthrallment Knot,” she told him. “A couple becomes Enthralled if they mutually voice their commitment to love each other forever during or after intercourse. It doesn’t become official by our laws until both have had the man’s family’s Enthrallment Knot tattooed to their right wrists. That happens at the Enthrallment Ceremony, which is witnessed by the couple’s immediate families,” she said, feeling as if she was instructing one of her younger half-sisters.

“How can I possibly not remember this?” Jaze asked, his voice filled with self-loathing. Keeri was wondering more about that, too, but now wasn’t the time to go into it, so she chose not to respond to his words.

“Why don’t we find out what yours is?” Keeri typed in the name Tillet and hit search. It took a few moments. Instead of a picture, the screen showed a drawing of an intricate pattern of lines curled and knotted together with something that looked like feathers interwoven through it.

“Why is there only a drawing?” Jaze asked as Keeri scrolled down. There was a note that the no Tillet had come forward when the database was being created to have their Knot photographed. “Is that unusual?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Keeri admitted. “I haven’t looked around in here much. I haven’t had a reason to. Some people are very private. I’ve heard there are even people who are afraid someone else will copy their Knot.” She printed the design and handed him the paper. “Now you have it, at least.”

Jaze looked down at the paper, wanting the Knot to trigger some memory. His parents would have had them but he couldn’t remember ever seeing it before. He traced it with his finger, his eyes being drawn to the feathers. As he traced it, he could almost feel the feathers softness.

“Thank you.” He raised his eyes to Keeri. She was watching him, looking for a reaction.

“Does it ring any bells?” she wanted to know. He shrugged.

“Something about the feathers is familiar, but that’s all.”

She shut down the laptop and rose, forcing him to step back to keep them from bumping into each other. In addition to the Knot maybe triggering a memory, she had hoped explaining the Enthrallment Ceremony might encourage him to seek out his family. He’d not once asked them to help him find them. Was he maybe hiding from them?

“That’s good, at least. I want to watch the evening news and you have dishes to do.” She walked past him back into the living room and plopped onto the couch, Within seconds, Ajani was up on the couch with her, laying his head on her lap. She scratched his ears as her attention turned to the television.

Jaze took the printout of the Knot to Jessi’s bedroom and laid it on top of the dresser before clearing the table and starting on the dishes.

Once he was done, he got himself a cup of coffee and returned to the living room to find it empty. The television was still on the news channel, so he sat down and watched.

There were the typical news reports: weather, traffic, crime. Jaze watched and listened, finding nothing of interest. He had a feeling just sitting around to watch television wasn’t his normal pastime.

Just before commercials, a teaser was given for upcoming stories that included a shooting at a restaurant and a Spectran attack on Earth. That caught his interest.

By the time the commercials were over, Keeri was back in the kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. After a moment she joined him with two bowls of strawberries covered in whipped cream, Ajani on her heels.

“Don’t get used to it,” she warned him as she extended one of the bowls to him. Jaze thanked her and started into it as the report about the attack on Earth started.

The report stated the lull in Spectran attacks had been broken when a Spectran mechanical beast dubbed the ‘Piranha’ had swum to the Norfolk Virginia Naval Yards and attacked United States naval vessels. Several people had video-taped the attack and the newscaster played them. Jaze put down the bowl and leaned towards the television for a better look.

“Why do the Spectrans imitate living creatures?” Keeri asked with a look of disgust as one of the attacked vessels exploded.

“That’s the million dollar question,” Jaze answered, his arms on his thighs, his hands dangling between his knees.

The newscaster then stated the final video captured G-Force’s response just as the large blue and red ship came into view above the destruction.

“Took them long enough,” Keeri quipped, still eating her desert. She didn’t notice the narrow-eyed gaze Jaze gave her for a second before returning his attention to the television.

“Blow it up,” he muttered under his breath as the G-Force command ship flew in tight circles over the Piranha. “What are you waiting for? An invitation?” The ship kept flying around as Jaze’s eyes grew wider and wider. “Just blow it up!” he demanded just as the bright trail of missiles became visible from the ship. The missiles hit the Piranha, which erupted into flames.

“Do you always yell at the television?” Keeri wanted to know, leaning away from him. His face was flushed.

“Any moron knows you have to blow those damn mechs up,” he spat at the newscaster.

“And you know this how?” she asked.

He slowly turned narrowed eyes to her. “You mean to tell me you wouldn’t have blown it up given the chance?”

Keeri chewed on a strawberry. She had to admit he was right, when she thought about it, so she shrugged her shoulders.

The next report was of a shooting at a restaurant in the seedier section of Donotrep. An argument between two men had escalated to the point one had pulled a gun and shot the other. The restaurant was called The Black Jade.

“That’s one of them!” Keeri pointed her fork at the screen.

“One of what?” Jaze asked, getting back to his bowl of strawberries.

“One of the restaurants you ate at.” Keeri jumped up and rushed back to her room. She returned with a piece of paper and handed it to him. “This was one of the receipts that was in your wallet beside your ID. When you said the last thing you remembered was eating a steak, I figured that’s where you had done it.”

Jaze stared at the receipt. Everything else on it had been washed off by the river except the name The Black Jade. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Don’t tell me. That part of town in a hot bed of alien activity.”

“Yeah,” she conceded.

Jaze finished his strawberries and got up. “I’m going to bed,” he told her, taking the bowl to the kitchen. He washed it and retreated. Keeri finished hers, all of her concerns coming back again. It couldn’t all be coincidence, could it?

888

Jaze woke suddenly, feeling as though something was crawling on him in the bed. He kicked off the blanket and looked down to see something black on his legs. He reached down to one of the black things and pulled up an ant size of his hand.

With a yell, he kicked and slapped at his legs and fell off the bed in his haste to get them off him, banging his arm on the wall…

Keeri woke to a yell and loud thump that startled her awake. It sounded like it had come from Jessi’s room. She got up, grabbing the robe she had thrown on her chair. She hadn’t worn it in a while but had no intention of running around in her pajamas around Jaze.

She tied the sash as she got to Jessi’s door and knocked. There was just enough light coming from the large living room window that she didn’t need to turn on a lamp to see. “Jaze, are you all right?” She heard another thump and didn’t wait. She opened the door to find him on the floor, cursing as he untangled himself from his sheet and blanket. “What happened?” she asked, trying to decide whether to be concerned or to laugh at the look on his face.

“What does it look like? I fell out of bed,” he snapped, finally able to get to his feet. He was only in his briefs and Keeri was glad she hadn’t turned on the lights. She could feel her cheeks flaming.

“You’re okay?” she asked, turning away. He tossed the sheet and blanket onto the bed.

“I’m fine. Go back to bed.”

“If you’re sure.” She moved back as he approached and walked around her. She watched him go into the bathroom and decided it wasn’t worth pursuing. She went back to bed.

888

Each day Jaze went to work, on his way to and from work, he took a different route to learn or relearn the city. From the restaurant receipt that Keeri showed him, he knew he must have spent at least a little time in Donotrep, so he had been somewhat familiar with it before, but how much? He thought about going to the restaurant on his own, but decided that if the place had anything to do with his memory loss, numbness, or headaches, he should have someone with him. He was still having problems every few days, but he had stopped mentioning it for fear the girls would mention it to their father and Rine would demand Jaze abide by their agreement: if the symptoms persisted, he would see a neurologist.

He had thought about asking Keeri to go until his second nightmare had awakened her at two in the morning. He dreamt of giant flowers growing outside the entrance of the apartment. When Jessi and Keeri had gone out, the flowers had attacked them like giant Venus Flytraps. Keeri said his yelling of her and Jessi’s names had been what awakened her.

After that, Keeri had been a little nicer to him, so he’d asked to take her SUV into Aunt Liana’s shop to clean up the engine. She’d agreed and been speechless when he informed her he’d not only cleaned it up but changed the oil, all of the worn fan felts and rotated the tires. She’d even said it was nice to have a mechanic in the apartment.

On the third morning, instead of going to work, he went to the fire station to pick up Jessi. He left early and chose a few new streets to check out on his way there. Unfortunately, the only places that looked familiar were places he'd passed before. He got to the station just in time to watch two engines pull out, lights flashing and sirens blaring. Jessi was on one of the engines. He knew this because she had mentioned being on an engine company and there were no engines left in the station. There was just a ladder truck, a water tender, an SUV, and a pick-up truck with a small, enclosed trailer. He remembered Jessi telling him that a battalion chief was posted at the station, so the SUV must have been the chief's. The pickup and trailer, he thought, were for the search and rescue team she'd mentioned.

For a moment, he thought about following them; surely there was something he could do to help. He quickly changed his mind. Not only did he not want to get in the way, but he didn't want Jessi to think that he was getting over-protective or that he didn't trust to her to do her job. Another thought struck him – he could control his impulsive tendencies when he wanted to. A slow grin crossed his face. He wondered how often he had used that to his advantage in his past.

Instead of waiting around the station, Jaze turned the jeep around and went exploring again. He could think better while driving and relearning the area was more useful than sitting and waiting. Something told him he didn't do sitting and waiting well when he knew that there was something that he could do.

An hour later, he drove past the station. One engine was parked and the other was backing in. He drove around for another hour, anticipating it would take at least that long for clean up and debriefing. When he got back again, Jessi was still inside. This time he chose to wait.

After what seemed like a longer amount of time than it was - since he was sitting and waiting - Jessi came out. A short, squat man, in his early to mid-twenties, dogged her. Jaze watched as she tried to get rid of him. Only the fact that the man must have been one of her co-workers kept Jaze from intervening. However, it didn't stop him from climbing out of the jeep, leaning against it with his arms crossed and watching with a scowl on his face.

“Oh, come on, you know you'd make the same mistake, Donigel,” the man said as he followed Jessi across the street. “Or are you not gonna be the first?”

“She'll be the first,” Jaze growled.

The man looked up and stopped, mumbled something incoherent and took off in the other direction.

Jessi laughed, tossed her bag in the back, and kissed Jaze on the cheek as he continued to lean against her jeep. “I think I need to bring you to work with me,” she giggled as they both got into the jeep. “You do a much quicker job of getting rid of that annoyance than even my most creative castration threats.”

“Hate to disappoint you, but I've got a job.” Jaze grinned, relieved that he did the right thing, but not showing it.

“I knew Liana would give you the job!” Jessi squealed, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

“Hey! I earned that job,” he protested. He paused, then asked, “So that was Cletus?” referring to the man who followed her out. She nodded her head, yes. “I thought you said that he doesn't pester you like that.”

Jessi rolled her eyes. “Everyone saw you drop me off and have guessed that we're Imprinted. Evidently, he's decided that I’m making a mistake and is out to change my mind.”

Chuckling, Jaze asked, “Is he succeeding?”

“Let's see.” Jessi started ticking off the persuasive tactics on her fingers. “First he led the charge of biographical questions. Then he started on the Gantese factor. And finally, what you so aptly interrupted . . . did I say thank you for that?” She paused to kiss him on the cheek again. “He tried to compare me to the young first wife who set her kitchen on fire this morning.”

“The call you just got back from?” Jaze asked as he started the jeep and pulled out onto the street.

“Silly girl had never been taught to cook or anything. She tried to bake a breakfast casserole of eggs, bacon, and potatoes. Might not have been too bad except she used raw bacon and a plastic dish. She's lucky she only lost half her kitchen; the rest was smoke damage.”

“So not a mistake you'd make then?” Jaze said lightheartedly, not really knowing what else to say. He knew both Jessi and Keeri could cook.

“So what mistake would you make?” he teased lightly. From the corner of his eye he caught her mood shift to anxious, nervously chewing her lower lip. “I think I need to be prepared for it.” When his attempt at humor didn't relax her or get an answer, he decided to change the subject. “Hey, I remembered a couple of things the last few days.”

At this, she relaxed a little, but not completely. “You did? What were they?”

“I remembered the place where I had the steak just before the accident. I think I know where it is, so we're on our way there now.” He stopped talking for a minute, trying to figure out how to say the next part. Not coming up with a good way, he blurted out: “I have a sister.”

“You do?” Jessi's voice sounded awkward.

“Yeah, Keeri said something and it just clicked. Not sure where she is or much else about her, but I know she exists.”

“That's great!” Jessi said overly an overly enthusiastic. Worrying about his family, she didn't pay attention to where he was driving.

“Okay, we're here.” His voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up. The outside was dingy and worn. On the roof in thick black letters on a dirty, slate background were the words: The Black Jade. “This is where you ate before the accident?” Her face was ashen. She remembered going through the restaurant receipts when they first found him, but there had been several and she hadn’t done more than glance at the names, not really paying attention to them.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you bring me here?” She didn't panic often and was doing her best not to now.

“I wanted to show you something that I remembered.” He was growing frustrated, not only with her reaction, but also with himself for not wanting to admit that he hadn't wanted to come to this place alone. “Why are you suddenly acting like Keeri?”

“Don't bring her into this!” Jessi said angrily. As soon as she said it, Jessi wasn't sure why she snapped. If she admitted it, she sounded more like Keeri than herself – paranoid. No, not paranoid...suspicious. It had to be the restaurant. What was Jaze doing eating at a place like this? she wondered, and then mentally kicked herself for her thinking it. She was definitely acting like Keeri.

“Do you know what happened here the other night?” Although she tried, she couldn't keep the irritability out of her voice.

“Keeri and I saw it on the news. I drove by it earlier and remembered it.” His voice was angry and defensive.

“Runs to this place are never good,” she explained. “This is one of the few places in the city that is on a rotating response. We got lucky, it wasn't our turn. A few years ago, we lost nearly an entire company just because the creeps that hang out here thought it would be fun to whack some firefighters. If we don't have police escorts, which we often don't, we go in with hoses fully charged no matter the situation. It's really hard to try and help someone, if you’re worried about someone stabbing you in the back.” Wearily, she asked, “Can we go home now?”

“Fine,” Jaze growled.

The ride home to the apartment was spent in silence as Jessi did her best not to think about Jaze being in that restaurant.

888

Keeri had had enough. She had just a few more days to finish her lesson plans and organize her research before the start of the semester, but at the current rate she wasn't going to get it done. Jessi had spent a full day plus locked in her bedroom. Jaze was an angry mess, constantly pestering her about Jessi's behavior. He knew that she was upset and thought the visit to the restaurant had pushed her over the edge, but he hadn’t expect this. She wasn't even talking to Keeri.

After lunch on Jessi's second day off, Keeri pounded on her sister's door and demanded that she open up. It took a few minutes, but Jessi finally opened the door. Keeri gasped. It had been awhile since she'd seen Jessi cry, but red, puffy, watery eyes and tangled hair suggested that was what the younger girl had been doing for most of the past day.

“Oh, Jessi, what's wrong?”

Jess left the door open and collapsed on her bed, mumbling into her pillow.

“If you want me to help, I need to hear you,” Keeri said as she sat on the bed, next to her sister.

Turning her face, Jessi asked, “What if his family doesn't approve?”

“He's not Liff. In fact, I'd say he's the exact opposite of Liff,” Keeri admonished, continuing on she ran through several key differences. “Liff hated going hiking with you. He was afraid to get dirty, and he was so concerned with appearances and fronts it was annoying. Jaze seemed to enjoy hiking, at least with you. He's obviously not afraid of getting dirty, and I don't think he cares too much about the way he comes across to others.”

Jessi looked skeptically at her sister. Keeri was right, but caring about what strangers think is different than family. Through her sniffles, she laughed. “Be careful, you sound like you're starting to like him.”

“Well, I certainly think he's a better fit for you than Liff was,” Keeri admitted. She had never liked the boy Jessi first Imprinted with, had never seen what Jessi saw in him. Refocusing her thoughts on Jaze, she added, “Beyond that, I just don't know. I'm getting better at reading him, but there are times that I can't. I still think his amnesia is too convenient, but I don't think he's lying. At least not about his feelings for you. I do think he is dangerous, but I don't think he'd hurt us. Does that make sense?”

Ignoring the question, Jessi sighed. “You're still on about that counter-terrorism theory?” She purposely did not tell Keeri about the panic attack she nearly had when Jaze took her to the restaurant. At last, she got her tears under control.

“Yes! Now if I were you, I'd get cleaned up and then come out and join us for dinner.” Keeri answered bossily. “I'd also talk to him, if I were you. Just so you know, he's upset with you because you aren't following your own advice for talking things out, and he thinks you're upset about the restaurant.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he's been ranting at me since you won't talk to him.” Keeri left the room, but didn't shut the door.

Jessi took her sister's advice. After showering, she helped Keeri make dinner, tossing together a salad of leafy vegetables while Keeri sautéed the chicken. Although she stopped avoiding Jaze, she didn't know what, or how, to tell him about her behavior. Dinner was awkward and tense. All three seemed to focus more on the food than each other. The chicken, each pointed out, almost to the point of belaboring, was nice and juicy, not underdone or over done at all. Someone pointed out the crispy lettuce in the salad, another the meaty tomatoes. Each thought the conversation absurd. Yet no one tried to change it, until Keeri asked Jaze how his job was going. Jessi listened intently as he talked about the cars he worked on and the other mechanics.

At one point, Keeri became indignant as he compared the engine in her SUV to one in a luxury car he had worked on that day.

“They've had that fancy car for three years according to the records and are lucky if they get it in every year for basic maintenance, nothing else. It's dirty and greasier than Keeri's,” he said.

“Mechanics need to learn that people have lives and don't always have time to wait around for them to get around to working on a car.” While she said it in jest there was also an edge to voice.

Immediately after dinner, Jessi went about doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen as Keeri and Jaze watched the news. Jaze looked imploringly at Keeri, hoping she'd tell him what Jessi had told her during their talk. Being told that it wasn't him or anything he'd done didn't relax him. Neither did hearing, “It's Jessi's story to tell. Don't rush her. She'll tell you when she's ready.”

With the dishes finished and the kitchen cleaned, Jessi said quick goodnights and rushed off to her room.

“How long will she take?” Jaze barked.

“I don't know.” Keeri rolled her eyes. “To my knowledge, I’m the only one she's told the whole story to. However, I'd bet that Mom and Dad know some of it along with Liana and Pavanna, too. Most everyone else gets the glossed over version.” Keeri stretched. “Goodnight,” she added before leaving for bed herself.

Jaze scowled. There was a hint in there somewhere, but he was too frustrated to figure it out.

Jaze settled down on the couch that was uncomfortable and too small to sleep on. He drifted off to sleep with one leg stretched out over the arm of the couch and the other on the floor. Underneath the closed lids, his eyes began to move, dreaming. A cockroach the size of two large city blocks and as tall as a four-story building was trying to eat him. Regardless of which direction he turned, he could see the beast's razor sharp teeth trying to eat him. Spying a cliff, he ran towards it, a seemingly familiar action. Hoping there was a ledge below it, he dropped to the ground and rolled over the cliff just as the insect snapped where his head had been.

Screaming, he rolled off the couch, onto the floor, and into the legs of the coffee table. The noise woke both girls. Jessi rushed out first, as Keeri put on her robe before coming out. Jessi looked confused at the sight of Jaze, angry, tangled in his blanket, on the floor.

Calmly Keeri asked, “Another nightmare?”

Jaze glowered at her before answering, “No, I'm doing my middle of the night exercises.”

“Well, if that's all,” Keeri said curtly before going back to her room.

“What are you staring at?” he growled at Jessi.

“What did she mean another nightmare?”

“What do you care?” he snapped as freed himself from the blanket.

Taken aback by his tone, Jessi did her best not to show it. If she had talked with him sooner, much of this could have been prevented. Taking a deep breath, she sat on the floor next where he laid, her back against the couch.

“I told you my first Imprint didn't work out because we were too young. What I left out . . . .” She closed her eyes and stopped. It had been four years since she had talked about it. More than once, she had thought she had put it out of her mind for good. She felt Jaze sit up next to next to her, his arm brushing against hers. Eyes still closed, she continued. “After failing to Enthrall, he told me it was because of my career choice. I had just enrolled in the Fire Academy rather than a university.”

“What should that matter?” Jaze asked. He put his arm around her.

Leaning into him, but still unwilling to open her eyes, Jessi answered, “Because some families think that as the hostess of the family, the first wife should not only be of equal or higher standing, but should also have an appropriate career.”

“And being a firefighter isn't appropriate?”

“By his way of thinking, I would have been appropriate for a third or fourth wife.”

“What was he, the son of the president or something?”

Laughing, Jessi opened her eyes. Jaze looked at her expectantly. “His father was the Chief of Police. Ironically, if we had Enthralled, he would have been Enthralling above his station.”

“Because your father's a doctor?”

“Not entirely. Liff was the man's third son, born from the fifth wife. I'm the daughter of a first wife. My parents have nearly twice the education his do. I have more education than his mother.” She paused. “When I was a probie there was a fire at an industrial complex. When we got it out, we had to push through the gathered crowd to roll the hoses. While I was trying to disconnect a hose from a hydrant, his sister, who was in the crowd, had the gall to say, 'Look how filthy you are? Did you really think he should have settled for someone like you?'”

“I'm not him,” Jaze stated firmly, pulling her onto his lap. Holding her, he became aware of just how little they each wore. He slept in simple briefs. Her night clothes varied; tonight she wore a loose, silky tank with short shorts.

“I know, but . . . .” She sobbed into his chest.

As he sat there the puzzle pieces began to fall into place, except one. “What does this have to with the mistake you might make?” He remembered that teasing her about it was what when her mood started to shift.

It took her a long time to answer. “He could have, should have told me his concerns before attempting to Enthrall. You can't Enthrall without being Imprinted, but just because you’re Imprinted doesn't mean an Enthrallment has to follow. We could have just let it pass. He didn't have to . . . .”

He held her tightly for several minutes. “If you're worried about my family, don't,” he said. “I might remember having a sister, but if they were worried about me, don't you think they would have made some attempt at finding me.”

“Maybe they have and we missed it,” Jessi suggested, knowing it was not likely. Keeri was always exhaustive about research.

“Perhaps they'll come out from wherever they're hiding when they see the Enthrallment notice.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Are you sure?”

“About Enthralling or my family?” he teased. “I'm sure about Enthralling. As for my family, I don't care if they find me or if I remember anything more about them.” He pulled the blanket over them. She had answered his questions, now it was time for him to answer hers. “I've had three nightmares in the last week. The first, the first night you were away, large ants were crawling all over me. The second, flowers were trying to eat you and Keeri. Tonight, a cockroach nearly bit my head off.”

Jessi's first instinct was to giggle, but she stifled it, knowing that Jaze would appreciate it.

“Silly huh?” he asked.

“I don't know about silly,” she evaded, “but I'd avoid the back of the pool-house. There are several wasps nest back there. Don't need giant wasps attacking.” This time, she didn't hold back the giggles.

Jaze pulled the pillow off of the couch and laid on the floor next to Jessi. “Goodnight,” he said, pushing her forward so that he could lie down.

Confused, Jessi started to get up.

“Where are you going?”

“To bed.”

“No.” He pulled her back down to lay next him. “We're sleeping here tonight.”

She relaxed as he had put emphasis on the word sleep. Soon they were both asleep.

888

Keeri moved away from her door. She normally would never have invaded Jessi’s privacy like that, but she wanted to make sure things were better between her sister and her future mate before going to bed.

She had to admit Jaze’s nightmares had alarmed her, especially when he had had one each night since Jessi went to work. He hadn’t told her what they were about and hearing his telling Jessi about them had almost made her laugh with absurdity.

Keeri took off her robe and hung up it up, then got back into her still warm bed. She tried to sleep but Jaze’s description of his nightmares wouldn’t lay to rest. She started to wonder if they were his subconscious trying to jump start his memory. She decided to do some further research in the morning and that allowed her to sleep.

Ryan Regis, one of two Federation representatives manning the Federation outpost in Palporta, followed the police officer through the forest. Since he had been putting feelers out about a missing off-worlder for the last three weeks, he’d been waiting for the call he had received that morning. He had to make sure he’d said off-worlder – the Demeterns called people visiting from other planets off-worlders. They called people from other planets who were on Demeter for nefarious reasons aliens.

The Forestry Service had sent a few rangers to take a look around the old ranger station above the falls after he had informed them they had evidence Spectra had been using it for nefarious purposes. He hadn’t told them the ‘off-worlder’ was actually a Federation agent who had gone missing in that area after possibly finding the base.

Approximately two miles from the station, one of the rangers had found a decomposing body.

Ryan looked over his shoulder at his partner. Graham Brewer was having trouble keeping up. He was a large man and was huffing and puffing from the exertion. He saw Ryan’s look and waved his hand.

“Don’t wait for me,” he wheezed. Ryan nodded and sped up his steps.

He was led to an area blocked off with crime tape wrapped around trees. He dipped under the tape and continued to the group of people standing and crouching around a spot near a large boulder. Some of the heads turned as he approached and he pulled out his wallet to flash his diplomatic identification.

“So, what have you got, Doc?” he asked the woman pointing at something on the ground. The direction prompted a younger woman standing next to her to take a clear bag from her pocket as she crouched down to get whatever had been pointed out.

Dr. Brie Roux turned and gave him a professional smile that didn’t reach her dark blue eyes. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun and she appeared to be in her forties. Her dark blue pantsuit was still meticulous, even though Ryan knew she liked to get her hands dirty. They’d had a few occasions over the years to speak and had built a healthy respect for each other.

“A body,” she said sarcastically. He chuckled.

“Tell me something I don’t already know,” he challenged. She motioned for him to follow her. They only walked a few feet. Ryan kept his eyes glued to the leaf and moss covered ground so he didn’t step on anything important.

Brie pointed at the ground and Ryan looked to see a skeleton in a faded blue T-shirt and pale blue jeans. The brown shoes had fallen off the boney feet.

“It doesn’t take the bugs and animals long to eat all the flesh and tissue,” she told him and he nodded grimly. He had known that, but she said it so emotionless he wondered how often she saw it.

“Any idea how long the body has been here?” he asked. She crouched down and picked up a stick from the ground.

“Based on the shape of the clothes, I’d say a few weeks. We’ll have to do an analysis at the lab. I’d also say, based on the clothes, preliminary measurements, and a quick visual exam, the body belongs to a man between twenty and forty.” She pointed with the stick at the skull. “It appears cause of death was a bullet to the head. We haven’t found it yet, so it might still be in the skull.” The stick touched a cracked hole in the upper back on the skull.

“Did you find any jewelry?” Ryan asked. “Like a watch?”

She shook her head. “Nothing so far. If he had any, it might have been taken. There’s no identification, either.”

Ryan took a deep breath. He could hear Graham getting closer and didn’t relish what he had to do next. “Thanks Doc. Let me know as soon as you have more information.”

Brie nodded as she stood. “Will do.”

As she went back to her work, Ryan turned and walked back to where Graham was leaning against a tree, huffing.

“Come on,” he said as he passed him. Graham shook his head.

“But I just got here,” he complained between breaths.

“The faster we contact Security Chief Anderson, the better.” Ryan stopped and waited for Graham to catch up to him. “They may have found his missing agent.”

888

When Mark entered the Chief’s office, he knew whatever was going on wasn’t going to be good. Anderson sat at his desk, looking haggard, as if he’d been up all night. He spotted Mark but didn’t say a word. Mark headed for the couch and sat down, butterflies starting to fill his stomach.

A few minutes later, Princess, Tiny and Keyop had arrived. Princess and Keyop joined Mark on the couch and Tiny took the nearest overstuffed chair.

The Chief sighed heavily and rose, walking around the desk to join them.

“The outpost has reported a badly decomposed body was found two miles from the ranger station,” he said and Mark felt his heart pound harder as Princess grabbed his hand. “The medical examiner believes the body belonged to a man in between twenty and forty. The clothing was jeans and a T-shirt.”

“Oh God.” Princess’ face drained of color.

“There was no sign of a communicator,” Anderson went on. “I’ve sent a sample of Jason’s DNA for comparison purposes.

“How long will it take them to…” Mark’s throat tightened too much to say more.

“Their DNA technology is far behind ours. I’ve been told it will take up to two weeks.”

“We have to wait?” Tiny’s voice was higher pitched than normal with his distress. “Can’t we get a sample and bring it back here - ” Anderson was shaking his head.

“We can’t interfere with their investigation.”

“Why not?” Mark couldn’t believe it. “We need to know!”

“Demeter isn’t a member of the Federation yet. It’s out of our jurisdiction.”

“Then what the hell were we doing there?” Mark demanded. He had released Princess’ hand to fist his own at his sides.

“We were trying to foster good will,” the Chief answered.

“Then they can foster good will by giving us the sample!”

“Mark, I feel as frustrated about this as you are.” The Chief reached up and removed his glasses to rub his eyes and pitch the bridge of his nose. “How would our government react if they were conducting an investigation into the disappearance of a Rigan and the Rigan High Command demanded everything be turned over to them? It just doesn’t happen.” He replaced his glasses and sighed heavily. “As soon as I know more, I’ll let you know.”

“If Jason isn’t dead, when we do find him, I’m going to kill him!” Mark declared as he rose and stormed from the room.

888

Keeri came out of her bedroom, having risen early to get some work done. She hoped the talk she had overheard between Jessi and Jaze meant they’d made up.

She wanted to start a pot of coffee and walked past the couch to the kitchen entrance, only to nearly trip over the edge of a pillow on the floor and a golden brown head laying on it.

“Jessi! What are you doing?” she snapped, waking both Jessi and Jaze up where they were intertwined between the couch and coffee table under a blanket. They looked up at her bleary eyed with serious bedhead. “You have a bedroom and I expect you to use it!”

“What time is it?” Jaze mumbled, raking his fingers through his hair.

“Time for you to get your backside out of my sight. Just because you’ve Imprinted my sister doesn’t mean you get to run around in front of me in your underwear.” Kerri pointed where the blanket had fallen off him to reveal his briefs. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it back over himself.

“Come on.” Jessi pushed the coffee table across the carpet far enough to give them room to get up. She rose, covered by her over-sized sleeping shirt, trying not to smile at her sister’s discomfort. Jaze got up, making sure the blanket was around his waist. They fled the living room together.

Keeri shook her head and continued into the kitchen. Now she really needed her coffee.

888

Keeri rolled her chair back from her laptop and rubbed her eyes.

Her first searched about giant ants had resulted in what she had expected: data about different ant species. It wasn’t until she had gone through pages of hits had she found the article about the giant ant attacks on Earth. First a power plant was attacked by hand sized robotic ants, then a major city was attacked by a giant ant mech the size of a small building. The attacker was an ally of Spectra’s.

Next she’d looked up cockroaches. Jaze had said it tried to bite his head off in his nightmare, so it, too, had to be giant. Again, a giant roach mech had attacked Earth, sucking up all the sugar cane in sight. The attacker had been Spectra.

Last but not least was the giant flowers. She’d simply looked up people-eating flowers. After pages of flower recipes, she came across the article on the jigokillers, carnivores flowers that grew to the size of cars in a matter of hours and stalked and ate women. The flowers had been dropped by Spectra on Earth.

A picture of the flowers was still on her screen.

Jessi had gone to pick Jaze up from the garage. After dinner, she would show them what she’d learned.

She now believed Jaze was from Earth, not Demeter, a possible descendent of the Ambassadore Gaius Tillet. Why had Jaze come to Demeter? She could only help the articles would spark some recognition in him.

888

Keeri was barely able to contain herself until dinner had been eaten and the dishes cleaned up. She then brought in her laptop, sitting it on the dinner table so they all could see it.

