Becky felt hiseyes on her. Watching her. Appraising her.

She blushed slightly, but realized immediately that she must pretend not to notice. Again, she would pretend not to notice that Jaric was hopelessly in love with her.

But on a small starship, that was a difficult thing to do.

They had landed their three fighters on-board the Mewiis ship three days ago and had been living in the small confines ever since. The Mewiis obviously built their ships for function and not for comfort. Still, all three had quickly grown close to their new companions.

But for Becky, there was this added personal issue that seemed to be growing with intensity as they roomed with the crew of Mewiss wives and husbands. In fact, she discerned that very moment, perhaps it was the subtle emotional and physical ties they had viewed between the Mewiis mates that had triggered this issue. After all, observing the love shared between the Mewiis wives and husbands as well as the romantic habit of holding hands while they walked together had even stirred something deep inside her heart.

Becky bit her lip as she watched a Mewiis pair laughing together on the bridge. She suddenly realized with a hot flush of awareness that Jaric's eyes were still fixed on her.

"Becky, Jaric, go run the final checks on our fighters before we launch," Kyle said, completely oblivious to the situation. He waved his hand, commanding them, as Jaric and Becky remained motionless.

Becky's blue eyes met Jaric's brown. She felt the electricity that seemed to reach from him to her like something alive, caressing her.

Brushing her hand nervously through her hair, she waited on Jaric to make the first move.

Jaric began coughing with embarra.s.sment.

Becky chuckled softly to herself. "C'mon Jaric, let's run those systems checks. One more time." She threw the last impatiently at Kyle. "We're going to be on our own in another hour, deep inside Kraaqi territory. Depending on the reception we're gonna' get from them, we need those fighters to be one hundred percent." Kyle never looked up from his console as he continued his long-range scan, his hands dancing over the controls with quick precision.

"Let's go, Captain Ahab has spoken." Becky said to Jaric.

Kyle smiled to himself as he continued his intense work.

Jaric followed her, smiling in an absentminded sort of way.

Becky wasn't sure when she had first noticed Jaric's affections, now that she thought about it. After all, they had grown up together. So, they had always been friends-always been rivals.

Well, Kyle and Jaric together had been her rivals. A male-female rivalry. Just as it had been since the beginning of time.

But somewhere along the way, adolescence had set in. Hormones had begun flowing. All three of them had started to grow up.

Almost.

"You know, Becky, you sure look pretty today," Jaric stammered as he walked beside her.

"Sure, Jaric. I bet you say that to all the girls," Becky rolled her eyes, smiling. She might be the last woman left alive in the universe, but she was going to play this love thing like any other red-blooded woman would, as the unwritten rules of love stirred in her heart.

She was going to play hard-to-get.

"No, Becky. Really." Jaric said with all seriousness.

Becky began walking faster.

"Do you think..." Jaric began.

But fortunately, the Mewiis starship was quite small. A door slid open before them that led to the hanger bay where their three fighters sat at the ready-ready to enter Kraaqi s.p.a.ce.

"You take Kyle's ship and begin running a Level Two diagnostic. I'll take yours." Becky pointed to the lead ship.

"Then we can do yours, together." Jaric stumbled over a cable even as he uttered the last word.

Becky stifled a laugh as she reached Jaric's single-man fighter. Stepping up the side of the ship via the hand and footholds, she slid herself easily into the small c.o.c.kpit. Immediately, she began punching the controls. The small viewscreens whirred to life as the diagnostics began checking the ship's systems.

A few minutes later, she read the displayed results-All Systems Normal.Big surprise!

As she climbed out and started over toward her own fighter, she found Jaric was already standingbeside it-smiling ear to ear.

Without a word, they climbed up the ship from opposite sides. As she got to the top and reached inside for the control panel, her foot slipped. She fell head-first into the narrow confines of the single-seat craft.

Jaric instantly reached out for her to try and help, but his sudden movement caused him to lose his own footing. With forward rush of movement, he fell toward her.

Becky fought for a hold as she fell down. Her head slammed against the side of the cushioned seat, slowing her as she continued toward the floor. She managed to stop her momentum just before she banged her head against the steel floor. As she gasped and tried to right herself, she felt a sudden weight pressing against her. As she struggled vainly, she slid down until her face was smashed hard against the gritty surface.

She grunted against the heavy, dead weight pressing against her back.

"I'm sorry, Becky. Wait a second, let me..."

Sudden pain shot through her shoulder and back as Jaric struggled franticly behind her.

Jaric's efforts were finally rewarded, more so for Becky, as he pulled himself out of the c.o.c.kpit. He stood panting, embarra.s.sed, as Becky got out and righted herself.

He reached across toward her to help brush the dirt off her cheek.

"I don't need any more of your help, Jaric!"

Jaric yanked his hand back.

Pulling her shoulder-length hair back behind her ears, Becky shook her head with frustration. She didn't realize the right side of her face was smeared with dirt. But thinking her efforts to regain her composure were complete, she reached inside the fighter again. Holding tightly to the handhold, she began punching up the diagnostic on the console with her free hand.

"Don't you think I should..."

