Embarkment 2577 (15 page)

I tucked my hands around Adam’s arm and
we walked around the room. He murmured, “You’ve done a great job here.”

“Meh, it’s mostly Anya.”

“Funny, she says it’s mostly you.”

Most people on the Bell were, for
practical reasons, pretty much like us, but some were very different. Seeing
everyone interact fascinated me.

Jia’Lyn played a song from her home
world on an instrument that worked with light. All her snakes wagged with the
rhythm. The tree people sang, and it sounded like wooden flutes on the wind. I
couldn’t pronounce their names, but they didn’t seem to mind.

Later in the evening, Anya scurried over
to me and grabbed my hands. “C’mon Alex, let’s dance.”

At first, everyone stared, but then
Blake and Ima fell in. It didn’t take long until the floor was filled with
people dancing. Quite a feat given all the different sizes, shapes, and
cultures. Anything works if everyone tries hard enough. Let me tell you, being
on a spaceship, teaching a being that looks like a tree to waltz is quite an
experience.

Eventually, I ended up with the Captain,
who spun me right into Adam’s waiting arms. He smiled and held me tight, and
his strong arms around my waist sent an expectant tingle through my body.

“Are you having a good time, Sweetheart?

“Oh yes, and it just got better.” I
sounded a little out of breath. Maybe it was time to take a break… “Can we
get out of here? Just for a few minutes?”

“Sure.”

We snuck out of the ballroom and I
whispered, “I’m visiting a ball at the castle, and I’m
stealing the handsome prince.”

He lifted an
eyebrow. “You are my princess, but I’m certainly not a prince. Let’s go to the
arboretum.”

Good idea. The
gigantic indoor garden was soothing and fascinating. It also fit the theme of
the day. Adam picked a flower and put it behind my ear.

“I always
expect someone to show up and yell at you when you do that.”

He laughed
softly. “Maybe one day they will, but if something was rare they’d keep it out
of the common area.”

I wrapped my
arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. A part of me understood he wasn’t
human, but emotionally I’d never be able to comprehend it.

“I’m proud of
you. You’ve done a great job.”

His words made
me want to blush, so I kissed him, hoping he wouldn’t see. His arms around me
were pure heaven, yet released their grip much too quickly.

Not until Adam
pulled back did I hear the soft ruffle of leaves behind me. A voice sounding
like a summer wind mused, “I hope I am not disturbing you. You two are so…
intriguing… to me. Biology and machinery, so affectionate.”

Adam smiled.
“It’s because of her. She’s wonderful.”

What to say?
Nothing but the truth would do. “You are intriguing to me too.”

The tree
chuckled, making all its leaves dance.

I didn’t think
it possible to be both exhausted and exhilarated at the same time, but when
Adam walked me home that evening I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open,
and so excited I wanted to bounce. “It was a success, wasn’t it? Today was
really a success.”

“You really
have no idea, do you?”

“What? No,
tell me, what?”

A smile tugged
at his lips. “You take a stroll with an alien through the arboretum and end up
with armfuls of plant specimens. You tell him how cool the ship is and end up
with a pilot exchange program. Enoch has worked with them for five years and
couldn’t even get one leaf off the planet.”

I shrugged. “I
guess they don’t like him.”

Not that I
blamed them; I didn’t like him either.

Adam stopped
outside the door. He seemed to look extra handsome that night, and I so wanted
him to stay. “Aren’t you coming in?”

“No. I have a
meeting with Anya and the Captain, and then I need to take the bridge. Jia’Lyn has
pulled double shifts for too long.”

Of course.
Someone would have to do his job when he wasn’t around. I hadn’t thought of
that.

I moseyed
inside, sat down on the edge of the bed, and let myself fall backwards. Maybe I
could take a little nap before taking my clothes and shoes off…

My eyes popped
wide open when the door swooshed open and the computer chimed, “Unauthorized
access.”

Now what? I
heard a whirring noise and the computer’s all too merry voice, “Door
malfunction.”

Could whatever
it might be go away if I lay really still and pretended to be dead? Probably
not. Could I roll off the bed and crawl in under it? Glancing over towards the
living room gave a definite negative on that. Enoch was heading towards me with
a determined frown on his moon round face.

“You’re in the
wrong room, Ambassador. Yours is further down the corridor.”

He didn’t even
blink.

I should have
gotten to my feet earlier, but things like this
didn’t happen
on the
Bell. Options? If he took two steps more I would have none. I pressed my hands
into the soft mattress and pushed myself to my feet. The bathroom was mere
steps away, and the door would lock just fine.

Enoch was
faster. He tackled me and we both fell. Landing on my back with the heavy man
on top of me knocked all the air out, and it took a long moment for me to
understand the wheezing sound was me trying to breathe.

Struggling was
futile; he held me down without even trying. “Do you have any idea how much I
suffered to adapt to that planet? How much time and energy I put into this?”

“Get off me,
you big, ugly…”

“You come
sweeping in, taking it all away from me without even trying.”

His strong
fingers ripped my top open as if he shredded a piece of paper. “Computer, I
need security!”

“Unable to
comply, please specify your request.”

What the hell?
How hard could it be to call for security? Normally, nothing on the ship scared
me as much as the insect like Lupe who reminded me of a six foot tall palmetto
bug, but right now I’d pay anything to see my reflection in his multi-faceted
eyes.

“You owe me.
How do you think trees procreate? They clone their roots.”

He would never
let a thing like this see sunlight. Apart from the misery of being raped, my
room would explode, or maybe I’d end up dying in space, having accidentally fallen
out an airlock.

“The first
woman I see for half a decade ruins everything I’ve worked for.”

