“You’re leaving without me?” she asked, forgetting about the trinkets that were milling around in the basket at the foot of her bed. “You can’tleave without me!”

“You want me to stay? But you have your family here–”

“It will only take a few more weeks of treatments,” she assured him. “Maybe less. Can’t we go back together? It’s such a long trip. . . .”

Slowly, Reoh said, “I would have to ask Admiral Brand for an extension of my leave.”

Starsa put the lid on her trinkets to keep their noise muffled. “It would save Starfleet from having to send two ships for us.”

“That’s true,” Reoh agreed, but he was busy looking at the tick, its legs methodically moving even though it was upside‑down.

“And I think I can get you a private room,” she told him, watching him closely. “I’ve felt bad about squeezing you in with everyone.”

“I don’t mind sharing with your cousins,” Reoh denied. “They’re very nice boys.”

“And it doesn’t rain here all the time,” she assured him. “It should clear up in a few days. And I’ll be able to go home while I finish the therapy. There’s lots of things we can do then. Go to the simu‑races, and the sky‑dive. Or if you’re feeling stuck in the city, there’s a big parkland between Hohonoran and Swin, only an hour away. You feel like you’re in Yosemite in Earth . . . almost.”

“It’s not that I’m bored,” Reoh tried to explain. “But you’ve got everyone you need here with you–”

As if on cue, Starsa’s sister and her spouse appeared in the doorway, calling out greetings. Starsa hugged her sister, but she was trying to see Reoh, who was strategically trying to slip away. “Call the superintendent,” she urged him, over her sister’s shoulder. “Find out, okay? It would mean a lot to me.”

Reoh nodded uncertainly, holding up the tick before placing it on his empty chair. “I’ll do it right now.”

“Don’t rush off,” her sister protested. “I’ve been wanting to meet Starsa’s caraposa. Sit down and join us.”

Starsa felt the heat rush to her face as Reoh stammered and excused himself, saying, “I’m sorry. I have to send an important communiquй.”

Starsa mumbled good‑bye, but she didn’t know where to look. No wonder he wanted to get away! Why hadn’t she realized what her family was doing? They had picked up on her feelings for Reoh and assumed that he returned her admiration simply because he was such a truly good and kind man. She was a fool! After so long at the Academy, she hadn’t counted on the subliminal sensitivity the Oppalassa had for one another, developed from being forced to live on top of one another for centuries. When she realized she loved Reoh, she took it for granted, so they did, too.

Her sister touched her hand. “What’s wrong, Starsa?”

“He might have to leave,” she told her, knowing it was useless to lie about her feelings.

“I hope not. You’d miss him terribly.”

Starsa nodded, unable to say a word. The question was–would Reoh miss her?

It took a few days, but Reoh finally received a message back from Admiral Brand’s assistant, assuring him that he could stay on Oppalassa for an additional few weeks. Reoh got the distinct feeling that his request was the least of their worries.

He was watching Starsa’s other sister, Maree, trying to get food into her two boys. They were nearly as big as Reoh, but acted like ten‑year‑olds, poking at each other instead of eating. Reoh sat in the only other chair in the room, trying to stay out of the way. He preferred this room to the bedroom because it had a window overlooking the living towers of Hohonoran, marching down the steep hillside.

“Hello, everyone!” Starsa sang out, as she came through the door.

“Starsa!” the boys called out, scrambling up to hug her. She laughed and tipped her basket of trinkets over, letting the rodents and bugs crawl on the tiled floor.

“What are you doing home so soon?” her sister asked.

“They kicked me out. Mom stopped by and fetched me.” Starsa pointed upward. “She took my stuff up to their rooms. I guess I sleep there, but I thought the boys would like the trinkets.”

She left them shouting over the intricate constructs, coming towards Reoh. “Hi.”

“I’m glad they released you,” he said, not sure what to say. Her body had changed in only a few weeks. It was a subtle difference, but a vital one. She even moved differently, more smoothly, like everything now fit together properly.

“I made them send me home,” she told him in a confidential voice. He could smell her skin, she was so close. “I want to have some fun with you.”

Reoh swallowed, not sure how he could tell her his doubts. The way her sister smiled over at them made it clear. Starsa’s entire family was acting like they were pledged to each other. He wasn’t sure how they had formed that mistaken impression, but he could find no polite way to correct them.

“Let’s go on the balcony,” Starsa suggested over the squeals of her nephews.

Outside they heard the din of the city noises, and the low percussion sound of a pneumatic drill, digging the support posts for yet another tower just uphill. But the balcony offered a liberating view of the city, nearly 180 degrees of shimmering forcefields that encased the towers. Reoh moved carefully, barely able to see the rainbow edge of the forcefield at the edge of their balcony. He couldn’t get used to not having a railing.

Starsa went right to the edge, of course. He smiled, glad to see a bit of her fearlessness had returned. He would hate to have her forever bowed down by the loss of her innocence.

She checked to be sure her sister couldn’t hear. “I heard about the failure of the power grid on Earth. And the declaration of martial law. They think there’s an invasion force coming, don’t they?”

“They’re preparing for it,” he agreed, not expecting this.

Looking over the city, she asked, “Are you leaving on the Cochrane?”

Reoh hesitated. “I probably should, Starsa.”

“Why?”

He was glad she was still looking away from him. She was notoriously blunt, but this could stretch even her limits. “Because of what your family thinks. You know, that caraposastuff.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t acting as shocked as he thought she would. “That bothers you?”

“Uh, I thought it would bother you.”

She shyly smiled. “I don’t mind it. It’s just my busybody family.”

“Really?” Now he didn’t know what to think.

“I know this wasn’t your idea, Reoh. It was thrust on you. You only meant to be sweet, bringing me home and taking such good care of me along the way. They don’t understand that’s just the way it is in Starfleet. We take care of each other.”

“Yes, we do.” He kept thinking Starsa didn’t understand what was happening, which was not an unreasonable assumption when it came to her. Yet she basically said she didn’t care if her family called him her “boyfriend.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Starsa grinned at him. “Don’t you want to stay with me?”

Nev Reoh felt the tightness in his stomach ease. He never wanted to leave Starsa behind. He wouldn’t be comfortable unless he could personally make sure she got back to the Academy safely. But Starsa was offering him more–or at least it seemed that way. If he stayed, he’d have a few more weeks here and the trip back home to find out how she really felt about him.

“If you’re sure,” he said, waiting for her nod. “Then I’ll stay.”

“Good!” She beamed at him, then faced the city again, as if those brief words had settled everything to her satisfaction. “But what if the Dominion invades Earth? What will we do then?”

Reoh turned to face her homeworld. He had a lot to see in the next few weeks. He wanted to find out everything there was to know about Oppalassa.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “There’s hundreds and hundreds of starbases, and hundreds of starships. Even if the Dominion attacks Earth, we’ll always have Starfleet.”