“Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy.”

–Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”

Decanus Aigine Orgin had been a peacekeeper on four different stations, and had eleven years of experience dealing with criminals and thugs. He had once broken up a fight at Norvsekal Station that had involved six Insectoids, four Titans, and a Ler, with only his partner for backup. He was skilled and calm, always aware of his surroundings, trained in three different kinds of martial arts, and well-regarded for his tactical awareness.

Which is why Orgin found it so odd that he was presently flying backward, looping toward the ground in the lazy Titanian gravity, his head ringing from the hardest punch he had ever taken, courtesy of a pretty young woman whom he had been about to arrest.

As he impacted the ground, he tried to figure out where he went wrong.

“A cage?” Sorcha had said, her hands twitching, but still behind her head.

“Huh?” Orgin had asked.

“Animal control?!?”

“Well…yeah. I mean, humans….”

“Is animal control coming for me?” Sorcha asked.

Orgin swore he heard one of the humans say, clearly, “Oh, God, Sorcha – no,” but he paid it no mind.

“Why would they come for you?”

“Well, I’m half-human; I suppose you and they should team up, right?”

“What?”

“I said, I’m half human, cac ar oineach, so are you taking my Titan half to detention, or my human half to animal control?”

“I…the humans have to be quarantined, they have to be checked for diseases, but…uh….”

“Oh, téigh trasna ort féin,” she said, and she wheeled, dropping her right fist and landing it square in Orgin’s jaw.

Orgin hit the ground, completely unconscious.

“Shaka!” yelled Princeps Jolsk, who unlike Orgin had neither experience nor a great deal of tactical sense. “Oh, gorram, we need backup, Promenade 3 West, Titan and three anim….”

He didn’t finish his sentence; Sorcha had grabbed him around the neck, and taking advantage of the relatively low gravity, flung him a good five units.

“Póg mo thóin,” she said as he hit the ground and bounced twice, his stun-prod clattering away.

Sorcha turned back to Alesia and the two crewmates from the Lem; the men were looking at her with undisguised awe, while Lessy stood with the palm of her right hand cradling her face.

“Sorcha…really?”

“Oh, bí ‘do thost. You guys probably want to get out of here before reinforcements arrive.”

“I thought we were surrendering?” Viktor said.

“We were,” Tatenda said. “I sense that our plans have changed somewhat.”

Sorcha didn’t wait for the discussion to end. She scooped her friend and the two astronauts up like ragdolls, and deposited them on the ground.

“All right,” she said, turning to the four peacekeepers presently pelting down the corridor toward her. “Feisigh do thóin fein!” she cried, charging toward them with reckless abandon.

“She doesn’t want for bravery, does she?” Viktor said, trying to recover his lunch from a hundred feet up. He stared as the Titaness simultaneously clotheslined the first two peacekeepers to reach her, using their heads for leverage to launch a vicious kick upward into a third’s face.

“No,” Alesia said. “But someday, hopefully, she will. Come on, once they finally get Sorcha subdued, they’re not going to be particularly happy about collecting us.”

The three humans took off running down the corridor as the fourth of the new peacekeepers got a glancing blow in with a stun-prod. Sorcha growled something that was not any extant language, and swung wildly at him. The peacekeeper who’d absorbed her kick managed to get back to her feet, albeit unsteadily, and managed to get her stun-prod activated; she hit Sorcha with it in the small of the back, finally dropping the furious woman to the ground.

Sorcha gave a weak chuckle as the shock overwhelmed her system. “Go dtachta an diabhal thú,” she murmured, as she was rolled over and cuffed and slowly dropped into unconsciousness.

* * *

“Incoming transmission from Titan, chilaearch.”

Ryan Carey walked over to the watch comms soldier; the evening watch had just come on in the Avalonian command center, and the human was standing as senior officer of the watch. He glanced at the incoming message.

“Who’s it from, asker?” he asked.

“Looks like it was sent by Dr. Naskia Freeman – they were about to be detained by base security. Sir, there’s an attachment.”

