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lived her life modestly. By the time she was ready to be serious about dating, her father was cold on the ground and her mother was hardly around. Petra had shut all her pain and loss out and focused on her studies, pushing all thought of boys and relationships aside.
    But now Niko promised her something new, something exciting, and she was beginning to think she was ready to embrace it.
    All she had to do was get through an alien examination.
     

Chapter Eight – Niko
     
    She seemed unsure, but followed him out of the cruiser and across the courtyard, with only a slight hesitation. They went into the building where Darl had a temporary office. Petra stayed close to him as other Karalians approached, her unease evident by the tension in her body. Unconsciously, he squeezed her hand to reassure her, and a memory, long forgotten, sprung into his head.
    It was of his father, holding his hand as they walked along the beach, next to the ocean he loved so much. He couldn’t have been much more than five or six, and the waves were so big, he had felt as if they would swallow him whole. His father had held onto his hand, squeezing it and smiling down at him as he explained that there was nothing to fear from the ocean, or anything else in the universe, as long as you treated it with the respect it deserved.
    Glancing at Petra, beside him, he wondered if his father would have said the same thing about having a female living with him. He could offer her respect, and he would, but was it right not to fear her? She had a hold over him already, making him feel weak. He wanted to protect her, to possess her, and he already worried if those feelings might be a distraction on their mission.
    “Here is Darl’s office,” he said, looking in and seeing the doctor at his desk, studying a computer screen.
    “Will you stay with me?” she asked, hopefully.
    They had only just met, and yet there was already a bond between them, or was he imagining it? It was probably due to Niko being the only Karalian she had met, the only one who wasn’t a total stranger, that made her want him there.
    “Of course,” he agreed. What else could he do?
    “Ah, there you are. I thought I saw a flash of light, signalling your arrival on Karal,” Darl said, getting up to great Petra. “It’s good to meet you, Petra.”
    The doctor held out his hand, and instinctively Niko tightened his grip on the hand he still held, as if he thought Darl was going to steal her away from him.
    She lifted her right hand and shook the doctor’s offered hand, which puzzled Niko. The sim had never taught him this. What did it mean? Darl caught his look of confusion. “It’s an Earth custom.”
    “To touch hands like that?” Niko asked.
    “Yes, we do it in greeting. When we meet an acquaintance,” Petra explained.
    “I see.” Niko frowned. The Karal did not openly touch each other, except in combat training.
    “Now, let’s have a look at you, shall we?” Darl said and turned to walk away, heading towards the table in the middle of his office.
    Petra stood there, and looked up at Niko as if trying to find her courage. “It’s all right, you can trust Darl. He has looked after all of the females. And I swear I would not let anything happen to you.”
    She didn’t say anything, but walked forward letting go of his hand, and he found himself trying to hold onto her as long as possible as her fingers slipped through his, a sense of loss filling him when her skin was no longer in contact with his.
    Petra went to the examination table, stopping beside Darl. “What do you want me to do?”
    “Just sit on the side of the table. I want to take some blood to test. The results will be in tomorrow and if everything is okay, you will go on your mission. I also need to take your temperature and test your tag to check it’s working properly.”
    “What is a tag?” Niko asked.
    “It is a kind of computer chip that is embedded in all humans,” Darl said. “It gives us the