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clicked his own harness, and seconds after the all clear, they were literally dropped from the ship, their release carrying them through the minimal artificial gravity and through the doorway beneath them. They dropped, she gasped, but the moment they were out of the warship, he turned them toward their destination and her breathing evened out.
    Home. She was looking at her home even though he hadn’t said a word. That world was calling to her, and she wanted desperately to answer.

Chapter Five
    She sent her senses to the surface as they approached. There was definite imbalance in action on Piq, but it had nothing to do with the planet. Her senses turned to the orbital body and the power it was putting out. The large moon was only slightly smaller than the planet itself, but it was sending off twice the energy.
    “That is Piq, what do you think?”
    She didn’t look at him but kept her eyes on the approaching world. “I believe that I have my work cut out for me.”
    Naka saw him give her a look out of the corner of his eye, but she kept her attention fixed, looking without seeing and sensing with her mind instead of her body.
    Her mind analyzed the ripples of disorientation in the layers of the atmosphere.
    “What do you think?”
    She looked at his curious face, his horns tilted with his head and his dark eyes serious. “I think that it is time to walk on Piq and ask it what it needs.”
    “Good answer. Our base is on the other side of this river. The landing is tight, so keep your harness on.”
    “I wasn’t even reaching for it.” Naka felt stronger just getting close to a planet again. She had kept herself apart from Teklan. It was not to be hers, after all. Piq was a different matter entirely. She could and would make it her home as quickly as she was able.
    He wasn’t kidding about the sudden stop. One moment they were skimming over dark blue water, the next the shuttle was almost standing on its nose as they came to a sudden stop.
    The harness bit into her shoulders and hips while the shuttle rocked to a stop. She gasped in pain but quickly silenced herself as he settled them on the landing pad.
    “Can I release myself now?” She smiled.
    “Yes. I will power the systems down and put them on standby.” He worked at the console, and she didn’t need to be told twice.
    The clicks of the belts were the sounds of freedom. She got to her feet, stretched and made a beeline for the exit.
    Watching Viiko at Teklan had given her the sequence of movements to get the door to open for her.
    As she stepped into the lock, she waited until the atmosphere cycled and the light turned green before tapping the release to the outer door.
    Her breath left her in a rush. Once, on Resicor, she had stood outside during a lightning storm and a strike had danced across the ocean just beyond her. The first few steps on Piq sent the same power surge through her, and she loved it.
    The base was larger than she thought it would be, but it wasn’t what she was interested in. She wanted to know more about this world and how its energies flowed, and when she looked into the sky, Naka gauged whether or not her mind would reach.
    The base was situated in a valley, but there was a rocky pillar jutting from the ground next to the entry doors. With a fixed destination in mind, Naka walked to the pillar and started to climb.
    * * * *
    Viiko grabbed the kit bags and rations, stepping out into the light of Piq. At first, he couldn’t see his companion, but to his astonishment, she was running for the outcropping and climbing like a small forest creature.
    Naka was a surprise. Her file said she was a self-centred monster, but the reality was that she was simply a woman with no purpose.
    As she balanced precariously on the tower of stone, she exhibited a grace that he had never imagined. Her head was tilted toward the nearest moon, her flame-red hair rippling in tight curls down her back.
    The new design of the suit was far more modest than