Free Magnet by Viola Grace Page A

as they arise. I will be here.”
    Polly looked at the pile of paperwork, took the mechanical pencil that she had been given and got started.
    She paused when she reached the document on interspecies relations. “Whoa. What does this mean?”
    “That you are an adult female and you can choose a mate of any available species, and they can choose you. The males of W’lyn are exceptionally attractive by your species standards, or so we have been informed by the other human females who have made it their home.”
    Polly gave him an arch look. “There are already other Terrans on this world? If so, why don’t you send me somewhere else?”
    Norz nodded with a serious expression. “Because you are needed.”
    “What?”
    “Your skills with magnetic fields can be used to block attacks, take down aircraft and interfere with communications. You are immensely valuable, Ms. Garner.”
    “We are talking about my sex life, so why not call me Polly.”
    Norz coloured and looked around. “I am not discussing what you choose to do if you find someone you feel is attractive. That is your business and theirs, whatever you choose to engage in will be between you.”
    Polly snickered at the discomfort on his face. Even the silver skin and solid black eyes couldn’t disguise the embarrassment.
    “Right, so I have the right to get laid if I am so inclined. Good to know.”
    “Inclined, upright, the position you choose is up to you.”
    Polly blinked as Norz rallied with that comment. “Fair enough. Now, back to the paperwork.”
    She signed a form that said she would agree to abide by all legal and social requirements of the world she was placed on, she agreed to minor alterations to her body and mind’s capabilities. Her agreement to all psychic training and physical boot camp was signed with a flourish, and she continued onward.
    They would give her enzyme supplements to help her with digesting alien foods and booster shots for all necessary illnesses. With those two changes, she would effectively cease to be human, but she could and would remain a Terran on her documentation.
    Marriage was covered near the bottom of the pile, and she agreed to remain on the world of any child she bore. There would be no separation of custody. If she chose someone to father her child, she would have to live with that decision.
    It was sobering, but she signed that document as well. Birth control just became a high priority. She wasn’t planning on fooling around during her three years abroad, but the best-laid plans sometimes went awry. If the W’lyn were as attractive as the other Terrans apparently said they were, she might want to look into what kind of medical options were available.
    She signed over and over until she was well aware that she was handing herself over, body and soul, to folk that she hadn’t even imagined existed when she was a child. Fairies, sure; Vampires who didn’t move a little faster after their first horror movie? A species that blended the two would be both deadly and fascinating.
    She was all tingly waiting to find out what a blend of two of the most fabled creatures in human myth and legend would look like. Something told her that she wasn’t going to wait long.
    When she shoved the pile of signed papers over to Norz, he nodded his head and one of his men came in to collect them. Twenty minutes later, he returned and the laminated documents were placed before her for confirmation. She signed a seal that confirmed it was her signature on all the paperwork and then things got busy.
     
    Two days later, she was on the moon base and living in a bodysuit that restricted her magnetism. Polly didn’t blame them; she didn’t want to interfere with life support or any of the air-processing systems.
    Tovnani was her instructor, and he did not have her precise talent but he was willing to lead her to tools in her own mind that she didn’t know she had.
    It was her first day of formal instruction. She had enjoyed