Page 10 of Escape Velocity

She kept eating, and each bite she took looked like she was experiencing a small miracle. When she was finished, she scraped the side of the fork against the plate, then licked the edge. As soon as she’d done it, she flushed and lifted her gaze to his face.

“That was rude, I think.”

“Not under the circumstances. Do you want another?”

“Yes, but I have had nothing this rich in . . . years. It might make me sick.”

“You should have something more substantial. Do you eat meat?”

“I used to. I have not had it in . . . a long time.”

Sagan’s balls. Every time he asked her a question, he got the worst possible answer.

“But you like meat?” he pressed.

“Yes.”

She was right. It was probably best to go easy on rich food. Standing again, he asked for a beef and vegetable stew, seasoned with wine and herbs and served over whole grain.

When the food arrived, he put a steaming bowl in front of her. She forked up a bit and blew on it. Then, as she tasted the dish, she raised her gaze to his.

“This is better than anything we serve on Naxion.”

“You don’t have anything similar?”

“Similar, but not like this.”

She ate several forks full, and he sensed she was struggling not to gulp down the food.

To give her a reason not to bolt the meal, he said. “I have some questions—about your civilization.”

She put down the fork. “Yes?”

“When you and the men met me, you arrived in a wooden cart, pulled by a big animal.”

“An orex.”

“But when we fled, they fired at us with an energy bolt. From the cart I’d say your civilization is primitive. But the blaster is much more advanced.”

“They can buy . . . advanced goods from off planet.”

“Contact is forbidden.”

“Well, you came to get me.”

He nodded.

“Does anyone from your planet travel off world?”

Her gaze narrowed. “I do not think so. But I do not know for sure.”

He cleared his throat. “Are all of the slaves women?”

“Where I lived, they were. I suppose there are male slaves in other places.”

When she picked up her fork again, he said, “I can understand better than you might think about everything suddenly changing.”

“How?”

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