Chapter 9

"Did I pass?" Gavril asked after the privacy window had been raised in the vehicle.

"'You will be busy tomorrow.' What a simple statement of dread," Fayta said. "It was brilliant."

"Ah, you enjoy torturing junior officers," Gavril said. "They are so easy that surely they make for poor sport."

"Oh, no, dear Gavril, you misunderstand. They were the bait. I've been hunting much more elusive game," Fayta said as she ran the tip of her tongue across her lips.

Gavril face must have gone bright red because Fayta gave a little chuckle. She looked around the cabin, "There must be some sort of liquor in this damn rolling box."

She hit a panel underneath the privacy screen and was rewarded with the slight hiss of a sectional door retracting. She grabbed for a bottle.

"Panishtato isn't it? I don't know if this is a good bottle but we should at least give a good taste."

"Glasses?" Gavril asked.

"Glasses are for wimps. Besides, I'm in too much of a hurry and we've already swapped spit," she said. She unscrewed the top and took a swig "Not too sweet."

She handed the bottle to Gavril and he took a sip. It was a good bottle and he took another sip. "It's better sipped by the way, but yeah, this is a damn fine example of the stuff."

"Well, stop hogging it. If I have to sip it, I want some time with the bottle." she said, grasping the neck of the bottle. "By the gods of infernal boredom, what a bunch of blowhards and bombasts all collected into one room just for me. I swear I will make the Empress suffer the same blathering that I've had to endure. Fuck it, I need a decent chug."

She took a big swallow and count to ten. Then she repeated herself twice more. Gavril watched quietly, guessing that she needed to blow off some steam. He wasn't one to drink in silence, but he had been around enough people who did.

Fayta looked as if she was praying. Her head was bent with her eyes closed. The bottle sat in her lap with both of her hands holding the neck close to her chest. She stayed that way for some time.

Her eyes opened and she downed another three fingers worth, Gavril estimated. "Are you trying to get yourself sick and upchuck the entire dinner?"

"It wasn't pretty going down, was it?" Fayta said. "My God, these people think toasted larvae are a delicacy; and reptilian flesh ground with spices and stuffed in intestines is an appropriate main entrée. Just the recitation of the menu justifies another slug."

"They pulled out all of the stops to impress you," Gavril said, peeling her fingers off of the bottle and taking it away from her after she gulped another mouthful. "I guess you're more comfortable with vat grown fungi."

"I know where it comes from, how it's made, and what it looks like," Fayta said.

"I never imagined the royals to be food wimps," he said. "I thought the dinner was pretty good. I thought that puffed eel thing stuffed with that creamy seafood stuffing was the best dish of the night. I was ready to snatch some from my neighbor's plate. It was that good."

"You realize that eel thing is a bottom feeding scavenger. It eats shit," Fayta said, grabbing back the bottle and sucking down another three fingers. She suddenly banged on the privacy window. "Stop the car! Stop the car, damn your hide!

The car stopped and Fayta opened her door, leaning out. She vomited once, twice and finally a third time.

"See if there is a bottle of water in there," she ordered in a hoarse voice.

As Gavril flipped through the bottles, she heaved one last time and sat back against the back of the seat. He handed her a bottle of water from which she took a mouthful. She washed it around her mouth and then spit that mess out of the car as well. She shut the door and motioned Gavril to knock on the privacy screen again.

The trip continued.

Fayta took a couple of swigs of water.

"Throwing up one's dinner isn't romantic but I feel better, so much better."

"I must say you are the most interesting first date that I've ever had," Gavril said and then stopped himself. He didn't know how much he could actually tease her. He was very much aware that she was a Volentin.

"If my stomach wasn't still roiling," she said and then swallowed. "If my stomach wasn't still thinking about launching itself up my esophagus I'd pin you to the floor mats and make you scream for mercy. First date, my ass."