“I am sorry hearing about Pegasi trouble,” Prediz said with some difficulty. “Giving amount the gold buying humans capsule we is happiness a help.” Her English butchered, Jackson answered her in her own language.
“I’m sure our Space Agency will be happy to negotiate a fair price for the temporary use,” Jackson assured her. He closed up the data reader and nodded at Watson. “Mr. Watson needs some additional time to put these into something our navigator and helmsman can read. We wouldn’t want to damage your vehicle simply because of a language barrier.”
“I understand.” Jackson wasn’t sure she did, but he decided to go along with her.
“While he continues his work, please come to our mess for something to eat. Our chef has prepared some seafood, although not as fresh like your meals on Cuatro.” Prediz jigged up and down a little. He waved them from the airlock down the corridor to the mess hall.
“We have much sorrow for the loss of your woman with the Kiian language skill. We share grief with you.”
“Yes, thank you, Prediz. Please, sit,” he offered in the private Captain’s mess near the window. Bailey, Anne, and Mr. Harchett attended the table with drinks, bread, apples and smoked salmon for the small party. Vacuum preserved food such as apples and smoked meats kept well and ended up on the menu more frequently as the missions wore on. Rianya sat next to Jackson; Prediz was accompanied by Gorren, the research director who’d given them Vaughn Wiseman’s remains.
“If I may ask,” Jackson began, “do you have much contact with Pegasi on your research stations?”
“It’s been many years since we did business with the Pegasi.” Gorren said, and Prediz nodded in agreement.
“Tom,” Rianya said. He realized she didn’t understand the conversation but there wasn’t much he could do. “Ask them what they’re researching.” He nodded and did so in the Kiian’s tongue.
“We’ve been studying the life forms that survived the extinction event.” A little bell went off in Tom’s head about Kiians and Pegasi conspiring to sell antibiotics to the Cinconians. And didn’t the Kiians call the humans to come out and help? He focused on the small humanoid woman, thinking perhaps he might accidentally call her Lucy if he wasn’t careful.
“Then you’re aware of the cause of the extinction.”
“Not at first, but later we deduced it was an Earth microbe. We started searching outside of the Eta Cass system.” Tom quickly repeated her answer for Rianya.
“It’s why we contacted Earth on behalf of the Cinconians,” Gorren said. “They had no interstellar communications, and the Pegasi didn’t seem terribly interested in their situation.”
“The Pegasi were keeping them dependent intentionally to continue selling antibiotics,” Tom said. “I was told you contacted Earth to inform us about the artifacts.”
“The body was found by accident, as was the space vehicle,” Prediz explained. “We could tell it was human.”
“Tom?” Hiding his impatience, he turned to Rianya and gave her abbreviated details.
“Has it been helpful to your mission?” Gorren asked. Jackson rubbed the sudden frustration off his face with his palm.
“I’m not sure helpful is the right word, but it’s certainly caused us some excitement.”
Food was served and the conversation turned away from business and into a social assemblage. The friendly Kiian fellow on Enceladus had demonstrated enough etiquette that both Tom and Rianya could interact properly with this species’ customs, nuances, and quirks.
“Tom,” Rianya said softly, “do they know Vaughn was the vector for Yersinia? I’m curious. If they did, think of the trouble it could have saved us,” she muttered.
“Prediz, Gorren, how did Cuatro’s mammalian population go extinct? You said it was an Earth bacteria.”
“Yes, it caused a terrible epidemic among animals that have a key endothermic enzyme the bacteria need to replicate. It’s only present in mammalian species.”
“But how did an Earth bacteria get to Cuatro?”
“We suspect it was brought by another species to be used as a weapon,” Prediz said.
“Or it came on a rouge space body, but we couldn’t find evidence for that,” Gorren added.
“You have evidence for a weapon?” Jackson asked.
“It’s the only logical conclusion. Why else would a bacterium be here from 20 light years away? It’s certainly a formidable disease.” He nodded and turned briefly to Rianya.
“They don’t know,” he said. “Should I tell them?” Her gaze, her seductive eyes of mulberry held him hostage. It seemed like a lifetime since he’d held her up against his body under their favorite feather filled covers. Her raven mane had come back into its glory since she left sick bay; she’d woven several glass beads into it on one side that caught the light and reflected it like colored jewels on a black velvet sheet.
“Yes, I think you should,” she said. His gaze fell to her rose lips and his chest started to burn. “Tom?”