Adrenaline
pumped through me and I wriggled free enough to reach behind me. My searching
finger tips touched a cool surface. A lamp. If I could reach just a little
further…

Enoch sat on
my legs to keep me from kicking him and tucked my skirt up. I shoved the lamp
against his head, and the ceramic material shattered. “Computer, get Adam.”

The large man
on top of me grunted and shook his head. I turned my face away just in time for
his fist to hit the floor instead of my cheek. “Anya!”

Up until now,
I always doubted her claim of being telepathic. No one else could hear me, no
one else could help, and I prayed to whatever deity might still exist in this
century that she could perceive me.

Enoch’s
fingers closed around my throat and I grabbed his wrists, struggling to pry his
fingers off enough to allow me some air. Nothing. I hit him as hard as I could
and was rewarded with pain screaming through every nerve. My right hand no
longer obeyed, and I scratched him with my left.

I saw dark
dots in front of my eyes. This was it. No more Alex lost in time, no more
anything.

Then, the
pressure disappeared. A part of me registered Enoch flying through the air,
hitting a wall with a very satisfying thud. A bigger part of me was much too
preoccupied with getting cool air down my aching throat to care.

Breathing did
not come easy. I heard Anya’s voice, “Ima, come to Alex’s quarter immediately.”
Something further away banged against the wall, and I heard the Captain’s voice
from a great distance. “Adam, that’s enough.” Then, sharper, “Commander, stand
down!”

Enoch’s voice
broke through the darkness in my mind. “…your pet robot is trying to kill
me…”

“If he really
tried to, you wouldn’t be here now.”

A cool hand on
my forehead gave comfort. “Ima’s on the way.”

I wanted to
tell Anya how happy I was to have her company in my final moments, but there
wasn’t enough air.

I must have
passed out for a moment. I woke from a cool instrument buzzing on my neck.
Ima’s furred hands examined mine, and the absence of pain was remarkable.

Blake’s voice
came from the other side of the room. “No. The only place you’re going is the
brig, and if you give me just half an excuse I’ll shoot you myself.”

Enoch yelled
something about abuse and Ima narrowed her eyes. She got to her feet, and from
my position on the floor she looked impossibly tall when standing up. “Oh, you
will get medical care as soon as you get to the brig. I will see to it myself.”

The way her
tail wagged made me happy not to be Enoch.

Adam entered
my field of view, holding a robe. He knelt beside me and swept it over me,
covering up my exposed body.

Ima rested a
hand on his shoulder, and I marvelled at her talent for making ordinary words
sound like curses. “The ambassador did a proper job. I healed Alex’s trachea
and broken hand. Don’t worry, Commander. I will make sure he is… cared for.”

He scooped me
up in his arms without saying a word. Ima poked him. “I will come by your quarters
in the morning and check in on her. Until then, I expect you to keep an eye on
her.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Wait…” It
was the first word I attempted to say, and I was surprised to recognize my
voice. It wasn’t even hoarse. “How did you know?”

Anya squeezed
my arm. “I heard you. I saw Enoch through your eyes, felt him tear your
clothes…”

She trailed
off and I glanced up at Adam’s emotionless face. It all happened so quickly.
How could he have reached me in time?

“He took a
shortcut. Jumped into the shaft and bounced off a hover-round.”

Anya’s
explanation made sense. There was no other way he could have reached me so
quickly. The central shaft was a chilling abyss that reached all the way to the
bottom of the ship, more than 40 floors. It was meant for vehicles, not people.
I couldn’t imagine anyone leaping into it just to save me.

*****

There should
be more appealing places to go than Adam’s empty rooms, but I couldn’t think of
anything. Remaining in the guest quarters I’d occupied for so long was out of
the question. The rooms were tainted, and I doubted I’d ever feel safe there
again.

I rested my
head against his shoulder and tried to relax. Nothing bad would happen to me.
He wouldn’t let it.

The lift
seemed safe enough for me to close my eyes, and I didn’t open them again until
I heard a door fall shut behind us. I expected a big empty room. This place had
furniture, art on the walls, and decorations on shelves. “Where are we?”

He didn’t
answer; he headed for a plush sofa and sat down with me on his lap. His silence
scared me, but I could relate. I trembled from all the adrenaline my body
released trying to survive. I wanted to cry, wanted to throw up in fear and
disgust with what almost happened. I clung to Adam instead, drawing solace from
his strength.

Eventually,
Adam asked, “How’s your hand?”

I flexed the
fingers. “It’s okay. Ima fixed me.”

“I have never
wanted to kill before.”

“What a
strange thing for a soldier to say.”

He sighed.
“That’s not what I meant. A war is a war, that’s different. I wanted to rip his
arms off to make him hurt.”

Good point. At
some point in time, most people might
want
to hurt someone. If I was
caught in a fit of rage, the worst I could do would be kicking someone. Adam
would be quite capable of ripping a person apart with his bare hands.

Well, in the
case of Enoch, good riddance… I rested my head against him again. “You saved
my life.”

His
communicator beeped, and I heard Jia’Lyn’s voice. “The Captain told me what
happened. Is Alex alright?”

“Under the
circumstances.”

“I’ll take the
bridge tonight. Stay with Alex and take good care of her.”

He kissed the
side of my head. “Thank you, Commander.”

I could
visualize her snakes snickering when she replied, “I know, I should be a saint,
but my people don’t have religion. You wouldn’t hold it against me if I have an
errand down to the brig tonight, would you?”

Adam surprised
me with laughing softly. “Alex loves you too. Good night.”

The sofa
smelled new. Up until now I’d been too preoccupied and scared to really look
around. Everything looked new. “This is your place, isn’t it?”