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it would have risen. You got the line from your father?”
    “It would have to be. My mother doesn’t look anything like me, so the line must have come through my father.”
    “I am going to ask you a difficult question, but you might want to think about it.”
    “What?”
    “Are you your mother’s child, or are you a strange egg laid in her nest?”
    Cleo scowled. “I didn’t hatch.”
    “I will show you your genetic profile and that of your parents. You can tell me what you learn, and when you have questions, you can send them to the Alliance, and they will seek them out.”
    She was stunned, and her hands remained on the table. “That is ridiculous. Mom and Dad would have told me.”
    “I am sure they would have, but why else would they fear your entering the Volunteer Project? Your genetics would be examined in detail, not just the light scanning from that ancestry group that you joined. You would know where you came from and from whom.”
    “I think I need to lie down now.”
    Helbri got to his feet. “You haven’t finished your meal.”
    “I will have something later if you don’t mind. My appetite is gone.” She smiled and got to her feet.
    She left him and went to the small room, sitting on the bed while she fought her way out of the clothing.
    When she was naked, she crawled between the sheets and wished for the lights to go out. It didn’t work, so she pulled the covers over her head and hoped for sleep.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    Cleo woke with a jerk of panic. She sat up and stared at her surroundings. “Right. Spaceship. Stuck in space.”
    She got up, used the lav attached to her quarters and got dressed. It wasn’t too difficult to find her way back to the training area in the dark.
    The weapons locker was closed but not locked, so she opened it and took out the small gun again. She triggered the targets and started firing.
    It wasn’t her normal way of waking up, but it definitely got her up and running. She was alert, her body was sore, but she was invigorated. It was quite the confusion of sensations, but she didn’t mind it. That worried her a little.
    Helbri was waiting for her in the galley, and he got to work on her breakfast when she arrived.
    “So, are you ready to upgrade your weapon today?”
    “Sure. It seems like the best course of action considering that we are stuck in this ship for the next few weeks.”
    “Excellent. After you are checked out on all the weapons, we will begin sparring.”
    “Sounds wonderful. What else can I study?”
    “Whatever you like. History, etiquette, cooking, spaceship repair. Take your pick.”
    “Seriously? I can just choose something and pursue it without paying?”
    “It was part of the arrangement organized by one of your own. The other four females of your species are rather aggressive negotiators.”
    Cleo blinked. “Four others?”
    “Yes. You saw the file; you are the fifth and final trace of the Lrrko on Terra. The process has been begun to try and get pure Terrans in to see if a blending of our genes can create a new branch of our species.”
    “Wow. That is... Would the women know what they were getting into?”
    “They would be offered a choice by the Alliance. A choice between a life as a human or something more.”
    “I liked being human.” She sat back as he slid her breakfast in front of her.
    He paused and tilted his head before putting a steaming cup of tea down in front of her. “I can understand that. I have never been anything other than Lrrko, but I can see the problem from your end.”
    She prodded at her meal, but eventually, hunger drove her to eat.
    The tea tasted rather tannic, but she swallowed it nonetheless.
    When breakfast was over, she was handed a bag of water, and they returned to the shooting gallery.
    It was the first day of many that involved increasingly heavier weapons and faster targets.
    The day that they switched to combat, it was a relief to be able to hit something at close range, even if