Read Online Seed of Stars by Dan Morgan, John Kippax - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Dan Morgan, John Kippax
Tags: Science-Fiction
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break your neck," his voice was a low-pitched growl.
She examined the end of her thin cigar, then tapped a half-inch of ash onto the floor. "I don't think so, Piet You may be good at chopping up dead bodies, but you're not really the violent type."
He was trembling now, as he stood facing her. "You bitch, you lousy, stinking bitch!"
"Lieutenant! Hardly the way for one officer to address another, surely?"
"What do you want?"
"Explanations, perhaps. . . ." She eyed him steadily. "Or ... do you know, I'm not quite sure. There's a great deal I don't understand, and I would so like to do so."
Every muscle of his body was stretched tight, tension increased by the quiet, mocking confidence of her manner, but he held back. If I once lay a hand on her, I'll tear her to pieces. . . . The thought burned red in his mind.
"Your examination of Crewwoman Mizuno, for instance," Trudi continued. "Surely it was very brief for a complete physical check? It seemed quite clear to me that the girl was unwell; that was why I sent her on sick call."
"Was it?"
"But of course; what other reason could I possibly have?"
Piet hesitated. It seemed pretty clear that she was playing with him.
"And during this lightning examination, were you able to make any diagnosis, Lieutenant Huygens?" she asked.
"The girl is perfectly fit in every respect. At the time, you saw her, she was nearing the end of her duty period and was tired."
"A-one, fit for duty, then?"
"That was my report."
"But slightly pregnant, wouldn't you say? Or didn't you put that in your report?"
Panic flowed through him in a sickening flood. She knew, of course she knew. Doors were closing in his mind. He could only stand, pale and shaken, staring into her ice-queen face as she continued:
"You've been sleeping with her. That much is obvious. Perhaps even understandable. After all, a little variety. I shop around myself from time to time, when the mood takes me. Of course, I'm a bit conventional about the way in which I indulge my appetites. I don't cross ranks, for instance. Come to think of it, I don't get myself pregnant, either. How did that happen, by the way? Is your little monkey woman so fertile that human estrogens don't work on her? Or did you perhaps tamper with her contracapsule? After all, you are a medic, aren't you?"
"Trudi. . . ." His voice was a strangled gasp, forced through a fear-congealed throat. This woman, this cold-eyed Norse goddess, held his and Mia's lives in the palm of her hand.
"Perhaps it's some new kick, some twisted way of proving your virility?" she said, contemptuously. "A primitive like her . . . maybe she gets a charge out of feeling a half-European fetus growing in her womb. What is it—three, four months? You'll have to move soon if you're going to abort her, otherwise it could be a bit messy. But still, I suppose she's pretty hardy; back on Earth her kind drop their pups on the side of the rice field and get right back to work, I understand."
Facing the icy lash of Trudi's words Piet was still able to console himself that there was at least one thing that she didn't know. Her automatic assumption that Mia's child would eventually be aborted proved that she had not even contemplated the possibility that he and Mia might be planning to jump ship at Kepler III. So long as she didn't know that, and so long as she didn't tell what she did know, there was still some hope.
"What do you want from me, Trudi?"
"What did I ever want?" she said, her features softening slightly. "Our appetites matched, didn't they? Don't tell me your monkey woman gives it to you any better than I did; or maybe you've forgotten, it's been so long?"
The message in her eyes was clear now, the tone of her voice almost pleading. It was such a simple thing that she wanted; an act that they had performed together a thousand times. He had only to say the word and the danger that threatened his and Mia's plans would be removed. Trudi would have no qualms about sharing his
She examined the end of her thin cigar, then tapped a half-inch of ash onto the floor. "I don't think so, Piet You may be good at chopping up dead bodies, but you're not really the violent type."
He was trembling now, as he stood facing her. "You bitch, you lousy, stinking bitch!"
"Lieutenant! Hardly the way for one officer to address another, surely?"
"What do you want?"
"Explanations, perhaps. . . ." She eyed him steadily. "Or ... do you know, I'm not quite sure. There's a great deal I don't understand, and I would so like to do so."
Every muscle of his body was stretched tight, tension increased by the quiet, mocking confidence of her manner, but he held back. If I once lay a hand on her, I'll tear her to pieces. . . . The thought burned red in his mind.
"Your examination of Crewwoman Mizuno, for instance," Trudi continued. "Surely it was very brief for a complete physical check? It seemed quite clear to me that the girl was unwell; that was why I sent her on sick call."
"Was it?"
"But of course; what other reason could I possibly have?"
Piet hesitated. It seemed pretty clear that she was playing with him.
"And during this lightning examination, were you able to make any diagnosis, Lieutenant Huygens?" she asked.
"The girl is perfectly fit in every respect. At the time, you saw her, she was nearing the end of her duty period and was tired."
"A-one, fit for duty, then?"
"That was my report."
"But slightly pregnant, wouldn't you say? Or didn't you put that in your report?"
Panic flowed through him in a sickening flood. She knew, of course she knew. Doors were closing in his mind. He could only stand, pale and shaken, staring into her ice-queen face as she continued:
"You've been sleeping with her. That much is obvious. Perhaps even understandable. After all, a little variety. I shop around myself from time to time, when the mood takes me. Of course, I'm a bit conventional about the way in which I indulge my appetites. I don't cross ranks, for instance. Come to think of it, I don't get myself pregnant, either. How did that happen, by the way? Is your little monkey woman so fertile that human estrogens don't work on her? Or did you perhaps tamper with her contracapsule? After all, you are a medic, aren't you?"
"Trudi. . . ." His voice was a strangled gasp, forced through a fear-congealed throat. This woman, this cold-eyed Norse goddess, held his and Mia's lives in the palm of her hand.
"Perhaps it's some new kick, some twisted way of proving your virility?" she said, contemptuously. "A primitive like her . . . maybe she gets a charge out of feeling a half-European fetus growing in her womb. What is it—three, four months? You'll have to move soon if you're going to abort her, otherwise it could be a bit messy. But still, I suppose she's pretty hardy; back on Earth her kind drop their pups on the side of the rice field and get right back to work, I understand."
Facing the icy lash of Trudi's words Piet was still able to console himself that there was at least one thing that she didn't know. Her automatic assumption that Mia's child would eventually be aborted proved that she had not even contemplated the possibility that he and Mia might be planning to jump ship at Kepler III. So long as she didn't know that, and so long as she didn't tell what she did know, there was still some hope.
"What do you want from me, Trudi?"
"What did I ever want?" she said, her features softening slightly. "Our appetites matched, didn't they? Don't tell me your monkey woman gives it to you any better than I did; or maybe you've forgotten, it's been so long?"
The message in her eyes was clear now, the tone of her voice almost pleading. It was such a simple thing that she wanted; an act that they had performed together a thousand times. He had only to say the word and the danger that threatened his and Mia's plans would be removed. Trudi would have no qualms about sharing his
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