Free Logic by Viola Grace Page A

the ends of her hair. “I wanted to splurge for my birthday. The bots are actually in my scalp colouring it as I speak.”
    “I don’t want the details, it just looks pretty. Did you get my present?”
    “Yes, and I had to share with my instructors. Terran pastries haven’t been too thick on the ground up here, and my meditation instructor has a helluva sweet tooth.”
    He laughed. “I am glad you have friends to share it with.”
    “I have always made friends, until they learned what I can do. This is the first time it has been backward, and I sort of like it.”
    “Good. Do you know where you are going?”
    “Some world name W’lyn. They need an analyst in the worst way, so I am going in to help work on the petty crime and the not-so-petty crime.”
    “Keep yourself safe.”
    She snapped him a salute. “Yes, sir.”
    She sobered. “I will miss you, Jim. Ask that nice girl at the pastry shop out.”
    He blushed. “I already did. How do you think I got two dozen cupcakes wrapped and packed for space flight? It is a bit of a strange order.”
    The image in her mind of him chatting frantically as the woman individually packed up the cupcakes before tucking them in the cargo container would keep her smiling for days.
    “You look tired. Good night and I will talk to you when I can. Keep the data parcels coming. It was the best addition to the contract that I could have asked for. I love being busy.” She rubbed her hands together.
    “Tell me when you get there.”
    “I will. Tell me when you get a third date.” She winked and waved farewell. They had said what they needed to say, and the screen went dark.
    Saying goodbye was not a family tradition. As far as Bebe was concerned, every time she said a goodbye, the person left her life forever.
    She sat back and sighed, rubbing her temples. What she hadn’t told her brother was that her new home was going to be hostile toward Terrans and her hair was camouflage. It not only altered her normally brown hair colouring, but it also altered her scent and that was what should allow her to pass through the population of W’lyn undetected.
    She didn’t want him to worry, but she was very aware that she was going onto a world where her blood would call out the beast in those around her. The suit she was given would contain her in case of any small accidents, but she was her own keeper. The peacekeepers would protect her, as would the Guardians, but only to the same extent as they would any useful employee. When it came to her blood, it was in her to keep or she was on her own.
    Bebe got to her feet and headed to medical for her final scans. When she passed the viewing ports on her way, she slowed down and looked at the Earth spinning below. She was doing it. She was in space, and tomorrow, she would be on her way to a new world. Yes, she would be doing the same kind of analysis that she did on Earth, but on W’lyn, she wouldn’t have to hide. She would be part of a team working to keep an entire planet safe.
    The research she had done on her new home had been enough to make her a little hesitant, but she was happy to have the position with the data-analysis team. An entire world made up of the descendants of Admaryn elves and blood-drinking Vimpyrs made her a little nervous, but the few meetings she had had with her upcoming supervisor had left her feeling secure with her safety. As long as she lived by the rules they had set down and avoided spilling her own blood in public, she would blend right in with the colourful and elegant population, with the exception that she was five inches shorter than the average female and a foot shorter than the average male.
    She was getting used to the idea, and it was only for three years after all. She could always go home if she really wanted to once her contract was up. All she had to do was survive. How hard could it be?
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    “So, what are you doing tonight, Bebe?” Tamra was leaning against Beryl’s desk