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Lunzie lay dreamily enjoying the sensation. Abruptly, a
thought struck her. "You know," she said, raising herself on one elbow, "maybe
I should travel to Alpha as a staff doctor. That way I
could save a good part of the spacefare."
Tee pretended to be shocked. "At this moment you can think of money? Woman,
you have no soul, no romance."
Lunzie narrowed one eye at him. "Oh, yes, I have." She sighed.
"Tee, I'll miss you so. It might be years before I come back."
"I will be here, awaiting you with all my heart," he said. "I love you, did
you not know that?" He opened the bottle and offered her the first sip. Then
he drank, and leaned over to give her a wine-
flavoured kiss.
They made love again, but slowly and with more care. To Lunzie, every movement
was now more precious and important. She was committing to memory the feeling
of Tee's gentle touch along her body, the growing urgency of his caresses, his
hot strength meeting hers.
"I'm sorry we didn't meet under other circumstances," Lunzie said, sadly, when
they lay quietly together afterward. The wine was gone.
"I have no regrets. If you didn't need the EEC, we would not have met. I bless
Fiona for having driven you into my arms. When you come back, we can make it
permanent," Tee offered. "And more. I
would love to help you raise a child of ours. Or two."
"Do you know, I always meant to have more children. Just now, the thought
seems ludicrous, since my only child is in her seventh decade. I'm still young
enough."
"There will be time enough, if you come back to me."
"I will," Lunzie said. "Just as soon as things are settled with Fiona, I'll
come back. Dr. Root said that he'd sponsor me as a resident -
that is, if he'll still speak to me after my subterfuge to get a night off!"
"If he knew the truth, he'd forgive you. Shall I make us some supper?"
"No. I'm too comfortable to move. Hold me."
Tee drew Lunzie's head onto his chest, and the two of them relaxed together.
As Lunzie started to drop off to sleep, the com-
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unit began chuckling quietly to itself. She sat up to answer it.
"Ignore it until morning," Tee said, pulling her back into bed.
"Remember, you have a family emergency. I have asked for travel brochures from
all the cruise lines and merchant ships which will pass between Astris and
Alpha Centauri over the next six months.
We can look over them all in the morning. I do not see you off gladly, but I
want you to go safely. We will choose the best of them all, for you."
Lunzie glanced at the growing heap of plastic folders sliding out of the
printer, and wondered how she'd ever begin to sort through the mass. "Just the
soonest. That will be good enough for me."
Tee shook his head. "None are good enough for you. But the sooner you go, the
sooner you may return. Two years or three, they will seem as that many hundred
until we meet again. But think about it in the morning. For once, for one
night, there is only we two alone in the galaxy."
Lunzie fell asleep with the sound of Tee's heart-beat under her cheek, and
felt content.
In the morning, they sat on the floor among a litter of holographic travel
advertisements, sorting them into three categories:
Unsuitable, Inexpensive, and Short Voyage.
The Unsuitable ones Tee immediately stuffed into the printer's return slot,
where the emulsion would be wiped and the plastic melted down so it could be
reused in future facsimile transmissions. Glamorous holographs, usually taken
of the dining room, the entertainment complex, or the shopping arcades of each
line's vessels, hung in the air, as Tee and Lunzie compared price, comfort,
and schedule. Lunzie looked most closely at the ones which they designated
Inexpensive, while Tee paged through those promising Short Voyages.
Of the sixty or so brochures still under consideration, Tee's favourite was
the
Destiny Calls
, a compound liner from the Destiny
Cruise Lines.
"It is the fastest of all. It makes only three ports of call between here and
Alpha Centauri over five months." Lunzie took one look at the fine print on
the plas-sheet under the hologram and blanched.
"It's too expensive! Look at those prices. Even the least expensive inside
cabin is a year's pay."
"They feed, house, and entertain you for five months," Tee said, reasonably.
"Not a bad return after taxes."
"No, it won't do. How about the Caravan Voyages'
Cymbeline
? It's much cheaper." Lunzie pointed to another brochure decorated with more
modest photography. "I don't need all those amenities the
Destiny Calls has. Look, they offer you free the services of a personal
psychotherapist, and your choice of a massage mattress or a trained masseuse.
Ridiculous!"
"But they are so slow," Tee complained. "You did not want to wait for a
merchant to make orbit because of all the stops he would make on the way; you
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do not want this. If you would pretend that money does not matter for just a
moment, it would horrify your efficient soul to find that the
Cymbeline takes thirteen months to take you where the
Destiny Calls does in five. And it will not be as comfortable. Come now,
think," he said in a wheedling tone. "What about your idea to work your way
there on the voyage? Then the question of expense will not come up."
Lunzie was attracted by the idea of travelling on a compound liner, which had
quarters for methane- and water-breathers, as well as ordinary oxygen-nitrogen
breathers. "Well. ..."
Tee could tell by her face she was more than half persuaded already. "If you
are taking a luxury cruise, why not the best? You will meet many interesting
people, eat wonderful food, and have a very good time. Do not even think how
much I will be missing you."
She laughed ruefully. "Well, all right then. Let's call them and see if they
have room for me." Tee called the com-unit code for the
Destiny Line to inquire for package deals on travels. While he was
chatting with a salesclerk, he asked very casually if they needed a ship's
medical officer for human passengers.
To Lunzie's delight and relief, they responded with alacrity that they did.
Their previous officer had gone ashore at the ship's last port of call, and
they hadn't had time to arrange for a replacement.
Tee instantly transmitted a copy of Lunzie's credentials and references, which
were forwarded to the personnel department.
She was asked to come in that day for interviews with the cruise office, the
captain of the ship and the chief medical officer by FTL
comlink, which Lunzie felt went rather well. She was hired. The ship would
make orbit around Astris Alexandria in less than a month to pick her up.
Chapter Six
"Please, gentlebeings, pay attention. This information may save your life one
day."
There was a general groan throughout the opulent dining room as the human
steward went through his often-recited lecture on space safety and evacuation
plans. He pointed out the emergency exits which led to the lifeboats moored
inside vacuum hatches along the port and starboard sides of the luxury space
liner
Destiny Calls
.
Holographic displays to his right and left demonstrated how the emergency
atmosphere equipment was to be used by the numerous humanoid and non-humanoid
races who were aboard the
Destiny
.
None of the lavishly dressed diners in the Early Seating for
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