Noble by Viola Grace Page B

eyebrows and headed to the living room, turning off the television and explaining. “The man from the Volunteer Program is here with news.”
    Her grandparents got to their feet and followed her into the sitting room where Recruiter Norz was looking at the family photos.
    “Recruiter Norz, this is my grandmother, Abilene Musgrave, and my grandfather, Albert Musgrave.”
    Her grandparents extended their hands in turn and smiled hopefully at the alien in their midst. Everyone took a seat, and Recruiter Norz smiled brightly, not showing his teeth this time.
    “Well, Myra came into our offices earlier today, and I have the results of the testing.”
    To Myra’s surprise, it appeared that he didn’t want to speak but was forcing himself.
    “It is my duty to notify you that you do indeed have an off-world species in your bloodline.”
    Her grandfather beamed and her grandmother smiled. Myra watched the recruiter and noted something he wasn’t saying.
    “They are called the Kameraet, and they are coming to collect Myra.” He blurted it all out in one statement.
    Myra blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
    Her grandmother scowled. “You can’t take her.”
    “I am not taking her. The Kameraet are coming to take her, and if she is not on the lunar base, they will come to the surface and take her. That is not something that we want to happen.”
    Myra cocked her head. “I thought we were a protectorate.”
    “Terra is. As a descendant of the Day clan, you are not. You are considered a captured member of their society, and they are coming to retrieve you.”
    Her grandparents looked at each other. Her grandfather said, “What about us?”
    Recruiter Norz smiled slightly. “They are not interested in you. Your contribution to your bloodline is complete.”
    Myra was getting a bad feeling about this. “What if I choose not to go?”
    Norz sighed. “You do not have a choice. You are the last surviving member of the Day clan, and they will come to get you. They are, in fact, on their way, and it would be better if you were somewhere where they could retrieve you without any issue.”
    She swallowed. “What if I don’t volunteer?”
    “It is no longer a matter of volunteering. You have enough genetic proof to make you a non-human, and your people are coming to get you. They usually do so with methods that would not be appreciated by your governments, and so, I am asking you to please pack your bags. The laws of the Kameraet and their worlds now govern you. We need to return you to your people.”
    Her grandparents were shocked.
    Myra nodded and got to her feet. “Right. Fine. I will pack. Grandma, Grandpa, as soon as I know more about our family, I will let you know. Consider this a more expanded genealogical survey.”
    She kissed them both on the cheeks and headed upstairs to pack her bags. Putting her family and her world at risk was not something she was interested in. Learning that she wasn’t completely human was another hit.
    She needed some time to think, and a spacecraft was the perfect place to do it. She wouldn’t have to shut out her world; she wouldn’t be on her world.

Chapter Two
     
     
    Myra was alone on the shuttle with the exception of the pilot. She got up and heaved her bag on to her shoulder.
    Music was blasting in her ears, and it kept her in a world of her own as she left the shuttle and was taken down the hall by a solemn, pale green woman in a bodysuit.
    The music kept her from panicking, like it always did. Recruiter Norz had provided her with a crystalline player for her music library that would not require charging.
    The woman showed her to her quarters and tapped her ear.
    Sighing, Myra pulled her earbuds out and looked at the woman.
    “Thank you, Miss Musgrave. This is your com station. Your family has been given a matching terminal, and this is the contact location identifier. You can use it anywhere.”
    The woman ran through the small dispensing unit in her quarters that would provide