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"Okay, so your minder… Poseidon?"

"Possedion," he corrected without the biting huff he usually reserved for me when I mispronounced a name.

"He knew about the mating marks." I threw out.

Thrax nodded. "That's the same impression I got."

"And he insinuated something about two other space guardians," I added, not sure where my train of thought was taking me, but actually, for once, I was grateful to Thrax for being the silent type and letting me theorize whatever was brewing in my head. "You said you didn't know about these markings? At least not for your species?"

His hand moved through his thick, black hair. "I don't know what species I am," he admitted.

"Come again?" Now he was throwing me a curve ball.

"I'm a Space Guardian. That's all I've ever been," he said, but it didn't feel like he was talking to me, more like he was talking to himself, as if he, too, was voicing his thoughts out loud. "I've never questioned it. Not once. I like going after the bad guys. It satisfies a certain sense of justice inside me to punish them when nobody else can or dares.

"But lately…"

I waited for him to finish. He brushed his hand once again through his hair, shaking his head. "Lately, I've been wondering."

He drummed his fingers on the console. "You see, the Ohrurs are getting paid for our work. Handsomely so. Ostensibly they're keeping my share under their protection, investing it so that one day I can retire."

That sounded controlling, but… okay.

"The problem is that lately, I've been wondering… I've never seen, met, or heard of a retired Space Guardian."

Wow. I was glad I was already sitting down. "None?"

He met my gaze. "None."

A hollow sensation spread through my stomach. "So you think the Ohrurs… what? Kill them when theyretire?"

"I don't know what to think," he admitted, rising and walking around his chair. "That's just one of the things that bother me. Why don't I know what species I am?"

"You're not an Ohrur," I wagered, had to, even though I knew the answer already.

He shook his head. "Definitely not."

"Do you think… you were grown in a lab?" I drew from the various science fiction movies I liked to watch. It sounded absurd the moment the words left my lips. Still… I mean, we were flying through space on an alien ship.

He stopped. "I don't know."

Fuck!

"Okay," I stalled, sensing his growing frustration. "All right. So how can we find out? Did they block the entire computer network, or can you hack into another one? Is there an… internet café or something like it around here where we can stop?"

"I only understood half of what you just spewed, but yes, there are other databases I should be able to link up to."

I let thespewedgo because he looked frustrated enough to give him a break, but resolved I wouldn't be so generous the next time he decided to be a condescending ass.

"Okay, so let's do that. Also, what about the other Space Guardians?"

"What about them?"

Oh, he was back to being a complete dick. Wonderful. I tried to keep my voice even but didn't think I fully succeeded. "Can we contact them?"

He continued his irritated pacing, round and round the captain's chair, making me dizzy watching him. "Not anymore. Not since the Ohrurs took my access. I don't know who they are."

"What about others?"