Page 88 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"I was given to understand that you would not want to be near a newly mated couple," Colonel Schuh said. "Was my information correct?"

"Your information about my preferences is correct, however, recent events have indicated that I may need to be nearby in case of emergencies."

The Colonel gave her a long look before he nodded. "Very well, I'll make sure you're where you need to be."

"If I may, Colonel, why are Dr. Phillips and I staying off the base? If we're here to look after the health of Private McBride, it might be better if we were to all be here."

Colonel Schuh gave the neurologist a skeptical look. "To be honest, Dr. Torres, I was going to give you some down time before the next round of disasters. Questioning is on hold until we hear from the Orvax and so you're services will, hopefully, not be needed. Get some rest and be ready when I call you to come back."

The look Dr. Torres gave the Colonel told Angela that he'd never been in the military. Protesting a solid day off to rest would have been suspicious in almost any profession, and doubly so for someone in the military.

But there it was, the mutinous look on his face that told her he was about to complain about the down time.

"Very well, Colonel," Dr. Torres said, to her surprise. "I do have some reading that needs to be done. We'll be ready when you call."

Dr. Phillips looked ready to protest her inclusion in his pronouncements but thought better of it when there was a knock at the door. A young soldier stepped into the room and saluted the Colonel, then waited at attention.

"Excellent timing," Colonel Schuh said. "Dr. Phillips, Dr. Torres, this is your escort to the hotel. He'll take good care of you and we'll see you back in a day or so."

The young soldier stood back and let the doctors file in front of him, before he saluted again and close the door.

Once the sound of footsteps faded away down the corridors, Colonel Schuh turned to the three remaining and smiled.

"Now, who wants to tell me what the fuck happened on the plane?"

Angela caught a guilty giggle before it could escape but she knew the Colonel had seen her start. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, sir."

"Don't try that bullshit on me, Private," Colonel Schuh said. "I may not be the most observant person in the world but even I knew what I was smelling. And since I didn't actually see anything happening, something must have happened where I couldn't see it. Especially when there was what appeared to be a very angry conversation between the two Chelion delegations."

"Ah," Zoric said, and shifted nervously. "You witnessed one of the side effects of the Bond, sir."

"Explain."

"As the Bond grows stronger, the couple have the ability to pull each other into their dreams by accident," Ae-cha cut in. "Until that Bond is consummated, the dreams they'll each have willgrow increasingly explicit. The emotions from those dreams can leak out to be experienced by those who are sensitive to that kind of thing."

"So you were angry because you were caught up in their foreplay," the Colonel said. He looked skeptical but didn't argue with her.

"That's right," she said.

"And you want to be close to them now why?"

Ae-cha sighed. "Because a trigger was introduced to the dream. One set specifically to happen during their consummation. Because it was a dream, Private McBride was able to control the manifestation and neutralize it. Zoric pulled me in to remove and analyze it."

"I see," Colonel Schuh said, his brows pulled down in worry. "And you suspect there are more of them?"

"I believe there is an active attempt to introduce more triggers into Private McBride's psyche," Ae-cha said. "And they're getting sloppy about it."

"Well, then, I respect your willingness to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation to help Private McBride. I'll show you to your rooms so you can get some rest."

Colonel Schuh wasn't asking questions and that made Angela suspicious. He was observant if he'd caught Zoric and Ae-cha fighting and she wondered what else he'd seen.

Her hackles raised even further when he drove them himself to the empty house on base and handed them the keys. She would have been less surprised if he's fluffed their pillows and wished them a happy honeymoon.

"What's wrong with him?" Angela demanded when he drove away.

"What do you mean?" Zoric asked.

"Did that not strike you as odd? He basically dropped us off and said happy fucking!"

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