So, he wasn’t just a stalker, he was an ancient stalker. The tingle that was still rioting on her hand was slowly moving up her arm and she fought the urge to brush it away.
Her stomach growled hungrily. It seemed that the ration bars had not been enough. Sighing, she looked to Zakkar. “Would you care to join me for my lunch? I think I missed a few meals on that assignment.”
He seemed pleased. “I would. How was your time on Yeshkin?”
She blinked but led the way to the galley. “It was fine. Very long, though. The Yeshkin do not seem to need to eat or sleep.”
He chuckled. “It is the side effect of their atmosphere. They gain enough nutrients from the gasses to keep them alive for months if necessary. They like their meals but having to break for one is considered a sign of weakness.”
She sighed. “It would have helped to have that information two days ago. I need to eat several times in a normal day.”
“It is one of the things that I miss as a stellar avatar. Food was important when I was growing up, but the star keeps me fed now.”
In the galley, she dialled up food for two. “I think you can still eat, so would you care to try the rations I have? They are a very good approximation of food from my home world.”
He looked at little nervous. “It has been a while, but please. Yes. I would love to try it.”
She laughed. “It isn’t fancy. It is supposed to be meat in gravy with a tuber and vegetables. If you don’t like it, I am sure I can fit your serving in.”
His smile was that of a curious boy and not a man made of starlight and muscle.
Chuckling to herself, she retrieved the hot meals from the unit and carried them over to the table. She turned and retrieved two sets of utensils as well as two glasses of water.
Smiling at the familiar-ish food, she prodded at the meat-like substance and bit into it. Despite it being an unappealing colour it tasted a lot like roast beef and potatoes.
Zakkar watched her, his quicksilver eyes swirling. When he was assured that she was indeed swallowing, he prodded at a vegetable and nibbled daintily at it.
She couldn’t help but keep her gaze fixed on his reactions. They were fascinating. He didn’t like the red vegetables, but he enjoyed the potato substitute as well as the meat and all the other veg.
When he finished eating, there was a flash of light and he looked at the dispenser speculatively. “May I try something else?”
She shrugged. “Sure. I have enough food here for three years. Go nuts.”
He blinked at her phrasing. Some of the words in Alliance Common just didn’t translate well, so she simply smiled angelically while he attached whatever meaning to the word
nuts.
That he chose.
When he came back from the dispenser, her eyes widened. He had found her dessert selections. His tray held a sundae, brownies and what looked like apple crumble.
“Wow. Sweet tooth. I would never have guessed.” Dina continued eating, tiny bites that her body would be able to break down quickly.
She watched him discover the Terran treats and had a hard time keeping the smile from her face. If they had been in a group of people, ignoring him would still have been difficult, but she would have managed it. Here, in a one-on-one situation, she couldn’t ignore the charm of his joy of discovery.
He was working on the sundae when he asked her, “How did you get into distance mediation?”
Dina cocked her head. “Leaving my body was something that I had always done. Every time I closed my eyes, it seemed that I was in another country or another world. When the Alliance called for Volunteers, I was standing in line to apply with thousands of other Terrans. I wanted to know if my talent was real or I just had an active dream life.”
Zakkar paused with a spoon full of ice cream. “And?”
“They sedated me and quickly proved that I was not mad and not simply enamoured with my imagination. I woke out of my body in the facility and scared the bejeezus out of the applicants in the waiting room. I was offered one of the positions immediately and then I had to break the news to my family.”
“They were not in favour of you leaving?”
She laughed and almost choked on a mouthful of food. “My mother didn’t want me to even work more than fifty kilometres from her. Leaving the planet had her weeping for days.”
“You don’t regret leaving them?”
She sighed and propped her head on her hands. “Sometimes. I really do regret it sometimes, but mostly, I am enjoying be out here meeting new races and making myself useful.”
