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NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 08:00:04 -0500
From: "Elf M. Sternberg" <elf@pendorwright.com>
Subject: {ASSM} Journal Entry 002 / 00100  Embassy Tales: Terran Sands (MF)
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Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2007 04:10:03 -0400
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Embassy Tales: Terran Sands
Elenya, Narrin 24, 0100
"So how do you like that outfit?" M'Cadarra asked.

"It's worse than the other one," R'Dam sighed. "And yours?"

"Mine isn't quite so accurate, but it does fit me." M'Cadarra's own
tuxedo appeared to be two sizes too large for him, but that was mostly
due to the fur underneath it. R'Dam had finally decided to go with
Pendorian slippers rather than the hard shoes the Terrans had supplied
him. They had the right color and he hoped they would pass. R'Dam
examined himself in the mirror. He wished desperately for the freedom to
go back to the ship, but the decision to restrict SDisk use on the
ground to emergency purposes had been one of his ideas. He would live
with it. They could get back to the ship in the blink of an eye but
there was no sense letting the Terrans know that.

"What did Joshua say?" the M'Cadarra asked.

"Joshua thinks you're doing well," the AI replied from the small radio
in R'Dam's pocket. "I am quite impressed by your current negotiations. I
have been warned that these humans you two are dealing with are among
the most devious on the planet and so far most of what they intend has
been very obvious. I'm not sure what it is I'm supposed to be watching
out for." He chuckled. "Should I accompany you?"

"I'll take the communicator," R'Dam replied, sliding it into his pocket.
"These people are just now getting used to streaming cellular telecomm
but I'm sure I can convince them it's a necessity."

"Indeed," M'Cadarra replied. "I feel naked without a weapon."

"Uncia," R'Dam sighed, giving his old friend a grin.

"Satryls," M'Cadarra chuckled, giving R'Dam's ear a briefly painful
tweak. "Let us go meet our transport."

"It's called a limousine."

"Whatever," the Uncia replied. "I'm here to protect you, not learn the
local language."

They made their way down to the hotel lobby. Washington denizens long
jaded by the presence of kings and princes, tyrants and dictators turned
to gawk at the imposing feline presence of M'Cadarra as the two strode
through. The Terran at the door was efficient and they soon found
themselves being whisked down the road in their car. "It's a shame,
really," M'Cadarra said. "All this energy built into being impressive
rather than being efficient or fun. Such a waste all their
petrochemicals gone into transportation rather than manufacturing, for
example.

"The humans have a saying. 'The eye that sees the past sees perfectly.'
If we have a chance to change their course by showing them a working
future I think we should take it."

"Perhaps," the Uncia said. "And perhaps it would be best to let the
humans learn for themselves what they need to know."

"And if they don't before they drown?" R'Dam asked.

"I don't think they'll drown."

All through the conversation the human assigned to guard and escort them
appeared to keep his stare fixed out the window. R'Dam turned to him.
"Agent Murray?"

"Hmm?" the young man asked. Although on this detail for only two days
now, already he had the practiced air of someone who had worked with
aliens his entire life.

"Is my conversing in our native tongue disturbing you?"

"I figure you have something to talk about. Don't let me interrupt you.
Like I said, I'm just here to make sure you don't get hurt or lost."

"I appreciate that, Agent Murray."

They arrived at yet another impressively massive structure designed to
impose on its viewers the notion of authority. R'Dam had to admit he
felt intimidated. There were certainly structures as large as this in a
few places on Pendor and he had seen several of them in person. But in
what some people already called the Hurried Century there had been
little thought put towards anything other than the elegantly
utilitarian. Even the Tangent Arcology, for all its massive size and
outstanding engineering, stood little more than a gleaming brick over a
lovely lake. It was, a friend of his had pointed out, something that
typically appealed to the male aesthetic.

