Uzahne had been right. The porters made short work of loading the ship for the journey. Luxea went to the navigation computer to get it to compute the proper course to the Fogaris System. It was a fair distance away, even in interstellar terms, and we would need to make several hyperspace jumps to get there. The universe was a big place and there was a lot of room in it; but, there were also lots of things in it to avoid as well.

With so many different spacial anomalies like black holes, rogue planetary bodies, asteroid fields, nebulae, and pretty much everything else that could occur in space going on, making one direct jump over such a long distance was more hazardous than jumping into the middle of a star. After a short debate with Rhubin and Luxea, we decided that caution should win out over speed, especially if we were going to be in plenty of danger at the end of the trip.

The delegates were settled into the spare room with the four bunks, and their two security guards stood outside the room. Now that they were at their posts and the delegates were safe, we could leave. Rhubin disengaged the dock and the ship floated out slightly, then he added power to the engines. I went to the spare room and nodded to the guards as I pointed to the door. The guard beside the panel nodded back and turned to hit the button for the door chime.

“Come in!” A woman's voice almost yelled, and the guard hit the button to open the normal door.

“You don't have to be so excited to see him, Sheph.” Ahaen said with a sigh.

“He's gorgeous.” Sheph said with a chuckle. “All that hair...”

“I hope the room is to your liking.” I said without stepping into the room, and the three women turned to look at me. Uzahne sat on the couch by the table, Sheph sat on a lower bunk, and Ahaen stood by the wall with her arms crossed. They each had changed from their ornate dresses into more practical loose fitting pants and tops. It was a little odd that they still matched, especially since their hair was so similar in style and color.

“It's wonderful.” Uzahne said. “When I heard you had a fast courier ship, I expected there to be bare metal with bolts sticking out everywhere and exposed wires all over the place.” She said with a smile. “I'm very happy to be surprised that it isn't.”

“What are you doing here?” Ahaen asked.

“Ahaen, don't be rude to our host.” Uzahne said as she glanced at the other woman.

“I wasn't being rude.” Ahaen said. “I would tell him to get the hell out and to stop bothering us if I was going to be rude about it.”

Uzahne chuckled and looked back at me. “Why are you here?”

“We're about to jump into hyperspace and I wondered if you would like to see it up close.” I said. “I didn't realize I was disturbing you, though.” I said and gave her a quick bow of my head and walked away. I had barely taken three steps when I heard three pairs of running feet.

“We'd love to!” The three women said as one.

I held in my smile and turned to see the three of them poking their heads out through the doorway. I waved at the hallway, and they stepped out of the room with much more decorum than they had just demonstrated. They walked over to me with the two security guards right behind them.

“The cockpit is a good size, so you should all have a great view.” I said and led them to the cockpit. “Passenger observers.” I said to Rhubin and Luxea, who turned their heads to look.

“I can see by your faces that you haven't seen this before.” Rhubin said and gave them a sly smile. “Get ready for the best light show in the universe!”

Luxea chuckled. “You're overselling the product.”

“Hey, a pilot has to be a bit of a showman, doesn't he?” Rhubin asked with a grin.

“Just fly the ship.” Luxea said and turned her chair to face the delegates. “Don't be shy. Come in.”

The three delegates stepped forward and the two guards stood just outside while I stood off slightly to the side to let them see.

“We'll reach the Lagrange point in about a minute.” Luxea said.

“The what?” Ahaen asked.

“Lagrange point. It's the point in space where the gravity of the planet and the gravity of the star it orbits, cancel each other out.” Luxea explained. “It gets a lot more complicated than that when moons and other celestial objects are involved.”

“That's amazing.” Sheph said.

“Oh, you haven't seen anything yet.” Rhubin said. “Twenty seconds.”

Uzahne took a step back and leaned in close to me. “We've travelled on dozens of ships and seen more planets than a normal person should.” She whispered. “This is the first time someone has offered to let us watch.”

