Invardii Box Set 2

by Warwick Gibson

  A shiver built up in her spine and suddenly transferred itself to her hips before earthing in the chair. She gasped. He was definitely a bad choice, she would have to exercise some willpower there.

  She wrenched herself back to the audio file. “Work during the week, men on Saturday!” she repeated firmly several times. Er, man on Saturday, she corrected herself. She had always found one of them was more than enough trouble in any woman’s life.

  Then she remembered Roberto. She had promised herself – somewhere deep in space when she’d been sick of her own company – that she would make a play for him when she got back to Prometheus. Yes, he was a much more suitable choice. Not as exciting, but someone you could have a really good conversation with.

  “Work on weekdays!” she commanded herself again, and then sighed. It was going to be a long, long time until Saturday at this rate.

  But then at last, to Sallyanne’s relief, Saturday did arrive.

  She bumped into Andre and Jeneen as the couple entered the large lounge in front of the research team sleeping quarters. The three of them joined forces and headed for the cafeteria, where they had been told their ‘down home on the farm’ experience would begin.

  Sallyanne laughed at Andre’s farmhand get up. Jeneen had added extra touches to his overalls and set his hair in a simple roughed-up style, complete with lifelike twigs and bits of grass. Sallyanne would easily have taken him for a subsistence farmer from some backwards place on Earth.

  The inside of the ‘barn’ was about as realistic as you could get. The wooden supports intrigued a number of the Human guests who had never seen such a thing before. For the Mersa it was part of their culture of using natural materials, and didn’t rate a second glance.

  The barn was actually part of the huge stores and parts warehouse, but you got there through a long tunnel from a newly created entrance off the cafeteria. Stepping into the unknown added to the excitement, and the sense of mystery.

  Celia was already inside, talking to an older man Sallyanne didn’t know. Then she noticed Roberto in a corner with a few of the Javelin pilots. Sallyanne’s heartbeat picked up, and she rubbed her hands nervously.

  This was no good, she told herself, and made a conscious effort to calm down. The best thing she could do would be to get something to eat, and maybe a drink – just one, she warned herself – and settle in for a bit of a gossip with the girls. She would see what talent there was among the men later, when she felt more relaxed.

  It wasn’t long before the dancing started. It had been one of Millie’s first ideas as social secretary to start dance classes, and they’d been well attended. She hadn’t tried for anything too complicated, sticking mostly to the simpler couples’ dances.

  She had also stuck to those that involved some form of touching. It got everybody mixing properly, and for the single women it was an opportunity to decide whether they liked the way they were being held or not. Millie knew from her own experience just how important this was.

  Sallyanne sat out the first two dances, and then ventured onto the floor with one of the technicians that worked in her research area. She knew she was making a safe choice. He was junior to her on the staff, and she wasn’t interested in him emotionally. Sometimes you know too much about the way people interact, she chided herself.

  Still, that dance settled her down, and she moved on to Roberto when it was over. She took his glass out of his hand and set it down on the table, then steered him firmly toward the dance floor. She smiled to herself at his bewildered look. She would be sweet and accommodating later, but right now she felt more like a lioness, proud of her hunting skill.

  Once he’d got used to the unexpected attention, Roberto seemed to think it wasn’t a bad idea. He warmed to his role, and was soon finding her somewhere to sit, and checking that she had enough to eat and drink. For a while they chatted with others they knew, when they weren’t dancing, but when Roberto suggested they sit in a small alcove by themselves, Sallyanne agreed.

  “It’s such a busy life,” Roberto was saying. “You feel selfish if you take time out from what Prometheus needs for Earth to survive, but on the other hand you can’t drive yourself forever or you’ll start making mistakes in your work.”

  “Yes,” said Sallyanne, “and if you do find yourself in a relationship you wonder how long it will last because you can’t plan any time together, and all you can do is grab moments when you can.”

  “My point exactly!” said Roberto, relieved Sallyanne understood his very male concern that a woman somehow needed a certain amount of a man’s time or she would drift away.

  A more predatory gleam appeared in his eye. If Sallyanne would countenance an on-again, off-again relationship, dictated by work and circumstances, he wouldn’t say no. She would be a rewarding addition to his life here at Prometheus, and she did look particularly fine tonight. She could be quite fetching when she put her mind to it.

  Sallyanne smiled to herself as she watched him work out the details. He wasn’t a complicated man, and she had deliberately set out to make things easy for him.

  Now he could see that the obstacles to a relationship had been removed from his path, Roberto was taking a decidedly other than professional interest in her. She didn’t miss the quick glance that ran down her dress and took in her waist and the round curve of her hips either. He was getting interested all right!

  It was turning into a very interesting evening.

  CHAPTER 15

  ________________

  Roberto and Sallyanne were reluctant to move from their cosy little nook when supper was announced, but they needed something after all that dancing. Working round the outside of the large crowd, they made their way to the spread at the other end of the ‘barn’. They were chatting as they went, and sometimes fielding banter from friends.