After being checked through a security detail (his identify was little
in doubt) he was led by a hostess in an exquisitely tailored black dress
through a pair of open doors. A gentleman clearly marked by the effects
of geriatry raised his head and introduced them. "Dam Reinrau of Pendor
and security detail."

R'Dam bowed politely to the announcer, a gesture he noticed upon
standing seemed unexpected. He was not yet used to the customs of
Terrans and regarded their structure of respect to be wildly out of
proportion. The man had done his job. He deserved acknowledgement. The
Terrans seemed to treat him as if he were a doorknob rather than a
doorman.

He was relieved when he spotted Ambassador D'Gen. She walked over to him
and kissed his cheek in a familiar fashion; they had been lovers on
board the Main for a brief time and he still regarded her with a
friendly eye. "Joshua tells me all is well," she said, touching his
wrist in reassurance. "And I have faith in you, Dam."

He gave her his best smile. "Thanks, Genelina. I appreciate that."

Music began and some began to use the center of the main floor to dance.
Around him shuffled a great many people; a few spoke to him, thanked for
him coming. None asked him a direct question.

None, that is, until a voice behind him asked, "Aren't you terribly
bored with all this?"

"How could I get bored?" he asked, turning around. "I've never seen
anything like this before in my life. And how are you this evening,
Rebecca?"

The junior trade representative he had met that morning smiled back at
him. "I'm so glad you remember my name, R'Dam. Not too bad. I am finally
bored of this. You don't have anything like this on Pendor?"

He shook his head. "We have parties, sure, but nothing to match the--
what is the phrase you used when we parted this afternoon?"

"Pomp and circumstance?"

"Yes, that. I'm astounded by the extension of detail performed here, the
unnecessary steps taken to make your leaders look more important than
they obviously are."

Surprised by his comments, she replied, "This is how we know they're
important."

"And not by their actions?"

"Well, that too, but this is a kind of reminder."

"I guess we have better memories." He smiled to her. "If you are so
bored with this, why are you still here?"

"The food is good," she replied with a grin. And then a sigh. "And I
have nowhere else to go. There's home, with twenty channels of nothing
on the television and a stack of paperwork a mile high, I suppose, but
that's not really an option."

He looked at her. In a slinky black dress that seemed to pour itself
over her body as she moved yet managed to hide every one of her
suggestive charms effectively, she looked very lovely. She had been
tough and effective this morning but friendly when not directly
discussing matters on the table. He couldn't imagine her without
companionship. "No friends? Family? Beloveds?"

"In this town?" She gave a short, brittle laugh. "There's no time for
things like that and, besides, the people I could run into around here
are more interested in me for how close I can get to the President, not
in me."

R'Dam found the thought of her being so lonely very sad. Loneliness on
Terra, he realized, was part of a terrible compromise. Competition for
the scarce physical necessities turned the emotional necessities into a
kind of commodity all their own. The people spinning before him on the
darkened floor did not like one another; they were all, in one way or
another, posturing for more. More what? he wondered. What, exactly, was
Terran prosperity for? He suddenly wanted to get out of there. "Rebecca,
how late will this party run?"

"Until about one in the morning, I imagine."

"After sunrise-- Oh, I forget. Your middle of the night is your first
hour. We count our time from sunrise and sunset. That will be..."

"About three hours from now," she said. "I never did find out if you
understood how long an hour is?"

"It is an hour long," R'Dam replied with a smile. He was grateful for
her attention even if he was not convinced she liked him. "Our hours are
exactly as long as yours."

"Exactly?" she asked, surprised.

"Exactly."

"How does that work?" She seemed earnestly curious, but then stifled a
yawn. "Oh, sorry."

"You are bored with this," he said, gesturing to the room. She nodded.
"That's good. I'm not at all impressed by this, either. I am suddenly
finding it rather... sad, in a way."

She grinned. "Listen, you've been granted temporary diplomatic visas,
right?" R'Dam nodded. "Are you under any movement restrictions?"

