Chapter 4
Tim wished he could miss the meeting. Gathering? Consultation? But he was, he’d been informed, co-team leader with Riina.
It was as if they’d set out to torture him.
She’d avoided him since he became human again.
And now that he was human, he could see, could even sense when other males were interested in Riina on a more personal level.
These moments of knowing were distracting, painful even. He’d taken to staring at himself in the mirror, trying to get his expression under control before interacting with humans. With Riina.
He probably didn’t need to, since she wouldn’t look at him. Was she so disgusted by his human body?
He’d known when he decided to use his own DNA, to become himself again, that there was risk. For one thing, he’d forgotten what he’d looked like before. And for another, his human form could have been unappealing to humans not of his race. Or of his race, if he ever found any of them.
He could have picked a Garradian clone. They all seemed to be attractive. But he’d wanted to be himself again. It was going to be hard enough to be human without the extra difficulty of an unfamiliar body.
So, what had seemed like a good reason to become himself again had turned out to be less so. For instance, his consciousness appeared to have forgotten all about who and what he’d been. First thing he’d done was fall on his face.
He and his body were doing better, well enough for the mission. But the fit still felt awkward and unfamiliar.
They’d probably sent Trac along to look out for him. Because Trac didn’t want to go anywhere, and he really didn’t want to go anywhere not in the Najer. And yet here he was.
A bodyguard. Him. He’d been one of the toughest of the robotic models. And now he had a babysitter.
He hesitated outside the hatch, pulling his thoughts in and, hopefully, schooling his expression. This had been so much easier when he hadn’t had an expression.
He activated the hatch in time to hear Riina say, “At least only two inhabitants of Arroxan Prime know that first contact has been made. That should make our job easier.”
Tim heard a gentle cough behind him and turned to find Lt. Dish standing behind him holding a bowl filled with white…something. Something that smelled delicious. This was one part of being human he did not mind. Delicious things were so…delicious.
“I brought popcorn for the movie,” she said.