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The lab was full of people, so Em walked straight in. Her parents were speaking with the representatives of the Nine, and it was too hard to resist. “Mom, it followed me home, can I keep it?”

The shock on the faces of the representatives was hilarious, but Daphne’s bark of laughter broke the tension.

“Em, I don’t think they get the joke.”

Daphne came up and gave her a hug.

“That’s okay. They will get the hang of my sense of humour if they are here for more than a few hours.”

Em muttered it in Daphne’s ear.

Rivvin spoke from behind her. “Weelar, see what you can do with the lady’s catch.”

The other pale man rushed forward and took the fish with the reverence of someone taking a holy object. “Where can I prepare them?”

Emaline Baker stepped forward. “I will show you to the kitchen and make sure you get settled. We laid in plenty of supplies for this week. Em will make sure that the fresh fish keep coming.”

The male almost passed out with joy at the mention of more fresh fish.

Rivvin smiled, “Emharo, that is Weelar Tish. He is a chef for the Water Folk. We ran out of living food a few months ago, and this is our first opportunity to scope out fresh supplies.”

Em looked up at him. “Oh, so that is the nature of this visit?”

The Wilder was on the other side of the room, “That and we are looking for biological samples to restock our genetic banks for replication.”

Harold Baker blinked rapidly. “Oh, I am sorry. Morro Nefurik of the Wilder, this is my daughter, Emharo Baker, our collector. If you need something, she can find it.”

Emharo nodded. “Pleased to meet you. Oh, Dad, I got you that topical anaesthetic you were after.”

She opened her bag and hauled out the seaweed. “It emits a gel that is highly effective.”

Morro inclined his head and turned to Rivvin. “They have arranged the guest quarters for us, your bag is there.”

Daphne was standing by. “Well, if you are all situated comfortably, I will be off. Call for anything you need and I will have it brought out, otherwise I will see you in a week.”

She nodded to Rivvin and Morro, gave Em another hug and was out the door before Em could do more than raise her hand in goodbye.

Rivvin blinked both lids again. “She was certainly in a hurry.”

“Daphne worked here one summer and one of the biological samples bit her. She isn’t fond of this place.”

Em shrugged. “Dad, do you have a list of what you need for their visit?”

Harold grinned, “Here. Weelar filled me in on how much protein and vegetation they consume, so we will need a little more than initially anticipated.”

She lifted her spear. “Done. That’s it?”

Harold nodded. “Unless any of our esteemed guests have any specific requests?”

Rivvin blinked, “Are you going back in the water?”

“I am.”

“May I accompany you? It has been a long time since I hunted in open waters.”

She looked from Rivvin’s intense features to Morro’s shocked face and shrugged. “Sure. Do you hunt with a weapon?”

He frowned. “I think I might use a spear similar to yours. Do you have a spare?”

She grinned. “Of course. Come with me, and you can choose your weapon. I will show you the guest quarters while we are on our way.”

He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She heard Morro gasp but ignored him for the feeling of warmth that spread from that slight contact.

“Thank you, Emharo.”

She shook her head and walked out of the lab, down the hall and out into the warm afternoon air. Em used her fishing spear to point down the yard. “There is the guesthouse. My mom had me clear all my stuff this morning. You will be nicely segregated from the Gaians.”

“That is not necessarily something we require.”

He was close to her again, very close.

“We were told that the Nine didn’t like contact with Gaians, well not casual contact anyway.”

She shrugged. “The doors don’t lock anyway, so you can come and go as you please. Will you be here all week?”

Rivvin made a rumbling noise of assent. “That is the plan. I need to put a locator tag in a few shoals of fish and our mother ship can send a transporter down to bring them up to replenish our stocks.”

“So, you exclusively eat fish?”

“It is our preferred food, though we can and do eat other proteins while on the mother ship.”

He shrugged. “It has been a rather unappealing few months since we consumed the last of the live stores. They tend not to breed in space, so we only have what we can bring with us from likely planets.”

“And since Gaia is the planet you evolved on, you can tolerate the foods here.”

She walked to the shed near the dock. “Here is the weapons shed, it also contains fins, masks and other equipment for diving. Take what you need.”

