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Ziggy jerked awake at the knock on the bedroom wall. She rolled over and blinked sleepily, trying to bring the newcomer into focus. “Hello?”

“Please excuse the intrusion, Ms. Alara. I have your clothing for the meeting and the official reception.”

The male was distinctly green, even to Ziggy’s exhausted gaze.

“Oh. Hello.”

She sat up and looked down at herself, sighing in relief when she noted that she had slept in her clothes.

The male was leaning in her doorway and he had a silky wave of blue fabric over his arm.

“I have your clothing for the event today. Your breakfast is waiting. Please prepare and join me in the outer room.”

He stepped forward and put the gown on the edge of her bed. She simply watched him drop it off and as he walked out she stared after him with her eyes wide.

When he was in the outer room she shifted and grabbed the dress while easing into the lavatory. She leaned against the closed door and blinked rapidly. “Whew.”

With an eye toward speed she stripped and left her clothing in a pile, entering what her mind told her was the cleansing unit.

The shower was peculiar. She stood on the depressions that were meant for feet and pressed the only button in the area while she closed her eyes.

Light and wind struck her, startling a yelp out of her. It was exactly as the memories had shown her. Her body tingled but she was squeaky clean.

Ziggy bit her lip as she held up the dress. It was long, elegant, and would not be appreciative of underwear. The fabric would cling tightly where it touched and she didn’t want to destroy the line of the garment, but she was not keen on going commando.

She slithered into the gown and admired the fit in the long mirror. It certainly was flattering, and the deep blue made her midnight eyes bright and mysterious at the same time.

Her long brown hair was hanging straight, the side effect of the cleansing unit. It removed all oil and dirt but it acted as a flat iron.

The rumble of her stomach drove her out of the bathroom after she had attended to all other morning matters including a peculiar toothbrush.

She peeked around the corner of her bedroom, watching him at the dining table. “Are there shoes to go with this gown?”

The male turned slowly and smiled. “Of course. By the door. Now, come and have something to eat. Our cooks made an effort to provide you with something familiar.”

She sniffed appreciatively as he lifted the lid on the tray. Eggs, toast, meat and a side of an unusual fruit were a charming way to start the day.

Eating out of reflex was the only way she could keep from staring at the man across from her. The gill slits on his neck were obvious even though she kept her head aimed at her food.

“The councillors are excited to meet you.”

She almost choked on a piece of succulent fruit that crossed the line between berry and melon.

“What? How many people know about me?”

She looked up and met his black gaze.

He chortled and there was a wicked gleam in his eyes. “You have been a creature of myth and legend for the last five years. The survivors spoke of you, but since you were never reported abducted there were no records to tie you to the Tokkel ship.”

“What is your name?”

“I am Commander Lyneer, personal assistant and bodyguard to the shifter councillor.”

She blinked. “But you are a mer. Why would you work for a shifter?”

He tilted his head. “All questions will be answered in time. But the mother ship of the Nine mixes species whenever it can to relieve racial tensions.”

She swallowed and took a sip of the water on her tray. “Well, I suppose that we should get going.”

He smiled. “You are correct. I should have been earlier but I was ordered to let you sleep in.”

Ziggy didn’t ask who had given the order. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to know.

It was comforting to know that the men in the life pods had survived. Launching an escape pod during a firefight was never a good idea, but there had been little choice.

She got to her feet and checked her gown for crumbs. Coming out clean, she turned and looked for the shoes.

Satin pumps with an ankle strap were in the same shade as her gown. The heels were sturdy but she would be three inches taller. Ziggy stepped into the shoes and then bent double to buckle them into place.

When she looked back at an upside down Lyneer, he was staring at her backside in a most appreciative manner. “Take a picture because this is the only time you are going to see this view.”

Standing upright she took a few careful steps and nodded. “Ready when you are.”

She noticed that he was fighting a grin as he took her arm and escorted her out of the guestroom, past the guards and through the ship.

“How far are we from where you are taking me?”

“About ten minutes. May I say, your accent for the language of the Nine is quite captivating.”

She blushed. “Thank you, I don’t know where I picked it up.”

She almost missed his muttered, “I have a fairly good idea.”

She was learning from him as they walked, her knowledge of the tank and humidity system that he required for daily function was becoming extensive.