"I don't believe so. At the moment we have many of the rights of
traditional Embassy personnel. I believe agent Murray over there was
assigned to us mostly for our own concern rather than to protect
citizens from us."

"Wait here." She walked over to where the agent was standing and spoke
to him for a moment. R'Dam saw the unmistakable expression of
frustration cross his usually expressionless face but finally he seemed
to relent. She walked back to R'Dam and said, "So, would you like to go
somewhere a little quieter?"

"Where would that be?"

"I know this fabulous little cafe just a couple of blocks from here. I
go there for breakfast once in a while and I think they're open until
midnight."

"I had better check with my people, then." He pulled out the
communicator from his pocket. "Joshua? I'm going out of M'Cadarra's
custody. Yes, I'll keep the phone with me. Yes, Rebecca Inderson, the
Associate Secretary of State for Interstellar Trade. Thanks." He smiled
at her. "I am yours, Rebecca."

"Becky, please, R'Dam. And-- No, I suppose you're right. It is
Interstellar Trade now, isn't it?"

Recovering their coats, they emerged from the noisy party into the
wintry cold of a Washington night in January. A light snow had begun to
fall, adding to the already white grounds of Kennedy Center. The chill
muffled the sounds of the city and seemed to bring both of them closer
to one another. "Does it snow on Pendor?" she asked.

R'Dam found the question amusing. "That depends on where you live. Snow
falls in most places. It snows most on the edges and it almost never
snows in the middle."

"The middle?" she asked. "You mean, like the equator?"

Realizing he had almost let that secret drop early, he recovered. "Yes,
that's the word I want. The equator."

"It doesn't sound much different from Earth."

"It isn't meant to be," he said. "There are some differences. When your
people come to our world the differences will become more apparent. The
land is very much like Earth's. But it's not Earth in many significant
respects."

They reached the cafe and she led him inside. She asked the waitress for
a booth. The waitress did a double take at the sight of R'Dam's tail and
curious gait but she said nothing. "I still don't understand the
Pendorian concept of being rich," Becky said, continuing their
conversation from that morning.

"It's actually not hard to understand. Being rich on Pendor isn't about
having a lot of things, it's about having something to do every day that
makes you happy and makes those around you admire what you do."

"But how do you measure that?"

"Every fen has to measure that in their own way."

The waitress approached. Becky ordered coffee for both of them before
continuing. "Doesn't that mean some people abuse the system? I mean, how
do you make sure that someone isn't taking more than their fair share?"

He shrugged. "There are a few who don't do anything. Very few, actually.
They're looked after; we see to it that they have enough food and water,
a roof over their heads and so on. Don't you look after your mentally
ill here on Earth?"

"Well, yes, but we don't think of those who don't have to work as
mentally ill."

"Maybe you should." Their coffees arrived. He sipped his cautiously.
"It's strong. Oh, no, this doesn't have caffeine in it, does it?"

"Of course," she said. "Why? Is that bad?"

"It's poisonous to my kind." He looked up at the waitress. "Could you
bring me a glass of milk? Large, please. She didn't know coffee makes
me..."

"He's allergic to it," Becky offered.

"Sure. It'll still be on your tab, though."

"That's okay," Becky said. "My mistake."

"I think this is one of those places where our cultures are
fundamentally at odds," R'Dam continued after the waitress had left.
"You work your entire lives in order to achieve a state where you need
not work. We spend our lives at a slower pace. We don't expect our
children to begin serious work until they're well into their third
decade. When they do we're usually very proud of them and that is
payment enough." The waitress returned with his milk and he took a long
draught before continuing. "You think you have to work because you all
think there isn't enough for you. So you have to fight for what you
need. We don't. So we struggle only for what we want."

Becky nodded as she sipped at her coffee. They were silent for a while
before she said, "I suppose that makes sense. There must not be many
people on your world."

