>> > "Therrre arrre a lot of people unhappy with the things I've been doing
>> > lately," she said. "Although I'm surrre you've hearrrd about that by
>now."
>>
>> Neither admitting nor denying, t'Llhweiir said, "I would like to hear your
>> perspective, Admiral."
Kitanya explained (although not in great detail and certainly not telling
which outposts) about the background of the problem, and the order she had
given returning all SpecOps outposts to SpecOps direct command.
>She listened, comparing what Kitanya said to what she already knew.
>Then, a weird sense of deja vu suddenly struck Carrhae. She was seeing
>Kitanya not alone, as she was now, but with a wider smile, in a darker
>corner of a darker restaurant. Beside her was an even taller Caitian,
>with an even wider smile, one showing teeth as he regaled them with a hunt
>story. She knew she enjoyed the CAitian's hunt stories and yet... had she
>ever heard them?
>
>There were other odd sensations, too. The taste of cognac on her tongue,
>the smell of a burning candle in the air, the heady earthen smell of two
>Caitians who were madly in love.
>
>There was a fine pressure on her right thigh and when she looked down, there
>was a delicate yet amazingly strong hand there, resting comfortably as if it
>belonged attached to her. The fingertips traced lazy, almost automatic
>circles on her skin through the trousers which looked... like khaki pants.
>
>In her mind she looked to her right, and she saw her own profile.
>
>No, this Rihanha woman was slightly shorter, with slightly more severe
>features. She was laughing outright at the sound effects Kitanya was adding
>to her mate's story, the laugh coming easily, and from deep in her chest,
>her head bobbing slightly, her hair shifting with each movement. God, she
>was beautiful. Instinctively she reached her hand out to rake through the
>woman's hair and Rhiana turned her head gently into the affectionate
>gesture.
>
>The hand she'd put into Rhiana's hair had two very old rings on it. A
>braided silver Celtic Knot on the pinky, and a white and yellow gold band on
>the ring finger.
>
>It wasn't her hand. It was Matt's. The vision swirled, the sounds of the
>room whined, and suddenly....
>
>She was back with Kitanya. Alone with Kitanya. Her heart was racing, and
>her hand trembled so that the glass shook. She closed her eyes against
>the dizziness that assailed her.
>
>Regaining control, she opened her eyes and hoped her companion had not
>noticed the lapse.
Kitanya had stopped talking and was watching her intently, her eyes filled
with concern. "Arrre you all rrright?" she asked softly.
(resp?)
"You looked - you suddenly looked like you werrre a million miles away."
(resp?)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
A little girl asked her father, "Daddy? Do all fairy tales begin with
'Once Upon A Time'?"
He replied, "No, there is a whole series of fairy tales that begin with
'If elected I promise'."
