When the entire groupgathered in a shady spot for a late lunch, Decker was still engagedin her conversation with Ricci. Her tone graced with amusement, shesaid, “If it’s an order then, ofcourse, I will.”
Ricci could be heard replying, “Itworries me that it takes an order from your captain to elicit apromise of caution from you.”
“That’s not quite fair, sir – I’ddo the same under an order from my CO.” Con raised an eyebrow andtilted his head, letting Deck know he was skeptical about thatclaim. She rolled her eyes and walked a few feet away to finish theconversation in private.
Croker gulped some of his slurry,then said to Kennedy, “That is your captain, yes?”
“Yes.”
“He takes a keen interest, itseems, in Decker.” He winked broadly, adding, “More than aprofessional interest.”
Feeling the need to squelch anysalacious speculation, Kennedy said, “He should – he’s herfather.”
“You’ll excuse my doubt that he islike a father to her.”
“He’s notlike a father, heis herfather.”
“I don’tunderstand.”
Before trying again, Conbriefly wondered if he’d uncovered a huge gap in the knowledge baseof these people. “He contributed half of her genetic material, hebegat her, she’s the fruit of his loins—”
“He is her actualfather?!”
“That’s what I’msaying.”
Croker rubbed a fingeracross his lip, deep in thought. Finally, he said, “This is strangeto me. The Lignatians would not allow it. To have parents andchildren on the same crew would interfere with breedingpotential.”
“Yeah, that’s not aconcern on Lovelace.”
“You have no breedingpairs?”
That hit a little close tohome for Con so he equivocated by answering, “We have severalromantic couples, some married. Like Avery and our linguist,Sasaki….” With a definite edge, he added, “…and me andAqila.”
“Oh, is this so? Well, wehave not the tradition of marriage among us but you are indeed alucky man.” As Croker nattered on, Con could only think,Not today, I’m not.
Chapter 6
The MostDangerous
“Fools and wise-folk are alike harmless. It isthe half-wise, and the half-foolish, who are the most dangerous.”Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Maxims and Reflections
Their progress slowed bytwo additional tremors, the rescuers finally crossed the secondchasm late in the day. Decker asked if she should leave thesling-bridge up, knowing that the Aurora crew was just over the nextridge. After a short debate, Kennedy declared, “Better safe thansorry,” and issued the order to take it with them.
When they reached thestranded company, Vania Betang, a dark-haired, sturdy-lookingwoman, greeted them with open arms. Literally. After huggingCroker, Kapoor, and Quan, she approached Decker and Kennedy buteach of them extended an arm to indicate their preference for ahandshake. Deck was relieved when Betang took the hint.
In the fading light, Naichestudied the remaining six people, who had gathered around Kay,exclaiming over the sight of a creature that to them was as rare asthe fabled unicorn. “Were any of your team hurt in the Featayattack?” she asked Betang. “Any wounds I need to tend to? I’m amedic.”
“No, fortunately theirprojectile weapons are inaccurate – all escaped unharmed. But therewas a disastrous impact.” She pointed back to the bubble-like tent.“We were only able to save one shelter when the Featay attacked.All of us crowding into that one has been most uncomfortable. Weare sorry to have to spend another night like this.”
Kennedy gestured at thecaves a short distance up the hill. “Are those caves unsuitable asshelter?”
Betang looked over hershoulder, to where Con was pointing. “We could not sleepthere.”
“Why – what’s living inthem?” Kapoor asked.
“I don’t know thatanything is,” Betang answered. “We’ve detected no creatures nearby.But they are not fit as habitation for humans. We cannot sleep onthe ground; it would be most unsanitary.”
“That’s not true,” Consaid. “A little dirt never hurt anyone; caves can do just fine ashuman shelter in a pinch.” He looked at his team, proclaiming, “Infact, that’s probably where we’ll bunk tonight.”
“In a pinch of what?”Croker asked.
Exhaling a quiet huff ofexasperation, Kennedy explained, “In an emergency. We used caves as shelterplenty of times during the war.”
“Is that so?” Crokermused. “It sounds as if this war produced muchhardship.”
After a sideways glance atCon, Decker stated, “Yeah – they usually do.” Before Croker couldrespond, she suggested he and Quan distribute the supplies they’dbrought so everyone could have something to eat before bedding downfor the night. When she saw that Croker had pulled out whatappeared to be several large, transparent tubes of gray putty, Deckwas compelled to ask what it was.
“It is meat, of course.”When she asked what kind, he said, “I’m not sure what you’re asking– have you now developed more than one kind of meat?”
While Naiche was gaping athim, Con jumped in to ask, “What animal did it come from?Originally?”
“Our meat is grownsynthetically,” Betang volunteered. “There are no animalssacrificed as in ancient times.”
Kennedy sighed and triedagain. “Yes, of course, most of ours is, too. But the cells togenerate the synthetic process had to come from some animal.Otherwise it’s not really meat, is it?”
Croker said, “Butit is meat – andvery tasty.” He used a small knife to slice off a portion andoffered it to the Lovelacecrew, “Would you like to try some? It’s as goodcold as it is warmed.”
Staring doubtfully at thegray substance, Kapoor said, “We have meal bars we can eat, thanksall the same.”
Deck decided to go checkout the caves’ suitability for shelter and Kennedy offered toaccompany her. On the way she nudged him with her shoulder. “I’venever been so glad to have bison jerky in my pack. Who knew therewas some food in this universe worse than UDC mealbars?”
Con burst out laughingbefore retorting, “See how educational this mission is turning outto be?”
Her answering laugh wasabruptly cut off when she noticed a flicker of white high in thesky. By the time she’d been able to retrieve her oculiscope andcheck it out, the object was gone. Decker dismissed it as mereimagination – until she noticed Kayatennae gazing up at the samespot.
“What was it?”
“Not sure – but it couldhave been a peerazu.” She rubbed at her right temple, saying,“Croker can have my bedroll. I’m not going to be
