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.Not that he blamed them for fighting back; the working conditions inPage 71 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthe belt were unbearable.Quietly he admitted some admiration for the menwho d risked their lives to fight back.He would have done the same intheir situation.It created complications for the occupation andpeace process, however.The Saurellians couldn t afford to look weak rightnow. Calvin, let s eat and we ll talk about tomorrow, he said finally. Woman, bring me my food, Calvin bellowed and Sarai jumped. And bakrah! He missed eating with Devora, Seth thought as he sat with Calvin that night.The man was telling him the Celestial Pilgrim s theories on racial purity.Seth listened with one ear, keying a small pocket recorder to preserveeverything the man said for theSaurellian intelligence analysts.Calvin s theories were so delusionaland violent that they made him feel ill at times; it was hard to stayfocused.Devora and Sarai eventually took small plates of food in to thechildren.Seth wished deeply that he could go with them.The evening, likeevery evening with Calvin, crept by with agonizing slowness.After an eternity, the disgusting man belched heavily and lumbered off to thebedroom.Devora and Sarai cleaned up his mess, then Sarai retired. Can I feed Bragan some dinner? Devora asked quietly once the three of themwere alone in the room. I ll do it, Seth said gruffly, wishing he hadn t come down on her so hardearlier.She still refused to look at him.There d been something different abouther for days now, and he suspected it had something to do with the way hewas making friends withCalvin.She didn t trust him and she hated Calvin.For the thousandth time, hewished he could explain everything to her.But each time he almostbroke down, he reminded himself that she was a former imperial citizen whohadn t expressed any allegiance to the confederation.It was an unnecessaryrisk, one he had no right to take.Once this was all over, he knew their life together would be hard.Shemight not want to live in Saurellian space.She would expect regularcompensation, and he would have to keep a close eye on her.He d have to beparticularly careful around other men.She was a pleasure worker, she wasn t used to long-term fidelity.She wouldlearn with time, though.He could make her happy; his family was both wealthyand of high social standing.He just needed to finish his mission and they dbe able to start over.Dropping to one knee, Seth offered Bragan a bite of the hearty stew they d hadfor dinner.Bragan took it and chewed it furiously.After severalmouthfuls without incident, Seth let his attention wander.His gaze came torest on Devora, who was sitting at the table studying some star charts.It seemed like such a long time since they d looked at the chartstogether; she loved to learn about the geography of the quadrant andnavigation, but since Calvin had been on board they hadn t done anythingtogether.She was so beautiful just sitting there that it made his heart ache to watchher.His reverie was broken by a warm splat against his face.Stifling a roar ofsurprise and anger, he slapped one hand to his cheek, pulling it away to seewhat hit him.Bragan was giggling at him.With disgust, Seth realized the manhad spit chewed-up stew at him.He glared at the man, raising a handto cuff him for his insolence.Then the absurdity of the situation hithim, and he dropped his arm slowly.He replaced the gag in Bragan s mouth& That s it for tonight, Bragan, he said, forcing himself to ignore theincident.The man was clearly crazy.He rose to his feet, washed the mess offPage 72 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlof his face and went to join Devora at the table.She didn t look at himdirectly, but he could see her shoulders shuddering with suppressed laughter. I m glad I could do something to entertain you. I m sorry, she said. The look on your face was priceless. Shesobered after a minute, then asked him, So what did you find today? Well, it looks like things got pretty bloody, Seth said, relaxing back inhis chair.It felt good to sit and talk with her.It had been too long. I dida scan of the bodies we found, and none of them were women or children.Idon t know what happened to them, though, so we have to assume they rehostages. Bragan said they sent them to the Discovery station, Devora broke inquietly.Seth looked at her penetratingly, and Bragan gave a grunt of protestfrom his corner. Bragan, he needs to know this, she told the prisoner. Youdon t want them to think the slaves are more dangerous than they are, do you? So you don t think they re dangerous? Seth asked casually.Devora swords surprised him; he d thought she would have been more frightened by theidea of a slave revolt. Well, they were being held under terrible conditions, she replied, lookingaway from him. If you were a slave, wouldn t you try to get away? Maybe, Seth said. But I can t approve of they way they slaughtered thesemen. Devora s eyes flashed in anger.He didn t understand why she cared so much. If they were just slaughtering people, why did they spare the women andchildren?It sounds to me like the men got what they deserved.You ve heardCalvin talk he doesn t even think of the slaves as human.I know why they didwhat they did. You know why they did what they did? What does that mean, exactly? It s notlike you ve ever been a slave, Seth said, one eyebrow raised.Devora lookedaway. I guess I meant I can imagine what it would be like, she said finally.Bragan gave a harsh bark of laughter from behind his gag as he sattied in the corner, and Devora glared at him. I m tired of this.I wantto go to sleep. Fine, Seth said mildly, promising himself he d start this conversation withDevora again someday.He d never seen her so flustered; she was definitelyhiding something.She stood up abruptly and went into the fresher.With a sigh, Seth turned offthe lights and made his way over to the pallet they d been sleeping on eversince Calvin and his family had joined them.The ship was too smallfor so many people, Seth thought darkly.With Bragan in the room withthem, he and Devora couldn t even have sex.He missed their times together.After a few minutes she came out of the fresher and joined him in thedarkness.He reached over and pulled her small body close to his, nestling hisfront against her back.She stiffened, then relaxed into his larger frame
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