BooksBarbecue
Back Excession
Chapters (108)
  1. About the Author
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. 1 - Outside Context Problem
  6. I
  7. II
  8. III
  9. IV
  10. V
  11. VI
  12. 2 - Not Invented Here
  13. I
  14. II
  15. III
  16. 3 - Uninvited Guests
  17. I
  18. II
  19. III
  20. IV
  21. 4 - Dependency Principle
  22. I
  23. II
  24. III
  25. IV
  26. V
  27. 5 - Kiss The Blade
  28. I
  29. II
  30. III
  31. IV
  32. V
  33. VI
  34. 6 - Pittance
  35. I
  36. II
  37. III
  38. IV
  39. V
  40. VI
  41. 7 - Tier
  42. I
  43. II
  44. III
  45. IV
  46. 8 - Killing Time
  47. I
  48. II
  49. III
  50. IV
  51. V
  52. VI
  53. VII
  54. VIII
  55. 9 - Unacceptable Behaviour
  56. I
  57. II
  58. III
  59. IV
  60. V
  61. VI
  62. VII
  63. VIII
  64. IX
  65. X
  66. XI
  67. XII
  68. XIII
  69. XIV
  70. 10 - Heavy Messing
  71. I
  72. II
  73. III
  74. IV
  75. V
  76. VI
  77. VII
  78. VIII
  79. IX
  80. X
  81. XI
  82. XII
  83. XIII
  84. XIV
  85. XV
  86. 11 - Regarding Gravious
  87. I
  88. II
  89. III
  90. IV
  91. V
  92. VI
  93. VII
  94. VIII
  95. IX
  96. X
  97. XI
  98. XII
  99. XIII
  100. XIV
  101. 12 - Faring Well
  102. I
  103. II
  104. III
  105. IV
  106. V
  107. VI
  108. Epilogue

‘Yes, well, it is an eccentric, isn’t it?’

Ulver thought about this. ‘Very intelligent eccentric,’ she said. ‘I’d imagine that something it thought worth pursuing like that might be . . . you know; worthy of concern. No?’ she asked with a self-deprecating grimace.

Dajeil shrugged. ‘Ships can be wrong, too,’ she said.

‘What, so none of it matters a damn?’ Ulver said casually, choosing a small roll from a basket.

‘No,’ Dajeil said. She looked down, smoothing her dress over her belly. ‘But . . .’ She stopped. Her head went down, and she was silent for a while. Ulver looked over, concerned.

Dajeil’s shoulders shook once. Ulver, wiping her lips, threw down the napkin and went over to the other woman, squatting by her and tentatively putting out one arm round her shoulders. Dajeil moved slowly towards her, eventually resting her head on the crook of Ulver’s neck.

The ship drone entered from the winding stair; Ulver shooed it away.

A couple of screens on the far wall lit up, showing what Ulver guessed was the hull of the Sleeper Service, gradually drawing further away. Another couple of screens showed an approaching wall of gridded grey. She guessed the two minutes the drone had mentioned earlier had passed.

Dajeil cried for a little while. After a few minutes, she asked, ‘Do you think he still loves me? At all?’

Ulver looked pained for a moment; only the ship’s sensors registered the expression. She took a deep breath. ‘At all?’ she said. ‘Yes, definitely.’

Dajeil sniffed hard and looked up for the first time. She gave a sort of half-despairing laugh as she wiped some tears from her cheeks with her fingers. Ulver reached for a clean napkin and completed the job.

‘It doesn’t really mean much to him any more,’ Dajeil said to the younger woman, ‘does it?’

Ulver folded the tear-darkened napkin carefully. ‘It matters to him a lot now, because he’s here. Because the ship brought him here just for this, hoping the two of you would talk.’

‘But the rest of the time,’ Dajeil said, sitting upright again and throwing her head and hair back. ‘The rest of the time, it doesn’t really bother him, does it?’

Ulver took an almost exaggeratedly deep breath, looked as though she was about to vehemently deny this, then sank down on her haunches and said, ‘Look; I hardly know the man.’ She gestured with her hands. ‘I learned a lot about him before we met, but I only met him a few days ago. In very odd circumstances.’ She shook her head, looking serious. ‘I don’t know who he really is.’