I didn't say anything and just pointed at the cockpit's viewscreen. Uzahne turned her head just in time to see the spectacle.

“...aaaaaand jump into hyperspace!” Rhubin exclaimed and pushed the levers and hit the button.

The three women's eyes nearly bulged out of their heads as the blanket of normal stars shifted and warped into different colors, then they gasped when the stars became twisting beams of light and shot past the ship.

“You see?” Rhubin turned to them. “I told you...”

Luxea's hand shot out and covered his mouth. “Don't ruin the moment.”

No one else said anything for the next few minutes as the women recovered from the sight, then Uzahne turned and looked at me. I was surprised to see astonishment on her face.

“Take us back to our room, please.” Uzahne said in a normal tone of voice.

I stepped back and motioned to the hallway, then led them back to the spare room. I stepped to the side and waved them inside the room, then stepped in front of the door without going in myself as the two guards took up their positions on either side of the door. They had similar surprised looks on their faces as the delegates.

I guess they've never seen it before, either. I thought.

“Thank you.” Uzahne said. “We will remember this gesture for the rest of our lives.”

“I was amazed the first time I saw it, too.” I said, and the other two women stared at me. I tapped the blast shield over my eyes and smiled. “This doesn't limit my sight because I use Presence to see.”

Ahaen and Sheph gasped at those words and they covered their chests automatically.

“He hasn't looked at us like that.” Uzahne said. “Have you, Hunter?”

I shook my head. “I was advised a while ago to not use Presence techniques on anyone if I didn't intend to sleep with them.” I said, then I made fists with my hands and frowned as I struggled to keep my anger in check. “I ignored that advice once, and she paid for my mistake with her life.”

Everyone gasped, including the two guards.

“You killed her with Presence?” Uzahne asked, and I saw the two guards put their hands on their laser pistols.

“No, but that was the result.” I said, and small bolts of lightning flowed over my knuckles. “We were together for a week, then she gave me information she shouldn't have and they killed her.”

“I'm so sorry.” Uzahne said and stepped close to me as her hand reached out and touched my fist. She hadn't noticed the lightning because she was looking at my face, so she caught her breath as the small lightning bolts passed over her fingers and came back to me. Her head dropped down and she stared at her hand as the bolts passed over her hand again. “I felt that and it didn't hurt!”

“Only because I don't want it to.” I said.

Uzahne startled and looked back up at my face.

“None of you need to worry about me looking at you in that way.”

“What if I asked you to look?” Uzahne asked, and I could see on her face that she didn't want me to.

“It still won't happen.” I said. “I learned my lesson the hard way.”

Uzahne nodded and let my hand go, and the little lightning bolts didn't try to follow her. “Will you join me for breakfast tomorrow morning?”

“Your guards think it's too soon for that.” I said with a small smile.

The two guards jumped slightly and Uzahne looked at them. She saw that their hands were on their laser pistols and were ready to draw them. I took a step back from the doorway and all five women were looking at me with wide eyes.

“Good day, delegates.” I said and bowed slightly, then walked down the hallway towards my room.

*

“I told you that he was dangerous!” Ahaen said.

“At least wait until the door is shut.” Sheph said and one of the guards hit the button to close the normal door.

“I knew taking this ship was going to be a mistake.” Ahaen said. “We should have waited for the passenger liner.”

“If we waited that long, we could miss the entire conflict.” Sheph said.

“That was always a possibility. It doesn't matter what transport we took.” Ahaen said. “Plus, we would have had a lot more people to talk to during the trip.”

“Now you're just making up excuses.” Sheph said. “Did his admission rattle you that much?”

“Yes! What information did she give him? What did he do after that? Did he mourn her? Is he a criminal that we should avoid if people are getting killed around him?”

“That's enough babbling.” Uzahne said. “All of that is immaterial at this point. We've already left and are on our way to our duty station.” She said and turned to face them. “I don't think he was supposed to tell us what happened, so it must be eating him up inside and he needed to tell us.”

