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not senile. And I can still see. You never look happy these days, but I would have thought training for combat would put a bit of glow stone light in your eyes.”
    The buxom woman must have been a beauty in her youth. She still possessed gorgeous yellow irises and the deep bronzed coloring so prized among his people. But her once blond hair had long ago faded to gray, and the lines between her nose and mouth sported heavy folds from years of laughter.
    “Earth sent a female. But please keep that information as well as the rest of our conversation to yourself.”
    “Agreed. Are you following the Federation guidelines?” she asked.
    “Yes. But . . .”
    “But you hate what you must do.” Helera softened her tone. “That’s because you are a noble man.
    “Noble men don’t torture women with sexual frustration.”
    “You’ve been taught to protect those who are weaker than you. Rystani treasure and protect their women, hence pushing the Earthling so hard, so fast, is not only unpleasant to you—it goes against every moral code from our world. You must now do what makes you sick inside.”
    “Warriors can do hard things if necessary—especially when the end result saves the lives of Rystani men, women, and children. But—”
    “Pushing her hard will protect her. And you can’t permit your personal distaste in training a woman to interfere with your task. Winning the Challenge is too important to our world.”
    “Treating her this way is still wrong.”
    “Sometimes we have to do what is wrong to do a greater good. Your father—”
    “Corban?” Kahn spat. “You would speak to me of him?”
    “He made a supreme sacrifice for our people, or we all would have starved. Can you do less?”
    Kahn had no choice. He knew he had no choice. But he’d needed to hear it. No matter how much he’d disapproved of his father’s decision, the sacrifice would not be made in vain. No matter how much he disliked what he must do, duty came first.
    “Thank you, Helera. You are wise as always.”
    “Stars be with you.” Helera was about to sign off.
    “Another moment, please,” Kahn requested.
    “Yes?”
    “The Earth woman . . . I never know what to expect from her.”
    “Is she so different from us?”
    Kahn tried to put his impression into words. “Tessa Camen doesn’t act like a Rystani woman would if taken from her home against her will. Rystani women are strong, but they’d panic, sob, and try tearful pleas to get their way. “
    “That is so.”
    “But from the first moment of contact when Tessa opened her brilliant green eyes and stared at me with more curiosity than fear, she’s used her resourceful brain instead of relying on emotions.”
    “That’s a bad sign. Federation scientists have determined the best way to invoke psi skills is to elevate frustration. By stimulating her sexually, you’ll increase her frustration to a frenzied peak and cause her neglected psi abilities to flex their muscles.”
    Kahn was grateful Helera was keeping the discussion scientific, impersonal. “But while Tessa seems to physically respond as a Rystani woman would have in her situation, the Earthling represses her frustration.”
    “She’s working against you, battening down her emotional reactions.”
    “Yes. Instead of strong fear, she’s exhibited merely weak anxiety; instead of panic, determination. She’s asking questions, gathering information, and assessing my answers like a field general.”
    “Has she shown any loss of self-control?”
    “Only once—when she attacked me.”
    “Oh my. Is she blind to your muscles or just dim-witted?”
    “Neither. Her attack was a systematic test of my defenses with a series of strikes to search for vulnerabilities.”
    “You have no fighting vulnerabilities.”
    “She didn’t know that. Yet, not once did she go for a death blow.”
    Helera grinned. “I can almost admire her character, except her skills in suppressing her primitive emotions are