“I have to make a confession,” she told them as she brought up the articles. “I overheard your talk last night and heard your description of your nightmares, Jaze,” she said. Jaze’s eyebrows rose as Jessi’s eyes narrowed. “I wanted to make sure you were both okay,” was her excuse.

“Don’t make it a habit,” Jessi snapped but Jaze shook his head.

“We’re in a small apartment,” Jaze said in her defense. “Sound carries. Next time we have a discussion, we can do it in the jeep.”

“Anyway,” Keeri went on. “I did some research on your dreams.”

“So, what does having a giant roach try to bite your head off mean?” Jaze asked with a smirk until he saw the serious look on her face.

“I wasn’t looking up dream interpretations. I was thinking it might be your subconscious trying to spark your memory. This is what I found.”

She showed them the article about the attack of the robotic ants and the ant mech. Jaze read through it twice and looked at the four pictures provided. A tingle was going up his spine.

“This…it seems familiar,” he said as he grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it over next to Keeri’s so he wouldn’t be leaning over her, but Jessi stayed standing behind them, her hands finding his shoulders.

“What about this?” She showed him the one about the roach.

“That thing caused a sugar shortage on Earth?” Jessi asked with a grimace. Keeri looked over her shoulder and nodded. “That would have been hell. I can’t live without my daily slice of cake.”

Jaze rested his left elbow in the table, cupping his jaw as he read and looked at the pictures. He had a sudden vision of hanging over what looked like magma, the heat almost too much. He shook his head.

“What?” Keeri asked. She was watching him closely for any signs of recognition.

“I just had this weird thought.” He shuddered under Jessi’s hands. “I felt like I was about to fall into magma.”

“Magma?” Jessi sounded puzzled. Jaze turned to look up at her.

“I know it sounds strange, but that was the first thing that came to my mind.”

“Let’s see what this triggers, then.” Keeri flipped the screen to the last article, which included a picture of a white flower with red and pink veins. The article’s title was “Thousands of women missing – strange flowers thought to be to blame.”

Jaze took one look at the picture of one of the flowers and scooted the chair back, getting to his feet, nearly colliding with Jessi in his haste to get away from the computer.

“Jaze, what is it?” Jessi grabbed his arms to steady him.

“You recognize those?” Keeri watched him try to regain control of himself. There was a look of horror in his pale eyes as he raked his shaking fingers through his hair.

“They ate them.” His voice shook as he pointed at the screen. “Women. They were like animals, tracking them, attacking them.” He raked his fingers through his hair again, turning away. He closed his eyes and saw a face, a young woman with long, black hair and emerald green eyes. His sister.

“They took my sister,” he whispered and opened stricken eyes. “The flowers attacked her.”

“Oh Jaze.” Jessi hugged him as Keeri looked surprised. He hadn’t read the article but knew exactly what it was about and what had he said?

“What sister?” Keeri looked between them expectantly.

“Jaze remembered yesterday that he had a sister,” Jessi answered. She released him but rubbing her hand up and down his back.

“You’re sister was attacked by those things?” Keeri asked, having to stop herself from snapping that neither of them had told her about Jaze’s realization. He looked disturbed enough without her starting a fight.

He nodded but then shook his head, taking a shaky breath. “I think I remember that, but…” He took another shaky breath. “I don’t feel she’s dead.”

“That’s wonderful, Jaze.” Jessi hugged him.

“I have a theory, if you’re up for it.” Keeri changed the screen on the laptop so Jaze didn’t have to continue looking at the flowers and patted the chair. He walked back over and sat, Jessi taking her position behind him again.

“I think this proves one thing: you’re not from Demeter.” Both Jaze and Jessi started to protest but Keeri went on. “You’re Demetern, but not from here. I think you’re from Earth.” She brought up another screen with an older shot of a man boarding an old-fashioned planet-hopper. He was turned towards the picture taker, waving. He had a vague resemblance to Jaze.

“Back when we first found you, I searched the internet for anything about you. I didn’t find anything about a Jaze Tillet, but I did find Gauis Tillet. He left Demeter over 50 years ago as our one and only Ambassadore to the Federation. From what I could tell, he never returned. I’m betting he decided to stay on Earth and started a family there.”

“So you think I’m his descendent?” Jaze asked. She nodded.

“Do you remember when we were looking up the Tillet Enthrallment Knot?” He nodded. Now it was Jessi’s turn to look surprised and then pleased. “I did some more research about why it was only a drawing. The Tillet family was decimated during the attacks we suffered over 50 years ago. It was believed he was the last of the line.”

“So when he left, that was it? How is that possible, with the size of the families here?” Jaze was clearly skeptical.

“You know how we’re seventy-five percent female?” Keeri asked. Jaze nodded. “Some families produce more boys than girls. It’s rare, but it happens. The Tillets were one of those families.

“One of the raids was strictly for women. Back then, families clustered together in compounds. Women moved to the compounds of their husband’s family. The aliens hit the neighborhood where the main Tillet compound was. All the men were killed protecting the women and children. Gaius was a child and at that time, the only male child of his generation. The raiders didn’t get a chance to kill him because the authorities arrived and saved the rest of the family,” she explained.

Jaze stared at the screen, his eyes far away.

“Is it possible you came to Demeter to find out more about your family?” Keeri asked.

“I guess it’s possible,” he said after a moment’s more contemplation. “But it doesn’t explain how I know about the attacks.” He turned to look up at Jessi and took her hand from his shoulder, guiding her around to sit on his lap. He seemed to need the increased physical contact. She slipped her arm over his shoulders to help her balance.

“You could be in the military?” Keeri ventured tentatively, looking to Jessi for support.

Jaze’s eyes widened in shock. “I’m a mechanic. I think I’ve proved that.”

“Doesn’t the military have grease monkeys?” Jessi asked.

Jaze looked between the two women, contemplating what Keeri had learned. Her explanation made more sense than anything else he had been thinking about. He hugged Jessi against his chest.

“I’ll think about it. I couldn’t say yes or no right now.”

“I’ll keep researching,” Keeri promised.

“Thanks.” Jaze tried to smile at her but didn’t quite make it. He just stayed seated, still hugging Jessi for all it was worth.

888

“Do you want to wait on Enthralling?” Jessi asked Jaze when they went to their bedroom.

“Why?”

Nervously, she chewed on her lip. “In case your family is looking for you.”

Jaze chuckled softly at her anxiety. He could plainly see it even in the dusky light of the bedroom, now that he knew the signs. “You were wrong,” he said, “when you told your sister you read people well. Or are you too close now?” He watched as her eyes went wide, a million thoughts and doubts flashing through them. He pulled her to him. “I don't want to wait. If they were looking for me, Keeri would have found them.”

“What if they aren't looking here?” At his cross look, she babbled, “Maybe they don't know you came here.”

“If my family and I were close enough that they would need to know about us Imprinting and Enthralling, then they would know I'm here. If they're looking on Earth, or not at all, then what does their opinion matter?”

“Okay,” she sighed, somewhat placated.

“Do you want to wait?” Jaze asked.

“No, but Enthrallment is permanent. I don't want you to decide this was a mistake if you get your memory back or find your family.”

“I don't want to spend my life waiting for something that might never happen---” he countered.

“You're impulsive and hard-heard,” she laughed.

“Would you like me any other way?” he smirked, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear.

“Probably not, but we are going to do this properly, not by the seat of our pants.” He looked at her quizzically. “My parents can be very generous people. If you want to stay on their good side, then we'd better talk to them first.”

“I need to ask your father for permission?”

“Exactly.” She smiled.

Jaze groaned as they climbed into bed.

Jessi said, “Ask Liana if you can get a few days off after my next shift.”

“Want to tell me why?”

“Because we are not doing it here,” she huffed lightly. When he didn't respond, she added, “Do you really want Keeri to hear?”

“Fine then,” he responded tersely. “Care to tell me where we're going?”

“I haven't decided yet,” she kissed his nose playfully.

Jaze kissed her back, pushing his tongue into her mouth, surprising Jessi. She let him explore her mouth before sending her tongue tentatively into his.

When they finished the kiss, Jessi rolled over and Jaze wrapped his arms around her, his hard arousal pressed into the small of her back.

The next few days passed slowly for both Jaze and Jessi.

Jessi's shift was another slow one with only a few medical assists and traffic accidents. By all accounts it was a good shift, but it left the company edgy and wondering what was coming.

At the repair shop, everyone could instantly tell that Jaze's bad mood had passed. The other mechanics learned quickly to give him wide berth when he was in a foul mood, although the foul mood always disappeared when he was speaking to Liana.

Jaze, however, was quickly growing bored. As much as he loved cars and working on them, he had a nagging feeling that this was not a day to day job for him. With what he had learned from Keeri about the Tillets and his nightmares, he was starting to put more stock in her counter-terrorism theory. He hadn't told Jessi, because that theory bothered her. Briefly he thought about asking Keeri or the girls’ aunt why, but decided it would be better to talk to Jessi directly.

888

Jessi was waiting for him when Jaze pulled up. After a quick kiss, he started the jeep, pulled into traffic, and asked, “So, where are we going?”

“Well, first we need to go home and pack. Then we'll head to my parents. I talked to Mom, they'll be home early today. After we talk with them, we can take off.”

“You're intentionally not telling me.” He glared.

“More just wondering how long I can push you before you lose your temper.”

“Don't blame me if I don't pack right.” He deliberately made a sharp turn at a quick speed. Jessi grabbed the roof handle.

“Jeans and t-shirts will be fine for my parents, but a nice shirt and trousers would be good to have on hand. Though, I'd pack them in a water proof bag. The Aquaean Ocean is warmer than the Meadajan, so simple shorts will work, if your self-conscious about swimming naturally.”

He pulled into their parking spot. “You got us a room at the ocean?”

“Of course not,” she said as if the idea were silly. Walking around to a door between her spot and Keeri's on the wall in front of the parking spaces, she opened it up, reached to the top shelf of the closet, and pulled out two internal frame backpacks. “The nice hotels in Esotel are way too overpriced, the affordable ones, too seedy to consider. But I know some very nice beaches that are extremely private and difficult to get to.”

“Really? How do you know of these?” His tone was light, but held a hint of jealousy.

“Relax,” she said as she pulled out ropes and other gear from the closet. “The Palporta State Fire Department owns them. Our department goes there once a year for rappeller and cliff rescue training. Departments and personnel can use them for recreation if no training is scheduled. I asked Brandt to put one on reserve for us.”

Jaze snorted. “You expect that'll be honored?”

“It's not a common spot to use, but we won't be the first, or the last, to have used it. As for pranks, they'll leave us alone, at least until I get back to work. Fortunately, I removed everything I want left alone from my locker and bunk.” She dropped a ring of carabiners onto the pile of ropes, harnesses, other climbing gear, and sleeping bags. “There, that looks like everything but our clothes.”

They put the gear in the jeep.

“You see pretty confident that I can repel.”

“You want a nice, clean, flowery, over-priced hotel room?”

Jaze didn't answer, just lead the way upstairs to finish packing.

They arrived at the the home of Jessi's family early in the afternoon. Jessi’s mother directed Jaze downstairs to see her father, while she ushered Jessi into the kitchen.

“I take it you and Jessi have come to an understanding?” Rine asked as the younger man entered the downstairs room.

“Yes.” Jaze's voice was terse with anxiety. He was not certain what Jessi would do if her father did not give them his blessing.

“Hmmm.”

“Jessi told me I need to ask for your permission to Enthrall with her,” Jaze stated with forced nonchalance. He did not like being judged or questions, but did his best not to show it.

For a moment, Rine considered giving the young man a hard time, but he sensed that would not sit well. Besides, he thought, this one was treating his daughter better than her last suitor had from the accounts he had heard. After sitting and pondering for a moment, he answered, “And if I say no?”

Jaze looked up, shocked for a just a moment before quickly recomposing his carefree demeanor. Shrugging he replied, “Wouldn't bother me, but I'd leave the final decision to Jessi.”

Rine smiled slyly. He remembered having the same attitude with his first wife. By the time he Enthralled with his fourth wife, he never bothered with asking her parents, but then that was a spontaneous Enthrallment. Deciding to do just a little fatherly grilling, he said, “Liana tells me your doing well at the shop.”

“It's a good job,” Jaze responded, evading his earlier epiphany.

“How's your health?”

“'Bout the same.”

“Has any part of your memory returned?”

“Not really. Just impressions and knowledge, same as before.” He avoided the details.

Many years of dealing with patients embarrassed by the truths of their diseases told Rine that Jaze was being less than truthful in his answers. Pushing farther, “How are the headaches and numbness?”

“The same.”

“Any other symptoms?”

“No.” Jaze growled in frustration.

“You don't like answering questions, do you?”

Jaze glared at him, refusing to answer.

“Do me a favor, for Jessi's sake,” Rine sighed. “If your symptoms get worse, let me know. There's a neurologist in the suite next to my office. She's good and discreet. I'll get you an appointment.”

“Is that a condition of your approval?”

“If that's the only way to get you seen and checked out properly.”

“Fine, but only if they get worse.”

Rine locked eyes with him for a moment to make his point before smiling. “Best of luck.” He held out his hand. Reluctantly, Jaze shook it before heading upstairs to see if Jessi was ready.

888

The ride to Esotel was spent discussing the practicalities, that they'd both avoided thus far by being more focused on finding out who Jaze was, and why no one seemed to be looking for him. Living arrangements – as awkward as it might be, the best option would be their current one. As a doctoral student and teaching assistant, Keeri didn't make enough to maintain the apartment on her own, and with just two semesters remaining before graduation, it would be unfair to put her into a situation of looking for a new roommate or apartment. So that was easily settled as long as Keeri agreed, though Jaze was arguing for a larger bed. Jessi told him if he could find one that fit the bedroom.

Children – since Jaze was not anxious to have any, it was also easily decided. She told him about the birth control implant required for all young women of sexually active age. Their culture didn’t allow un-Enthralled births, so a woman had to prove she was Enthralled I order to have it removed. They'd wait at least until Jessi got her next promotion, possibly until she got her specialists training before considering having it removed.

After a five minute discussion on why it made sense to save money instead of buying buying another vehicle, Jaze blurted out, “What if your joke was right?”

“Huh?” Jessi responded, not immediately understanding his change of topic.

Jaze rolled his eyes impatiently. “When you jokingly told Keeri I might be in counter-terrorism. What if you were right?”

“A-a-are you?” Jessi stuttered.

“I don't know,” he sighed. “But honestly, it makes as much sense as anything else.” He went on to explain his epiphany and how he came to it: boredom at work, hatred toward Spectra, lack of community or family ties.

While she was thinking about his statement the scenery began to change. Pines and firs become more sparse, while redwoods grew thicker. Rocky soils become sandy. More and more creeks and streams seemingly came from nowhere.

“We told you that day in the store: Keeri and I both know how to defend ourselves.” Her voice was steady, but it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as him. “I tease her about guns, but to be honest, she's a better shot than I am, whether it is hunting or target practice. We've had self-defense classes, and I've had to use an ax and a pressure hose to protect myself or a teammate.”

Jaze looked at her in confusion, wondering where she was going. She didn't seem to be threatening him.

Mistaking his confused look, she added, “Isn't that the first rule of self-defense: use what you have at hand as a defensive weapon? While the class focused on keys or purses and the like, a good pressure hose is much more effective.

“So the idea doesn't bother you?” he asked, seeking confirmation.

Her voice rose to a near hysterical level. “Bother me? Of course it bothers me! That's why I avoid it. When terrorist or counter-terrorist start operating in the city, people get hurt or killed. The department gets busy and stressed. We don't like either group.” As she stopped to breath, Jaze focused on the road. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands around the steering wheel.

“However,” she added more calmly. “At the moment, there's no better way to stop the terrorists.” Taking another deep breath, she continued, “It doesn't change how I feel about you. But would you please not do anything rash until you know for certain? I mean, maybe you are a mechanic, but you just work in more exciting environments than what you're in. . . .” She trailed off believing that she sounded like she was grasping at straws.

She took his revelation better than he thought she would. He took her hand and kissed it. Indulging her a bit, he asked, “What kind of 'exciting environments' are there around here for mechanics?”

“You'd really have to ask Liana, but I know that's how she met her husband and got into the business. I heard she was always going out to races or car shows. She was working on an MBA when she went to some classic car show and met Taylon Adornet, a marginal mechanic, dreadful businessman, but genius with restorations. Next thing the family knew, she'd Enthralled, dropped out of grad school, and started taking night classes at a tech school learning auto mechanics. She learned the business and turned the shop around. Only thing her husband does now is restorations. You want something other than day to day repairs, prove yourself and ask her about other opportunities.”

They drove through the city of Esotel; there was a series of hotels, motels, restaurants and strip malls. Once on the outskirts, they came to the old fire road. It was hidden in a grove of redwood rings and eucalyptus. If Jessi hadn't told him where it was, Jaze would have driven right past it. After parking, they hiked down about twenty feet before coming to a cliff.

Despite his protestations, Jaze repelled down with the ease of an experienced climber. His form was so good that Jessi watched with a mix awe, jealousy, and arousal. When Jaze was down, she followed, swiftly and self-consciously. Although she had been hiking and climbing for years and had professional training, she knew that her form looked awkward in comparison.

“How'd I do?” he asked as they stowed their gear near the base of the cliff and took of their shoes. His tone was smug like a teenager who had just done something he was told he couldn't do, but not arrogant like someone intentionally hiding a skill.

Jessi pulled the sleeping bags out of her pack as she debated the best way to answer. Then she handed two bags to Jaze. One was a large soft sided lunch box, the other a canvas bag about the same size. Leaving the rest of their supplies stowed in their packs, they walked toward the water. Finally, as she unrolled one sleeping bag and laid it out full width a few inches from where the soft, fine, loose sand turned to hard sand, packed by the waves, she answered, “You looked like someone with years of experience.”

They sat down on the bag. She with her legs stretched out in front of her; he right behind her with his legs on either side of her.

“Thinks that's another clue?” He pulled her back into his chest.

“Yeah, let's see. On Earth, you were a bored mechanic who liked to climb. You came to Demeter in search of your roots. Looking for excitement, you went free climbing in street clothes on the wrong mountain and ended up in the river.”

“Absurd,” he whispered, his lips tickling her ear.

“You asked.” She shivered.

Neither wanting to push his missing past any further, they sat in silence, watching the the sun sink into the ocean. As the yellow star faded to orange, and the sky turned pink, the water reflected the colors in distorted ripples.

When the sky turned to a dusty purple, Jessi reached into the canvas bag and pulled out several citronella candles, placed them around the top and sides of the bag and lit them. Then, from the other bag, she pulled out two plastic containers that contained mixed green salad with nuts and strips of beef. Also in the same bag was some crusty bread and two small bottles of wine.

“You didn't have time to do all of this this morning,” Jaze stated suspiciously.

“No, it was our company's turn to shop and cook, so while shopping, I picked up a few things for this. And ignored a lot of help and suggestions from the others.”

“What else did you fix for us?” he asked between mouthfuls.

“Dessert, we have strawberries and sweet cream. However, the rest of our meals will be fruit and protein bars unless you want to climb out and drive into town.”

“What, no premade meals for each day?”

“Did you want to lug a large ice chest down and then haul it back up?” They both laughed.

Finished with dinner and clean-up (repacking the containers and trash), they sat next to each other; he faced the water, while she faced the cliffs. The darkness was broken only by the distant stars and the soft glow of the candles; the only sound – the gentle breaking of the waves.

“These waters are safe for swimming, particularly this time of year,” Jessi said awkwardly.

“Maybe in the morning,” Jaze answered, kissing her neck. She turned her face towards him and his lips found hers. The kiss deepened. She ran her fingers through his hair. His hands found their way under her shirt, caressing her soft skin. Working his way up her back, he unsnapped her bra.

He pulled on the band that held her ponytail, letting her hair fall free. Breaking the kiss, he said, “You should wear your hair down more often.

“Occupational habit,” she said shyly.

“Would you wear it down while we are here?” His fingers combed through her golden brown locks.

“Okay, but you might change your mind after a few hours in the salty air and sand.”

“I'll take my chances,” he said, pulling his shirt off and tossing it behind them, revealing lightly tanned skinned and lean muscles. Jessi's breath caught as it did nearly every time she'd seen his body since he recovered from his injuries. It was vastly different looking at him to assess injuries than admiring every sinewy inch. Smirking at her he added, “Unfair. You've seen more of me then I have of you.”

Before she realized it, his fingers were running lightly up her torso, pushing her shirt and bra up and then over her head. He tossed them on top of his shirt, leaving them both wearing only jeans. For a long moment they just stared into each other's eyes. Jaze leaned back, his eyes drifting downward. Insecurely, Jessi closed her eyes and brought her arms up to cover her breasts.

“What?” Even though her eyes were closed, she could hear the scowl in his voice.

“There too small.”

“Huh?” Jaze looked confused, but she didn't see.

“My twelve-year-old half-sister can wear my bras.”

“How do you know?” Jaze leaned towards her.

“Keeri has the younger kids come and stay at the cabin with her for a week or two during the summer months to help out. I went up after my shift, as usual, and the first thing Desenna says to me is Pader used her bra's for sling shots so she borrowed mine because Keeri's were too big.” When Jaze said nothing, she kept speaking more quietly. “Liff told me I'd need to get Implants or something, but I don't want to.”

“Good,” Jaze answered, pulling her onto his lap. “They aren't complete safe, need to be replaced every twenty years, look unnatural and feel rubbery.”

“I won't even ask how you know that,” she groaned, opening her eyes.

“Good thing. I don't know.” He smiled arrogantly.

“One of these days, that answer won't cut it anymore.”

“Mmmm,” Jaze responded as he found her lips again. His massaged her breasts, her arms falling away. His thumbs raking gently over her nipples. She moaned into his mouth.

He rolled them over, laying her on top of the sleeping bag. Supporting his weight with his left arm, he caressed her breast with his right. Her hands exploring his back.

Jaze's lips left hers. He kissed his way down her throat, along her chest, resting on one of her nipples. He built a steady rhythm of nip, lick, suckle, alternating breasts every few moments. While his lips were busy, his free hand slowly traveled down to her jeans, unbuttoning the top button and unzipping the zipper.

He stopped his ministrations on her breasts to pull off her jeans and panties. They joined the growing pile of clothes at the top of the sleeping bag.

For one brief moment, Jessi felt self-conscious again, but that ended as Jaze striped off his own pants. She had felt him aroused, but had never seen him. It had always been as they had been going to sleep or waking up. As her eyes trailed up and down his body, she was conscious of his smirk and his eyes doing the same to her body.

He dropped back down next to her. “Now we're even.”

“I'm not sure about that,” she giggled. “But if you're satisfied . . .”

“Not yet, but I'm sure I will be.”

“You're incorrigible.”

Rather than respond, he captured her lips in another kiss. While his tongue sought entry into her mouth, his hand roamed down her bare skin. When she felt his thumb tease her nub, she gasped, letting his tongue into her mouth. Their tongues dance. His fingers slipped in and out of her sex, drawing out the silky moisture that told him she was ready.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked, his body positioned to enter hers.

“Yes,” she smiled.

He kissed her softly, then more insistently. He slipped inside of her as the intensity of their kiss grew. Once again they moved with the rhythm of the ocean waves, losing awareness of everything but the sound of the ocean. Pulling away as the waves ebbed away from the beach, pounding in as the waves crashed onto the beach. Pull, pound, ebb, flow, pull, pound, ebb, flow, pull, pound. Water from the high tide tickled their toes that hung off of the sleeping bag. Their rhythm outpaced the ocean, matching their heart's pound, pound, pound, pound. They crashed into each other as hard as the ocean crashes onto the beach on a stormy night.

Slowly catching their breath, their awareness returned.

“That . . . that . . . ?” Jaze asked, dazed, his breath not completely back.

“is Enthrallment.” Jessi answered breathlessly.

888

Jaze and Jessi spent the remainder of their time at the beach alternating between swimming in the ocean and making love. Jessi came to the conclusion that Jaze was a naturally gifted athlete ant that allowed him to heal faster than expected when she and Keeri found him. She was still uncertain about the disappearing wounds, but if he was born somewhere other than on Demeter, maybe he had blood from some other planet that had enhanced healing. At any rate, it didn't matter they belonged to each other now.

“Keeri's right. How do you stand these things?” Jaze asked as they ate the meal bars Jessi packed for dinner the second night.

Jessi shrugged. “I didn't pack fishing poles because you don't like fish. Besides, when you get hungry enough, food is food, especially when the shift has been too long and only gets longer. You get used to them. Even coffee tastes good when you're exhausted.”

“I've never seen you drink coffee. You make it for Keeri and me, but you don't drink,” he observed.

“Yeah, you probably won't. Don't drink it at home,” Jessi laughed. “One of the standing jokes at the station is that you gauge how long and hard a run was by whether or not I have coffee after wards.”

“You take a lot of ribbing for it?” There was a protective edge in his voice.

“Nah, no worse than anyone else for their quirks. Plus it's better than putting up with my brother?”

“Haro?” Jaze asked.

“Yeah, and he's got Vidar started on it, too.” Vidar, was the middle child of her father's second wife.

“On what?” The edge was stronger, but Jessi answered his question anyway.

“'Hey, sis, you know if you grow up and get a real job you wouldn't need to buy your clothing pre-labeled.'” She mimicked. “He's always teasing me about having my name on the back of my clothes, conveniently forgetting that it's only the Class C t-shirts and turn-out coats.”

“It bothers you?” The protective tone in Jaze's voice turned angry; it excited and concerned Jessi.

Shrugging it off, she responded. “When it's friendly teasing, I can take it and give it right back. When it's condescending and condemning, I just head to the tree house or home, if I can.” She looked at Jaze and saw a flash of something in his steel blue eyes that was almost frightening. Trying to detour whatever it was she saw, she continued, “Look, don't go going after Haro. He's your brother now, too. I've been dealing with this since the academy. One of these days he'll grow up. It's just the way brothers can be.”

Jaze relaxed a little. Something told him he knew just how brother's could be. The first to knock you down when they don't like something you've done; the first to pick you up when someone else knocks you down. His scowl turned contemplative. Did he have brothers? Brothers? He caught himself on the plural. He had brothers! A small smile graced his stern face.

“What is it?” Jessi asked as she watched a multitude of expressions cross his face in a few seconds.

“I have brothers! Three of them,” he said.

“Yeah, that's what I just told you,” Jessi smiled. “Haro, Vidar, and Pader.”

“NO!” he said with the excitement that Jessi recognized came with remembering. “I have three brothers of my own. One my age, one just younger, and one about eight years younger.”

Despite Jaze's excitement, Jessi felt angry for Jaze. How could he have four siblings who haven't bothered to look for him. She'd have ask Keeri if she could get her alone once they got home. Maybe she'd be able to found something.

Jaze didn't notice Jessi's apprehension. Before she knew it, he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her, exhilarated from his latest discovery. The kiss quickly turned into a frenzied coupling that was followed by a much slower love making session. For the moment, Jessi forgot all about Jaze's siblings and how they abandoned him.

888

Once up the cliff, they made quick work of packing the gear and untying the ropes from the jeep and rolling them back up. All the time time, Jaze gazed at Jessi. Her normally neat hair had become a frizzy matted mess.

“All right, say it.” He tried to keep his tone light, but it still had the short clip of someone who hated being wrong.

“Say what?” Jessi asked, not sure what he was getting it, thinking that it may have something to do with his latest epiphany.

“'I told you so,'” he answered. When she looked uncertain, he added, “Go on, say: 'I told you so.'” When she continued to stare at him, he blurted out, “Your hair! It looks like a bird's nest.”

Although, she knew how it must look, it didn't stop her from being shocked at the way he shouted it. She was about to yell back that sh had only done as he asked, when she caught a very brief flicker of guilt in his face. Changing tracks, she said, “At least there's no soot.” This time the the guilty look lasted longer, deciding to push it just a little, he did ask for it after all, “If you really want to, you can help me clean it up when we get home.”

Jaze only scowled and started up the jeep as Jessi got in giggling. They drove on in to Esotel. After they'd passed the third restaurant, Jaze decided he wanted real food before driving over the mountain and they'd be stopping at the next place, even if he had to eat fish. They were at at the outskirts of the city and the next place was a large travel center with many different shops and a couple of eateries. It was busy enough that they'd have to wait a half hour for a table at either the coffee shop or the family restaurant, the deli wasn't open yet.

They sat on a bench waiting. A frazzled woman with three active young children sat across from them. The kids pointed and stared at Jessi's hair. Noticing the children's behavior and Jaze growling at their rudeness, Jessi put her hand on his leg. Before he could frighten them or snap at them, she leaned over and whispered, “I'm gonna see if I can make this mess a little neater.”

“Want some help?” he asked anxious to get away from the kids, too.

“Love some,” Jessi answered. “But I don't think the management would like you in the Ladies' room.” She kissed him on the cheek and walked into the restroom.

Jaze got up right behind her and walked into one of the shops. It was one of nicer ones, a jewelry story, and quieter as they didn't have much for children. Browsing through the shop, he wasn't sure what was worse – being in a jewelry store or sitting with unruly children. He decided it was easier to suffer the store as the lone clerk was busy flirting with another customer. Thinking Jessi might like something, he started to look in earnest. Not even looking at the section with precious metals and gemstones that were out of his price range, he looked for a section that was inexpensive but not tacky or cheap looking.

As he wandered, he wondered if he was even in the right store. Jessi rarely work jewelry. What she owned fit into a small box, about half the size of a glove box with plenty of room available; he remembered seeing it one day when he happened to be standing right behind her as she got ready for work. He snorted, he didn't just happen to be there. He was deliberately standing there, doing his best to distract her. It almost worked, but she kept scolding him for trying to make her late. What he saw in the box were a few simple gold and silver chains, a pair of blue pearl earrings, and three watches: a dress watch, her uniform watch, and an everyday watch that she wore off duty.

He stopped and stared at a case. A crystal pin in there was nearly perfect. It was tasteful and in his price range. The only problem was it fit Keeri better than Jessi. The blue and white crystals formed a perfect image of a mother fox and her kits, just like the blue foxes that Keeri was studying and often talked about. He wondered away sighing. He wasn't looking for Keeri. Maybe if he had enough after he found something for Jessi, he'd get that, too.

Having given up, he started to walk out the door, passing a display case which caught his eye. The case held a collection of cloisonne hair accessories: barrettes, sticks, combs, and ponytail holders, many with the same designs. A set of combs stood out to him – blue orchids. The color would match her pearl earrings and work with her uniforms. He didn't stop to think about whether or not she could wear them with her uniform, but rather that they might be a nice way to get her to wear her hair down once in a while.

“Can I help you?” the clerk asked, breaking his thoughts.

Quickly doing the math, he answered, “Yeah. I want the blue combs and the ponytail holder, and the fox pin in that case over there.” He pointed to the other display. “And can you gift wrap them? Two packages, the pin separate.”

“Sure,” the clerk responded.

Jaze watched anxiously as she wrapped up the gifts. He knew that Jessi should be nearly done with her hair and that it was almost time for their table to be ready.

Placing the packages in a bag, she told him the total and then asked, “Will that be cash or credit?”

Jaze pulled out his wallet. As he flipped through looking for his cash, he saw the credit card that had been there with his ID when the girls found him. He had more than enough cash, but the idea of using the card intrigued him. Why was it still in there? Why hadn't he thought of using it before? Was it still good or had someone canceled it? There was only one way to find out.

