by Sharon Green
When the girls had had more exercise than they really should have tried, three of the men interrupted and threatened to tell the medical staff. Since that would have meant a longer stay in the base the girls quit, but not with very good grace.
The men took over for the girls and bombarded me with questions. I went through stance, balance, and angle of blade, and was just beginning on parries when we were interrupted. Valdon smiled pleasantly at the men, yanked the sword out of my hand, excused the two of us, then hauled me out of the room by one wrist.
I didn't know what was going on, but he didn't slow down enough for me to ask any questions until we had reached my room. As the door slid closed behind me, I was finally able to pull my wrist away from him.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" I demanded, rubbing a wrist that felt stretched. "Where do you come off barging in and dragging me around?"
"I wanted to talk about your new partner," he said with a hard look in his eyes as he folded his arms. "You know, the good-looking fellow who's well thought of by his co-workers."
"Oh, him," I muttered, not liking his dark tone of voice. "I didn't know Dameron was awake yet."
"He isn't," Valdon said flatly. "I happened to be talking with Nelixan and she passed on the word. If you had to change your mind again you might have told me about it! This on-again, off-again business is beginning to get to me."
"But you didn't ask," I pointed out in a very reasonable way. "If you had asked, I would have been glad to tell you."
"Aren't you generous," he said in a voice that had suddenly turned very soft. "If it's my fault for not asking, let's take care of it right now." He moved closer fast, put his palms to the wall to either side of me, then looked down and locked eyes with me. "I am now formally asking the identity of your new partner. Would you care to tell me who he is?"
"Sure," I answered, looking up at him with a smile. "You're my new partner. And you're also wide open."
He flushed very faintly, but didn't move.
"Then take advantage of it," he offered, still staring down into my eyes. "You might be interested in what happens right after that."
I stared back at him, realizing I had a problem. I knew - without knowing how I knew - that if I started to play rough again he would not retaliate in kind as most men would. For some reason I didn't want to think about how he would retaliate, and above that there had already been enough argument between us. The best thing would be to drop a subject that never should have been brought up.
"I couldn't do that," I answered, not having hesitated long. "I said I'd be making an effort to get along with my new partner, and that isn't my idea of getting along."
"What is your idea of getting along?" he asked, the hard look fading from his eyes. I brought my arms up, put them around his neck, then returned the kiss he'd given me the night before, but with interest.
"That's more in line with my thinking," I said softly when the kiss ended. "Does it disagree with you?"
"I'm willing to suffer." He laughed gently, brushing some hair out of my eyes. "As your new partner, I think I ought to offer my services. Is there … anything else you might be thinking about that I could help with?"
His faint grin made it plain what sort of anything he was referring to, but I had my own ideas on the subject.
"As a matter of fact there is," I murmured, moving closer to look up at him. "I'm just about starving to death. What are the chances of getting a decent meal around here?"
For a minute he didn't make a sound, then he started to laugh. He threw his head back and roared, and I couldn't help grinning as I watched him.
"You are without doubt the craziest woman I've ever met," he said after he'd run down to chuckling. "Working with you will be an experience and a half. Well, come on! We can't have people starving around here."
He took my hand and led the way over to the refectory, then found some real, live meat dishes for me. For some reason most of the dishes looked alike in their pictures, and that's how I'd ended up with a dessert instead of what I'd really wanted. It was obvious that telling the dishes apart took practice.
When I was happily stuffed, Valdon and I went to check on my ship. He and Dameron had done a good job putting it back together, and it seemed to be all ready to go. I poked and puttered for a little while in preparation for the next day, then took Valdon up on his offer of a tour of the base.
We covered the entire thing, from the ship's entrance tunnels to the smallest of storage areas, and the base finally settled down into perspective. The people using it were humanoid and therefore had developed a lot of things strange humanoids like me would recognize, but there were enough oddities to remind me that I was a long way from home.
For instance, one of their favorite sports was deep-dropping, and an inner cavern had been prepared especially for its practice. The deep-dropper stepped off the edge of an abyss, free-fell lord-only-knows how far, and was finally caught by a safety field a random number of feet from the bottom. Since the positioning of the safety field was decided by computer, they never knew when their fall would be stopped.
Also, since the safety fields had been known to fail occasionally, they never even knew if they'd be stopped. It takes more nerve than I have to casually walk into one of the dozens of ten-foot wide, unlit holes, and I didn't mind saying so. Valdon looked at me less with amusement than with an odd sort of respect, then suggested that we eat again.
I wasted no time agreeing with such a sensible suggestion, and we walked into the refectory to see Dameron at a table, watching as three or four dishes were raised to eating height from the center of the table. We were about to choose a place of our own when Dameron spotted us and gestured us over.
"Just the people I want to see," he said, shoveling part of his meal into his mouth. "Sit down and have something to eat."
"Why do I get the feeling I ought to be suspicious?" I asked as Valdon and I sat. "That isn't anything like the tone of voice you used when you told me how easily I could handle that business on Tildor."
"You must come equipped with ultra-sensory gear," Dameron returned with a grin. "Better watch out for her, Valdon. She's the type to know what you're doing even when you're only thinking about it."
