Galactic Alliance 3: Honor Thy Enemy by Doug Farren

growing wetness on her shoulder as she held him close. After fifteen minutes the sobbing and shaking started to slow then came to a stop. Elizabeth gently led him to a chair, handed him a box of tissues, then left to get some water. When she returned he was fast asleep.
    Six hours later, Ken woke up and, for a moment did not know where he was. Elizabeth was at her desk and heard him stir. “Good morning Captain,” she said keeping her tone light. “The head is to your right. I'll have your breakfast warmed up when you're done.”
    Still groggy and trying to piece together how he had ended up in the councilor's stateroom Ken discovered that his bladder was full and he was very hungry. Standing up he started to say something but was cut short by Elizabeth, “Not a word until after you have had something to eat. Doctor's orders.”
    Nature was calling quite loudly and Ken wasn't sure what he was going to say anyway. He closed his half-open mouth and went to find the head. A short time later he emerged to find a steaming plate of bacon and eggs along with a cup of coffee sitting on the small table in front of the chair he had slept in. His stomach told him to eat.
    As he sat down and started eating, Elizabeth took a seat directly across from him and said, “I took the liberty of getting you some breakfast while you slept. I hope I didn't microwave it too much.”
    Through a mouthful of eggs Ken replied, “It's perfect. Thank you. About last night… ”
    “Eat,” Elizabeth interrupted. While Ken had slept, Elizabeth had thought about how to proceed with Ken's recovery. She knew full well that she would need to use all her professional skills to help put Ken on the road to recovery. The trick, she believed, would be to keep him off balance and even slightly confused. Right now he was tired, hungry, and still trying to figure out what had happened. Because of the events of last night there was also an emotional attachment as well. She had to be very careful because if she pushed too hard he would resist and his shield would be rebuilt.
    Elizabeth had taken great care in choosing how she had dressed. She knew full well that she was a very good looking woman and was well aware of the effects she could have on men. As a psychological professional, she was normally loth to use her looks in her work but in this instance it was exactly what was required. She didn't want Ken to be uncomfortable, but she did want him to notice her. Not because she was interested in him but because it would help keep him off balance. She had chosen a top that showed just the slightest amount of cleavage and she had left her hair down. It wasn't provocative, but her outfit would have caused any Human male to give her a second look.
    Elizabeth waited until Ken had taken several bites of his breakfast then set her own cup of coffee down and cast her eyes around the room as if seeing it for the first time. “You know,” she said matter of factly, as if nothing at all had happened last night, “I've been occupying this room for quite some time and I've always wondered about what the other occupants were like. The ship's records haven't been much help but, from what I've read, I think I would have enjoyed meeting councilor Harper.”
    She had purposefully used Tasha's unmarried name and her title to prevent Ken from reacting. Because of the way she had phrased the question, Ken's mind brought up the memory of Tasha as he knew her when he was the Captain of the Komodo Dragon fifteen years ago, not the memory of Tasha as his departed wife.
    “You would have really liked her,” Ken said almost without thinking. There was a lot of psychology at play here and Ken had no inkling that he had been played like a fine violin. His mind was now thinking of Tashara as she was 15 years ago. He was still tired which kept him from being mentally sharp. He was sitting in front of a beautiful woman which put him at ease and triggered his subconscious masculinity into