"We have a little under three million people. Less than the population
of this city. But we aren't worried. We doubt there will be the kind of
resource pressure you on Earth have always worried about." The waitress
dropped off the tab. R'Dam reached into a pocket and carefully examined
the bills he held until he had found the right amount. Becky examined
the amount, frowned, and put in another dollar. "Did I get the amount
wrong?"

"You paid for the coffee but you didn't leave a tip. Payment for
services."

"Oh. How is that calculated?"

"Ten to fifteen percent of the amount."

"Curious." He felt the expression of disapproval cross his face, and he
noticed her see it. She didn't comment. Instead, she placed her hand
over his on the counter. "R'Dam, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yes," he replied quickly.

"Are you married?"

He laughed. "We don't-- marry-- on Pendor. We have contractual
relationships for raising children and what organized efforts there are
exist to supply the needs of families raising children, not 'marriages.'
If people want to live together that is their decision. If they want
that relationship publicly recognized they are welcome to involve the
community in that decision and can encourage the community to help them
remain together through difficulties. And no, I'm not in a monogamous
relationship right now."

"Oh." Becky shook her head. "What about-- physical relations? Can you
have them with humans?"

He paused. She was clearly heading in a direction he hadn't anticipated.
He had been told that humans typically did not get involved with
physical intimacy without a great deal of subtle and somewhat
underhanded negotiating, often in conditions where neither knew what the
other had to offer and apparently never about what each brought to bed.
He thought about his next few words carefully. "Becky, are you asking me
if I can go home with you or if I will go home with you?"

"Both," she sighed.

"I can, and I would like to, if you would invite me."

She hesitated. "Why don't you walk me home? Your people can direct you
back to the hotel if you need to go back, right?"

"I believe that's within Joshua's capabilities."

Now it was her turn to look puzzled. "You were talking to him on your
cell phone, weren't you? Who is Joshua?"

"The ship's computer." He pointed skyward.

"Oh. He speaks English?"

"He speaks a lot of languages, actually. Hi's very talented. Not
terribly creative, but that's not an AI speciality."

"Oh." The waitress took the check and the cash. "Okay, let's go." They
both rose. Making their way through the snow-bound sidewalks, both were
silent as she again led the way, this time to her apartment. "This is
it. Want to come inside and see?"

"I'd enjoy that." She unlocked the door and led him into the old
brownstone building. The walked up a flight of stairs and turned a left,
coming to apartment 2C. She unlocked that door as well and led him
inside.

"Sorry about the mess," she said.

He examined her home slowly. It was small with an old center-stand
table, painted yellow, dominating the center of the room. It had two
stacks of files on it. A bookshelf lined one wall and a video display--
a television, he corrected himself, a read-only video device with very
limited selection options-- occupied a corner. Two posters occupied the
walls. A kitchen jutted out along one wall, separated from the room they
had entered by a bar of sorts. There were three chairs about the table.
Facing the television was a large couch in black leather. It looked
well-worn but undamaged. A door led off somewhere, he guessed to the
bedroom. "It has more room than my cabin on the ship," he said. "And I
have to share mine with a roommate. But my cabin was not as cluttered,
perhaps. That may be because books are heavy but data is light. We have
many terminals."

"I can imagine," she said. "Look, this is probably going to sound really
stupid but, you're like, a cat... man from the waist down, right? So, I
mean, is your, um, you know, is it barbed?"

He laughed aloud for several seconds. "No, it's not. It's not on real
cats, either. That's a myth. There's a ridge of cartilage there but it's
not a real barb. That comes from veterinarians examining the penis after
death, when there's been some drying and it looks like a barb. We
anticipated that question." He glanced at her, not sure what to say
next. "I guess if you want to see for yourself, I could..."

"No, that's okay. Not right now," she replied hurriedly. "I mean..." She
approached him slowly. "What would it be like?"

"I don't know," he replied, his mouth suddenly dry. "I've never had a
Terran lover. I might even be the first. Short of whomever Shardik has
slept with."

