Stardust Dreams (5 page)

"It would be my
pleasure," Mar said, offering his arm to escort her.

Cherry thought she noted a
decided male gleam in his eyes a second before he whipped around. Dot's eyes
held an entirely different message. 'I will take her." She waved Cherry
back into the narrow corridor. "This is a small craft, built for speed and
maneuverability, rather than luxury or carrying large shipments of cargo."

As they passed the first
door on the left, Dot noted, "The exterior door operates only when we are
on the ground. There are three rooms—Gallant's"— she pointed to the door
on the right where Cherry had awakened. "Ours"—she motioned to the
left— "and the facility chamber."

She touched the door at the
end of the hallway, and it slid open to reveal a gray-carpeted lounge about twice
the size of Gallant's, furnished with a royal blue sofa, two stuffed chairs,
and a low table.

On one wall of the room
were two square metal panels and a computer monitor, which Cherry recognized as
a supply station, but it was much smaller than the one she had in her
residence.

Dot explained, "The
computer will supply your verbal requests for food or clothing if at all
possible, but I must warn you, this compact version undoubtedly has a more
limited capacity than the supply station you are accustomed to. I would suggest
you keep your orders fairly simple."

Cherry shrugged.
"Since I'm only going to be on board for another twenty-four hours, it
really doesn't matter. However, I have one need that isn't going to wait that
long."

Dot smiled and directed her
to the partition in the corner. "The commode functions in the normal way,
but, because of the minimal storage space on board, there is no water for
showers." Cherry investigated the cubicle as Dot continued. 'The red
button on the wall activates the sanitizing beam in the ceiling. You just
remove your clothes and stand beneath it for one minute. You will be as clean
afterward as if you had taken a hot shower; you just will not feel as
refreshed."

"Nonsense," Mar
countered, turning toward Cherry. "It is only a matter of getting used to
it. Perhaps you would like to try it now. I will be glad to assist you."

Though the words were
spoken sincerely, the look on his face was downright lecherous. Before Cherry
could tell if he was kidding, Dot was back in control.

"Pay no attention to
him, Cherry. He is only a man and therefore cannot stop himself from behaving
foolishly. We will give you your privacy now."

Cherry laughed out loud as
Mar-Dot exited the chamber, in a series of rotations, during which Dot waved
good-bye and Mar blew her a kiss. Now that she knew she was on her way home,
she could start enjoying her unexpected adventure. She might have liked getting
better acquainted with Voyager, too, if he wasn't such a prig. His superior
attitude and general unfriendliness completely negated how wickedly attractive
he was.

A few minutes later she
discovered just how limited her selection of fresh clothing really was. The
choice of styles was between a pair of slacks and a vest, both black leather,
in a large mans size; or a one-size-fits-all jumpsuit like Mar-Dot's, with or
without an extra pair of sleeves. No shoes or underclothing were available. At
least the second selection was offered in either olive green or white.

Since she wouldn't be
caught dead in either black leather or olive green, she opted for a white
jumpsuit and got ready to try out the sanitizing beam. Even if it wasn't a real
shower, she felt certain freshening up would greatly improve her present
condition and disposition.

"Shall I plot a return
to Earth, Captain?" Mar asked after he returned to his place behind the
control panel.

"No. Keep following
Frezlo's trail," Gallant replied without looking up from what he was
reading on the monitor before him.

"But, Captain,"
Dot said, "you promised Cherry you would return her to Innerworld."

"And I will, right
after I deal with Frezlo."

Dot started to say
something else, but Mar took over. "My guess is he will head for
Zoenid."

"That's better than a
guess. He's going to have to lay low for quite a while after pulling two
incinerations so close together."

On Zoenid, the only law was
that there was no law, including no extradition treaties. Frezlo undoubtedly
intended to seek shelter in that planet's southwestern quartersphere, where he
could blend right in with the transient inhabitants—not because they looked
like him, but because there was such a variety of species residing in that
inhospitable zone. The rest of the planet was a totally barren desert, where
not even the most desperate criminal attempted to carve out a hiding place.

Tracking Frezlo at a
distance the way they were, it was a simple matter to confirm whether or not he
landed on Zoenid. After that, however, Gallant knew it would take a
considerable amount of ingenuity to find the assassin and even more to get him
to talk.

Oh, he had his ways, like
any agent worth his credits. His ways just weren't like anyone else's. Gallant
was certain he would be able to learn everything Frezlo knew, if he could find
him. Although, as he had told Cherry, he possessed no telepathic capability,
his special talent was worth a lot more. Only a handful of people knew the
secret, and revealing it would result in dire consequences for everyone
involved, primarily himself.

"Have you got a plan
to draw Frezlo out?" Mar asked, knowing from experience how his captain's
mind worked. "I doubt he will allow himself to be found once he reaches
Zoenid."

"Right. I've been
sitting here reviewing his profile. There's only one thing he fears enough for
me to manipulate him with it. He likes to gamble, but how do I get him to my
table? A rumor of a high-stakes game might attract him, but it would also
dredge up every other animal in the area."

"Excuse me, Captain. This
is not right."

Gallant looked up to face
Dot. "What?"

"The trip to Zoenid
will take another five days. Then there is no telling how long it will take to
lure Frezlo to you. You clearly implied that you would return Cherry to Innerworld
immediately after we touched her mind. How do you intend to explain that it
took twenty-four hours to get here, but as much as two weeks to get back?"

