Seed of Stars Read Online Free PDF

ships.
    It required little effort on Piet's part to shut out such chatter and concentrate on his own preoccupations. During the forty-eight hours since the conclusion of the Wangituru operation there had been no opportunity to see Mia, but his relationship with her had been constantly in his mind. There had been ample time for his imaginative mind to return over and over again to its speculations about the possible consequences of the decision they had made. During the duty period recently completed he had found himself distracted and depressed by a combination of foreboding thoughts and a general feeling of malaise which left him operating at less than accustomed efficiency. The malaise was vaguely reminiscent of a minor virus infection, but he had a suspicion that it was more likely psychosomatic in origin. At any event, he had foregone the temptation to report its presence to Maseba, because the surgeon lieutenant had a habit of probing too deeply and too efficiently into such matters. Instead, he had dosed himself with a couple of mildly euphoric pills and carried on. Even so, he was aware that he had been saved on several occasions from making stupid mistakes in routine by the quietly efficient intervention of his P.O. orderly assistant He would have to watch...
    Jerking out of his train of thought he noticed that the hitherto vacant chair opposite was now occupied. Trudi Hoffman was looking at him, as though expecting a reply to some question or remark which he had not even heard. Her expression told him absolutely nothing, except that he had maybe missed out on some small talk.
    "I'm sorry?" he said, enquiringly.
    "I said, I've been expecting you," she replied, with a touch of flatness in her voice.
    "Oh!" he said, uneasily. The assignation made in the bloody surroundings of the dissection room on the Wangituru had completely slipped his memory, but he could hardly tell her the truth. "I've been pretty busy," he explained. "There were a number of details to be tidied up over the processing of the stuff for the replacement banks."
    Her sharp blue eyes glinted her disbelief. "I see. But you are off duty now, for a while, I believe?"
    Believe ... he guessed that she had probably made it her business to find out "Well, yes..."
    "Good; then IH expect you about twenty-two thirty?"
    Her voice was as impersonal as a sheet of Part Two Orders. "Lieutenant (j.g.) Piet Huygens will report to Lieutenant Hoffman's cabin at 22.30 hours with phallus at the ready, prepared for sexual drill." A feeling of nausea gripped him as he pushed the hardly touched plate of food to one side.
    "I'm sorry, Trudi. I'm feeling pretty beat I thought maybe I'd catch up on some sleep. . . ." The sentence trailed away lamely as he gazed into her hard eyes.
    "Or what we suffered in former times. Look at us. Total luxury! I've done an entire eighteen-month trip living on concentrates and cellulose fillers, with nowhere to take a girl except in an open dormitory— hammocks at that. ... No crossing ranks there—everyone could see " The subject of Lieutenant Quat's monologue shifted smoothly back to Topic A as he addressed • himself to the table in general.
    An engineering lieutenant next to him was amused. "You mean all the crewwomen in your day had their ranks tattooed—somewhere obvious?" There was a burst of ready laughter from his companions.
    Quat said: "It has always been my belief that the regulation against off-duty consorting between commissioned and noncommissioned ranks is a lot of old kluk. If they weren't sensible, well-adjusted women in the first place, they wouldn't be in the Corps. . . ." Quat was squarely astride his favorite hobbyhorse now, expounding his theory of sexual democracy for the Corps. But Piet's eyes were still held by those of Trudi. Her face was blank and cold, but behind the mask he sensed a growing, dangerous rage.
    Then suddenly her eyes snapped away, and she was smiling a hard, bright smile as she addressed Lieutenant