The Dragons
Chapter Nineteen
Dinah didn't kill Marc, and vice versa. They emerged from their bedroom the next morning as if nothing had happened out of the ordinary. Dia eyed them, Lev grinned. Marc ignored them all and ate everything in sight, as he washed it all down with copious quantities of coffee.
"Ah," he said as he finally pushed his plate back. "So what's up?"
"We're within a parsec or two of Drago. Our recruits, bipedal and biflyal, should be here tomorrow, giving Lev and our dragons time to check things out. Supply ships are on schedule," Reno reported.
"You picked up what's his name, Ti Cameron and his dragon alright I assume. And the colonists haven't gotten themselves lost either?" Dinah asked having also found it necessary to refuel.
Reno looked hurt. "You doubt us?"
"Just checking," Dinah said. "It wasn't in the run down you provided. And while I'm thinking about it," she went on, pinning him with a look, "From now on when my sex life is in any way, however remote, the subject of one of your pools ten percent comes off the top and goes into a separate account. You may call it a sinking fund on the books."
"Uhm... okay," Reno said.
Marc laughed, "She was thinking of filleting you instead so take it as a good thing, buster."
Lev was hiding a smile behind his cup as he risked a glance at Dia. She wasn't used, he didn't think, to jokes about sex in general society.
"What are you planning to do with the money?" Laz asked.
"Charitable work," Dinah answered
'Like buying sex toys for the impoverished?" he suggested.
Anja punched him in the arm. "Seriously what do you have in mind," she asked Dinah.
"Well I suspect that this won't be the only colony we set up for those unhappy with the current social order on the Rim. I also suspect it will be sometime before they are anything close to financially stable in any meaningful sense. And I'm morally certain that one by products will be a lot of children. And I, for one, think every child should get a toy at Christmas. So it will be for that sort of thing. Or for other things like education or medical care they can't get here. Reno is going to invest it, make it grow like magic, aren't you Reno? So it can be set up as a charitable trust."
"I... I think you over-estimate the size of the pots," he whispered hoarsely.
Ingev stuck his head in from the bridge then. "Just got a message from Ther'lin. The McGee is on his way."
Dinah smiled at Reno. "I have faith," she said. "Do you have any idea why McGee is joining us here?"
"Who me? No idea. Maybe he's throwing Zaf off his boat again," Reno replied.
"Well, I better get down to the dragon deck. Ti Cameron and his dragon are waiting for me. He'd probably like to meet you two," Lev added.
Dinah finished her coffee and stood. "I imagine that's where we'll find McGee, too. And after that I have a pile of work to do according to Colin." She set her cup down and waved at Lev. "Lead on McDuff."
Marc watched Dia watch Lev as he left with Dinah. Once they were well out of ear shot, Marc asked, "Are you settling in? Need anything? Lev behaving?"
She smiled. "Everything's fine," she said. "Even Lev from what I can tell. I must remember to thank Dinah."
"She helped you understand him? Really?"
She nodded. "Once she explained it was obvious. Are you saying it wasn't like that for you with her in the beginning?" Then she flushed. "I'm sorry. That's none of my business."
"Well, Dinah sort of, uhm, came on to me, as I recall it," Marc replied with a grin. "She amused me."
"And then what?" she asked.
"And then, well, things kind of got crazy and next thing I knew I was terrified I'd lose her," Marc replied frowning down at his plate.
"And how long did it take for you tell her that?"
"I think we stopped seeing each other several times first. Do you need Lev to tell you he loves you?"
"No," she said. "I am more concerned with what he does and what he feels than what he says. And what he does tells me what he feels."
Marc nodded. "Yes, I was going to say that he's the sort who shows rather than tells."
"I get the feeling most men are," she said.
"Maybe not most men, but most men in our line of work, I think. You haven't met Spence. He's the sort who talks. Stephen too. Cassidy talks too much."
"What is your line of work?" she asked.
"I used to want to create a new sort of being. Mental man I called him. Now," he shrugged. "Now I want to figure out the meaning in the texts in that cavern and find other texts and figure out how to use the powers our House has to create a new sort of being."
"I see," she said. She smiled. "You and Lev and Ian. You are very much alike."
"Don't you believe it. I'm not civilized. Those two are," Marc replied shaking his head. "Seriously. If things go pear-shaped step out of the way."
"No. For them it is a veneer that they wear because they think it is what they must do to live in the world they are in." She held his eyes. "Or is it the women they love that makes you think that? That Betty and I are ladies? Threaten Ian and watch what she does."
"Oh no, I understand what you say, and if you thought Lev was threatened you'd do everything you could to help him. I don't doubt that. I don't doubt Betty Jo is capable of great acts of bravery. It is... I like the Rim. It is more home to me than Earth or St Michael's. Ian is comfortable in England. He likes things exciting yes, but he likes a tidy and organized life most of the time. Is that clear to you?"
"Yes. But that is a different kind of civilized," she said. "You are what I suppose could be called an adventurer. Like my father."
"An adventurer... I should get a bull whip. I don't know your father much beyond a nodding acquaintance. I'd like to get to know him better. He has four incredible daughters."
She grinned. "Certainly he has three. But this, what you're doing, he would love this."
"Really? Maybe he and Libby can come out for a vacation. We could build a hotel on Drago and use Reno as a tour guide."
Reno, passing by, heard this, and dropped his coffee cup.