Gallant frowned at her. He
was doing his utmost to keep thoughts of Cherry out of his head. It was vital
that he think of her as an inanimate object, rather than a living, breathing
person. He could not afford to let his decisions concerning her be influenced
by one of the troublesome emotional responses that perpetually simmered just
beneath his image. "You know how important this mission is. Ill take her
back as soon as it's convenient."

"What will you tell
her?"

"I'll stick to my
first excuse—that I'm trying to keep her safe from any possible repercussion
from Frezlo. That should hold her for a while."

Mar asked, "Do you
think there is any chance he is aware that the Weebort spoke to her?"

"Not one. If he had
seen what I saw, her ashes would have landed on top of the Weebort's." Gallant
leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin, as he often did when an idea was
hatching. "But what if he found out about it… after the fact. Wouldn't he
come looking for her… to verify the rumor?"

"No," Dot said
firmly. "You must not do what you are thinking. Frezlo would come looking
for her all right. To incinerate her."

"I'd protect
her," Gallant countered confidently, already fleshing out his idea. "I'd
only use her as bait to draw him out, then I'd put her safely out of the
way." He slowly swiveled his chair around a full circle as he formulated a
plan that would allow him to use Cherry and protect her at the same time. He
knew Dot wasn't going to like it, but he counted on her loyalty and Mar's
persuasiveness to keep her from objecting too loudly. "Tell me, Mar, do
you still have that slave collar we used on you during the Orvanian
uprising?"

Cherry felt so much better
after taking off her costume and getting cleaned up, she was even considering
forgiving Voyager for abducting her… if he apologized nicely enough. He had
made excuses for what he had done, but had not actually said he was sorry. As
she pulled on the stretchy white jumpsuit and slipped on the sandals she had
worn with the peasant costume, she decided he would have to rectify that
oversight.

After a few minutes of
looking around the facility chamber, she found a drawer of grooming
necessities, including a hairbrush with some long, black hairs in it. She only
hesitated a second before using it. After all, she figured she'd already slept
in the man's bed. How much more intimate could a couple get?

She quickly fluffed her
short hair back into its usual simple style and took a look at herself in the
full-length mirror on the back of the door. The jumpsuit was very different
from the loose-fitting attire she normally wore. She noted that it was just as
comfortable, since it fit like a second skin without being constricting, but it
failed to leave any portion of her anatomy to the imagination. She always
abided by the theory that the less a person revealed, the more curious everyone
else became.

The outfit was completely
seamless with long sleeves and a rounded neckline that scooped low enough to
prove she was a woman, albeit a modestly blessed one—unlike her dearest friend,
Aster, whose pregnancy only exaggerated what nature had already bestowed on
her.

Cherry remembered the first
time she and Aster met. If ever there were two opposites, the two of them fit
that description. Aster stood over six feet tall in heels and her body set the
standards for the word voluptuous. Where Cherry was outgoing and uninhibited,
Aster was shy and retiring. Even their backgrounds were a world apart.

Cherry was born and raised
on a dirt farm in Georgia where a low-income bracket would have been a step up.
She and her nine brothers and sisters slept in the same room, and none of them
ever laughed, or played, or listened to music for fear the devil would possess
their souls.

At an early age she learned
that
love
was the reason her parents had too many mouths to feed, and
love
was the motivation behind the rigid rules and severe punishments the children
received. Their religious fanaticism was even borne of an excess of
love
for God.
Love
was something Cherry was determined to keep out of her
life.

From the day she entered
first grade and realized she had a name of her own, Cherry wanted more. Up to
that time she had answered to "girl" just as her sisters had. There
were no individuals; they were all appendages of one unit commonly referred to
as "the chiluns."

Her dream of becoming
someone special had germinated then, but wishing it aloud had earned her a
beating. Her mother swore she would burn in hell for such thoughts, but she
couldn't get it out of her head. The first time she saw a motion picture, she
knew she wanted to become a star. She would secretly act out her imaginary
stories and pretend everyone came to see her, begging for her autograph.

The day after high school
graduation, she walked out of that two-room shanty and never looked back. She
hitchhiked to California with high hopes and few tangible assets. As luck would
have it though, she got a ride to San Francisco instead of Hollywood. Out of
money, she found a job in that city as a receptionist for the Mackenzie
Foundation, but still intended to follow the Stardust trail to L.A. as soon as
she could afford it.

The first day of her first
real job was when she connected with Aster. It had been Aster's first day, too,
but that was the only thing they had in common. Besides their appearances and
personalities, there was another major difference between them. Aster was
disgustingly rich.

The Mackenzie Foundation
had been set up by Aster's grandmother to give away some of the family fortune.
Aster had just received her master's degree in economics and had been groomed
since childhood to take over the Foundation.

Before long, Cherry had
challenged herself to break Aster's mundane lifestyle of working, eating,
sleeping, and working again. It had taken months for Cherry to force a good
laugh out of her, but it had been worth the effort. Aster turned out to be the
best friend Cherry ever had and vice-versa.

Eight years later when her
grandmother died, Aster took over as director of the Foundation, and Cherry
moved up as her efficient, yet carefree, administrative assistant.

Cherry never made it to
Hollywood, nor could she take complete credit for turning Asters life around. But
fate gave each woman her heart's desire in the end.

Aster mated with the man of
her dreams and managed to indirectly make a positive impact on the planet's
environment.

Cherry became a star—the
only thing she had ever wished for. Achieving that goal in Innerworld had made
her happier than she had thought possible… for a time. Lately, though, she had
become bored with the routine of her work. There was nothing she wanted to do
more than act; it simply wasn't a challenge anymore.