“Tell you, you mean.” Ahaen said with a huff.

“If you weren't so standoffish, perhaps he might have spoken to you as well.” Uzahne said.

“I don't want him to speak to me.” Ahaen said. “Sheph adores his body and you fancy his personality. The two of you together could form the perfect woman for him.”

“Actually, I think you would be more to his liking.” Uzahne said.

Ahaen blinked her eyes for a moment. “Excuse me?”

“You're outgoing, look at things pragmatically and see the downside immediately, and you can assess a situation quickly and act upon that information.”

“I have to reluctantly agree.” Sheph said. “You're definitely more his type than either Uzahne or I am.”

“I am not!” Ahaen said and crossed her arms again and huffed, and Uzahne and Sheph exchanged knowing glances.

“Well, that's a moot point anyway.” Sheph said. “You heard what he said.”

“Unlike you, I understood the qualifier he stated.” Uzahne said. “He won't do anything with someone that he doesn't intend to be involved with, which means he will with someone he does intend to get involved with.”

“You can't seriously think that...”

“Oh, not any of us.” Uzahne said. “It's clearly much too soon for him to even think about another woman in that way right now. His pain of loss will fade eventually, though. When it does...”

“He... he might devote everything he is to whoever he chooses.” Sheph said.

“Or whoever gets chosen for him.” Uzahne said. “I kind of regret accepting this fast transport.”

“What? Why?” Ahaen asked, surprised.

“Now that I've met him, I know it won't be me that will have his utter devotion.” Uzahne said. “I won't have him at my side as we face the daunting task ahead of us and he won't be willing to die to save us.”

“Well, when you put it like that...” Ahaen started to say.

“Now you want him! Ha ha!” Sheph laughed.

“A personal guard would be just what I need.” Ahaen said. “Someone to dote on me, fulfill all my needs, and be at my beck and call day and night.”

“You want a personal servant, not a personal guard.” Uzahne said.

“No, he needs to protect me all the time, too.” Ahaen said.

“You're not asking for much.” Sheph said. “I suppose you want him to be rich, too.”

“It wouldn't hurt.” Ahaen said haughtily, then they all laughed.

*

“So, do you want first shift with the clucking hens, or should I take it?” The guard on the right whispered.

“We should flip for it.” The guard on the left said and took out a large copper coin that her village used instead of credit chips. “That way it's fair and we can only complain about bad luck for the next eight hours.”

The guard on the right chuckled. “All right. I'll call when you flip it.”

The guard flipped the heavy coin into the air and the other guard called 'wings'. The coin landed and bounced on the floor, then landed with the picture of 'wings' facing up.

“Yes!” The guard on the right said as the other guard picked up her coin. “Have fun!”

“Thanks.” The guard on the left said and nodded, so the right guard hit the button for the door chime.

“Yes, come in.” A woman's voice said and the guard hit the button to open the door.

“I'll bring your evening meal and then I'm off until the morning.” The left guard said.

“Ooo!” Ahaen almost moaned. “I'd like...”

The guard took their orders and left the room to go to the kitchen. She quickly prepared the elaborate meals for the delegates and two of the ration meals that had been allocated to her and the other guard.

“Hey, there.” Luxea said as she came into the kitchen. “That looks good!”

“Thank you.” The guard said.

“Hey, are those basic rations?” Luxea asked as she saw the two rationed food trays.

“Yes.”

“I can't believe that the delegates would...”

“It's the government's policy.” The guard said.

“Well, I don't see any government around here, do you?” Luxea said and reached up to the cupboard above her head and took out two of the supplements that the ship had years worth of in storage. “Let me see those trays for a second.”

The guard wasn't sure what she was doing; but, she handed the trays over and watched as Luxea cracked open the supplements and sprinkled them over the two meals, then put them into the hydration infuser. Luxea hit the button and two seconds later, it beeped and she took the two trays out and handed them to the guard.