“Let’s see it,” he said. The soldier obliged, opening the file; inside it was another attachment, and a message instructing them to route it to Pryvani Tarsuss and Loona Armac in the capital.

“What should we do, sir?”

Ryan sighed. “What do you think we should do, asker?”

“Well…send it on.”

“Exactly,” Ryan said. “Send it on.”

* * *

Ted felt very much like he’d been hit by a truck. Which, as he started to remember what had happened to him, seemed like it would be a comparatively pleasant experience. He groaned, and tried to sit up.

He rolled over, and briefly started; there was an enormous face looking at him, smiling slightly. Its expression changed as he reacted with shock, now betraying concern.

“It’s okay, Ted,” she said, softly. It took a moment for Ted to realize that he was seeing a translation of that on his gool, or at least a translation that was close enough to function.

“Tigoni,” he said, recovering his senses. It was not one of the two women who had hurt him; it was the woman who had saved him.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Her breath smelled of something pleasant – chocolate, almost, but not quite.

“I am, thanks to you,” he said, weakly. He looked down at himself, and choked just a little. “Um…I’m sorry about being naked. Glad you had this to cover me.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “You look…I mean, they got you out of your clothes.”

“I took them off,” he said, quietly. “But only because they threatened to kill me.”

“Shh,” she said, stroking his hair experimentally; when he did not pull back, she continued. “They can’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let them.”

He lay back down. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

“For being so angry with you.”

“I don’t blame you. I’m sorry you felt you had to leave, but…I understand why you did.”

Ted chuckled weakly. “I didn’t leave, Tig. Not on my own.”

He opened his eyes, and saw her gorgeous brown eyes staring back at him, wide. “What do you mean?”

“Ulala took me. She was going to turn me in, but I talked her out of it.”

“That felgercarber! I can’t believe it!” Tig said, bitterly. “I’m glad I tied her up now.”

“Uh…tied her up?”

Tig looked down at Ted. “I didn’t succeed in getting Hala, but she was able to escape,” she said.

“What?”

“I snuck into the lab, attacked a couple guards; Hala got away from them.”

“You…you freed Hala?”

“Yes.”

“But…I mean, you attacked guards…what will happen to you?”

“Once they catch me I’ll probably go to the brig, and my career’s definitely over. But it was totally worth it.”

Ted wasn’t really aware of his actions. He knew he’d leapt to his feet, run the short distance along the pillow to Tig’s face, and hugged it as best he could, which was not very well, but it was very much the thought that counted.

“You…you didn’t have to do that,” he said, crying into her soft skin. “Really…Tigoni, you didn’t have to.”

“I did, though,” she said, running her finger along his back. “She didn’t deserve to be there. What good is a career if you’re serving evil?”

Ted snuggled into her skin, head resting against the bridge of her nose. “I’m so sorry, Tig. I didn’t mean…I didn’t want you to give up your career for us, give up your freedom…I’m sorry I goaded you into it.”

“I did it of my own free will,” she said, stroking him softly. “I’m glad I did, too.”

Ted suddenly coughed. “Oh, God,” he said.

“What? Oh, shaka, I suppose you must be terrified after all of that.”

“No! No, I…no, Tig. I just realized that I’m hugging your nose and I’m naked. That…man, that can’t be anything other than…I mean…well, it’s not exactly….”

He could see that Tig’s eyes had crinkled into a smile. “I don’t mind, Ted. Really, I don’t.”

He rested his head on the bridge of her nose.

“Ted…no, never mind.”

“Hm? Never mind what?”

“Oh, nothing…it’s…after what they did to you. I can’t believe I was actually going to say that. That’s so…I’m an idiot, just forget it.”

Ted looked into her eyes, wide and placid. He had thought that the next giant he saw after them would terrify him. But he was beginning to sense that she never could. Not to say that he was completely off guard, or that those wounds inflicted upon him had already healed. He could not help but be on edge, and it would take years to make those wounds completely disappear – or at least disappear as was possible.

