You don't understand him at all.You don't understand him at all. You don't understand _us_ at all." "From the looks of his books, I'd say he created every single species he's got just for so he could sleep with them." He felt the tips of his ears getting hot. This was making him uncomfortable. Denni smiled a strange, crooked smile and said, "You don't know, do you?" "Don't know what?" Denni paused for a second and said, "I can't tell you." "Can't tell me what? What aren't you telling me?" "Captain... David, How long are we going to stop at Fahrenheit?" "I don't know. A day at most. Why?" "Can I get time away from the ship?" Her smile had changed. David found it pleasant to look at. He thought about if for a second. In-system recycle was something Pat could probably run by herself. "I suppose. Care to tell me why?" "No. It's... Personal. I have to pick something up." He shrugged and resumed digging through his chips. Every once in a while he would look up at her with a strange mixture of longing, frustration, and confusion. Just once, he thought he caught her looking at him. He wondered if she felt at all like he did. The bell to his office rang. David rubbed the bridge of his nose again-- his headache was returning-- and said "Come." They were on their way out of the stellar gravity well so they could effect Jump, and he'd negotiated just half an hour ago a rather steep price for the processed deuterium he'd taken on from the Fahrenheit station's fuel office, and he didn't like the feeling that he was getting screwed. Dennielle entered and said, "Hi." "Hello," he replied. "Did you get what you were looking for?" She nodded and said, "Yeah, I think so." She dropped a small packet of paper on his desk. |