view over the city. Tullamarran asked if Ravindra needed him for anything, and when dismissed, disappeared into the servant's quarters.
The luggage hadn't yet arrived. Ravindra wandered around, touching things, opening cupboards. Compared with his living quarters on his battle cruiser, the room was over-furnished, the appointments luxurious and opulent, not his taste at all.
Eventually, he dropped onto the sofa, and crossed one leg over the other. "It will do."
Morgan laughed. "You're such an arrogant bastard, you really are."
He lifted one black eyebrow. "Thank you. What now, my love?"
"The library?"
"You know, I think I'd rather play tourist for a while. This trip is not all about ancient history. I want to learn a bit more about our cousins, the humans. Don't you think? Libraries are such stuffy places."
"Sounds fair. I'd like for you to see a better Coalition planet than Iniciara." She dropped onto the couch beside him. "Let's go out on the town, try the food, look at the shops, go for walks in the park."
Ravindra slid his arm around her. "Excellent, my love. I expect the library won't be going anywhere for a while."
Chapter 9
M organ drained her tea. They'd been in Torreno for a week, living it up, playing at tourists. She'd enjoyed showing them the nightlife, the parks and the shops, but the need to find where the Manesai came from was always there. "I think it's time I went to the library."
Ravindra pushed himself away from the breakfast table, currently littered with empty plates. He gazed at Morgan for so long she wondered what he was thinking. "I don't dispute your judgment, but why do we need to go to the library? Surely all the data is available on the planetary network?"
"Um. Yes." How to explain? She'd looked at all the data, read the records, sifted as best she could, and found nothing but hints. She'd read the scholarly articles, too. By rights, this would be more of a wild goose chase than the visit to the cathedral on Iniciara. But truth be told, she'd like a break from their companions. Much as she liked them all, they'd been too close together for too long. "Call it a hunch. The… machine part of me has done its best. Let's see what the human part can do."
"I suppose so."
Great. Forcing herself not to beam, she said, "I'll visit the central library. You guys can do what you like. I think Jirra wanted to go to the zoo. That might be interesting."
Ravindra rose to his feet, a smooth, languid, completely athletic motion. She stared, admiring his broad shoulders, his black hair cascading down between his shoulder blades as he strolled over to the window, and stood gazing out over the sunlit city. "I'll come with you," he said.
Damn . "I think I should go alone."
"Why?"
"I need a bit of space, Ashkar. We've all been together too much."
"Absolutely. I agree. So we go to the library, just you and I."
"You'll be bored."
"Not really. I've never been there before."
"You haven't been to the zoo, either."
Ravindra looked at her over his shoulder. "Oh, I think Prasad would like to spend some time on his own with Jirra. He'd probably enjoy a visit to the zoo."
Morgan noted the slight quirk of his lips as he spoke. She grinned up at him. "You're not supposed to know."
He snorted. "How could I miss it? Did you watch them dance together?"
She chuckled. "I guess so. Does Davaskar realize?"
Ravindra pursed his lips, considering. "Probably not. He was too busy admiring the local ladies to notice what Jirra and Davaskar were doing. Besides, Davaskar is very much old school, from my mother's side of the family. Jirra is Hasta. I doubt he'd imagine a Mirka officer like Prasad would besmirch himself with a betrothed woman from a different class." He raised a shoulder. "But that's their problem."
Good. At least he wasn't going to make it difficult for Jirra. "Davaskar would be in the way, then?"
"At the zoo? I'm sure he wouldn't want to go. Perhaps I'll suggest he return to the ship to make sure
The luggage hadn't yet arrived. Ravindra wandered around, touching things, opening cupboards. Compared with his living quarters on his battle cruiser, the room was over-furnished, the appointments luxurious and opulent, not his taste at all.
Eventually, he dropped onto the sofa, and crossed one leg over the other. "It will do."
Morgan laughed. "You're such an arrogant bastard, you really are."
He lifted one black eyebrow. "Thank you. What now, my love?"
"The library?"
"You know, I think I'd rather play tourist for a while. This trip is not all about ancient history. I want to learn a bit more about our cousins, the humans. Don't you think? Libraries are such stuffy places."
"Sounds fair. I'd like for you to see a better Coalition planet than Iniciara." She dropped onto the couch beside him. "Let's go out on the town, try the food, look at the shops, go for walks in the park."
Ravindra slid his arm around her. "Excellent, my love. I expect the library won't be going anywhere for a while."
Chapter 9
M organ drained her tea. They'd been in Torreno for a week, living it up, playing at tourists. She'd enjoyed showing them the nightlife, the parks and the shops, but the need to find where the Manesai came from was always there. "I think it's time I went to the library."
Ravindra pushed himself away from the breakfast table, currently littered with empty plates. He gazed at Morgan for so long she wondered what he was thinking. "I don't dispute your judgment, but why do we need to go to the library? Surely all the data is available on the planetary network?"
"Um. Yes." How to explain? She'd looked at all the data, read the records, sifted as best she could, and found nothing but hints. She'd read the scholarly articles, too. By rights, this would be more of a wild goose chase than the visit to the cathedral on Iniciara. But truth be told, she'd like a break from their companions. Much as she liked them all, they'd been too close together for too long. "Call it a hunch. The… machine part of me has done its best. Let's see what the human part can do."
"I suppose so."
Great. Forcing herself not to beam, she said, "I'll visit the central library. You guys can do what you like. I think Jirra wanted to go to the zoo. That might be interesting."
Ravindra rose to his feet, a smooth, languid, completely athletic motion. She stared, admiring his broad shoulders, his black hair cascading down between his shoulder blades as he strolled over to the window, and stood gazing out over the sunlit city. "I'll come with you," he said.
Damn . "I think I should go alone."
"Why?"
"I need a bit of space, Ashkar. We've all been together too much."
"Absolutely. I agree. So we go to the library, just you and I."
"You'll be bored."
"Not really. I've never been there before."
"You haven't been to the zoo, either."
Ravindra looked at her over his shoulder. "Oh, I think Prasad would like to spend some time on his own with Jirra. He'd probably enjoy a visit to the zoo."
Morgan noted the slight quirk of his lips as he spoke. She grinned up at him. "You're not supposed to know."
He snorted. "How could I miss it? Did you watch them dance together?"
She chuckled. "I guess so. Does Davaskar realize?"
Ravindra pursed his lips, considering. "Probably not. He was too busy admiring the local ladies to notice what Jirra and Davaskar were doing. Besides, Davaskar is very much old school, from my mother's side of the family. Jirra is Hasta. I doubt he'd imagine a Mirka officer like Prasad would besmirch himself with a betrothed woman from a different class." He raised a shoulder. "But that's their problem."
Good. At least he wasn't going to make it difficult for Jirra. "Davaskar would be in the way, then?"
"At the zoo? I'm sure he wouldn't want to go. Perhaps I'll suggest he return to the ship to make sure
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