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R eem listened to everything . She heard the sounds of space and ships and transports all around her.

A low voice was near her, and he was asking her what to do with colonists and disputes.

She sent the information to the tablet next to the chamber.

Reem liked that exercise. It helped her keep her focus.

She counted the days and occasionally moved her fingers. When day twenty-one was there, she waited for the unit to tell her she was complete, but it stated that she was in development. That was a strange description.

She started sending messages to Wenvari about her being trapped and what the hell was development ?

His low voice said, “You have additional genes, and it will hurt if you are active while your body is settling into its new format.”

She sent him an image of her with four arms.

There was a soft laugh. “No, Comptroller. It will be more subtle than that. You have been given additional material to help your transformation.”

She sent an image of scaffolding.

“Sort of. Building blocks.”

She sent an image of blocks stacking.

“Much like that. Yes. Comptroller, you are almost ready to return home.”

She flashed an image of her apartment, the view of the city, and her office.

He chuckled. “Slightly different view, but yes. You remember that you agreed to be my companion?”

She flashed an image of the bed she used at the Pleasure Centre.

“Yes, Reem, but so much more. I know your face, you see.”

She flashed a bunch of faces across his screen.

He tapped her features out of the crowd. “I do not see faces, but yours, I know.”

She sent a series of dots across his screen.

“Not much longer. Hours. The implant has been minimized. The biological parts of it are grafted to your brain, but you will be able to feel again, laugh again, and enjoy the children running to you again.”

She put an image of her running away from little kids, laughing.

He snorted. “Your cousin says that children always come to you. They always have.”

Reem put an image of herself with radiating lines coming off, and children were touched by them and came to her.

“Your non-human genetics cause that particular effect. I have spoken to my people, and they feel the draw to you as well.”

A picture of herself scowling.

“You seek positions of solitude, but you can’t avoid it.

They will come to you, over and over. You help, you guide, you do the job I didn’t want to do.

I was very excited when I saw your qualifications.

I paid more than I have for any colonist, and now I am glad that I did.

People around you are content. It is so relaxing that I am thinking about starting work on another empty world. ”

Reem paused. She sent a cartoon Wenvari flying to another world and putting plants down.

“I will not be moving. The initial stages take centuries and are best done from a distance.”

She walked the cartoon Wenvari back to his home.

“Correct. It is my home now, and it is your home. I can hardly wait to see you in something more feminine.”

She showed herself clinging to her office clothing.

“I am afraid not. In addition to your comptroller duties, you will be with me as we open new businesses and eventually deal with international traders.”

She put a thick sweater on her character.

“That won’t do. You will get too hot in the greenhouse.”

He pulled an image over from a different screen.

There was a fitted bodice that floated off in delicate panels, and the skirt wrapped from the top of her hip bone to just below her groin and then into more delicate panels.

The feet in the drawing were wearing sandals that went up her calf, wrapped with vines.

There were wristbands that did the same.

She put her normal clothing on top of the image.

He laughed and put the new, soft image over it.

“You will get used to it. Everything is covered according to your social protocols. Harwin says it is decent, and Kris argued with Essan on how to get an outfit with sides. Sage is content with her clothing, so she was of no help. She has a Daughter of Rath with her. It is another one of your kind. That is unexpected.”

She showed Kris with a shadowed figure next to her.

“Ah, the Daughters of Rath are singular beings from different species who are trained in the violent arts and bringing peace by any means. They are a fascinating group of beings.”

Reem looked up the Daughters of Rath and found the criteria for joining.

She shuddered at the mention of absolute loss mixed with world-ending rage.

She found the information on the Terran member and found Theodora, betrayed by her husband, who murdered her child in the womb so he could get a fresh start.

Theodora had survived; her child had not, and her rage drove her to madness.

Now she was a Daughter of Rath and helped others find justice, for a price.

“Did you just hack Rath’s systems?”

She flashed the screen green.

“I will tell Ra to expect contact.”

She heard him speaking into a com. She idly ran through the requests for help until she found one that had a familiar name.

It wasn’t begging for help; it was demanding it.

