I'd been sitting alone on the space craft for about half an hour, and still didn't feel like moving.

Keleon had docked the craft, and had asked whether I needed anything, but I'd just shaken my head and asked to be left alone for a bit. He had obliged and disappeared from the ship, leaving me on my own to think. I hadn't come to any conclusions about anything, though. I'd tried sifting through the information, the emotions, the heartbreak, the internal conflict ... but none of it was helping. I concluded that, although I didn't feel like moving, maybe a walk would help.

As I exited the craft, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass of the window. My hair was a mess and my eyes were red-rimmed. Normally I would have tried to do something to make myself look a bit more presentable, but not today.

I didn't really have a destination in mind as I walked mindlessly through the hanger.

"Damon!" I heard Mia's voice and looked round for her. 

She was smiling down from the top of another space craft, with her hair tied back in a messy ginger bun and work overalls covered with oil and grease, with one hand in the air as a greeting. My feet switched direction and started taking me towards her before my brain had caught up with what I was doing. She climbed down her ladder to meet me.

"Hi," she said cheerfully. She must have then registered my tear-stained face, red eyes and unkempt hair, as her smile faded and was replaced by a look of concern. "Are you OK?"

"He's not human," was what tumbled out.

I hadn't intended to talk to her about it, but apparently, that's what I was doing.

"Shit," replied Mia, comprehension appearing in her features. "You didn't know."

It wasn't a question, but I shook my head anyway as I sat on a nearby storage box with my head in my hands. Mia came and sat right next to me. Liquid filled my eyes again. I willed the tears to stop, to no avail, and they fell onto the floor.

"I just assumed you'd had that conversation." she admitted, taking a deep breath. "I guess Keleon thought that information ..."

"Wasn't relevant ..." I finished for her.

We both knew that was what she was going to say.

"And is it?" she asked gently. "Relevant, I mean? You're saying you can't date someone who's not human?"

"I didn't even consider it until a couple of hours ago," I replied honestly. "I just thought he was a bit of an oddball, you know? But he's not who I thought he was, and that hurts so much."

My stomach tightened as I remembered the Kikorangi girl morphing into Keleon in front of me.

"Can you tell me about who you thought he was?" Mia asked. "Aside from his appearance, I mean?" she added, smiling a little.

I thought about the interactions we'd had.

"Well, um, he was very caring. He's made me feel looked after lots of times. He listened when I was upset about him kissing you. He taught me how to fly the craft, and honestly, that was one of the best experiences of my life. We played chess together and it was a lot of fun. He taught me about different types of stars. I even liked his quirks."

"Well, there's nothing you've said there that isn't Keleon," she pointed out. "He can still do all those things without being human."

I knew she had a point, but I was still struggling with it. I decided it was probably because of the feelings of deception. Nobody had intended to deceive me, I was sure, but it didn't stop me feeling like my relationship was a sham. I recognised I was partly angry with myself. I'd assumed too much along the way, only seen what I wanted to see, and not asked enough questions.

Now I had an opportunity to ask things I should have asked before. I sat up and faced her.

"The other day, when you said you liked his 'new look,' you weren't talking about his clothes, were you?" I ventured, with a layer of extra comprehension.

"No," confirmed Mia. "I meant the attractive human male thing. I knew it was him, though, because we've agreed that he'll initiate contact using my name if he's shifted since we last saw each other."

I ran my hands through my hair until my head rested on my knees, feeling like a prize idiot. I sat up when Mia spoke again.

"Do you know how I met Keleon?" she asked.

"He said it was in casino on Gokk?" I responded.

"It was. I was working there as a game hostess. The casino was jointly run by a human and a Neruvian, so most of the clients were from Earth or Neru, but everyone with something of value to gamble was welcome.

"On this particular night, I was working on the Duplex table, which is a game where two players play against each other. A man entered and sat in one of the seats, waiting for an opponent. It wasn't long before the other seat was taken by one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. She had straight black hair that was long enough to sit on, dark skin and eyes like melting chocolate. Her dress was simple, but flattering, and showed off her figure in all the right places. I found it interesting that she'd chosen to drink a Sunbolt, which you can tell from its distinctive orange hue. Nerubians love it, but it's not very palatable for humans, so I clocked it because it was an unusual choice for a human.

