actually in the space between the Lord's stars! She had prayed, of course. Where better? But then the time had dragged. The most horrible wrenching feeling had awakened her, as though the whole universe had suddenly gone mad. And in the midst of her agony, she had been discovered. Too sick to apologize, too sick to plead, too sick to even speak her carefully rehearsed speech. And then that hard, strong hand had seized her wrist, and the man she had thought had a kind look had shouted at her, told her that she might have killed them both! All she could do was make her peace with God and the man, and offer up her life in expiation.
And what now? How was she to wash the filth from her body? The complicated mechanism she had been shown intimidated her. There were few machines in the village, and though there were many on the space station, there were special caretakers for them. What if she couldn't figure out how to use the thing? Dear Lord, even if she disrobed in the bink… uh 'bunk', how was she to get to the 'fresher? She had to strip. Her clothes were filthy and fouled. She would be completely naked, and he would be there! He would see her! Even husbands were not permitted to see their wives naked, except in cases of emergency or serious illness. Maybe she could keep her underwear. No, he had told her they would interfere with the 'sonics', whatever they were. And if she couldn't remember how to use the complicated 'fresher, she would be forced to invite him to see her as he helped her. She felt tears begin to well up.
NO! She would not cry. The man would think her a child. She swallowed, and took her courage in both hands. The man had said that the morals of Ararat were not the morals of the universe, though she did not understand how that could be. Wouldn't the Lord make certain that His rules were followed throughout the universe He created? But the man had sounded sincere. And it seemed the authorities on Ararat agreed. Wasn't that what they had really been warning her about? That other places had different ideas of right and wrong? Could there really be different customs and beliefs, like the ones in those books?
She steeled herself. Yes, there obviously could. This man and those books proved it. She had not believed it at the time, but one of those books maintained that there were places where people truly did not believe in the Lord of All. How could they then discern right from wrong, good from evil?
Apparently, she was about to find out. If they survived this 'jump', the man had mentioned. Suddenly, she was looking forward to it. She knew right from wrong. She had studied the holy word since she would walk. Yes. She would walk through the valley of the shadow of sin and she would fear no evil! And she would fear no man, either!
Finished with the cleaning, she approached the man. 'Noble sire, my clothing is fouled. Is there fresh clothing aboard that I may wear?'
Cale turned to her with a smile. “There is clothing, but I'm not sure you'll have the courage to wear it. In the locker in that stateroom, you will find several shipsuits. Those are coveralls that are normally worn by both sexes while in space.'
'Coverall?'
Cale stood. 'This is a shipsuit,' he said, indicating his own garment.
Ruth grabbed hold of her panic. Yes, it had trousers. Unthinkable for a woman. On Ararat, she finished. The man had said they were normally worn by both sexes. Very well. The sly grin on the man's face showed that he knew what she was thinking. She would show him!
She composed her face. 'Thank you for your kindness, noble sire. Now, if I may beg one more favor?' Cale nodded, and she continued, 'It is not our custom to appear unclothed before strangers, noble sire. May I beg your word that you will keep your eyes averted while I bathe?'
Cale grinned, but it was not an evil grin. Rather, it was the grin of one who sees humor in the request. Could it be that these people could even be casual about nakedness? 'I understand,' he replied, “and I will keep my eyes to myself. You had better know, though, that we're going to be living in very close quarters for several weeks. I'm not sure your modesty is going to survive.'
Weeks! She had not thought that far ahead. She looked around her. The kitchen at home was larger than the entire cabin space. The man was right. Even if they tried, there was virtually no chance they would be able to avoid seeing each other's naked bodies. Panic surged, but she clamped down on it, hard. She had brothers. She knew what made a man. And he surely knew the makings of a woman. Regardless, she would survive. A minor sin at worst.
'I understand, noble sire. I suppose we will have to deal with many differences in the weeks ahead. For the moment, however, I crave your indulgence.'
