“I did not. I assure you!” the man assured her. “It was automatic.”

“Is anything else going to move… automatically?” she asked, her weapon trained on his face.

“No, nothing. My ship was only securing itself.”

“Search him.”

Enrique approached cautiously and began patting him down, searching for hidden weapons.

The man looked surprised by the pat-down. “I assure you I am unarmed, as promised.”

“A girl can never be too careful,” she mused. The man returned her smile, recognizing her sarcasm.

“Indeed,” he answered. “I suppose you will now take me to see your captain?”

“Right this way,” Jessica instructed, gesturing for him to follow her partner.

Tobin Marsh strode confidently into the briefing room. Upon spotting Jalea, he extended his arms, taking her by the shoulders and giving her a polite kiss on each cheek as he spoke words that in their language were surely a charming and polite greeting. Their initial pleasantries concluded, she turned to face Nathan and Cameron, both of whom were standing on the opposite side of the table from them.

“Tobin Marsh,” Jalea began in English, “may I introduce Captain Nathan Scott and Commander Cameron Taylor of the Aurora.”

“It is my distinct pleasure to meet you both,” Tobin greeted in proper, although considerably accented English. His accent, although similar to Jalea’s, was somehow different. There was something a little less proper about his syntax, despite the fact that he was obviously trying very hard to speak perfect Angla, as they called it. “I trust my unorthodox arrival did not give you too much cause for alarm,” he added, casting a side-long glance at Jessica, who stood against the wall on the same side of the table as Nathan and Cameron. Tobin reached out his hand in greeting, shaking first Cameron’s and then Nathan’s.