“Will you women excuse us for a few minutes?” he directed at Prediz and Gorren. He took Rianya’s hand and pulled her straight into the galley behind the table, letting the door swing shut behind them. Holding her by the shoulders he leaned in and kissed her lips, cashmere soft and wet. He snared her waist, pressing her hips up against his own, her bosom to his chest, his mouth on hers with a fervor.
“I’m sure our Space Agency will be happy to negotiate a fair price for the temporary use,” Jackson assured her. He closed up the data reader and nodded at Watson. “Mr. Watson needs some additional time to put these into something our navigator and helmsman can read. We wouldn’t want to damage your vehicle simply because of a language barrier.”
“I understand.” Jackson wasn’t sure she did, but he decided to go along with her.
“While he continues his work, please come to our mess for something to eat. Our chef has prepared some seafood, although not as fresh like your meals on Cuatro.” Prediz jigged up and down a little. He waved them from the airlock down the corridor to the mess hall.
“We have much sorrow for the loss of your woman with the Kiian language skill. We share grief with you.”
“Yes, thank you, Prediz. Please, sit,” he offered in the private Captain’s mess near the window. Bailey, Anne, and Mr. Harchett attended the table with drinks, bread, apples and smoked salmon for the small party. Vacuum preserved food such as apples and smoked meats kept well and ended up on the menu more frequently as the missions wore on. Rianya sat next to Jackson; Prediz was accompanied by Gorren, the research director who’d given them Vaughn Wiseman’s remains.
“If I may ask,” Jackson began, “do you have much contact with Pegasi on your research stations?”
“It’s been many years since we did business with the Pegasi.” Gorren said, and Prediz nodded in agreement.
“Tom,” Rianya said. He realized she didn’t understand the conversation but there wasn’t much he could do. “Ask them what they’re researching.” He nodded and did so in the Kiian’s tongue.
“We’ve been studying the life forms that survived the extinction event.” A little bell went off in Tom’s head about Kiians and Pegasi conspiring to sell antibiotics to the Cinconians. And didn’t the Kiians call the humans to come out and help? He focused on the small humanoid woman, thinking perhaps he might accidentally call her Lucy if he wasn’t careful.
“Then you’re aware of the cause of the extinction.”
“Not at first, but later we deduced it was an Earth microbe. We started searching outside of the Eta Cass system.” Tom quickly repeated her answer for Rianya.
“It’s why we contacted Earth on behalf of the Cinconians,” Gorren said. “They had no interstellar communications, and the Pegasi didn’t seem terribly interested in their situation.”
“The Pegasi were keeping them dependent intentionally to continue selling antibiotics,” Tom said. “I was told you contacted Earth to inform us about the artifacts.”
“The body was found by accident, as was the space vehicle,” Prediz explained. “We could tell it was human.”
“Tom?” Hiding his impatience, he turned to Rianya and gave her abbreviated details.
“Has it been helpful to your mission?” Gorren asked. Jackson rubbed the sudden frustration off his face with his palm.
“I’m not sure helpful is the right word, but it’s certainly caused us some excitement.”
Food was served and the conversation turned away from business and into a social assemblage. The friendly Kiian fellow on Enceladus had demonstrated enough etiquette that both Tom and Rianya could interact properly with this species’ customs, nuances, and quirks.
“Tom,” Rianya said softly, “do they know Vaughn was the vector for Yersinia? I’m curious. If they did, think of the trouble it could have saved us,” she muttered.
“Prediz, Gorren, how did Cuatro’s mammalian population go extinct? You said it was an Earth bacteria.”
“Yes, it caused a terrible epidemic among animals that have a key endothermic enzyme the bacteria need to replicate. It’s only present in mammalian species.”
“But how did an Earth bacteria get to Cuatro?”
“We suspect it was brought by another species to be used as a weapon,” Prediz said.
“Or it came on a rouge space body, but we couldn’t find evidence for that,” Gorren added.
“You have evidence for a weapon?” Jackson asked.
“It’s the only logical conclusion. Why else would a bacterium be here from 20 light years away? It’s certainly a formidable disease.” He nodded and turned briefly to Rianya.
“They don’t know,” he said. “Should I tell them?” Her gaze, her seductive eyes of mulberry held him hostage. It seemed like a lifetime since he’d held her up against his body under their favorite feather filled covers. Her raven mane had come back into its glory since she left sick bay; she’d woven several glass beads into it on one side that caught the light and reflected it like colored jewels on a black velvet sheet.
