Foundation's Mistress

29. Tolerance for Technicians

On the subject of the defence of Saburra from the south, the causeway of the City could be blocked, but it should not be considered as anything other than a final act of defence. A permanent destruction of the causeway would be deleterious to the city in the long term. Our access to the Incept would immediately be compromised, together with our access to Old Arcadia, and most particularly the location that the Eldest often refers to: the site of significance to the line of the Eldest and our worship of the Mother.

- Excerpt: Security Papers Addressed to the Eldest, Chimon Reyes, Priestess. 90 SSA.

That particular morning, Renate was due to meet with the genetics team. As agreed with Dr Grigor Halfen, she was to provide a sample. Grigor had also asked her to meet with his team - apparently she had some fans amongst them.

But instead of keeping to the appointment like other mature and well-scheduled adults might have, Renate found herself dressed in a tight, near-see-through top and a short, sexy skirt, standing at the door of Alec's apartment.

'Hi there,' Alec responded over the system. 'Oh, it's the freaky sand-lady! Hello.'

Freaky sand lady? That really wasn't fair. Okay, she'd had a bit of sand to clean out of her suit after that last Trial, but she can't have been the worst of the candidates. Not by a long shot. Some had been blown by the wind for miles and then buried under mounds of sand, others had sheltered on the edge of the chamber, and also been buried under mounds of sand. Thankfully Nebula dispatched enough bots to bring all of the buried ones back alive. Still others - like Renate - had mastered the rudiments of terraforming, but only after having been near-buried under mounds of sand.

'Hello Alec,' she said. 'What's with all the charm? Have you got a minute?'

'You can't help but fall for my charm,' he said. 'You're female, after all.'

Renate rolled her eyes.

'And as for whether I've got a minute,' he added. 'The answer is yes, I do.'

The door opened.

Alec's quarters were like and yet unlike her own. They were decked out in man-stuff - lots of artsy engineering graphics on the walls, a circular den, a pool table, and retro-looking lamps. It had an air of dark mystery. He wasn't in the living area when Renate first arrived, and she didn't feel at home enough to just sit down, so she stood there waiting for him.

'So,' she heard his voice. 'Is this your way of telling me you'd like to see me outside of work, then? Just turning up, unannounced, and dressed like a sex kitten?'

He emerged out of the sleeping quarters, drying his hair with a towel, wearing another wrapped around his waist.

Renate took her sweet time answering, largely because he was a very, very sweet sight. Although he was wide across the shoulders, he had a lithe frame, and sumptuous definition about the pectorals and midriff. The lines on him...

Be still my throbbing lady-boner, she thought. Her mother would have been scandalised at the expression, but it was the first that leapt to mind.

'And is this your way of telling me you'd like to say yes?' she asked, gesturing at his half nakedness.

'Maybe,' he answered with a grin. 'I take it you've got a hall pass from Jeff, then?'

She paused. Her nerves weren't resting easily on that topic.

Eventually opting for honesty, she shook her head. 'I haven't told him.'

'Ah,' Alec grinned mischievously, throwing the towel he wasn't wearing over the chair. 'She hasn't told him, she says. There's something slightly hot about that, I do confess.'