Stop it, Lucy—stop it right now!she told herself sternly.You have to stop fantasizing like this and get real. What happened between you and T’zaren was extremely unprofessional and you need to keep it from happening again. Right?
Right,she told herself firmly. In fact, it really would be better if she went on this mission to have dinner with Lady Twa’linda by herself, without T’zaren. That way theDom’mesquecouldn’t expect Lucy to treat the big Monstrum like her “manservant” and let him suck her nipples again…or do something evenworse.
But was there a way to get away from the big Monstrum? Lucy couldn’t think of one at the moment. She promised herself, however, that if she had a moment to sneak away from the ship, she would definitely go without him. It would be easier that way. Less…complicated.
SEVENTEEN
T’ZAREN
After what seemed like forever, but was probably more like fifteen minutes, Lucille finally came back to the front of the ship. She was still wearing the black skirt she’d had on earlier but now there was a big, bulky garment that T’zaren had heard humans call a “sweater” covering her top. It was deep blue and looked lovely with her creamy complexion. There were dark spots on her cheekbones and T’zaren realized she was blushing.
“Well…” she said, clearly trying to be nonchalant. “I suppose we’ll be landing soon.”
“Yes,” he said tightly. “Very soon—I just got the coordinates. And they’ve also sent us a map to the stronghold.”
He nodded at the small, hand-held device with the map on it. The device was clear and about the size of his palm but the map it displayed hovered in holo-form above it and could be manipulated easily to see it from all different directions.
“Oh—like GPS on a cell phone but holographic,” Lucille remarked, picking it up and studying the map displayed above the screen. “But what’s this big black void?” she asked, pointing.
“The ‘chasm’ is an enormous pit which has been dug all around the Twainer’s stronghold,” T’zaren explained stiffly. “There is a conveyance to get from one side to the other and the guards who watch it have been instructed to let us ride it.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Lucille’s creamy complexion had gone pale. “I’m uh, not great with heights,” she admitted. “Why can’t we just land outside the stronghold itself? It looks like there’s plenty of room,” she added, nodding at the map again.
T’zaren shook his head.
“From what I understand, Lady Twa’linda doesn’t allow anyone to land near the stronghold—not even her closest friends. She trusts no one.”
“She seemed like a nice enough person. She was pretty quick to invite us to dinner,” Lucille pointed out.
“Yes, but she—fuck!” T’zaren swore suddenly, for the rear thruster indicator had suddenly blinked red on his instrument panel.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Lucille was immediately concerned.
“Nothing to worry about,” T’zaren growled. “Just the rear thruster has locked up.”
“Thatdoessound like something to worry about, though!” she protested. “Will it keep us from landing?”
T’zaren shook his head.
“No, but it’ll keep us from taking off again if I don’t fix it.”
“Canyou fix it?” she demanded.
T’zaren shot her an irritated glare.
“Yes, Dr. Lucille, I can fix it. I wouldn’t fly a ship I couldn’t repair in an emergency. I’ll just need an hour or so once we land to work on it.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry, I just…I don’t know anything about repairing a spaceship and the idea of being stranded on a distant planet makes me nervous,” she said, running a hand through her honey-blond hair.
“You don’thaveto know anything about repairing the ship,” T’zaren growled, unable to hide his irritation. “That’s whatI’mhere for—to serve and protect you. That includes keeping our ship in good, working order.”
“All right—you don’t have to be sogrumpyabout it,” she snapped. “I’ve never been to another planet before—I think I have a right to be a little nervous.”
T’zaren sighed. She was right, he thought—the humans had no means of interstellar travel themselves, and so all of them were just stuck on their little blue-green planet. He himself had visited multiple alien planets in both this universe and his own universe which was now closed to him.
“All right,” he said gruffly. “I know you’re not an experienced interstellar traveler. I just want you to know you can trust me to take care of you—and the ship—and get us home safely.”
“Okay—I trust you,” Lucille said, but her eyes slid away from his when she said the words.