Stardust Dreams (21 page)

Gallant studied his monitor
as he answered. "We agreed that it would be a mistake to complicate our
relationship. We can't go backward, but I can avoid repeating the mistake in
the future."

"Look at me and say
that again. Tell me to my face that, in spite of how good it was between us
last night, you have no desire to spend another eight hours in your bunk with
me… and I'll accept it and leave you alone."

He turned toward her, met
her gaze, and said,

"Wait," Cherry
interrupted, then pulled off his eye patch before he could stop her. "Now,
tell me the truth."

He glared at her. He looked
away and back. "All right. The truth. I had no intention of sharing my
bunk with you, but it happened anyway. It doesn't matter how good it was. I
can't afford to do it again."

The pragmatic part of her
personality accepted the fact that he regretted having sex with her even though
he enjoyed it. Her active curiosity was not so easily satisfied. "Why?"
When he hesitated, she prodded further. "What's with the patch? There's no
one on board you need to deceive with your dangerous disguise. And as long as
you don't intend to evade my questions by kissing me senseless, how about
explaining what happened to Frezlo?"

When several seconds passed
and she asked no more questions, he asked in a quiet voice, "Do you want
to hear lies? That's all I can give you."

Cherry narrowed her eyes at
him, but his gaze held steadily to hers. He didn't seem to realize that by
warning her rather than automatically lying, he had already given her more than
he would have yesterday. For the moment, she decided to settle for that. "Save
your lies, Captain. I said I'd leave you alone, and I will. Here." She
handed him his eye patch. "I wouldn't want you to feel undressed."

As he replaced the patch,
she studied the navigational monitor. "I don't suppose we're heading for
Earth."

"No."

"Lore?"

"Not directly."

"No? You may as well
tell me. Mar has taught me enough to figure it out on my own."

"We have to make a
stop on Norona first. We'll reach there late tomorrow."

"Norona? That's
great!" She bounced off the bench and gave him a big hug. "Thank
you!" She released him and started circling the control panel. "How
many days does it take to get back to Earth from Norona?"

Gallant glanced up at her. "Five,
but—"

"Five! Oh my. That'll
be cutting it close, but at least I should be back in time for the auditions. I
shouldn't have doubted you, Gallant. I'm sorry."

"Cherry—"

"I've got to tell you
though, I wish I wasn't in such a hurry to get back. I'd love to tag along and
see how this mission works out. Do you think you could send me a note or
something later on?"

"Cherry, sit!"

She froze in her tracks. "I
wish you would stop talking to me like I was your pet dog!"

"Pet bird," he
mumbled, then said more clearly, "Please sit down."

Cherry returned to the
bench with a sense of wariness. "What is it?"

"I'm glad you're
interested in my mission," he began slowly. "I didn't thank you
properly for your help back on Zoenid."

He was speaking so
formally, she couldn't help but giggle. "I don't know, I thought your
improper thank you was just fine."

He started to grin, but
attempted to hide it by clearing his throat. "At any rate, I am
appreciative."

"I certainly hope
so," she countered with a lascivious eyebrow wiggle.

"Cherry, you're making
it very hard for me—"

"Again? Why, Cap'n
Voyager, y'all are the most remarkable man!"

Gallant gave an exasperated
sigh. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're acting
like an ass. Just give me whatever bad news you're trying to sugarcoat, and
I'll try not to go nuts when I hear it."

Gallant braced himself. "You
can't get off on Norona." Before she could react, he hurried on. "You
heard Frezlo. It was a Con rep that ordered the Weebort's assassination. He
could order yours as easily. I promised to keep you safe, and I can't do that
while the spy is free, unless you stay on board."

"That's very
gallant
of you, Captain, but I hereby relieve you of any responsibility for my safety. Just
head me toward the ticket counter after we land, then forget you ever set your
eyes, er, eye on me."

"I can't do
that."

She opened her mouth to
continue the debate, but decided to drop it instead. It really didn't matter
what he said, she was getting off his ship the minute it landed on Norona. "How
about a game of cubit?"

As he pulled out the table
and set up the game, he asked, "What's going on in that devious mind of
yours?"

Cherry smiled. "As a
considerate man recently said to me, do you want to hear lies?"

He muttered something under
his breath that Cherry assumed was an obscenity and chose to ignore. "You
can toss first. Points only."

Rolling the cubes between
his palms, he casually said, "By the way, I'd like my cheats back."

"I'm sure you would,
and I'll return them… right after you explain what you meant when you said you
made the drillfly disappear." The way his cheekbones bronzed told her two
things: what he had said was very important, and he was upset that she had
remembered it.

With neither of them
willing to let the other know what they were thinking, the rest of the day
dragged by until Mar-Dot joined them. At Mar-Dot's prompting, Gallant and
Cherry filled them in on what had happened on Zoenid, even managing to make
some of it sound entertaining.

The mood lightened
considerably during those latter hours. However, when Gallant's rest period
drew near, Cherry sensed his rising tension and spared them both further
embarrassment.