“Sir?” The clerk waited for his answer as he stared at his wallet.

“Oh, sorry, credit.” He handed her the card. Half expecting it to be declined, he was surprised when the girl handed him a pen and slip for him to sign. “Thank you, Mr. Tillet. Have a nice day.” She handed him his packages.

“Thanks.” He took the bag and headed out of the shop, just in time to see Jessi step of the ladies room, her hair a bit tamer, and for the beeper for their table to go off. Doing his best to act innocent and keep the bag out of sight, he waited for her to join him.

Their late breakfast, early lunch passed quietly, with Jessi giving him occasional glances into his suspicious behavior. He ignored them. Soon enough they were on their way home.

888

Keeri sat at the table, starting on her soup and sandwich. Ajani settled at her feet, his head on his extended legs. Being home alone, she hadn’t wanted to make a big dinner. It seemed strange now to be in the apartment by herself at night. She’d gotten used to spending the evenings talking with Jaze when Jessi was at work. She’d even gotten used to waking up to his yells when he had his nightmares.

Keeri picked up the remote and turned the television volume up to make the apartment noisier.

Jessi had said she and Jaze were going to go camping for a few days. Keeri suspected that wasn’t the only thing they were going to do. Jessi hadn’t been able to meet her eyes when she said it.

Keeri had no doubt they planned to attempt to Enthrall in private.

Keeri had spoken to her mother when Jessi had failed to Enthrall with Liff. She hadn’t wanted to ask Jessi, to make Jessi relive the horrible experience. What was it like to Imprint? To Enthrall? Was it a joining of the minds through the joining of their bodies? Was it strictly a physical reaction? How did you know if Enthrallment worked?

Her mother had explained Imprinting as a feeling of closeness with one man and only that man, that you suddenly wanted his happiness more than your own. You wanted to touch him, to feel the physical closeness. Intercourse was only a natural extension of that feeling. Enthrallment was a melting of two bodies. It was like crawling into his skin, being warm and safe there, never wanting to leave. You could sense his pleasure at the coupling and it magnified your own. At that point, the thought of being with another man would be repugnant.

Keeri reached down to scratch Ajani’s ears. She had to admit she was a bit envious of her sister. She hadn’t met a man yet that made her think in the way her mother had described. Jessi was also lucky Jaze was a fine specimen of a man. Keeri chuckled at the thought.

She hadn’t liked Jaze at first: his amnesia had seemed like an easy excuse to get away with a scam, but actions spoke louder than words. He’d never threatened them in any way, even when he was feeling dreadful. He’d protected them from Div at the General Store. He’d gotten a job and quickly paid them back for feeding and clothing him while he recovered. He now contributed to the rent and utilities of the apartment, although she hadn’t been able to get him to do any cleaning.

He treated Jessi well, even if they did disagree at times, but they always made up. He even treated her well, Keeri thought. Jaze had grown on her.

She was thrilled for Jessi. To be a First Wife was wonderful. Jessi deserved it.

In Jessi’s shoes, she would want privacy and her own place. That was one of the privileges of being a First Wife: she would have Jaze all to herself for a while at least. But where would that leave her? She couldn’t afford the apartment on her own. It would be difficult to find a new roommate of her age and education level. Actually, the more she thought about it, she wasn’t sure Jessi and Jaze could afford their own place yet.

What were they going to do?

888

“Keeri’s going to know the minutes we walk in we’ve Enthralled,” Jessi told Jaze as he pulled the jeep into its parking slot at the apartment.

“How?”

“We’re more at ease with each other. A lot of the tension is gone.”

“What tension?” He grinned slyly at her and she whacked him in the arm as her cheeks reddened. He’d mentioned how tense DSB could make a man and since she’d had no idea what he was talking about, he’d explained. She’d been appalled that men would discuss such things and now it gave him ammunition whenever he wanted her to blush.
“How are we going to approach the idea of keeping our current living arrangements?” he asked, becoming more serious as they got out. Jessi walked around the jeep to join him.

“It’s her apartment but she’d never kick us out. Nothing’s really changed. We’d already been sharing a bed –“

“And I still want a bigger one,” he cut in. “I love you and enjoy holding you at night, but when I’m not feeling well, I’d like a little space to be miserable.”

“And I told you if you can get a bigger bed in there, you can have one.” She pulled her keys out to unlock the door. “We just have to be quiet when we…” her voice trailed off as her cheeks reddened again. Jaze grinned and pulled her into his arms.

“Have I told you how cute you are when you blush?” He nuzzled her neck. Jessi looked around frantically to make sure they weren’t being watched as she tried to push him away.

“Jaze!” she hissed. He kissed her and moved back.

Jessi opened the door and stepped in, waiting for the Ajani onslaught, but it didn’t happen. Jaze moved around her and whistled. Still no Ajani.

“You don’t think…?” Jessi turned frightened eyes to Jaze, but he huffed and shook his head.

“She probably took him for a walk.”

The words were no sooner out of Jaze’s mouth when a mound of mixed brown fur came through the door, Keeri on the dog’s heels. She stopped just inside the doorway as she saw them. The three of them stared at each other as Ajani nudged at Jessi’s hand for a pet.

A slow smile lit up Keeri’s eyes as she closed the door and approached her sister. She reached for Jessi’s hands and looked her up and down. For the third time in as many minutes, Jessi’s cheeks reddened.

“Are congratulations in order?” Keeri asked. Jessi looked to Jaze for help.

“I told you she’d figure it out,” he said with a knowing smile of his own.

What surprised them was Keeri’s sudden squeal as she enveloped her younger sister in a bear hug. “I’m so happy for you!” she gushed and released Jessi, heading for Jaze. Jaze back-pedaled, hands out as if to ward her off.

“I don’t do hugs,” he warned but Keeri ignored him, maneuvering under his arms to hug him anyway.

“Tough, you’ll take what hugs I give you,” she chastised humorously. She released him, still smiling.

Jessi laughed at her hugging Jaze because of the look on his face. She almost expected him to ask her to save him. Mostly she felt relief. She really hadn’t been sure how Keeri was going to take it.

“I take it you just got back?” Keeri asked. Jessi nodded. “Have you eaten yet?” Jessi’s answer was her stomach growling at the thought of food. “I want to take you out.” Keeri looked back and forth between them, waiting.

Jessi looked down at herself: they’d gotten sweaty making love before repelling back up the cliff to head home. She was dirty and probably stunk.

“I think we can if we clean up fast,” Jaze said, thinking they needed to react positively to Keeri’s acceptance of their Enthrallment. He raised his eye brows at Jessi expectantly. She nodded.

“Give us twenty minutes?” she asked. Keeri nodded.

“Come on.” Jaze reached over for Jessi’s hand and pulled her towards him. “We can save time sharing the shower.”

“Jaze!” She punched him in the arm indignantly as Keeri giggled at her expense. She turned on her older sister. “Just you wait until you Enthrall. Payback’s a bitch,” she threatened as Jaze pulled her towards the bedroom so they could get some clean clothes.

The restaurant Keeri chose was moderately priced, had a variety of food and was within walking distance of the apartment. Jessi had seen it but had never eaten there.

They discussed how Keeri’s research and doctoral thesis was going. She planned to spend a few weeks up in the cabin during the winter to observe the blue foxes at that time. That would finalize her research.

They discussed Jessi’s next series of classes, Jaze wanting to know how he could help her. Jessi loved that he wanted to, but she had to be able to do it on her own.

Over dessert, Keeri couldn’t stand it anymore. She pointed a spoon at her sister.

“When are you going to tell Mom and Dad you’ve Enthralled?” she asked. “I’m assuming they knew it was coming?” she asked hopefully.

Jessi nodded. “We spoke to them before we left.” Jessi smiled at Jaze and reached for his hand. “Jaze spoke to Dad.”

Keeri couldn’t hide her shock. “You asked our father for permission? I never pegged you as the type to care.” Jaze shrugged.

“Jessi wanted me to talk to him, so I did. I didn’t care if he approved.” Jaze gave his new wife a smile. “But I knew she did.”

“They’re going to want to set up the Enthrallment Ceremony,” Keeri pointed out.

“Besides getting the Enthrallment Knot tattoo, what does that entail?” Jaze asked warily. He had a sudden memory of attending a joining called a wedding and he wanted nothing to do with such a ceremony.

Jessi seemed to sense his unease and squeezed his hand. “Mom and Dad throw a party for us. While the extended family eats and visits, we get our Knots.”

“Is it formal?” Jaze couldn’t hide his distaste of the idea. There was no way he was wearing one of those fancy suits he could see in his mind’s eye.

“Not exactly. We have Family Enthrallment Robes that we wear. They represent we’ve entered the union with pure hearts. Once the Knots are completed, Dad will introduce us as husband and wife,” Jessi explained.

“What do we wear under the robes?” Jaze wanted to know.

“Whatever we want.”

“Okay.” Jaze was happy with that. “Do we have to do anything special with the guests?” Again his mind was showing him odd ritualistic scenes that he wanted no part of.

“Normally, we would introduce our families to each other, but we won’t be doing that unless we can find some members of your family.” She gave him an understanding smile. “It’s just a lot of talking.”

“A century go, when the Imprinted couple decided to Enthrall and it was the man’s first Enthrallment, the couple had to wait to Enthrall until the Knot Ceremony. The Enthrallment took place in front of both families to ensure it was legitimate. It was customary for the woman’s father to slap the man’s buttocks during the act to ensure fertility,” Keeri threw in. At Jaze’s look of horror she grinned evilly. “I just thought I’d throw in that little history lesson for you.”

“Did that really happen?” he asked Jessi with wide eyes, “Or is she pulling my leg?”

“Pulling your leg?” Jessi frowned. Jaze wasn’t sure where he’d gotten the phrase, so he reworded it.

“Joking with me,” he amended. Jessi shook her head.

“No, it’s true.” She conceited. Jaze shuddered. “It was custom.”

“Custom or not, that’s crazy. How did the custom change?” he wanted to know, thankful it had.

“The first time we were invaded, the invaders forbid it,” Keeri explained. “They considered it voyeurism and that was against their beliefs. Personally, I think they wanted to hide their abuse of our women. Rape was common during that time. The custom just ended up falling out of favor and wasn’t resumed when the invaders were finally driven out.”

“I don’t get the impression rape is a common occurrence,” Jaze commented and both women nodded.

“As far as I know, the only cases of rape in the last ten years have been at the hands of off-worlders,” Keeri said.

“Have any of those rapes resulted in Enthrallment?” Jaze thought that would be horrible, to be emotionally and physically tied to a man who had hurt you.

Jessi shuddered. “No, thank goodness. It’s generally believed in order to Enthrall, you have to be able to Imprint and to Imprint, you have to have Demetern blood.”

“Like me.” Jaze smiled and raised Jessi’s hand to his lips. Her cheeks reddened as he kissed her palm and his smile deepened.

Keeri felt her own cheeks reddening. She was happy for them and knew she’d have to get used to their public shows of affection. It was common for newly Enthralled couples to be constantly touching. It strengthened their new bond.

After dessert, Keeri paid the bill and they left the restaurant to walk home. Jaze and Jessi held hands as Kerri stayed on Jessi’s side.

Keeri decided to bring up the one subject that concerned her the most at the moment. She’d been trying to figure out how to ask them to stay with their current living arrangements until they could save up enough money to get their own place, but she just couldn’t come up with the right way to ask, so she just dived in.

“Have the two of you decided where you want to live?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as tentative a she felt. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a look pass between them that she couldn’t interpret.

“Uh, we…” Jaze’s voice trailed off as Keeri stopped. Keeri felt her stomach somersault as she faced them.

“We were hoping…” Jessi bit her lower lip and shared another look with Jaze. She turned back to Keeri. “We were hoping to keep things as they are, if that’s okay with you?”

“We don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable,” Jaze added. “The apartment is yours.”

“But we don’t feel we can afford our own place yet,” Jessi jumped back in, “and I know it’d be difficult for you to keep the apartment on your own and I know you don’t relish the idea of trying to find a new roommate.”

“But we don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” Jaze repeated, not looking at her. It took Keeri a second to realize what he meant. She looked at Jessi and her understanding must have been in her eyes because Jessi looked away, too.

She had half a mind to lean into Jessi and say, “Please tell me you’re not a screamer.” Rather than embarrass all of them, she shrugged.

“I’m sure we can work it out,” she said and started walking again.

888

Ryan Regis drove from the Outpost into Donotrep. He enjoyed this posting and was hoping to get an extension on it. He was not ashamed to admit that he even used Galaxy Security's current situation, the missing agent, in his request. The small two man post on a remote planet that completely shut down any space exploration over half a century ago should not appeal to anyone, but he liked the quiet posting, the nostalgia he got when he drove into town. He wondered if Earth would have remained this way if they had shut down their space program after Armstrong walked on the moon or the Challenger explosion.

He sighed as he changed lanes and headed towards the morgue. Not even moth balling those early space shuttles could kill humanity's need to explore. That, in his opinion, was the difference between humans and Demeterns. Humans, for the most part, had been migrants, explorers since the beginning of time; they weren't content unless they had something new to explore, discover, create. Demeterns were more complacent; advancements were made out of necessity rather than the joy of exploration or experimentation. Surviving clans could trace their lineage back a millennium or more. Many even stayed in family homes or land all their lives. But like any species, there were those that broke the mold, that enjoy the feeling of discovery something new. Perhaps considering the pain that previous space explorers had brought to this planet, it could be surprising that there were any dreamers any at all.

He parked his car in the lot, placing a Palportian government plague in the window. Outpost vehicles had been targeted by aliens, terrorists, and isolationists alike. Desperate to keep the outpost and the meager protection provided by it, the government agreed to issue nondescript cars and government parking plagues to personnel for business use.

As much as he enjoyed working with Demeterns, he was not looking forward to what he could find in the morgue.

Dr. Roux, the city's coroner, had the DNA analysis from the body found above the falls ready for him to send to Earth. Regis had no problem agreeing to pick-up the evidence: he enjoyed that part of his work. His partner, Graham Brewer, grumbled that it would be easier if they could just upgrade the computer systems to be compatible with Federation computers. The fat oaf didn't understand the complexity of what he was asking this society to do, nor did he understand that when they were ready, they would do it. Maybe Gal Sec would send Brewer off a few months early and let Ryan stay and solve the mystery.

He passed through the security system and laughed silently. They were still using photographs, mag strips, and finger prints, all things easily manipulated. One day they'd learn that a stricter, less manipulable security system would decrease their vulnerability to outside attacks and influence. Perhaps, some wanted the outpost to stay and just need to wait for the idea to be more popularly accepted.

With the ID card that the government had issued at the request of the Federation, the missing agent could blend right into Demetern society and not be noticed unless arrested or killed. He had talked to local authorities about issuing a public alert for him, but they refused on the grounds that the system was used to keep track of only known aliens, terrorists, and other dangerous criminals. To use it for a missing person would open up the precedence and they'd be flooded with requests after the next attack or raid.

As Regis knocked on the door to Dr. Roux's lab, he wasn't sure what to hope for. If this body was the agent, he’d have no reason to request that he stay at this post. On the other hand, if it wasn't him, then where was this agent and how would they find him?

“Mr. Regis, thank you for coming so quickly,” the doctor greeted.

“Mornin', Doc. What'd ya find?”

“Several things,” she answered blandly.

“Care to share any of them?”

She smiled quizzically. “First, this is not your man. The DNA isn't even close. The corpse is neither human or Demetern. I suspect that it is Spectran, but I don't have enough information to make a positive determination. It is similar to other aliens that have passed through here that we suspect of being Spectran. Since we have no further need for the body, you are welcome to it, or we can turn it over to the University for study?”

The last comment surprised Regis, he didn't know that they studied aliens at the university. Maybe they weren't as complacent as he thought, or maybe it was a matter of self-preservation. “I gotta check with my superiors on that, Doc. Can you hold it for a few days?” After she answered that she could, he asked, “You said several things, Doc. What else did you find.”

“I'm glad you asked. I'd have been disappointed if you hadn't.” She paused. “Are you certain that you sent the right DNA sample?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because your missing agent is part Demetern. Gantesen to be precise.”

“Say what, Doc?”

“Look.” Ignoring his strange way of questioning her statement, she showed him several printed charts. “This is the chromosomal breakdown. These chromosomes are from the mother. They are Human. We know this from information you have shared with us. These chromosomes,” she pointed to another chart, “while close, they are quite distinct.” She pointed out a few markers that had Regis nodding politely, but not really understanding. “These are Demetern genetics, and these are characteristics common only to those from Gantese or have Gantesen ancestory.”

“Um, thanks, doc.” Regis answered. His mystery was suddenly larger and more complex. “Can I get copies of the reports, for the file and just in case we did make a mistake?”

“Here you go.” She handed him two folders.

“Thanks. Hopefully, I'll be back to bug you again sometime.”

“Has it been that long already?” She was one of the few people to have regular contact with Outpost personnel and knew their rotation.

“Yeah, I'm hoping to get an extension, so we'll see.”

“Most of your people can't wait to leave our backwards little planet and you want to stay.”

“Maybe I'm a little backwards myself. Gotta go. Take care, Doc.”

“I hope you get your extension and find your missing agent,” she wished.

888

Jaze hated the idea Jessi had to go back to work the next morning. It was almost as if the Enthrallment had attached a live wire between them. Jaze would never have dreamed of the affect Enthrallment had. He could feel Jessi’s feelings as they made love, could feel her response to his touches. She had said the she had the same experience, knowing what he felt. It was intoxicating.

They couldn’t get enough of each other and Jaze had found it hard not to stay in constant physical contact with her even as they watched television with Keeri the rest of the evening.

Jaze finally couldn’t stand it anymore. He said goodnight to Keeri and pulled Jessi up, leading her back to their bedroom. He wanted to give her the present he had gotten her and then make love to her all night to make up for the time they would be apart.

He sat her down on the bed, then opened the top dresser drawer that she had given him, pulling out a bag. He opened it and pulled out a small box. At her quizzical look, he sat down beside her.

“When we were at the rest stop, I saw these in the jewelry store and…” he smiled at her as he handed the box to her. Jessi stared at the box with trepidation, her heart starting to pound hard. A jewelry store?

She opened the box and lifted the paper covering its contents, holding her breath. Two beautiful combs and a pony-tail holder, all decorated with blue orchids. She stared at them, ran her fingers over them.

“Jessi?” Jaze asked, the smile leaving his face.

“Why did you buy these?” she wanted to know.

“I saw them and thought of you. You could wear your hair down more often without it getting out of hand.” Jaze sounded confused. She looked up at him.

“I don’t wear jewelry.”

“I know you don’t in general, but I thought you’d like them.” He was starting to sound angry. “Isn’t this what Enthralled people do? Get a gift for the one they love, or am I missing yet another vital piece of cultural information?”

Jessi lowered her eyes and sighed, fingering the combs again. “But I don’t have anything for you.”

Jaze’s eyes widened in shock. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side, trying not to laugh.

“Baby, I didn’t get these expecting anything from you other than your wearing them for me. Gifts don’t have to be reciprocated.” He took hold of her chin and made her look at him. “This is something you better get used to. If I see something I want you to have and can afford it, I will be getting it for you.”

Jessi really couldn’t say much to that. It made her protest sound petty. The gift was a way for Jaze to show his love, but she really was unhappy she didn’t have anything to give him.

“Now wipe that look off your face,” Jaze ordered, taking the box from her hands. He rose and placed it on the top of the dresser, then turned back and pulled her up until she was standing in front of him. He held her hands between them and leaned down to softly kiss her lips. “I want to see a different one.” His lips trailed across her jaw to her neck and Jessi melted against him.


888

Jaze dropped Jessi off at the fire house and headed for the garage. He was tired, but pleasantly so. He knew she was, too: she’d talked the whole drive about the need to drink an entire pot of coffee to try and wake up.

Now he had three days of celibacy to deal with and he literally ached for her already. Enthrallment was an incredible thing: he felt her absence as if he was missing a part of himself.

When he arrived at the garage, he was shocked to find Liana and his co-workers lined up smiling like Cheshire Cats to congratulate him on his Enthrallment. At first he had been furious that his privacy was being invaded and wondered why Jessi’s parents had told anyone, but he was quickly able to discern everyone was sincere. Maybe it was another cultural tradition he couldn’t remember.

He endured the hugs from the women, the handshakes and pats on the back from the men. Liana had even planted a kiss on his cheek and welcomed him to the Donigel family. In the same breath, she warned she’d have his balls if he didn’t take care of Jessi and treat her with respect at all times. Then she handed him an envelope. Jaze frowned down at it.

“We took a collection for you,” Ovi, one of the mechanics said in response. When Jaze continued to frown, Liana chuckled.

“Jessi wasn’t kidding when she said you weren’t familiar with our customs,” she commented. “It’s customary for the co-workers of a first time Enthralled man to take a collection as an Enthrallment present.” She leaned in and grabbed the sleeve of his shoulder, pulling him down closer so she could whisper into his ear. “Say thank you,” she ordered.

“Thanks,” he muttered, still not quite understanding. He got more pats on the back and retreated to put on his coverall. As he did, he opened the envelope and gasped. There had to be five hundred potas in it. He swallowed hard. He knew, deep down, it wasn’t in his nature to take hand-outs, hence his paying back Keeri and Jessi as fast as possible for everything they had done for him. He couldn’t wait to tell Jessi, but then had an idea.

At lunch time, he approached Liana about the location of the nearest mattress store, explaining Jessi’s twin bed just wasn’t going to cut it any longer. While Jessi was getting ready for work, he’d measured the bedroom and knew a double bed would fit, but he doubted a queen would. He just hadn’t figured out how to pay for a new bed. Now he could.

Liana gave him directions with a knowing grin and after his shift was over, he headed there.

He found his estimate to be correct: a queen was too big. He purchased the double, setting up a payment plan he thought they could afford and as he waited for them to bring everything out to tie down on the jeep, he watched the people milling about the store. He found himself looking at their clothing, looking for the telltale sign they were armed. When he realized what he was doing, he was shocked, but it seemed such a natural thing to do.

Several of the people were watching him as well. He had already found his Gantenese heritage to be a contention and he ignored their curiosity, caution and in some cases, outright hostility as best he could.

Once he had everything tied down, he examined his handiwork, knowing it wasn’t the least bit aerodynamic, but it wouldn’t send the small vehicle sailing into the wind. The larger frame was in pieces and he had to leave a third of it sticking out of the back window. The salesman had tried to sell him a headboard, too, but he hadn’t seen any reason to get one.

Once he got home, he ran up the stairs and unlocked the door, going to the bedroom to tear down the twin bed. He carried it all out into the hallway and then brought up the new frame first. As he was putting it together, Keeri arrived home.

“What are you doing?” she asked from the doorway to the bedroom, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Jessi said if I could fit a bigger bed in here, I could get it,” he told her as he tightened the last bolt. The bed now took up two thirds of the room, leaving just enough space to walk around and for the dresser.

“Do I dare ask what color sheets and comforter you got?” she asked, realizing she had no idea what his favorite color might be.

Jaze froze. “Damn. I totally forgot.”

Keeri couldn’t help but laugh, which earned her a glare that would have frightened her a few weeks earlier.

“Why don’t you finish putting it together and take a shower while I make dinner?” she suggested. “After we eat, we can go to the discount store. I’m sure they’ll have something you’ll like.”

Forty minutes later, they sat down to eat a salad with cut up chucks of chicken and breadsticks.

Once at the table, Keeri watched him as he dug into his food. Her stare was pointed and finally he couldn’t stand it any longer. He laid the fork down.

“What?” he asked, unsure why she was staring at him that way. They’d finally become comfortable enough with each other without Jessi being there as a buffer and her stare was definitely bothering him.

“I was just thinking about fate,” she said, lowering her eyes as if he’d caught her at something. “Who would have thought Jessi would find her mate camping.”

“How do most people find their mates?” He hadn’t thought about their relationship in that way. What if Jessi and Keeri hadn’t found him? He didn’t want to think about it.

“Young people who just reached their majority, which is our legal age for Imprinting and Enthralling, frequent singles clubs or meet people through their extended families. That’s how Haro Imprinted. Nina is the first daughter of one of our father’s colleagues.”

Jaze couldn’t hide his surprise. “Wait a minute. Haro is Imprinted?” Keeri nodded. “When did that happen?”

“They Imprinted over a year ago.”

“Why aren’t they Enthralled?” Keeri smiled at his surprise.

“Most couples don’t Enthrall right away. They take some time to get to know each other. You and Jessi fall under the ‘Love At First Sight’ doctrine. We all knew, once you’d figured out you were Imprinted, you wouldn’t waste any time Enthralling.”

Jaze found himself growing uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation and decided to change it.

“I guess I should have asked what to do about the old bed,” he said as he started eating again. Keeri followed suit.

“There’s a dump near the store I told you about,” she said, allowing the change. “If it was anything else, I’d say recycle, but no one wants used bedding.”

Once they were done eating and had cleaned up the kitchen, she and Jaze loaded the old bed onto and into the jeep and headed out. Dropping it off at the dump was no problem and within minutes, they were at the store.

It was a typical discount store, selling a little bit of everything. They circled on the main walkway until they found the bedding department. Jaze looked at everything with a befuddled look on his face.

“Just see if anything catches your eye,” Keeri suggested, checking out the comforters herself for future reference. He followed her like a bewildered puppy.

After looking at everything once, Keeri was about to suggest something when Jaze stopped in front of a display of a patchwork quilt in various shades of blue and purple, with blue sheets and purple accent pillows. He picked up one of the ‘Bed in a Bag’ bags piled beside the display and put it into the cart, followed by two accent pillows.

“Did you add this up?” Keeri asked in concern. It was nice having a third income to help pay the bills, but she would still have been hard pressed to pay for a new bed let alone bedding for it. He started pushing the cart towards the cashier line.

“It’s okay. I got an Enthrallment gift from the garage.” He looked over his shoulder at her, looking a bit annoyed about it. “I wasn’t expecting anything.”

“It is a custom,” she responded, not really having thought about it or the fact he might not have known it was coming due to his memory loss. The only way the garage would have known was if her father had contacted Liana with the news under the assumption when Jaze had spoken to him about it meant the Enthrallment was going to happen fast. “You did accept it graciously?” she asked with trepidation.

He nodded. “Liana would have killed me if I hadn’t. It will just about cover this as well,” he added.

They stood in line for several minutes, the woman in front of them questioning everything. As they waited, Jaze looked about, finding himself doing the same thing he had done at the mattress store. Two men in another check-out line were eyeing him as well. Jaze locked eyes with them, unconsciously daring them to look away first, which they did. They looked like everyone else, but there was something about them that was making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

A few minutes later he was paying. He took the bags and led the way back out of the store, noting the two men were leaving as well with a small bag of their own.

He noted which way they went and what vehicle they got into, a black SUV, as he threw the bags into the back of the jeep and held the passenger door open for Keeri. She frowned at him as she got in as he seemed preoccupied. He got into the jeep and pulled out.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he was following the SUV. After a few minutes, Keeri turned to him.

“This isn’t the way home,” she said hesitantly as warehouses loomed in the distance.

“I know. Something about those men is familiar, so I wanted to follow them,” she responded, making a right turn onto a larger street.

“What men?” Keeri wanted to know.

“There were two men at the store that caught my attention,” he told her as he changed lanes. “They’re in that black SUV three ahead of us.”

“Do you know them?” she asked with sudden excitement as she noticed the vehicle.

“Not exactly.” Jaze’s features tensed with concentration. “They’re just familiar.”

They followed them for several miles and as they turned onto a two lane road that bisected two large warehouses, Jaze pulled to the side. At Keeri’s look, he explained, “I don’t want them to know they were followed.” He left the jeep running but had his eyes fixed on the warehouse to the right.

“Does it look familiar?” Keeri asked and Jaze sensed she was nervous. He grit his teeth: he shouldn’t have done it with her in the jeep. His action was going to raise her fears again.

“I think I’ve been here before,” he admitted and sighed deeply, putting the jeep into gear. He checked to make sure the road was clear and did a U-turn, heading back the way they had come. He didn’t want Keeri uncomfortable and suspected she was thinking about the counter-terrorism theory again. He had to admit he was, too.

A short while later they got home and Jaze spent a few minutes opening the bedding. Keeri immediately took the sheets.

“You need to wash them first,” she advised, carrying them away.

“Why? They’re clean: they just came out of a sealed bag,” he protested, reaching to take them back but she swatted his hands away.

“They’re like sandpaper. They need to soften up,” she insisted and disappeared into her room. She re-emerged with the sheets in a basket with detergent so she could go downstairs into the basement where the laundry room was. “While I do this, why don’t you get on my laptop and do some research while your memory is working,” she suggested and went out the door.

Jaze rubbed his hands over his face and raked his fingers through his hair as he stared at the door. He had other ideas for later, but he needed her asleep to carry them out.

888

He sat at her desk and brought up the laptop. He wasn’t sure what to look for, so he decided to look up alien activity.

By the time Keeri returned, he was reading an article about the rise in assaults in a district called Evandish. The assaults were usually brawls with at least one alien involved.

“Keeri, where is Evandish?” he called over his shoulder as she watched TV.

“It’s a district down near those warehouses. It’s run down. There are bars and some seedy clubs on the other side of them.”

Jaze had a sudden vision of being in a seat with a scantilly clad woman dancing on a stage in front of him.

“What kind of clubs?” he asked warily. He would keep that little memory to himself.

“Off-worlders like entertainment that we consider taboo,” she answered, turning around on the couch to address him. “Dancing provocatively, in essentially your underwear, or less, in front of strange men.”

The thought that came to his mind then was the term ‘titty bars’ and he clamped that memory down, too.

“If we consider it taboo, who’s doing the dancing?” he asked. He didn’t notice his use of ‘we’ instead of ‘you’, but she did.

“Off-world women. No Demetern woman would be caught dead in such a place, but it had attracted Demetern men.” Her distaste for the whole thing was apparent, so Jaze didn’t want to dwell on his sudden memories. What would he have been doing in such a club?

“So there’s been a lot of trouble down in that area involving the clubs and restaurants,” he pondered. “If there are a lot of off-worlders at those clubs and eating at those restaurants…” He didn’t think about the fact he had apparently eaten at one of those restaurants. “The warehouses are nearby, so the aliens could be using the warehouses.”

“For what?” she wanted to know, frowning at him. “Those warehouses have been in disrepair for some time. No one’s been using them.”

“But those men we followed went into one,” Jaze pointed out. “They would be perfect for some type of operation.” As his thoughts went off on a tangent, he failed to notice the unhappy look that crossed over Keeri’s face.

He went back to his searching and after a moment, Keeri returned her attention to the TV.

Since his nightmares had corresponded to event that had happened on Earth over the past year, Jaze pulled up the information Keeri had found previously about them. The common denominator had been his descriptions matched three Spectran attacks.

Could the off-worlders causing the problems actually be Spectrans? He started looking for references to Spectrans on Demeter.

He didn’t find much, but an editorial by a woman who had a column in one of the local papers denounced the disgusting habits of Spectran men nd how one should conform to the local laws, customs and practices when visiting another planet.

Why conform to something you’re going to change when you take over? He thought then froze. Where did that come from?

He would worry about it later. He did a little more research on Spectrans and nothing he read surprised him. They were invaders and anarchists and killed anyone who questioned their authority. They’d taken over many planets just outside of the borders of the Federation of Planets and seemed intent to take over Earth.

