"Seriously?" and he said sternly, "Shut up and steer the ship."
She couldn't help herself; she hit his shoulder. "Never do that! Bad!"
He lifted an eyebrow, evidently surprised with her outburst, and she shuddered. All her earlier doubts were returning. This was crazy and could never work. Still, besides abducting her, he hadn't really done anything to her against her will, and she was much too tired to think much about it. Maybe, if she could just close her eyes now, she could think more clearly later, like tomorrow...
She woke a bit later from Travis carrying her down a corridor, into an extremely neat room a little larger than hers. He put her down on the bed and turned to leave, and she reached out for him, mumbling, "Wait, please don't go."
It surprised her that he returned, obediently, and stretched out next to her. Curling up with her head on his shoulder, she whispered, "I'm sorry I hit you. I shouldn't have done that."
So softly it may have been a dream, she heard him answer in an amused voice, "Don't worry about it, you don't hit very hard.
Chapter Eight
The next morning Patricia woke up before Travis, in the exact same position she fell asleep in, and she was surprised over how content she felt. She had been constantly worried since leaving her home planet behind, and now life seemed good, just like that. Travis woke too, as soon as she started moving, grunted something unintelligible and pulled her close, and she was all too happy to let him.
Later, when they finally got around to leaving the room, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led the way in a completely different direction from what she expected; into a lift. They seemed to go down forever and she wondered where they were going. Most of the ship had been off limits for her until now, and she couldn't even guess what the other levels might be like.
The sounds from the ship were louder there and he smiled wryly, explaining, "I've been keeping the most fascinating things secret from you. Down here you'll find all sorts of exciting equipment, like the engine room."
She blinked a couple of times, wondering what they were doing there. It might be prudent to be interested in things like engines and spaceship propulsion, but she doubted she'd be able to make heads or tails of it. She grumbled, "I didn't even know how my car worked."
Travis led the way down the corridor and stopped outside a big shiny door with an equally shiny pad next to it. He pressed the palm of his hand against the pad, and Patricia winced when she saw it prick his fingers, leaving little red drops of blood on the surface. They hung there like dark and eerie pearls for a moment, before the ship's cleaning system sucked them in. She didn't have time to say anything; the heavy door slid open and the computer's voice greeted them. "Welcome, Commander. I am pleased to inform you that you are still you, and you are alive."
When she didn't move, Travis put his gloved hand on her back and pushed her gently forward. "This is the mainframe. It's well able to do other things than just fly the ship, but the Alliance doesn't encourage it. This is the only access point not locked down."
Staring around the room, Patricia thought she had once again fallen down a hole or maybe walked through a mirror, and entered a new peculiar universe: the room was cosy. The computer was located in a huge enclosure in the middle of the room, reaching from floor to ceiling. It emitted a soft blue light, and not until now did she realize how dark all the other rooms on the ship were.
From the ceiling hung four terminals, equipped with large screens and comfortable chairs, and around the walls were pictures looking like nice modern art. She assumed they must be diagrams of the computer and ship, but she preferred to think about them as art. Smiling widely, she exclaimed, "I like it!"
Her lover laughed softly as he approached one of the terminals, and she wondered if he found her silly
She couldn't help herself; she hit his shoulder. "Never do that! Bad!"
He lifted an eyebrow, evidently surprised with her outburst, and she shuddered. All her earlier doubts were returning. This was crazy and could never work. Still, besides abducting her, he hadn't really done anything to her against her will, and she was much too tired to think much about it. Maybe, if she could just close her eyes now, she could think more clearly later, like tomorrow...
She woke a bit later from Travis carrying her down a corridor, into an extremely neat room a little larger than hers. He put her down on the bed and turned to leave, and she reached out for him, mumbling, "Wait, please don't go."
It surprised her that he returned, obediently, and stretched out next to her. Curling up with her head on his shoulder, she whispered, "I'm sorry I hit you. I shouldn't have done that."
So softly it may have been a dream, she heard him answer in an amused voice, "Don't worry about it, you don't hit very hard.
Chapter Eight
The next morning Patricia woke up before Travis, in the exact same position she fell asleep in, and she was surprised over how content she felt. She had been constantly worried since leaving her home planet behind, and now life seemed good, just like that. Travis woke too, as soon as she started moving, grunted something unintelligible and pulled her close, and she was all too happy to let him.
Later, when they finally got around to leaving the room, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led the way in a completely different direction from what she expected; into a lift. They seemed to go down forever and she wondered where they were going. Most of the ship had been off limits for her until now, and she couldn't even guess what the other levels might be like.
The sounds from the ship were louder there and he smiled wryly, explaining, "I've been keeping the most fascinating things secret from you. Down here you'll find all sorts of exciting equipment, like the engine room."
She blinked a couple of times, wondering what they were doing there. It might be prudent to be interested in things like engines and spaceship propulsion, but she doubted she'd be able to make heads or tails of it. She grumbled, "I didn't even know how my car worked."
Travis led the way down the corridor and stopped outside a big shiny door with an equally shiny pad next to it. He pressed the palm of his hand against the pad, and Patricia winced when she saw it prick his fingers, leaving little red drops of blood on the surface. They hung there like dark and eerie pearls for a moment, before the ship's cleaning system sucked them in. She didn't have time to say anything; the heavy door slid open and the computer's voice greeted them. "Welcome, Commander. I am pleased to inform you that you are still you, and you are alive."
When she didn't move, Travis put his gloved hand on her back and pushed her gently forward. "This is the mainframe. It's well able to do other things than just fly the ship, but the Alliance doesn't encourage it. This is the only access point not locked down."
Staring around the room, Patricia thought she had once again fallen down a hole or maybe walked through a mirror, and entered a new peculiar universe: the room was cosy. The computer was located in a huge enclosure in the middle of the room, reaching from floor to ceiling. It emitted a soft blue light, and not until now did she realize how dark all the other rooms on the ship were.
From the ceiling hung four terminals, equipped with large screens and comfortable chairs, and around the walls were pictures looking like nice modern art. She assumed they must be diagrams of the computer and ship, but she preferred to think about them as art. Smiling widely, she exclaimed, "I like it!"
Her lover laughed softly as he approached one of the terminals, and she wondered if he found her silly
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