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    “Elemental, you can get off me now.” Burn was lying under her and grinning.
    She kissed him quickly and got to her feet.
    He rose, and they stood as the terrifying view of thousands of insectoids rushed at them, chattering and clicking in delight.
    She inclined her head toward the matriarch. “I need to eat, madam. May I?”
    The matriarch clicked affirmation.
    Vexa hadn’t been planning to offer them the service of delivering their water, but the Gorwins had really ticked her off.
    She ate the stone, creating a path one-foot deep that zigzagged down the stone hillside to the edge of the village where she consumed enough rock to provide them with a good-sized holding tank.
    Chuckling, she used her hunger to consume handholds leading back to the light from her rapidly filling holding tank. Ten feet deep should be enough for casual water and they could easily structure something for standard drinking water on the pathway above.
    Burn reached in and hauled her out when she got within reaching distance. “Well done, Elemental.”
    She sighed. He had renamed her because her old designation was part of her old life. Elemental was her new call sign while on assignment to match Burn. That his name was his own, apparently, was not a matter for concern.
    “Thank you, Burn. How is the matriarch?”
    “She thanks you very kindly for the path and will name her next thirty children after you in honour of the tank. They are very pleased and wish us many children of our own.” His eyes were twinkling.
    “What?”
    “Apparently, they can see pheromone bonds, and we have one that is very strong.” Burn gave her a quick kiss and waved to Storic.
    The shuttle was waiting for them under guard by twenty Cawhiel. As they approached, the six-legged beings rose to their hind four legs and saluted with their arms. Vexa inclined her head as the guards passed them on their way to the village’s celebration.
    With one simple spring, they had ended a cycle of being blackmailed into growing drugs. The Cawhiel were capable of defending themselves against the Gorwins, as was evidenced by the hasty retreat that the attackers had engaged in.
    The safety of Novice Storic and the shuttle had been assured. No one had tried to get near it with the guards standing by.
    Storic smiled as she sealed the ship and prepared for take-off. “That went a lot better than the first one.”
    Vexa laughed. “I am aware of that. Thank you, Burn, for being with me while I worked.”
    He winked and settled back in his seat as they exited the atmosphere. “It was my pleasure. So, where to next?”
    Storic sent them a data pack on their small screens. “They are asking for you to assist in thawing a historic site. They found an ancient site on Horcoric and have requested your assistance for a few days with the possibility of weeks.”
    Vexa sighed and flicked through the scans. “Weeks?”
    Burn grinned. “I think it will be fun.”
    Storic laughed, “Good, it was you they requested. They have no idea that Elemental is on board.”
    He leaned over and kissed Vexa. “Days then.”
    She laughed and stroked her thumb over the pattern on his cheek. “Days then.”
    “Will you two stop that?” Storic grumbled.
    Burn leaned in and turned his head toward their pilot, “No.” He twisted back and kissed Vexa again.
    He was very good at kissing, she had to admit it even to herself. It made her wonder what spending the night with him would be like. Since they had started to make inroads on a physical relationship, she had extended her learning to include a sexual component.
    Both of his parent species had determined sex drives, and she had to imagine that he shared them. The details of Dhemon and Enjel mating were enough to make her blush, but both species had strictures on proceeding sexually until the female gave authorization, and as Vexa was one of the first of her species and one of the three only survivors of her designed world, she had no idea what, if