Dia laughed. "I must get to work," she said. "Melly and Colin will be waiting for me."
"I'm very glad you're here, Dia," Marc called as she walked away.
"Ah," he said as he finally pushed his plate back. "So what's up?"
"We're within a parsec or two of Drago. Our recruits, bipedal and biflyal, should be here tomorrow, giving Lev and our dragons time to check things out. Supply ships are on schedule," Reno reported.
"You picked up what's his name, Ti Cameron and his dragon alright I assume. And the colonists haven't gotten themselves lost either?" Dinah asked having also found it necessary to refuel.
Reno looked hurt. "You doubt us?"
"Just checking," Dinah said. "It wasn't in the run down you provided. And while I'm thinking about it," she went on, pinning him with a look, "From now on when my sex life is in any way, however remote, the subject of one of your pools ten percent comes off the top and goes into a separate account. You may call it a sinking fund on the books."
"Uhm... okay," Reno said.
Marc laughed, "She was thinking of filleting you instead so take it as a good thing, buster."
Lev was hiding a smile behind his cup as he risked a glance at Dia. She wasn't used, he didn't think, to jokes about sex in general society.
"What are you planning to do with the money?" Laz asked.
"Charitable work," Dinah answered
'Like buying sex toys for the impoverished?" he suggested.
Anja punched him in the arm. "Seriously what do you have in mind," she asked Dinah.
"Well I suspect that this won't be the only colony we set up for those unhappy with the current social order on the Rim. I also suspect it will be sometime before they are anything close to financially stable in any meaningful sense. And I'm morally certain that one by products will be a lot of children. And I, for one, think every child should get a toy at Christmas. So it will be for that sort of thing. Or for other things like education or medical care they can't get here. Reno is going to invest it, make it grow like magic, aren't you Reno? So it can be set up as a charitable trust."
"I... I think you over-estimate the size of the pots," he whispered hoarsely.
Ingev stuck his head in from the bridge then. "Just got a message from Ther'lin. The McGee is on his way."
Dinah smiled at Reno. "I have faith," she said. "Do you have any idea why McGee is joining us here?"
"Who me? No idea. Maybe he's throwing Zaf off his boat again," Reno replied.
"Well, I better get down to the dragon deck. Ti Cameron and his dragon are waiting for me. He'd probably like to meet you two," Lev added.
Dinah finished her coffee and stood. "I imagine that's where we'll find McGee, too. And after that I have a pile of work to do according to Colin." She set her cup down and waved at Lev. "Lead on McDuff."
Marc watched Dia watch Lev as he left with Dinah. Once they were well out of ear shot, Marc asked, "Are you settling in? Need anything? Lev behaving?"
She smiled. "Everything's fine," she said. "Even Lev from what I can tell. I must remember to thank Dinah."
"She helped you understand him? Really?"
She nodded. "Once she explained it was obvious. Are you saying it wasn't like that for you with her in the beginning?" Then she flushed. "I'm sorry. That's none of my business."
"Well, Dinah sort of, uhm, came on to me, as I recall it," Marc replied with a grin. "She amused me."
"And then what?" she asked.
"And then, well, things kind of got crazy and next thing I knew I was terrified I'd lose her," Marc replied frowning down at his plate.
"And how long did it take for you tell her that?"
"I think we stopped seeing each other several times first. Do you need Lev to tell you he loves you?"
"No," she said. "I am more concerned with what he does and what he feels than what he says. And what he does tells me what he feels."
Marc nodded. "Yes, I was going to say that he's the sort who shows rather than tells."
"I get the feeling most men are," she said.
"Maybe not most men, but most men in our line of work, I think. You haven't met Spence. He's the sort who talks. Stephen too. Cassidy talks too much."
"What is your line of work?" she asked.
"I used to want to create a new sort of being. Mental man I called him. Now," he shrugged. "Now I want to figure out the meaning in the texts in that cavern and find other texts and figure out how to use the powers our House has to create a new sort of being."
"I see," she said. She smiled. "You and Lev and Ian. You are very much alike."
"Don't you believe it. I'm not civilized. Those two are," Marc replied shaking his head. "Seriously. If things go pear-shaped step out of the way."
"No. For them it is a veneer that they wear because they think it is what they must do to live in the world they are in." She held his eyes. "Or is it the women they love that makes you think that? That Betty and I are ladies? Threaten Ian and watch what she does."
"Oh no, I understand what you say, and if you thought Lev was threatened you'd do everything you could to help him. I don't doubt that. I don't doubt Betty Jo is capable of great acts of bravery. It is... I like the Rim. It is more home to me than Earth or St Michael's. Ian is comfortable in England. He likes things exciting yes, but he likes a tidy and organized life most of the time. Is that clear to you?"
"Yes. But that is a different kind of civilized," she said. "You are what I suppose could be called an adventurer. Like my father."
"An adventurer... I should get a bull whip. I don't know your father much beyond a nodding acquaintance. I'd like to get to know him better. He has four incredible daughters."
She grinned. "Certainly he has three. But this, what you're doing, he would love this."
"Really? Maybe he and Libby can come out for a vacation. We could build a hotel on Drago and use Reno as a tour guide."
Reno, passing by, heard this, and dropped his coffee cup.
Dia laughed. "I must get to work," she said. "Melly and Colin will be waiting for me."
"I'm very glad you're here, Dia," Marc called as she walked away.
