It was working.

The people in the town started to open up to her. She was happy that it all came pretty easily. At one point she was concerned that they would get there and immediately be run out by people with torches and pitchforks.

Tempest also realized that even though a lot of them looked different, they were pretty much the same as humans. They all had their wants and dreams. People were fed up with being worked too hard or that they didn’t have more in life. The same problems humans faced back on earth.

Maybe that was why the high council thought human women would make a good match for the men on this planet.

Tempest felt like she could stand and talk to them all day. They were so free with the information that they gave her. She was truly learning a lot, but she also realized that with every new person who joined the crowd to talk to her, Dron would get just a little bit more tense.

He probably wasn’t used to being around so many people.

She felt bad for him.

The last thing Tempest wanted to do was make him any more uncomfortable than he already was.

"Wow, I didn’t realize just how late it was getting." Tempest made a show of looking around as if she could really tell the time. She still hadn’t figured that out just yet. She did know that it was light out much longer than it would be on Earth. She wondered if that meant the nights were just as long. So far it hadn’t affected her sleep schedule much.

Dron furrowed his eyebrows at her as if he couldn’t understand what she was getting at.

"Maybe it’s time we go see Clik? I wouldn’t want to miss out on talking to him." She was giving him a way out. A way to be rid of the crowd of people around him. Dron visibly relaxed when he finally understood what she was saying.

"Yes, we can go see the scientist now."

"Clik? You want to go see that nutcase?" A woman from the crowd spoke up.

"Nutcase? Is something wrong with him?" Tempest questioned.

"He’s completely engrossed in his work. He barely speaks to anyone here in the town. He always thinks he’s on the verge of the next big breakthrough." The woman shrugged her shoulders hard.

"And I’m assuming nothing he’s worked on has panned out?" Tempest tilted her head, trying to figure out why someone being passionate about what they are working on would be enough to earn the crazy moniker.

"Some things turn out well, but there are more important things to work on besides nature. For one, trying to win this war. He should be focusing on providing us with better—"

Tempest stopped listening to the woman. Her opinions no longer mattered. Tempest had known countless people like this Clik. People who others didn’t understand simply because they thought differently from the crowd. The nerds or emo crowd came to her mind. She remembered how they were bullied in school and how they were usually the nicest people to befriend.

No, this Clik person would get the benefit of the doubt from Tempest.

"I still think I should go speak with him." She smiled tightly at the lady, cutting her off mid-rant before she tugged on Dron’s arm. The one she had yet to let go of, and they started to walk away from the large crowd of people that had encircled them.

The farther away they got, the more of the tension she could feel leave Dron’s body.

"Is this Clik man someone I need to be worried about?"

"Only if you have a problem listening to incessant chatter. The man can talk for ages." Dron chuckled lightly.

Tempest could deal with a chatterbox. In fact, she was looking forward to it.

Dron and Tempest walked into a small hut. There were papers and other tools scattered on nearly every available surface.

"I’m unavailable." A man who was standing in the corner, hunched over a table, yelled out as he looked down into what Tempest could only assume was the Thraqen version of a microscope. It was more high-tech than anything she’d ever seen on earth.

She wondered if they were so technologically advanced in science, how they’d never heard of a bomb or a gun. She guessed it was for the best. They weren’t wrong when they said bombs were a waste of life and nature.

"Are you sure you don’t have a minute to spare? I was quite sure you’d like to meet the guest of honor." Dron’s deep voice echoed through the small space.

Clik looked absolutely ridiculous when he turned around. There was a device attached to his head that made it look like he had binoculars attached to glasses, which somehow hooked into his nose.

"I said I was un—" Clik’s mouth dropped open for a second before he ripped the device from his face. "By the moon gods, it can’t be. Are you... are you human?" Clik asked.

Tempest shrugged shyly, "Guilty as charged."

The alien scientist’s face grew paler than she thought it should’ve been able to before it took it’s color back on.

"Dron! You wonderful, wonderful Alpha. Thank you so much for allowing her to come and speak with me. I mean, not that you really had a choice in the matter. I’m sure she was the one who decided to come here in the first place. Why wouldn’t she? After all, there is nowhere else on this planet where she can be surrounded by pieces of her home. On that note, is there anything in here that you would say doesn’t belong to the planet Earth? I’ve had a recent shipment come in, and the merchant assured me that it was all earth paraphernalia, but I am starting to believe that he might have been lying to me. Have you found many people here that are willing to tell you the truth about things? In a place that is so stuck on the idea of honor, I’m finding there are a lot of dishonorable people here." Clik stopped and took a breath.

Tempest was startled.

Never in her life had she ever heard anyone talk that fast. At least not anyone who wasn’t on some sort of drug or on tv.

"Whoa, you weren’t lying." Tempest looked up at Dron who only shook his head and gave her the I-told-you-so expression.

"Lying? No, I don’t peg Dron as a liar. Overly grumpy. A little jaded. But not a liar." Clik offered up without even knowing the context of what he was adding his two cents to.

"Grumpy. Yes. I agree." Tempest chuckled.

"Oh...a laugh. Yes, I’ve read about that." Clik rushed over to the other side of the shack and pulled out a book. It was written in Thraqen so Tempest didn’t understand what it was saying. He gestured to the pages waiting for her to give her input.

She squinted and smiled tightly at the man, "I’m sorry. My translator doesn’t help me with the written word here. I can’t read that." Tempest suddenly felt incredibly uneducated. She missed being able to read books.

