Page 30 of Star Mates

“Well, first of all, your dental fillings. We don’t have amalgam silver here.”

“Oh.”

“And your blood doesn’t have any inoculations what-so-ever dealing with the Amarante System.”

“Have I been exposed to something bad?”

He shook his head. “No, nothing like that. You know, I was a doctor in Ohio before I was abducted in nineteen eighty-three and the one good thing I learned about the races in this system is that they’ve wiped out virtually all disease. So those two oddities are leading me to one conclusion.”

Emmarie took a deep breath. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”

“I see,” he replied, a frown settling between his eyes. “I know what this means. The hub is operational again. How is Pell taking this news?”

“I don’t know. He keeps a lot to himself.”

“Mm. Well, we may be in another part of the galaxy, but I still uphold patient confidentially so please don’t worry that I’ll tell anyone.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. Now I’ve got the unfortunate task of informing you that you need some shots.”

Her heart sank. “Drat.”

****

That night after the saloon closed down, a small knock tapped on her door. Emmarie rose and opened the door, relaxing slightly when she saw Pell Raiden. He filled the doorway with his tall, streamlined body, one arm braced on the wall above his head, which caused him to lean slightly forward.

That breathless, exciting feeling that always hit her when he was around flooded through her. “Hello,” she said.

“Hi. I wanted to see if you’d like to go on a walk with me?”

“Isn’t it late?”

“There’s a full Dura tonight. Absolutely beautiful.”

Emmarie giggled. “Back home we say full moon.”

“But we are the moon.”

“Yes. It’s very odd.”

He held out his elbow. She took it with a smile and closed the door behind her.

Raiden led her out the back of the building into the cool night air. She could see the large planet of Dura hanging brightly in the sky.

“Are you adjusting okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Leona keeps me busy.”

“Yeah, she’ll do that.”

They walked a few more steps. A comfortable silence descended between them.

“How did you become a pilot?”

“Growing up in Sparta, you kinda get pulled into a career early. My parents worked with Willoughbee so I hung out in the hangar. I learned to work on the ships from the time I could hold a tool.”

“Is that how you met Pikon?”

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