"He can do or think anything he likes," I countered, not willing to be distracted. "I'm his partner, not his mother. Now what was this oh-so-casual thing you wanted to mention to us?"
"It's not exactly casual," Dameron admitted reluctantly, losing his grin. "The truth of the matter is, you can't leave for home yet."
"Why not?" I asked, keeping my eyes on his face.
"Now, don't start looking like that," Dameron protested, clearly uncomfortable. "I didn't say you couldn't go, I just said you couldn't go yet."
"I think you'd better tell her why," Valdon put in quietly, placing his hand on my arm.
"Nelixan woke me for a shift level call," Dameron said, giving a lot of attention to his food. "When I got to the transmitter link, I almost had my ears burned off. Seems one of our long-call operators had mentioned to the caller that we had a special visitor here. I'm sorry I ever told them about you."
"And they say only women don't know when to keep quiet," I muttered, remembering my earlier thoughts on not spreading the word. "What happened then?"
"Phalsyn took his turn at me," Dameron said, his face glum. "He and I have been friends for a long time, and that's probably the only thing that saved me. Phalsyn reminded me that little things like contacting members of other civilizations really ought to be mentioned to Absar Central, even if only in passing. He also said that if I let you leave before he gets here I'd better go with you."
"Always room for one more," I said, leaning back a little. "You and Valdon can share a cabin."
"Be reasonable, Diana!" Dameron pleaded, his eyes now directly on me. "Phalsyn only wants to talk to you! He may be high in governmental circles, but he's really bright. He won't cause you any trouble."
"So you say," I countered, hol
ding his gaze. "What happens if I decide to take off right now?"
"Take off where?" Valdon put in in a calm, gentle way. "We haven't programmed your course computer yet."
"I'd still be better off than when I got here," I said, throwing him a quick glance. "And maybe even better off than waiting around. When things become official they also tend to become complicated."
"This time it can't be helped." Dameron sighed, then pushed his half-eaten food away from him. "I'm sorry, girl, but you'll just have to wait to see Phalsyn. He's already on his way, so it shouldn't be too long." He stood up from the table, turned three-quarters away from me, then added, "Under the circumstances, I think you'd better stay away from your ship - at least until Phalsyn gets here."
He left then, and I watched his broad back disappear while I cursed feelingly under my breath. You can always trust people to come up with more complications than any one particular situation calls for. I started to get up too, but found Valdon in my way, still holding onto my arm.
"We haven't eaten yet," he said in the same calm, gentle voice he'd used a minute earlier. "We can't have people starving around here, remember?"
"I'll eat later," I answered just as calmly and quietly. "There's something I have to do first."
"Do you mean get to your ship before guards are put an it?" he asked. "And then what? Take off in the first direction that appeals to you? How do you plan on getting through the ship locks? Or evacuating the air from the tunnels?"
"I'm very resourceful," I told him, merely stating a fact. "Want to bet on it?"
"Not after having given you a tour of this place myself," he snorted in answer. "Sit still and behave yourself, or I'll have you confined to your room."
"What, no brig?" I asked with raised brows. "Surely you'd feel safer with me behind bars."
"I'd feel safest with you tied hand and foot!" he answered sharply. "If you don't stop acting like an idiot, that's exactly what will happen to you! Waiting a few days for Phalsyn isn't going to kill you."
"I'm glad you're so sure about that," I muttered, looking away from him. "I wish I could be as sure."
"Hey, nothing's going to happen to you," he protested, putting an arm around my shoulders. "If Dameron or I thought there would be any trouble for you because of this, you would already be on your way. I know Phalsyn too, and I give you my word that everything will be fine."
"Would that come under the heading of famous last words?" I wondered aloud, then turned back to him. "Look, Valdon, basically I'm a pessimist. If I expect the worst to happen I'm prepared when it does. Now, why not be a good boy and turn your head for a few minutes? You can always tell this Phalsyn that I overpowered you."
"Oh, sure, that would solve the problem." His nod matched the sarcasm in both voice and eyes. "At that point Phalsyn would not even bother to bring me up on charges. He'd just tie a ribbon around me and send me home. You'd better sit back and relax, Diana. When it's time to leave we'll leave together."
His determination wasn't hard to see, and any more words would have been a waste of breath.
"I have very little choice," I agreed with a shrug, leaning back as he'd suggested. "Just bear in mind that if you're wrong, I'm the type to come back and haunt you."
"I'll take my chances," he said with a laugh, then reached past me to press buttons on the box. While we waited for the food, I reflected that "middle-of-the-night" would be as good a time to leave as right now. In a base as quiet as this one, no one would be expecting trouble.
When we finished eating we went to the lounge and sat around with a number of the base personnel, listening to some very strange music for longer than I would have stayed on my own. When Valdon finally walked me back to my room, I wasn't disappointed over missing the "entertainment." Even if I'd been in the mood for it, I wouldn't have been able to bridge the gap between cultures alien to one another in a single sitting. My new partner followed me inside, then gave me a strong, reassuring smile.
