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spread the more benign infection that was easy to defend against and thereby give the other animals a fighting chance.
    The idea of benign infection was a little odd, but stranger things had saved lives, so Zez was willing to help.
    It only took an hour to complete the herd injections, from eldest to youngest.
    “We are done, Zez.”
    She nodded and stepped away from the centre of the herd, walking calmly out of the path of the beasts and up the hill to where Immune was waiting.
    She took a deep breath and released the herd; the silence was broken in an instant by the pounding thunder of hooves.
    In under a minute, the field was clear of all living things except for Immune and Zez.
    She turned and walked toward the shuttle.
    “Zez, wait.” Immune had the injectors trailing behind him like a mechanical trail.
    She paused and turned. “Yes, Immune?”
    He sighed and stepped toward her. “I am sorry that I called you a murderer.”
    She scowled. “It is what I am.”
    “It is part of what you are. The rest of you is a charming, funny and devastatingly attractive woman that I would like to get closer to.”
    The entire bulk of his speech surprised her.
    “Why? You don’t condone what I did.”
    “That is correct, but I do understand it. I forgot to acknowledge that if you hadn’t acted as you did, your sister would have died.”
    “I thought she was dead.”
    “Your thoughts don’t matter. The deeds matter, and your deeds saved a life, possibly two. If you hadn’t acted, your recruiter would have been injured as well. Also, you were a child with a child’s impulse control.”
    “You are making excuses for me, but I don’t need them. I know what I did, and there is no regret.”
    He frowned. “I am not explaining myself correctly.”
    “No, you are doing fine. I just don’t wish to engage in a romantic entanglement with a male who is willing to overlook my criminal past. I was a thief as well, if that makes it easier.”
    He reached out to her and then paused. “May I at least be your friend?”
    “If you think you can manage that, feel free.”
    Zez nodded and headed back to the shuttle. Immune would do the paperwork, and she would be able to get a quiet meal before she retired to her quarters with another series of stories.
    There would be some downtime before the next mission. There was always downtime between missions.
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    Eight months of travel had thawed her attitude toward Korlin. They had created a truce between them mission by mission that finally enabled them to laugh together.
    Zez bemoaned the fact that she hadn’t been able to find more than a soft blanket for the incoming niece or nephew. She had sent it by Citadel courier between missions, and her sister had received it gladly.
    Korlin laid in the next course, and he opened a file. “Zez, have you noticed this?”
    She was reading, as usual, and looked up as he focused on a pair of figures in one of the vid records of their missions. “What am I looking at?”
    “This couple.”
    “I don’t recognize them.” She squinted at the dark figures.
    “Well, this is where it gets strange.” He flicked open nine other files, and each of them had the same couple in it, over and over it was the same pair on ten different worlds.
    “I can’t make out their features. Are you sure that it is the same couple?”
    “I am sure. It goes beyond coincidence.”
    “Who are they?” She focused on the images. “All I can see are shadows.”
    “That is odd in itself. Look at this larger picture.” He drew the imager back, and the folks next to the shadowy couple were in bright sunlight.
    “Okay, now that is weird.” She got up and leaned on his shoulder while she stared at the image. Her heart thudded in a strange recognition.
    “Your face changed.”
    “I feel I know them. I don’t, but I think I should.” She reached out to touch the projection, but it flickered as her fingers passed through it.
    He patted her hand on his