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“Sorry if I was keeping you from something.”
    His erection was back, but he didn’t have an inclination to use it, so she was perfectly happy to pretend nothing was happening.
    He got up and headed to the lav, taking a solar shower. He came out, and his skin gleamed with the absorbed light for a moment. She stared and took in the difference in musculature, slight alignment of the hips and the longer limbs.
    “Your turn. General Sapya would like to meet you.”
    Cierra continued to admire the view for a moment before reaching under her pillow and taking out the shirt. She rolled to her feet and pattered past him, ignoring their mutual nudity as much as she could.
    She used the facilities, and when she emerged, her hair was in a soft wave down her back and her shirt was sparkling clean.
    Ahket was back in his uniform, and he shook his head in surprise. “That shirt never looked as good on me.”
    She sighed. “Right. Shall we?”
    “Would you like me to carry you?”
    “I will ask when my feet get sore.” She twisted her lips. “I really need to walk a bit.”
    He nodded and offered her his arm instead. It was a casual gesture as if the N’ga-Sebach women always took a man’s arm. Cierra took his arm and let him lead her through the ship.
    “The general’s quarters are over the oxygen farm. It is the best view in the ship.”
    “Oxygen farm?”
    “You will see.” He smiled.
    The scent of green ran through the air once again. She had picked up this scent when she first opened her capsule.
    He passed a few sentries and knocked on a door. A smiling man with long black hair, with beaded braids tucked here and there, gestured for them to come in.
    “Come in. Good morning, Proofer McAffee.”
    She blinked at the warm welcome. “Good morning, General Sapya?”
    He nodded.
    Captain Ahket cleared his throat. “We could come in if you were not in the doorway.”
    In a moment, they were inside, and the general led the way through his spacious quarters and out onto a wide balcony that overlooked a jungle in space.
    She walked to the edge of the balcony and looked out over the wild greenery below. “Wow.”
    The general smiled. “It was our skill with the oxygen farms that allowed us to remain on Sebach after the natural system went dormant.”
    “You built the greenhouses.”
    He grinned. “You figured out the tablet that Ahket brought you.”
    “I did. I had just gotten to the part where the population stabilized and your folk managed to live their lives with occasional excursions to space for a bit of kidnapping.”
    A crewman came in with a huge tray, and he laid out enough food for six on the table. He stepped back, bowed and disappeared.
    The general smiled, “Come and sit. I will tell you of our history, and then, I will tell you what I want you to do.”
    Captain Ahket helped her to her seat and poured tea for her as the junior officer at the table. She was glad she had gotten used to tea, because they both watched her drink it.
    When she had consumed the first cup, they were free to eat, and suddenly, food for six changed into food for three.
    Cierra filled her plate quickly and started eating. When the initial feeding frenzy wore off, Sapya swallowed and began to speak.
    “What followed after we became able to sustain our people is what plagued the Admaryn. We began to die out. Less children being born than adults dying. We have long life spans, but the lack of women being brought to life was devastating.”
    She nodded. “So, you thought to institute proof of worthiness with a bride price?”
    He beamed. “Precisely. Wealth cannot be inherited amongst our people. It rolls into the community coffers, so each male was on his own to prove his worthiness, or in the case of my idiot grandson, he could prove he was an ass and help his brother gain a wife.”
    She smiled and chuckled. “It sounds like he wanted to help his brother out.”
    Sapya snorted. “It doesn’t matter. It set his account to zero,