"But what was even more interesting was the man's reaction to her. He was absolutely transfixed by this beauty. Naturally, he started flirting. She didn't respond, and just played the game as any other customer would, which only made him flirt harder. He became preoccupied with getting her attention, rather than focusing on the game, so he started to lose. I mean, nobody could deny how attractive she was. But to him ... she was totally irresistible, like a drug. Like she was exactly his type. So much so, that he was willing to keep playing just so he could be near her, even if he was obviously going to lose. At the time, I didn't know who to feel sorrier for. This beautiful lady who was obviously not interested in anything except the game, being pestered like that by someone she'd just met, or the man that was desperately trying to win her affection. But I figured that everything they were doing was by their choice, so I didn't intervene while this lady won game after game.

"My colleague also saw what was going on. She concluded that nobody could have that much luck consistently and reported the lady to our superiors for cheating. They re-ran the close-up footage of the games, but because there was no sleight of hand or manipulation of the discs, they had to let her go with her winnings. Besides, her opponent, when questioned, agreed that he didn't feel she had cheated, so what could they do? It can't really be classed as cheating if the reason you've won is because your opponent couldn't focus, and they chose to continue playing anyway.

"The next night I was working the Duplex table again. A Neruvian female sat down to wait for an opponent, and within a few minutes, a Neruvian male sat down with her to play. He was drinking a Sunbolt, but that's not unusual for Neruvians. I don't know what makes Neruvians attractive to each other, but whatever it is, he had it. Same story as the night before. The female was completely driven to distraction by the male, like she just couldn't resist him. And, like the night before, he showed no interest in her, yet he was all she could focus on. Duplex is a game you need to concentrate on, so she inevitably lost game after game too. This didn't seem like a coincidence to me, and as I watched, I saw the same mannerisms, same body language, same use of words, same character as the night before, so I suspected the Neruvian male was somehow the lady with the long dark hair. But I couldn't work out how. They were different heights to each other and had different skin, hair and eye colour, and none of it looked holographic."

"So, what happened?"

"I stopped the game, took the Neruvian to one side and confronted him quietly. He said his name was Keleon and he had a talent for distracting people while they played. The more we spoke, the more I realised he didn't even know what it was that was distracting his opponents, he just knew they weren't paying attention to the game, which gave him a better chance of winning. From his point of view, he was just being himself, playing by the rules and it worked. And in fairness, he never led them on or tried to toy with their affections, he just concentrated on what he was doing and let them fawn over him if they wanted."

"Sounds like Keleon," I conceded, nodding slightly. I noticed I was no longer crying at least. "He said something about being able to instinctively pick up on the subconscious desires of others. Is that how he knew what would distract them?" My face heated up. "What would distract me?" I asked, embarrassed, while Mia nodded. "God, I spent so much time in that facility dreaming about a knight in shining armour, I should have realised it was too good to be true when one showed up that was perfect for me."

"But not a coincidence. It wouldn't have mattered who you were looking for to get you out of there. Keleon would have been it. He can somehow get into the subconscious of his target and he can become their deepest desire. So, if you wanted to be rescued by a beautiful red-headed woman," Mia started twirling her hair and looking innocently up to the ceiling, gesticulating at herself as she did so, "then that's what you would have got. Keleon's low-level telepathy would have morphed him into whatever your heart craved, if that's what suited his purpose. He needed to be the person that was most likely to get you to follow him, so he must have made himself irresistible to you. And now, it seems, your ultimate fantasy man is walking around for everyone to see."

I groaned with humiliation. 

"Oh God, don't say that. I feel like such an idiot."

"Please don't. You have an excellent imagination."

I gave her a playful shove.

"You know what I mean. He tricked them both in the casino, and now I've fallen for it too." As I said it out loud, I realise how true that was.

'Driven to distraction.'

'Totally irresistible, like a drug.'

What Mia had described in those other humanoids ... I'd felt those things too. I hadn't paid attention to things I should have focused on because I was trying to capture his interest.

Duped, just like those Duplex opponents.