“I understand. I missed my family when Arci tapped me, but they were proud and since they were happy, I could embrace my new life with more ease. Change is always difficult, but if we pay attention, we can find things in our life that we didn’t even know were missing.”
She chuckled. “Big talk from a man wearing ice cream on his chin.” Out of a perverse reflex, she reached out and thumbed the white fluff off his chin before licking the thumb she had used.
He was watching her in astonishment. Zakkar tilted his head. “You touched me casually, but we have only just met. That isn’t in keeping with your traditions.”
Her lips twitched. “Then you didn’t read very carefully. Terran women get up to all kinds of shenanigans if there are no other witnesses beyond her and the male she is with.”
Zakkar looked at her and Dina felt her cheeks warm with a blush. There was a wealth of speculation in that look and she wondered how far she would let him take it.
Chapter Three
“Well, Zakkar. We have met and we are getting along just fine. What happens next?”
He blinked at her in surprise. “I have no idea. Would you like to take a tour of this star system?”
She laughed. “I am still on duty for the next four days. I can’t leave the station.”
“Then we will have to continue our courtship here. Do you need sleep?”
Dina blinked at how thoughtful he was. “Yes, I believe I do. Do you want me to ask the station to find you a spare room?”
Zakkar inclined his head gracefully. “That would be most welcome.”
Fish appeared at her mental summons and she asked to find space for Zakkar.
Fish agreed and swam in front of Zakkar’s eyes.
“What is this, exactly?”
Dina smiled. “He is an avatar between the ship and me. He keeps me company.”
“What is he based on?”
“Oh, a fish from my home world that I had as a beloved pet. He was with me then, so they built a way for him to be with me now. He monitors the station as well as my stats. He can bring me out of a coma if it is necessary.”
She chucked as Fish did flips in the air in front of them. He loved being the topic of conversation.
“Does he speak?” Zakkar was examining the hologram on all sides, not so easy when Fish was insisting on swimming around his head.
Dina started walking to her quarters. “No. He is modeled after a pet I had on Terra. Fish was my companion for his whole lifespan and I missed him when he was gone, so when my dispatcher wanted me to select an interface, he was the obvious choice.”
“How do you know what he wants to tell you?”
“We have worked out a set of signals. Colour changes and such.”
The doorway on her left lit brightly with a blue glow.
Dina was slightly relieved. “The computer has assigned you to this room. The atmosphere is set to your species specifications, so have a good night’s sleep.”
Zakkar took her hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. Her heartbeat sped up dramatically, but she tried to keep a bland expression on her face. His knowing gaze set the blush in her body to full bloom.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Dina. I realize that you were not expecting company and you have been a gracious hostess.” He opened the door to his quarters and left her standing alone in the hallway.
Her body tingled and she rubbed lightly at the spot where he had pressed his lips. Dazed and a little off balance, she headed down the hall toward her own quarters.
Once inside her sleeping quarters, she quickly went to the com unit and brought up the Arci system.
Zakkar had indeed been the avatar for Arci for several thousand years. His people were known for their analytical abilities, but with the tunnel vision of many races, they had not been able to interest any of their people in mating when they accepted the danger of their declining population.
They had simply struck out to create as much intellectual property as they could before their civilization wound to a close.
Arci had tried to intervene as Zakkar’s people had slowly disappeared, but they were determined to leave nothing but their wisdom behind.
Arci’s avatar had mourned his people’s loss, but two hundred years later, he was seen again and active in communicating with the Alliance.
Dina read about Zakkar’s involvement in intersystem negotiations as well as his participation on stellar councils around the system. He really was Arci’s avatar and he really was on the hunt.
She groaned and leaned back in her chair. He was a nice-enough guy, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted him to pursue her.
Dina looked to Fish and he flicked toward her to hover near her nose. “What should I do? He’s a nice guy and there is certainly an element of attraction on both our parts.”
Fish flicked from side to side before doing quick loops and disappearing.
Dina snorted. “Coward! I listen when you have issues, you little twit!”