"R'Dam, you can't make me pregnant, can you?"

"No," he said. "Nor can I have any diseases that I can pass on to you,
nor you to me."

"That's good," she said. "I hadn't thought about that."

He reached down and placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up. He
watched her eyes and waited for her to say something as the distance
closed between them. His lips touched hers ever so softly and she pulled
him in hard, holding the two of them close as she kissed him. He heard
her breath catch in her throat and felt her arms encircle his waist
entirely.

"Maybe it's time we moved to the bedroom," she suggested.

"Maybe it is," he agreed. She led him through a narrow door. Her bed was
queen-sized, in his experience large for one but barely large enough to
hold two comfortably. He realized that he didn't know much about the
clothing he wore and might have to ask her help to get out of it. He
also realized that he didn't know how to proceed with her. A Pendorian
fem and he would have some idea about what they wanted before they got
into the bedroom. Here, he was out of the realm of the theoretical.

He could also see apprehension coloring her brown, human eyes. She was
as out of her realm as he. She swallowed. "I don't normally bring home
men on a first date," she said softly. "I just I guess I dared myself.
Maybe it's a bad dare."

"What did you dare yourself?"

She giggled. "You were right, back at the party. I haven't had a
boyfriend in a long time. I was thinking about that this afternoon for
different reasons than our meeting this morning. A friend was talking
about her boyfriend troubles and I was wishing I had a boyfriend to have
troubles with. For some reason I thought of you and I thought it would
be a hoot to be the first human to sleep with an alien. Guess you're not
all that alien, are you?"

He was touched that she allowed him that kind of intimacy, even if her
motives weren't entirely about her liking him. "Alien enough," he
murmured with a smile. "We can if you still want, Becky. I promise to be
gentle. And you've been very lovely to me so far." He placed his hands
on the thin straps that held her evening gown in place. He lifted them
from her shoulders and slowly allowed them to fall down her arms. The
gown clung to her breasts, refusing to fall completely without his help.
He gave it that help while he kissed her.

She giggled. "I can't believe you said that."

"What?"

"'I promise to be gentle.' Do you know how-- cliched that sounds?" She
laughed. "No, I guess you wouldn't, would you?"

"Do Terran men say it often?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. Then, "No, actually. I
don't think I've heard anyone say it to me ever. Not even the creep who
I lost my virginity to."

"Then how can it be a cliche?" he asked, taking her hand. She responded
with a kiss. The two of them sunk down onto the bed as his lips kissed
her throat. Hands wrestled with clothing as he slowly pushed her dress
down the length of her body. Her hands found the buttons holding his
shirt closed. Fingers worked feverishly. R'Dam was surprised by the
intensity radiating off her. "Becky?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she said.

"I don't know how I got into these clothes. I'm going to need some help
getting out."

He watched her try to hold back a laugh. She failed. "I know that
feeling," she said. "Here, let me help." He watched as she found the
clasp for the cummerbund and tossed it aside. He kicked off the shoes--
those, at least, he knew how to deal with. The tie was easy enough and
he managed to get the shirt off without much difficulty. "There's
looptape in the back where the tailor made room for the tail."

"I see it. We call it Velcro."

"That's a brand name. We couldn't use it."

"I thought you weren't involved directly in the trade negotiations," she
said mockingly.

"I still must keep track. It's my job," he said as he finally managed to
toss the shirt aside. He reached down and eased himself out of the
restrictive pants he had been wearing for far too long.

Becky gasped. "I-- I didn't realize ."

