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>The cruise went fairly smoothly, all
told. Lucas and Admiral Garibaldi were somewhat of an oddity, it seemed,
but people readily accepted the "distinguished gentleman and his young
caretaker doctor" story. Too readily, it seemed. A flock of mother
hens close to Garibaldi's age (who were on a "girls' trip") fought amongst
themselves to be the one to push his chair, and at any time there seemed to be
at least a few young, attractive women hanging around talking to Lucas.
Despite the motherly women around, Garibaldi's health improved over several
days, and he was soon taking short walks and had a healthy appetite. Lucas
dutifully stayed near Garibaldi, indulging himself only one evening to have
dinner with a particularly sweet young lady who was on study break with her
friends from her university.
>The ship made its scheduled stopovers at the
two space stations, and then headed towards the rainforest moon of Garen
V. As the ship was making its docking maneuvers, Lucas got them ready to
go ashore. "What do you think, sir? Fishing, or a little beach
time?"
>"A little beach time. It had been a while
since I could lay on the beach and read and relax."
"Sounds good to me, sir." When their turn in
the queue came up, Lucas gave the transporter chief their location
selection.
"Back on board by 1830 hours, please," the chief
infomed them.
They were transported to the designated beam-in
spot a short jaunt from the beach. A shady path took them to the
shore. This was a relatively untrafficked beach; the planet was itself
uninhabited except by some rainforest creatures, and owned by the cruise
company, so cruise guests were able to request private beaches for
themselves. While it might seem terribly romantic to some, this was a
business trip for Lucas and Garibaldi.
After they got themselves situated, they started
waiting. It wasn't an unpleasant wait. The water - which was a pale
golden color on this planet - was warm and gentle, the sun wasn't too hot, and
there was a mild breeze which sounded the Chimes, an atmospheric phenomenon this
planet was famous for. Lucas passed the time reading and swimming a
little. Soon after serving Garibaldi a picnic lunch ("no sorry, sir, I
didn't bring any wine") the water in front of them rippled a little.
Slowly, so as not to cause any alarm, a single figue rose walking from the
water. Despite the slow speed, Lucas and Garibaldi were both on their
guard immediately.
The figure was a Venasian male, with that strange
ageless quality so it was impossible to tell how old he was. Like all
Venasians, he had the intensely blue, gold-flecked eyes, dark hair, and the
vestigial webbing between his fingers. He wore simple, albeit wet,
nondescript clothing, and appeared to carry no weapon. "Peace, friends,
and gentle tides to you," he said in Standard, holding up his hands, "I am not
him, but I've been sent to confirm your identity."
(response)
-S
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