With the addition of the extra crew, the return to the Atlantis required another shuttle. Rinker had waited long enough to be assigned to the second one. Of the three officer left standing only one was going to be paired with him and all three gave no indication of which one it would be. There were to females and a male. They all however appeared to have as much interest in the remaining Atlantean officers as they did to them. The control of the group could only be explained through military experience. Civilians had a knack or small banter or independent thought. One of the individuals however was paying far more attention to Rinker as if she was drinking in every minute detail.

Lila Horne was assigned to be Rinker’s companion so it was vital she garner the intelligence she received on the man with the physical being before her. He was much younger than she expected based on the reports from the Beacon of Hope’s distress call. This was easily explained by Jessa’s youth. Children never gauged anyone’s age correctly. The slightly salt and pepper at the edges of his temple and through his barely there five o’clock stubbed made him a rather attractive man. This would make her job much easier. The reports also claimed he was highly intelligent which emanated from his personality like a heartbeat. The man had kept his verbal interactions to a minimum indicating he chose his words carefully and was judging everyone’s reaction. Hearing her name called, Lila stepped forward. Sticking out her hand, she greeted Rinker with a genuine warmth.

“Commander Rinker it is a pleasure,” she replied. Her hair was long but pulled back in an elaborate braid that presented as a half up half down style. She had a button nose and bright blue eyes. Her hair was a dark almost onyx color with some bright blue strands that highlighted the blue in her eyes. Her uniform was a combination of a business suite and a military uniform. The tailoring fit every curve of her body perfectly yet left more than enough to the imagination about what was actually under it. The lapels of her jacket framed her bossom so that the eyes were drawn to her chest but revealed no cleavage due to the cut of the shirt underneath. It was the type of suit that let the mind roam freely but gave the psyche a bit of guilt for even thinking about such things due to the long sleeves and full length pants indicating it was not meant to entice one’s imagination. Lila knew the effect the suit had and knew its design was for this purpose.

Lila Horne Psychopathologist