Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [65]
And saw that Kathryn's face was streaked with tears, eyes swollen from a long bout of crying. Lettie melted immediately. "Kathryn-what is it? Tell me, please.... I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have come in here like that...."
"You had every right to," said Kathryn miserably. "I was awful. I know. But I couldn't stay there a minute longer."
"But why? What happened? Was he rude to you?"
"No, no, he's very sweet. Just like you said-charming, attractive, intelligent. He may be the most wonderful man I've ever met." And with that, Kathryn once more broke into tears.
She was never able to explain fully to Lettie the complexities of her despair-probably, she thought ruefully, because she didn't understand them herself-but Lettie finally claimed to understand her feelings, and promised never to rope her into a blind date again.
She also made Kathryn go to bed for three hours, at which time she woke feeling much better and stayed up the rest of that night, the following day, and all the following night.
And at eight hundred hours on Monday morning there was a padd waiting on Admiral Paris' desk containing her thesis proposal. It was the beginning of a remarkable relationship.
CHAPTER 15
JAL SITTIK LISTENED AS MISKK SPAT OUT HIS ACCOUNT OF THE debacle in the fruit grove. One man dead, everyone else injured, some critically, from a horrific battle with reptiles that dropped from the trees. Miskk himself had nearly been killed, and would have been were it not for his prodigious strength, which allowed him to kill a serpent with his bare hands.
Sittik doubted this tale, but thought it unwise to challenge Miskk given the turn of events. It was he who had sent the men into the grove, and Miskk could easily make an issue of that, one which he would bring to Maje Dut. Sittik longed briefly for Miskk's own death in the coils of the reptiles, but accepted that fate had decreed he would live on to provide an ongoing obstacle to Sittik's quest for success. So be itovercoming obstacles would only make him stronger.
"You acquitted yourself well, Miskk. It is unfortunate that Pelg did not survive, but his death will be spoken of as a sacrifice to the great victory we will achieve today. His name will be praised."
"Your great victory seems to elude you, Sittik. Have you even located the Federations yet?"
Sittik smiled. He'd been waiting for this. "Of course." He stomped his foot on the ground. "They're underground. Just beneath us."
There was a flicker of confusion in Miskk's face, and Sittik indulged himself in a small gloating laugh. He made a mental note to reward the man who had detected the Federation life signs beneath the surface, but saw no reason to acknowledge him to Miskk. "There are subterranean passageways-caves, perhaps-where they have taken refuge. We haven't yet found the opening, but it's just a matter of time."
"Why not simply blast an opening with weapons?"
"That's precisely what I intend to do, Miskk, if you'll stop prattling on about your mishap." Sittik strode away from him and toward the others, snapping orders at them, wishing even more strongly that Miskk had met his death-a slow one, preferably-within the snake-infested grove of trees.
Neelix had stayed with the injured at the main staging area of the underground structure. Greta Kale was feeling better and LeFevre fully recovered, though all of them remained somewhat shaken by their gauntlet through the reptiles.
Neelix thought briefly of the cake he'd made, still waiting on Voyager for Tuvok's delectation. The thought of the nocha confection was comforting to him somehow; at the least, thinking of it was better than thinking of those noxious snakes, and a lot better than thinking of the Kazon who were prowling above them, looking for a way down so they could slaughter everyone they found.
Captain Janeway, of course, would be looking for them, and undoubtedly effect their rescue. Eventually. Unless