Jaze found a list of planets not members of the Federation but under Federation protection. He noted what planets the Federation had stopped Spectra from taking over. They were stopped by the Federation’s top combat unit: G-Force.

“I’m going to bed,” Keeri announced, breaking into his thoughts. He glanced at the time on the lower right corner of the screen and was surprised to see he had been at it for more than two hours. Since he was at her desk, he shut down the laptop and closed it.

“Good night,” he told her and left her bedroom.

“Good night,” she said back and closed her door. He sat down on the couch and watched a little television before turning it of and going to his and Jessi’s room. He waited there for a while until he was sure Keeri was asleep.

He wanted to go down and check the warehouses. He pulled out his darkest clothing and put it on, not wanting to be seen. He slipped out quietly and drove off in the jeep.

A short time later, he parked in an alley near the warehouses. He’d debated going to one of the clubs just to see what was happening in them, but he wanted to find out what was going on in the warehouses first.

The area was poorly lit, which was good for him. As he approached, staying in the shadows, he had a sudden sense of deja vue. He let his fuzzy memories take over and soon found himself climbing a fire escape on one of the warehouses, looking into dirty, broken windows.

Several vehicles were visible on the warehouse floor, including a dark colored SUV. Jaze couldn’t tell if it was the one he and Keeri had followed or not. The sides of the warehouse were lined with cubicles, as if it had been used as a combination warehouse and offices.

He didn’t see any lights: he didn’t question the fact he had excellent night vision. He closed his eyes and listened. He didn’t hear any voices or hear any sounds of occupancy.

Jaze smiled. It was a smile that he had yet to show Jessi or Keeri. It was one they wouldn’t have liked.

He slipped through the window and dropped down to the cement floor, landing silently in a crouch. He reached behind him an then frowned, wondering what he had been reaching for.

Jaze stood and looked around. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for but thought he’d know if he saw it.

He walked around each vehicle, looking in the windows. They had the usual vehicular litter: old take-out cups, pieces of paper, napkins, in one case a jacket in the back seat.

Then he walked along the cubicles, looking into each one. In the fifth one, something caught his eye.

He entered it, intent on the odd mask sitting on the desk. It looked like a Halloween mask – another memory coming to him of a holiday when everyone dressed up like someone or thing else, either whimsical or frightening. He picked it up. Green, with eye-holes, pointed ears, and fangs.

Jaze felt an anger rise up in him, one that made him want to trash the whole place, starting with the mask. He dropped into the floor and smashed his foot onto it, grinding his heel into the cement. He reached behind him again, intent on leaving a calling card, but there was nothing there to leave.

He had brought a knife with him, even though he knew it wasn’t his weapon of choice. He used it to slash all of the tires and used the framing of the cubicles to swing himself back up to the window to leave.

He slipped out and trotted back to the jeep, feeling unsatisfied. He had an urge to punch something, anything. A few criminals would have been a nice target, but everything was quiet. There was no one else on the street.

Jaze waited until he was safely away from the warehouse district to pound the dashboard in frustration. He was certain the terrorists were running a base there … those off-worlders … those Spectrans. The very word filled his mouth with bile. He hadn’t yet confirmed his suspicions about their activities, but he would. He knew they were up to no good.

Jaze had snuck back into the apartment and into the bedroom without waking Keeri. He managed a few hours of sleep before he had to go to work. He woke with a headache and dreaded how the day was going to progress. If Liana noticed anything amiss, she would no doubt inform Rine and then Jaze was going to have to do some fancy talking.

  

To his relief, the headache didn’t progress beyond a dull roar. By the time he got home, he was ready to crash but knew he couldn’t. He hoped he beat Keeri home with enough time to use her laptop to see if he could find out anything about the mask he had found in the warehouse before the headache got worse.

  

Ajani was waiting for him, no Keeri in sight. Jaze liked the dog and dutifully walked him, though he tried to speed Ajani up, for all the good it did him. When he got back into the apartment, he found a note from Keeri saying she was going to work late to make up for some missed time and he should fend for himself.

  

He fed Ajani and made himself a sandwich, taking it into Keeri’s bedroom to get on the laptop, hoping the food would help with the headache. It took him a long time to find anything about the mask and what he did find only added to his growing suspicions about himself: the mask was the earmark of Spectra.

  

Before he could do further research, the phone rang. He stared at it.  He hated answering the phone.  It rang again.  Keeri wasn't home.  Like it or not, he answered it.

  

“What?”

  

He froze.  The flash of memory left as quickly as it came.  He was barking into something, but not a phone.  He couldn't see what he had spoken into.

  

“Jaze . . . Jaze . . . you there?” Jessi, on the other end of the line, asked.

  

“Yeah, sorry.”

  

“You okay?”

  

“Yeah, what's up?”

  

“Mom called yesterday.”

  

“Uh huh?” He wasn't sure what she was getting at.

  

“She's set up a meeting with the Enthrallment Celebrant for us tomorrow after I get off shift . . . .”  She stopped speaking; he heard tones in the background.  “Not again,” she muttered.  “Gotta go, love you.”  Abruptly she hung up the phone.

  888 

Keeri stood in front of the tailor shop she had found on the internet that claimed their Enthrallment robes were the best in the city. The front of the Trifoldi Tailors shop at least looked the part with its large signage and gilded windows.

  

Keeri opened the door, hearing the bell jingle as it moved. She stepped in and allowed her eyes to adjust to the interior lighting.

  

One wall was lined with rolls of fabrics in every color and in many designs. A rolling staircase sat at one end, allowing the upper rows of fabric to be easily accessible. There were three designated work areas, two of which were in use. One man was being measured by two other men in one, whom Keeri assumed were tailors. The second was being used by a woman who was visibly pregnant. She was sitting, looking through fabrics that looked to Keeri to be the kind that infant clothing would be made from.

  

The third was empty.

  

There were a row of seats near the front window and Keeri sat down to wait her turn. A woman came out of a rear doorway with two rolls of green fabric in her arms. She added them to the ones the pregnant woman was looking at and came over to Keeri.

  

“Good day,” she said with a warm smile. “Can I help you?”

  

Keeri nodded and rose to her feet.

  

“Yes. I called yesterday asking about having some new Enthrallment robes made. Keeri Donigel,” she said. The woman’s smile widened.

  

“Yes. Flore told me of your call. Your sister is Enthralled and her husband’s family experienced a devastating fire that destroyed his robes. Is that correct?” she asked. Keeri nodded. She had made up the story as the most plausible explanation for Jaze needing new robes. “Let me get Flore. She has gathered several fabric samples for you to look at. I’m Phylla.” The woman extended her hand and Keeri shook it. “I’ll get Flore.”

  

Keeri sat back down and waited. It only took a few moments for a large woman to come out of the back door with a book of fabric samples in her arms. She was impeccably dressed, her salt and pepper hair done up in a neat chignon.

  

“I am Flore Trifoldi. You are Miss Donigel?” the woman asked as she neared. Keeri nodded and rose. “No need. Please sit down and we can discuss your needs in more detail.” Keeri say back down and Mrs. Trifoldi sat down beside her.

  

“This is our robe sample fabric book.” Mrs. Trifoldi handed it to Keeri. It was thick and heavy, so she sat it in her lap. “The price per yard is in the top right corner. We require six yards for the average sized robe. Are either your sister or her husband unusually tall or wide?” She spread her hands over herself to be the example of large, Keeri assumed. She shook her head.

  

“Do you have a color preference?” she asked. Keeri had cornered Jessi and Jaze to decide that morning while they were having breakfast. They had decided on a royal blue. She told the woman and she reached over to open the book to the blues. “There are four shades of royal blue.” Four shades? Keeri had thought royal blue was a shade of its own. “And there are five types of fabric. Since this is a new robe, I would suggest the heaviest, as it lasts longer, but the price is also higher. Take a look and let me know when you’re ready.”

  

“Thank you,” Keeri said as the woman rose and moved to the area of the pregnant woman to inquire how she was doing.

  

Keeri looked at the colors and decided which one to use, surprised there really was a visible difference between them. Then she looked at the type of fabrics and took a deep breath when she saw the prices. The thicker the fabric, the more expensive it was. The thickest seemed ridiculously thick: how could anyone move in it? She settled on the middle, which was thick enough to last a while but would be comfortable enough to wear for hours.

  

She motioned for Mrs. Trifoldi and made the order.

  

“You indicated you had a sample of the pattern to be used?” Keeri nodded and took the print-up of the picture she had found out of her purse, sans the names. Jaze had been nervous about letting the tailor know his name was Tillet, so she had simply cut off the headline of the picture.

  

She was afraid to find out how Jaze was going to react to the Enthrallment Notice that had to be put into the paper that not only included their picture, but their names.

  

“I’ve never seen that pattern before,” Mrs. Trifoldi said as she placed the picture with the order paperwork.

  

“How long does it take to get robes?” Keeri asked. When she called, she had been told seven to ten days, but she wanted to hear it again.

  

“This pattern is beautiful, but an easier one to sew. I would say five to seven days.”

  

Keeri smiled. That was even better. “Thank you, Mrs. Trifoldi.”

  

“We’ll be in touch,” the woman promised and Keeri left with a big smile on her face.

  888 

“This had better be good.”

  

Anderson wearily looked up from the reports on his desk at the oily voice of Colonel Cronus.  “I need a favor,” he replied, his voice tired.

  

“So you say,” Cronus answered non-nonchalantly.  “Tell me about it.”

  

“Look over these reports from the Demeter Outpost and tell me what you think.”  Anderson handed him the files.

  

“Ah, about your missing boy.”  Cronus thumbed through the papers.  After a few minutes, he added, “And you have the confirmation of Spectran presence on the planet.  What else do you?”

   

“I want you to go there and find Jason.  If you happen to learn anything about the Spectran activity, all the better.”

  

“Can I assume that the coroner's determination on the DNA is correct?”

  

“The DNA in that report is Jason's,” Anderson confirmed.

  

“So if the boy did not want to be found, he could easily blend in as a local?”

  

“You know as well as I that if any of those kids did not want to be found, no matter where they are, no one could find them.”

  

“Then what makes you so sure that I could?”

  

“I'm not.  That outpost is a bureaucratic outpost.  It is a presence, and an opening.  I want someone up there that knows what they're doing.  The agents assigned to that posting have more clerical experience.  I need someone with field experience there.  Besides, sending you there will placate Mark and the rest of the team.”

  

“He's never lost someone under his command,” Cronus observed.  “He needs to learn to deal with it.  If you didn't have to pull him out of the Space Academy for G-Force, he'd have been through that scenario and have an idea of the emotions that come into play.  He'd have been better prepared to deal with this.”

  

“This will not turn into another discussion on whether Mark would have been better off finishing the Academy with his class, or doing bookwork on his own with my guidance as he gains practical experience.  It is moot.  What we need to focus on now is making sure that he is happy with the efforts being made so that he does not go AWOL again or attempt a mutiny.  I can only protect him so far before the Security Council gets involved.”

  

“A bunch of bureaucrats that are more concerned with political appearances than genuine security.”

  

“At least you don't have to put up with them constantly.”

  

“No, I just have to clean up my son's messes to make your dealings with the council easier.”

  

“Then I suggest the next time a promotion is made on the outcome of a poker game, you make sure you know all the stakes before throwing your hand.”

  

Cronus chuckled.  “I still wonder what old Conway thought when he put our positions and futures at stake in that game.”

  

“That, Cronus, is why you are where you are.  You were too busy trying to out think him to realize that he already had us both figured out and won a case of Leucadian Brandy from Kane on the results.”  Anderson paused as he watched the angry surprise spread on Cronus's face.  “He gave me a bottle.  It's yours ijf you agree to do this.”

  

“All right.  How much time do I have?”

  

“Two days.  You can take the transport shuttle with the new agent.  If he asks, you're on special assignment.  Once there, you have all the time you need.”

  888 

The moment he saw Jessi leave the station Jaze knew there was something wrong.  Her movements were stiff and forced like she was doing her best to not let anyone know that something was wrong.  He also saw two men watching her.  A jealous rage almost ripped through him, but he quickly realized that the men were watching with more concern than anything else.  He nodded to them and they disappeared back into the station.  As she got into the jeep and kissed him, he noticed she was exhausted, but there was something else wrong, too.

  

“You okay?” he asked.

  

“Long, rough shift.  We were put on stand down for four hours mid-shift and that was the longest rest we had.”  Her voice was tired and hollow.

  

When they got back to their building, he carried her up the stairs and into the apartment.  He laid her on the bed and then lied down next to her.  She didn't notice the bed was different.  They had not been lying down for more than a few minutes when she jumped up and ran to the bathroom.  At the sound of retching, Jaze got up and followed her.  He wet a face cloth and then held her head with the cloth against her forehead and kept her hair out of the way as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.  When she finished, he used the cloth to clean her up. 

  

They they laid back down and he held her as she drifted into a jittery, restless sleep.  He had seen her tired after a shift, but nothing like this.  She didn't have a fever.  He thought she must have been shaken up about a run, but she always acted as if nothing on the job could bother her.

  

He didn't realize that he had drifted off to sleep until he was jarred awake by the opening of the front door and Ajani jumping off of the bed.  When did the dog get on the bed?

  

Keeri knocked on the semi-open door.  “If you two don't get a move on, we'll be late.”

  

Jessi opened her eyes but she wasn't fully awake.

  

“We can reschedule,” Jaze suggested as she moved sluggishly to get ready.

  

“No, then Mom would just plan something more elaborate.  Do you want that?”

  

“No more than you want to talk about what's bothering you.”

  

She smiled weakly and quickly glossed over the shift as they got ready.

  888 

Jaze sat between Jessi and Keeri on the couch in the great room of the girls' parents' house.  They were listening as the Enthrallment Celebrant talked about the Enthrallment ceremony.  As the Celebrant droned on, Jaze frowned.

  

Enthrallment Robes?  Jaze thought, his brow furrowed.  The Celebrant mentioned them as if he expected him to have them already.  He glanced at Jessi, expecting her to interrupt the Celebrant and explain that they didn't have robes, except that Jessi had leaned against him, her eyes half-closed to give the appearance of listening, but she was likely a long way away.  She had told him when he picked her up that she had a very rough shift and went straight to bed when she got home.  When he and Keeri tried to wake her up after a not-so-short nap to go to this meeting, she mumbled that all she needed to know was the day, time, and rites decided upon.

  

Looking at her, in a pose that she seemed to have much practice at, another fuzzy memory was triggered.  He was leaning against a wall in what the girls had named his grumpy pose.  He was listening to someone lecturing, but he couldn't hear the voice or what was being said.  There were others in the room listening to the speaker, too, but he couldn't see what they looked like.  The only thing in the room he could make out, besides the feeling that he didn't want to be there, was a giant aquarium that was so large it gave the appearance of the room being underwater.  The idea of a room like that was so ridiculous that he snorted loudly at the memory.

  

“Is there a problem with the planned ceremony?” Sondri, the girls' mother asked reproachfully, her eyes focused on him.

  

He was about to spit out that there were several starting with the fact that he had no robes and no idea what the rites were that they were discussing and that he missed half of what was said because he was too busy daydreaming about an underwater room when Jessi spoke up.

  

“Mother have you decided on the rites yet?”

  

Jaze could tell from her voice that she was tired and weary, and it was likely that she was only speaking to deflect the attention from himself.  Anger briefly welled up inside of him before he recognized the tactic: diversion.  Jessi, knowing her mother, was in a much better position to argue with her than he was.  He didn't like other people fighting his battles, but he appreciated the strategy and recognized that it was not smart to start a fight with his new mother-in-law.

  

“Have I picked the rites yet?”  Sondri asked indignantly.  “Young lady, this is your Enthrallment ceremony!  You and Jaze should be picking the rites.  Now,” her tone shifted. “Do you want the Blessing or the Nature, or should we look up some Gantesen rituals?”

  

“How about tomorrow?”  Jessi offered up tiredly.  As her mother looked confused, she added, “Celebrant, would it be all right for Jaze and I to meet you tomorrow in your office so that we can get our knots and the Family Book and have the whole thing settled and not have to be part of any circuit show.”

  

Jaze snickered, though personally he preferred that idea. Keeri groaned. 

  

“That's not funny young lady,” Sondri scolded.  “You will do no such thing!”

  

“Mother!”  Keeri interrupted.  Jaze watched amazed.  He had the feeling that he and his siblings had done something similar, but it seemed like the stakes had been much higher than just deflecting attention during a family argument.  “Both Jessi and Jaze have made it clear that they want a small ceremony.  Jessi has never been comfortable being the center of attention and Jaze has enough just trying to get his life back together.  He doesn't need Jessi freaking out on him, and neither do I.”  She noticed Jaze repeated clinching his fists, and Jessi slumped even farther into him with her eyes completely closed, and worked to diffuse the situation.

  

Jazed noticed that Keeri was a very good negotiator.  Within a few minutes she had it decided that the ceremony and reception would be held in the family home.  Sondri would limit the guests to family and a few close friends, and only who could fit comfortably in the house.  The ceremony itself would be simple with Keeri relaying the decisions back to Sondri and the Celebrant.

  

When they got home, Jessi kissed Jazed and went to bed.  As he watched walk into their room and shut the door, Jaze flopped onto the couch.

  

“Did she say anything about the shift?”  Keeri asked.  She was used to being her sister's sounding board after bad shifts, but that was now Jaze's duty.

  

“Not a lot.  Just one call after another.  People doing stupid things with disastrous results and then needing help.  She said they got maybe six or eight hours sleep over the entire three day shift.  And,” he paused and ran his hand down his fast before pounding his fist into the arm of the couch. “Two messy calls to the Black Jade.  I should have checked that place out closer before taking her there.”

  

Keeri started at his last comment, wondering what he meant about checking out the restaurant, but pushed down her paranoia.  “Would you believe me if I told you that wouldn't have made a difference today?” As he glared at her, she added, “I thought so.”

  

“She didn't check the receipts carefully, did she?”

  

“No, she took care of your health, while I was more concerned with who and what you were, and why you were there.”

  

“She thinks she's Florence Nightingale,” Jaze sighed.

  

“Who?”  Keeri asked.

  

“A nurse,” Jaze answered, confused and frustrated by the sudden memory, which was more evidence that he hadn't grown up on Demeter.

  

“Never mind,” Keeri said matter-of-factly.  “What we need to do is see what we can do about finding you a set of robes.”

  

“Jessi's idea for tomorrow sounded pretty good.”

  

“Maybe, but only if you both want to be on the wrong side of the family.”  Keeri stopped for a minute to turn on her laptop which was on the coffee table. As it booted up, she continued. “Now you have a couple of options. You can both apologize to Mom, give her more control and ask if it would be all right to ask Vidar if you can borrow his.  It's not even worth it to ask to borrow Haro's; that won't happen.  However, if you do that, you won't have anything to pass down, as Robes are traditionally passed from father to first born son.  Vidar only has a set because mother's father never had any sons, so his went to Vidar.

  

“The other option is to buy them.  You can get generic ones, but they are over-priced and poorly made.  Most families have a set made; they are pricier, but usually better quality.  Generic robes are lucky to last two maybe three generations with good care.  Tailored robes usually last five or six, sometimes more.”

  

“They're custom made?” Jaze sat up to allow Keeri to sit down.

  

“Well, they do wear thin after several generations and need to be replaced.  Some families will have them made for second or third sons if they are that lucky.  I think, since Haro get's the family robes and Vidar will get the ones from mom's family, Dad will have to have a set made for Pader.”

  

Jaze sat quietly as Keeri continued looking for something.  When she found it she let out an excited squeal and cried, “Look at this.”

  

“Who's that?” he asked frowning.

  

“That is Jeman Tillet and his first wife celebrating their Enthrallment.  Gaius was their first son.  So if we are right and you are descended from him, then they are your great-grandparents.”

  

“So?”  Jaze asked.  “Those robes are in Gantese if they even survived. There not worth it.”

  

“Do you always have to be so obstinate and defensive?”  Keeri teased and then bit her lip.  Jaze shrugged nonchalantly; he was learning to read her tone.  When he didn't snap at her, she continued, “We can use this as a template to have new ones made for you.”

  

“Won't that be expensive and take too long?”

  

“Don't worry about the cost.  Consider it a gift from me.  As for time, Robes are big business.  Most shops keep a wide range of colors, sizes, materials, and quality in stock.  Usually all that needs done is simple tailoring and the embroidery.  Turn around is usually anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.”

  

“Thanks, Keeri.”  Jaze rested his hand on her shoulder and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

  

“You're welcome,” she replied, shaking off a thrill that went down her spine.  “Now go check on my idiot sister so that she doesn't get lost in your bigger new bed.”

  888 

When he walked in he noticed she was crying.  He had never seen her cry before.  Sliding into bed beside her, he kept quiet as he tried to put together what he knew to see what he missed:  a long, exhaustive shift; the two firemen watching her leave; tired, hollow appearance; vomiting and jitters; the Black Jade; her panicking when he took her there.  She acted strange then; she's acting strange now.  The Black Jade!

  

“What happened at the Black Jade?” he asked softly.

  

She rolled over and curled into him.  As she sobbed into his chest, she choked out an answer.  “They're animals …. Why can't they just go back to their own planet and leave us alone? … She couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen …. She may never be able to Enthrall, if she survives …. Why would they do something like that?”

  

As she continued to cry, anger and hatred welled up inside him.  He didn't have to ask who.  He knew who: Spectrans.  He knew he had to stop them, drive them away from Demeter.  He just didn't know how or why he knew this.  The answer was there in the shadows of his mind, teasing him.  Appearing vaguely and then disappearing before he could understand or remember what it was that he had forgotten.

  

He looked at his fiancee.  Her sobs had softened and she had drifted into sleep.  She hated the Spectrans, too, but saw those that fought them as a necessary evil.  She would not be happy with this latest revelation.  He'd have to talk with Keeri about this idea.  For all of her paranoia, she seemed far more accepting of the idea that he was possibly involved in counter-terrorism than Jessi.

  888 

Mark, Princess, Tiny and Keyop shuffled sullenly into Anderson's office.  The tone the Chief had used to call them in was not the one they associated with missions or briefings, but the one he used when trying to assert a more parental role in their lives.  Since they'd been actively fighting Spectra, they never knew what to expect when Anderson used his fatherly voice.  However, none of them felt the occasion merited a celebration.

  

The Chief noted their mood as they entered and sat as one together on the couch in order of rank.  Everyone held their heads down, but Mark.  They expect the worst, he thought.  How many different seating combinations had he seen?  Too many to count, but only two ever went out of their way to stand apart from the others: Jason and Mark.  With Jason gone, Mark seemed to be going out of his way to sit with the others, cramped into the crowded couch.  By holding his head up, he told the Chief he could stand apart in other ways, that he knew his team needed his physical presence with them, that he was not afraid to hear what he expected to hear.

  

“The DNA analysis has been received from Demeter.”

  

Tiny and Keyop wiggled uncomfortably in their seats.  Keyop kept his head down, but Tiny raised his just enough for his eyes to be seen.  Princess cried, but lifted her head up, too.  Only Mark did not move at the news.  For a brief moment, Anderson thought about pausing longer than necessary to see if he could get a response.  He quickly decided that was not the best way to continue, thinking he'd been spending too much time with Cronus lately.

  

“The body was not Jason.  It was a Spectran.”

  

“So we are going back,” Mark stated as if he was giving the order.

  

“Sorry, Commander.”  The Chief changed his tone to match.  “However, I have dispatched a special agent to take over the investigation from the outpost personnel.”

  

“Took...long...enough,” Keyop said as quietly as he could, earning a, “yeah,” from Tiny, and a glare from Princess, Mark, and the Chief.

  

Sidestepping Keyop's comment, Anderson continued, “We know that he has not left Demeter because no ships have left the planet since the Phoenix.  Unfortunately, there is still very little to go on.  We suspect it is possible that Jason may have tangle with the dead Spectran, but at this point it is pure speculation; we have no proof.”

  

“Why not, Chief?”  Princess asked.

  

“Because the Spectran was killed by a shot to the back of the head that was made from an odd-sized weapon.  It was not a G-Force weapon or Galaxy Security issue.  From the size we can determine it was not an Earth weapon, nor any known Spectran weapon.  It is possibly a Demetern, but we still know very little about their defense abilities.  Understandably, they are reluctant to share.”

  

Mark burst out laughing.  Everyone turned to look at him quizzically.

  

After a few minutes, the Chief, his voice stern, asked, “Care to share the joke, Commander.”

  

Coughing, Mark brought himself under control.  “Sorry,” he paused.  “Jason had asked the outpost personnel for a Demetern pistol, and wasn't happy when told that they had no authority to issue one.  I told him to forget it and not to try and get one himself.  If I had found out after the mission that he had went out and got one anyway, we would have fought over it.  Now the idea just seems ridiculous.”

  

Princess giggled, “You two always seemed to fight over the strangest things.”

  

“Or your orders,” Tiny added.

  

“That was his job,” Mark said reverently, breaking the mood.

  

“Huh?”

  

“When he questioned my orders, it made me defend them.  If I couldn't defend them, how could I give them?”  Mark paused, not noticing the contemplative look on the Chief or his surprised teammates.  “If he didn't question me, then I didn't need to question myself.”

  

Admitting that there were times he questioned himself seemed to reset the laughter and had everyone laughing at some of the more spectacular fights.  Remembering times Jason would storm out if he thought he wasn't being taken seriously or the times he and Mark turned up with mysterious bruises, but not say anything.  The Chief never questioned them, so the others just followed suit.

  

Watching the laughter, the Chief made a decision.  “Mark, Princess, if I can trust that you will both stay on Earth unless under direct orders or with my permission, your restriction to the base is lifted.”

  

“Thank you, Chief,” Princess said.

  

“Mark turned back to his contemplative self.  Princess and the Chief looked at each other wondering what was up with Mark now.

  

“Who is the special agent?” Mark asked.

  

“Mark, before I tell you, you need to understand that keeping the team together is vital to the security of the galaxy, even more so now.  We got lucky that your first visit to Demeter went off without Spectra noticing.  We can't take that chance again.  We've been very lucky that they have not noticed you are missing a teammate.  Sending you and the team could change that.”

  

“Who?”  Mark repeated.

  

“Cronus.”

  

“Colonel Cronus?”

  

The Chief nodded.

  

“Thank you, sir.”  Mark stood up and left.  Keyop and Tiny followed still laughing and joking.

  

“Princess.”  The Chief held her back as she followed the boys.  “Keep an eye on them.  Get them out of here for a little while, and try to keep their spirits up.”

  “Gotcha.”  She hurried off to join the others.

Keeri stopped on her way home from the University at the Trifoldi Tailor’s shop. She’d had a message when she got home the day before that the Enthrallment robes she was getting Jessi and Jaze as a gift were ready to be picked up. She was excited to see how they had turned out.

  

Plans for the Enthrallment Ceremony were progressing well. Her mother had hired the Celebrant who had performed the Welcoming Ceremonies for Haro, Jessi and herself, which in a way brought things full circle. It was an auspicious sign for Jessi and Jaze’s future.

  

Jessi had confided she and Jaze were going to wait to start a family until she had completed her training. That was unusual, but not unheard of. They’d also talked about the fact Keeri’s research into Jaze’s family had revealed his family was one of the few families that tended to produce more male children than female. The idea of possibly having more than one son thrilled Jessi.

  

Keeri entered the shop and took a seat. There was one gentleman ahead of her, so she prepared to wait her turn.

  

It didn’t take long for Mrs. Trifoldi to notice her and come over.

  

“Ms. Donigel, good evening.” They shook hands and Mrs. Trifoldi led her over to one of the stations.

  

“Let me get the boxes.” She disappeared and returned with two large clothing boxes. She placed them on the table at the station and opened the top one, pulling out one of the robes.

  

Keeri’s breath caught as Mrs. Trifoldi unfolded it. It was beautiful.

  

“Why don’t you put it on so you can get an idea of how it will look on your sister?” the older woman suggested and held it out.

  

Keeri stared at the robe, a sudden thrill running up her spine at the idea of wearing it. She allowed Mrs. Trifoldi to help her put it on and she turned to look in the mirror.

  

“I’ve never seen such a family pattern before,” Mrs. Trifoldi said and Keeri ran her hand down the dark blue fabric, over Jaze’s family’s embroidery Knots. “Feathers are very unique.”

  

“Jaze is unique,” Keeri said and then froze. She stared at herself in the mirror, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. She ran her hand over the fabric again, wishing she was preparing for her own Enthrallment Ceremony. With Jaze.

  

This was nothing like anything she’d ever felt before. When had she Imprinted on Jaze?

  

“You are satisfied?” Mrs. Trifoldi asked, looking her over as if she were a doting aunt.

  

“Yes… yes. Thank you. It’s beautiful. Jaze and Jessi are going to be thrilled,” she stammered and took it off. Mrs. Trifoldi carefully folded it and placed it back into the box.

  

Keeri paid for the robes and carried the boxes out to the SUV, her hands shaking. She placed them in the cargo area of the SUV and got into the driver’s seat.

  

She took a deep breath and blew it out. She wasn’t jealous of Jessi. She was extremely happy her sister had Enthralled. Contrary to what she’d originally thought of him, Jaze had proven he was trustworthy and Jessi was clearly his top priority.

  

Jessi had joked that Jaze had grown on Keeri. Which was true. She’d felt compelled to prove he was dangerous, to keep herself and her sister safe. He’d had no business being near the falls and the river, not if you went by what he had been wearing. The only thing that made sense to her was he had been undercover. Jessi hated the idea, but that hadn’t made it any less of a possibility.

  

Everything she’d found regarding the Tillet family indicated the only remaining male had emigrated to Earth as a diplomat and apparently started a family there with at least one human wife. She hadn’t told Jessi or Jaze she had learned most of the human population on Earth practiced monogamy: a marriage of only one man and one woman at a time. They had something called divorce, where the man and woman dissolved their marriage to seek out other partners. They apparently had nothing like Imprinting and Enthrallment, which bonded a man and woman for life.

  

They had already established Jaze’s nightmares corresponded to incidents that occurred on Earth, incidents of Spectran attacks.

  

That had left them with the two speculations concerning Jaze’s presence on Demeter. Either he had come to learn more about his Demetern heritage or he was part of either a Demetern or Federation counter-terrorist unit.

  

Keeri pulled out and drove towards her parent’s home.

  

She was now convinced Jaze was the latter, based on their recent excursion to the warehouse district. The question was, had he been working for Demeter or the Federation?

  

She couldn’t see it being Demeter. Someone would have been looking for him and more than likely would have found him by now.

  

So he worked for the Federation.

  

Keeri sighed heavily again. The idea of his really being an agent worried her, but not for herself. She was worried about him. It was another definite sign of the Imprinting: she was afraid for him. Someone had tried to kill him and damn near succeeded. He had no idea who and that put him into even more danger.

  

No wonder his instincts had fought putting his picture into the paper. It would lead his enemy right to him, to Jessi, to her and their family.

  

 She pulled up in front of her parent’s house and sat for a moment. Would everyone be able to tell she had Imprinted? Would it be apparent the moment she and Jaze were in the same room? She didn’t want to be a distraction from Jessi’s Enthrallment Ceremony.

  

She was going to have to talk to her mother for help.

  

She got out and opened the rear, taking out the boxes. This was going to be the longest evening of her life.

  

Pavanna opened the door and immediately took one of the boxes from her.

  

“Is Mom home?” she asked her aunt and then she heard her mother’s voice as Sondri appeared in the hall.