"It shouldn't be too long," he said, referring to the visit he'd mentioned more than I had. "I can't honestly say I know what Phalsyn wants to talk to you about, but he really is the reasonable sort. After we're through with him we'll be on our way, and I won't have to share a cabin with Dameron."
"You sound awfully pleased about that," I commented over my shoulder as I reached for a cigarette. "I thought you liked Dameron."
"There's liking and there's liking," he said, coming up behind me to take the cigarette out of my hand and pull me gently to him. "You're a lot more my type, and I'd rather share a cabin with you."
He looked down into my eyes as he said that, but rather than sending the sort of "let's get to it" signals most men did in a situation like that, he seemed to be searching for something. I couldn't imagine what the something could be, until I suddenly realized that his last statement had been a question.
"I'd rather share a cabin with you," he'd said, not, "We will be sharing a cabin."
He was making no attempt to force me into anything, and from my experience with him on Tildor, I knew it wasn't a put-on. He'd been very much aware of how dippy Bellna had been over him, and if he'd wanted to play twisted bed games he would have done it then.
But he also knew how I had felt about him, and had brought in a substitute player rather than take the advantage he could have. I also remembered then what Dameron had said about how some women reacted to him when he showed interest in them, and his lack of aggressive behavior became more understandable. The hunter had gone hungry too many times, and had therefore learned to keep his claws sheathed.
"I think you're making a mistake not wanting to share a cabin with Dameron," I said after the briefest silence, then put my hands to the top of the long stay-tab that closed his uniform and slowly began to open it. "There are men in this universe who would fight fire and flood to get a chance at a man like the commander, and here I offer you the chance and you don't even appreciate - "
My words cut off as his hands came to my face, and when he raised my face to his, the hunter's look was there in his eyes: hunger and unquenchable desire, the intention to take, the intention to continue on until complete satisfaction was attained.
It was a statement as raw and direct as a big cat's scream of challenge in the night, and I didn't wonder why so many women had flinched away from it. Most women were smart enough to be wary of hunters like him, but I've never been smart in that particular way. Valdon saw the answer he was looking for when our eyes met. A very faint smile touched his lips, then he lifted me in his arms and carried me to the bed.
* * *
Valdon had fallen asleep on his stomach, and I was careful not to disturb him when I got up to find my ship's suit. Before getting up I had spent some time watching him sleep, silently cursing the fact that I had to leave alone rather than take him with me. The man was absolutely incredible, and I still didn't really understand what had happened between us.
I remembered being carried to the bed, remembered having the ship's suit opened and taken slowly from me, remembered the kisses and touches during the lengthy unveiling. Somehow I seemed to have missed seeing Valdon getting out of his own things, but I was very aware of his naked body when it was pressed up against mine.
By then my breathing wasn't very steady, and I met his kisses with parted lips, which did even more damage to my breathing rate. Somehow his hands and lips had been everywhere, and somehow I had lost all say in what we did when. Once or twice he had whispered to me, and I had done exactly as he had asked.
All thought ended when he finally entered me, and didn't begin again until we had both had all we were capable of giving or taking. He kissed me a final time then, and then had put himself on the bed beside me to sleep, one arm still around me. By the time I was able to get up, he was asleep and his arm was gone.
I turned away from him as I got into the ship's suit, not knowing what made him so different from all the other men I'd ever tried. There had been no resisting or ignoring him; he had asked
before starting, but once he'd gotten his affirmative there had been no stopping him. In a way, sex with Valdon was very demoralizing for a woman, and it might have been a good thing after all that he had to be left behind.
He'd made me forget about all sense of dignity and self-esteem when he'd had me in his arms, and that was nothing to make a habit of. I just hoped they wouldn't give him too hard a time when they found me gone; under other circumstances, he probably could have kept me right here. I closed my ship's suit and glanced at him one last time, then left the room.
The corridors were as deserted as I'd expected them to be, but once I'd slouched down to where the ships were and entered the bay, I stopped to frown. There wasn't a guard in sight and that might not be too good. I could only hope that Dameron had been counting on Valdon to keep me occupied.
I cycled through the lock and headed directly for the control room. If everything was on the green I could worry about evacuating the ship's chamber and exit tunnel later. I reached the control console and started to activate the board - and my hand stopped in mid-motion. There was a thick metal cover over the activating switch, and half a dozen leads stretched from the cover to a small, featureless box that sat on the console itself.
I'd never seen the cover or box before, but I knew damned well what they were. The cover kept me from activating the controls, and the box would be an alarm of some sort, set, no doubt, to go off if the cover was touched or the box itself was messed with.
I cursed with feeling for a minute, then tried to decide whether or not to tackle that box. It looked as if it couldn't be approached except from underneath, and moving it was sure to wake it up. I'd be better off diverting the leads, but that presented an entirely different set of problems. Diverting the leads one at a time would be easier, but there was a greater chance of setting them off that way. And with all my equipment a long way off, what the hell could I use to divert those leads -?
"You can't get around it," a quiet voice said from behind me. "It's completely tamper-proof, and you don't have a chance."
