It had been five days since Zef had her first meeting with Kalig Marrov and Captain Cochrane. The meeting in which the Bajeen male announced a marital claim to the counselor by way of his dead brother. After Cochrane sent him back to his ship, the Kestra, Zef returned to her quarters and sent a message to Ganro Fleg, her friend who still lived and thrived on Baj along with his family. She’d asked him to look in to the matter—to find out if such a law existed and if there was any chance at all that she might have to consider Kalig’s claim on her.

It was all very involved. In normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have given it any thought, but keeping tradition and staying involved with Bajeen life was something her mother, Anara, begged her to keep alive in her life. That was the only reason she’d taken time to find out if Marrov’s claim was true or just something made up to put her off guard.

As it turned out, Ganro worked tirelessly to investigate the old laws that covered that particular aspect of spousal responsibility with siblings of a mated pair when there were not children from the joining. That evening when she’d returned from her day of counseling members of the crew, there was a message waiting for her when she entered her quarters.

Instead of running directly to the computer, Zef took a few minutes to change out of her uniform into a lavender colored, casual gown. The strappy top and loose body, and the soft material and decorative lace at the hem, helped her feel ‘normal’ and individual—unlike her uniform did. Grabbing a glass of wine before seating herself at the desk, Zef ran a hand back through her long, white hair and sighed loudly. The next moment or two could change her life…

—Zef (cue the mysterious music…)