Chapter 477

The Prison Planet

...”Nothing smells better than fresh baked bread,” Morales said as he broke pieces off his slice to give some to Junior, then the rest of the chickens. By the time he had passed out pieces to all the chickens, he only had one small piece for himself.

“You are such a softie,” Jasmine teased as she cut and buttered him another slice. “Now, why don’t you make us a fresh pot of coffee, then come talk to me while I work on the snowshoe lacing.”

Every eye in the place seemed to follow him as he made coffee. “No use, guys. We’ll eat more cookies later,” he told the chickens, but he wanted the cookies just as much as everyone else. Back on Earth, he seldom thought about sweets, but now he realized that he had eaten small amounts of candy, cakes and cookies on a regular basis. I wonder if the cookies are really all that good, or is it just that I haven’t had any sweets until Jas showed up. After a moment, he chastised himself. What am I thinking? Her cookies are the best I’ve ever put in my mouth.

Apparently Junior thought so too, because he kept edging closer and closer to the plate of cookies. “Get,” Morales scolded, “I’ll give you more later. At least, let Jas finish with her baking first.”

Grumbling, the small chicken made a quiet squawking sound before going about his business, but he kept an eye out for anyone going near the cookie plate.

“Your animals are spoiled,” Jasmine teased as Morales knelt to watch her working on the snowshoe webbing.

Chuckling, he responded. “And just who did the spoiling?”

Jasmine grinned over at him. “Both of us,” she responded with a giggle. “They have it made. They’re all getting fat and they practically worship you.”

“Not just me, and you know it. The hens and Junior are always following you around.”

Jasmine worked quietly for a few minutes. “Didn’t I just hear the coffee pot do its final blurbling thing when it finishes perking?”

Morales took the hint and went to pour her a cup. After being careful to fix it just the way she liked, he poured himself a cup and returned. Reaching for hers, she took a sip before sitting the cup down on the packed dirt to resume her work.

Tired of kneeling, she turned to sit with her back against the cave wall, the half-finished snowshoe in her lap. “What are all the knots for?” he asked just to have something to say.

“Well, if a section of the rawhide strip breaks, which I suspect will happen sooner or later, the knots will prevent the whole snowshoe from unraveling. When I finish the lacing, you will still have to construct a step for the boot to fit into. There’s a simple design there,” she said, nodding to a diagram on the computer screen. “It’s basically just a leather pocket that the boot slips into, but the pocket is attached to the snowshoe only in the front. This allows the wearer’s heel to rise up a little as each step is made. It shouldn’t be hard to construct.”

They sat quietly for a time while she continued her lacing. “Jas, I, uh ... well, you haven’t spent as much time on your research or working up your thesis as I expected. I mean, well, I have certainly enjoyed your helping me, but I’m beginning to feel guilty...”

“So?” she said as she stopped for a moment to lock eyes with him, “Suppose I hurry and turn in my thesis, defend it properly and I’m awarded my doctorate. What’s next?” When Morales shrugged, “Well, I’ll tell you. There will be yet another strange planet where I study another culture, possibly long dead, or, if I’m fortunate, perhaps I’ll live with a functioning one. But ... starting out with a brand-new doctorate will mean that I will still be working for someone else. Oh, it would be a step or two above what I’ve been doing as a glorified gopher to the older doctorates, but I’ll still be working under someone, and, basically, still be alone. I imagine I’ll remain a part of Greer’s team, too.”

After a pause, she took a sip of coffee, sighed and continued, “Sometimes, I wonder what’s wrong with me. I just don’t seem to fit in well enough to be an actual part of a group, at least socially. Oh, I’m good at the work portion, but I’m – as you would say – ‘piss poor’ in group social settings. I always seem to wind up basically alone, no matter how many people are around. I detest egotistical people, and Greer and his suck-ups aren’t what I want to go back to – at least to associate with. Sometimes, I think it’s just me. But though I relate well with most people professionally, off duty, I tend to be a loner, I suppose.”

Morales, thinking, blew on his coffee before taking another sip. Finally, “I can’t imagine how that could be. You don’t seem bashful to me...”

“I’m not bashful. It’s just that ... Oh, crap, I don’t know what it is. I’m always a bit of a loner, I suppose, no matter how many people are around me. I do get along with almost all the women, although, there are a couple of sluts that I try to stay away from, lest I be painted by the same brush. There’s no obvious animosity between us, and I don’t think I’m better than they are, but I’m not into drunken parties where you can’t even remember who you slept with the night before. Trust me, that will never happen to me, but I’ve heard it from several of the women I’ve worked with, and sometimes I think they’re almost proud of it. I tend to study, or read for enjoyment, work out, or shoot my bow or rifle – alone.

“All of us are required to practice on the firing range, but most who do well, tend to brag, either subtly or not so subtly. But I can outshoot most of the assholes without half trying. You, Mr. Morales, don’t brag – not at all – but I’ve watched you shoot your bow on the vids and you never miss. I also stood beside you when your bolt and an arrow slammed into that snow leopard.”

As Morales started to interrupt, she motioned for him to wait, “Yeah, I put a bolt and an arrow into the thing as well, but I guarantee you that none of the people I usually work with would have done anything other than run while hoping that their security managed to kill the thing in time.”

“Jas, some people just aren’t inclined to...”

“And wait on someone else to do the job for them,” she interrupted to finish up her grumble.

