Justin Nesbit, soldier turned prospector, crash lands on a planet in a star system that doesn't exist on any map. He's taken prisoner by the natives, and finds himself thrust into a strange new culture, a strange new language ... and strange new feelings. From the start, Sajah, the alien leading the natives, is intensely interested in him.<br><br>Sajah is a big and strange alien, unlike anyone Justin has ever encountered in his life. Fumbling through cultural and language barriers, they become friends. But one crucial moment of misunderstanding changes Justin's entire situation and leads him down a path to a choice he never imagined in his wildest dreams.

Captive

Waking several hours later, the second moon already starting to fall deep below the horizon, Justin stood up and stretched until his joints popped, his mind at ease. Sajah had put his life on the line for Justin and that wasn’t the action of someone looking to put him on a spit roast. Sajah wouldn’t hurt him. Justin believed that with everything in him. Shit, even the warriors had stopped being hostile once they had Sajah back, now that he thought about it. Maybe he was just seeing this all wrong.


Justin would go along with whatever happened and deal with the issues as they came. It’s not like he had any reason to distrust the natives after last night and the paranoia ingrained from his days as a soldier at war would have to shut the hell up from then on. He was worried about his friend too.


Chapter 9