turned her to look elsewhere. “See
there? It’s one of those creatures we saw the first evening, the
little furry thing with six legs. I don’t know what it is, but it
seems harmless enough. And see that vine draped over the stream
from one tree to another? We could use those yellow flowers for
drinking cups, except they’re too beautiful to destroy. And the
blue butterflies, have you noticed them? I’ve seen at least a
dozen.”
“I haven’t noticed any,” Narisa admitted.
“Open your eyes, woman. This is an incredibly
lovely world. I’m beginning to think someone deliberately planted
it this way.”
“Who? For what purpose? To trick us? Don’t
forget, we are in the Empty Sector, Commander Tarik.”
“I haven’t forgotten. I’m on guard as much as
you are, but that doesn’t stop me from delighting in the things I
see here.”
“There might be large predators.” Narisa eyed
the thick forest before them. “Or the birds might come back.”
“I hope they do. Let’s stop for a while,
shall we?” Tarik dropped to sit on the rock, sliding off the straps
of the packages he had been carrying over one shoulder. He pulled
off his boots, rolled up his trouser legs and stuck his feet into
the water. Then he took off his jacket and dumped it on top of his
boots. Narisa stood watching him while he fumbled at the safety
harness still wrapped about his ribs.
“You should leave that on for a few days,”
she said. “Just to be certain you have healed. That’s the sensible
thing to do.” When he did not answer, she reluctantly sat beside
him.
“Put your feet in,” he advised. “We’ve been
walking all morning. It’s refreshing.”
“Commander Tarik,” she began sternly. He
stopped her.
“No more commander or lieutenant,” he said
quietly but decisively. “On this world you are simply Narisa, and I
am Tarik.”
She absorbed that a moment or two,
considering the implications and trying not to notice the way the
sunlight played over the muscles of his shoulders and upper arms.
It took a great effort to stop looking at his sleek, hard body and
consider his words instead.
“You don’t believe we will be able to leave
here, do you?” she said at last. “What’s more, you don’t care.”
He said nothing. He was watching the water
flow across his bare feet and wriggling his toes in pleasure.
Narisa remembered her childhood, and wading in Beltan rivers. She
pulled off her own boots and stuck her feet into the stream beside
his.
‘This,” she stated, “is dereliction of duty.
We could both be court-martialed. We ought to be trying to find a
way home, not playing.”
“No one will ever know,” he promised. Then,
more seriously, “Narisa, you must understand, although we will keep
searching, it is possible we won’t find anyone here who can help
us. We might find those who will be our enemies. In either case, it
is unwise for us to quarrel. We will need to trust and depend on
each other, whatever happens.”
“I understand. It’s just that you are so
different now from the way you were on the Reliance, and you
won’t pay any attention to regulations. It’s as though you are
happy we’ve been marooned here.”
“I suppose I do appear to be different. I’m
certainly not pleased about the loss of all those lives on the Reliance, but there is nothing I can do to change what has
happened, and I see no point in scrupulous adherence to rules that
don’t apply here.
“Did you know this was to be my last voyage?”
Tarik heaved a sigh that might have come from inside his very soul.
“The truth is, I ought to have left the Service long ago. I’ve
always had an independent streak. One of my ancestors was an
anarchist who was punished for his crimes by being pushed out the
hatch of a prison ship into deep space without an air supply. My
family has become more respectable in the centuries since then, but
sometimes when I was naughty as a child, my father accused me of
being like that
there? It’s one of those creatures we saw the first evening, the
little furry thing with six legs. I don’t know what it is, but it
seems harmless enough. And see that vine draped over the stream
from one tree to another? We could use those yellow flowers for
drinking cups, except they’re too beautiful to destroy. And the
blue butterflies, have you noticed them? I’ve seen at least a
dozen.”
“I haven’t noticed any,” Narisa admitted.
“Open your eyes, woman. This is an incredibly
lovely world. I’m beginning to think someone deliberately planted
it this way.”
“Who? For what purpose? To trick us? Don’t
forget, we are in the Empty Sector, Commander Tarik.”
“I haven’t forgotten. I’m on guard as much as
you are, but that doesn’t stop me from delighting in the things I
see here.”
“There might be large predators.” Narisa eyed
the thick forest before them. “Or the birds might come back.”
“I hope they do. Let’s stop for a while,
shall we?” Tarik dropped to sit on the rock, sliding off the straps
of the packages he had been carrying over one shoulder. He pulled
off his boots, rolled up his trouser legs and stuck his feet into
the water. Then he took off his jacket and dumped it on top of his
boots. Narisa stood watching him while he fumbled at the safety
harness still wrapped about his ribs.
“You should leave that on for a few days,”
she said. “Just to be certain you have healed. That’s the sensible
thing to do.” When he did not answer, she reluctantly sat beside
him.
“Put your feet in,” he advised. “We’ve been
walking all morning. It’s refreshing.”
“Commander Tarik,” she began sternly. He
stopped her.
“No more commander or lieutenant,” he said
quietly but decisively. “On this world you are simply Narisa, and I
am Tarik.”
She absorbed that a moment or two,
considering the implications and trying not to notice the way the
sunlight played over the muscles of his shoulders and upper arms.
It took a great effort to stop looking at his sleek, hard body and
consider his words instead.
“You don’t believe we will be able to leave
here, do you?” she said at last. “What’s more, you don’t care.”
He said nothing. He was watching the water
flow across his bare feet and wriggling his toes in pleasure.
Narisa remembered her childhood, and wading in Beltan rivers. She
pulled off her own boots and stuck her feet into the stream beside
his.
‘This,” she stated, “is dereliction of duty.
We could both be court-martialed. We ought to be trying to find a
way home, not playing.”
“No one will ever know,” he promised. Then,
more seriously, “Narisa, you must understand, although we will keep
searching, it is possible we won’t find anyone here who can help
us. We might find those who will be our enemies. In either case, it
is unwise for us to quarrel. We will need to trust and depend on
each other, whatever happens.”
“I understand. It’s just that you are so
different now from the way you were on the Reliance, and you
won’t pay any attention to regulations. It’s as though you are
happy we’ve been marooned here.”
“I suppose I do appear to be different. I’m
certainly not pleased about the loss of all those lives on the Reliance, but there is nothing I can do to change what has
happened, and I see no point in scrupulous adherence to rules that
don’t apply here.
“Did you know this was to be my last voyage?”
Tarik heaved a sigh that might have come from inside his very soul.
“The truth is, I ought to have left the Service long ago. I’ve
always had an independent streak. One of my ancestors was an
anarchist who was punished for his crimes by being pushed out the
hatch of a prison ship into deep space without an air supply. My
family has become more respectable in the centuries since then, but
sometimes when I was naughty as a child, my father accused me of
being like that
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