ROMULUS (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 1) by Marilyn Campbell Page B

momentum. She would have continued venting her anger and frustration except when she looked at the rest of the group, they turned their eyes away from her.
    Betty walked over to Aster and took her hand. "Aster, dear, you must face certain facts. There is no question we would have all been dead at the hands of those pirates. That's usually the way it ends. We've been offered a very rare opportunity to begin our lives all over again, in a new and unusual way. Try to look on the positive side of this, for your own sake."
    "How do you know we would have been dead? Maybe they would have let us go like they promised." Aster didn't even believe that herself but she wasn't ready to give in.
    "I'm afraid Betty is correct. Miss Mackenzie," Romulus answered before Betty could. "Explosives had been planted in the bulkhead of the ship. Upon reading the thoughts of the two men, we learned of their intention to kill you and detonate the explosives by remote control once they removed themselves and their cargo. I would be most happy to show you the proof in the wreckage before it is recycled if that would help convince you."
    Aster knew they were right. It was just so hard to accept that she could never go home. She met the chief administrator's gaze and allowed it to touch her for an instant. "No, thank you. That won't be necessary." Lowering her eyes, she returned to her seat.
    She could not decide what disturbed her more—the situation she found herself in or the fact that the man from her dreams had dared come to life and talk to her as if he were real. Somehow she was sure she could rationalize this whole thing if she could only get away from him and his tempting mouth that had almost kissed her so many times, but never quite— No, that was the dream again.
    "In answer to your other questions," Romulus continued, "I am certain you will find as much satisfaction with your employment here as you once enjoyed in Outerworld. With regard to the inner core, we created our own protective shield, along with our environment, as you will witness when you leave here. As was our intention, Outerworld scientists cannot detect anything extraordinary."
    Nick then spoke up. "Sir, I'm Nick Valentino. To tell you the truth, and, uh, Aster, I'm sorry you don't agree with me but I can't help being kind of excited about all this. I didn't have all that much back there that I'd miss anyway. I would like to know though, hasn't anyone ever gone back before? You know, like escaped?"
    "Actually, Nick, Outerworlders who have acquired knowledge of our civilization have no interest in returning to their world. I believe you will feel the same way soon." He pressed an icon on the panel and murmured a few words.
    A heavy-set man entered the room, carrying a small stack of notebooks. Aster noted that he wore the same shade of uniform as the rest of her group. She suspected that the color of one's clothing might correlate to position or rank and wondered what her dark blue might mean. Allowing herself a glimpse at the administrator, she decided the deep forest-green jersey he wore indicated a high level of management. Regardless of its meaning, it did do wonderful things for his hazel eyes. What a ridiculous thing to be thinking of!
    Romulus took the bundle from the man. "Tha—" The word froze in the air as the man pointed a small black box directly at the chief's forehead.
    "Don't y'all even think about touchin' that alarm, you snotty sumbitch," the man growled in a thick Southern accent. "Git up and stand over by the door, and don' try nothin' cute."
    Romulus maintained a semblance of control as he speculated about what was happening. Imperceptibly, he nodded toward the monitor concealed in the far wall, hoping that the runner, Karl, was unaware of its existence. Something was very wrong with the normally mild-mannered man. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated, as he stole glimpses of the others in the room. But his hand was steady on the paralyzer, his thumb