It wasn’t the first time that she had wished that her talent let her learn more emotional information, but technical seemed to be her area of extraction.

She could learn how to rebuild engines, program computers and create the perfect hybrid roses, but she couldn’t find out what folks had done on their summer vacations.

The block to her learning curve frustrated the hell out of her.

She tried to keep her mind calm and she accepted the information that Lyneer offered her. He may not have known that he was offering it, but she was learning about the structure and coordination of the ship as they made their way into the heart of the vessel.

The slow flow of other pedestrians indicated their path, so Ziggy was confused when Lyneer steered her into a side hallway that snaked around the main area. “Where are we going?”

“You have a meeting to attend before the ceremony.”

The way he said it gave her a shiver of unease. “What kind of meeting?”

He opened the door and shoved her through. “Think of it as a reunion.”

The room was circular, and a long conference table snaked around it. The only break in the circle was the small path that she took.

Lyneer whispered. “Stand on the central podium and answer what is asked.”

Ziggy was nervous, there was no correlation for this procedure with any of the minds she had touched. She was in a situation that none of her knowledge donors had experienced. Shadows covered the people at the table, but she could make out nine silhouettes.

“Signy Alora, you have been brought here to answer a few questions that only you can answer.”

An image hovered in front of her. She saw a human woman watching the Tokkel near her with suspicion and licking her lips lightly as one touched her skin.

A deep voice that resonated in her mind spoke from the shadows. “Do you recognise this image, Ms. Alora?”

She shook her head. “I do not.”

“Can you guess where this image was captured?”

“It looks like a Tokkel experimental bay.”

She tried to look away, but everywhere she looked, the image remained in front of her eyes.

“How do you come to be familiar with the Tokkel experimental facilities?”

She paused. “I saw news reels after the battles.”

“Do you recognise the woman in the image?”

The deep voice continued.

“No, should I?”

She swallowed.

“Usually, folk can recognise themselves in an image, Ms. Alora.”

She paled.

“What about this image?”

Ziggy watched the image of herself speak to the people in the room and shepherd them out into the hall and to the pods.

“I have never seen that image before.”

It was the truth. She had been in it, not watching it.

A chuckle ran through the room around her.

The voice said, “We are aware that you have not seen those images, do you recognise yourself in that image?”

She sighed and her shoulders slumped. “I do.”

“What about these events?”

Clips started and ran of her sprinting down the hall with her ankle clearly showing the black mark where they had started to tag her. They showed her entering the room where the captives of the Nine were held and emerging with them minutes later.

“Please explain the following image.”

She blushed to the roots of her hair as the image of her holding her handsome alien and kissing him was played over and over until she held up her hands. “Enough. I was trying to knock him out and the only way I know to do it is to drain his current memory. So, I kissed him, stunned him, and wedged him into the pod.”

The image of her closing the pod with tears in her eyes was unmistakable.

“I didn’t want to keep any of them from getting home. They had a place in the fight and I didn’t. They needed to be back with their troops.”

She waited.

“How did you know that these were military men?”

Ziggy looked around the room, her own face superseded over the shadowed figures. “I learned it from their minds.”

A murmur ran through those assembled.

“Describe the process.”

She wondered at the curiosity she could feel swirling in the room. “I touch someone and I am able to copy their technical knowledge to my mind.”

“This includes languages?”

She shifted from foot to foot. “It does.”

A woman’s voice asked. “Does the information fade over time?”

She bit her lip, unsure of how to answer the Shadows. “It goes from immediately accessible knowledge to a dim memory.”

“How many of our languages do you know?”

The woman tapped her fingers and there was a distinctly wooden sound.

She paused and counted, “Four racial dialects and the common language of the Nine.”

The masculine voice spoke again. “Why was it a kiss, Ms. Alora?”

“Pardon?”

“When you incapacitated the officer in the pod, why was it a kiss? You could have gotten a similar reaction from contact if you had tried.”

She opened and closed her mouth as she tried to think of a reason. “It seemed like the best thing to do. It was instinct.”

Low murmurs filled the room and she was suddenly unsure. They were blocking her audio input somehow. She couldn’t make out any of the words and it scared her.

She wove her fingers together in an effort to stop them from trembling.

Her fate was in their hands and she couldn’t even see them.