He had a noble bearing, with broad shoulders and a slim waist.
No wonder my sister had been so quick to fall into his arms in her previous life.
Unfortunately for her, he had avoided her advances, remaining true to his duty.

If he had responded more favorably, perhaps my sister would have found her first guardian.
As though he could feel my gaze, the admiral turned his cold, impassionate gaze towards me.
His fur-covered ears seemed to tremble, ever so slightly.
So, like Dirk, this astral was half man, half animal too.
Despite his stern appearance, I suddenly felt there was something playful about him.
Cute, even.

I was suddenly reminded of the racial hierarchy of the Astral Alliance.
Even though most of its members were comparatively normal—by human standards—there were a large number of animal people and other species.
Most of the other species felt an innate prejudice towards those astrals who were half animals.
As a result, any animal person who rose to a position of authority in the alliance was certain to be a truly capable individual.

This was doubly true for the military, and yet in the military, most of those serving were animal people.
All this meant that the admiral who stood before me must have been extremely talented.
I returned his gaze with a smile.
His thin lips seemed to tighten.
"Do you really think you can take these weak humans, Isaiah? They've already drunk my genetic venom. There is no antidote; within three days, they'll be dead."
Dirk's voice rose from behind the astral soldiers.
Isaiah's face, already cold and austere, hardened further.
He turned, his soldiers parting to each side.
Dirk was still carrying my sister, his crew of space pirates at his back.
"What do you want?" Said Isaiah, coldly.
"1,000,000,000 credits. Give me that and these earthlings are yours." Dirk responded, greed in his eyes.
"Done!" Said Isaiah, without hesitation.
My sister's gaze was fixed on me, her eyes filled with a fierce light.
"I want my sister too. She's my only family."
My heart seemed to stop.
I thought I was free, but her sudden demand caught me completely off guard.
"Admiral, please. I wish to go with the other humans to live on your planet."
I acted without thinking, taking a step forward and clasping Isaiah's hand.
I could feel the scorching heat of his palm burning through his glove.
I was shocked to find I could hold on.
In our last lives, when my sister had fallen down, had he not avoided touching her?
It seemed odd to me, but now wasn't the time to mull it over.
"Please, admiral, take me with you."
"Okay!" He agreed without even looking at me.
Dirk looked at me and smiled. "If I were to let her go, that would be ignoring the wishes of my lady wife."
"Do you plan to fight me?" Isaiah's voice was now even colder and seemed to carry a hint of danger.
"Of course not! I'm just saying, it'll cost you. How about another half a billion?"
I knew enough about the astral economy to know that half a billion credits were equivalent to roughly five billion dollars on Earth.
I subconsciously tightened my grip on Isaiah's hand.
"Done!" Isaiah replied, with the same efficiency of words he had displayed thus far.
This sent my sister into a fit of rage.
"You'd spend 500,000,000 credits on her? There's no way the alliance will agree to that!"
"The alliance values every female that wishes to join our ranks. Besides, this 500,000,000 isn't coming from the alliance, it will be coming from me." Isaiah responded calmly.
This only served to enrage my sister more.
"Are you really willing to spend so much money on her?! Have you fallen for her? How could you possibly fall for her?!"
The good mood that Dirk had been put in from his earnings suddenly evaporated with my sister's outburst.
He grabbed my sister by the throat and growled at her, darkly, "What are you getting so worked up about? Don't tell me you've fallen for our brave admiral here."
Dirk's tone had scared some sense into my sister. She instantly started blurting out excuses.
"I just don't think she's worth so much money. She doesn't deserve to be with an exceptional astral."
But Dirk only smiled at her, darkly.
Once Isaiah had handed over the money, Dirk provided him with the antidote.
Seeing that I was finally safe, I tried to let go of the admiral's hand.
But no sooner had I loosened my grip, than he tightened his own.