  

“Are those the robes?” she asked and Keeri nodded. Sondri took the second box from her and led the way into the living room. Both women sat the boxes down on the coffee table.

  

Without preamble, Sondri opened the top box and pulled out the robe.

  

“What a beautiful knot pattern,” Pavanna commented as Sondri held it up for inspection. Her eyes widened as she looked at Keeri. “Feathers?”

  

“I don’t know the significance,” Keeri admitted, setting her purse down on the couch. “I’m still doing research on Jaze’s family.”

  

“A long time ago, falconing was a popular pastime. His family could have bred them,” Sondri suggested as multiple voices erupted in complaint from the recreation room.

  

Pavanna snorted. “I guess I’m going to have to enforce the quiet reading time.” She turned to go deal with the ruckus the younger children were making.

  

“Mom, I need to talk to you. In private,” Keeri blurted and Sondri smiled. She refolded the robe and placed it back into the box.

  

“Let’s take these upstairs so they’re out of the way and we can talk,” Sondri said as she picked up one of the boxes. Keeri picked up the other box.

  

They took the boxes into her old room that she used to share with Jessi, which was now a sewing room for the younger girls. They placed the boxes on the cutting table in the center of the room.

  

“I’ve told the girls this room is off limits until after the ceremony,” Sondri offered. There was a small couch against one wall and she sat on it and motioned for Keeri to join her.

  

Keeri closed the door and sat beside her mother, suddenly nervous. Sondri noticed and put her hand on Keeri’s arm.

  

“Honey, you know you can tell me anything,” she said in her soothing, mother voice. Keeri nodded.

  

“Mother…” Keeri sighed heavily. “I think I’ve Imprinted on Jaze.” She looked away, her cheeks coloring with embarrassment. She heard her mother’s soft chuckle and tuned back to her, wondering what could possibly be funny about it.

  

Sondri patted her hand. “I was wondering when you were going to figure it out.”

  

Keeri couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You knew? When did you know?” she demanded.

  

“When you interceded in my argument with Jaze about the Enthrallment announcement. You were defending him.”

  

“But that was just friendship,” Keeri protested and her mother nodded, still smiling.

  

“What do you think is the most important aspect of Imprinting?” Sondri asked. “Being friends.” Keeri could only stare at her, open mouthed. “Of course, physical attraction plays a big role, too,” Sondri continued. “Jaze is physically unusual, being Gantesen, with his tan skin and slanted eyes--”

  

“Mother,” Keeri implored, her mind’s eye picturing Jaze in the blue shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. “What am I going to do? I don’t want to ruin the ceremony.”

  

“Honey, that won’t happen.” Sondri hugged her and it was just what Keeri needed.

  

“But everyone will know,” she said. Sondri pulled back, holding her by her arms.

  

“Your attention will be interpreted as happiness for your sister and her husband. It’ll be fine. I promise.” She hugged her again and rubbed her arms before releasing her.  “Do you have any indication Jaze had picked up on it?”

  

Keeri shrugged. “How would I know if he has? I only just figured it out and he’s not exactly on the ball about Imprinting.”

  

“But you are spending a lot of time together, even more than he’s spending with Jessi right now.”

  

“Oh, Mom. What if Jessi notices?” Keeri was mortified at the thought.

  

“I was very happy when Pavanna Imprinted on Rine,” Sondri admitted. “It meant we’d be together forever.  You and Jessi are so close; I think she’d welcome it.”

  

Keeri sighed. An ache was starting between her eyes and she rubbed at the spot above her nose. Would Jaze welcome it? If she was correct, that Jaze was from Earth, where monogamy was the most common type of relationship, would his subconscious go with his Demetern genes or his upbringing?

  

Sondri could see the doubts in her eldest daughter’s eyes and hugged her again. “It’ll work out. I’m sure of it,” she said reassuringly. Keeri hugged her back, wishing she could be as confident.

  888 

He was going to find a way to get Anderson for this.  That's all there was to it.  This assignment would cost him more than a bottle of Leucadian brandy.  The bottle could be 200 years old, perfectly stored and aged, and it would still not be enough for the mess that Anderson had sent him into.

  

Ryan Regis might be a great record keeper, but had no clue how to run an investigation.  Cronus began to regret keeping him and sending the sloth-like Brewer on.  The file on “The Missing Agent” was three inches of dribble and minutia.  Regis had followed up on every minor detail with a dissertation on that detail.  The file was organized from the time the agent arrived to the most recent of leads, the DNA report from the coroner.  Cronus now knew that Outpost agents did not know that the team was G-Force, only that they had been transported by G-Force.  Although, Regis was smart enough to question why G-Force remained on the Phoenix, neither he nor Brewer went to the next step to connect five agents with five members of G-Force.  Or if they did, they did not commit it to the file.  Anderson would be pleased, if he wasn't furious with their inability to run an investigation.

  

The useful part of the file on Jason was only one-quarter of an inch thick, and most of that was mission purpose, Mark's report on his last known location, and the coroner's report.  Cronus already knew most of it.

  

“Sir, I think you might want to look at this,” said the newly assigned agent, Alex Mendez.

  

“What is it?” growled the frustrated Cronus.

  

“A credit card statement.”

  

“That belongs in the post's Accounts Payable file, Mendez, so it can be shipped off to the accountants,” Cronus snapped.  While sharing the transport, Cronus had hoped that Mendez might be competent help.  The boy had spent six years in the Space Patrol before being accepted into Galaxy Security.   Evidently, he had been wrong.

  

“Sir, that's where I found it.”

  

“I'm not here to be an accountant.  Regis could probably handle that position admirably.”

  

“Sir, the name on the account is Jaze Tillet and there was a charge on it just two weeks ago in some place called Esotel.”

  

“Gimme that!”  Cronus ripped the statement out of his hand.

  888 

Jaze waited in the shadows created by the buildings surrounding the Black Jade. It helped that cloud cover was obscuring the moon.

  

This place had given his wife enough heartache. The gang rape of a fourteen year old girl who had made the mistake of going in to use the phone was the last straw.

  

Although Jessi had suspected the rapists were aliens, Spectrans to be exact, there had been no proof at the time. A recent newspaper article had reported the rape kit revealed at least four distinct DNAs and none were Demetern. That told Jaze all he needed to know.

  

Jaze still couldn’t remember the meal he had had in the restaurant two days before his ‘accident’ or why he had been there. As he stood outside it, a feeling of familiarity was working its way into his mind.

  

He’d watched for the last two nights since Jessi was on duty, walking past the front door when he’d first arrived, seeing it was open until eleven. He also scouted the back of the restaurant, which was on an alley. There was one back door and three cars parked along the building’s rear. He had no idea if they belonged to the employees, but assumed one belonged to the owner or manager.

  

He didn’t know much about running a restaurant, but observed the employees cleaning the restaurant up before leaving the previous night. He’d noted the front door was locked after the final customer left and the employees left through the back. On the night before, the last person to leave was dressed in a suit, so Jaze assumed he was either the owner or manager.

  

A few men had come both nights and he assumed they were locals. The girl who was raped had given descriptions of the men who had raped her, but they had been vague. She hadn’t noticed any identifying marks on them, but may have been too frightened to pay that much attention. Most of the witnesses had departed as soon as they realized what was happening. Other than call the police, no one had raised a hand to help her.

  

That made Jaze just as angry as the actual rape. He hadn’t thought the Demetern culture could tolerate such behavior.

  

Spectrans are experts at using intimidation to beat down a population, a little voice said in his head. They do something to someone, then threaten to do it to others.

  

Jaze didn’t know where the observations had come from, but he didn’t doubt it. The rapists probably threatened the other men’s daughters to get them not to interfere.

  

As the front door was locked, he made his way to the back alley and waited.

  

His first instinct had been to burn the place down, but the Fire Department would have to respond and the chances of a fireman, maybe even Jessi, being injured was too high a risk.

  

He didn’t know if the rapists would be brazen enough to return, but the restaurant’s reputation indicated trouble was always looming.

  

Jaze had noted at least seven employees working this night and watched five leave. He moved in closer.

  

An SUV pulled into the alley and he slunk back into the shadows. Black, like the one he had followed with Keeri weeks before. Two men got out and entered the restaurant through the back door. Jaze settled in to wait longer.

  

A half hour later, those two men and the two remaining employees departed. As soon as he was sure they were gone, he moved in.

  

Jaze snuck through the back door, surprised there was no alarm. He didn’t question how he knew how to do this. He stood in the dark of a storage room that opened to a hallway that was brighter than the room. He crept to the hallway, his eyes following the light to a door that was slightly ajar. He could hear the rustling of paper.

  

Jaze reached the door and opened it just enough to slip into the room. A man was sitting at a cluttered desk, his back to the door. All Jaze could see was his slicked back black hair and dark, expensive suit. He was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn’t notice he wasn’t alone until the light went out and Jaze had him in a head lock. Jaze didn’t question how well he could see in the dark.

  

“We’re going to have a little discussion about the way you run your business,” Jaze hissed into the man’s ear. “Namely, just how long you and it will be existing.”

  

The man fought him for a moment, and then apparently gave up. Jaze knew better than to assume it was safe: he had no doubt there was a gun in the drawer of the desk, so he pulled him back far enough from the desk he couldn’t reach it.

  

“There was a rape here a few days ago,” Jaze said and tightened his hold for a moment, getting a gurgle from the man. “If you value your life and prosperity, you will not only cooperate with the police in the investigation, you will give me the scum who committed the crime on a silver platter, because you know who they are. Nod if you understand what I’ve said so far.”

  

He felt the man nod.

  

“Good, because if you don’t, this fine establishment will be burned to the ground with you in it. Nod if you understand.”

  

There was hesitation, then a nod.

  

“There will also be no further illegal activities here. No aliens causing trouble. No knife fights, no guns, no rapes.” Jaze squeezed long enough to make his point. “If you catch wind of anything nefarious going on, you will call the police. Is that clear?” Jaze tightened his hold again and then released just enough to allow the man to nod as he gasped for air.

  

“Good. I believe we have an understanding. You have three days to turn the scum over to me. I will be waiting.”

  

Jaze released him and the man immediately went for his desk drawer. Jaze grabbed a pen lying on the desk and stabbed it into the man’s hand, pinning his hand to the top of the desk. The man howled in pain, trying to turn to get a look at Jaze while grabbing the pen to pull it out. Jaze stopped him.

  

“Are you that stupid?” Jaze asked. “There are any number of ways I can make you hurt before killing you. It’s your choice. You brought this on yourself by catering to the aliens. Now it is time to make amends or pay the Reaper.

  

“Three days. Remember, I’m watching.”

  

“Who are you?” the man demanded in a high pitched, pain filled voice.

  

Who was he? That was a good question. For the first time since waking up in Jessi’s bed, when he said the name Jaze Tillet in his head, he knew that was who he really was, but it wasn’t the only name he had used.

  “Justice,” he said and departed quickly into the shadows.

Colonel Cronus pulled into the over-sized truck-stop and knew this trip would be a waste of time.  He had seen places like this on Earth, Riga, and a half dozen other Federation planets.  The parking lot, with room for at least a hundred tractor-trailers or RVs and more than twice as much space for family vehicles, would be considered small for a super-sized stadium. With a motel, coffee shop, deli, family restaurant, convenience store, and other shops, the only thing the place was missing was a casino.  It was unlikely that any would remember Jason, or if they did, that they could tell him anymore than that he had been there.  He had to try though; Anderson expected it.  If their situations were reversed, and it was one of his men missing, Cronus knew that he'd not only expect it, he'd demand it.

  

The jewelry store was situated close to the coffee shop and the restaurant.  A prime location for truckers needing to pick up a gift before returning home or husbands needing to appease a ticked off wife.  Jason didn't fall into either of those categories.  What the hell was the boy doing?  What on earth had he gotten himself into?

  

Scanning the store, he noticed a blonde with long, curly hair, long, fake nails, and too much make-up behind the counter.  As soon as she noticed him, she began to flirt with him.

  

He cut her off.  “Do you remember him or anything about this purchase?”  Cronus showed her a picture of Jason and handed her the credit card bill that went straight to the outpost.

  

“Yeah, I remember him,” she answered.  “That purchase was two weeks ago.  I remember thinking that his fiancée was pretty lucky.”

  

“Fiancée?”  Cronus asked, keeping the surprise out of his voice only because of years of practice.

  

“Yeah,” she explained.  “He didn't have an Enthrallment Knot, so I figured they'd just Enthralled, ya know.”

  

“You're sure it was this man here?”  Cronus held up Jason's picture again.

  

“Positive.  Can't forget eyes that intense.  That's why I thought she was lucky.  Can you imagine those eyes focusing intensely on you?  He was kinda scary, too, though, but then most Gantesens are?  He was real nice, he's not a terrorist or something is he?”

  

Cronus held back a laugh.  “Let's just say he's a person of interest and it's important that we find him right away.”

  

“Is he dangerous?” the clerk asked, intrigued by the investigation.

  

Cronus could tell that she was enjoying this and decided to continue to feed her.  She was cooperating and giving him more answers than he expected, and more questions.  Perhaps if he kept her answering some of his questions, he'd get more answers to the new questions that were developing.  “Oh, he's very dangerous, but unlikely to act unless threatened.”  He watched the excitement war with relief in her eyes.  “What can you tell me about this girl he was with?”

  

“Not much, she never came in and only passed by that I saw.  She was tall, thin but athletic.  Her hair was a fright.  That must've been why he bought her the combs.”  She led Cronus over to the cloisonné display, happy to change the conversation back to the man.  “He bought her a set of these combs.  We don't have any more of the designs he got, except for in the sticks.  You think I should keep them in case he comes back?”

  

Cronus didn't answer, but instead asked another question.  “Where did they go after he left here?”

  

“They went into the coffee shop, I think.  It was a pretty busy day.  I didn't see him again.”

  

“You were looking?

  

“Kinda.  He's Gantesen.  Gotta watch for trouble when their kind comes around, even if they don't start it.”

  

“Thank you,” he told the clerk, handing her a card.  “If you see him or the girl again, would you please call this number?”

  

“Sure, but I don't know if I'd recognize her, but if I see him, I'll definitely call.”

  

“Any help would be appreciated.”  Cronus walked out of the store and to the coffee shop.  It took him half an hour to find someone in the café that recognized Jason and he instantly regretted it.  Most of the information the waiter had corroborated the jewelry clerk's story: He was in about two weeks ago; he was with a tall, athletic looking girl with wild, golden brown hair; they both looked like they'd been camping; they acted like they were Enthralled, but neither had a knot; and they both ate a hearty meal of steak and eggs with mixed fruit.

  

“I only remember them,” the waiter prattled on, “because he was Gantesen.  You gotta watch 'em close, trouble usually follows 'em.  Anyway, when they left quietly and the rest of the day passed normally, I just assumed he was looking for a new start and trying to escape the reputation they got.  We get a lot of those, too.  Feel real sorry for 'em, too.”  He paused for a breath.  “Seemed like nice kids.  They're not in trouble are they?  Should I have reported them?  They're some that think Gantesens should be reported no matter what they're doing.  I never thought that right, though.  Many just ignore them 'til something big happens.  Just gives more fuel to those who want to keep them all locked up or out of the country.  It's been pretty quiet for a good while now.  You think that's suspicious?”

  

Before the waiter could get started again, Cronus stopped him.  “No, no trouble like that.  I just need to talk to him is all.  If you happen to see him, just call me as soon as possible.”  He handed the other man his card and left.  Anderson would have mixed feelings about this report.  The boy was alive, but where was he and what had he got himself into?

  888 

The Celebrant stood in the Great Room facing everyone.  Jaze and Jessi stood in front of him.  Everyone else stood behind them.

  

“The Donigel family thanks you, friends and family, for joining them as they welcome Jaze Tillet into their family,” the Celebrant addressed those gathered in the Donigel house.  “There are few things in life as wonderful as a new Enthrallment, the start of a new family.

  

“It seems like it wasn't that long ago, I was a young Celebrant performing the Welcoming Ceremony for Jessi's older brother, Haro, then her sister, Keeri, and then finally her.  I watched her grow up through the Welcoming Ceremonies for her younger brothers and sisters, and the Parting Ceremonies for her grandparents.

  

“Two years ago, I had the sad duty of performing the Parting Ceremony for a young firefighter who lost her life in the line of duty.  After the young woman's family and superiors came up to thank me, a young probationary firefighter came up to thank me, as the others stayed back.  At first, I was surprised; I didn't recognize her all grown-up and in uniform.  When I noticed her name tag, I understood immediately.  Jessi knew her mother would expect her to follow proper etiquette, even if it meant standing out, and would have been upset with her if she had learned she had not.  Not that I would have said anything.

  

“I've not known Jaze very long at all, but I have no doubt he will be an excellent protector and provider.

  

“Both Jessi and Jaze have requested a short, simple ceremony.

  

“Jessi, do you affirm that you have Enthralled with Jaze of your own free will?”

  

“I have,” she answered with a smile on her face.

  

“Mr. and Mrs. Donigel, do you believe this?”  The Celebrant asked as a matter of formality.

  

“We do,” Rine answered.

  

“Jaze, do you affirm that you have Enthralled with Jessi of your own free will?”

   

“I have,” he answered firmly.

  

“Mr. and Mrs. Adornet, since you are standing in for Jaze's family, do you believe this?”

  

“We do,” Liana answered.

  

“The other day, Jaze and Jessi came to my office to receive their knots.  They will now reveal them.  Jaze, please take Jessi's hand and remove the wrap. Jessi, you will do the same for Jaze when he is done.”

  

Gently, he did as he was told, pulling up the sleeve of her robe and unwrapping the gauze that protected the knot tattooed onto her wrist.  As he did so, the Celebrant read:

  

“Know that no two people can be exactly alike. No more can any two people fit together, perfect in every way. There will be times when it will seem hard to give and to love. But see then your reflection as in a woodland pool, when the image you see looks sad and angered, then know it is the time for you to smile and to love. In return will the image in the pool smile and love.

  

“As the grass of the fields and the trees of the woods bend together under the pressures of the storm, so too must you both bend when the wind blows strong. But know that as quickly as the storm comes, so equally quickly may it leave. Yet will you both stand strong in each other’s strength.  As you give love, so you will receive it. As you give strength, so will you receive strength. Together you are one, apart you are as nothing.”

  

Jaze finished unwrapping Jessi's Knot and she did the same for him as the Celebrant continued reading.

  

“Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there are three lives before you: his life, her life and your life together. Go now to your dwelling place to enter into your days together. And may all your days be good and long upon the Earth.

  

“May your home be filled with laughter and the warm embrace of a summer day.  May you find peacefulness and beauty, challenge, and satisfaction, humor and insight, healing and renewal, love and wisdom, as in a quiet heart.  May you always feel that what you have is enough.”

  

When finished with the reading, the Celebrant held up a book.  “Since our ancestors learned to bind paper, these books have documented family lines.  More than that, though, these books are the legal records of our families.  Traditionally, these books are given to new husbands at their first Enthrallment by his parents.  Liana, Taylon,” the Celebrant called them forward.

  

Liana spoke. “With Keeri's help, we filled this in for you as best as we could, up to this day.  You and Jessi will record the births of your children and other important events your lives and theirs.  You will record your future wives and their children here, too,” she explained as she handed Jaze the book.  Then she gave him a motherly hug and kiss on the cheek, which he awkwardly accepted.  “Welcome to the family,” she whispered before breaking away to give Jessi a hug, too.

  

“Jaze, Jessi, would you please kiss to conclude this ceremony.” As they kissed, the Celebrant continued, “Friends, family, the new Mr. and Mrs. Tillet.”

  888 

Jaze was overwhelmed by what was supposedly a small, family Enthrallment ceremony.  The Donigel's Great Room and dining room were packed.  He hadn't met half of the people there before today and knew even fewer.  Jessi and Keeri had been pulled into the kitchen by their mother, aunts, the rest of the family wives, and a few of the older girls.  As he refilled his drink, he noticed two vaguely familiar men walking towards him.  They looked to be in their earlier forties.

  

“Congratulations, Mr. Tillet.”  One of the men said as he reached out his hand to Jaze.  “Lessack Brandt,” he said, and then as Jaze shook the hand of the second man, he introduced him.  “Meck Cheeter.”  Jaze instantly recognized their names as men Jessi works with.  “Don't worry about them all disappearing,” Brandt added.  “Happens at all Enthrallments.  They want the gossip and to give the new wife useless advice.”

  

“Jessi doing all right?”  Cheeter asked.  “I missed the last shift, and she was pretty shook up after a run the one before that.”

  

“She's all right,” Jaze answered.  He now recognized the men as the ones who watched her leave that shift, but was not sure how much Jessi would want them to know.

  

“Everyone's got their weak spots,” Brandt stated.  “The runs that bother them more than others, the runs that sticks with them.  For some it is the victim, for some it is just the run.  Jessi, she doesn’t like the ones where people are needlessly and vilely cruel to others.”

  

Jaze nodded and all three men took a drink.  It was not a good topic for the occasion.

  

“You gotta tell us one thing,” Cheeter said, changing the subject.  “How'd you Enthrall the girl who swore she wouldn't Enthrall until she made captain?”

  

Jaze choked on his drink.  The question surprised him and in addition to not liking surprises, he did not know how to answer it.  He knew that both Jessi and Keeri were focused on their careers, but he hadn't heard that before.  He was saved from having to answer by Jessi slipping up next to him.  He smiled at her, relieved to be out of the conversation.

  

“Sounds like your conversation has just as much silly gossip as the one I just left,”  Jessi said dryly.  “I think we can go now, unless you want to stay.”

  

“Lead the way.”  Jaze motioned her.

  

She grabbed his hand and they quietly left.  Once in the jeep she said, “Don't worry.  Its common couples to sneak out without saying anything.  It's for the guests to make sure they visit the couple, not vice-versa.”

  

“What now, you never told me what we do after something like this?” he asked as he sat in the driver’s seat of the jeep.  “Do you want to go back to the apartment?”

  

“We could, but I don't think Keeri will expect us.”

  

“Where does she expect us to go?”

  

Jessi thought for a moment.  She knew what others had done, but realized that Jaze was right; they'd never really discussed it.  “Many couples go back to where they Enthralled, but some go someplace new or some other place meaningful.”  She paused.  “You don't want to go back to the beach do you?”  It wasn't that she didn't like the idea; she just didn't think they had that kind of time or were really prepared for it.

  

“Not really,” he said.  “Got any other suggestions.”

  

Relieved, she laughed.  “No, not really.  I've spent the last few weeks just trying to get through til today, and never even thought about tonight.”

  

Not for the first since they'd Enthralled, he wished that they could have just done this the easy way.  The ceremony wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't something that he would have chosen.  Most of what made him uncomfortable was watching the stress that it caused in Jessi.  But it was over now.

  

Finally, he asked, “Is the cabin too far?”

  

She kissed him.  “That's perfect.  We've got food in the back from the kitchen, most of the left overs.  We can spend tonight and tomorrow and head straight into work the next day.”

  

“Wouldn't coming home tomorrow be easier?”

  

“Nah, I do it all the time in the summer when Keeri's on break.  It's not something I'd do daily, but every three days isn't bad.”

  

“Then let's go.”  With that, he started the jeep and took off.

  

They were halfway to the cabin when Jessi noticed something odd.

  

“What are those idiots doing out this direction?” she said.

  

Jaze looked around to see who she was talking about.

  

“The ugly brown car heading back towards the city,” Jessi explained.  “There from the Federation Outpost.  It's strange because they rarely leave it and when they do, they are usually getting in our way.  They act like we don't know how to deal with disasters because our technology isn't as advanced as the Federations.”  She paused.  “No, that's not fair, some are really nice, but some are that way and just haven't learned that if they can do their job better if they weren't so busy trying to tell us how to do ours.”

  

“How do you know it was them?” Jaze asked.

  

“Besides the fact that they always have the same ugly brown car, it was the license,” she said as if it were obvious.  “They're issued by our government that thinks it's being efficient by issuing plates based department.”

  

Jaze thought for a moment.  He'd seen the car.  “IGFOP1,”  he stated.  “So what are they doing out here?”

  

“It's strange.  Usually they don't leave the Outpost unless they are asked or if they have information that they think we need.  I haven't heard of anything that would involve them being out this way, or even over in Esotel, but I'll admit that if it doesn't directly involve the fire department, I'll avoid the news as much as possible. . . . Let's change the subject.  How did you remember the license for the car, I barely saw and only noticed because I knew seeing them out this way is odd?”

  

Jaze shrugged.  He had only seen it if for a second, but could recall it perfectly.  And the driver.  He'd seen the driver somewhere before, but didn't want to tell Jessi.  It was getting dark and the guy still had on sunglasses, but there was something else, too.  He just didn't know what.

  

“Maybe you're just good with license plates,” she suggested.  “What's plate for the rig I ride on?”

  

He thought for a moment before answering, “DFDS2E2.”  He paused for a second remembering what she said about the issuing of government plates. “Donotrep Fire Department Station 2 Engine 2.”

  

“You know the pattern, that was too easy? How about this jeep?”

  

“879D62P.”

  

“And Keeri's SUV?”

  

“298D22P.”

  

“And your old blue car?”  She slipped in.  He had been reciting plates by rote, maybe it would open something up.

  

He opened his mouth to start reciting, but didn't say anything.  He frowned and gripped the steering wheel tightly to ease his frustration.

  

“What's wrong?”

  

He tried again and growled, “I can't.  I had it and it was gone.”

  

She reached out to touch him.  He flinched away.  Quickly she drew back.

  

“Sorry,” she muttered.

  

More of the countryside passed as they drove on quickly in silence.  Suddenly, he pulled off the main road and took an obscure dirt road.

  

“Where are you going?”  Jessi's voice was hesitant.  She was curious, but didn't want to frustrate him anymore.  She'd hoped that the game might loosen his memory, but it didn't work.

  

“I don't know, but I've been down this road before.”

  

“Why? There's nothing down the road.  It's just an old fire road that leads to an old abandoned fire camp and more fire roads.”

  

“I don't know,” Jaze growled, stopping the jeep at a fork.  He could remember having been down the road, but he didn't know why.  At the fork, he couldn't remember which way to go.

  

Gently, Jessi laid her hand on his arm.  “Jaze, let's go back to the main road.  The old roads aren't safe after dark.”

  

“Spectrans,” he bit out angrily.

  

“Aliens, or terrorists or both,” she sighed.  “We cut these roads for easier access to wild land fires and they use them against us.  Maybe, if it's really important to you, we can come back when it's bright and sunny, but not now, not this trip.”

  

Jaze relaxed, turned the jeep around and headed back to the cabin.

  

Jessi knew that his memory loss bothered him, even if he did try to hide it, but not as well as he thought.  She wanted to bring up seeing the neurologist again, but knew he'd only try and brush it off.  She couldn't blame him, really.  Seeing a doctor was rarely a good thing.

  888 

Keeri exited the kitchen, needing to get away from the gaggling women. If one more asked when she was going to find her young man, she was going to scream.

  

It was one thing if it was one of her aunts asking. But when women she barely knew who worked with her parents asked, she just wanted to tell them to mind their own business.

  

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned, ready to snap at whomever it was, but found it to be her father.

  

He was staring at the front door and chuckled. Kerri turned back to see Jessi and Jaze slipping out.

  

“Can’t blame them,” Rine said, squeezing her shoulder affectionately. I’m sure you wish you could follow their example.”

  

Keeri nodded. Her father knew her too well. It would be impolite to voice it, as she was, in a way, one of the hostesses. A responsibility of an eldest daughter.

  

Rine slipped his arm around her waist and guided her towards the double doors that led to the yard. The party had spilled onto the large deck, but few people were there at the moment. She could get some air.

  

Once on the deck, Rine pulled his arm back, allowing her the freedom to go to the railing. She set her arms on the railing, gazing at the tree house that had been made for her and Jessi when they were children. Rine settled beside her.

  

“Your mother and I had only been Enthralled for a month when I noticed Pavanna’s interest,” he said, also staring at the tree house. “They were very close and Pavanna spent nearly every waking moment at our home. Before I knew it, we had Imprinted.”

  

Keeri groaned, wanting to crawl under the deck. Her mother had told him about her Imprinting Jaze?

  

“Dad-” He held up his hand to silence her.

  

“A father can sense such things,” he said, not looking at her so she wouldn’t be soembarrassed. “I was expecting it, actually, when you three decided to keep your livingarrangements.”

  

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” she said in chagrin.

  

“Nature takes its course,” Rine answered. “You’ve already built a good relationship with Jaze from what I’ve seen. That’s a start.”

  

“I don’t want to take time from Jessi,” she said as she turned to him. Her sister was her main concern.

  “She’ll have her time. She’ll always be Jaze’s First Wife. Just don’t be surprised if you have to hit Jaze over the head to get him to see you’ve Imprinted. We men can be very think headed about Imprinting and Jaze’s head seems to be thinker than most.” With that, Rine turned to return to the house and their guests, leaving Keeri with a slight smile.

Mosquitoes! Now they'd seen everything, Mark thought.  Mosquitoes.  That really was the only insect those small Spectran planes could be.  They were mosquitoes with sharp, stingy lasers shooting from thin noses, lightning quick maneuverability, and annoying.  It didn't matter how many missiles they fired at them, the planes easily avoided them.  They even evaded the Fiery Phoenix.

 

 

Closing his eyes, he thought about the best way to fight them.  For all her strengths, the Phoenix and her weapons just wouldn't work against them.  His jet would work.  Keyop's buggy would have a chance and would give them another thing to avoid.  Princess's cycle would be useless on the ground, and her missiles as easily avoided as the Phoenix's.  The only other weapon they had that would work was Jason's Space Mobile; if he were here, he'd be able to swat them down easily.  Sighing, he realized they just couldn't afford to not use it.

 

 

“Keyop, you and I will go out in our vehicles and do our best. Princess. . .” he hesitated.  “Go into the Space Mobile and do your best with the gun.  Tiny, work with her on aiming.  Try not to shoot Keyop or me.”

 

 

Everyone gasped.  Princess started to protest.

 

 

Mark cut her off.  “I know how you feel.  I don't like it either, but I see no other way.”  Without another word he flew off to his jet, followed by Keyop.

 

 

Tiny cast a sympathetic glance towards Princess as she left the cockpit.  As she made her way down the narrow crawl space to Jason's vehicle she decided she would never complain about having to climb the slide to get to her cycle again.  Jason had to have the clumsiest set up of all four of them, slipping feet first on an even surface barely big enough for him to slip through just to get in.  At least going out, would be easier.

 

 

Once she was in the car she took a moment to orient herself.  They'd all been briefed on the other vehicles, but never actually trained on them.  The nose retracted in front of her.  Mark and Keyop had already engaged the mosquitoes.  Taking a deep breath she pressed the button to reveal the gun and began shooting.  Her aim wasn't near as precise as Jason's with the Gatling style gun, but she did okay. 

 

Fifteen minutes seemed like fifteen hours, but soon the three vehicles had destroyed all of the pesky mosquitoes.  With the clear sky, the Phoenix and G-Force returned home.  The battle was short, too short.  The flight home was quiet, too quiet.

 

 

 

888

 

As soon as the briefing was dismissed, everyone but Mark left the Chief's office.  As battles with Spectra go, this one wasn't bad.  The damage was minimal, but the team was still exhausted.

 

 

“You held something back in your report?”  Anderson asked.

 

 

“Yes, sir.”  Mark answered, not surprised that the Chief could tell.

