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Deep Indigo
A faint mauve flushed her cheekbones.  Yes, sir.
Navos suppressed an inward groan. He found himself at once reluctant to meld minds with her and
fighting a base eagerness to do so. He d thrust deep into her mind at the same time he d thrust into her
body. But this was not a sensual exercise it was work. Crucial work. They must discover if anyone else
on the Orion had one of the implants.
Of course, what he hadn t told her was the two male interns had already been studying the passenger
roster, were nearly finished and had found nothing. It had been exhausting for the pair of them. He
estimated that, alone, it would take her at least a week. But at least it would keep her occupied and out of
trouble while he and the other crew commanders strove to discover who was trying to destroy the Orion.
Nelah was relieved that when Navos entered her mind this time he maintained a narrow focus. He
demonstrated briefly how he would search her thoughts and intentions, noting any large emotional
vagaries, as well as any anomalies in the physical structure which bound thoughts and emotions. Then he
drew back, leaving her shaken, yet relieved that she d managed to keep her thoughts focused on what he
was teaching.
 Now you will do the same with one of the passengers, he said, so coldly Nelah knew with sickening
certainty he felt no emotion at all. She took a breath, fighting to maintain calm. She could learn to be as
cool as he and she would.
She managed the first scan with creditable aplomb. Navos said nothing, simply observed as she
worked. As she began the second, he nodded shortly and left, closing the door behind him.
Hours passed. Nelah was not sure how many. She left the room only to take care of bodily needs. Use
the toilet across the passageway, get a drink of water, a snack and then return to her task. Her world
narrowed down to the beings passing before her on the holo-vid display. Look at the holo-vid, note the
pertinent statistics. Study them in ever-closer layers of detail, first their outer appearance, then take a deep
breath and open her mind to search out and find the being somewhere on the Orion.
It was painstaking, fascinating and utterly exhausting. She discovered some beings, particularly
Aquarians, were more sensitive than others to being intuited. She nearly giggled nervously the first time an
Aquarian male startled when she probed into his mind. Delicately, she skated around along the necessary
paths of exploration and then slipped out of his consciousness. She thought she sensed a trace of
amusement and found herself blushing. Heavens.
Nearly all, however, had no idea she was there. She was by turns fascinated, appalled, disgusted and
horrified by the urges that filled the minds of the Orion s travelers. This was an education of a different sort
for a well-brought-up Indigon young lady. Perhaps she should be taking notes for a scholarly paper, she
thought wildly at one point. Random behavior patterns within planetary races.
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Cathryn Cade
Some were awful. She really didn t want to know what Mauritanian males wanted from potential
sexual mates ugh! Or the avarice that drove some businessmen. Or the twisted sexual relationship
between at least one couple aboard the ship. She had to get up and walk the passageways for a time after
that one, wondering if she should speak to someone in authority. Finally she decided what went on in their
stateroom was their business, as long as they were both consensual adults.
But she wouldn t give up. She wouldn t quit. She would show Commander Daron Navos she could do
anything his male interns could do. Perhaps she would be the one to find another implant. If Navos and the
captain were concerned for the Orion, she meant to help them. And she had to go faster, or she wouldn t
finish in time.
Hours later, however, she discovered with each successive intuitive search, she felt weaker.
Physically, her head ached, her stomach was tight. This she accepted as the tension of learning and
accomplishing a new and important task. She d felt such symptoms during examination week at the
university.
Psychically, however, it was much worse. She felt somehow raw and sore, as if delicate tissues were
being repeatedly scraped with a fine grit. Intuiting the mind of a spiteful Pangaean woman harboring
cruelty for her beleaguered daughter-in-law, Nelah winced. She must rest. After she meddled just a tiny bit.
She ignored the niggle of guilt. Navos hadn t actually said she was not to influence any of the passengers.
Although she knew he would have, had he considered it necessary.
Very carefully, as she was not sure how much power was necessary, Nelah flowed further into the
Pangaean s mind. She found the center of emotions. And then she sent a flow of positive energy.
She blinked in delighted astonishment. She could actually feel the older woman changing stances,
emoting kindness toward the younger woman next to her.
Pushing a little harder, a tiny, catlike smile curling up her lips, Nelah urged the woman to offer her
daughter-in-law a spa treatment.
Heady with triumph, Nelah urged the idea of a financial gift as well. As she intuited a response of
astonishment, Nelah winced. Perhaps that had been a bit much but she had a sense of wealth and ease, so
it couldn t hurt. She retreated very slowly, taking care to leave the new impulses seated in the woman s
mind. Of course she could not be sure they would stay, but it had been worth the effort to at least try.
Then she collapsed with a groan, letting her head fall onto her folded arms. She wondered vaguely
what torture Navos had devised for the male interns. Seconds later, she was asleep.
Nelah woke up with a start and looked around her groggily, unable at first to recall where she was and
what she was doing. Then realization returned. She yawned mightily, scrubbed her hands over her face and
rolled her stiff shoulders.
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Deep Indigo
She looked at the holo-vid display, the image of a squat Bartian scowling at the holo-cam. A whimper
forced its way up her throat. How much longer could she keep this up?
Then Navos s face floated before her mind s eye. She pictured him raising one brow in that eloquent,
disdainful way. Determination surged through her and she straightened, scowling back at the Bartian.
She wouldn t quit!
 Ah, Daron, there you are. And your young interns as well.
Navos looked up from his breakfast as Steve Craig pulled out his chair across the table from him.
Breakfast was an informal affair, the crew commanders mingling with crew and passengers. The captain
was brimming with his usual morning vigor, his lean cheeks still flushed, silver blue eyes bright. Navos
knew he would have just come from a stringent workout with the ships guard.
Navos himself hadn t slept well. It was that which put him in a cranky mood, he told himself. Not [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]