Part 34 (1/2)

”What's wrong Theresita?” he asked.

She faced him. ”I have decided. I am yours if you want me. But you know nothing of my past.”

”The only thing I want to know is what happened in that arctic sleeping bag,” he replied, grinning.

”Seriously, ” she said, ”I am not a young girl, Jacob.”

”And I'm no kid, myself,” he said. ”I've been a pilot for twenty years, a good one and a hot one in a glamorous service.”

”Oh, a lady killer.”

”I thought we were trying to compete with each other for who had the most sordid past.”

”I haven't been allthat bad!” she exclaimed.

”Just tell me what went on in that sleeping bag.”

”Nothing. Only an older woman thinking very heated thoughts about a handsome young officer.”

”That's all?”

”Truth. That's all.”

”Then I think I'll keep you,” he said. ”After all, I'm the one who found you.”

”I agree; it is your duty. ”

He took her hand, and they walked back down the slope, through the town. ”Would we be accused of immorality if I asked you to warm me again tonight?” she asked.

”Do you remember what I told you this morning? About having serious intentions before asking me to do that? And would you still feel immoral?”

”No,” she said. ”Well, maybe a little.”

”Enough to bother you?”

”How will I know unless we try?” she asked.

TWENTY-TWO.

As far as Captain Rodrick was aware, the group of Those Who Knew had been depleted by one with the death of Rocky Miller, and increased by two, Jacob West and Theresita Pulaski. But then Rodrick did not know that Commander Miller had told his group of dissidents about the imminence of nuclear war. But his group had perished in the Whorsk ambush. Mandy, the only survivor of the attack, already had known about the possibility of nuclear war on Earth.

The captain had called a breakfast meeting. As they ate, Evangeline tried her Russian on Theresita and was complimented on vocabulary and advised on accent. Mandy Miller, still hollow eyed, was mostly silent. Jackie sat on Duncan's right and had trouble keeping her eyes off his face, just now beginning to believe that she was married to him, and that he was everything, and more, than she'd ever dreamed of.

Emi and Ito Zuki completed the group.

”I just wanted to talk things over,” Rodrick said, as people helped themselves to another round of coffee when the meal was finished. Theresita had discovered that her stomach was not yet ready for heavy foods after months of fruit, berries, and nuts. Two days of glutting herself on bread, sweets, and synthasteak had made her stomach feel distended, and, indeed, there seemed to be just a bit of roundness there. She'd returned to her diet of nuts and fruit for the time being.

”Does anyone have anything pressing?” Rodrick asked.

No one spoke. Theresita had a medical examination scheduled. It was going to be performed by Dr.

Miller and her staff, and since Mandy didn't offer any information about it, neither did Theresita.

”Recent events have presented us with some information to consider,” Rodrick said. ”I've asked two more members to join our little group.” He looked at his b.u.t.ton-watch. He'd asked Max and Grace to breakfast, and Max, grinning, had said, ”Duncan, after a long and pleasant bachelorhood, I've just discovered the pleasure of looking at my wife across the breakfast table.”

”They should be here any minute,” Rodrick told the group, just as the caller sounded. Rodrick said, ”Come in,” and Max and Grace entered. Grace snagged two coffee cups and fixed, then handed, Max his coffee. Neither she nor Max was surprised to hear that the situation on Earth had been much worse than was general knowledge.

”You all know the mission with which I was entrusted,” Rodrick said. ”I've been doing a lot of thinking since Marshal-excuse me...Theresita told me what she knew. We know only that over three years ago, when Theresita had her last contact with Earth, the bombs had not yet started to fall. My thinking is this: The situation was grim, true, but the United States and the Soviet Union have been nose to nose for a hundred years now, with bombs available for most of that time, and they had always found some way to avoid the final confrontation. We know that the greatest threat was Premier Yuri Kolchak's determination to see the world converted to communism before his death, but he died before he realized that ambition, and, presumably, men who were a bit more sane were in power in the Kremlin.”

Theresita felt her heart lurch at the mention of Yuri's name. No one here, she decided, could ever learn that she had been Yuri's lover-and then his murderer, in hopes of staving off the final confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Rodrick continued: ”... personally believe that there's a very real chance that the two big powers found a way to avoid nuclear war. Any comment?”

He looked around the table. Everyone was silent. ”Stoner tells me that the deposit of ore he's working,although it wouldn't be considered worthwhile on Earth, is promising. Fortunately-this is probably going to come as a surprise to you, Theresita-our discoveries during the outward voyage mean that we didn't have to mine tons of rhenium, only pounds.”

”Pounds?” Theresita asked. ”Then we wasted enough with theKarl Marx to power a fleet of stars.h.i.+ps and explore the entire galaxy.”

”That's right,” Ito Zuki said. ”We did the same onSpirit .”

”Stoner says that if the ore deposit keeps looking more promising as he goes deeper, he will be able to give us a power load for the s.h.i.+p in two years, perhaps less,” Rodrick said. ”I'm sure that all of you know that I fully intend to take theSpirit of America back to Earth.”

”Of course,” Max said.

”What about rocket fuel, Max?” Rodrick asked.

”We've got the raw materials,” Max reported. ”It'll take a year to build the manufacturing facilities.

We've got a lot of sc.r.a.p metal now. The crawlers the Whorsk blew up can be reclaimed, and we can use the metal from the bulkheads of the portable quarters.”

”Good, Max. Keep in touch with Stoner, and if he finds more rhenium than he expects and can accelerate his program, be ready to keep up with him.”

”No problem,” Max responded. ”The return cargo of theSpirit of America will be foodstuffs, growing stock. Amando has a few Omega plants that he thinks will help green up the arid areas of Africa and Asia. He's very interested in having a talk with you, Theresita. He's very impressed that you are so fit and healthy after living on Omega's natural foods for a year. Apparently we have something to learn about diet and nutrition. If you can look the way you do eating fruit and nuts-”

”And fish,” Theresita said.

”-the Omegan fruit and nut trees transplanted in the tropical and subtropical areas of Earth will greatly increase the food supply.” He paused. ”Too bad we don't have fabulous treasures to take back.”

”The jewelry made from Baby's discarded scales would be a sensation,” Jackie remarked. ”If we had a way of getting enough-”

”That issome animal,” Max said. ”I timed her the other day, with Clay and Cindy riding on her back. She was doing a smooth thirty miles an hour all the way to the Dinah River. Beats the h.e.l.l out of a horse.

Anyone ever think of breeding those things as transport animals?”

”Just don't ask me to be the one to capture them,” Jacob said.

”I've been trying to think of some way I could be of value to the colony,” Theresita said. ”I'm probably more familiar with the jungles than anyone.”