“So that’s what happened.” Jim watched the rails carefully as the pod continued to slow. His thoughts were racing though, if the look on his face was any indication. “We only hear disjointed reports of what goes on with the Alvians. It’s something I’d like to remedy, but we have to be careful to keep a low profile.”
“Good tactic, but if we’re successful, perhaps new avenues of information will be open to you.”
“There is that.” One side of his mouth lifted in a slight grin as he looked over at her. “So tell me more about their experiments with emotion.”
“The man I told you about before¾Grady Prime¾he was part of the next group to be given the treatment. He has feelings, and he was…”
“What?”
“He was different from any other Alvian I’ve ever met. He has feelings, Jim, and he isn’t nearly as cold or indifferent as they always are. He was actually nice.”
“Just nice?”
Was that jealousy in his tone? She couldn’t be sure.
“More than nice, if you want to know the truth. He was warm and gentle and considerate. He had a quick mind and when he touched my hand, he had this look of wonder on his face. He said we—” She broke off as she realized she was saying too much. She still didn’t understand her feelings for Grady and it was hopeless anyway, given her mission, but he held a place in her heart, nonetheless.
“You what?”
She’d gone too far, she realized, to stop there. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she swallowed and answered.
“He said we Hummed. It’s one of their ancient tests for Resonance Mating. I didn’t hear it, but human hearing is less sensitive than Alvian. All the other Alvians at the table heard it, and they remarked on it.”
“So you’re his mate?”
Oh, she definitely heard the growl of disapproval in his tone that time, but she wasn’t exactly sure what it meant. Was he staking some kind of claim or was he only objecting to the idea of her being with an Alvian in a general sort of way?
“No. It’s only the first of the tests, they tell me. It just means that we have the potential to be mates, not that we really are. Besides, he’s on a mission and so am I. I’ll probably never see him again.”
“Why do you sound sad about that?”
“Damn it, Jim!” She rounded on him. “You can stop right there if you’re going to go all judgmental on me. I liked Grady Prime. He was nice to me. He treated me with respect, and he was the first man in decades that sparked my interest. There’s no shame in that.” He’d sparked a whole lot more than just her interest, but she figured it wouldn’t be too smart to tell Jim that.
“He’s an alien, Gina. You deserve better.”
She couldn’t believe his nerve.
“He’s a good man, Jim. Don’t judge him. You’ve never met him. And there isn’t exactly a parade of men knocking on my door. Frankly, with my past experiences of human men and the barbarians most of them have become, I might be better off with an Alvian. At least I know they won’t act like starving savages.”
Jim became quiet, his eyes penetrating her very psyche as he held her gaze.
“Who hurt you, Gina?” His words were whisper soft in the darkness of the pod interior, inviting her to share confidences, to tell him of her most harrowing experiences—the events that haunted her dreams at night.
“It was a long time ago.”
“Apparently not long enough if it still bothers you. If it’s given you a distrust of your fellow man.”
“You know what men have become, Jim. You know how they hunt women. I’ve done my share of fighting my fellow man.” She nearly spat the words. “I’m safer with the Zxerah. At least I know the males in the clan won’t attack me in my sleep and try to rape me.”
“Fuck.” The strength of his curse brought her up short. “I’m sorry, baby. No woman should have to live in fear of rape. It’s one of the first and most important rules of society—of the society we’ve built in the old NORAD bunker. Violence against women is not tolerated. Anyone attacks anyone else, they’re either locked up or out on their asses in the snow. I won’t allow that kind of behavior in my house.”
“Not all men are like you, Jim.”
He was silent a long time.
“You don’t know how sorry I am for that.”
The pod coasted to a stop shortly thereafter and they set to work silently, side by side, coaxing the vehicle onto the next set of rails. The turn was sharp—almost ninety degrees—and Gina got a feeling for why they’d designed the system this way considering the sharp turns that could not be taken at speed. She made note of the well marked escape tubes leading up to the surface but wasn’t comforted by the fact that when she looked upward into one of the tubes, she couldn’t see the sky. They were deep underground, and the realization of that fact gave her the willies.
Jim, sensitive as he was, picked up on it of course.
“Don’t like it down here, do you?” He pushed the pod onto the track spur in preparation for putting it onto its new course. Gina was at the console and had powered down the previous section of track and was ready to power up the new section as soon as Jim was clear.
“Can’t say I like tunnels much,” she allowed. “And we’re down pretty deep. I don’t think I’ve ever been this far below the surface before.”
“It’s not bad once you get used to it. It’s quiet and still, and a nice constant temperature.” Jim shook his arms as he moved clear of the pod. “Cold, but constant. As long as you have heat, you can do pretty well down here. Purified water isn’t usually a problem, and we’ve learned to cultivate mushrooms as well as the hydroponically grown produce. We even managed to get some livestock to live below for at least part of the time. We let them out into protected pastures a few at a time, but we can’t risk a herd being seen. The sheep are best at living at altitude but the other animals have fared reasonably well as long as we keep a sharp eye on them.”
“It’s amazing what you’ve built, Jim. You deserve a lot of credit.”
“Not me.” He stood next to her as they powered up the next section of track. “The folks who were already there figured out most of it. There were a lot of scientists in that installation, and some of the things they came up with to survive were ingenious. By the time I got there, General Yeager had already set up a thriving community.”
“Wally was telling me about him. He sounds like a great man.”
“That he was. I had nothing but respect for the general, and I miss him every day.”
“You and Wally both. Your general must have been an impressive man to stir such loyalty. Of course, an outsider looking in might say he sounds like some sort of cult leader.” She looked up at him as the hum of electricity filled the chamber and the pod began to levitate once more. Bumpers held it in place for now, but they’d be withdrawn once they boarded the craft.
“Touché, mademoiselle.”
She liked that Jim was quick enough to realize she was echoing his earlier words about the Patriarch. She nodded her head in acknowledgment and would have left the console, but Jim took her hand, spinning her around to face him.
He stood much too close, and her hand was imprisoned against his chest. She could feel the pulsing beat of his heart against her palm as her mouth went dry at his nearness.