“Believe me, it makes a world of difference.” Luxea said. “Make sure you help yourself, okay?”

The guard nodded and watched as Luxea grabbed her own supplements and did the same thing to two more rationed food trays, then left the kitchen. The guard took the food trays back to the spare room, gave the delegates their meals, then stepped out of the room so she and the other guard could eat.

“What is in this thing?” The guard on the right asked as she took a spoonful of what was supposed to be potatoes. “It doesn't taste like paste!”

The guard on the left took a spoonful herself and her eyes widened. “It's good!” She said, then answered the other guard's question. “The navigator showed me a supplement to add to it.”

“I hope she lets us have more of them.” The guard on the right said. “It's the first time I've had rations that were edible!”

The guard on the left chuckled and they finished their meals. She waited until the delegates were done, then took all the trays back to the kitchen and dropped them into the available slot. She went back to the spare room and prepared herself for the hardest part of her job before she went inside.

Interacting socially with the delegates.

She was well-practised in hiding how awkward it was for her to spend casual time with people that only saw her as a bodyguard and not a person. It wasn't as if they were mean or degrading about it, it was just that she had an assigned job and that was all they saw her as. A shield to protect them. She liked her job and she did it willingly, and sometimes eagerly; but this time, it was the first time she thought that protecting someone might not be worth the hassle.

She held in her laugh at so casually dismissing her chosen profession, just because she didn't like one small aspect of the current job. At least we'll have more guards when we get to Chofaris. She thought happily.

*

We were in hyperspace for almost a week before we exited into normal space and Luxea had to adjust for course corrections and make sure the next jump was viable. We were in a relatively empty part of space, so there was no need to calculate for gravitational effects on the next jump. It was only going to be a short hop to get us past a nasty acid-like nebula, according to Rhubin, then we were going to make a three day hop to the next jump point. After that, we only had one more jump to reach the Fogaris System.

During this first normal space part of the flight, one of the delegates requested my attendance at a meal. I was surprised that it was Ahaen that had extended it, since I figured she didn't like me at all. I attended it, quite reluctantly, and I was surprised that none of them were hostile to me. Even the two security guards seemed to give me contemplative looks. I was tempted to ask them what was going on, then figured it was better for everyone if I didn't try to figure out this little mystery.

Even though I didn't try to be charming, it came off that way, and the delegates seemed to have a great time. I didn't dissuade them or encourage them in any way, and yet the three of them seemed to treat me as if I was a valued ex-boyfriend and we had broken up amicably. I thought that was a little weird, since all three of them were doing it; but, I didn't point it out and they didn't push things too much. A casual touch here, a bit of a giggle and a sly smile, and more than casual glances at each other and at me, filled the time even more than the great food did.

They asked me to walk them back to their room when the meal was done, and I did so. I stopped by their door and as each woman passed me, they each took my hand and did a little curtsy. I was surprised by this, since I figured it was something they should be doing for some high class official and not me. When I opened my mouth to comment as Uzahne did it, she quickly put her other hand on the side of my face.

“Accept it for what it is.” Uzahne said cryptically, let her hand drop from my face and let my hand go, then one of the guards shut the door before I could respond. I looked at the faces of the two guards, and they tried to ignore my inquisitive stare.

“You should listen to Uzahne.” The guard on the left said.

I turned my head and looked only at her. “So, what was this?”

“Just a dinner.” She said. “Nothing more.”

“It felt like it was a lot more than just a dinner.” I said to see her reaction. Her face flushed red, and I knew there was something going on. I couldn't figure it out, though. I stood there and waited to see if she would say anything else, and she stayed quiet. I turned to the guard on the right and her face was slightly red as well. With nothing else to go on, I took a breath and let it out.

“Goodnight.” I said to them, to their surprise, and I went back to my room.