Page 10 of Proslo

“They do in the regular shuttles. This is one of our express models, capable of faster speeds this close to a major gravity well.”

“Oh.”

The ship began to hum and vibrate almost imperceptibly.

“And we have lift-off,” Zaneb announced. “Would you like me to activate the view screens?”

“Yes, please,” she replied, her eyes shining in excitement.

I reached over and squeezed her hand, happy to see her like this. Hopefully, this upbeat version of her would last and help her adjust. I knew this was a huge upheaval, as I was also experiencing it. Sure, we’d both enrolled in the mate matching program, but the odds were so slim unless you paid a galaxy-wide service that it was always a cause for celebration when one was found. Even then, you might not find your mate until a new world joined, just as Earth had, and its participation was limited by treaty to the Fleet and occasionally to the council’s extended service. So it was no surprise that we each had thought today would be the same as every day, only with her gaining scholarship funds a little differently than most of her classmates would. A huge change, yes, but I hoped she looked forward to living with me as much as I did her.

7

BETTY

When the shuttle arrived, two human males who had to be Chet and Benji greeted Zaneb.

“We thought an early dinner followed by a movie sounded good,” one of them said.

Zaneb gave him a blistering kiss. “Sure does,” he agreed once they broke apart. “I’m off now, so when were you thinking?”

The three of them walked off, discussing their plans as they strolled away, leaving the shuttle to the flight line workers to deal with.

“So, Chet and Benji,” I said, shaking my head.

“Had to be,” Proslo agreed just as a group of Mylos approached us.

“Doctor Proslo, we just heard your good news,” one of them said. “Congratulations to you both.”

“You have been truly star blessed,” a second one said.

“Thank you. This is my mate, Betty.”

A small round of hellos greeted me and I replied back with my own greeting, shifting my weight to my other foot.

“Let me carry Pumpkin,” Proslo said, and I hesitated.

“Are you sure?”

He gave a low, rumbling chuckle. “I am. He is one small feline in an enclosed carrier, not much trouble at all. You’ve been holding him the entire journey, however, so your arms must be tired.”

I held my hand out wordlessly and he grasped the backpack’s straps, adjusting them so they fit over his shoulders. “I believe this is how it is meant to be worn?”

“Yeah,” was all I could say, loving how cute he looked. This broad shouldered alien male, a sexy silvering fox of a man, peering down as if trying to see my orange cat over his shoulder as he presented his back to me for inspection was a sight I committed to memory.

“Excellent,” he beamed. “Now Pumpkin can get more used to my presence while having a better look around.”

“Uh huh.” I clutched my roses to my chest.

“I love your cat!” the second man exclaimed. “He looks a lot like my Felix!”

“You have a cat?” I asked him, only then hearing how stupid that sounded because hello, he’d just told me that he did.

“Three,” he replied proudly. “And a house rabbit. My mate Jim said he thought we should adopt a dachshund who’s looking for his final home in his old age, so I think we might have a dog soon too, because he’s right. We’re waiting to hear back though.”

Fuck me. The Mylos were certainly proving their reputation to be true thus far. Advanced tech - check. Kind to animals - check. Faithful romantics - check. I could go on and on, but there was no point. I knew every box would have a green check mark.

Proslo was checking that thing he had on his wrist. At first, I’d thought it was a watch but upon closer inspection, I could see it was some sort of embedded device. He looked at me and smiled again. “I was just checking to see where we should go. Our new quarters are as ready as they’ll be until your furniture arrives. It’s quite a convenient location. We are only two decks away from the main recreational deck and one away from our Med Bay.”