“Created? By whom?” Weston asked after a moment, taking a seat as he gazed at the young woman.

As he watched her consider her response, Weston took the opportunity to evaluate her. Milla Chans was pretty, he decided after a long moment, with an exotic air to her eyes that added interest to her face. She was petite and probably didn’t weigh more than 110 pounds. But she was obviously strong, or she would still be under Rame’s expert care, so Weston was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on that matter. He was still examining her when Milla started to respond.

“I do not think you are ready for that yet. If you were, you wouldn’t need to ask such a question, Captaine. May I ask a question of you now?”

Weston hesitated a moment, frowning at the evasion. In the end, he decided that it wouldn’t lose him anything to play along for a moment. “Yes, if you like. However, like you, I do not promise to answer.”

Ithan Chans looked at him appraisingly; she had expected no less. “Of course, but I must ask this anyway. Where are you from? I know it is not one of the colonies because your ship’s technology is completely wrong.”

“I can’t answer that, other than that we are a long-range exploration vessel. As for our technology, what do you mean ‘wrong’?” Weston asked, raising an eyebrow.

Milla’s arms swept around the room. “I mean wrong. You use archaic airlocks, metal to construct your vessel, or at least the floors and walls here, and yet you have dimensional access, and your computer…talks.”

She blinked, shaking her head over that last comment before speaking again. “It is painfully obvious, even from what little I’ve seen, that you must be one of the Others.”

Weston’s eyes narrowed at the way she pronounced the word Others, like it was almost a curse. “Who are the Others, Ithan?”

Milla’s lips curled. “The Others are those who broke their oath.”

By this point, Weston was completely confused. “Oath?”

She looked up into his eyes, realizing that he didn’t know what she meant. “There is a history to the universe of which you are completely unaware, one which I am ill-equipped to relate.”

“Oh?” Dr. Palin leaned forward, rapt with attention. “Could you tell me more?”

Milla hesitated, shaking her head. “I don’t believe that I should. There are some things in this universe that are better left unknown. Some knowledge changes you…That knowledge exacts a terrible toll.”

Well, isn’t that melodramatic? Weston thought, noting with amusement that Palin was utterly fascinated. Weston was about to ask something further when a message chirped through his induction unit.

“Weston here.”

“Captain, we’re approaching the fourth planet,” Roberts’s voice reverberated through his jaw and into his ear. “I thought you might like to be up here for this.”

Weston nodded, standing up. “I’ll be right up.”

He looked over to Milla. “I have to go. Feel free to ask if you need anything, and I believe that we can get someone in here to translate the menu for you.”