  The research team met up at one end of the long supper table. Andre and Jeneen were flushed from an energetic bout of La Geordia, a classical dance of the last century that had brought them enthusiastic applause on the dance floor. Celia was still with the older man she had met when she first arrived, and now she waved him off to an early night.

  Geelong had piloted the research team to the Rothii archives on Ba’H’Roth. Now he came to join them, dragging a shy comms technician along with him. His outgoing manner and her gentle silence couldn’t have been more of a contrast, but the way she clung tightly to his arm, and he paid her every attention, showed that some sort of chemistry was at work.

  Sallyanne and Roberto were the last to arrive, and were given a royal welcome. Their sudden interest in each other, after working together for so long, wasn’t all that unexpected. It had always been something of a tradition to keep love affairs ‘in house’.

  The social occasion was working, and Sallyanne looked around at a lot of people who looked more relaxed than they had for a long time. Celia, though, still looked as if she was carrying her workload on her shoulders.

  How vulnerable she is, thought Roberto, touched by the way his close colleague and dear friend didn’t really seem to be benefiting from the evening’s festivities. Oh, she had explained many times that she was ‘married to the job’, but that didn’t seem right.

  Other people found time for someone special in their lives. She’d said it was important to be proud of her work, and that meant giving it one hundred percent. But Roberto was beginning to think she had a level of conscientiousness that was out of control.

  Then Finch commandeered the sound system, and turned their attention upward. The ‘roof’ rolled back, and a thousand synthetic stars shone from the dome of the huge stores and parts cavern. They were larger than life, and looked much closer than they ever did on Earth. The show drew gasps of admiration. Then Finch made a circular ‘wind it up’ signal to someone behind him, and the real show started.

  Fireworks sprang into the air from all sides. The show was false, of course. It was an electronic light and sound mix second to none, but the party-goers couldn’t tell it
from the real thing.

  There were shouts of admiration, and applause after each wave of light and drumbeat of rolling thunder. The show went on for a long time. Then, suddenly as it had begun, it was over.

  When the last of the applause had died down, Jeneen was the first to speak.

  “Must be time to call it a night,” she said, feigning yawning and winking at Sallyanne. “Andre’s a real old tart. If I don’t get him home at a respectable time there’s always trouble. A couple of drinks and some dancing and he’s anybody’s.”

  The others roared with laughter. Sallyanne nudged Roberto.

  “Can’t say I can argue with that, Jens,” she said, hoping it wasn’t too obvious she wanted to whisk Roberto off somewhere private herself.

  But Roberto didn’t respond. She looked up, and saw him looking intently at Celia.

  “That’s what you need,” he said suddenly, stepping over to stand face to face with her. “I know you better than anybody, and you can’t keep denying yourself a life, the way you do.”

  Celia blushed, and tried to turn her head away, but he lifted his hand and guided her head back to face him.

  “I think I’ll head back to my rooms,” she said at last, “It’s, ah, been quite a night.”

  “Oh, to hell with it,” said Roberto. “If you won’t find someone special on your own, you’ll just have to put up with me.” Then he bent his head down to hers and kissed her firmly.

  The others stood stunned. Sallyanne looked furious. Jeneen turned to Andre and muttered, “what? When did this happen?” but he just shrugged his shoulders.

  Sallyanne found her voice at last. “Oh great,” she stormed, “I light his fire and you reap the rewards!”

  She stormed across the floor toward the entrance with murder written on her face. Celia broke free of Roberto’s grasp. She was flushed and out of breath.

  “I thought you were my friend!’ she said, pushing him away from her.

  “I am,” he replied, “which is why I’m doing this,” and he drew her back to him, despite her protestations, and kissed her again.

  This time Celia broke free and took a big step backwards.

  “Give me some space,” she gasped, “give me some . . . time to think,” and she whirled around and headed for the servery behind the supper table, where she was sure she could find a way back to her room.

  “You okay, brother?” said Andre, putting his hand on Roberto’s shoulder.

  Roberto looked sheepish. “Um, I just, well, I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

  “Well, you sure made an impression!” said Jeneen, half amused and half worried for him.

  Now Roberto looked worried as well.

  “Oh, you didn’t make it worse,” said Jeneen. “Knowing old iron britches like I do, I think that might have been the only way to get through to her.”

  Roberto looked more reassured at that. Celia and Jeneen had been like mother and daughter since the research team had formed, and particularly after Jeneen’s life-threatening scare with the Rothii mind-enhancing technology. If anyone could read Celia, it was Jeneen.

  Over by the entrance to the facsimile ‘barn’ Sallyanne was slowing down her walking speed. It wasn’t that she wished her work colleagues ill, it was just such effing and blinding bad timing. Ah, dammit, she would apologize to them all tomorrow. Right now she just wanted the evening to be over.

  “May I?” said a voice at her elbow, and she turned with a start to see the dark Lothario who had always made her feel so . . . out of control.

  She hesitated. She didn’t particularly want to dance with this man. Any entanglement with him felt like it would be emotionally dangerous, but she didn’t want to leave right now either.

  She was still feeling betrayed by a woman she had always trusted. It wouldn’t look good to the others if she left, either. Besides, did she really want to return to her bare, silent sleeping quarters?