“Yes, I think you should,” she said. His gaze fell to her rose lips and his chest started to burn. “Tom?”
“Will you women excuse us for a few minutes?” he directed at Prediz and Gorren. He took Rianya’s hand and pulled her straight into the galley behind the table, letting the door swing shut behind them. Holding her by the shoulders he leaned in and kissed her lips, cashmere soft and wet. He snared her waist, pressing her hips up against his own, her bosom to his chest, his mouth on hers with a fervor.
Tom stepped toward a steel counter top, set Rianya on it and could finally clutch her tight against him, the heat of her body melting on him. A stockpot slid off the counter with a jarring KABLANG and bounced a few times. He ignored it and whatever attention it was about to draw from the galley crew. Rianya pushed him away and took a breath.
“Tom! What’s gotten into you?”
“I’ve missed you. The last week has been a living hell.” His hands slid from her cheeks into her fine hair and lifted handfuls away from her face. He saw vivacity in her eyes again, tiny slivers in all shades of purples and blues, glistening as they hadn’t for what felt like a year. He felt his heart swell inside his chest; he was high with her, holding her head in his hands as if she might slip away and leave him alone.
“What’s going on?!” Bailey shouted from the other end of the room. She came in and out of sight as she rounded large posts, tables, bulkheads and utensils until she stopped short. “Oh, excuse me, I’m sorry, Captain, Rianya,” she stuttered, giggled, and hustled back the way she’d come.
“I missed you, too. I didn’t want to die without saying goodbye, and I thought I might die a couple times.”
“I should have never left you alone if you were sick. I shouldn’t have gone down to that wretched planet while you were suffering like that. I hope you can forgive me.”
“You’re here now,” she said with a coy smile. “But maybe not, uh, right now, here, you know, with all the pots and pans watching.”
Tom grinned and put his face against her neck to nip her skin and coax a snicker from her. He purred until she trapped him between her chin and shoulder and begged.
“Tom, stop, no, not there, stop!” she pleaded amiably.
“Okay, but save your strength; you’ll need it later.” He pulled her off the counter and set her feet on the floor, tweaking her garments smooth.
“Mylan, I don’t think you need forgiveness from anyone but yourself.” It was as if she’d turned a light on in a dark room.
“Beautiful and wise. Go on out there. I need a minute.” He tugged on his trousers and jacket.
“I don’t speak Kiian.”
“You do things to me.”
“Oh… You need cold water?” She looked at the ceiling.
“Go, Vixen, or the pots and pans will be forced to watch.”
“Tom! What’s gotten into you?”
“I’ve missed you. The last week has been a living hell.” His hands slid from her cheeks into her fine hair and lifted handfuls away from her face. He saw vivacity in her eyes again, tiny slivers in all shades of purples and blues, glistening as they hadn’t for what felt like a year. He felt his heart swell inside his chest; he was high with her, holding her head in his hands as if she might slip away and leave him alone.
“What’s going on?!” Bailey shouted from the other end of the room. She came in and out of sight as she rounded large posts, tables, bulkheads and utensils until she stopped short. “Oh, excuse me, I’m sorry, Captain, Rianya,” she stuttered, giggled, and hustled back the way she’d come.
“I missed you, too. I didn’t want to die without saying goodbye, and I thought I might die a couple times.”
“I should have never left you alone if you were sick. I shouldn’t have gone down to that wretched planet while you were suffering like that. I hope you can forgive me.”
“You’re here now,” she said with a coy smile. “But maybe not, uh, right now, here, you know, with all the pots and pans watching.”
Tom grinned and put his face against her neck to nip her skin and coax a snicker from her. He purred until she trapped him between her chin and shoulder and begged.
“Tom, stop, no, not there, stop!” she pleaded amiably.
“Okay, but save your strength; you’ll need it later.” He pulled her off the counter and set her feet on the floor, tweaking her garments smooth.
“Mylan, I don’t think you need forgiveness from anyone but yourself.” It was as if she’d turned a light on in a dark room.
“Beautiful and wise. Go on out there. I need a minute.” He tugged on his trousers and jacket.
“I don’t speak Kiian.”
“You do things to me.”
“Oh… You need cold water?” She looked at the ceiling.
“Go, Vixen, or the pots and pans will be forced to watch.”
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