But he knew that Tig wouldn’t force him to do anything. Wouldn’t ever cause him pain. Would rather take every bit of it on herself.

She would never hurt him. He felt it in the marrow of his bones. She would rather die.

He sat down, and leaned his back against her cheek, staring up at her. “Tig…what I’m going to say will probably sound ridiculous, but you…you’re amazing. And not just because you’re enormous, or willing to sacrifice everything for people you’ve barely met. You’re…you’re beautiful, you’re kind, you’re brave…I’ve never met anyone I felt this way about. Never.”

That wasn’t what he’d meant to say, not at all. The words had tumbled out, unbidden, from somewhere in his brain he had no control of. He winced; not only was it completely absurd on its face, but even if they’d been the same height, same species, it still would have been ludicrous. They barely knew each other. They’d talked just a bit, he didn’t even speak her language, and the translator was only a bit better than chance; hell, they hadn’t even kissed, much less…..

“You’ve amazed me from the moment I saw you,” rumbled the soft wall behind him. “And not as a pet. I…oh, gorram, I’m just going to say it – Titans call it ‘love from first touch.’ I’ve loved you from the first touch.”

“We call it love at first sight,” Ted said, snuggling against her cheek. “And I never believed in it. Until now.”

She shifted, causing him to fall backward; her enormous face dominated his sky. Carefully, cautiously, she lowered her lips to his body, lips almost as wide as his body, and she gently kissed him. And while it was soft and small, she felt him return the kiss.

He loved her. No matter what happened, he loved her.

He laughed, happily, as they broke.

“So,” she said, quietly. “I don’t want to push you too far. Those klipkaers….”

“You wouldn’t ever. I don’t quite know what I’m ready for, not yet. I just want to be with….” he said, and then stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” Tig asked.

Ted thought he could not possibly be happier than he was, but then he saw the signal coming through. “Oh, my God,” he said, beaming. “It’s Hala!”

* * *

“Wait, Alex…oh, Alhamdulillah!”

“Beg pardon?”

“It’s Ted! I got a signal from Ted!”

“Who’s Ted?” Alex asked.

“Ted Martínez. He was the pilot on the Sally Ride. He must be close,” she said, blinking rapidly on icons, to try to force her gool to locate him.

“Are you having a seizure?” Alex asked.

“What? Oh, right, 2013. Pretty much everyone has a computer embedded in their body these days. Visual display and control through the gool.”

“Gool?”

“I think it came from Google lens, back when Google started marketing their artificial corneas. Not sure though. Got it!” she said. “Col. Martínez, this is Maj. Hala Nejem, do you read?”

“Ha! Hala, I thought I would never hear your voice again. You big damn hero, are you okay?”

“I am,” she said. “I’m being helped by a human – it’s a long story. I’m in the ventilation system right now.”

“Well you must be close if we’re able to two-way,” Ted mused. “Can you set your transceiver to trace my signal?”

“Already done,” Hala said. “This way, Alex. Ted, what’s your situation?”

“Well, I’m with a Titan. One of the giants. Don’t worry, she’s a friendly.”

“Great! We’re on our way.”

“Hold on!” Alex said. “What do you mean, ‘we?’”

“I mean that I have a chance to see my crewmate, someone I had all but given of hope of ever seeing again. I’m going. Are you coming with?”

“Well…okay,” Alex muttered. “But I’m still in charge!”

“Since when?”

“I’m still following you?”

Hala smiled. “There you go. Follow me!”

* * *

“All right, Yelena, can you help coordinate blanket distribution? Gustavo, you work with Maj. Kobayashi to set up a mess. We’re gonna have to deal with a latrine until we can get proper toilet; it isn’t fun, folks, but let’s make the best of it.”

Mùlán directed her crew as best she could; truthfully, there wasn’t much to be done, but she thought it would be good for everyone to stay as busy as they could. There was no sense allowing themselves to lapse into a torpor.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, but thanks, Eyrn. Should I be calling you Eyrn? I feel like I’m being overly familiar,” Mùlán said.