 

 

“Well?”

 

 

Mark hesitated and looked at the Chief.  Suddenly he realized that Anderson looked as tired as the rest of them.

 

 

“Everything went as we described,” Mark paused.  “Except that once we figured out how to defeat them . . . it took a long time because of how many there were, but they were destroyed easily . . . too easily . . . . It seemed like they were fishing for something.”

 

 

Anderson sat pensively.  “What do you think they were 'fishing' for?”

 

 

Mark sank back into the chair.  “I think they were testing us.  It was like they planned this battle to see if we'd use the Space Mobile.”

 

 

The Chief took his glasses off and ran a hand down his face.  After putting his glasses back on, he stood up and walked to the window to stare into the ocean.

 

 

“Tomorrow, I want you and the team to use the simulators to reconstruct the battle to the best of your abilities.”

 

 

Mark stood.  “I'll get everyone on it now.”

 

 

“No,” Anderson said firmly before Mark could leave.  Walking back to his desk, he moved to the front and leaned against it.  “Commander sit.  You and everyone else need to sleep, relax, and rest.  It's more important than anything else right now.”

 

 

“Chief?”

 

 

“Mark, from your description of the battle and your feelings about it tells me a few things:  Spectra has noticed a difference in your fighting style; this fishing, as you call it, could be them trying to learn why; if they are trying to learn why, they may not know that we are a man short.”  The Chief ticked off his reasoning.

 

 

Mark jumped up from his seat.  “That means they don't have Jason.”

 

 

“Or if they do, they don't know who he is,” Anderson added.

 

 

“So now what?”  Mark asked, dejected from hearing the words he had left unspoken.

 

 

“First, you get some rest.  Tomorrow will be soon enough to get started on the battle reconstruction.  While you are working on this latest battle, I'll have Zark start going over previous battles to see if there were other possible fishing attempts that we missed.  After we've analyzed all the data from the battles, we'll be in better shape to predict other possible tricks and come up with a few of our own.  Now, I think you best get going before I need to make that an order.”

 

 

“Yes, sir.”  Mark got up to leave again.  Stopping at the door, he slowly turned.  Then carefully he asked, “Has Colonel Cronus reported in yet?”

 

 

Anderson was not surprised by this question, though he did expect Mark to ask it sooner.  “It is in Cronus's esteemed opinion that the Outpost is a prime example of Federation Bureaucracy.  He is astounded that the planet's inhabitants have lasted as long as they have.  He wants more monitoring of the space around the planet.  He thinks Spectra could be using blind spots and gaps to sneak small transports on and off the planet.  Although he knows he's not likely to get the additional monitoring because of the aforementioned bureaucracy.”

 

 

“But no leads on Jason?”  Mark interrupted.

 

 

The Chief took a deep breath as Mark prepared for the worst.

 

 

“I was hoping to refrain from telling you until we had more information.  He found a credit card bill at the Outpost for the card Jason was issued.  It doesn't mean anything at the moment other than the card was used.  It was used a great distance from where he was last known to be.  We don't know if he used it or someone else did.  If it was him, we don’t know the conditions or why.  Cronus is currently investigating it, but it could be weeks before we know anything else.  Remember, we do have lag time in communications that we are not used to having with other planets because they are not yet a Federation member.  If it was Jason, you will not get the clearance to go back until I get all the proper permissions secured and am certain that your presence will not create an inter-galactic incident.  Is that clear?”

 

 

“Yes, Chief,” Mark said crisply to the indirect order: Stay away from Demeter until you have a direct order.

 

 

“Good.  I'd hate to have to ground you again.”

 

 

 

888 (inspired by Springie's picture from issue #109)

 

 

 

 

Mark looked all over Center Neptune for Princess after leaving the Chief's office.  She wasn't anywhere.  She wasn't answering her communicator either.  He could go back to the ready room with Tiny and Keyop, but the thought of leaving the base was just too tempting.  Besides, he had a good idea of where Princess was if she wasn't on the base.

 

 

He found her right where he thought she'd be – at Jill's.  Instead of being out on the dance floor or helping out behind the bar, she was sitting at one of the tables, slumped over, her head lying on her arm resting on the table.  She was sound asleep.

 

 

He walked to the table and crouched down next to her, watching her sleep, wondering if he should wake her.

 

 

He was about to get up when she opened her eyes.  “Mark?” She yawned.  Before he could responded she added, “He's dead, isn't he?  Spectra knows he's dead and they're testing us to see how much longer we can keep up the charade.”

 

 

Mark moved from his crouched position to sit next to her.  “It's possible,” he conceded, but countered, “Anderson thinks they are testing us, but doesn't think they know anything.  I don't think he's dead.  Cronus has a lead, but it's not much yet.”

 

 

Princess started to say something, but Mark cut her off.  “He's not dead until we have a body.  Hopefully Cronus will get enough information from this lead that we can go back.”

 

 

“The Chief said that?” Princess asked skeptically, though her mood brightened.

 

 

“Not exactly,” Mark answered.  Then he changed the topic.  “Come on, let's dance.”  He knew he was avoiding talking about Jason and all the what-if's.  They all were.  “Besides, tomorrow we're going to be busy coming up with new strategies and Jason wouldn't like it if we let ourselves get too exhausted and stressed that we couldn't fight or find him.”

 

 

Mark stood up and held out his hand.  With a hesitant smile, Princess took it and followed him out on the dance floor.

 

 

 

888

 

 

Jaze parked the sedan he had borrowed from the garage. He’d traded the license plates with another vehicle they were getting ready to scrap for parts. The owner had decided the repairs had become too costly. That way, the sedan would be harder to trace.

 

 

He got out and put on his sunglasses, even though it was dark. He’d found he could see just as well with them on in the dark as he could in the light. He didn’t question it. Besides, it hid his Gantesen-shaped eyes.

 

 

He had visited the owner of the Black Jade a few days after their ‘talk’ about the rape of the teenage girl in his restaurant. He had happily provided very detailed descriptions of the rapists, who were frequent customers. Jaze had cased the restaurant, having to wait for nearly a week before the men showed up again. He then followed them twice to a nearby club. It was near the warehouse he had broken into previously. Spectrans.

 

 

He’d scouted the club for two more days before deciding to venture in. All of the clientèle was male, only a few of them native Demetern. The women who worked in it entered through a back door. From what he could tell, all of them were either off-worlders or Spectran, except one. It reminded him of the conversation he’d had with Keeri one night. She’d said it wasn’t in Demetern women’s nature to be exhibitionists, so any dancers at such clubs would be from off world.

 

 

Jaze opened the front door and entered, finding himself in a narrow hall about ten feet long with a large man standing at the end of it with his arms crossed. The word ‘bouncer’ came to his mind.

 

 

He was immediately assaulted with loud, throbbing music and strobe lights. He squinted. Even with the sunglasses and the narrow hall, the strobes hurt his eyes.

 

 

He walked down the hall to the bouncer, who was frowning at him. Jaze exuded confidence in the fact he was supposed to be there, giving the bouncer a knowing smile.

 

 

“Girls good tonight?” he asked, pulling a bill out of his pocket. “The tall blonde is here tonight?” He thought if he asked, he’d sound more like a regular.

 

 

“Yeah, Kat’s here.” The bouncer took the bill and moved to allow Jaze entrance.

 

 

He walked into the large room and stopped to get his bearings. It looked very familiar: he could almost close his eyes and see it. The walls and ceiling were dark, with lighting sufficient to keep the patrons from bumping into tables. A raised stage at the end of the room was bright with lights to show off the dancers.

 

 

Again, the term ‘titty bar’ came to mind and he knew he’d been in such places before. He tried to remember, but the already weak lights dimmed further as a man walked out of the curtain on the back of the stage.

 

 

Jaze shook himself. He didn’t have time to work on his intermittent memories. He had a mission. He could dwell on the memory later.

 

 

He could now see tables lining the stage and the outer walls. Many were occupied by men in business suits of a design he also recognized but hadn’t seen much of on Demeter. The men were either off-worlders or Spectrans.

 

 

He spotted the two Spectrans he had followed from the Black Jade at a rear table that had an empty one beside it. Jaze headed for it.

 

 

Jaze missed the stripper’s introduction and sat down as a woman dressed in a white form-fitting gown walked out onto the stage. Her hair was light brown and was piled on the top of her head with artfully done ringlets hanging down around her face. She was buxom and Jaze found himself comparing her to Jessi. He smirked. Jessi won hands down, as far as he was concerned.

 

 

She began to undulate to the music, running her hands up and down her body suggestively. Now he understood what Keeri had meant about no self-respecting Demetern woman working in such a place.

 

 

His wife was demure in public and had started their Enthrallment rather shy about her body, but Jessi was coming out of her shell in the privacy of their bedroom.

 

 

He couldn’t picture any of the Demetern women he knew being so provocative. It just wasn’t in their nature.

 

 

A waitress with shoulder length blonde hair dressed in practically nothing came to his table. She had a tray and cocked it on her hip as she regarded him.

 

 

“Want a drink?” she asked in an accented voice, her eyes raking over him as if he were a piece of meat. The look made Jaze’s skin crawl. “Or are you going to use a back room?”

 

 

Back room? What did that mean? He thought fast.

 

 

“Can I have a drink now and a back room later?” he asked, hoping Jessi’s ears weren’t burning as he suspected the back rooms were used for sex or maybe Spectran drugs.

 

 

How did he know that? Again, he could almost picture such rooms in his mind. The club was stirring up memories he could ill afford right then.

 

 

The woman on the stage now had her gown open down the front, flashing the men lining the stage with momentary views of her ample bosom. One man reached towards her and she kicked his hand away, laughing throatily as he howled in pain. Her high heel had probably done some damage.

 

 

“What do you want?” the waitress asked, smiling at him suggestively, pulling him back from the stage.

 

 

“What do you have?” She named a few drinks and he chose one, knowing damn well he wasn’t going to touch it. For some reason, his mind was connecting shoulder length blonde hair with poison.

 

 

Under the guise of watching the stripper, he kept his attention on his quarries. They were drinking, watching everything around them rather than the stripper. They were looking for someone.

 

 

The waitress returned with his drink, some neon blue concoction in a tall, thin glass. He paid her and pretended to taste it. It smelled all right, but he wasn’t going to take the chance.

 

 

A few minutes later, Jaze noticed a man joining the two Spectrans he was following. The three men talked for a few minutes. The two Spectrans looked as if they didn’t like what they were hearing from the third man.

 

 

The third rose and walked away. Jaze tried to memorize him for future consideration. The Spectrans finished their drinks and got up. They walked towards the entrance and Jaze followed at a discreet distance.

 

 

Once outside, they walked away from where they had parked their SUV, pulling out cigarettes. Another memory told Jaze Spectrans liked to smoke filterless cigarettes. They didn’t seem to be worried about lung cancer.

 

 

Keeping them in sight, Jaze jogged to the sedan and followed them at a distance. They seemed oblivious, if their unhurried gait was any indication.

 

 

Where were they going? Jaze wanted to intercept them before they arrived at their destination. He looked around. They were headed in the direction of the warehouses. The area was quiet at this time of night. Jaze didn’t see anyone else.

 

 

He sped up and passed them, then cut into the curb in front of them. He got out and stepped into their way, blocking their path. The Spectrans slowed as they reached him, their conversation ending.

 

 

Jaze smiled and was satisfied to see their eyes widen. “We’re going to have a little discussion about the girl you raped at the Black Jade,” he told them and executed two lightning fast kicks to each man’s temple. They dropped like bags of potatoes.

 

 

He badly wanted to kill them: the idea didn’t bother him in the least that he could do it, but he knew what Jessi would think if she ever found out. It would break her heart. Instead, he quickly stripped them, then tied them up. It only took a moment to stuff them into the trunk.

 

 

As he drove back towards the Black Jade, he called the police, telling them they could find the two Spectrans who had raped the girl at the Black Jade on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. All they would have to do is conduct DNA tests.

 

 

Enough time had passed that the restaurant was closed, so there would be no witnesses. Jaze parked in front of the restaurant. He popped the trunk and dragged the still unconscious Spectrans over the light post, arranging them before tying them to it. He drove down the nearest street.

 

 

Jaze could hear sirens as he hid the sedan. He used the fire escape of the office building across the street from the Black Jade to get to the roof to watch the activities. Three police cars screeched to a halt at the restaurant, lights flashing, sirens cutting off.

 

 

Jaze leaned again the rim of the roof as he looked across the street. The two Spectrans were just starting to come around. They were too groggy to give the police any trouble.

 

 

Satisfied, he drove home. Tonight was the Jessi’s last on this shift. He was looking forward to picking her to spend the day together. He missed holding her warm body at night.

 

 

888

 

Normally, Jaze and Jessi were very quiet, taking into account Keeri’s presence in the apartment. But tonight, either they didn’t care if she heard them or her hearing was being exceptionally sensitive.

 

 

She tried to block her sister’s giggles and Jaze’s deeper voice. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she could imagine his voice was deeper with desire. Keeri ground her teeth as she worked on the footnotes of her doctoral thesis. If the bed started to rhythmically creak, she was going to scream.

 

 

She stopped typing, covering her face with her hands. She still didn’t know how to broach the Imprinting subject with Jaze. He didn’t seem to have the slightest idea she had Imprinted on him.

 

 

Every time she was alone with him, she found herself staring at his hands, wondering what they would feel like on her body. Every time she saw a baby, she wondered what it would be like to have one with Jaze. He and Jessi had decided to wait to start their family, to give Jessi time to complete her training. Keeri was already completing her doctorate. She would have the time to be a mother. Most of the women her age already had one or two children. But she would be the Second Wife. She would have to get Jessi’s permission as the First Wife to try to give Jaze a son. She honestly wasn’t sure, if she were in Jessi’s shoes, she’d allow a Second Wife that privilege, regardless if that Second Wife was her sister or not.

 

 

Keeri heard the bedroom door open and squashed down her thoughts. Jessi and Jaze came out in pajamas to head for the kitchen. They were smiling, enjoying each other’s company. She couldn’t blame them; she actually had more time with Jaze than Jessi did. They gathered a few items from the refrigerator and disappeared back into their room.

 

 

Hearing more giggles and then a squeal, Keeri closed her laptop and carried it to her room. She turned on the stereo to drown out the sounds of obvious foreplay and went back to work. 

 

 

888

 

Jaze was flipping channels as Keeri cleaned up the kitchen. He and Jessi had had a good time during her break. She’s seen the newspaper article about the aliens arrested for the rape of the girl at the Black Jade and had danced, ecstatic the low-lifes would now pay the price for their disgusting actions. Jaze was glad he’d been able to put that smile on her face.

 

 

He’d dropped Jessi off at the Fire House while on his way to work. When he got home, Keeri had seemed out of sorts. She’d shewed him out of the kitchen, claiming she needed some time to think through an item in her doctoral thesis. He’d gone reluctantly, not wanting to be accused of not doing his fair share of the work around the apartment.

 

 

One channel caught his eye. Demeter didn’t seem to have any organized sports. He remembered watching sports called football, soccer (there was some problem about it being called soccer), and baseball. They were team sports. He was sure he hadn’t participate in any of them, but he knew he enjoyed watching them.

 

 

Demeter had festivals. Each festival had a theme, depending on the geographic area you lived in. Donotrep was preparing for its Fall Harvest Festival. Each festival had ‘contests’, which seemed like sports to Jaze, but these weren’t broadcast on television the way he remembered seeing them.

 

 

What caught his eye was a car race. The announcers were called it the 200th anniversary running of the Indianapolis 500. It was the oldest consecutive running race on Earth.

 

 

Jaze watched with utter fascination: his memory recognized the race. He knew he had seen it before, both on television and live.

 

 

When the announcers started interviewer drivers, Jaze’s mind screamed, “I know some of them!”  But the memory was vague. How did he know the driver?

 

 

“What are you planning to do?” Keeri asked, startling him. “Crawl into the TV?”

 

 

He hadn’t realized he’d gotten off the couch in front of the TV like a child watching their favorite cartoon.

 

 

“I recognize this,” he told her, pointing at the TV as he rose from his crouch to return to his seat. She sat beside him.

 

 

“What is it?” she asked. Cars in groups of three were driving around a large oval track behind another car with flashing red lights.

 

 

“The Indianapolis 500,” Jaze said. At her unsure stare, he pointed back at the TV. “It’s a race on Earth. Those cars drive around the oval as fast as they can for five hundred miles. The first driver to complete the five hundred miles wins.”

 

 

Keeri watched for a moment, then shrugged. “They chase after each other, trying not to crash for five hundred miles. Why?”

 

 

A frustrated urge rose up in Jaze, catching him off guard. It was a familiar feeling, yet new. The thought accompanying it was, “How could she not understand?”

 

 

“Because the driver who wins gets about seven million,” he answered. At her confused look, he did a quick calculation in his head to the Demetern currency. It didn’t register that he knew what the exchange rate would be. “It’s about twelve million quads.”

 

 

Her eyes bugged. “For driving a car around a track again and again for five hundred miles?”

 

 

He grinned at her. “That’s racing!” His eyes were dancing.

 

 

Keeri had never seen that kind of animation in Jaze’s pale eyes before. She paid more attention to the race. When the cars started driving onto a side road and stopping, she asked what they were doing.

 

 

“That’s the pits, where they get fuel, their tires changed, any adjustments the car needs to run better and faster,” he told her without a second thought.

 

 

She continued to watch him as much as the race, listening to his comments. A thought hit her.

 

 

“Jaze, you sound like you’re very familiar with those cars,” she commented. He nodded, his attention still glued to the race. “You’re a mechanic,” she added. Jaze turned to her with a frown.

 

 

“Yeah…?” His eye brows rose in question.

 

 

“Is it possible you were a mechanic for one of those race cars?” she asked.

 

 

Jaze looked startled by her question. He turned his attention back to the television with renewed intensity. After a few moments, he shook his head.

 

           

“No,” he said, shaking his head again. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to picture himself working on one of the Indy cars. He couldn’t. “I never worked on them.”

 

 

Keeri sat back. She had thought she was onto something, but the total conviction in his voice had shot down that idea. If he was an anti-terrorist agent, maybe it was a different kind of vehicle he had worked on.

 

 

“What about military vehicles?” she asked, hoping his interest in the race would open doors in his mind. “Did you maybe work on them?”

 

 

Jaze sighed, leaned back and closed his eyes again. He understood what Keeri was trying to do. He knew, in his heart, he was trained to observe and fight. He always evaluated the people around him, the situation he was in. He didn’t know where his interest in cars fit in. He could remember practicing martial arts, even sparring with someone whose identity was just out of his reach. He just didn’t know for sure who he had been observing and/or fighting. He suspected it had something to do with Spectra. It was the only explanation for his feelings towards the aliens. He hated them with every fiber of his being and he wanted them off Demeter.

 

 

But that didn’t explain how he knew so much about cars. He couldn’t picture himself working on military vehicles, either.

 

 

He opened his eyes to look at her. “I don’t think so.”

 

 

Keeri pursed her lips in defeat, reaching for her cup of tea.

 

 

They hadn’t talked recently about her findings relating to his nightmares. Beyond those initial three, he’d only had one other relating to a giant man-like robot trying to step on him. She had traced that one back to Earth as well, to an amusement park that had been used by Spectra as a front for their plot to hunt down and kill specific Galaxy Security scientists. They had used a ten story tall robot mech that had been disguised during the day as a Native American at the entrance to the amusement park. Keeri had no idea what a Native American was, but Jaze had recognized the clothing on the robot, confirming it was those that a certain culture on Earth wore during some religious ceremonies.

 

 

Something he had said had stayed with Keeri when they had found the reference: Spectra was an equal opportunity blasphamist. How did Jaze know so much about Spectra and Spectrans? His contempt for them was evident every time he mentioned them. 

 

 

Keeri believed he was an anti-terrorist agent, either sent to Demeter by the Federation or he covertly worked for the Demetern government against the Gantesen rebels.

 

 

Jaze concentrated on his memories of working on his blue car. He could see the car clearly now from the front, but there was no license plate on the front bumper. Nothing else came to mind.

 

 

Knowing pushing it did no good, Jaze returned his attention to the race, hoping watching it might trigger something.

 

 

 

888

 

 

Jaze was standing in the ankle deep mud, pushing at the rear bumper of an orange and yellow car. The engine was revving, the tires spinning, bathing him in even more mud.

 

 

“Push harder,” a female voice called from the car. Jaze ignored her sexual connotation.

 

 

“Think you can do better, superwoman?” he called back.

 

 

His dream changed as if he was flipping television channels. He was now driving the car over rough terrain, his foot pressed to the floor. Hyenas were running alongside the car and that was wrong. His speedometer said he was going well over one hundred miles an hour. No hyena could run that fast.

 

 

There was someone in the car with him. He glanced to his right to see a blonde woman. She definitely wasn’t Jessi. The woman had a high-powered rifle in her hands and was shooting at the hyenas.

 

 

The name that came to his mind was Lucy.

 

 

The dream changed again. This time he was in a restaurant, the blonde Lucy seated across from him. They were talking about something, but the words were elusive. He felt as if he knew Lucy, yet didn’t. As they spoke, Lucy’s skin began to blister and peel away, exposing a metal skeleton…

 

 

“No!” Jaze jolted awake, his heart racing, a rock in the pit of his stomach. His hands were shaking.

 

 

“Jaze, are you all right?”

 

 

Keeri was coming into the bedroom, hastily tyeing her robe closed.

 

 

A nightmare. Jaze sucked in air and rubbed his hands over his face. His hair was damp with sweat, sticking to his face and neck. He hadn’t had one of these crazy nightmares in a while.

 

 

“Jaze.” Keeri sat on the bed, reaching out to touch him, but then pulling her hand back as if she was afraid to. “Are you okay?”

 

 

“Damn.” He took a few more deep breaths. “I thought they were over.”

 

 

“A nightmare?” she asked. He nodded. He played it through his mind again, not wanting it to fade. It was another clue to who he was. He could almost feel the steering wheel in his hands.

 

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Keeri asked, interrupting his thoughts. She had helped him identify what his previous dreams had been referring to, but this time, he didn’t want to share it with her.

 

 

Who was Lucy? Why did his mind have her skin melt off to reveal a robot? Was she a friend? He hadn’t felt the least bit concerned when she brought out the rifle. More than a friend?

 

 

“Jaze?” Keeri asked in concern.

 

 

“I’m okay,” he told her, raking his fingers through his damp hair to get it out of his face. He thought of Jessi and knew he couldn’t say a word about this Lucy until he knew more.

 

 

At Keeri’s skeptical look, he forced a smile. “It wasn’t like the other dreams. Nothing was trying to eat me.”

 

 

“That’s good, I guess,” she said, eyeing him suspiciously.

 

 

He glanced at the clock to see it was only three in the morning. “Go back to bed,” he told her, intending to do so himself. He remembered reading somewhere if you had a dream and wanted the dream to continue, you tried to go back to sleep as soon as possible with that dream on your mind. He wanted to know who Lucy was.

 

 

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Keeri asked.

 

 

He nodded. “I need to get back to sleep, otherwise I’ll be a zombie at work,” he told her.

 

 

Her eye brows rose as she frowned. “Zombie?”

 

 

Jaze thought for a moment. The word had just slipped from his mouth. “Undead, decaying monster.”

 

 

She screwed up her face in disgust and shook her head. “Was that from your nightmare?”

 

 

He realized it was somewhat an analogy for what had happened at the end of his dream. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

 

 

“Well, when you want to talk about it, you know where to find me.” She rose and left the room, closing the door behind her. Jaze wasn’t sure if he’d somehow offended her by not sharing the dream, but he just couldn’t talk about it right now.

 

 

He laid back down and sighed deeply, closing his eyes. He ran the dream through his mind again, trying to fall asleep.

 

 

888

 

Keeri had already left for work when he finally got up. She had left him some coffee. He suspected she hadn’t wanted to be there to see him.

 

 

He had tossed and turned the rest of the night, unable to return to sleep. He was thankful Jessi hadn’t been home. She wouldn’t have allowed him to try to go back to sleep without telling her about the dream.

 

 

It was still vivid in his mind. So was the guilt that had been building up while he lay awake. He had to find out who Lucy had been and what their relationship had been. He didn’t want anything to come between him and Jessi.

 

 

He packed his lunch and left for work.

 

 

The first thing he needed to do was identify the car from his dream. It wasn’t his car. He was certain of that. He adamantly knew his car had been blue, not yellow and orange. He never would have chosen those colors in a million years.

 

 

During a break, he searched the database at work. He didn’t see anything like the car in his mind. Liana’s database only covered cars made on Demeter. Since his other dreams had led to Earth, he could only assume the car was from there.

 

 

Since Keeri had been able to figure out the other dreams through research, maybe she could help him identify the car.

 

 

When he got home, Keeri was already there, making dinner. She glanced his way as he entered.

 

 

“Dinner will be ready shortly, so get cleaned up,” she ordered and that’s what it was, an order. He nodded and headed for the bedroom, not wanting to anger her further since he wanted her help.

 

 

Ten minutes later, he was helping her with dishes, filled his plate and followed her to the table.

 

 

She picked up her fork, silent.

 

 

“Keeri,” he said, getting her attention. “I wasn’t ready to talk about the dream.”

 

 

Kerri set down her fork, reaching over to touch his hand for a moment before pulling hers back. “I shouldn’t have pushed.”

 

 

“This one was different.” He set his own fork down. “That race yesterday triggered it.”

 

 

“What was it about?” she asked, leaning forward to listen, even as he leaned back, subconsciously keeping the same distance between them. He took a deep breath before speaking.

 

 

“In this dream, I was driving a car. Not just driving it, but racing it. Not like the Indy style cars from the race yesterday. It was more like a modified street car. Ugly as sin.” He chuckled. “Yellow and orange. I tried to find it in the database at work, but there was nothing in it like it.”

 

 

“You were racing a car,” Keeri repeated. He nodded. “Where?”

 

 

“I’m not sure.” He scratched his head nervously. “There was a second person in the car,” he said reluctantly. He wasn’t going to tell her the other person had been a woman. “He had a high-powered rifle.” He chuckled. “Here’s the crazy part. The car was being chased by hyenas and he was shooting them.”

 

 

“Hyenas? What are hyenas?” At Keeri’s confused look, he described them to her. “We don’t have anything like that on Demeter. They really sound like they’re laughing when the howl?” Jaze nodded.

 

 

“It’s eerie, from what I remember,” he assured her.

 

 

Keeri had never seen him nervous before. He still seemed to be holding something back, but she didn’t want to press him. She was just happy he was talking to her about it. She picked up her fork to take a bite of the breaded veal, topping it with a slice of sauted squash.

 

 

“Do you want to look up the hyenas on my laptop after dinner?” she asked once she had swallowed. He followed her example to start to eat while the food was still hot.

 

 

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then nodded. “Sure. Thanks.”

 

 

Once they were done eating and he had cleaned up, Keeri brought out her laptop. She still felt Jaze was holding back, but she had no idea why. But then again, he hadn’t really told her about his dreams the last time. He’d finally told Jessi and she’d been eavesdropping.

 

 

She looked up hyenas. They were native to Earth.

 

 

“Why am I not surprised?” she muttered, turning her head this way and that to get as good a look at them as she could in a picture. The biologist in her was intrigued by their odd appearance. She played an audio of their communications, sharing a smile with Jaze when the hyena’s ‘laughed’.

 

 

“They’re found in Africa,” Jaze read from his seat beside her.

 

 

“What’s Africa?” Keeri asked.

 

 

“A continent on Earth. I guess this further confirms I lived on Earth at least at some point,” he said, rubbing his neck.

 

 

Keeri had a sudden thought and turned to Jaze.

 

 

“We’re having a potluck lunch at the University tomorrow. I forgot I’m bringing rolls for the sandwiches. Maybe you could find that car on here while I’m gone?” she suggested. That would give him some privacy. Then maybe he’d tell her the rest. “Since I have the University net, it will have more information available than the system Aunt Liana uses at the garage.”

 

 

Jaze looked at her in surprise. “Uh, okay. Thanks.”

 

 

She rose, turning the seat over to him. “I’ll be back in an hour or so,” she advised, thinking that would give him enough time. She quickly grabbed her purse and left.

 

 

Jaze waited until he heard the door close before starting his search. He had been trying to figure out a way to borrow her laptop without being secretive.

 

 

He did a search on African races and the name Lucy.  To his surprise, several articles immediately popped up. With suddenly clammy palms, he clicked on the first one. It took a moment for it to come up, as it included pictures.

 

 

His breath caught at the first picture.

 

 

There was a yellow and orange car, the car from his dream. A young blonde haired woman was sitting on the front hood, smiling brightly. A tall trophy was in her hands. Lucy, the woman from his dream.

 

 

His eyes slowly focused on the man sitting on the hood next to her. His heart began to thunder in his chest as he found himself staring at his own face.

 

 

Jaze’s hands shook as he scrolled down to the picture’s caption: Africa 9000 winners Jason Anderson and Lucy Gantt celebrate their victory.

 

 

He wasn’t sure how many minutes went by as he stared at the picture and the name. Instead of the name Jaze Tillet, the name he had used on Earth was Jason Anderson? Why two different names? He supposed Jason was an Earth version of Jaze, or vice versa, but that didn’t explain the different surnames.

 

 

He searched on the name Jason Anderson and racing. More articles popped up, revealing more racing wins, mostly in all terrain, off road, or endurance racing.

 

 

Jaze sat back and rubbed his face. So he was a professional race driver. That led credence to his mechanical knowledge of cars, but that couldn’t be the source of his hatred of Spectrans. It didn’t match up with his need to protect Demeter from them. It didn’t explain how he knew how to break into a warehouse, how to destroy everything he found in it, how he’d known it was a Spectran base.

 

 

It didn’t explain why he had been above the falls, why he had been shot.

 

 

He skimmed the other articles, his attention being caught on one that read Anderson had pulled out of races on occasion due to an undisclosed medical problem. He clicked on one and read it. The article said Anderson…, no, he, had pulled out five times during the most recent season.

 

 

He didn’t feel as if he had a chronic illness. He didn’t consider his horrible headaches because he attributed them to his fall over the falls.

 

 

Apparently, dropping out of the fifth race had ruined his chances of winning the circuit cup for that season.

 

 

This made no sense to him. He knew he was an all or nothing man. Why would he race cars only part-time? How could he have made enough money to live on that way?

 

 

It also didn’t explain why Lucy had been shooting at hyenas in his dream, or why her skin had melted off her body to show a robot beneath. What kind of relationship had he had with Lucy?

 

 

Trying to remember any of what he had just read made his head hurt.

 

 

What was he going to tell Keeri when she got back? Jaze cleared the screen to do a new search on recent Spectran attacks on Earth. His other nightmares had had something to do with such attacks, which brought him back to the anti-terrorist theme. He added Africa and the dates of the race he had been in.

 

 

Nothing came up.

 

 

Then he added Lucy’s name. Several articles came up, all pertaining to Lucy Gantt’s disappearance following the race they had won. The article included an interview with him about her disappearance. He had stated they had a celebration dinner, then parted ways as Lucy had told him she had something personal to take care of. She had said she’d be in contact about the next race. That was the last he had heard from her.

 

 

Jaze sat back, glancing at the clock again. He had just enough time for one more search.

 

 

He searched for the latest races Jason Anderson had been in. The last one was dated a few weeks before he woke in Keeri’s cabin. There had been none since. The racing world had noticed his absence. He found a press release from his sponsors noting he was again suffering from the undisclosed illness and would be out for a while.

