Judged by Viola Grace Page A

with those on the surface and asked them to leave. It explained its desires and shared the plan. With no other choice, the evacuation began and Alice got her contract.
    Flying in a formal gown was a challenge that she had never counted on mastering, but it was demanded of her, so she did it. She pulled them out of the gravity of Geewing and set their course to Dyango.
    It was a short hop from one world to the other via the jump site. Four hours of star flight and then the jump and another six hours would see them to Dyango. She had four hours to kill before she put on the halo that would link her to the ship and the ship to the far side of the jump.
    She hummed softly to herself, knowing that the sound would reach Horilian in his gel and sooth him.
    Many folk assumed that Companions were whores—and many were—other Companions were chosen for their particular skill set. Alice was a skilled Companion.
    When Alice left Earth for the first and last time, she had immediately gravitated to the courier field. She was assessed, and it was determined that she would be more of an asset in the Companion arena. It was not something that she had imagined before leaving her home, but two years of university and no true calling let her take their suggestion, and she made a demand of her own. Flight lessons.
    Alice was one of the few Companions that could fly nineteen types of standard transport and every type of ground vehicle, as well as dance in all manners known to the Nyal Imperium.
    Her study of social behaviours had become a survival technique that gave her honour and skill at her profession. When she had been assessed, it had been determined that her hand-to-hand combat skill would make her a good choice for the Nyal Imperium where plots and scheming were still in their prime and, in some cases, actively encouraged. She had fit right in and none of her clients had ever come to harm in her company.
    Alice continued humming as she rose from her seat and went to her closet. Landing on Dyango would require a different formal outfit. The planet was a bit more rough and ready. She needed to dress the part.
     
    Ten hours later, she settled the ship on the private pad outside Horilian’s home.
    “We have landed outside your home, Ambassador.”
    He chuckled and the light flickered, indicating the opening of the tube. “Ambassador no more. Now I am merely Hecor Horilian. Call me Hecor, Alice.”
    She waited until she heard his footfalls on the deck plates before she got up from the pilot’s station. He always felt vulnerable at having to hide in the soft embrace of the sealed gel beds, so she left him alone until he was up and moving around.
    Alice picked up their luggage and set it next to the exterior hatch. She would come back to the shuttle and bring it in in the night. The ambassador hated folks to see her carrying his things, but he didn’t trust anyone else with them.
    She opened the hatch, and he offered his arm. She let her hand rest lightly on his forearm and stepped out into the crowd that had gathered to welcome him home.
    The bird people of the Kalian colony were happy to greet him and welcome him for his last days.
     
    “This is ridiculous.” Alice paced back and forth next to Hecor’s bed.
    “It is done.”
    She blinked away tears. “I don’t want it to be done.”
    He patted the side of his bed. “Come and sit. You make me nervous when you clomp around.”
    Alice settled on his bed, and he reached out to take her hand. She held his delicate digits gingerly. He looked nearly human but incredibly long and lean. He weighed less than a quarter of her own form but was a foot taller. His cheeks had hollowed since they arrived and his hair whitened. He was beginning to look every day of his four hundred years.
    “I have wed you, Alice. In Dyango records, you and I are soul mates, bonded mates. I have made no mention of consummation, nor shall you. You will inherit a good stipend and this house. I hope that you will