“Well, you can call me Dr. Bass, but I generally don’t answer to it because my father-in-law’s Dr. Bass too. Eyrn is fine.”

“Dr. Bass…so Navarchos Bass is your husband?”

Eyrn grinned. “Yup. He was captain of the Gyfjon when they picked me up from Earth. And no, I didn’t marry him right away. I had to have a few adventures, I was raised by the military ‘til I was 162.”

“Can’t blame you. 25 years in the military has been quite enough.”

“Yeah, but you aren’t just flying sorties. I mean, you’re exploring space! I remember when humans were just starting out. Shooting men up in tiny little tin cans – and not just by my lights. And look at you now! Damn, I’m proud of you.”

“You have a strange way of showing it,” Mùlán said, though she chuckled; she knew that the civilian liaison was not the person making decision about detaining her crew.

“Yeah, I know,” Eyrn said. Then, looking out through the window of the cell, she said, “Hang on just a second, okay?”

The Titaness rose back to her full height, and Mùlán was rather dazzled again by it; so much mass moving so fluidly. It was hard to wrap her brain around it.

Eyrn stepped out into detention area’s watch station, where three members of her family were currently engaged in a rather loud argument, the most pointed invective coming from the smallest member.

“I really don’t care what you think, Aerti, the idea that any of us would do anything that would injure Rixie is absurd. Beyond absurd. Flatly offensive.”

“Well then why were you here, Niall? And don’t tell me your ship ran into engine trouble. You disabled the QFR long enough to make things look bad. And did a very nice job of it. But you were heading here.”

“And what if we were?” Naskia said.

“Well, you’d have committed at least three misdemeanors just by landing with a falsified request for assistance. Potentially, you could be committing treason.”

“Naskia could, in theory,” Niall said. “I couldn’t be. One has to turn against one’s country to do that; unless the Empire has been very slow in getting the mail to me of late, I’m a citizen of the United Kingdom and Ireland, but not the Empire.”

“Hello,” Eyrn said, quietly. “Navarchos, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Kind of in the middle of something here.”

“You’re questioning Naskia and Niall, and they are only going to give you the bare minimum, and if you look inside that cell right there, we all know why they were here, and frankly, I can’t blame them. They’re detained, so they can’t cause any trouble –”

“Well, Sorcha is….”

“An adult. And here for the same reason, no doubt. And when she gets detained, you’ll question her and get no more. Aerti, you and I both know that Nas and Niall would rather eat glass than hurt Rixie, so they’re not involved in that. Now, given all this, as liaison, I’d like to note that I could use some assistance working with the humans; it would help if I had a human with experience living among Titans and another Titan with experience caring for humans to help me out. I’d ask that you have them assigned to me, and detained with the Lem crew until tonight.”

Aertimus looked at his wife, and gave her a half-smile. “Miracle Girl, do you really think I can do that?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well…okay,” Aerti sighed. “Look, guys, I don’t enjoy detaining you. Really. But right now….”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Naskia said, taking a deep breath. “For now, we’d be honored to help you with the crew, Eyrn.”

Naskia offered her hand to Niall, and he stepped in. She was about to turn, when Aerti cleared his throat. “Niall…” he said. “I…I do owe you a drink, you know.”

Niall looked up at his brother-in-law, and crossed his arms. “You owe me a good deal more than that. I told you….”

“I know,” Aerti said. “I never doubted your people. It doesn’t surprise me they’re here within 25 years of you. Not at all.” He shook his head. “I was just hoping they’d take a little longer. Because I was hoping by the time they got here, we’d be smarter. We aren’t. And I’m truly sorry.”

Niall sighed. “I’m not taking the cheap stuff,” he said.

Aerti gave him the barest hint of a smile. “Not a chance,” he said.

Naskia waited for her husband to steady himself, and followed Eyrn into the cell.