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past the bedroom doors, she kept quiet. No sense in getting the Guardians up. They were going to be having a busy day even if everything went according to plan.
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    There was something so surreal about making pancakes on an alien world that felt more like home than Terra did. Dot flipped another of the puddles of batter that Jekross had created.
    Loxin came in, rubbing his eyes and looking around hopefully. Jekross handed him a cup of caf and Loxin sat at the cooking island.
    “How did you sleep, Oracle?” Loxin.
    She concentrated as she flipped another one. “Well. I think I slept well. All I remember is it was dark and then I was awake again. No further updates for the audio report.”
    “Good. It will be tricky to be there and not involving ourselves until the last minute.”
    “Why? Why not stop the ship before it hits the dam?” She wanted to know.
    She saw the edges of one of the pancakes curling and quickly flipped it while Jekross took off the finished one and replaced it.
    Loxin cocked his head. “You really don’t know?”
    “No. If I knew, I wouldn’t ask.”
    He shrugged. “If we stop the ship, we won’t know why it hit the dam, or even if. We will be there to save those who need it, when they need it, but it needs to happen.”
    She flipped another round of pancakes and kept going until the stacks were waiting for the others to arrive.
    Jekross took the plates and set them on the table. “Come and eat, Oracle. You have to keep up your strength and this will do it.”
    Side additions were set in the centre of the ring of platters. Jekross brought everything that they could need.
    Dot gave him a look. “Don’t you get tired of answering needs?”
    He shrugged. “Do you get tired of hearing the screams?”
    “Ouch. Fair point. You could just know what folks need and not give it to them.”
    He took a seat. “I could, but it would hurt me. Loxin can tell you.”
    Loxin took his seat next to her as the other two filed in wearing simple bodysuits. They reached for the food and began eating mechanically.
    Loxin greeted them. “Good day. I was just about to explain to Oracle why Jekross does what he does.”
    Ralos and Yekesh nodded. Yekesh said, “Go ahead. It is a good story.”
    Loxin sipped at his caf. “When Jekross was first on a Guardian base, he withheld his information until he had been begged for it. One of the Guardians he worked with was going into heat and another was susceptible to her pheromones. It came to a head when they were on a mission, and while she was rescuing one of the locals, the other Guardian was filled with rage and attacked him. It took a rotation of nine healers to fix the damage that he did to that local. The female Guardian resigned until she could have herself sterilized. The male Guardian ended up on Janial waiting for a prison sentence. If Jekross had told the commander what was happening, one or the other could have been saved disgrace. There are no secrets on a Guardian base. There can’t be. Jekross came here to start over, and now, he answers our needs without asking. It is a heavy burden, but we respect him for it.”
    “Wow. That is harsh.”
    “How would you feel if you had not told people of what you had heard?” Loxin smiled and gave her a sideways glance as he worked through his pancakes.
    “Guilty. I would feel so guilty, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.” She shivered. For a few weeks after going to the home, she had tried to stifle the screams. Even with the medications, they had only gotten stronger, so she had kept telling everyone what she was hearing.
    Jekross patted her hand. “Right. Now eat. Your cold sleep did some light damage to your systems. Your body needs fuel to fix it.”
    She focused on her food and worked through the stack on her platter, making a face when sausages and fruit were slipped into the hole made by her spork. The syrup tasted like honey, flowers and fruit, but Jekross had mixed