R'Dam had a tiger's coloration; soft tinges of orange fur reached up his
cheeks almost touching his eyes, then disappeared down the back of his
neck to spread into denser patterns on his shoulders and arms, thinning
again only as they reached the back of his hand and fingers. A narrow
band of the same orange complimented his pale skin down his back to his
waist, where it spread out to become thicker. Becky had seen the fur on
his face and his hands and she had seen his tail. The sight of his legs
with their very feline shape and their dense fur had given her pause.
Hanging between those powerful thighs was a short sheath of fur from
which emerged an average-sized manhood. It wasn't a completely human
cock, however; most men had a clear delineation between the head and the
shaft of it, but on R'Dam that clear line was just a slight change of
coloration.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Just surprised. Sorry, never saw a naked alien
before." She laughed nervously.

"I've never seen a naked alien before, either. Naked humans, yes, but
never a naked Terran."

She laughed and pushed the dress over her hips, revealing the rest of
her body to his eyes.

He looked her over appreciatively. She had the pale skin of someone
living through a long winter, but that pale skin accentuated the dark
tangle of pubic hair between her thighs. It was a shade darker than the
brown on her head. Her body was shapely, if a little hard around the
edges. He wondered why anyone whose job kept her indoors and sessile
would have such little fat. He worried if she ate well. For all that,
she was very pretty, and he said so.

"Thanks," she replied, blushing.

He turned over, placing his hands on her thighs and pulling her even
closer to him. "I mean that sincerely. You are very pretty, Becky."

"You're a very handsome-- man?"

"Mel," he replied. "It's generic for a male person."

"Mel, then." They rolled together on the bed until he found himself
lying on top of her, between her thighs. Her warm skin pressed itself
against his body. He smiled down at her but the look he saw in her eyes
was less pleasure and more apprehension. He knew this wasn't going to be
the easiest night of his life.

"Becky?"

"I just-- it starts to feel weirder by the second. I'm not used to being
in this position."

"Well, let me--" He started to move.

"No, that's not what I mean," she said abruptly. "What I meant was I
hadn't expected it to feel so weird, you having that fur and all. I just
"

"Let me do something that'll feel more normal, then," he said, sliding
down between her thighs. He let out a sigh of relief to see that the
construction of her sex was just like those of Satryls and other bipeds
he had known on Pendor. That, at least, was reassuring.

He kissed her sex directly, lips meeting lips through a thicket of dense
pubic hair that trapped a scent he found intoxicating. Inhaling deeply,
he savored the perfume of her body. "Fah, you smell good," he gasped.

With a finger he parted her matted pubic hair and exposed the pale lips
hidden underneath. He kissed his way across her lips and Becky rewarded
his efforts with an encouraging moan. He gave her what little skill he
knew he had, enjoying the taste of her sex as his tongue probed deeply
between her lips. The tip encountered a liquid musk he had never tasted
before, at least not the human variety. He buried his face between her
thighs and pressed his mouth directly against her, his tongue sliding
upwards against her clitoris. Her whole body jerked suddenly and
powerfully upwards; he decided to hold off on that again until later.
Instead he concentrated on the rest of her mons, kissing his way around
her outer lips, tasting between them with his tongue, and caressing the
hood of her clitoris with his lips. Little versions of the reaction she
had had earlier shook through her as he listened to her voice climb in
pitch and volume and felt the muscles in her thighs solidify with
pre-orgasmic tension.

R'Dam appreciated the noises she made. He was doing good. He understood
now just how little he really appreciated the Terran way of life. Such a
complex people; he was so pleased that Becky had invited him into her
night; it gave him a chance to get close and he hoped to make her happy.

He noticed she stopped breathing as her back arched towards the ceiling,
then collapsed as she came with a great tremble, a violent but so silent
climax. "Oh, Dam," she sighed as the tremors subsided. "Stop!"

"Too much?" he asked.

Her answer came in gasps. "After, after I come, yes. Come here?" she
asked, holding her arms out to him. He lunged into her offered embrace
and they fell, kissing and laughing. "Mmm," she moaned. "That was good."

"Oh, good. I was afraid I was losing my skills there for a second."

"Not with a mouth like that. Something in what you did-- Better than
most."