Cale shook his head and sighed. 'Go ahead. I won't peek, I promise.'
She did have to ask for help with the 'fresher, and he studiously kept his eyes averted, though his grin was wide. She ignored the grin. She found she actually enjoyed the sensations created by the 'sonics'. But the water bag distressed her as she realized what it was doing to her hair. Soaked, it fell straight down past her waist. She had always been proud of her silky black hair, and had resented having to keep it wound up under her cap. But once it dried, she wouldn't have enough pins to keep it under control.
However, the shipsuit was fun! It seemed a 'coverall' was a one-piece garment covering from shoulders to ankles. The three available were all too large for her, and she had to roll up the sleeves and trouser legs. Ha! Legs, not 'limbs'. Moreover, it was so freeing to wear trousers! No heavy, ankle-length skirt, no Lord-damned petticoats! She strode up and down the three-step length of the cabin until Cale told her to sit down, they needed to talk.
Cale watched with amusement as his 'guest' reveled in the newfound freedom of a shipsuit. Nevertheless, it was time to find out what was going on, and try to figure out what they could do about it.
The girl cleaned up well. He'd guessed well on the height and weight, about 155 cems and 52–55 kilos. Her black hair was shiny and well cared for. Pity it was so long. Obviously, it was important to her. But she was going to find it almost impossible to live with in space — especially aboard L'rak, with its cramped quarters. She was about 20 standard years old, he guessed. However, raised on Ararat, she would be as naive as a twelve-year-old.
She remained standing. 'Are you going to ravish me now?' she asked in a calm tone.
Cale's jaw dropped. 'Am I… See here, what do you think I am, some kind of monster?'
Her tone remained calm, her stare level. 'You are an offworlder, noble sire. We are warned about your degeneracy and debauchery. Please do not hurt me. I will try not to resist. But please allow me to remove the shipsuit first, so it will not be damaged.'
Cale was swept into gales of laughter. I took him several minutes to get himself under control. Finally, the hurt look on her face brought him to calmness. 'Don't worry, I've sworn off debauchery for lent. And I'm taking the week off from rape.'
'You mock me.'
'No. Yes. Well, a little. I'm not mocking you, but the silly ideas Ararat leaves you with. Now sit down,' he continued, 'and let's talk. I promise not to attack you without at least knowing your name.' He shook his head and sighed. 'The first things we need to deal with are those damned Ararat manners. They drive normal people crazy!'
Her eyes widened. 'But, noble sire, manners are what permit us to live together in harmony, without violence.'
'Hmph,' he grunted. 'Everyone carrying a blaster gets the same benefit, without all the baggage. And it's not 'noble sire.' My name is Cale Rankin. And no, you will not call me 'sire Rankin.' You will call me Cale. And you are?'
She started to stand and curtsey, but he pushed her back into the co-pilot's seat. 'I am Ruth Lordschild,' she replied. 'I am from the village of Salvation, some fifty kiloms from Yahweh.'
'All right, Ruth Lordschild. Now, what the devil are you doing on my ship?'
Startled, she drew back from the anger that had suddenly entered his tone. 'I… I have always wanted to leave Ararat, to see the wonders of the Lord's creation. Since there was only one person on your ship, I thought there might be room for a small girl.' she straightened. 'I'll work for my passage, nob… uh Cale,' she flushed slightly before continuing. 'I can keep the ship clean, and cook the meals, and… and…' she stopped as she realized there was very little ship to clean, and she had yet to see anything resembling cooking facilities.
Cale nodded. 'I'll call you Ruth. You create real problems for me, Ruth. I'm on the run. People are chasing me, and this is not my ship. Well, actually it is, but only temporarily. I was planning to go to Refuge to trade. But Refuge is a wild place with no laws and free traders and pirates making deals. You'd end up kidnapped and aboard a slaver less than an hour after I dropped you there.'
'I'm not afraid!'
