may come to that.”
“It’s not the same back there, you know?”
“Yeah, but at least there would more people there – real people, and not these almost-people we seem to spend most of our time killing. Even if I did join one of the crews looking for other races in the Arm, I’d be with more of our own people – and closer to home.”
“Well shit, Sherri, thanks for laying all this on me right after I get back from one mission and fixing to head out on another. What do you want me to say?”
“You can start by telling me how much you don’t want me to go!”
“You already know that.”
“Do I? You’ve never said it before.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, you stupid, stupid man, haven’t you ever seen a sappy chick-flick before? We want to hear the words now and then.”
“All right … I don’t want you to leave. It just wouldn’t be the same around here without you.”
“That’s the best you can do … that I’ll be missed ?”
“Sherri, I care for you more than any other woman I know—”
“You don’t know any other women – at least not Human women – so that’s not saying much.”
Adam swallowed hard, trying not to lose his temper any more than he already had. What does she want from me? “Sherri, you know about Maria. Her death was pretty devastating.”
“Oh god, not that again? It’s been almost eleven years. You really need to move on.”
“I tried to – with you. Remember Lake Tahoe? Two months and you were gone, and then I didn’t hear from you for another three years.”
“Well I’m here now. I came all the way back out to Juir, and not just so I could play superwoman and squash some alien bugs along the way.”
“If you came out here to be with me, you sure did have a funny way of showing it; a night here, a couple of nights there. You have to be the hardest woman in the entire galaxy to get close to!”
Sherri was quiet for a moment, seeming to gather her thoughts. When she spoke again, her voice had calmed. “You’re right, of course. That’s why I said everything is so out of whack, out of sync. We don’t belong here, Adam. It was different when there were more Humans around. Now there are only six of us, and you have your buddies to confide in. I have no one.”
“Listen, babe, I would really like to spend more time talking to you about this, but I really have to go….”
Sherri opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it.
“Kroekus says if this woman – this Formilian – is not found and returned to her homeworld within nineteen days, then there’s going to be major war that will cut off Formilian technology to the Expansion. He says that will probably mean the end of the whole damn thing – the end of the Expansion. So you may get your wish about going home whether you like it or not. If the Expansion collapses, we’ll have nowhere else to go but back to Earth.”
“Then you better go.”
“Will you be here when I get back?”
“That depends. I may still be on Belson.”
“You know what I mean.”
“We’ll see. It’s obvious we both have a lot to think about.”
Some of us more than others , Adam thought. I have a pretty good idea of what I want. I hope she can figure it out for herself.
They embraced in the small compartment and then Adam placed a hard, wet kiss to Sherri’s lips. She seemed to melt into him, attempting to turn their bodies into one. When they separated, Adam could see the hurt in her eyes. She was first and foremost a woman, and she needed the intimacy and support of other Human beings around her. Adam wanted that, too, yet he was more of the mountain-man breed, the type of person who could go into the wild for months – if not years at a time – and never feel lonely. But he also knew that that time was coming to an end. He’d eventually get too old to play Flash Gordon anymore.
He just wished that the Earth hadn’t changed so much, and that fame hadn’t found him. Maybe the two
“It’s not the same back there, you know?”
“Yeah, but at least there would more people there – real people, and not these almost-people we seem to spend most of our time killing. Even if I did join one of the crews looking for other races in the Arm, I’d be with more of our own people – and closer to home.”
“Well shit, Sherri, thanks for laying all this on me right after I get back from one mission and fixing to head out on another. What do you want me to say?”
“You can start by telling me how much you don’t want me to go!”
“You already know that.”
“Do I? You’ve never said it before.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, you stupid, stupid man, haven’t you ever seen a sappy chick-flick before? We want to hear the words now and then.”
“All right … I don’t want you to leave. It just wouldn’t be the same around here without you.”
“That’s the best you can do … that I’ll be missed ?”
“Sherri, I care for you more than any other woman I know—”
“You don’t know any other women – at least not Human women – so that’s not saying much.”
Adam swallowed hard, trying not to lose his temper any more than he already had. What does she want from me? “Sherri, you know about Maria. Her death was pretty devastating.”
“Oh god, not that again? It’s been almost eleven years. You really need to move on.”
“I tried to – with you. Remember Lake Tahoe? Two months and you were gone, and then I didn’t hear from you for another three years.”
“Well I’m here now. I came all the way back out to Juir, and not just so I could play superwoman and squash some alien bugs along the way.”
“If you came out here to be with me, you sure did have a funny way of showing it; a night here, a couple of nights there. You have to be the hardest woman in the entire galaxy to get close to!”
Sherri was quiet for a moment, seeming to gather her thoughts. When she spoke again, her voice had calmed. “You’re right, of course. That’s why I said everything is so out of whack, out of sync. We don’t belong here, Adam. It was different when there were more Humans around. Now there are only six of us, and you have your buddies to confide in. I have no one.”
“Listen, babe, I would really like to spend more time talking to you about this, but I really have to go….”
Sherri opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it.
“Kroekus says if this woman – this Formilian – is not found and returned to her homeworld within nineteen days, then there’s going to be major war that will cut off Formilian technology to the Expansion. He says that will probably mean the end of the whole damn thing – the end of the Expansion. So you may get your wish about going home whether you like it or not. If the Expansion collapses, we’ll have nowhere else to go but back to Earth.”
“Then you better go.”
“Will you be here when I get back?”
“That depends. I may still be on Belson.”
“You know what I mean.”
“We’ll see. It’s obvious we both have a lot to think about.”
Some of us more than others , Adam thought. I have a pretty good idea of what I want. I hope she can figure it out for herself.
They embraced in the small compartment and then Adam placed a hard, wet kiss to Sherri’s lips. She seemed to melt into him, attempting to turn their bodies into one. When they separated, Adam could see the hurt in her eyes. She was first and foremost a woman, and she needed the intimacy and support of other Human beings around her. Adam wanted that, too, yet he was more of the mountain-man breed, the type of person who could go into the wild for months – if not years at a time – and never feel lonely. But he also knew that that time was coming to an end. He’d eventually get too old to play Flash Gordon anymore.
He just wished that the Earth hadn’t changed so much, and that fame hadn’t found him. Maybe the two
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