Finally she dropped to her knees, scented her hair, and licked the last drop. I moved close to kiss her, but she raised her hand in refusal."You'll ge...t yourself all sticky," Sandra explained, and it was true. The whole front of her nightgown was soaked."We better get to class," I reminded her."Yeah, I guess you should," remarked Crystal.Like a shot I turned to face her. Her expression, however, was difficult to read. Amused? Superior? Commanding?Sandra clearly knew something was going on, but. "I'm very, very happy for you both," she said opening one arm to Mark who happily joined the embrace."We have one problem, Mum," he said as they drew apart."What?" We think we may be over in love. It's more than General Anthony's goopiness. We just can't bear to be apart and then, when we're together, we have to touch each other. Surely it shouldn't be this intense?"Elspeth looked hard at him to make sure he was serious and then pulled them back into the group hug."There's nothing wrong with. His curiosity became suspicion. Hang on, these aliens didn’t have the industrial capacity to make this kind of weapon, they didn’t have forges or factories. Their clothing was made of leather and bone, their fuel source was animal fat, and they lived in an archaic wooden longhouse. Where had they obtained these guns?Zagza noticed that he was staring at it, seeming disturbed, his expression darkening as he covered the gun with the cloth that he had been cleaning it with as if it were a dead. He’s still fuming, but he’s stopped screaming. Liz, are you OK?”“I suppose. We’re going around in circles.”“Same as Dad and me.”“You agree with Liz?” Mom asked.“I told her I thought it was a bad idea, but when she persisted, all I could do was love her.”“How long have you known?”“Since she told me,” I replied. “Dad asked that question and I could repeat the entire conversation if you want, but in the end, Liz asked for my confidence and I agreed.”“It was before graduation,” Mom said, stating it.