stronger and live longer than pureblood males, we’re considered beneath them.”
“What about battle born females? Do they deal with the same stigma?”
He shook his head. “Their ‘tainted blood’ is overlooked as long as they can manipulate magic.”
She crossed her legs then uncrossed them, nervous energy vibrating the air around her. “It seems so strange for a society with this sort of technology,” she motioned the ship surrounding them, “to be obsessed with magic.”
“It’s not an obsession. It’s instinct. Why do the salmon on your world swim upstream for hundreds of miles just to spawn? It might seem irrational to an onlooker, a dangerous waste of energy, but the impulse is too strong to ignore.”
“Dr. Irron to see you, sir,” the computer interrupted, drawing his gaze toward the door.
“Visitor approved.”
The door parted and Irron strolled into the room. He looked at Raina and smiled. “So you’re ready to join the party?”
“Or not,” she stressed. “I just need to know for sure.”
“Not a problem. This just takes a second.” He held an extractor in one hand and a mobile sample analyzer in the other. “Can you push up your sleeve, please?”
She held out her arm and pushed up her sleeve. Irron sprayed the bend of her elbow with a disinfectant mist then extracted a sample of her blood. She hissed, but held still. “That stung.”
“Scanners have decreased the need for blood samples, but when blood is necessary, it still has to pass through skin.” Irron attached the extractor to the analyzer and entered several commands using a holographic keypad. “Are we hoping for a yes or no?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Raina crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes wide and uncertain.
Irron glanced at Kotto, but looked back at Raina as he said, “It’s positive. Has the commander explained what that means?”
Raina nodded, her expression unchanged.
“Thank you,” Kotto said, anxious to have Raina to himself again.
Irron chuckled, clearly understanding that he’d been dismissed. “If you have any questions, Commander Tarr knows how to contact me.”
Raina nodded again and the doctor departed. She looked at the sofa, but remained standing. “As I see it, there are two separate issues and participating in one doesn’t obligate me to participate in the other.”
“Actually there are three issues.” He moved toward her and she backed up. With a heavy sigh, he halted his approach with several steps still between them. “The outpost gardens, your grandmother’s journals, and your compatibility with the battle born.”
“I’m not giving you the journals until I understand your plans for Earth and you can’t explain the details unless I sign the contract, so those two issues are interwoven.”
He’d rather deal with her argumentativeness than her fear, so he didn’t contradict her conclusion. “Have you decided whether or not to sign the contract?”
“You know I’m intrigued, but I need some time alone—in the privacy of my own home—to make my final decision.”
“I’ll give you until morning.”
“Absolutely not.” She put her hands on her hips as color rose across her cheeks. “I need at least a week to decide something this important.”
“Day after tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I will send Ashley for your answer. If you aren’t going to do this, I need to find someone who will. I can’t afford to lose an entire week while you make up your mind.”
“Agreed.” She slipped her hands into the pockets of her skirt and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Now, about the protein marker. Just because I’m more likely to survive the transformation than a full-blooded human doesn’t mean I have any interest in being transformed. I’m not in the market for a mate. My life is fine just the way it is.”
“Your work is so fulfilling, you require nothing more? You have no interest in sharing your life with another or
“What about battle born females? Do they deal with the same stigma?”
He shook his head. “Their ‘tainted blood’ is overlooked as long as they can manipulate magic.”
She crossed her legs then uncrossed them, nervous energy vibrating the air around her. “It seems so strange for a society with this sort of technology,” she motioned the ship surrounding them, “to be obsessed with magic.”
“It’s not an obsession. It’s instinct. Why do the salmon on your world swim upstream for hundreds of miles just to spawn? It might seem irrational to an onlooker, a dangerous waste of energy, but the impulse is too strong to ignore.”
“Dr. Irron to see you, sir,” the computer interrupted, drawing his gaze toward the door.
“Visitor approved.”
The door parted and Irron strolled into the room. He looked at Raina and smiled. “So you’re ready to join the party?”
“Or not,” she stressed. “I just need to know for sure.”
“Not a problem. This just takes a second.” He held an extractor in one hand and a mobile sample analyzer in the other. “Can you push up your sleeve, please?”
She held out her arm and pushed up her sleeve. Irron sprayed the bend of her elbow with a disinfectant mist then extracted a sample of her blood. She hissed, but held still. “That stung.”
“Scanners have decreased the need for blood samples, but when blood is necessary, it still has to pass through skin.” Irron attached the extractor to the analyzer and entered several commands using a holographic keypad. “Are we hoping for a yes or no?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Raina crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes wide and uncertain.
Irron glanced at Kotto, but looked back at Raina as he said, “It’s positive. Has the commander explained what that means?”
Raina nodded, her expression unchanged.
“Thank you,” Kotto said, anxious to have Raina to himself again.
Irron chuckled, clearly understanding that he’d been dismissed. “If you have any questions, Commander Tarr knows how to contact me.”
Raina nodded again and the doctor departed. She looked at the sofa, but remained standing. “As I see it, there are two separate issues and participating in one doesn’t obligate me to participate in the other.”
“Actually there are three issues.” He moved toward her and she backed up. With a heavy sigh, he halted his approach with several steps still between them. “The outpost gardens, your grandmother’s journals, and your compatibility with the battle born.”
“I’m not giving you the journals until I understand your plans for Earth and you can’t explain the details unless I sign the contract, so those two issues are interwoven.”
He’d rather deal with her argumentativeness than her fear, so he didn’t contradict her conclusion. “Have you decided whether or not to sign the contract?”
“You know I’m intrigued, but I need some time alone—in the privacy of my own home—to make my final decision.”
“I’ll give you until morning.”
“Absolutely not.” She put her hands on her hips as color rose across her cheeks. “I need at least a week to decide something this important.”
“Day after tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I will send Ashley for your answer. If you aren’t going to do this, I need to find someone who will. I can’t afford to lose an entire week while you make up your mind.”
“Agreed.” She slipped her hands into the pockets of her skirt and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Now, about the protein marker. Just because I’m more likely to survive the transformation than a full-blooded human doesn’t mean I have any interest in being transformed. I’m not in the market for a mate. My life is fine just the way it is.”
“Your work is so fulfilling, you require nothing more? You have no interest in sharing your life with another or
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