 

 

But there was the lingering question: which name was really him? Why would he have two names? What he had found pretty much confirmed he was from Earth.

 

 

He raked his fingers through his hair. How much should he tell Keeri? He’d have to tell Jessi, too, if Keeri didn’t beat him to the punch.

 

 

What was he going to do?

Cronus severely hoped this excursion would not be a waste of time. So far his only solid lead was the credit card receipt and confirmation that Jason willingly used his card to buy jewelry for some homely local. The only other thing he learned was the kid stood out for being Gantesen.

 

 

'Great,' he thought as he noticed Ryan Regis was taking them through the mountain back towards Esotel. 'Maybe this other tip will work with the only lead.' He hoped.

 

 

Then the car turned off on some insignificant mountain road. No such luck. As they traveled down the narrow dirt road, Alex Mendez, the other outpost agent who shared the transport flight with the colonel, sat in the back of the brown sedan, leaning over the front seat, looking altogether too eager.

 

 

“This community have a name?” Cronus asked after passing a generically name General Store.

 

 

“Nope,” Regis answered. “This side of the summit uses Donotrep as the city reference, the other side uses Esotel.

 

 

They turned down an even narrower, rockier dirt road.

 

 

“What about those that live at the summit?” Cronus asked sarcastically. When he saw Regis looking perplexed thinking about how to answer, he added, “Don't answer that; it's not why we are here. So what are we doing here again?”

 

 

“Constable Zoso, he's like the local sheriff for the mountain area, reported that some kids found strange stuff buried in the muddy sand by the river. He thinks it may be 'alien technology.'”

 

 

They drove down the road until the car could no longer safely make it, and walked the rest of the way.

 

 

Finally, they saw a portly man in his forties sitting inside a police truck, a younger man stood several feet away looking at the river with two small boys pointing at things. Neither man seemed to be wearing a uniform or a badge.

 

 

“Constable Zoso.” Cronus greeted the older man, reaching out his hand. “I'm Colonel Cronus from the Federation Outpost.” Pointing to his companions, he also introduced them. “This is Agent Regis and Agent Mendez.”

 

 

“Nice to meet you Colonel, but the name's Sontier, Divalan Sontier. Folks around here call me Div. Zoso's down there with my boys.” He pointed to the younger man at the river with the boys and leaned in closer. “Don't tell their mothers I let them play down here. If they knew, they'd all cut me off for a month or more, and with my third wife having just gave birth to my third son, not one of them are pregnant at the moment. Gotta fix that soon, if you know what I mean.”

 

 

Cronus sighed and walked away from him to see the constable, who couldn't have been any older than Mark or Jason.

 

 

“Constable Zoso?” he asked conservatively this time. The younger man looked up and nodded. “I'm Colonel Cronus from the Federation.”

 

 

The younger man responded, “Vaen Zoso. The Sontier boys here found some interesting fragments around the river bank. Div called me, so I came out to take a look. When I didn't recognize what they could be and given the location, I figured it would be better to call you folks directly than having it get lost in the Donotrep police department. Stuff out here isn't a priority for them, you know.”

 

 

“The location?” Cronus asked, wondering just how specific he would have to be to get information out of these people.

 

 

“Oh, see those falls?” Zoso point to a tall waterfall about a quarter mile away. “The aliens you guys are here to monitor like to camp out up there. Never know what'll wash up in the river. Most avoid this area. They usually go down to the fork. But we got some nice salmon that spawn in this area, so some of the braver folks come out here to fish in the spawning season.”

 

 

“What exactly did the boys find?” Cronus cut the constable off before he got a history on the local hunters and gatherers.

 

 

“Not sure, exactly, here.” He held out a few fragments. “This piece almost looks like part of a watch band, but the material is nothing I'd ever seen. These smaller pieces, I can't even begin to guess what they are.”

 

 

Cronus took the pieces, carefully fingering them. They definitely looked to be remnants of a G-Force cosmic communicator, but what could have done that kind of damage to the bracelet and not kill the person wearing it? Either something hit it just right or it wasn't on when it was damaged. If it were Mark, there'd have been no question in his mind – something hit the bracelet just right and left it in such a state that finding and reassembling a shattered china saucer would be easier. However, considering this was Jason, he wasn't about to make any assumption about how the communicator shattered. If that boy wasn't causing trouble, it was finding him.

 

 

He called Regis and Mendez over to him, and then the boys. “Will you boys show these men where you found these pieces and help them look for more?” To the agents, he added quietly, “We can't let Spectra find any piece of this no matter how big. We can't risk them being able to identify it or figure out the technology.”

 

 

 The agents looked at the fragments. Regis picked up the broken band and his eyes lit up as if connecting dots that should have been connected months ago. Mendez was about to ask something, but Cronus silenced them both. “Not here, not now. Do not even think about this until we are back at the outpost. Just find as much as you can. If you're not sure, bring it and we’ll sort it out later.”

 

 

Cronus and Zoso walked back up to the boys’ father.

 

 

“What're your boys doing out here anyway, Div?” Zoso asked. “You got them trying to chase down the Donigel sisters for you now?”

 

 

“And why not?” Sontier asked. “Show'em I've got good seed, produced two strong boys.”

 

 

“Wasting your time, Div. I was up at the store a not too long ago, trying to convince Belinna to give up her other prospects and saw Jessi in there getting food. She was just up for a day or two, sporting a brand new Enthrallment Knot.”

 

 

“She Enthralled with that Gant!” Sontier roared.

 

 

Cronus walked away. His time was better spent supervising the search. He'd hoped that he might have picked up something useful that could point him in the right direction, but listening to these men gossip about love lives wasn't going to help at all, and this was already starting to sound like some backwoods, hillbilly soap opera.

 

 

 

888

 

“A race car driver?” Keeri couldn’t have been more shocked. Jaze was watching her reaction warily. “How?”

 

 

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be going through all this shit.”

 

 

Keeri was shocked further by his use of profanity. He rarely cursed. It must have been quite a shock to him, too.

 

 

“Look at this.” He pulled up the articles he had saved, showing her the one about the Africa 9000, the one with the pictures. “That’s the car I dreamed about.”

 

 

Keeri moved in closer to look at it, her heart starting to hammer in her chest at the sight of the blonde woman sitting beside the man who could have been Jaze’s identical twin. His reluctance to tell her about it now made sense.

 

 

“Who is she?” she asked cautiously, suddenly afraid of what he was going to say. She had been afraid since the moment Jessi had Imprinted on him that as his memory returned, they would learn he already had a wife.

 

 

“Her name was Lucy Gantt.” He pointed at the caption below the picture she was looking at. She noted his use of the past tense. “Other than the dream, I have no other memories of her.” He looked at her earnestly. “But I do know we were not romantically involved. I know that here.” He put his fist to his chest over his heart.

 

 

Keeri hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until then. “That’s why you were so reluctant to tell me about the dream.” She could understand it. If Jessi had seen the picture, she might have made incorrect assumptions, too.

 

 

Jaze nodded, then bobbed his head back towards the picture. “The name there is Jason Anderson. It’s not ringing any bells for me.” Keeri had to smile. He had some of the oddest sayings. “Is it possible Jason is an Earth equivalent of Jaze or vice versa?” he asked.

 

 

“Jaze could be short for Jason,” she suggested. “But this does explain why you know so much about cars.”

 

 

“Yeah, but why a different surname?” He was starting to look flustered. She couldn’t blame him. Even though he’d found some answers, the answers were creating more questions. She grasped his arm.

 

 

“Anderson isn’t a Demetern surname that I’ve ever heard before. We can look it up,” she said.

 

 

“I also found out Jason’s-” He winced. “My last race was a few weeks before I woke up in the cabin. There was a press release from my sponsor saying I was ill and wouldn’t be racing for a while.”

 

 

“So they don’t consider you missing?” She was surprised.

 

 

“I was wondering about that.” He rubbed his hand over his chin. “Why would they announce it publicly? Unless they don’t want anyone to know.” That was a good question, Keeri thought. Why would they hide it? “I also found I drop out of races at the last moment, claiming an undisclosed illness.”

 

 

An illness? Was it possible his severe headaches had nothing to do with his injuries from going over the falls, Keeri wondered. Then something else hit her. This was proof Jaze had lived on Earth. He could go to the Federation Outpost, tell them what had happened and have his identity verified.

 

 

Her stomach dropped. Then what would happen? Did he have responsibilities on Earth that would require his return?

 

 

As if sensing the directions her thoughts were taking, Jaze covered the hand she had on his arm with his own. Keeri felt the warmth. The touch fired her growing feelings for him, but also brought out her growing fear of what this revelation meant for the future.

 

 

“Keeri, this doesn’t change anything,” he told her. “I don’t remember that life.” He released her hand to turn back to the laptop. He pointed at the picture of himself. “I don’t know that man, Jason Anderson, but I do know Jaze Tillet.” He smiled at her and her heart skipped a beat. “I think I know why I came here now. I came here to find myself and I have. I believe you and Jessi finding me was fate and Imprinting with Jessi was fate. This is my life now.”

 

 

Keeri couldn’t hide her relief. She threw her arms around him, hugging him, then pulled away when she realized what she had done.

 

 

“Jessi will be so happy to hear that,” she stammered to cover her action. Jaze didn’t seem to be disturbed by her hug.

 

 

“Let me tell her, okay?” he asked. Keeri nodded in agreement. Jessi needed to hear it from him.

 

 

It wasn’t until she went to bed that it dawned on her Jaze’s discovery had nothing to do with their theory he was an anti-terrorist agent. It still didn’t explain why he hated the Spectrans so much, how he knew such details about Spectran attacks on Earth.

 

 

There was still a mystery and she was going to figure it out, one way or another.

 

 

Jaze waited until Keeri closed her door to go back to the articles on the laptop, to mark their location so he could show Jessi when she completed her shift. He could call her to tell her, but their luck so far had been horrible – she’d gotten called out every time they were on the phone.

 

 

He stared at the picture, wondering why it wasn’t sparking more memories. It made him wonder if he was wrong. That Jason Anderson wasn’t him. But he had dreamed of the car, of Lucy. He shook his head. Frustration welled.

 

 

He shut down the laptop. After a moment, he turned on the television.

 

 

Jaze flipped channels, stopping on a late night news show. The headline was an attempt by the Gantesen Nationalists Movement to blow up the Federation Outpost. Luckily for the Outpost, the bomb hadn’t been properly wired.

 

 

One of the newscasters laughed about the attempt, saying it showed how inept the Gantesen Nationalists were. Jaze disagreed. It probably had been sheer luck whoever had made the bomb had screwed up.

 

 

A statement was made by the current Outpost representative, a Ryan Regis, that the Federation had no intention of leaving Demeter, of allowing it to fall into the corrupt hands of other worlds, who they knew to have their fingers mixed up in the Gantesen Nationalist Movement.

 

 

For some reason, the man’s speech gave Jaze a warm feeling.

 

 

That led into another story that caught his eye. Apparently, there were people in the Federation who were ‘G-Fore watchers’. The newscaster made it sound as if they belonged to some kind of fan club.

 

 

The ‘watchers’ had noticed the G-Force second-in-command had made himself scarce of late. He was the one member of G-Force that scoffed at public appearances, but not to see him at all was making tongues wag.

 

 

“Maybe the poor guy just needs a vacation,” Jaze muttered. He watched some more, then decided to go to bed.

 

 

888

 

From the moment Jaze picked her up after work, he seemed distracted. Not really distant, but he definitely wanted to avoid something. Jessi desperately wanted to push him to find out what, but knew the best way to get him to open up, would be to just wait. By the end of dinner, she'd nearly had enough. Whatever was bothering Jaze also seemed to be bothering Keeri. However, Keeri wasn't just avoiding the subject, whatever the subject was, she was avoiding Jaze. It wasn't the first time she'd caught Keeri acting weird around Jaze since her and Jaze’s Enthrallment. More than once she had wondered whether Keeri and Jaze had Imprinted, but neither had said anything, nor had their behavior been consistent enough to tell. But then again, it was as if they were trying to avoid touching. Jessi remembered how much she had wanted to be in constant contact with Jaze after their Imprinting.

 

 If they had, in fact, Imprinted, not touching was going to drive them crazy. Whatever the problem was Jessi decided to stay out of it and let them work through it on their own, much like her mother would do. Her mother almost never got involved in disagreements among her fathers other wives. In fact the only time her mother intervened at all was in issues between wives or children if they were unable to solve the problem themselves and it disrupted the whole household. As First Wife, it was her responsibility to keep peace in the family. It worked, so Jessi felt she could easily emulate it. With that thought in mind, Jessi quickly helped with the dinner clean up, then announced she was taking Ajani for a walk.

 

 

She hadn't even made it downstairs before Jaze caught up with her, which surprised her more than a little. Quietly she accepted his company, hoping that he would eventually talk about whatever was bothering him.

 

 

The sun had set and the air was crisp and cool. There would be fewer walkers at this time of year, people didn't like to walk in the cold and the dark. Soon, though there'd be more house fires. The colder the winter, the more house fires they had, with people desperate to keep warm by doing stupid things.

 

 

Silence continued until they reached the park. Even with the lighted path, the park was quiet and it seemed like they were the only ones out.

 

 

“I remembered more,” Jaze finally said. His voice was hesitant, almost unsure, so unlike him.

 

 

With the hand that wasn't holding Ajani's leash, Jessi reached out for his hand, lacing her fingers with his even though she did not question him. He would talk more when he was ready.

 

 

“On one of the Inter-Galactic Network channels, I saw an auto race. It prompted a dream.” His voice was careful and measured, like he was uncertain how to say what he had to say. “The dream was another memory. I was able to use it to research more information. I told Keeri so she could help me work it out.” He paused longer than normal. “I know who I was.”

 

 

Jessi's breath caught in her throat. A million questions flashed through her brain. Was? Did that mean he no longer was that man? Would he want to be that man again? Would that man want her in his life? She'd known there were risks when she Enthralled with him. That was part of what attracted her to him, the mystery, the unknown, but she genuinely loved the man he was when she was with him. At first she didn't speak because she didn't want to push him, now she was afraid her voice would fail. She settled for squeezing his hand tightly.

 

 

“My name is Jason Anderson. I was a race car driver on Earth. It's why I'm so good with cars. Evidently, I was pretty good at it, won several major races, and would have been a favorite to win the IGF series if I hadn't pulled out of so many races for an undisclosed illness.”

 

 

Jessi processed this as quickly as she could. Finally, she found her voice. “Illness?” she questioned. “You've shown no signs of being sick, other than your headaches, but those are a lot less frequent than they were when we found you. Do you think they might be a chronic condition and not related to your injuries at the falls?”

 

 

Jaze stopped walking and looked at her. Whatever reaction he had been expecting, that was not it. He pulled her into a hug. “No, I don't think I had them or any health problems before.”

 

 

“Good,” she said melting into his embrace. “I still wish you'd see the neurologist that Dad recommends, but I won't demand it. Was there any mention of your family or your disappearance?”

 

 

Though Jessi relaxed, Jazed hadn’t. The more he learned about himself, the more confused he was. “ No,” he nearly growled. “They only thing we found is a small notice about my health being the reason that I'm not currently racing.” Despite the frustrations he’d had with his headache and memory, he felt more content now then he had in a long time. “This doesn’t change anything. I don’t plan on going back any time soon. I’m certainly not going to go looking for a family that isn’t looking for me.”

 

 

Ajani pulled hard on his leash, impatient to keep walking.

 

 

Reluctantly, Jaze released Jessi, but continued to hold her hand as they let the dog continue his walk.

 

 

“That's odd,” Jessi said. “I know if one of my brothers or sisters were missing, even Alena, I'd be letting everyone I could think of know, in the hopes that someone has seen them, especially, if it were Keeri or Haro. Yet, it's like yours aren't even looking for you. Do you think you had a fight or something before you came here? Maybe they don't even know you are missing? But why the weird press notice?”

 

 

He shrugged. “Who knows. Keeri's still doing some research, but I'm not sure what is left to find at this point, or if I want to find it. Maybe . . . .” His voice trailed off as a brief stab of fear pierced him “I keep trying to figure out why I hate the Spectrans so much. I know they've hurt my family, but I don't think they killed them . . . .” He trailed off again. Does he need to reassure her this revelation changes nothing between them?

 

 

Jessi waited for him. She knew how dangerous and destructive the aliens could be, had seen the aftermath of what they called fun. Too many times she'd sat in the back of an ambulance to help the female medics because the victims panicked at the sight a man. Trauma hurts more than the victim; it hurts the family and the community. Had something like that happened to Jaze's family?

 

 

Before she could ask, he continued, “Maybe somehow we've just grown apart, or something's come between us.” He paused again. “Can we change the subject. Thinking about the Spectrans makes me angry, and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.” He laughed like he had made a joke, but Jessi just looked confused

“Um, all right, what do you want to talk about then?”

 

 

“Tell me more about this Fall Harvest Festival. Some things look familiar, but it some things I expect to see, I don't. Spooky things like ghosts, goblins, and monsters.”

 

 

“You mean life isn't scary enough, we need to make it more so?” she asked.

 

 

“Yeah, scary isn't as frightening if you make it fun, like trick or treating. Kids dress up in scary or funny costumes and go door to door begging for candy.”

 

 

“That's not safe!” Jessi cried as she heard his explanation. “That's a good way to lose children . . . . No, maybe it works elsewhere, but I doubt there is a parent on Demeter who would let their children do something like that, particularly when they can get all the sweets they want at the Festival.” They looped back towards home as she talked. “You'll have to take Keeri. I'll be working, but at least I'll be working at the Festival. I guess our company got lucky as we were chosen to represent the station in one of the contests. Then we get to host a booth on fire safety and demonstrate why lights are safer than candles for the Festival of Lights in a few months. Every year someone decides candles are prettier, more romantic, traditional, or some other silly reason, and then finds out the hard way that they are discouraged for a reason. But that's about as much fun to talk about as the Spectrans.”

 

 

888

 

Zoltar entered the audience chamber for the Great Spirit. As the chosen ruler of planet Spectra he was the only one to have that privilege. At least until the Great Spirit grew so displeased with him that the Luminous One disposed of him to chose another ruler. Zoltar silently prayed that day would never come.

“You have news?” The Spirit demanded impatiently.

 

 

“Yes, Oh, Luminous One.” Zoltar bowed. “If the race car driver is still with G-Force, he is not as as much of a threat as he once was. His targeting of our robot planes was not as precise as it once was.”

 

 

“I had thought something was not right among our enemies.” The Spirit sounded pleased with the news.

 

 

“True, Great Spirit. The troops are most thankful for his lack of presence. They have not missed his obnoxiously arrogant attitude in battle. They have renewed hope knowing that G-Force seems weaker.”

 

 

“Finally, you are starting to make progress in this campaign. It is important that we exploit this weakness. Have you anything else to report?”

 

 

Zoltar paused. While the Luminous One could not read his mind, it could tell if he was omitting something, no matter how minor. “There was something odd that came in from the field captain on Demeter. . . .”

 

 

“Go on.”

 

 

“It appears that at least one of the inhabitants of that planet has grown a backbone.”

 

 

“Can we expect trouble on that planet? We chose that planet because the inhabitants are docile and their history shows they easily cower before invading forces. Perhaps we need to rethink our strategy there,” the Spirit hissed angrily.

 

 

“If I might add, Divine Master, our strategy is working. We have learned that not all are as docile as history suggests. We have found great allies in the Gantesen terrorists, who foolishly trust us and believe that we want isolation for Demeter, too.”

 

 

“Yes, isolation from all but Spectra,” the Spirit added.

 

 

“We are lucky the people of Palportia are as afraid of them as they are of us,” Zoltar continued. “Once we remove the Federation Outpost from that country, we can turn on the Gantese and take the planet for our own.” He didn’t dare tell the Luminous One the Gantesen attempt to blow the outpost up had failed due to ineptitude.

 

 

“With all of its resources. Tell me about this lion among the sheep.”

 

 

“We have very little information one him. It was reported that he threatened the proprietor of an establishment the troops have taken to suing for recreation and entertainment. He never saw this man. He may also be the one who destroyed our warehouse base.”

 

 

“Is this the same man who killed several troops some time ago?”

 

 

“It is not likely, Great Spirit.” Zoltar hated telling the Spirit he thought it to be wrong and quickly explained. “That man was killed. Not only was he shot, but he fell a great distance into a rushing river.”

 

 

“Yet there is no body to support this.”

 

 

“True, Oh, Luminous One.”

 

 

“So there is the possibility of survival.”

 

 

Zoltar cowed. “It is possible, Great Spirit. However, it is not likely. There is no telling how far the river carried the body or what may have found his remains. That area is wilderness.”

 

 

“Or whom.” The Great Spirit faded from Zoltar's sight.

 

 

888

 

Jaze lay in bed and did his best to squint away the splitting headache that had been building for the last few days. Even Jessi spooned against him, sleeping, didn't take the edge off. The last few days, they had very little time together, and both of them were exhausted.

 

 

Jessi and Keeri's brother, Haro, the eldest son in the family and the son of a first wife, celebrated his Enthrallment with Kinta with an overly formal three day affair that started with a brunch and ended with the Enthrallment Celebration and reception. As he bit through another stab of pain, he was never gladder that Jessi had wanted a simple ceremony.

 

 

The headache started off two days ago, the day of the brunch, as one of his normal headaches that he did his best to ignore. That morning, Jessi called before dawn and asked to have the jeep and clothes for the brunch dropped off, stated that she'd be there as soon as she could, and then hung up without waiting for an answer. Jaze was glad that Keeri seemed used to this; she helped him pick out an appropriate outfit. When it was time to go to the brunch, she followed him to the station. After that, he rode with her in awkward silence to a restaurant with a sprawling buffet. Ever since his ceremony with Jessi, Keeri had been avoiding him. Jaze didn't know what to think. He wondered if she had found something about his past that upset her, that she refused to tell him or Jessi. He found that he missed the friendship that they had slowly built up.

 

 

Selfishly, he hoped that whatever was prolonging Jessi's shift didn't last too long. He wanted her as a buffer If Keeri hadn't been so aloof with him lately, he would have gladly clung to her. He did not like the idea of being out in the open, exposed, with people he did not know. Maybe it was the Spectrans he'd been seeing around the city as if they had every right to be there, maybe it was the not too subtle prejudice towards Gantesens, maybe he was just paranoid; whatever it was, though, was not helping his headache. The only good thing about the brunch was that it was for the immediate family of the couple, not the whole household. He had grown used to Jessi and Keeri's other siblings, even like their brothers, but he wasn't sure he could have handled all of them, plus all of Kinta's siblings, whom he had never met.

 

 

He sat next to Keeri, fighting to keep an empty seat on his other side for Jessi. Kinta's younger sisters kept trying to sneak into it. Just a few minutes seemed like an eternity as they waited for the couple and parents to arrive and the Knotting Brunch to begin. Finally, Rine and Sondri walked in with Kinta's parents. They were followed by Haro and Kinta, sporting fresh bandages on their wrists. Jessi had yet to show.

 

 

As they waited for the others to take their seats, he booted one of Kinta's sisters out of Jessi's seat one more time, and briefly tried to picture what a brunch like this would have been like for him and Jessi had his family been around. He couldn't. The images that he had glimpsed from time to time in random memories wouldn't cooperate, he couldn't get them to focus or stay. With the headache, getting worse, he stopped trying, and when Keeri got up to join the queue for the buffet he followed her; together they filled a plate for Jessi, hoping she would not be much longer.

 

 

Eating with a headache was not fun, but trying to eat with a headache while fending off unwanted attention was even worse. Kinta's sisters had finally taken the hint that the open seat was there for a reason, and engaged themselves in attempting to flirt with him from across the table. It didn't help that their younger brother was trying the same thing with Keeri, albeit with the same lack of success.

 

 

He hadn't realized that he had his hands locked in a death grip until he felt a hand over his. He looked to his side and saw that Jessi had slipped in.

 

 

“Glad you could make it, Jessi,” Haro called out to her. “Would you like to share with us the excitement that kept you away?”

 

 

“Only if you want to ruin everyone's appetite,” she yelled back.

 

 

“Bad,” Jaze asked quietly.

 

 

“Not good,” she answered, “and definitely not for now.”

 

 

The brunch continued more peacefully after that exchange. Kinta's sisters even behaved. They may have been intrigued by him, but they had no desire to mess with Jessi.

 

 

Finally the brunch was over. Unfortunately, he still had to go to work, since he missed half a day for the brunch. He took his time driving though, expecting Jessi to let out what she wouldn't say earlier, but she didn't.

 

 

“That is such a stupid, outdated, pointless ritual,” she fumed instead. “The whole purpose originated as a way to encourage the man to imprint with his fiancee's sisters. If it happens, it happens, it shouldn't be forced. Sometimes it works out great, like with Dad and Mom and Pavanna, but there are horrible stories of it being forced and not working out at all. Some men don't want their wife's sisters, and some women don't want their sisters in the household.”

 

 

The last statement brought Jaze up quick, and he lost concentration on the road. He began to wonder if Jessi was one of those women. He could not see Jessi or Keeri being that way, in fact he could not picture them apart. Then he wondered why the idea bothered him.

 

 

Jessi kept ranting. “Haro's not interested in those twits. Kinta can barely stand them herself. She spends more time with our family than she does with her own. She's going through all this because it is traditional, she and Haro are both first borns of first wives. Her family wants to look good and is all about status. They haven't realized mine could care less.”

 

 

He relaxed a little as he gradually realized she was talking about Haro and Kinta, not them. Forcing himself to think about driving, he looked up just in time to see a stop light and slam on the brakes.

 

 

“Are you all right?” she asked.

 

 

“I'm fine,” he didn't quite snap, but his voice was heavy.

 

 

The light changed, he drove down the block and pulled into the garage.

 

 

“You don't look it. Why don't you go see if you can take the whole day off. We can lie in bed all afternoon.”

 

 

“I'd like that, but I was lucky to get this morning off.” He caressed her check, and then gave her a long, slow, leisurely kiss before saying, “I'll be okay. See you tonight.”

 

 

Once at work, Jaze's day did not improve. The mechanic in the stall next to his was working on a diesel truck and the fumes coming from it bothered everyone in the shop. Normally, he wouldn't let it bother him, but with the headache, he just couldn't push past it.

 

 

When he got home, not even a shower helped. The only good thing, was that Keeri was still avoiding him and wouldn't notice, and Jessi was asleep. He picked at his food during dinner, even more than he had earlier in the day. He worried about Jessi, who didn't wake up for dinner. All he could get from Keeri about her was it was one of those shifts, constantly on the go, lucky to get two hours of continuous sleep at night, nothing major until that morning. Nothing was said about the run this morning, which meant she still hadn't said anything about it; either it was really bad, or with lack of sleep, she just didn't have the energy to deal with it.

 

 

“Expect her to sleep till mid-day tomorrow,” Keeri said. “She might get up to make coffee and breakfast and go back to bed. She's done that before, but I don't expect it this time.”

 

 

Somehow, Jaze understood. He had the mental image of him flopping onto a single bed in small room, so exhausted he wanted to sleep for a week.

 

 

Keeri recognized the look on his face. “You're remembering something.” It was stated as a fact, not a question.

 

 

“Not really,” he replied. “More just understanding the feeling.” He went on to explain what he saw in his mind.

 

 

 

“Can you describe the room?”

 

“It was small; it had a door and a window, and a single bed. That's it.”

 

 

“Could you see out the window?”

 

 

Jaze closed his eyes and concentrated on the window. “No, it's a blur.”

 

 

“Was there anything else?”

 

 

“No,” he lied as he refocused on the image of him lying on the bed. He knew that if anyone had interrupted his sleep, they would be risking death, but he refused to tell that to Keeri right now. He wasn't sure how she would take that, and didn't think he could take it if she didn't like the revelation.

 

 

“I'm tired,” he said picking up his full plate and walking to the kitchen. “I'll do the dishes and then join Jessi in bed.”

 

 

888

 

Jaze tossed and turned all night. The only thing that helped him relax at all was every time he tried to a new position, Jessi seemed to move with him. If he didn't move, she didn't move. He was surprised when her felt her stirring at the time she normally got up. Keeri had said not to expect it, but Jessi got up and fixed coffee and breakfast. She crawled back into bed sometime later, and curled back into him.

 

 

“How bad was it?” he asked hoping to get her to talk.

 

 

She opened her eyes and looked into his. “Have you been worrying about that all night?”

 

 

“Among other things,” he answered, not wanting to lie, but not wanting to mention his headache.

 

 

“It wasn't that bad. Just not a fun way to end a shift, and definitely not good conversation for a Knotting Brunch.” She paused. “We don't know for sure. It will be a few days before anything is determined, but some guys blew themselves up in a lab. Most think it was Spectrans, but it could have been other terrorists, or just dumb kids being careless with dangerous chemicals. If it is anything but Spectrans, we will get a copy of the report. If the investigator thinks it is Spectrans, he'll pass everything onto the Outpost, and we'll be out of the loop unless they want to talk with us, and both sides like to avoid that. Anyway, it took an hour to put the fire out, two more for clean up, chemical fires are great for that. Then we had an hour to clean up the rigs and ourselves; it's not right giving the next shift dirty equipment. Finally we had to put up with the debriefing and waiting for the counselors to determine that we aren't scarred for life because we found one body with a bad sunburn and too much smoke, one nicely toasted, and another so close to the blast that limbs were blown off his body. It wasn't good, but it could have been worse. At least no one else was hurt. Other than that, it was just a really long shift with a lot of stupid stuff runs.”

 

 

Changing the subject, she added, “There's fruit in the fridge, rolls in the oven, and coffee in the pot. Tell Keeri not to wake me until lunch time. The dinner is at Mom and Dad's tonight. Haro and Kinta asked them to do something less formal for the Family Dinner. Keeri and I need to go help cook and clean. Take the jeep and get there when you can. Love you.” She kissed him sleepily and nodded back off.

 

 

Jaze held Jessi for a few minutes after she drifted back to sleep, then he got up. Since he couldn't stay in bed all day, he could at least drink coffee to keep the edge of the headache that would not go away.

 

 

At work it didn't get any better. The diesel from the day before was still there and he had to deal with a man who wanted to argue about the repairs to his engine that could have been avoided had he just kept oil in it rather than letting it run dry. He wasn't positive, but he thought he saw Spectrans in the shop, a pair of females, getting a black convertible weatherized. They seemed harder to spot than the males, something in the back of his mind screamed, “Deadlier, too!” Since he wasn't positive, he'd keep watch and next time he was sure he'd let Liana. Anyway, she had enough to do today, too, with taking tomorrow off for Haro's Enthrallment ceremony, she didn't need to be panicked if he were wrong.

 

 

By the time he got off shift, all he wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep for a week. Instead he took Ajani out for a quick walk, and then got a shower and dressed in clean clothes. Desperately, he wanted jeans and a t-shirt, he was more comfortable in those than in anything else he had in his small wardrobe. He settled for jeans and one of two button-down cotton shirts that Jessi had got for him, the other he'd wear tomorrow.

 

 

By the time he got to the house, the appetizer plates that had been spread throughout the great room were nearly empty, and the younger girls where putting the finishing touches the dining room tables.

