LITMIR.BIZ

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get on his nerves,” Madeline said, grinning back. “It keeps him on his toes. He does tend to brood.”

      “Yes. Even as a child, he was like that.”

      “You’ve known him that long?” Madeline asked.

      Caneese’s eyes softened. “I have.” She studied the younger woman quietly. “You are uneasy about the bonding. You have never known the touch of a hunting male.”

      Madeline’s heart jumped. She averted her eyes. Uneasy was an understatement.

      “You must not dwell on it,” Caneese said. “But you must use your strongest sedative. You are frightened of him in the darkness already. This will augment it.”

      Madeline flushed. “His eyes glow…”

      “We have feline eyes,” Caneese reminded her.

      She frowned. “He said something curious. He said that you keep more secrets than we know, and that you aren’t what you seem.”

      “There have been incidents, in the past,” Caneese said carefully. “When humans…”

      “Stop there,” came a commanding voice into her mind. “Say no more to her.”

      Caneese grimaced. “Well, it is nothing that concerns you,” she amended. She smiled. “You should try to rest. Tomorrow will be stressful.”

      Madeline hesitated. “What is it like?” she asked, the words almost torn out of her.

      Caneese only smiled. “You will understand soon.”

      Madeline sighed and turned away. “I suppose so. Good night.”

      “Sleep well.” Caneese bit her lower lip as she watched the fragile human female walk away. Madeline was concerned, but Caneese did not dare satisfy the other woman’s curiosity. She hoped that Madeline could summon enough nerve not to run, as she had tried to, just before her own first mating. It was not a memory she liked to revisit, despite the pleasure of the ones that followed.

      Komak had used a curious mixture, which contained bone marrow cells and Cehn-Tahr DNA, as well as an accelerant whose properties he would not disclose, to facilitate Madeline’s transformation into a human with the strength of the aliens with whom she had served for almost three years. After he finished with the initial procedure, he injected another mixture into the artery at Madeline’s neck with a laserdot. “You must not be nervous,” he said gently. “I assure you, I know what I am doing.”

      She managed a smile for him. “For a time-traveling magician, you’re not bad, Komak.”

      He chuckled. “So I am told.”

      She studied his face. “You know, you do use human facial expressions more than any Cehn-Tahr I’ve ever known.”

      “You are remembering the traces of human DNA in my blood, when you typed and crossmatched it to transfuse the commander at Ahkmau.”

      “Yes.”

      He removed the laserdot placer. “We all keep secrets. That one must remain my own.”

      “The commander and I think you’re related to someone who lived in this time period.”

      “You are both astute. I am.”

      “Can you tell us who?”

      He smiled and shook his head. “That is one subject we must not visit.”

      “Do you have human DNA, or was it just a glitch in my equipment, as I thought at the time?”

      He put down the laserdot and looked her in the eye. “Answer your own question. Do I resemble a human?”

      She sighed. “No, Komak,” she had to admit, smiling. “You look like the rest of your species.”

      He was amused. She did not know the true tech he employed, although he had let her think she did, and he had no intention of telling her. To do so might reveal too soon the secret Dtimun kept from her. He smiled back. “We are all one color, one race. Unlike you humans, who come in all colors and races.”

      “There’s a legend that my people were once all tea-colored,” she recalled.

      He pursed his lips. He didn’t speak.

      She frowned. “You know something. Tell me.”

      “Your race was once tea-colored, as you say, from millennia of racial mixing. Humans rose to become a great space-faring civilization. Then a comet collided with your planet of origin and reduced your species to a gene pool of less than ten thousand,” he said simply. “The reduction mutated you, so that the old genetic material was reborn and you split, once more, into separate races and coloring. Your leaders discovered relics of this civilization, but they hid it quite carefully.”

      “Hid it? Why?” she asked, exasperated.

      “Would you reveal to an optimistic, ambitious population with growing tech ability that another civilization had risen to such heights, only to be destroyed in a natural catastrophe?”

      She thought about that. “I don’t know.”

      “It would diminish your accomplishments, dull your ambition,” he suggested. “It would limit the achievements.”

      “I suppose it might. How did you come to be a time traveler?” she asked. “And who discovered its potential?”

      He grinned. “It was me. Building on tech developed by one of my…antecedents,” he said carefully, “I perfected the ability to jump through dimensions, into different time lines.”

      “But how?”

      “I cannot say. But the Nagaashe are the key,” he added. He sobered. “You made the discovery possible, by convincing them to trade with us. You do not yet realize the scope of that accomplishment. It will lead to untold discoveries.”

      “I just crashed on their planet,” she said softly.

      He shook his head with awe. “I read about this period of history. But the records were quite scant, and frankly the first-person accounts of it were grossly understated. All of you were too modest about your actions. And nowhere was it recorded that Chacon himself assisted in your rescue. Or your…old fellow,” he added. “There were whispers, of course, but they were dismissed as myths.”

      She smiled. “I make odd friendships.”

      He chuckled. “Indeed you do. I am most proud to be included in them,” he said gently. “You and the commander are more than I ever realized from my research. The two of you have been a constant delight.” He drew in a long breath as he looked at her. “Serving with you is my greatest honor and privilege.” His eyes saddened. “I will miss you both.”

      “Miss us?”

      He nodded. “I must leave. Today.”

      “Today? Surely not before the bonding ceremony!”

      “Yes.” His face tautened. “I must not interfere in any way with this timeline.” His eyes were soft with affection. “It is precious. More precious than I can tell you.” His face tautened. “There is another matter,” he said quickly. “You must not return to the Amazon Division, for any reason. Do you understand? It is important.”

      Her heart jumped. “Komak, this is only for a mission,” she said. “I can’t tell you what it is, except to say that many lives may depend on its success. But afterward, whatever happens, I will go back to duty.” She averted her eyes. “I’ve already spoken to Strick Hahnson about doing a short-term memory wipe on me. I won’t remember anything…”

      “Memories are precious, Madelineruszel,” he said quietly. “Your feelings for the commander are quite intense. Do you really want to forget them?”

      Her sad eyes met his. “He’s an aristocrat. I’m just a grunt of a soldier, and I’m

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