NF 15 - After the Fall (c) by Star Trek

Author:Star Trek [Star Trek]
Language: deu
Format: epub
Tags: \Star Trek
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2011-01-02T08:00:33.257000+00:00

The Lyla

i.

Deep down, Kalinda had been concerned that Xyon was trying to trick her. That as soon as she ate something, he would turn around and continue to try and get her out of Thallonian space.

Such was not the case, as it turned out. She filled her belly, slaked her thirst, and Xyon kept the course steady for New Thallon.

She was relieved. For all the icy and imperious demeanor she’d been displaying, the fact was that she’d been so ravenous it was all she could do not to break down in tears. But a show of weakness like that one would hardly have helped her situation.

At the same time, though, she had to admit to herself that she felt a bit…saddened. For in acquiescing to her demands—in realizing the error of his actions—something seemed to have been extinguished in Xyon.

You crushed his heart. What did you expect? That was what one part of her mind demanded. This, of course, was quickly replied to by the other part of her mind which demanded, He took you against his will and treated you as if you had no rights at all. What did he expect? There was absolutely no way she should feel any guilt over Xyon’s feelings. No way.

And yet…

No “and yet”! Don’t let yourself even begin to think in that direction!

She had to admit that, for his part, Xyon wasn’t doing a thing to try and heap some sort of guilt upon her. The decision having been made to return her, he was all business. Not angrily so or arrogantly so. He operated his ship with brisk efficiency, as if Kalinda were simply a young woman who had booked passage aboard his vessel. He asked after her concerns, he did his best to make her comfortable. He even engaged in harmless small talk.

Still, she felt that there was a faint air of melancholy hanging over him. But certainly that was completely his problem, not hers. And he wasn’t trying to foist it upon her or make it her problem, so she made the conscious decision to ignore it.

Except…he was so damned sad…

“No!” she said firmly. “You’re not going to do it.”

Xyon had been keeping a wary eye on the console, but now he turned and looked at her in bemusement. “Do what?” he asked.

“Sit there and make me feel guilty.”

He appeared to consider that. “All right,” he said, saying each word individually and carefully as if he were dealing with a dangerously deranged person. “So you wish me to…what? Stand? Sit somewhere else? I don’t…”

“Don’t be cute.”

“It’s a curse,” he admitted sadly. “I’ve learned to live with it.”

“Xyon…!”

“What do you want from me, Kalinda?” He shook his head, looking rather hopeless. “I realize I was wrong to take you. I’m bringing you back. And I’m being careful about it….”

“Why ‘careful’?”

“Because,” he told her matter-of-factly, “there are still ships out there in sizable numbers looking for me. If I run afoul of them and they haul us in, my saying to

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