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made the conversation easier. It was a strange business to have to discuss marriage and children before she even knew his last name.
    He squeezed her hand. “I am not the most vocal or forward of the Guardians. I did not want to chance their linking to you before I could introduce myself. I didn’t know about Beryl at the time. Toyo and Rand could have easily gotten between us.”
    “So, you cheated?”
    He chuckled. “I believe the Terran term is stacking the deck in my favour. Bebe taught me that one.”
    She laughed. “I think I can respect that. I have done it myself on occasion when working with folk who did not want to heed me. I use whatever I can to get the desired result.”
    “I am glad you do not resent me for it. Being mated to a man you haven’t even met must be a little disturbing.”
    “The actual mating part is going to have to wait until I am comfortable with you seeing me naked. Really naked, not in the portrait. The scars are not pretty.”
    “They are marks of a survivor, but if you wish, you can have treatment to remove them.”
    Wren tried out something she was longing to do. She moved to stand close enough to feel the body heat coming off him, and he put his arm around her.
    “I will think about it. They are part of me.”
    “I understand. I also understand about the lack of children born of your body. There are options there as well.”
    She blinked. If he knew she still had an ovary, then he was right, he did know quite a lot about her.
    For a few minutes, she stood with him, soaking in his body heat through her suit. Finally, she sighed and straightened. “Time to tidy up the dining room.”
    “The bots already took care of it. The others have come out of hiding and are in the common room watching a vid. Well, sort of. They are really watching us.”
    She sighed. “And now we have to go in and face them. Wonderful.”
    “It isn’t so bad. Beryl and Toyo were far worse when they got going. She kept getting arrested.” He chuckled.
    “Oh, that reminds me. Someone has to sign for me with the peacekeepers. I don’t want to chance an incident.”
    “If we are not called out, I will take care of it in the morning.”
    They turned and walked toward the building. She looked at him sideways. “So, does Toyo still think he is the only Guardian who can fly?”
    Drovin winked at her and pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh, I am saving it for a special occasion.”
    She was still giggling when they entered the base and everyone pretended to be watching a small marsupial outrun a rainstorm with a documentary voiceover droning on.
    They silently joined the others and sat with them as the documentary wore on.
    Wren listened to the silent hum of contented emotions and she relaxed. Everyone was satisfied with the direction the evening had taken, and they were enjoying the companionship. They had brought out the second batch of cookies and the cleanup bots were on the lookout for crumbs.
    It was not bad for her first day on an alien world.
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    The spare room was kept for Nyal Imperium Guardian Project assessors. Wren woke up before dawn, stumbled into the bathroom and got dressed.
    She walked past the other doors, all with slumbering occupants. She began to make breakfast as silently as possible. By the time she felt the first mind waking up, she had tea, caf and the morning beverage of choice that was thick, green and smelled like toasted oatmeal all ready.
    The pancakes were stacking up and the disks of breakfast meat were seared and on the warming element.
    Drovin came in with a shy smile. “Good morning.”
    She smiled. “Good morning.”
    He walked up to her and kissed her quickly. Her lips tingled wildly for a moment and she blinked. “Um, hello.”
    He chuckled and produced a flower from behind his back. “This is an urhing. It only blooms an hour before dawn, so I got up to catch it for you.”
    The flower was purple and scarlet, streaked with a soft gold. The