Ver stepped slowly out of the tavern and headed in the direction of her dorm. It wasn't only humans that had to live in them. So did her own race; they were just separate to make everyone more comfortable. Even the Kreq had a dorm for those who didn't want to live on their disks. Many didn't like to mix: the humans were still nervous about them because the Ramesian people had invaded, destroying everything in sight. Her people were nervous because of the shame from what they had done.

She was finished with her shift. As she walked home, her mind kept going to the one group she couldn't get out of her mind. It was Dan Wilson and his friend Miles. Dan was a flirty human. She liked the attention; most Ramesians steered clear of her. They couldn't get used to her unusually colored eyes. Dan was just a flirt and didn't mean anything by it; she knew that. She liked that; to him, she was worthy of flirting with her in the first place.

When the shy one, who kept his head down nearly the entire time, finally looked up at her. She had heard him gasp. Then he spoke. 'You're very beautiful,' he had said. She could hear his sincerity when he said it. It touched her somehow differently than anyone else had.

Ver only looked into his eyes for a brief moment, but the short time was long enough. The shy one was her mate. She knew he didn't realize it. He would figure it out sooner or later. Knowing how it feels to be uncomfortable around people, Ver decided to give him time to figure it out for himself. If he were going to go to the tavern often, she would try to get him to sit in her section. She would try to stick to the back booths that were barely lit. She could tell that those dark booths would be where he would feel the most comfortable. It was where she, herself, felt the most comfortable, but in her duty, serving those who came to the tavern, it was not always possible.

Not paying attention to where she was going, she slammed into a firm body. "Sorry," she squeaked, looking up at who she slammed into. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

The man studied her for a moment before he spoke. "Good evening. I was not looking where I was headed either," Fleet Commander Lerian stated. "I was on my way back to my ship. I have a lot on my mind and wasn't watching where I was going."

Ver swallowed. Fear seeped through her. She only heard about the fleet commander. He was known to always be in a foul mood. He was also not known to come to the planet's surface. She quickly gave the gesture of respect. "I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention," she whispered, holding her head down so he didn't have to look at her eyes. She knew she had already told him that, but couldn't help repeating it.

"No one was harmed, and I think, in this case, it was not your fault alone," he assured her. "I need to go. My pilots are waiting for me. Have a good evening," he finished, then quickly rushed off toward the shuttle's landing pad.

Ver turned and watched him disappear. She was surprised he gave no reaction, like everyone else. He studied her before speaking, but there was nothing negative in his response to her. It was more of a recollection. It surprised her. She could also tell that she wasn't the only one lost in thought. So was he.

Ver turned from the retreating fleet commander and rushed off toward her dorm. She needed to sleep; she had another shift in the morning.

*** *** ***

Fleet Commander Lerian rushed toward his shuttle. His thoughts were now on the girl he had just run into. It had to be destiny. She wasn't his mate, but he knew a little something about white eyes. As far as he knew, he was the only one who currently knew anything about them, in fact. Those with them were very special in some way, but he had forgotten what it was. He knew, however, that whatever it was, it was important.

As a youth, he had stumbled on a file in the archives that told all about it. It was an old file. It was a long time ago, so he had forgotten the details. All he remembered was that white eyes were very special. His gut told him that with the current situation, she would somehow play a huge part. He didn't know if it was finding out about the toxin that was used to tamper with the human truth serum, finding out who was responsible for tampering with it, or finding a way to save those in stasis because of it.

Lerian knew that as soon as he sent the list of names to the surface of who all had their hands on the injector before use on the planet for interrogation, he would need to go back through the archives and find out what was special about the white-eyed girl.

*** *** ***

Miles sat on the sofa with Dan, who was trying to teach him how to play the Ramesian card game that was so popular with them. After some thought, he decided the game didn't make sense to him.

"I don't get it," he told Dan. "Why do the colored ones only go with each other sometimes? I tried to play my hand with all one color, and you said that in this situation, they don't go together, yet when I played a similar hand, it did. I don't get this game at all."

Dan chuckled and pulled one card out of the bundle of all red cards that Miles held in his hand. "Now you can play it. Only an even number of cards can have the same color as all of them."

"Well, that's stupid," Miles grumbled. "I'm going for a walk."

Throwing down the offensive cards, he headed out of the dwelling.

"Stay on the path until you remember where you live," Dan laughed, cleaning up the card game.

Still grumbling, Miles left the dwelling and headed toward the Tavern. His head was down, trying not to be seen. It was a reflex from his long stint in the Ramesian prison.

As he quickly made his way up the small, paved path, he hit a firm but soft body. He quickly looked up; his reflexes caught up with him, and he caught the body before it fell. With her still in his arms, he gasped as he realized it was the girl he had met earlier.

"Sorry," Miles said nervously. "I wasn't watching where I was going," he admitted as he helped her stand upright.

Ver smoothed her clothes with her hands, trying to smooth her wrinkled clothes. "It's fine," she told him, smiling. "You're actually the second person I ran into on my way to the dorm tonight."

Out of shock, Miles looked up, making eye contact with her. He froze, suddenly mesmerized by the stars he saw there. Shaking himself back to reality, he forced himself to speak. "I thought it was only humans that live in the dorms," he told her, sounding confused again.

Ver sighed. She understood Miles was shy. She also found out that he had just been released from prison and was now living in a dwelling with Dan. It was sort of a payback for being housed in the cell for so long, even though he had been innocent the entire time. Dan was supposed to be teaching him how to live in the dome. He was shy and unsure because he wasn't used to being around anyone besides an occasional guard.

"Yes, we do too. There are also dorms for the Kreq," she started to explain, but Miles interrupted.

"What are the Kreq?" he asked, looking up at her. He was mesmerized again as he stared into her eyes.

Ver tried not to react; she was getting the same reaction he was. He wasn't ready, though. "They look like humans, only there is a faint tint of green to their skin," she told him.

"Uh ha," he breathed, still mesmerized. "Am I your mate?" he suddenly asked, but continued, not giving her time to answer. "I heard about mates. I feel like I'm yours."

Ver smiled widely, loving that he had already figured it out. Her smile faded suddenly before she put her head down in shame. "Yes, but not many would want someone like me," she said quietly. "I'm an outcast. I'm different because of my eyes."

Miles frowned, not liking what she had said. "Then they don't deserve you. I love your eyes. They are very beautiful. They have a purity about them. I'm not talking about it because they are white, but you radiate something of purity and strength. It's like a divine energy. All I see is beauty and radiance when I look at you. I can't imagine anyone rejecting you for that."

A tear ran down Ver's cheek at hearing his words. She had never been spoken to that way. It made her feel loved for the first time in her entire life.

Miles, without thinking, reached up and wiped her tears away with his thumb. Ver looked at him in wonder, not used to being treated with so much care.

"Do you want to come home with me?" Miles asked quietly. "Perhaps we should speak in private and not out here in the middle of everything. I live with Dan. He will give us privacy to talk. I'm pretty sure, at least," he told her. Miles didn't like her out in the open, where everyone could see her pain. He felt like he needed to protect her from those who would add to it, making her pain worse.

Ver nodded slowly as Miles took her hand and led her back to the dwelling he had just left. Miles suddenly wondered how Dan would take it. He saw how he flirted with her while they were in the tavern. He was quickly becoming nervous to face him.

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