She yawned, stretched, and
got up from the bench. "My goodness. How time flies when you're having
fun. Good night, y'all." With a smile for Mar and Dot, and an indifferent
glance toward Gallant, she headed for the facility chamber, then to Mar-Dot's
cabin. When an hour had passed and Gallant hadn't knocked on the door, she knew
he had meant what he said about not repeating his earlier mistake.

Wouldn't you know it, she
thought with considerable annoyance. She had finally found someone whose
passions ran as deeply as her own, and he wanted nothing more to do with her!

It was just as well, she
supposed. In about twenty-four hours, she'd be on her way back to Earth, ready
to embark on an exciting new phase of her career, and Gallant would be
somewhere on the other side of the universe, continuing his own adventure.

Her last thought before she
fell asleep was that it really was a shame the audition was scheduled so soon. It
might have been a kick to see what other strange places Gallant's mission took
him to.

Twenty-four hours later,
neither Gallant's sternest order nor his gentlest plea could get Cherry to sit
still, let alone take her rest period. She had been keeping track of their
progress toward Norona all day, and now that the planet could be seen in the
distance, her excitement was boundless.

Unlike Zoenid, Norona
looked the way Cherry thought a planet should, and what a magnificent sight it
was. There was no cloud cover to mute the brilliant greens of the land and blue
of the waters. As the ship got closer, she could also see the radiant glow that
marked each city where the sun reflected off the crystal prisms of the
buildings.

"Aster described it
perfectly," she said, standing as close to the glass as she could get
without pressing her nose against it. "I know Innerworld is made up to
look exactly like Norona, but it's still exciting to get to see the real
thing." She turned to Mar with a bright smile. "Will you be
deboarding this time?"

"No," Gallant
answered quickly and firmly. "They'll be staying here… with you."

Cherry flashed her smile at
him, but didn't say a word. Several times during the day he had repeated his
reasons for wanting her to stay hidden while he went on his appointment. Sticking
with the policy of saying nothing rather than lying, she simply had not made
him any promises to abide by his order.

As he had been doing all
day, he frowned at her and shook his head. "Take her down, Mar. I'm going
to change. Cherry, feel free to use my chair to enjoy the landing."

"Golly gee, what a
treat!" she said in a little girl's voice, but took advantage of his offer
the moment he left the bridge. "So tell me, Dot, do you ever get to leave
this ship?"

With Mar concentrating on
their landing, Dot could not fully face Cherry as she spoke. "Of course we
do. Sometimes it is our choice to remain behind, however. You remember how you
stared at us when you first saw us."

"Oh my, I didn't
realize—"

"It was not offensive,
I assure you. But there are times and situations that are not quite…
comfortable. Also, if a hasty departure is required, we stay on board to
facilitate same."

"Ah, you're the
getaway driver who keeps the motor running in the back alley."

"I beg your
pardon?"

Cherry laughed. "Never
mind. Why do you need to stay behind here? Norona's civilized and it sounds
like the captain has a legitimate business appointment. You probably could use
a little stroll around town." She hoped the suggestion sounded enticing.

"The captain—"
Dot began.

"The captain said he
would not be gone long and requested that we stay on board," Mar finished.

"But surely, you could
take a few minutes… unless… did he order you to stay behind to make sure /
don't leave?" As the seconds ticked by in silence, she had her answer
without them having to speak aloud. "I see. I don't suppose either of you
are susceptible to bribes."

"I am sorry,
Cherry," Dot said sincerely. "But the captain has explained it is for
your own safety."

Mar turned to her with a
purposeful leer. "What sort of bribe did you have in mind?"

Dot twisted toward her. "Do
not pay heed to his foolishness. We have our orders."

Cherry nodded her
understanding, while she tried to figure out how to circumvent those orders. Moments
after they touched down, Gallant reappeared on the bridge. Cherry swiveled the
chair around and inspected him from head to toe. He was wearing a fitted white
jumpsuit, like hers, and had exchanged his black boots and eye patch for white
ones also. With his dark hair neatly tied at the base of his neck, he looked
extremely dashing, and somewhat respectable, despite the white streaks.

Rising, she complimented
him with her best wolf whistle. "Very chic,
mon capitain.
Too bad
I can't go with you. We could play the odd couple." Her humor was lost on
him, as usual.

"Cherry, I need to
speak to Mar-Dot alone for a moment. Would you mind?"

She smiled sweetly, wanting
to show him how cooperative she could be. "Of course. Perhaps I should
step outside?" Gallant merely smirked at her. "You can't blame a gal
for trying. Okay. I needed to freshen up anyway." As she made her way down
the corridor past the exit door, she figured the best time to slip away would
be immediately after Gallant left. If she timed it right, Mar-Dot might think
she was still in the facility chamber and not check on her for a while.

Standing inside the chamber
with her ear pressed to the closed door, she listened intently for the sounds
that would mark Gallant's departure from the ship. What she heard instead was a
soft click very close to her ear. Jumping to the worst possible conclusion, she
pressed the door opener, then pushed on the door itself… to no avail.

The dirty rat had sealed
her in.