"Oh, how silly of me. No. How silly of your guides. They really should’ve put the translator on your device as well. I swear, for people who like to think they know everything, they can be a little thick sometimes. It would’ve only taken a second, but I’m sure they were too busy parading you around to think about—"

Tempest cut him off by putting her hand up in the air. The suddenness of her movement distracted Clik, like a dog spotting a squirel.

"You’re saying you can put the translator on my device?" She held up her wrist, and the holographic tablet appeared.

"Yes, of course. It’s quite simple. Just need to change a bit of code." Clik shrugged his shoulders.

Tempest turned her head in Dron’s direction and narrowed her eyes. There would be hell to pay if he kept this update from her on purpose. He must’ve realized what she was thinking because he quickly shook his head.

"I’m a military man. This is out of my skill set. I didn’t know it was possible."

"Hmm, I guess." Tempest grumbled but continued to hold out her hand for Clik to do what he said he could do. After a few seconds, she realized that Clik wasn’t touching her.

"Is there a problem?" Tempest asked.

"Ah, no problem." Clik’s eyes jerked up to Dron and then back to Tempest. "It’s just you are mated. I’m not really supposed to be touching you without permission."

Tempest rolled her eyes. She hated that. Hated that she didn’t really have authority over her own body.

"It’s fine; you may update her device." Dron quickly offered.

"Yes, it’s fine with me too." Tempest said with sarcasm dripping off every word.

Clik got to work quickly. Tempest tried to keep up with what he was doing, but when it got to the more technical aspects, she was lost. Clik said that it was simple, but based off the amount of change he was making to the code, it didn’t seem like it was simple at all. In fact it seemed as if only a master hacker would be able to pull something like this off.

Thankfully, only a few minutes later, Clik let go of her wrist and stepped back. "Go on. Try it out."

"How do I do that?" Tempest asked, excited to be able to read the things around her. Clik directed her on which program to use and soon a small screen popped up. It was empty. Just a clear screen. Tempest was confused.

"Point it at what you want to read." Clik urged her on.

Slowly, Tempest panned the nearly translucent screen in front of the book, and right in front of her eyes, all the words on the page translated to English.

"Oh my god! I can’t believe it. Will this work for everything?"

"Yes, if you’d like, I could try to put the program into a pair of glasses so you wouldn’t have to use your wrist device all the time." Clik smiled at her.

"Thank you. I’d love that. Thank you so much." Tempest was overwhelmed by all the information she was now able to see around her. It was like a whole new world.

"Now back to what I’ve found. I really would love your input on a few of these things..." Just as Clik began to suffer from verbal diarrhea, the door to his shop swung open with a bang.

Dron instantly was on guard. He jumped in front of Tempest. His arms were out slightly, shielding her from whatever was at the door. A deep growl jutted from his throat.

"Calm yourself, boy." A man spoke, and all at once Tempest watched Dron seize up and drop out of his stance.

Either there was no danger, or the danger was so great even Dron knew that he was no match.

Tempest took a hesitant glance over Dron’s shoulder.

A tall alien, in what looked like full military gear, was standing at the door.

"Mark Chief Tuliq. I apologize for my outburst. I was off guard." Dron spoke, and Tempest was surprised.

She’d never seen him so contrite before.

"I’m sure you were. You should know better than that, Dron." The man at the door spoke.

Dron took a step to the side and addressed Tempest, "Tempest, this is my commander, Mark Chief Tuliq. He is the highest ranking member of the military."

Tempest was at a loss for words. Usually the highest-ranking member of the military sat behind a desk somewhere, but this man looked like he’d just come from battle. She couldn’t understand what he was doing here.

"Mark Chief, this is my mate, Tempest." Dron made the introductions.

Tempest had to fight the desire to step forward and shake the man’s hand. What was normal and culturally appropriate back on Earth wasn’t here on Ustea.

"It’s nice to meet you." Tempest spoke.

Mark Chief lifted and dropped his shoulders once. "And you as well, Omega. Dron I need to speak with you in private."

A knot formed in Tempest’s gut, but she didn’t know why.

"I do not wish to leave my mate on her own. I’m not sure if you were told, but we were attacked only yesterday. Her safety is paramount."

"No, your duty as a soldier is paramount, and I’ve just given you an order." Mark Chief snapped at Dron.

Tempest wanted to butt in, but she knew it wasn’t her place. She’d only make things worse. Whatever was happening, Dron would have to deal with it.

"I want to comply. I will speak with you, but I have to protect her. There is no other option. Or would you have me leave Thraqe’s most prized omega to fend for herself?" Dron spoke, and though the words were respectful, Tempest could hear the animosity in between the lines.

"Of course not. She will be safe here with the scientist, and if it pleases your Tempest, I leave two armed guards at the door to ensure no one bothers her."

Dron’s body trembled slightly with anger next to Tempest. The last thing she wanted was for there to be some kind of blowup between the two of them.

"That’s fine. I think Clik and I have a lot to talk about anyway. I’ll be okay until you return." Tempest grabbed hold of Dron’s arm and gave a little squeeze. Hopefully it was enough to put him back at ease.

"If you are sure, you’ll be okay." Dron looked down at her. She knew he was speaking to her with his eyes. Apologizing for having to leave her on her own.

"I will. Go handle your business." Tempest smiled up at Dron and he nodded once before he stepped back and nearly marched out of the front door.

Tempest watched him go. The knot in her stomach was getting bigger by the second.

She didn’t know what they were going to discuss, but she was already certain it wasn’t anything good.