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captain arrived. You are medically cleared for travel and unsuitable for duty until we determine who is trying to kill you.”
    Mel scowled and looked between Dornin-tah and her doctor. They were sharing a look and Mel couldn’t make it out.
    She cleared her throat. “I don’t need to leave. Dr. Kvi has me on a hormone therapy. As soon as my attackers are identified, I am sure that I will be able to get back to work.”
    Kvi made a face. “About that. The therapy isn’t working. You will overpower it in a week or so and be right back where you started. Sorry. He really is your best bet. The doctors on Reuval are trained for this. They have history of vrasku there and they don’t share that kind of information with outsiders.”
    Shock rippled through her. Her view of her future suddenly tilted to the side and slid away. “I guess…I guess I will leave.”
    Dr. Kvi must have seen something in her face but Captain Dornin-tah nodded. “It is a good decision. It will take you no time to pack. I will help you to your quarters.”
    Mel nodded and swallowed. The doctor handed her a robe, and she put on the slippers that had been next to her in a cubbyhole and never used.
    It took a lot of effort to straighten limbs that had been stuck in bed for three days, not to mention the damage done by the bruising during the explosion. Her cuts had been healed, but her bruises were deemed reminders not to move too fast.
    Kvi stood in front of her as she made her careful way around the bed. “I am sending you away for your own safety.”
    The doctor did what she often did and stroked Mel’s hair. Mel had thought it had something to do with texture, but apparently, it was affection. “I am going to miss you, Kvi.”
    The doctor jerked her head and left the room.
    Captain Dornin-tah frowned. “Should I carry you?”
    She gave him a dark look. “Just let me loosen up. It takes a while.”
    He offered her his arm, and she was in enough pain to take it. When they had gone four blocks, she made an effort to straighten.
    Captain Dornin-tah asked her, “How were your guards?”
    “Two had minor injuries and two were seriously injured, but the medical team was fast and had us all in their care within minutes. Everyone will make a full recovery.”
    She steered him through the station to her quarters, not that he needed directions. When she got into her quarters, she looked around and grabbed her standard suit; she ripped off the patches and put it on the bed. “Well, since you have already seen it all, no sense in me wrestling with myself in the lav.”
    Mel shucked out of the robe, pulled loose the gown and dropped the med trousers that she had been wearing. She heard his inhalation and felt a little smug that it must look the way it felt.
    She sat at the edge of the bed, kicked off the slippers and she put her feet in the jumpsuit, pulling it up until she could stand again. With effort, she shimmied it up and over her hips, and from there, it was a flex and a groan, but she got her arms in the suit and the seal done up.
    The belt she put on had a mini version of her toolkit, and once it was in place, she felt a little better. Three minutes and one duffel bag and two years of her life were ready to travel.
    She looked at him with a tight smile. “Let’s go.”
    In hospital, she had pulled her hair into a ponytail, and she saw him stare at it wistfully.
    Mel put her bag on her shoulder and exited her quarters. “Why are you staring at my hair?”
    “It curls. It is a shame to tie it straight like that.”
    “It gets in my face when I am stuck in bed. It stays back until I can get it braided, and even then, it is under arrest.”
    “You had it loose…” He walked next to her and looked down at her with a heated memory in his eyes.
    “I did. I also was wearing a gown and on my day off. I dress for the occasion. Today, I am dressed to climb aboard a strange vessel and go to a world I have no reason to be on.”
    “And you are in