"I'm pleased," he laughed.

She reached down between his thighs. "I keep getting distracted by all
the fur. It seems so weird." Her hands closed around his cock. "Do you
do just as well with this?"

"That depends," he asked. "On how you like your, um, lovemaking."

"I like it a lot."

"But do you like a lot of it?" he asked.

"Sometimes," she responded. She maneuvered under his shoulder and pushed
him over onto his back so that now she was on top. "Let's see what it
feels like." She knelt over his torso, her hand reaching back to hold
his cock. She stroked him a couple of times. "Hmm, no barb."

"I told you," he said with a grin.

"Let's see if it works as advertised." He felt the warmth of her cunt
surround his cock as she lowered herself onto it, pressing herself down
all the way. She smiled. "I won't have to turn you in to the FTC."

"FTC?"

"Federal Trade Commission. They investigate adverting abuses."

"Oh." He thrust his hips upwards, pushing himself deeper into her.
"We'll discuss business later, yes, Undersecretary?"

"Mmm 'course, Ambassador." She rolled her hips back and forth and his
cock slid inside her. She leaned forward and propped herself with her
hands on his shoulders; he raised his legs to get better leverage. R'Dam
worried about her but tried not to let it show even as the sensations
coursing through him warmed him inside. She could lose her job over
this, he knew. He hoped this experience would be worth it for both of
them.

R'Dam touched her breasts and played with her nipples, pinching them
gently as she whimpered. Her eyes were closed, her face was halfway
between ecstasy and pain. She seemed desperate. He knew she was after
something for herself and he was only now incidental to her needs, but
he wanted to come and he couldn't hold himself back much longer.

The bedposts thumped against the wall and he wondered about the
neighbors as her whimpers grew louder and more urgent. Becky was
pounding her hips down upon his sex and he bore back with just as much
energy as he could muster. He fought to keep himself from denying her
what she wanted but the battle wouldn't last long. She had so much
energy it coursed through the two of them. "Becky-- !" Her name fading
into a shout as he came inside her. Her voice joined his in a triumphant
moan that took a long time to fade from his ears.

She shook her head briefly, then fell over to one side onto the bed.
"Oh, my God," she sighed. "Oh my God."

"Yes," he agreed. "Oh, you were wonderful."

"Was I?" she asked.

"Yes."

            *            *            *

A buzzing noise arose in his ears, an annoying sound like that of a
klaxon. It lasted for just a few seconds and then it ended. He turned
over, groaning.

She looked at him, her eyebrows knit in intense puzzlement. "Who--"

"Becky?"

"Oh, my God, what have I done?" she said suddenly as she pulled out of
bed, gathering the blanket to cover her nudity. "I..."

He stayed still and watched her, curious. He hadn't anticipated this
reaction out of her in the morning. She blinked a couple of times.
"R'Dam. You're R'Dam." She took a deep breath, sighed, and sank back
onto the mattress. "Damn I hate that. Guess I scared you, huh? I'm
sorry."

"You did have me scared there for a moment. What happened?"

She grinned with embarrassment. "I have morning amnesia. It's an
uncommon condition but I bet some of your people have it. When I first
wake up in the morning I can't remember anything. Not who I am, not what
I did last night, nothing. It, um, can be scary waking up next to
someone unfamiliar."

"If you lived with someone for a long time would you always be
frightened of them first thing in the morning?"

She shook her head. "My doctor says no. Eventually I get used to it
enough that I remember there's supposed to be someone there even if I
can't remember who it is for a few minutes. It's really bad when I
move."

He nodded, reaching out to touch her face with his fingers. "You
remember me now, don't you?"

"I remember everything," she purred softly as she dragged the blanket
over the two of them, kissing him warmly. "I remember you being a very
good introduction to sex and the proper alien."

He kissed her back, appreciative of her attention. She propped herself
up on one elbow, her hair and one breast touching his chest. He stroked
the offered nipple absently as he looked into her eyes. "R'Dam, I think
you should call your people and assure them that you're okay."

