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you say that I am not robot?”
    “You make certain noises when you are rubbing me down for the night that sound almost painful. The last time I heard those sounds, the man with me was the one making them.”
    He nodded. “I see. Well, yes. My body is on Lrrko. I will be up and around within a day of our arrival.”
    “So, why the bot?” It seemed perfectly natural to be pinned to him.
    “So that there would not be any suspect activity while you were travelling with me. We also use these bots when we travel to worlds where we cannot breathe. They are the same size as the average Lrrko of the active fighter class, so when we are in our cloaks and uniforms, few—if any—know the difference.”
    “So, the Lrrko are truly a race of assassins?”
    “We prefer to consider us a species who fills a certain need that other societies have. We also do a little retrieval work and hostage rescue.”
    “For a price.”
    “Of course. These shuttles don’t buy themselves.” He chuckled.
    She nodded. “I suppose that the Terrans will get to that point as well. Finding something that the other races want, I mean.”
    “They already have. Once Terra is no longer a protectorate, their population will be hired out across the Alliance and the Imperium.”
    Lynni thought about it and what it would mean in the long term. “I guess that there are those who would never leave home.”
    “And it will be up to them to keep the population up as more and more of them head into the stars.”
    The future of humanity just swam in front of Lynni’s eyes. “That... That is something I can’t even imagine.”
    She was suddenly very afraid for her people.
    He stroked her back but kept his grip on her arm. “Do not worry. Your genes will be in the Lrrko by then, and they will be honour bound to defend their own if any need help.”
    “Oh, good. Well, if other species have the same sort of thing, Terrans might just make it for a few more hundred years.”
    “I am sure that they will be fine.”
    She nodded and sighed. “So...”
    “Yes?”
    “Are we there yet?”
    He let out a sound reminiscent of a sigh, and she grinned.
    He let her go, and they settled in the cockpit, with the surface of Lrrko just hours away.
    Leko sent in clearance codes for a vast number of checkpoints. Lynni guessed that if you engaged in black ops for a living, you might want to make sure that no one unexpected showed up at your home.
    She was just hours from seeing Tyanni again, and she could hardly wait.
    When they were requesting final clearance, she nearly squealed.
    “So, are you ready to meet the Lrrko?”
    She made a face. “I suppose. The true question is are they ready to meet me?”
    He laughed. “I sincerely doubt it.”
    “So, when we land, I have to talk to the elders?”
    “And take a trip to medical for full scans. Splices have only been something whispered about when we talk about the ancients.”
    “So the chimera activity was frequent?”
    “The two genes in one body? No. It was as extraordinary then as it is now. Does it happen much on Terra?”
    “Not particularly. It might be more common than folks think, but until they go in for medical issues and get scans done, no one knows. Just like the Alliance, we don’t individually scan all parts of the body for differing genetic signatures.”
    He nodded. “Fair enough.”
    “I am guessing that genetic patterns are fairly important on Lrrko.”
    “They are the backbone of our society. We live and die by what they decree for us. Yes, we do full scans.”
    She sighed. “Well, I look forward to meeting you in person and doing what I can to forward your—our species.”
    “I look forward to it as well. Despite the bio-feedback, touching your skin is something I would rather do with my own hands.”
    Shock rippled through Lynni as they passed through the final checkpoint. Why hadn’t she thought that that might be the outcome of having her own Familiar?
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    As they