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knot formed in my chest as I watched theplanetary system fade away into the distance. It was temporary, I assured myself. I would get my old life back.
    “Well? I’m waiting.”
    I swiveled back to face forward and sighed. “Fine. I promise not to go looking for him, or try to meet him accidentally. As much as it pains me, I will do everything in my power to avoid the man.”
    “And if you do happen to run into him, you will not speak or even bat your lashes at him.”
    “Oh, come on! What if he asks me a question?”
    “Pretend your throat has been cut.”
    “Yeah, that’ll really fool him.”
    “I can always arrange to make it real,” she said, her voice taking on a silky tone, as if the idea pleased her.
    “No, you can’t.” I grinned. “You’re programmed to protect your partner. And you can’t change who you were created to be, any more than I can. So why don’t we call a truce and try to get along?”
    She grumbled for a bit, and then gave in. “Truce.”
    Satisfied, I leaned back in the chair. “Do you have any more vids with Reynard in them?”
    “Agent Adams!”
    “Well, I have to start somewhere,” I told her. “Maybe if I watch him enough it’ll get him out of my system.” But even as another vid sprang up in front of me, I knew I was lying. I’d never been so instantly attracted to a male before. No way was watching a few vids going to get him out of my system.

CHAPTER 3
    T ime really flies when you’re immersed in learning about the culture and politics of a planet full of people, even when the facts are limited. After all, the Federation only had a half cycle to gather info before they were kicked off Madrea, and that was five cycles ago. But what they did get, along with what they pieced together from old records and added to the modern political brouhaha surrounding the new planet, was fascinating.
    Madrea’s original settlers had boarded the Zodiac , one of the first privately owned colony ships to leave Centaurius.
    According to Bureau records the human cargo had consisted of two groups that had stayed segregated after migrating to Centaurius from Old Earth. The first was a branch of the Romany people called the Bashalde, and the second comprised descendants of people from Spain, Italy, and France. The groups had only two things in common: a shared language and a hatred of modern technology. Each group longed for the days when life was simpler and work was done by hand. In other words, Dr. Daniels had been right. They were technophobes.
    The Bashalde were nomads, their society pastoral. Theyclaimed the southern deserts on the largest land mass of Madrea, traveling from city to city, selling or trading the animals they bred, offering up their crafts and performing.
    Although they roamed separately in family groups, the Bashalde were one people, ruled by one man, Chief Lowden. In the Bashalde culture, he was the spirit and heart and law of the clan. Anyone not belonging to a Bashalde tribe was considered a Gadjee , or outsider.
    The second group was basically a bunch of farmers, using their agrarian roots to turn the alien landscape into arable soil suitable for their Earth-normal crops. They claimed the northern part of the largest continent, and, as most social humans are prone to do, built cities.
    The majority of these municipalities were small communities, with the only really big city being Bastion, where the king’s castle was located. After so many generations, they’d forgotten the city was named after Francois Bastion, the captain of the Zodiac , had even forgotten their ancestors originated on Old Earth. They barely remembered Centaurius. And the rest of the universe had forgotten them, until an exploration team stumbled across Madrea six cycles ago.
    In itself, finding a lost human colony wasn’t that unusual. It happened every decade or so. What was unusual about Madrea was how closely they’d stuck to their original charter, barring anything that remotely smacked