Enigma — Irene Radford

Aboard the space station First Contact Café, Station Commander General Jake Devlin and Sissy, inexperienced and undereducated High Priestess of Harmony, confront the mystery of an odd eight-limbed stowaway, a mystical refugee who talks in circles rather than reveal the truth, and clues to the origin and genetic breakdown of enemies and allies alike. Together they fight diplomatic protocols to forge a necessary treaty between CSS and Harmony. Their efforts threaten to break the caste system and culture of Harmony by declaring their out-of-caste and out-of-culture love for each other. High Priest Gregor will veto the treaty rather than allow Sissy and Jake be together. But all of their agendas have a deadline: the space station seems determined to break orbit and plunge them all into the local sun.