Putting the second snowshoe aside – now half-finished – she handed the computer to him. “Show me the teaching program you were talking about.”

“Jas, what’s that got to do with...”

“Show me. Granted, you coasted through high school, but you’re just as smart as I am, and, darn it, I wouldn’t say that to many people. You’re smart, but your education could be better – lots better – and we’re going to correct that.”

“Shit, Jas, I...” he tried again.

She interrupted to go on, “The General told me he had your drive updated with information that his people thought would be of help to you, and our subject at that moment was overall education, both personal as well as knowledge of the planet. I also brought a big drive with me that has two different home study programs installed on it, plus everything else I could think of that might help.”

As she scanned through the programs on Morales’ computer, she stopped. “Hmmm, here it is.”

“What?” he said while trying to look over her shoulder.

“A speed reading program. You’re going to be doing lots of reading, and you need to be able to do it efficiently and effectively.”

“But I read okay...”

“And I read many times faster than you do. My Mom,” she said, almost choking up, “realized even before I started high school that I needed to learn to read faster, so she had me start into speed reading. I liked it immediately, and I worked at it. I continued throughout high school, and college. Mr. Morales, I think you’re capable of assimilating much more, and the best way to do it is to learn to read faster. If you work at it with this program, in a few weeks, chances are you will be reading much faster, and you will be retaining more of what you read as well – probably much more. Darnit, Honey, I’m around intelligent people all the time, and I’m looking at one as we speak,” she said while smiling at him. After a moment, she reached up and lovingly touched his face. “Will you do this for me?”

“Jas...” he temporized, “I, uh, read okay now. I mean, I don’t want ... Oh, hell, Jas. What I mean is that I’ll only embarrass myself – and you. I’m not nearly as smart as you seem to think I am. I don’t need to read faster. What good is an education to me now, anyway?”

The young woman frowned. “I’m sure I’m right about this. Please, do this for me, if you won’t for yourself,” she asked as she gently touched his face.

Morales let out a slow breath. “Baby, I’m afraid that you’re going to find out just how dumb I am...”

“So, you’ll do it?” she asked, her voice suddenly bubbling with exuberance.

“Yeah, I’ll give it a whirl,” he said with a sigh. “But I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.”

Shoving the snowshoe aside while giggling like a teenager, she came to her knees to hug him. After pulling back to look hard at his face for a second, she drew him to her and kissed him for what must have been a full minute – long enough to leave both of them panting, and her with a red face from blushing.

After a quiet moment while they just hugged each other, she slid a hand across the bulge in his pants. “I’m ... not ready for that ... yet, but, Baby, I don’t mean to tease you. I’m just...”

“Jas, I don’t deserve even holding you, let alone anything else. I expect nothing, so there’s no use trying to apologize. Please understand that you turn me on more than any woman ever has. I can’t control becoming erect when you kiss or hold me, and I certainly don’t mean any disrespect. I just...”

She put her slightly open mouth to his and kissed him yet again. Pulling back just enough so their lips weren’t touching, she whispered, “Hush.” Then a little louder, “Since it’s you, I’ll take your body’s reaction as a compliment. I know you’re not like some of those assholes I worked with. Just give me a little more time.”

“Jas, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, Baby, we’ve already gone further than I’ll ever deserve. I don’t even deserve your being here, let alone all the things you have done for me and my friends. You need to ... well, back off before we do something you’ll regret forever. Honey, there’s no future in...”

“Hush,” she said, harshly. “Just hush. I’m not some starry-eyed teenager. I’m a grown woman. I’ll decide – no we’ll decide together how to proceed with our lives. Now, let’s finish the rest of the baking, eat a late meal and get ready for bed.”

Colorado Springs, Colorado

... Chuckling, they got out and, just as the two met in the rear of the vehicle, a male with a hoodie pulled over his head, stepped into their path, thrust a knife toward Mike’s face and snarled, “Mother fucker, give me your money or I’ll cut your ass.”

Later, Mike confessed to Jeff that his reaction had simply been reflex.

The words were barely out of the punk’s mouth when Mike seemed to slap his hands together. One hand hit the outside of the young man’s hand several inches in front of the wrist, the other hit the inside of his wrist itself – hard. The wrist, forced in two different directions, broke with an audible crack, the knife clattering to the asphalt. The punk barely had time to start to squeal when Mike’s knee slammed into the assailant’s groin, literally lifting him clear of the pavement, crushing one ball, severely damaging the other, and shattering the bones in his groin. The scream he had started turned into a squeak, but that ended as Mike slammed a hand heel strike to the punk’s forehead.

The punk bounced off the back of the Escalade and fell face-first in front of them, unmoving.

Marie was so startled she forgot to scream.

“Did you kill him?” a cop asked as he jogged up.

“Don’t know. I don’t think so. Officer I was...”

“Well, lookie who finally screwed-up big time,” the cop interrupted with a chuckle as he slid the hoodie back to get a better look at the criminal’s face. “Relax,” he continued to Mike as he put a knee in the middle of the man’s back, pulled his hands behind him and expertly snapped on a pair of handcuffs, “I had just parked to go in and eat, and saw the whole thing. He’s breathing, but from the sound of that knee strike to his groin, I doubt if he’ll be fathering any kids in the near future – or at all. I heard the thud of your knee connecting way over there,” he said, motioning to his patrol car at the other end of the lot.