A midwife trained to attend another Terran meets a fighter with his eyes on more than the prize.

Olive has wanted to take midwife training, but the waiting list is nearly a decade long. When she is offered the chance to take the training and go into space, she takes it. Who wouldn’t?

Assigned as midwife to a pregnant Terran on an alien world, she is immersed in a world of fighters, trainers and paparazzi.

Regaran knows that a Terran would be a good match for him, but the only one he knows is taken. When he meets Olive, he is stunned by his response to her soft words and shy manner. After she gets a good night’s sleep, he finds out that her words are carefully chosen and she is not as demure as she looks. She’s a warrior who picks her battles, and he is looking for a fight.

Excerpt:

Olive printed out the letter and got to her feet. She went to her manager’s office and knocked on the door.

“Olive, come in.” Wendy smiled kindly.

Olive closed the door behind her and handed her the letter. “I am sorry that it is short notice, but I start training in four days.”

“Are you sure this is a real acceptance?”

Olive’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and the caller ID was from the Volunteer Centre.

“May I?”

Wendy was curious now. “Please.”

Olive answered. “Hello?”

“Ms. Olive Alberta Green?” The raspy, low tone was definitely familiar.

“Yes.”

“It is good to hear your voice again. This is Recruiter Norz. I am just calling to confirm the email that was sent earlier. Are you able to come to the training centre?”

“I am. I was just resigning my job.”

“Excellent. My apologies for the late notice, but they have decided to run your particular class six months early.”

“If I may ask, what will I be training for?”

“My dear Ms. Green, you are to become a midwife.”

Olive grinned and went through the rest of the pleasantries on automatic. She couldn’t get the smile off her face.

After final goodbyes, she hung up, and Wendy sighed and accepted the document as an accelerated resignation. No one volunteering could be penalized or threatened in any way. The moment that the acceptance came through, they had the equivalent of diplomatic immunity.

“If you have any questions about the veracity of the assignment, here is his number at the Centre. He agreed to answer anything you care to ask him.”

Wendy smiled. “I am going to lose my best problem solver.”

“Not lose me. Consider me out on loan.”

“You aren’t coming back.”

Olive raised her finger in the air. “Unlike the first wave of Volunteers, we have the right to return home after three years if we want to. We have to give it a try for just three years, and if we don’t like it, we can come home. The Earth isn’t closed to us like it was to the others. I can come home in three years.”

Wendy sighed. “I will rush the payroll as fast as I can.”

“Good. I have to go home and pack. I have utilities to turn off and an apartment to sublet. Here is hoping that this all goes smoothly.”

“What about the Artur file?”

“Done, as is everything else in my queue. I am clear for takeoff.”

Wendy rubbed her temples. “You know, if I wasn’t aware of what you could do, I would have had to let you go months ago. You go through a day’s work in an hour and spend the rest of your day trouble spotting on the other members of the office without their knowing about it. You have increased our accuracy by seventy percent. You will be missed.”

Olive smiled. “I will miss you, too.”

Wendy sighed and printed off the official documents. Olive signed her resignation and got to her feet with a deep sigh. “That is it then. I can go home and start dismantling my life.”

“Don’t they have something in place to help you with that?”

“They do, but you know me and settling details. I love to do it myself.”

Wendy walked her to her desk and waited while Olive cleaned out her desk.

It didn’t take long. Work was no place for private objects when you were under observation for the Volunteer program. As soon as someone knew that you had applied, your personal life was held up for examination and ridicule.

Yes, it was an honour to be chosen, but so many more women and men applied and were rejected that they had begun to heap derision on those who succeeded. It was a power ploy that would fade once the first members of the Second Wave went up. It was a huge deal that ninety percent of the Terrans had survived. The memorial wall was part of every city that had one of the fallen. Two hundred monuments around the world with names engraved were visited every day.

Olive packed up her box, shook Wendy’s hand and headed out of the office with the determination that she was not going to end up on a monument. How dangerous could being a midwife be?