He blinked, and then nodded. She was right. All the pleasure between the
two of them could wait; he hoped they would have time to explore more.
"Where's my coat?"

She handed it to him. He dug out his communicator. "Joshua? Yes, I'm
still with Miss Inderson. Yes, I'm fine. Agent Murray and M'Cadarra are
where?" He laughed briefly. "They'll have to wait a little longer. And
could you have street clothes ready for me? Yes, and they'll still have
to wait. Thanks." He stretched so violently Becky watched with alarm.
"Everything's still okay."

She sighed with relief. "I can't believe I did that last night. I could
lose my job over this, even if I'm not negotiating directly with you
personally."

"I can't, either. It's not what we were told to expect from Terrans." He
sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "Still, I'm glad that we did.
You were very wonderful."

She grinned. "Yeah. So were you. So, you want breakfast?"

"At your favorite cafe again?" he asked.

"I cook, if you're willing to wait."

"I can wait then." She removed a robe from a hook on the door and walked
out into the living room. "Can I use the shower?"

"Go for it," she shouted back. "Just don't be in there long. I don't get
a lot of hot water."

He wondered what that meant but decided to take her word for it. He
found her bathroom and was gratified to find that most of the fixtures
looked commonplace enough. The toilet was too solid and uncomfortable
for his liking. The shower was small as well but he decided he could
live with it. He found a bottle of soap and sniffed at it. It smelled of
artificial scents that were supposed to be flowers and grass, but he
decided he could live with that, too. It wasn't nearly as dense as
Pendorian body soaps and he ended up using nearly half the bottle to get
clean.

He emerged into the kitchen a few minutes later just as Becky was taking
the first of the pancakes she had made off the stove. "I don't know if
you even like these or what I should give you to put on them."

"Butter and syrup, or so I'm told." He smiled.

She grinned at him, but then a look of confusion crossed her expression.
"I don't get this at all," she sighed, dropping the skillet onto the
stove noisily. "I would expect us to be, you know, awkward with each
other. Instead, you make it seem like it's such a wonderful thing, that
there's nothing to worry about."

"There isn't anything to worry about, is there?" He held her shoulders.
"Trust me, making love to you isn't going to change my actions at the
table. And if the Russians make us a better deal, well-- I'll be sorry,
but I'll go where the negotiating is good."

"Then you'd better believe that we have the best manufacturing base on
Earth, Mister Meow, because you won't get a better deal anywhere else in
the galaxy."

He chuckled. "I believe you. By the way, when the ships leave in two
months, I won't be going with them. I'm staying here as part of the
permanent staff. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No," she said. "You are so-- refreshing, you know?"

"I believe you if you say so." He smiled.

She served breakfast, he ate heartily. She ate hardly at all. "You're
not hungry?"

"Still worried about what'll happen if my boss finds out I slept with a
negotiator."

He took a deep breath. "Well, according to Joshua, the Secret Service
knows."

"What?" she asked, suddenly panicked.

He nodded. "He told me that Agent Murray was aware of my location."

She buried her head in her hands. "Oh, no."

"He also told me that after extensively interviewing Agent Murray that
there was no way the agent was going to inform your boss. Apparently,
that's why they call it the Secret Service."

She sighed. "I hope you're right."

"I hope so too. I would hate for you to lose your job."

A knock came from the front door. "Who is that?"

"I believe that is Agents Murray and M'Cadarra with a change of clothing
for me." He squeezed her hand gently. "Trust us."

She took a deep breath. "Let's get on with the day."

----------------------
The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik 
and Related Tales.

The entire archive of stories can be found at:
http://www.pendorwright.com/journals

Copyright 2000 Elf Mathieu Sternberg.
Distributed under the Creative Commons License BY-ND-NC/1.0
Some Rights Reserved. 

--

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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