  “Thank you, that would be nice,” she said, putting as much formality and distance into the words as she could. She certainly had no intention of leading him on. One dance, some more of that lovely desert at the supper table – and maybe a nightcap – and she would turn in for a good night’s sleep.

  It was getting late in the evening, and the slower dances had started. She found she was enjoying herself, despite her resistance to her partner. She had to stop her head from drifting down onto his shoulder.

  Good thing it’s only one dance, she thought, bolstering her feelings of independence. Then the music ended with a stately one – one – two step, and he spun her round and caught her again. Before she could quite recover, his hand was behind her back and she was being dipped. He held her like that forever it seemed, her overalls pulling down over the curves of her body.

  Oh God, I hope I don’t pop out, she thought desperately, and then she was standing upright. She was quite dazed, and as he took her arm to lead her off the dance floor she stumbled. A peculiar lethargy had settled over her legs, and she thought how embarrassing it would be if he had to carry her off the floor.

  “Can I get you anything, Miss Montoya?” he asked, and she was surprised to learn he knew her name. She certainly hadn’t offered it.

  “It’s Ms,” she said primly, “and I may call you?”

  “Wayfarer,” he replied evenly. “Eden Wayfarer.”

  He guided her to a seat.

  “How did you know my name?” she asked, when they were settled.

  “I asked who you were on the day you first arrived at Prometheus,” he replied evenly. “You have a most striking beauty, and, as I later discovered, you also have a keen intelligence. What man would not ask for your name?”

  Smooth bastard, said Sallyanne to herself, feeling pleased all the same.

  “And I’m sure there have been many women who came to Prometheus that you have asked for the names of,” she said sharply. She had better nip this in the bud right now.

  “No,” he replied simply. “None. I have been waiting to meet with you, when the time is right.”

  She just stared, unable to believe what he was telling her, but she found no guile in his clear, brown eyes.

  “Many womans ask to talk to me,” he began, then stopped. “No, ‘women’ is it not? I am still learning the, er, mother language is it not?”

  “Univoc,” she replied. The pidgin EuroAsian language that had been reconstructed into the world language of the Post Milieu era, ever since Earth had joined the other planets with starship capability in the Spiral Arm.

  “Yes, Univoc,” he replied.

  “But I feel no connection to these women,” he resumed, “so I discourage their asking.”

  So that was why he had a reputation for talking in grunts, she realized, and probably why he seemed obsessed with his work. He must have come from somewhere quite backward. Everything here would be so new to him.

  The Human personnel used the linguist earpieces when they were working with the Mersa, but it was nice to discard them when they spoke to each other. She could see why he wanted to learn the language the other Humans used.

  He must have worked hard, or been naturally brilliant, to have made it to Prometheus, she thought in admiration. She felt ashamed of her first assessment of him, and a flood of feelings for him welled up once the need to protect herself melted away.

  Why, he was like a big, cuddly puppy, who needed looking after.

  “Perhaps it is time to go,” he said gently, looking carefully into her eyes.

  “Mmmm?” she replied, thinking perhaps he meant to escort her to the supper table once again.

  “In my village, when the girls look like you do, it is time to go. Er, to the, the, sleeping place,” he finished awkwardly.

  Sallyanne blushed a deep red. She was an open book to him. She stood up as he did, and then found herself collapsing gently against him. Damn legs were playing up again. But she didn’t pull away, the feel of him against her was too delicious.

  “Perhaps you’re right,�
�� she said at last, discovering her voice had somehow developed a husky quality to it.

  She wasn’t sure what he was right about, but it felt natural to let him take the lead, whatever it was. She had been her own boss for too long. The great world authority on off world civilizations. It felt good to let someone else take the lead – no, it felt good to let Eden take the lead, she corrected herself.

  He put his arm around her, and they walked toward the entrance to the good ol’ ‘barn’. They walked slowly, as if they had all the time in the world to discover each other.

  CHAPTER 16

  ________________

  Sallyanne did apologize, late the next day, and it was accepted with a shrug. She was an honorary member of the research team, and there had been worse. No one asked her where she had disappeared to with the star drive technician. They were all mature enough to give something that new some space.

  Then the research team were isolated from the rest of Prometheus for more training in the Valkrethi. Sallyanne was glad she’d made peace with the research team before they disappeared, but at least their absence gave her more time for her new relationship with Eden Wayfarer.

  In the beginning she worried about where the relationship was headed. Neither of them had much in the way of spare time, but his attention to her never wavered. Slowly she began to relax and trust his feelings for her.

  Celia, on the other hand, couldn’t handle the conflict between her sense of loyalty to her work, and the stirring of new feelings for Roberto.

  When the research team returned from training, she clamped down on her emotional state, and acted as if nothing had happened between them. Roberto found her denials intensely frustrating, and became more and more sullen. It came to a head at a weekly meeting of the research team.

  “Tell me why the roster’s been changed!” said Roberto angrily. “You and I have always done the inventories check together, it gives us a chance to look at new technologies, and decide whether it’s time to replace any of our standard equipment.”