After it was obvious that Fish was not returning for the night, she took her suit off and slipped between her sheets to get some rest.
Dina groaned as she realized her astral form was flying through space. She hated it when her dreams took her places she had no business going.
A light started glowing off to her left and when she looked over, a figure was flying toward her.
“Hello, Dina. Pardon my taking over your dreams, but I wanted to speak with you.” The form was Zakkar’s, but the voice was not.
“Am I speaking to Arci?”
He stopped their flight as they were conversing face to face on the astral plane, but controlled by Arci, it was the blackness of space. Environments were selected by comfort levels and if she was truly talking to a star, then it was no wonder their location was highlighted by the darkness of the star’s home.
“You are. I have been worried about my avatar.” He floated next to her and took her hand.
The hot tingle that she had felt through Zakkar was a thousand times stronger with Arci’s contact.
“That was you. You were planting the seeds for contact when Zakkar and I touched.” She wasn’t accusing, merely observing his behaviour.
He inclined his head, the silvery white glow was interspersed with red threads of light and it covered him from head to toe. “If I had spoken to you through my avatar and you were not properly shielded, you would have suffered damage. That was not my intent. This seemed the safer option to have a word with you.”
She smiled slightly. “I appreciate the effort.”
Arci bowed.
“Is Zakkar aware of our conversation?”
Arci smiled. “No, I am allowing him a night of sleep. He does not need to rest when he is on duty for me.”
“I see. What did you want to speak to me about? I can only imagine it is pretty serious given the lengths to which you are going.”
He turned and looked out over the expanse of planets and stars before them. “When Zakkar came to me, his people were flourishing. They were only too happy to have him take the position of stellar avatar and when his immediate family passed, he mourned but accepted it.”
“It sounds like he is a well-balanced individual.”
“He was, until his people died, leaving an empty world behind. He was lost. The last of his kind. It is a fate that a few avatars have faced, but Zakkar is mine and I want him happy again.”
Dina flinched. “What do I have to do with that?”
Arci gave her a look that made her feel like a petulant toddler, which she supposed she was in comparison to him.
“Zakkar is lonely. He needs a physical companion, so together, he and I began searching for one.”
Dina swallowed. She knew what was coming next.
“We found you. After three centuries of looking through every available operative that the Alliance had on its roster, we found you.”
“I don’t understand. There are a couple thousand Terrans out and about around the Alliance. Why me?”
Arci reached out and caressed her face, touched her neck and withdrew his hand. “You are unique. A perfect genetic jewel in the tangle of strands from your world. Your mind is ideally suited to accepting a portion of a star within you and your body will adapt well to the changes that I will need to enact.”
She sighed. “So, I am very utilitarian.” She had to admit that she was disappointed that it was her adaptive ability that had caught their attention.
He waved his hand in denial. “No, you are purpose built. Since the moment Zakkar saw you on the roster, he didn’t consider anyone else. He has read everything he could about your race, your family, your friends in an effort to make his conversation more acceptable to you.”
Even on the psychic plane, her face blushed pink.
“Well, what can you tell me about him?”
Arci stared into her eyes. “Everyone he has ever loved is dead. He lives his life full of the energy of a star and if he is not careful, his touch can sear you to ash in a second and he wants you and no other. What more do you need to know?”
She flinched. “Uh, nothing. That’s fine.”
Arci noticed her expression. “I said something wrong.”
Dina debated lying to the star and then shrugged. “Death, loss and an offer of companionship as well as a threat of imminent demise are usually not combined in a single sentence.”
“Ah, my apologies. It has been a while since I have dealt with any living creatures directly. Zakkar usually does my talking for me.”
The star’s features twisted until Dina recognized the embarrassment.
“I am still not sure about this. I am just enjoying my job and my assignment right now. Not to mention, I don’t want to leave Fish.”
Arci blinked. “Fish?”
“My pet hologram. I am rather fond of it.”