There was a very angry Terran at the end of that letter.

Reem did what she could. She expedited it to every bit of tech that Rath owned.

She heard a response in a few minutes. Enough, Comptroller. You are right. It deserves our attention. How did you get through my security?

It is just something I know how to do. You will send someone to help them? They were lied to. Those are worthless contracts.

Yes, now that you have made me look... everywhere... I understand that. Who is your Hmrain?

I have a companion contract with Wenvari. It will start when I am out of here.

Where is here?

A restructuring unit on Aten.

Why?

I had a brain implant and multiple Hmrain DNA in here along with my own. It has been a long session.

Hours?

Twenty-one days.

“Who are you talking to, Reem?”

She flashed the Hmrain spelling of Rath on his screen.

“Reem, disconnect at once.”

She spoke to Rath. Wenvari is upset that I am speaking with you. Thank you for listening to my concerns. Please let me know if I can help in any way.

There was soft laughter through the link. I know why he is upset. If I were there instead of here, he would be up for a fight, and he would lose.

Why?

Because you are from a unique species with a unique set of skills. I do believe you are also a singular female. Wenvari would be a fool not to guard you. If he ever lets your contract lapse, contact me. If I am available, I am at your service.

Um, thank you, Lord Rath.

There was a deep chuckle through the com, and the call was disconnected.

She wrote in text, I am no longer communicating with Rath.

“Good. He’s aggressive and might try to steal you. There aren’t any others like you, and I want to keep you with me.”

She spelled out, Five-year contract, right? No worries.

“Once we confirm compatibility, I would like to sign an addendum. To the original.”

Why? Five years is a while.

“Because, unlike my experiences on my world, I know now what kind of a determined creature you are. Your skills and fearlessness are astonishing.”

I was afraid, but there was no option. It was succeed or die trying.

He sighed. “I thought as much. The Terrans who knew you are bringing gifts of fruit and clothing for you. They are going without their rations in order to ensure your comfort.”

The unit’s message changed to Complete. Injectors pulled out of her arms, and all holes were sealed.

“Ah, the unit has finished its work. I will assist you out.”

She heard rustling, and he clicked the releases. The unit opened slowly, and she winced in the bright light. Hands reached in and lifted her from the unit, cradling her carefully against a body whose dark grey was streaked in soft lavender lightning.

She whispered softly, “Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure. You have not moved in three weeks; it is likely that you would be weak. Can you really fly anything?”

“Not a Hmrain.” She chuckled. “Not yet.”

“If you wish to experiment, please notify me. I will be there and ready.”

She sighed. “Good to know.”

He set her down at the edge of the bed where the outfit he had shown her was lying. It was a lovely royal blue with grey trim. “Why blue?”

“It is your colour when you are calm. I want you surrounded by calm. I have noticed you found a way to keep working from within the pod.”

“It took a few days, but I managed it.”

“Thank you. Everything is so much better when you are in charge, Reem.”

She smiled.

“Your cousin said your name had meaning.”

“Gazelle. It means gazelle.”

“What is that?”

“A delicate, bounding deer. My mother was petite; my father was not. I took after him, but the name stuck.”

Wenvari smiled and caressed her hair. “You seem delicate to me. The name suits you.”

She got up slowly and wrapped the skirt around her. She fumbled at the catches and fasteners, but Wenvari said, “May I?”

She paused and nodded. His long fingers made short work of it.

He picked up the top, slid her arms into place, and did the same job on the front ties that held it snug to her torso before the panels floated loose around her midriff and arms. Technically, she was still fully dressed, if clear clothing was fashion.

Wenvari met her gaze and smiled. “I can see you. The wide look in your eyes, the small nub of your nose, and the tempting curve of your lips that just pulled downward in a scowl. You are the first being not created Hmrain that I have truly seen.”

He knelt and got the vines that held her shoes up on her calves. There were vines that wrapped around her arms, and as he applied them, they flattened to her skin. “There. All protected.”

He looked at her and bent to kiss her. Reem blinked and understood that he meant to pursue the intimate portion of the contract sooner rather than later.