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Chapter 1

Hayley Goodacre blew her pale blonde bangs out of her eyes and tried to ignore her sweating palms as she waited to walk onto the stage. She hadn’t expected this many to show up.

Her first talk about the Pleistocene era of dinosaurs and their mating behavior had been attended by twenty people. This was the fourth talk she’d given as part of the pro-amateur events held on board Prodigy. It seemed that word was spreading about her passion for all things Earth dinosaur related. It was sort of cool so many were interested. Cool and a tiny bit terrifying.

Hayley licked her lips and pulled her ponytail tighter. She hated getting her hair stuck in her lip balm when she got into the swing of things and had a habit of walking around and flinging her arms about when she talked. Once she got over her initial nerves and her passion for teaching took over, she needed no distractions.

Her gaze went around the audience. If only Sally was here. She always picked a seat in the front row and smiled throughout Hayley’s entire talk, even if she didn’t understand a word her big sister said. Sally was her biggest supporter and never mocked her about her enthusiasm for dinosaurs. But of course, she couldn’t be here. Sally was flat on her back with an oxygen mask clamped to her face to make sure she breathed properly. Radiation sickness was destroying her sister from the inside out.

Hayley squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. She could do this without Sally watching, but it wouldn’t be as much fun. When they’d both lived on Earth, they’d go out and have a celebratory drink to toast Hayley’s success in converting a few more geeks to the wonders of dinosaurs.

Now, Hayley lived on a space station but was still on her mission. And it seemed like it wasn’t only humans who enjoyed learning about dinosaurs. There was a real mixed crowd tonight.

A few of the aliens who’d come along this evening looked a little prehistoric themselves. There were several with green tinges to their skin and even a few with scales.

Hayley’s gaze stopped as she saw the intense, focused stare of a blue-skinned Retar. He always picked the same seat in the front row. He was tall and muscular and had a faint pattern of scales across his skin. Hayley knew Retars weren’t descended from an amphibious species, so the scales must be a remnant of an evolutionary adaptation. They might be used to attract a mate. A pointless, showy display to impress a female, a bit like a peacock and his fabulous tail.

His name was Elias. He’d been to all her talks. He listened intently and asked dozens of questions. He was smart, thoughtful, and took the time to listen to her responses. They didn’t always agree, but she liked being challenged. It helped that he was so gorgeous. Smart and sexy, it was a lethal combination. Hayley’s insides felt warm whenever she saw Elias in his usual seat, wearing a clean red engineering jumpsuit and smelling of soap and engine grease. She’d grown to love that smell in the time they’d spent together.

Hayley shook her head and forced her attention from Elias. He wasn’t for her. She might make love matches for others, but she was all too aware of how tricky love was and how easily it made you vulnerable. It left you open to abuse. No way was that happening to her again.

Hayley’s mind was still a blur, full of the different aliens she’d learned about since boarding Prodigy eight weeks ago and starting her job as a matchmaker at My Single Alien.

There were hundreds of different types of aliens who lived on the other side of the wormhole or, as some of her colleagues liked to call it, the Glory Hole. More and more came through into the Milky Way, interested in the matchmaking services of the agency she worked for.

Every day was a frantic blur of cramming in as much information as she could about the aliens who wanted their services and figuring out how to be an amazing matchmaker.

Hayley had returned to staring at Elias without realizing it, and he’d noticed. His irises shifted to an inky blue, and they widened as she found herself unable to stop staring. Who’d have thought blue skin could be so sexy?

One thing she’d quickly found out was that all aliens were sex-obsessed. Whether they were using the services of My Single Alien or coming to talk about the habits of dinosaurs, sex was always a hot topic of conversation.

Hayley had learned not to be flustered or embarrassed when these questions came up. After all, it was a part of her new day-to-day routine, reassuring aliens of all shapes and sizes that they would be sexually compatible with a human mate.

A lot of aliens were fascinated by female genitals and obsessed to the point of mania about the clitoris. Hayley had received an eye-opening lesson when she’d first joined My Single Alien. She’d discovered not all alien females came with the same set of equipment as human females. Some ways they achieved pleasure during sex were mind boggling.

It was no wonder many of the aliens who came to use the agency’s services were confused about how to pleasure their human mates and sometimes tried to enter the wrong holes. It was why they went through an induction before being let loose on their match. Some holes were simply not meant to be entered.

Hayley was certain the topic of mating would come up this evening in her talk. She was focusing on the Apatosaurus, a lesser known dinosaur of the late Jurassic period. It was her favorite era and favorite dinosaur. Earth dinosaurs were no longer considered green-skinned, stupid reptiles. They’d been magnificent, beautiful, social animals. They’d cared for their young and traveled in large packs requiring sophisticated coordination if everybody was to achieve their goals.

Her passion for dinosaurs was the reason Hayley stood on the edge of the stage, waiting for her introduction. Her goal was to ensure no one forgot about them. Nobody cared about dinosaurs on Earth. Everyone was focused on their own survival and getting through another day as the toxicity of the planet increased. Moldy old dinosaur bones, and what dinosaurs did in their spare time, was of little concern to the majority.

Hayley understood, but she still wasn’t giving up on her mission. Now that she was on Prodigy, she had a new platform and an audience that grew every time she gave a talk. There was zero funding to protect dinosaur remains on Earth. Hayley had a dream of finding a few wealthy aliens who shared her interest in supporting a retrieval mission to bring a few precious specimens into space, so the remains wouldn’t be lost.

Dinosaur remains were important. They were a part of the prehistory of the planet she’d been born on. She would never let them be forgotten, even if it meant overcoming her nerves and talking to a room full of strangers about them.

She took a big sip of water as she saw more people taking their seats as they waited for her talk to begin. This was always Hayley’s challenge, overcoming her nerves and standing up alone, without the support of her sister. Her gaze went back to the front row. If only Sally were here. She would be soon. When Hayley had enough money to pay for her treatment, and she was strong enough to travel, Sally would be sitting in her rightful place, cheering Hayley on as she recruited more people to her dinosaur remains project.

“Good evening, everybody.” The usual announcer, a gentle, kind-faced Koob called Neim, strode onto the stage and gestured for the talking to quieten down. “It looks like we’ve got a lively crowd tonight. I’m sure you’re as excited as I am to hear the latest chapter in the prehistoric happenings of dinosaurs, those unusual creatures who roamed the environs of Earth many millions of years ago. It’s a topic I find particularly interesting.” He looked over to Hayley and gave her a nod of encouragement.

Hayley tried to smile back, but her teeth stuck to her top lip. She ended up looking like a startled chipmunk.

“I’m delighted to welcome back Hayley Goodacre. I’ve no doubt Hayley will offer her enthusiastic knowledge and discussion about a fascinating dinosaur of the Jurassic era.” Neim gestured to Hayley, and she nodded.

This was it. There was no going back. A part of her didn’t want to do this, but this was her passion, and she would pass it onto as many people as she could.

Hayley licked her lips, wiped her hands down the front of her jumpsuit, and stepped onto the stage.

Chapter 2