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Such a human invasion left Helva mentally breathless, a luxury she thoroughly enjoyed for the brief time she felt she should permit it.
She sorted out the young men. Ta
Her choice of a brawn did not stand out from the others until Ta
"What we need is a roaring good lead tenor. Je
"Sharp," Je
"If a tenor is absolutely necessary, I'll attempt it," Helva volunteered.
"My good woman," Ta
"Sound your 'A'," laughed Je
Into the stu
It did not take them long to discover her full range.
"All Ta
"To the Horsehead Nebula?" asked Nordsen, quoting an old Central saw.
"To the Horsehead Nebula and back, we shall make beautiful music," said Helva, chuckling.
"Together," Je
"I rather imagined it would be I who listened," suggested Helva.
Je
Helva didn't know that she fell in love with Je
"Well, Helva, it's been swell meeting you," said Ta
"You don't have to go so soon?" asked Helva, realizing belatedly that she and Je
"Best man won," Ta
Helva and Je
"Perhaps Ta
Helva regarded him as he slouched against the console, facing her shell directly. His arms were crossed on his chest and the glass he held had been empty for some time. He was handsome, they all were; but his watchful eyes were unwary, his mouth assumed a smile easily, his voice (to which Helva was particularly drawn) was resonant, deep, and without unpleasant overtones or accent.
"Sleep on it, at any rate, Helva. Call me in the morning if it's your opt."
She called him at breakfast, after she had checked her choice through Central. Je
Their first mission was a dull but necessary crash priority (Medical got Helva), rushing a vaccine to a distant system plagued with a virulent spore disease. They had only to get to Spica as fast as possible.
After the initial, thrilling forward surge at her maximum speed, Helva realized her muscles were to be given less of a workout than her brawn on this tedious mission. But they did have plenty of time for exploring each other's personalities. Je
"My father was a scout, too, or is that programmed?" began Je
"Naturally."
"Unfair, you know. You've got all my family history and I don't know one blamed thing about yours."
"I've never known either," Helva said. "Until I read yours, it hadn't occurred to me I must have one, too, someplace in Central's files."
Je
Helva laughed. "Yes, and I'm even programmed against curiosity about it. You'd better be, too."
Je
"Helva, a made-up name. . ."
"With a Scandinavian sound."
"You aren't blonde," Je
"Well, then, there're dark Swedes."
"And blonde Turks and this one's harem is limited to one."
"Your woman in purdah, yes, but you can comb the pleasure houses, " Helva found herself aghast at the edge to her carefully trained voice.
"You know," Je
"Her registry?" asked Helva, unwittingly jealous of everyone and anyone who had shared his hours.
"422. I think she's TS now. I ran into Tom Burgess once."
Je
"Tom said she'd got mighty tough and salty. You lose your sweetness and I'll come back and haunt you, girl," Je
Helva laughed. He startled her by stamping up to the column panel, touching it with light, tender fingers.
"I wonder what you look like," he said softly, wistfully.