[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
issue jumpsuit hung on her, "Maybe you better make that two extra. This one
has some catching up to do. "
* * *
As they went downship, Tregare noticed that the unfamiliar surroundings seemed
to give
Chira no unease. Either she was adaptable as all hell or had no imagination;
he couldn't guess which. At the hold's door she said, "Locked in? I "
"Just a place to stay, for now, " he said. "You'll have a lot of new friends
here, while we go to another world. "
"Friends?" But she went in without arguing.
Then Tregare and Zelde climbed to the galley; breakfast was a long time ago.
He thought of asking her to his quarters, for after, but didn't. Because he
could sense that they were out of phase; he was in a mood for sex and she
wasn't. He didn't know why, and wasn't sure he liked it, but couldn't put a
finger on how to change anything. At least Zelde had turned out to be someone
he could talk with, better than anyone since
dammit, forget that!
So he guessed he'd settle for what he could get.
At the meal's end he did ask her up for a drink, after all, but in a way that
made it clear he was asking nothing more. So they were sitting, talking over
the day's events, when the intercom sounded. It was Gonnelson. "Captain! The
hold. The new woman. Trouble. "
Jeez more words than the First Hat usually said all week. "I'll be right down
there. I assume you have a squad on the way. " Hearing the confirming
syllable, Tregare signed out, and he and
Zelde headed downship considerably faster than safety regs allowed. Passing
the impromptu guard station at the open door of Hold Portside Upper, Tregare
went in to see a real mess.
Cherisse Frisco had blood on her face but the wound was superficial. Three
women lay on bunks while Eda Ghormley and two of her helpers worked over them.
At Tregare's quick question, Ghormley said, "Nothing fatal. But you have to
get that new one out of here. " And then Bran saw Chira, a little bloody
herself, and bruised about the face, handcuffed to a stanchion.
He shook his head. "What the hell happened here?"
"That peacepissing savage of yours, is what happened.
She " Apparently Chira didn't know the meaning of the word rations that is,
one to a customer, or in her own case, two.
When the packets were brought in and the delivery crew left, Chira began
grabbing as many as she could, and fighting the others for them. Shaking her
head, Frisco continued, "Nobody could talk to her; she hit and kicked and bit.
So finally the lot of us overpowered her and held her until the guards brought
those handcuffs. " She quieted while Eda Ghormley cleaned her face and covered
the cut with a small bandage. Then, "Damnedest brawler I've seen in a long
time. Not trained, though; that was our luck. "
The group's leader wasn't done talking yet, but Bran's slight wave of hand put
Page 116
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
her into listening mode. He said, "You think you and she all of you, I
mean can get along now?"
A frown, and violent headshake. "My people here, they took enough crap
already; you know that. Not complaining, Tregare; I know you're treating us as
well as conditions permit, and we all appreciate it. But you take that savage
out of here or I can't guarantee she'll be alive tomorrow. "
And before he could answer, she added, "Several have said, she has to sleep
sometime. But she doesn't have to wake up. "
No argument with that kind of thinking, and Tregare knew it. He looked to
M'tana in time to see her shrug, but asked anyway. "Ideas, Zelde?"
"You can't turn her loose anyplace, and my room won't hold two, even was I
willing. I guess you're stuck with her. "
He guessed so, too. So he began. "Now look, Chira... "
He let her bring along two of the disputed ration packets, and on the way
upship he tried to tell her how it would have to be. "You behave yourself,
cause no trouble, keep your hands off anything you don't understand, you can
stay with me, for now. " She nodded, and he hoped the nod meant comprehension
and acceptance. "You screw up, Chira you screw up any
and you're down there again with the property. Where they don't like you very
much. "
Scowl. "I go home. Nobody kill Chira. Just they try, they turdwhackers; I show
better. "
For a moment he was tempted to turn her offship and forget her. But if he did,
Zelde would never let him hear the last of it. So he said, "Too late for that.
Ship's sealed; we lift soon. " And only by a few minutes was he lying, his
reason being that he figured the woman would have no chance groundside; she
might think she was tough, and be partly right too but the community
Hugh Charlton headed reminded Tregare of a pack of jackals; in the longer
haul, no single animal could withstand them.
Entering his quarters he touched her shoulder and she did not flinch. "You're
safe here. You'll be fed all you want. We're going to a different world with
different people and you can live better, there. All you need to do, now, is
be peaceful, not fight, not mess with anything you don't know. You want to
know, ask and I'll try to tell you. " He stopped moving, because she had
turned to face him.
She said, "Plow me, I got to let you?"
Carefully, Tregare did not laugh. He said, "No. No, Chira. On this ship,
that's not how it is. "
The girl wasn't malicious, nor, as it turned out, even stupid. What she was,
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]