All I could think about on the short trip to level 3 was Amilee, and why I'd jeopardised my mission for her; she meant nothing to me. I should have been concentrating on my job ... Just like Dave. Maybe if I kept repeating it I'd start believing it.

The female who offered me sympathy on the first day I looked after Amilee, smiled in greeting as I rounded the corner. "Good for you. It's about time someone put him right about that adorable child," she announced on her way past.

Word traveled fast.

Expecting to be detained at any second, I hoped I would find what I needed in the supply store. Nothing much, just a piece of organic material, a sample of rock, from my planet that I could charm for Amilee.

The same male was on duty and came back to me within a few minutes with a fist-sized piece of crystallised rock, sparkling in a pretty rainbow of colours under the artificial light. I knew natural light from the suns would emphasise it more. It was perfect. But in order for the charm to work, I'd need to ask the primary sun god for her blessing and that meant going outside. I knew the vessel was close enough to Chilano's surface to allow it.

Amilee was sleeping soundly when I gathered her badge to open the nearest hatch at the end of the corridor. A quick glance through the portal showed an open flight deck. There were fighters hovering in wait for clearance to take off. At the far end, the fluorescent coats of several deck hands glowed in the late afternoon sun.

I opened the door, only to have to struggle against the backwash from the fighters; the noise was deafening. A quieter corner behind some containers afforded a perfect view of the primary sun. I set the circle with the pouch of runes I withdrew from my pocket. The rock took centre place, sparkling brilliantly. All that was left was to link the rock to Amilee.

By the time I was done, I was alone on deck. The crew members and fighter pilots had retired for the day. I'd just finished gathering up the runes when I heard a whimper. After a few moments of searching I found her. Amilee must have woken and followed me outside; she sat slumped in a darkened corner, wearing nothing but her sleeping clothes. Without her badge she wouldn't have been able to get back in.

She appeared a little heavier than usual when I lifted her, but I associated it with the cold. I remember my mother telling me of the ice storms when she was a child. Of how Chilano people lose strength, eventually falling into deep slumber for the duration the temperature remained far below freezing.

Amilee's skin, cold to the touch, was paler than normal, having lost it's rosy glow. Her chattering lips an unusual shade of purple in the fading light. I hurried inside.

She stirred briefly as I laid her on her bed. I could transfer some warmth to her, but I'd need to work fast if we were to make the party on time. Absence of the guest of honor would definitely be noticed.

I didn't get the chance to heal her: Dave came in with one of those balloon things, took one look at me crouched over Amilee's prone figure and shoved me away. My face connected with something hard.

"What the hell did you do to her?" he screamed, lifting her blanket-wrapped little body. "She's ice cold."

"I'm sorry," I slurred, my lips and cheek swelling from the impact of the blow. I could taste blood. "She followed me outside."

"Christ! Follow me." He ran as fast as his burden would let him down the corridor. "Keep up!"

We entered a door marked 'Medic'. Dave set her on a narrow trolley while a female in a green uniform attached wires to various exposed areas of skin.

"Doc?" Dave pleaded after telling her what happened. "She'll be okay, right?"

"It's too soon to know for sure." She turned her eyes on me, handing me a cloth to clean the blood from my mouth. "How long was she outside?"

"I don't know, an hour at most."

Dave gasped and slumped into a seat by Amilee's head, his fingers absently stroked her hair in a loving caress. "Exposure to those temperatures for that length of time is fatal."

"Fatal?" I repeated, seeking confirmation from Doc.

She nodded.

I could save her, I knew I could. But what would be the point when she'd die later anyway. Now that I knew the human weakness it would be easy to eliminate every single one of them on all thirteen planets in our solar system within days. I had the power to do it.

Why then, did water fall from eyes at the thought of never hearing her laughter or seeing her smile again?