“You could always come over and join us for a showing ofLilo and Stitch,” I teased, shaking my head as I left our office.
“Lilo and Stitch?”Reynolds echoed as he fell into step beside me.
“Yes. My son Neal likes to watch it over and over. It’s his favorite movie. His room is decorated with characters from it, and he sleeps with a stuffie of Stitch.”
Reynolds chuckled. “Sounds like my six year old nephew, only his obsession is with Spiderman. He didn’t like practicing his reading until our mom remembered a kid’s literacy show had Spiderman on it and ordered it on DVD. Now he can’t practice enough as he wants to be able to read Spiderman’s words on the screen as he doesn’t talk out loud. They use speech balloons for him, just like a comic book.”
“That sounds very clever, but Neal isn’t learning how to read just yet. He’s begun learning the human and Mylos alphabets and their sounds.” Though the agent’s words about literacy programs that children found entertaining pricked at my conscience. Other parents and the school had mentionedSesame Streetbut I’d let Neal choose what to watch and it was alwaysLilo and Stitch,either the movie or the TV series, orScooby Doo.I made a mental note to speak about the matter with Mitch to see if he thought we should make some changes to Neal’s viewing habits.
“This is the mess hall on this level. As you can see, they are setting up for today’s freshly prepared offerings while over there is a bank of replicators where one can order anything else they might want, whether it’s a different meal or a drink.”
He looked around the space. “This is very nice. It doesn’t look anything like the breakroom back at our office. This could almost be a small cafe.” He strode over to the viewscreen on the wall. “Wow, there’s even a window here.”
“It’s a viewscreen, not an actual window. We prefer to keep holes in the hull to a minimum,” I informed him.
He laughed. “Copy that. The fewer chances of a blow out, huh?”
I gave him a nod in reply.
“It is the view just outside, though, right?”
I studied the scene. “No. That’s not Venus. I tapped my kunnarskyn, requesting the view’s location. “Ah, yes. That is Jumila VII. It’s an uninhabited system with nothing but dead worlds. A mining company from Rigellus has staked a claim and will be harvesting minerals from one of this planet’s moons soon.”
“Wow. And I felt small before looking at what I thought was local to me, then you made me feel like one of those tiny dots in one of those ‘You are here’ posters.”
I had no idea what posters he spoke of but I understood the feeling of being a small speck in the deep black.
“We best get those drinks,” I prodded, turning away. I grabbed a tray on a stand by the replicators and as the beverages appeared, placed them on it.
“It’s like being in a sci fi,” Reynolds said, looking awed as he watched me replicate our orders.”Here, let me carry it.” He held out his hands and I pressed the tray into them, knowing he wanted to feel useful. “Hey, sorry if I’m being rude, but are you recently mated?” he whispered. “Only you seem to have gotten, er, scalier than earlier.”
I knew he was right. My neck, back, arms, and thighs had been itching like crazy all morning, and now I felt tingles along my temples. A glance at the back of my hands told me all I needed to know. I blinked and he sucked in a breath.
“Sorry, but when your pupil constricted like that just now, it made you look really alien. Like, more than usual,” he babbled softly.
“I may have to go home early,” I realized. “My body hasn’t gotten the message yet that I’ve claimed my mate.”
He bobbed his head, leading us from the mess hall. “I thought that was what it was. I read in our files about how your biology can lead to getting some kind of fever and you go sort of full reptile.”
“Into our battle form, yes, as our body thinks our mate is being withheld and must be fought for or is threatened and needs defending. Unfortunately, the mating heat can cause one to become stuck in that form, with the baser instincts in charge.”
“Yeah, I read where that almost happened after a mate was kidnapped right before the wedding back on Earth.”
“That was a mess, but thankfully Sachuu and Xeranos were able to work with your governments and media outlets to make it appear as a publicity seeking hoax.”
We reached the office once more and the L.T.C. took one look at me and swore.
“Do you need to return to your mate right now?” he asked me.
“I’d like to stay for the interrogation but I can feel the fire within me amping up,” I admitted.
“You can watch it while Reynolds examines the recording. If you get any worse before reaching Mitchell, go see Proslo without delay.”
“Yes, sir.” I swiped my mug of sencha from the tray. “I’ll be ready for duty tomorrow,” I promised them all.
“Make it the day after,” Sachuu insisted. “Spend that time getting all that out of your system.”
I flushed, knowing he was right but still finding it embarrassing to havethatmentioned in front of my colleagues. It had been bad enough that Reynolds had brought it up.