"No." Becky replied harshly.

Jaric pulled himself away from her, an overly sad expression on his face.

She chided herself for her outburst as she noticed his devastated look.

"Okay, Okay. Run this one on the engines for me."

He reached for the console next to where her hand rested. Somehow his hand missed the b.u.t.tons and rested on hers instead. She felt the warmth of his hand clasp tightly around hers, gently squeezing.

"Jaric?" She cried with surprise.

"Oh, Becky. I love you. You're the only woman for me." Jaric's voice had risen several decibels, almost as if he were going through p.u.b.erty again. "I am theonly woman!" Becky half-shouted with surprise.

Jaric's face showed shock. He fought to regain what little composure he still had. "Well, even if there were more women, you'd still be the only woman for me."

"I'm the only woman in the entire universe." Becky was shouting now as she tried to wrench her hand out of his. But there was a strange sensation going throughout her body-something she had never felt before. Her struggles began to lessen.

"I love you, Becky. I always have. Ever since we were little."

"Even that time you and Kyle tried to beat me up?"

Jaric's eyes widened. "Well, not then. We were kids then."

There was warmth coming through his touch. Her arm trembled under its softness and energy. She liked it. But still....

"What about Kyle?" Becky blurted.

Jaric's face screwed up in complete puzzlement. "What about Kyle?"

"We can't just go falling in love with each other. Kyle will be all alone."

Jaric shook his head. "He'll be alright."

"No, he won't. Haven't you thought of his feelings? If we get married..." Becky caught her breath, shocked at her own words. But she gathered her thoughts and continued. "If we get married, Kyle will have no one. There aren't any other women. Or any other humans, for that matter. We're it!" Becky shouted with total frustration etched in every syllable.

Jaric slowly pulled his hand away from hers. His ebony face was deep in thought, his eyes far off.

Slowly, a knowing smile grew.

Becky almost saw the light go off over his head. She looked at him, her eyebrows raised expectantly as Jaric spoke.

"He could marry an alien..."

Becky's hand reacted before she realized what she was doing. Jaric fell straight backwards as she slapped him with force squarely across his face. Almost in the same moment she reached to help him, he fell out of sight.

She was a boiling mixture of emotions now, as well as thoroughly confused. On the one hand, she thought, she might be in love with Jaric. On the other hand, he sure wasn't the man she had dreamed about.

In addition, she cared about Kyle's welfare. It was all so confusing.

But she knew with sudden clarity that she shouldn't have slapped Jaric so hard. She felt her face growflush and hot with boiling emotions.

Scrambling down her side of the ship, she raced under its belly toward his crumpled form.

"Oh. Are you all right? I'm sorry. Here, let me...."

"I...I don't think I need any more of your help for one day." Jaric raised both his hands, protecting himself from her advances.

She rolled her eyes and felt the flood of emotions again.

"Don't you see how stupid that was-Kyle can marry an alien . I mean, what if I was your sister, and Kyle and I got married. Would you marry an alien then?"

Jaric groaned as he slowly, and very painfully, got up.

"Here, let me look at..."

"I said, I don't need any more of your help." Jaric had raised his hands again as he began backing away.

She followed him as he limped back toward the Mewiis bridge.

"And," he said to her without turning, "there might be some fine looking alien babes there among the Kraaqi."

"You wish," Becky whispered angrily.

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'I bet there might be some alien hunks, too.'"

Jaric groaned and turned. But Becky pa.s.sed him with a haughtyHmmph and kept going.

Love sure is strange. Or is it just men?Becky entered the bridge several steps ahead of Jaric.

Kyle looked up from his displays and watched Jaric with sudden concern.

"Why are you limping?"

"Don't ask," Jaric waved his arm at Kyle.

"Ask him about the cute Kraaqi babes," Becky taunted.

Kyle did a double-take at his sister, and then looked over to Jaric. He opened his mouth to question Jaric.

"Don't ask," Jaric repeated.

"May I interrupt?"

The three humans turned to the Mewiis Captain. Captain Sharina's green complexion had deepened, and behind the bone ridge which started at her forehead and extended to the base of her skull, her head-tail flicked from side to side with rapid motion.

Becky brushed her hand through her own hair, wondering what it would be like to have a tail there instead.

"My Nav has just instructed me that we are about to enter the edge of Kraaqi s.p.a.ce." Subconsciously, the female Mewiis Captain began to play with the weapon strapped to her waist. "We must launch your ships. The coordinates of the nearest Kraaqi planet have already been downloaded."

Becky looked at Kyle with a smirk. "I guess there won't be any long good-byes."

Kyle chuckled.

"No, it is imperative we launch. The Kraaqi watch their frontiers closely. They also tend to respond with firepower first when they detect unwelcome alien ships."

"Shoot first, ask questions later," Jaric chimed.

Kyle nodded. "Okay, let's do it. We'll contact you and Mother in one week at the prearranged bandwidth."

Captain Sharina nodded. "That should give you ample time not only to make contact with the local Kraaqi Band, but to also make long range communications with the Kraaqi home world. That is where the ruling Chieftains govern over the loosely bound Kraaqi Bands."