GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) by Marilyn Campbell Page A
Authors: Marilyn Campbell
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again.
"What?"
She pointed at the spot where she had seen the tortoise. "There was a... a... tortoise and then, poof, there wasn't."
He raised one eyebrow at her in disbelief. "A tortoise ? Out there?" He clucked his tongue and shook his head slowly back and forth. "Mar, did you see a tortoise?"
"No, Captain. Perhaps Cherry is coming down with space sickness. It is known to cause hallucinations in some species. I don't believe we have any antidote pills on board either."
Cherry didn't know anything about space sickness but she clearly had hallucinated since there was nothing out there now and no one else had seen what she had. Regardless, she couldn't think about that now. Remembering how furious she had been when she awoke, she took the few steps needed to get into his air space and stared down at him. "How dare you do this to me? How dare you pretend to be friendly yesterday when you had this planned all the while!"
"It must be the sickness," Gallant said with another concerned head shake. "I don't understand anything you're saying this morning." He moved to rise but she instantly pressed the palm of her right hand against his chest.
"Oh, no you don't. I have no intention of looking up at you while I'm trying to put you down."
He tried to resist the pressure of her hand but it was as if he were nailed to the chair. "A robotic arm?"
Cherry eased back a fraction of an inch. "Yes. I don't usually rely on it but in your case, it looks like I need every advantage I can come up with." She didn't mention the fact that, at the moment, the arm was acting most peculiarly. If it had been her left arm, which was real, she would have thought it had fallen asleep the way it was tingling.
He looked down at the soft hand rapidly spreading heat through his chest then let his gaze slide up her arm, over her breasts and finally to her eyes. "Any other artificial parts I should know about?"
Cherry might have been pleased that he finally seemed to notice she was a woman, if she hadn't recognized it as another ploy to distract her. "Don't be a smartass. And stop trying to change the subject."
Gallant attempted to look innocent but he couldn't resist testing her temper. "I didn't realize we even had a subject yet."
"Was my bunk comfortable enough?" Mar asked, abruptly splintering the tension on the bridge.
Cherry looked at the he-she without lifting her hand from Gallant. "Yes, it was quite comfortable. Thank you for letting me use it." When Mar-Dot had awakened last evening, the captain had retired to his room, leaving Cherry to seek her rest in a different place than she had before. "In fact, it was so comfortable, the clock in your room says I slept almost ten hours.
"If my calculation is correct, that means it has been over twenty-four hours since you said we were one day away from Earth. Now, I'm no expert but there is nothing out there that bears any resemblance to my home, and I don't think that's the way it should be." She watched the captain's mouth twist into a frown.
Suddenly a light blinked on in Cherry's head and she glanced at the screen in front of Mar-Dot. The blue dot was still following the red sparkles at a distance. "You son-of-a-bitch," she muttered, applying more pressure to his chest in spite of the strange sensation touching him was causing. "We're still tracking that beast aren't we? You never had any intention of turning this ship around, did you?"
His eyes widened with the awareness that she was capable of collapsing one of his lungs with almost no effort at all, while his body was responding to her touch as if it were a tender caress. Careful not to make any sudden moves, he said, "I had no choice. My mission—"
"Your mission be damned. You outright lied to me. And since that is a major no-no for a Noronian, that means you're not a Noronian, are you?"
"I have no idea."
Dot swiveled toward them. "Captain, if I may make a suggestion. Some explanations on your part might go a long way to relieve
"What?"
She pointed at the spot where she had seen the tortoise. "There was a... a... tortoise and then, poof, there wasn't."
He raised one eyebrow at her in disbelief. "A tortoise ? Out there?" He clucked his tongue and shook his head slowly back and forth. "Mar, did you see a tortoise?"
"No, Captain. Perhaps Cherry is coming down with space sickness. It is known to cause hallucinations in some species. I don't believe we have any antidote pills on board either."
Cherry didn't know anything about space sickness but she clearly had hallucinated since there was nothing out there now and no one else had seen what she had. Regardless, she couldn't think about that now. Remembering how furious she had been when she awoke, she took the few steps needed to get into his air space and stared down at him. "How dare you do this to me? How dare you pretend to be friendly yesterday when you had this planned all the while!"
"It must be the sickness," Gallant said with another concerned head shake. "I don't understand anything you're saying this morning." He moved to rise but she instantly pressed the palm of her right hand against his chest.
"Oh, no you don't. I have no intention of looking up at you while I'm trying to put you down."
He tried to resist the pressure of her hand but it was as if he were nailed to the chair. "A robotic arm?"
Cherry eased back a fraction of an inch. "Yes. I don't usually rely on it but in your case, it looks like I need every advantage I can come up with." She didn't mention the fact that, at the moment, the arm was acting most peculiarly. If it had been her left arm, which was real, she would have thought it had fallen asleep the way it was tingling.
He looked down at the soft hand rapidly spreading heat through his chest then let his gaze slide up her arm, over her breasts and finally to her eyes. "Any other artificial parts I should know about?"
Cherry might have been pleased that he finally seemed to notice she was a woman, if she hadn't recognized it as another ploy to distract her. "Don't be a smartass. And stop trying to change the subject."
Gallant attempted to look innocent but he couldn't resist testing her temper. "I didn't realize we even had a subject yet."
"Was my bunk comfortable enough?" Mar asked, abruptly splintering the tension on the bridge.
Cherry looked at the he-she without lifting her hand from Gallant. "Yes, it was quite comfortable. Thank you for letting me use it." When Mar-Dot had awakened last evening, the captain had retired to his room, leaving Cherry to seek her rest in a different place than she had before. "In fact, it was so comfortable, the clock in your room says I slept almost ten hours.
"If my calculation is correct, that means it has been over twenty-four hours since you said we were one day away from Earth. Now, I'm no expert but there is nothing out there that bears any resemblance to my home, and I don't think that's the way it should be." She watched the captain's mouth twist into a frown.
Suddenly a light blinked on in Cherry's head and she glanced at the screen in front of Mar-Dot. The blue dot was still following the red sparkles at a distance. "You son-of-a-bitch," she muttered, applying more pressure to his chest in spite of the strange sensation touching him was causing. "We're still tracking that beast aren't we? You never had any intention of turning this ship around, did you?"
His eyes widened with the awareness that she was capable of collapsing one of his lungs with almost no effort at all, while his body was responding to her touch as if it were a tender caress. Careful not to make any sudden moves, he said, "I had no choice. My mission—"
"Your mission be damned. You outright lied to me. And since that is a major no-no for a Noronian, that means you're not a Noronian, are you?"
"I have no idea."
Dot swiveled toward them. "Captain, if I may make a suggestion. Some explanations on your part might go a long way to relieve
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