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though she was not a direct relative like Bana.
    “—trouble.”
    “Yes.” He could not deny this truth.
    “Your squad—”
    Shan shifted. Too many home truths too close together did that to him.
    “I doubt their inhibitors have ever been tested this severely.” Amusement filtered into her tone and scent. “Or yours.”
    He didn’t react to the semi-taunt, other than a slight rise of his brows, as if he did not know of what she spoke.
    She sobered. “You can not protect her, Commander.”
    And if he was inclined to try, consider what he could unleash on his family, her eyes added, though he was relieved she did not speak the words. He had heard women were more compassionate, more tender in their feelings. He saw neither in her eyes. Of course, he’d also heard women were practical—that men became less so with the inhibitors turned down. Perhaps they were correct. His squad had certainly lost cohesion when her suit retracted—he halted dangerous thoughts. Despite the safe zone, it was still possible for Calendria to pick up the scent of desire from him.
    What was it about the alien that scrambled his thinking, that so impacted the inhibitor? If this were what a woman did to a man’s brain, would he not be wise to avoid partnering? The idea had appeal. He did not wish to give up space travel. It was dirt side that felt unnatural, constricting. Wrong.
    “Perhaps you won’t have to worry about her.”
    Shan looked at her, his frown too quick to stop.
    “She looked ill.”
    “The scans showed no illness.” They had recorded she was in need of sustenance and rest. Bana would take care of the sustenance issue. The rest would come when night fell. Otherwise she was remarkably healthy for one who appeared to be a warrior. Not even a scar. Did that make her good or lucky?
    “Are we sure our scans know enough alien biology to know?”
    “Internally she is no different from you or I.” Facts discerned without vivisection or sedation. That they were also heresy could be a problem if Calendria decided to share them with someone in the Authority. Of course, he could also report her waste of resources on the fallings. Idle study was not encouraged, nor supported.
    “Did the scan tell where she came from? How she got here?”
    “It does not read minds.” More’s the pity. Did she know about the Zalistria ? Was she involved in its disappearance? If he shared this with Calendria, would it ease her concerns or give her more to report when they returned to Keltinar?
    “She’s young.”
    Implied in her tone were all the questions Shan had and more. How had she arrived here? Who had sent her? Who would have so little care for a young, fertile female? Why had her arrival unleashed flashes of things, memories that couldn’t be, recollections just out of reach that felt more right than now? Why did he feel a need to protect her that exceeded his touch pledge? Was it even possible to protect her without destroying his family?
    The impossible just takes longer.
    Behind him, the water shut off, deepening the unnatural silence that had reigned since their return from the fallings collection with Ashe. An air of waiting hung heavy in the warm, still air. He could boost the air filtration to ease the heat and damp, but there was no way to filter out the unease. It wasn’t solely about Ashe. His unease felt more since he’d brought her into camp, but he’d felt it before, arrived knowing that something was wrong. That’s why he’d set the filtration closer to the planet’s temperature. Their cloak was good, but the Zelk had found a camp once by scanning for temperature variations. There should be no Zelk in system, but his instincts felt trouble close. Did not mean a Zelk problem. The strange fallings qualified as big trouble without the Zelk in the mix. The unknown could be as dangerous as the known.
    “What’s she doing here?”
    He hesitated, but it could not be kept secret when his squad already knew. “She claims