She grabbed a mask, snorkel and set of fins before setting out down the smooth wood of the dock. Her holding line was coiled neatly on the last support. She tied it to the edge of the support, removed her outer clothing again and walked down the steps to affix the fins on her feet.

She prepped the mask, and Rivvin sat next to her. “What are you doing?”

“The mask helps me when I am actively fishing. It increases my ability to see what the heck I am aiming at, and since you are going to be in the water with me, you really want me to see what I am doing.”

Em slid the mask on her head and grinned in the peculiar way that folks in masks always grinned. “Ready when you are.”

He blinked at her, and with a smile that showed sharply pointed teeth, he dove into the water, leaving no trace of him on the surface.

Shrugging, she tested her snorkel before she followed him into the waves, her spear at the ready.

Emharo used her fins to slowly make her way into deeper water. Her breathing was loud in her ears as she used the tube to keep her head aware of the predators around her.

Rivvin was slipping through the water at the edge of her vision. Her senses told her that he was fishing successfully, the talent that drove her out into the wild to collect samples told her when there was something nearby that she wanted.

Despite the fact that Rivvin was not on her shopping list, Rivvin lit up with a hot blue pulse. It was not the colour that her mind associated with prey. Edible fish were bright gold, toxic fish were red-black and vegetation that could be eaten by Gaians was an electric purple to her senses. Medicinal items were a variety of colours across the rainbow.

Hot blue was not a colour that she had ever run into before.

A fish darted past her, but it was too small to pursue. She continued her slow exploration while keeping an eye out for both Rivvin and other predators.

A sudden rush of gold caught her attention. Huge, fat fish swam toward her, and she struck out with her spear, catching two of the fish before quickly backpedalling to get away from the large predator that had driven the fish toward her.

Stubby legs, a huge jaw and flat black eyes, the beast came toward her, following the flapping of the fish on her spear. It was three times her length, and its jaws could snap her in two.

She sighed, preparing to give up her catch.

A flash of light skin moved between her and the beast, and Rivvin took a defensive posture between her and the animal that wanted her kills.

He stabbed at it a few times, and the beast turned on its tail with blood streaming from small punctures around its head.

Rivvin turned, grabbed her around the waist and swam back to the steps. He took her spear from her and chucked the fish onto the dock, striding out onto the steps with her tucked under his arm.

Irritated, she blasted water out her snorkel. She spit it out and said, “Put me down.”

“Not until you are safe.”

He set her down on the dock, and she took her flippers off with disgusted movements. “You didn’t need to do that. I would have lost my spear but that would have been it.”

She ripped her mask off and scowled up at him. His hair curled on his cheeks and clung to his chest.

He growled. “You are not fast enough to hunt in the water.”

“I have done it so far, and I will continue to do it long after you are gone, so get used to the idea.”

Rivvin’s mouth opened and closed with a snap reminiscent of the predator she had just faced. “We have enough for today. Come on, back to the lab so I can discuss a few things with your parents.”

She got to her feet, gathered her clothing and grumped, “Since you are so keen to do the heavy lifting, bring in the fish.”

He reached down, and his arm flexed as he pulled up a truly spectacular haul. He lifted her two fish and added them to the stringer, carrying the whole works over one shoulder.

She didn’t bother getting dressed, merely stowed her gear and stomped into the habitat wearing her swim gear. Em paused and pointed. “The kitchen is down there.”

Rivvin opened his mouth to speak, but she slipped through the habitat doors and closed them behind her. Emharo sighed and clenched her hands into fists. “Damn it.”

“Em, precious? Why are you here in your swimsuit?”

Her mother was coming toward her with a stack of journals.

“My collecting was interrupted by Rivvin getting between me and a predator. I didn’t want to stop to change.”

She stalked to the steps that led to her temporary quarters.

Her mother was looking up at her in surprise. “I have never seen you this rattled.”

Em frowned. “He can do all the fishing. I will look for medicinals in the tide pools as far from him as I can be.”

There was a smile on her mother’s lips as Em stared down at her from the balcony. “Why are you smiling, Mom?”

Emaline Baker made her way to the door to the lab hall. “Oh, nothing. Take a shower and get changed. You may want to keep your distance, but you will be joining us for dinner.”