 

 

As they sat down at the tables to eat, Sondri did her best to arrange the seating without offending anyone. It was a daunting tasks. All of Kinta's family expected to sit at the main table. Now Jaze knew why Kinta spent more time with the Donigels than her own family. Her father had seven wives and between them over thirty children. He vaguely remembered the girls saying something about the guy up in the mountains he had the confrontation with in the General Store who liked to collect wives, and that seemed to be the case here.

 

 

The seating arrangement worked out so that this time, he only got to sit next to Jessi, and he was lucky at that. One of Kinta's sister shad forced her way to one side of him where he expected Keeri to sit, while the other had tried to get Jessi's seat. He had no idea what Jessi said to the young girl, but she moved to a different table completely.

 

 

Dinner passed much as brunch had the day before, except much louder in part because of the more casual atmosphere and more people. Unless you wanted to talk to the person next to you, you had to shout over several other conversations.

 

 

After dinner, Tana, Rine's third wife called her girls in for kitchen detail while all the other girls and women were dismissed from the table along with all the boys under fifteen. The older boys got to stay at the table with the men. This was where the men gave advice to Haro, and any other boy old enough to Imprint or Enthrall. Jaze just hoped he wasn't expected to give any input.

 

 

Half listening to the conversation, his mind drifted to another conversation. A commanding voice was telling him, “If you are not careful, you may find yourself Imprinting . . . be careful . . . stay away from pretty faces.” He tried to picture the person speaking but could only see glasses and a moustache, he briefly wondered if the person who was speaking to him would approve of his current situation. Then he decided that he didn't care. He was happy, he was safe, at the moment that felt like the two most important things. The only thing that troubled him was the speaker knew he was Demetern, and apparently at some level before coming here, he also knew, and had known on an intellectual level about Imprinting, yet until he met the girls he could not recall it. Why had his memory blocked out that knowledge?

 

 

By the time he was allowed to leave, Jessi and Keeri were sitting in a two-seater in the corner of the great room, trying to blend in with the furniture, both barely awake. As Jaze approached them, Jessi got up and let him sit down so she could slip onto his lap.

 

 

Keeri melted into him, too, before awkwardly shifting away. For some reason this bothered Jaze more than the noise in the room and her avoidance the last few weeks. While his friendship with Keeri had not come as quickly as his relationship with Jessi, it felt just as strong. Until recently, he knew he could predict how Keeri would react in most situations and it was an added security in his life that had seemed sorely lacking. Jessi could be harder to predict, and he loved that about her, but he missed the easy friendship that he had built with Keeri.

 

 

Since he and Jessi had their Enthrallment Ceremony, which thankfully was not as formal or noisy and chaotic as this, Keeri had been more distant and on the days and nights when Jessi worked, she spent more time at the university and their time alone was more awkward. Tired of that and needing all the support he could find to get through this headache and the night, he pulled Keeri closer as Jessi snuggled in more. She seemed rigid at first, but then relaxed to put her head on his shoulder. He had to resist the urge to kiss the top of her head.

When they got home from the family dinner, Jaze wasn’t sure who was more tired. Keeri went straight to bed, while Jessi joined him as he took Ajani for a short walk. The only one happy to be out and about was the dog. By the time they got home again, they were both too exhausted and Jaze was sure he wasn’t the only one with a headache. As they hit the bed, Jessi fell right to sleep curling into him.

 

The next morning, Jessi, who was usually the first up, was rousing reluctantly. Keeri was in the shower, but had at least started the coffee brewing. Jaze went out in search of a cup, hoping the caffeine would help the headache that had waned a bit over night. Jessi groggily followed him into the kitchen. She surprised him by taking his cup out of his hands and taking a few sips. Handing the mug back, she noticed how pale he looked.

 

“Headache?”

 

“Yeah.” He wrapped his arms around her. “But I know a good cure.”

 

Just then, Keeri came out of the bathroom. She saw Jaze, wearing nothing but undershorts, his arms wrapped around Jessi. Blushing, she scurried into her room.

 

“She okay?” Jaze asked.

 

“I don’t know,” Jessi answered, “but we don’t have time to find out. You go get in the shower while I cut up some fruit for breakfast. If you take your time, I might join you.”

 

“I’ll be sure to drag my feet,” he said, releasing her and heading to the bathroom.

 

Showering and breakfast seemed to go too quickly. As they left for the Enthrallment Ceremony, Keeri, still acting strange, insisted on going alone in her SUV instead of riding with Jessi and Jaze.

 

At the Celebration Hall, which appeared to Jaze to be more like a cathedral, neither had time to worry about her behavior. The foyer was packed as ushers seated friends first in the back, then relatives, then family up front. If Jaze thought there were a lot of people at his ceremony with  Jessi, it was nothing compared to those attending Haro and Kinta’s. They must have invited everyone they'd ever met. He’d been introduced to relatives he had never heard of, some of whom were surprised to learn that Jessi had Enthralled.

 

“I’m glad you didn’t want this,” Jaze whispered to Jessi as they waited in the crowded, stuffy room.

 

“Kinta’s mother has been planning this for years,” Jessi answered. “Mom and Dad would have done this for us, though, too if we wanted it. I think Vina or Aleena will push for something on this scale.”

 

“What about Keeri?” Jaze asked, noticing that she was standing on the other side of the lobby.

 

“No way. At least I don’t think so. We've never really talked much about it.”

 

Their conversation was interrupted as they were shown to their seats in the second row with their  parents seated in front, and the other wives and children behind them. On the other side of the hall, Kinta’s family sat in a similar configuration. There was something familiar about it, but Jaze didn’t dwell on it other than to notice the more rigid formality in this ceremony.

 

The Celebrant, the same one who officiated his ceremony with Jessi, welcomed everyone, and from that moment, everything seemed to drag on forever. Being familiar with both Haro and Kinta, the Celebrant’s introductory oration took twice as long. Then someone got up and sang, or at least tried to, but Jaze did his best to tune her out. So focused on blocking out the singer, he missed when she finished up and the Celebrant began speaking again. A friend of Kinta’s stood and spoke; then a friend of Haro’s. There was a ritualistic reading that was similar to what was read at his and Jessi’s Enthrallment ceremony. But it was not the vows. The ceremony drug on. Kinta spoke, Haro spoke, another singer. The room was stuffy. His head was pounding. The parents each got up to speak. Was it nearly over? Finally, the reading of the vows and the revealing of the knots. The celebrant introduced the new couple and reminded all guests to join the procession to the reception hall, across town.

 

The ride to the hall was slow and tedious, navigating traffic while staying in line. It reminded Jaze more of a funeral than a wedding. Jessi’s younger brothers rode with them; which meant the ride was quieter and more tolerable than if her younger sisters were there, but not as much as if there were alone. Vidar, the older boy, was quieter than Pader, who thought Haro was nuts having such a long ceremony. Jaze silently agreed with him.

 

When they got to the reception hall, the first thing Jessi did was drag him over to Haro and Kinta to congratulate them. Then they found their seats at the end of the main family table. Vidar led Pader to one of two large round tables in front of the main table.

 

“Well, that’s done, now once the meal is over we can go,” Jessi explained. “However, this will be a formal reception, and there will be more speeches and a long dinner.”

 

“It’s not rude to leave before the couple?” Jaze asked, remembering he and Jessi were the first to leave their ceremony.

 

“Most guests will wait until the couple leaves, but it is really only bad form if we have not yet given our congratulations, which we have.”

 

The reception hall was stuffier than the ceremony hall. It took forever for everyone to find their seats; many took the time to congratulate the couple, while others took the time to talk with other guests, many of whom seemed to sending questioning looks his way. The only positive Jaze found was that he did not have to sit next to any of Kinta’s sisters. They were at the other end of the table.

 

Jaze was not sure what he expected as everyone finally took their seats, but it was not a waiter asking him which of the chosen entrées he wanted, nor was it plates of appetizers appearing on the table.

 

The speeches started again, any guest who wanted to speak could, and did. The appetizers disappeared, and soup appeared, but Jaze barely noticed.

 

“Sip it slowly,” Jessi said. “If you don’t eat something, your headache will just get worse.”

 

Jaze sighed, and slowly tasted the soup. Jessi knew he had a headache, but not how long he’d been fighting it. He was determined not to show how bad it was. Forcing himself, he ate the soup and most of the salad. He picked at his main course, a steak with blue potatoes and a vegetable that looked and tasted like zucchini, if it weren’t bright pink. He was still surprised that some foods seemed so familiar and others so strange.

 

By the time they got to the dessert and final toast, Jaze had nearly run out of patience. The only thing that allowed him to keep his hold on his temper was that Jessi looked tired and ready to go, too. He was so wrapped up in his headache, he forget that she had endured a long shift and little rest on her days off. Dessert was a fancy lavender cake with a matching bubbly, lavender drink. As soon as it was over, Jessi quickly said their good-byes, and they left.

 

Once back at home, Jaze realized he did not need to spend so much energy hiding his headache. Jessi wasn’t feeling much better than he was. She spent an hour getting her bag ready for work the next morning and preparing an easy breakfast.

 

“I hope this shift is better than the last one,” she said as she changed into her night clothes despite the early hour.

 

“Hopefully, your next few days off aren’t as busy as these were.” Jaze laid on the bed and pulled her into him, wishing they both had the energy for more than just cuddling since Jessi had to return to work in the morning.

 

 

888

 

Keeri walked out of her bedroom, her eyes bleary from the fast pace of the last few days, expecting to see Jaze hovering at the coffee maker already on his second cup, since he usually got up with Jessi to see her off on her shift, but the kitchen was dark. She frowned as she turned on the light. Had Jaze gone into work early for some reason? She’d become accustomed to finding him there every morning.

 

The coffee maker was off, not even brewing. Surely if he had gone in early, he would have left her a cup. She glanced over to see his and Jessi’s bedroom door closed.

 

Kerri stood in front of it, wondering if she should knock. Maybe he’d overslept. He’d still been up when she’d gone to bed. She’d been feeling nervous around him ever since she’d realized she’d Imprinted on him, trying to avoid him, but didn’t want him or Jessi to notice, either. If he had noticed, he wasn’t saying anything about it. Maybe her father was right; she was going to have to hit him over the head with it.

 

She took a deep breath and knocked. She listened, hearing a groan. “Jaze?” she asked and heard another. They didn’t sound like the groans of someone just waking up. They sounded like groans of pain. “Jaze?” She opened the door and heard Jaze hiss.

 

“Close it,” he ordered and turned away from the light streaming in from the living room window. Keeri felt alarm run down her spine. Were his symptoms back?

 

Jaze sucked in a breath and shuddered as he exhaled. Why couldn’t she have just gone to work?

 

“I’ll be right back.” Keeri ignored his complaint as she opened the door again to slip out. She quickly went to the bathroom, taking a washcloth from the linen closet. She wet it down with cold water, wrung it out and carried it back to the bedroom.

 

Jaze tried to ignore the door opening and closing again. By the time he had got home the night before, the headache had been raging and his vision was all over the place. He’d swallowed as many aspirin as he’d dared and hid in the bedroom, praying for the pain to go away.

 

He felt something cool against his forehead and shuddered even more. It felt good and bad all at the same time.

 

“I’m calling Dad,” he heard Keeri say, real fear in her voice.

 

“Don’t,” he managed, opening his eyes only enough to make out her blurred form as she turned back to bend over him.

 

“You promised.” Her hand cupped his cheek and Jaze drank in her touch. It helped. He didn’t understand it, but her touch was as soothing as Jessi’s. “You told Jessi you promised Dad when he agreed to the Enthrallment if your symptoms worsened, you’d get help.”

 

He could hear fear in her voice and wondered how bad he looked. He had promised, although at the time he’d had no intention of following through, but it hurt his heart to hear the fear in her voice. He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her to convince her he would be all right because he couldn’t stand the idea of hurting her.

 

“Keeri, please, give me an hour,” he whispered. “If it doesn’t get better, I’ll let you call,” he said, feeling her caressing his cheek. He had just enough sense to wonder why she was doing it and why he liked it so much. It was the way he would feel if Jessi was doing it.

 

“I don’t need your permission,” she countered even as he came to a realization. She felt just like Jessi.

 

“Keeri.” He reached up to take hold of her hand to stop her. He forced his eyes open the rest of the way to see her, wondering if she knew how he was suddenly feeling. “Honey, I’ve Imprinted on you,” he said and it was crazy, but his headache was starting to ease, as if the admission was opening a door. It was like a natural painkiller was racing through his body.

 

“You have?” she asked quietly and sat down heavily on the bed beside him, as if her legs couldn’t hold her up anymore. “When did you know?”

 

“Just now.” The pain was definitely easing, but not going away. She was staring at him, her brown eyes glistening. “Don’t cry,” he pleaded. He hated it when Jessi cried and knew, with utmost certainty, if both of them ever did it to him at once, he’d be totally lost.

 

“You’re sure?” she asked, her lower lip trembling. “You didn’t know you had Imprinted with Jessi.” He managed a little nod.

 

“I know what it feels like now.” From her reaction, he was starting to wonder if blurting it out hadn’t been a wise thing to do. He knew how much Keeri loved Jessi and she would never do anything to hurt her sister.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” He started to let go of her hand, but she caught it and held it fast.

 

“You didn’t.” She reached up with her other hand to wipe at her eyes. “I realized I’d Imprinted on you when I picked up the robes.” At his startled look, she chuckled. “I held Jessi’s up to a mirror to get a good look at it and I suddenly wished I was the one going to wear it.” She smiled at him. “I’ve been struggling to decide if I should wait to see if you felt it or approach you about it.”

 

“How is Jessi going to react?” he asked. He laced his fingers with hers.

 

“I’m not sure. I know she was looking forward to having you to herself for a while.”

 

“She told me Haro and Kinta Imprinted several years ago and waited to Enthrall so Haro could establish his practice,” Jaze said and Keeri nodded. “I got the impression Jessi and I Enthralling so quickly isn’t the norm.” The pounding in his head continued to abate and his stomach was settling down. It was almost as if physical contact with Keeri was a natural painkiller.

 

“Most couples don’t Enthrall for a year or two after Imprinting,” she acknowledged. Her eyes lowered, almost shyly. “Maybe ten percent Enthrall sooner.”

 

“So it’s important for a First Wife to have that private time with her husband,” he pressed and Keeri nodded. He could see her joy at his realizing they were Imprinted was waning. He squeezed her hand. “But we’ve always had a different relationship, the three of us. Jessi has been sharing me with you from the start, if you think about it. She loves you. Wouldn’t she be happy you’ve Imprinted?”

 

“Yes, but you’re her husband. Your Enthrallment ceremony was only four weeks ago.”

 

“So, what do we do?” he asked. “Call and tell her? Wait until she gets home after her shift? Keep it to ourselves for now?” He shrugged. It was like when he was told he’d Imprinted on Jessi. He still didn’t have enough knowledge of the Demetern culture to know how to handle it. “You’ve got to tell me. I’m lost in this.”

 

Keeri smiled at him. He was cute when he was bewildered. “You’re head isn’t hurting anymore, is it?” she asked, suddenly realizing it from the way he was acting. “You wouldn’t be this active if it was still hurting.”

 

“It still hurts, but touching you has made it lessen to a more bearable level,” he admitted.

 

“How?” He could see her scientific mind was now taken up by this observation.

 

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” he told her, rising up onto his elbow. “I’m just happy to have it going away. The same thing happens if Jessi is here with me. Maybe Imprinting creates some kind of chemical change that acts like a pain killer if you’re touching who you’ve Imprinted with.”

 

That was an interesting speculation she’d never thought about. “I’ll have to ask Dad about that. I’ve never read about it.”

 

“Maybe it’s different because I’m not full Demetern,” he pondered. Keeri stared at him. It was the first time he’d said it and he’d said it with conviction. Another memory he hadn’t even realized he had? It would explain a lot. She nodded, mentally adding it to her list of things about him.

 

“You could be right.” Her shoulders dropped as she regarded him. “I think we have to tell Jessi when she gets home from her current shift,” she said. “She deserves to know as soon as possible and I’d rather tell her in person.”

 

“Okay. I better get up. I need to get to work.” He released her hand in order to throw the comforter off.

 

“Are you sure you should? What if the headache comes back?”

 

“In the past, if it started to go away, it’s stayed away, so I think it’ll be okay.” He swung his legs over the bed and gently pulled her towards him. “Coming to Demeter was the best thing I ever did,” he told her, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss. Then he rose and headed for the bathroom, leaving her with urges she’d never had before.

 

888

 

Jaze quickly changed into his coveralls in the locker room. The garage was already busy; he could see the line of customers at the desk. It was unusual, so he mentioned it to Kyler, another of the mechanics, as they checked the assignment board.

 

“Didn’t you see the winter forecast last night?” Kyler asked, popping several pieces of gum into his mouth. He handed some to Jaze. Jaze had gotten into the habit of chewing it after Liana had yelled at him for chewing on the ends every pen he got near.

 

“No.” He chewed the minty gum. He and Keeri had spent the evening after his return from work discussing their Imprinting in between some kissing. Kerri was much more nervous about the whole thing than Jessi had been, which Jaze attributed to Jessi already having been Imprinted and having tried to Enthrall. Keeri was a virgin; he was going to have to take things a little differently with her.

 

Keeri had been a little nervous when he’d climbed into bed with her last night, just as he had with Jessi, but he’d quickly proven he could control his urges. He had just needed to be with her, touching her. After hours of more talk, they’d fallen asleep in each others’ arms, comfortable.

 

While eating breakfast, they had discussed how they were going to tell Jessi. She would probably notice a difference in him the moment he picked her up.

 

What had floored him was Keeri’s tentative question about children. She was twenty-four, well past the age most Demetern women Enthralled. Even the professional women tended to have children right away once they had Enthralled. Jessi had wanted to wait until she completed her training, which was fine with him. He wasn’t in a rush to be a father.

 

For a woman to have her birth control implant given to her at puberty removed, she had to have her Enthrallment Knot. Illegitimate births were not permitted on Demeter. She had also informed him as the Second Wife, she would have to have Jessi’s permission to try to have a baby. Still learning about his grandfather’s culture, Jaze guessed it was logical. There was prestige associated with being the mother of a boy, especially a man’s first son, if he was lucky enough to have a second. That prestige should go to the First Wife.

 

It was a subject Jaze wasn’t ready to discuss, so he had told her they’d talk more about it later.

 

“The forecast is for a cold, snowy winter, so everyone will want to get their cars ready early,” Kyler interrupted his thoughts as the other mechanic pulled out the first clipboard under his name.

 

That made sense, Jaze supposed. It was his first winter on Demeter, as far as he knew. Demeter might have bad winters. The thought came to mind of driving down a snow covered road at speeds far from safe, skidding around turns, fighting the wheel, someone else in the vehicle whooping in exhilaration. In his mind, he glanced to the right to see a passenger in a fire suit and helmet. The whoop was male, but he couldn’t see a face.

 

“Demeter to Jaze. You in there?” Kyler asked, poking him in the arm to get his attention. Jaze came back to the present and cleared his throat.

 

“Sorry,” he muttered, reaching for his own clip board.

 

888

 

Feld tapped his foot impatiently as he waited in the line. He didn’t know why he got stuck with winterizing their vehicles. On any other planet, the vehicles would have been up to Spectran or Earth standards for year round use. It was another reason he considered Demeter a backwater planet not worthy of Spectran attention.

 

“Here.” Feld felt a styrofoam cup being pressed into his hand. For security reasons, he took each of their seven vehicles to different garages and this time he’d brought Lentor with him to keep him from being completely bored as he waited.

 

“Did you hear about Camo and Xac?” Lentor asked, sipping his steaming coffee.

 

“Yeah. That’s what they get for screwing around,” Feld whispered, not wanting to attract the attention of the locals by saying what he really thought. He didn’t understand some of his brethren's sexual fascination with non-Spectran females, especially the younger ones. It always got them into trouble.

 

He reached the desk and turned his attention to the paperwork needed for the service of the SUV. Once it was filled out, he led the way to the waiting area. There were still a few seats empty. He took one giving him a view of the television, which was showing a cooking show.

 

“Feld!” He felt an urgent tug on his arm and turned to Lentor.

 

“What?” he snapped, not wanting to miss the cooking show. He actually liked Demetern food. It had more variety than what Spectra could currently produce.

 

“That’s the guy from the waterfall,” Lentor hissed.

 

Feld frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded. Lentor leaned in closer to him.

 

“Remember the guy we caught spying on our base entrance above the waterfall? The one that killed Chango and we chased over the falls?” he whispered.

 

“Yeah. The one that got up close and personal with the boulders?” Feld whispered back.

 

“That’s him.” Lentor serendipitously pointed towards the double doors that led into the work area. There was a brown haired man in coveralls talking to an older man about something. He must have been one of the mechanics.

 

Feld had been at the base during the incident and had been in the chase for the spy, but hadn’t gotten close enough to get a decent look at him.

 

“That guy was shot and fell over the falls,” he reminded Lentor as he stared at the mechanic.

 

“It’s him,” Lentor insisted. “That guy had the same slanted eyes.”

 

“That means he’s Gantesen. It’s just a coincidence.” Feld sipped his cooling coffee, having to bite his tongue to keep from calling Lentor a moron. It was an Earth word he’d come to appreciate.

 

“I’m telling you, that’s him. I got a good look at him before he ran off. They never found the body. He got away.”

 

Feld hadn’t seen Lentor so full of conviction in a while. It was true no body had been found, but he wasn’t sure how hard they had really looked. General consensus had been the body was drug further downstream by the strong currents. He was sure the search party hadn’t bothered to go far enough downstream to verify it. Lazy bastards.

 

“I’m going to tell the Captain when we get back.” Lentor continued to stare at the mechanic as he shook hands with the older man he was talking to.

 

888

 

Jaze could feel eyes on him as he confirmed with Mr. Roebel what he wanted to have done on his car. It was an older model, but well kept. With a houseful, Mr. Roebel was a frequent customer. Jaze had worked on some of his vehicles before. This one belonged to his Third Wife. She refused to part with it to get a newer model, as his only son, from his Second Wife, was now at the University studying engineering.

 

“University is expensive,” Roebel told him and tapped the dark blue Enthrallment knot on Jaze’s right wrist. It was new enough he was still getting used to having it. “You’ll know soon enough,” Roebel said with a chuckle.

 

That stopped Jaze short. Here was the subject again. Everyone working at the garage, besides him, had children in the plural. At least no one here had asked why Jessi wasn’t pregnant yet.

 

888

 

Feld watched the man Lentor had identified, while trying not to look like he was. He wasn’t paying any attention to them, busy with the older man.

 

“I was just as surprised as you are that Mrs. Adornet hired a Gantesen,” the man sitting to his right said. Feld started. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I noticed you watching him.”

 

“Do you know him?” Feld asked, trying to get some information without seeming to be doing it.

 

“Not personally. Been working here a few months. I bring my business vans here. Have for years. He’s worked on a few of them.” The man shrugged. “I’ve got no complaints about his work.”

 

“I thought Gantesens stuck to their territory,” Feld ventured. He was still watching the mechanic, but then the mechanic turned his way, almost as if he’d sensed he was being watched. The look he gave Feld once he realized who was looking at him made Feld’s blood run cold. He averted his eyes.

 

“They tend to. We see one in Donotrep once in a while. I heard he was hired because he had Imprinted with one of the owner’s nieces. They’re Enthralled now.”

 

Feld heard his name called from the front desk. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. He nudged Lentor, excused himself from the conversation and tried not to rush to the desk. He wanted to get out of there, away from the mechanic. Maybe Lentor was right.

 

888

 

Jaze handed Mr. Roebel his keys, feeling an itch on the back of his neck. He turned to look at the waiting area and spied a man staring at him. Jaze instantly knew the man was Spectran, sending his gut nearly into spasms. What the hell was a Spectran doing in Liana’s shop?

 

His hackles rose and he scowled at the man, wishing he was at liberty to walk over and physically throw the man out after beating the crap out of him. The man caught his eye and turned away. Jaze noticed then the man sitting to his left was also Spectran.

 

Mr. Roebel was congratulating him on his Enthrallment, noting how new his knot was. Jaze thanked him and excused himself without being too curt. He headed straight for Liana’s office.

 

Her door was open. She was bent over her laptop, her brow furrowed as she looked at something.

 

“Liana,” he said to get her attention. She had insisted early on that he stop calling her Mrs. Adornet, since they were going to be related. She looked up and rubbed her eyes.

 

“Hi Jaze. What’s up?” she asked.

 

“We might have a problem,” he stated flatly, still fighting the urge to confront the two men. He didn’t know why, but also knew he had to keep his cool.

 

She frowned and rose from her seat to walk around her desk. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

 

Her office had large one-way windows that gave her a good view of the front desk and waiting room on one side, the shop on the other. He led her to the front one. “See the two men with Rian?” he asked. Rian was one of the cashiers, a niece of Liana’s husband. “They’re Spectran.”

 

“What?” She gave a him a shocked look before turning her attention back to the window. “Are you sure?” He nodded, still fighting the anger brewing in him at their presence. She didn’t ask how he knew, which was good because he still didn’t know how he could pick Spectrans out of a crowd. “What are they doing here?”

 

He pointed at the window to the shop. “Getting a vehicle serviced. The black SUV Kyler just finished working on.”

 

Liana turned to look into the shop. She could see Kyler pulling the vehicle out of the building to be parked in the pick-up area. She turned back to him, alarm radiating from her. “Are they going to start trouble? Should we call the police?”

 

Jaze took a deep, calming breath. He needed to stay in control. He hadn’t seen anything to indicate the Spectrans were up to something, but Spectrans were always up to something and it was never good.

 

“No. They haven’t done anything, but I’m concerned they’ve been here.” An errant thought ran through his head. Were they looking for him? He took another deep breath to dispel the thought. Why would they be looking for him? No one had any idea he was responsible for destroying the base in the warehouse or the arrest of the Spectrans who had raped the teenage girl in the Black Jade weeks before. His hand snaked to his left wrist and he rubbed it, feeling as though he was missing an important part of himself, but he didn’t know what it was.

 

“What should we do?” she asked, deferring to him. It should have struck him as odd, but it didn’t. He wasn’t sure how much Jessi or Keeri may have told their parents about what they had found out about his family and what their suspicions were about his past, which could have been passed onto Liana. They had discussed his finding out he had been a race driver, which had led his father-in-law to speculate his headaches were actually caused by a multiple concussion syndrome from crashes.

 

“As long as the shop is open and full of people, they aren’t going to do anything.” Probably, his mind added silently. “You’ve got security cameras all over the place. We can check them first thing in the morning to make sure nothing occurred during the night. If we see anything amiss, then we’ll contact the police,” Jaze told her and after a moment, she nodded.

 

888

 

Mark was the last member of G-Force to enter Chief Anderson's office. The last few weeks had been unusually quiet. A few minor scrimmages with Spectra, a lot of time analyzing recent battles, and plenty of time to relax. Tiny and Keyop tried to look as if the last few months without Jason had never happened. They sat on the couch laughing and joking with each other like they always had, but Keyop fidgeted more than ever and Tiny's eyes were dull. Princess sat in one of the chairs; she finally looked relaxed, but Mark could tell there was still a sadness about her, and he knew that she could see the same in him.  He doubted the team was adapting; they were all acting, putting up a front, but for whom? Each other, the Chief, the Security Council who pretty much left them alone and let the Chief deal with them?

 

“Glad you could make it, Commander,” Anderson acknowledged. “If you could please join us, we have much to discuss.”

 

“News from Cronus?” Mark asked as he took the chair next to Princess, wishing they'd been there sooner to take the couch before Tiny and Keyop had claimed it.

 

Anderson barely nodded as he started the briefing. “We'll get to that. As you all know, after the battle with the mosquitoes, Mark came to me concerned that Spectra may be suspicious about our situation. Analysis of our recent battles and other intelligence information indicate that his suspicions may be correct.”

 

“You mean they've noticed that Jason hasn't been rushing headlong into the thick of things,” Tiny snickered, attempting to joke.

 

“Use fewer missiles,” Keyop added.

 

“Enough,” Anderson cut them off. “Unfortunately, you are both accurate from what we have been able to gather. The Watchers have noticed, so even if Spectra hadn't noticed on their own, the Watchers would have eventually brought their attention to it. We have come up with several possibilities on how to confront this, and believe that acknowledging Jason's absence to be the best, much like the false reports of illness we issue when covering a dropped race. Effective immediately he will be placed retroactively on special assignment until he has been found and we have sorted out the details of his disappearance. A press conference will be held and the Federation notified.”

 

“Special assignment, that means officially he's not lost?” Princess asked, hopefully.

 

“Correct. The Security Council has discussed this to great lengths. While a full disclosure could lead us to him, it could also lead Spectra to him as well. Given the delicate nature of our relationship with Demeter, if such an announcement causes harm to anyone else on Demeter . . . Well, it just not a chance we are willing to take right now.”

 

“Sounds like we're playing politics again,” Mark added, frustrated; the Chief's lack of response was all he needed to confirm. Then he asked his real question: “What did you mean by 'we have sorted out the details of his disappearance'? Does that mean you will not reinstate him on the team once he has returned home?”

 

Tiny and Keyop stopped their joking and fidgeting, sitting perfectly straight.  Princess's eyes and mouth widened in surprise.  They had all assumed that as soon as Jason was found, everything would be back to normal, not the facsimile that they were currently pretending.

 

“The Security Council wants to make certain that this incident was not due to his negligence or fault in any way before he is reinstated.”

 

“You think Jason did this delibrately?”  Mark asked indignantly.

 

“We have to consider the possibility ...” Anderson started.

 

“Chief, Jason has always been independent, but he rarely puts anything before the team,” Princess pleaded.

 

“It does not matter.  It is for everyone's safety that if ...”

 

Mark cut him off.  “You mean when.”

 

“When he is found,” the Chief conceded.  “It is best that we determine exactly what happened and why before he is returned to the team.  It is possible that most of the answers we seek may come as we continue to search for him.”

 

Something in the way the Chief said that last line picqued Mark's curiousity.  “You already have a theory.”

 

“I have several, however, until we have more facts, that is all they are, theories.”

 

“Then we are still working on the assumption that he is still alive?” Princess asked, encouraged just a little.

 

“At this time, we believe that he is alive and on Demeter. However, his exact status and location are unknown.”

 

The team took a collective gasp at this news, and then sat up a little straighter.

 

“So Cronus' lead panned out?” Mark asked, wondering exactly what Cronus had found and why Jason hadn’t gone to the Outpost. The Jason he knew would never be derelict of duty.

 

“Does this mean we can head back to Demeter and look for him?” Tiny asked, eagerly.

 

“No, Tiny. First we've got to make the announcement we were discussing earlier. Hopefully that will force Spectra's hands. Until we know what they are doing on Demeter and where, we cannot be somewhere searching for a needle in a haystack, which is how Colonel Cronus has described his search. In fact, I believe he has said that finding a needle would be easier.

 

“His first lead only confirmed that Jason is still alive, but that's it. However, Cronus did also find what he believes are remnants of a Cosmic Communicator. As soon as they can be safely returned to Earth, we will analyze them and know for certain. If it is, then we know Jason can’t communicate directly with us and can’t transmute, which places him in more danger. Even knowing that, we have to keep moving slowly on this.

 

“In the meantime, the best thing we can do is be prepared. Commander, you know the training needs better than anyone, adjust them as you see fit. Everyone, train hard, but do not allow yourselves to become exhausted. Stress is as big an enemy to you as Spectra, and you have been under a lot of it. Build time in your schedules to relax. Dismissed.”