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proposal, young warrior?"
"I'd hope it's the grog."
Uri raised his goblet in a toast.
"Well," he said, "perhaps tonight it is the grog, but tomorrow...."
Apollo whirled and walked out of the center of the circle.Taking Serina's arm, he led her along a garden
path back toward the casino. Looking back, it seemed to Serina thatSire Uri stared after her somewhat
lecherously.
"Don't lethim ruin this wonderful glow," Serina said, a bit woozily. "No one would take that proposal
seriously."
"Maybe not. A lot of those people were nodding rightalong with what he said."
"I'm about to nod out."
"In that case, would you like to hear my proposal? It's abit more personal."
"Captain, I've been considering it for long before you evergot around to asking it. But I'm not sure about
it. Not whilemy head is spinning, anyway. Would you mind if wediscussed this again after we visit the
guest quarters?"
"Which brings me right back to my proposal. I wanted totake you there."
"This time I want to go there to make sure Boxey is allright. And after that, let's hear no proposals you
can't live upto when the grog wears off."
* A sign in the casino elevator informed them that all guestaccommodations were on the first three levels
going down.Serina touched the plate for level two, where she haddeposited a sleepy Boxey earlier in the
evening.
"I wonder what's on these other levels further down," Serina said, pointing to the array of buttons on the
panel.
"Want to have a look?" Apollo said.
"Why not? I'm a snoop from way back, you know. Let'sstart at the bottom and work our way up."
She touched the plate for the bottom level. Immediately asoft voice floated down at them from the
ceiling.
"I'm sorry, but you have indicated an incorrect stop.Guest accommodations are limited to the first three
levels.All others are for kitchen, mining, and support personnelonly. Thank you."
Serina smiled.
"Off limits, I think they say in your profession, Captain,"
she said.
"Curious," Apollo muttered.
The elevator came to a stop at level two. A quick check ofBoxey's room showed that the boy was
sleeping quitepeacefully. His arm was curled around Muffit Two, whomaintained a droid alertness, even
giving Apollo and Serinaa fast once-over when they entered the room. Apollo pulledSerina to a dark
corner and kissed her. At first her response to the kiss was tentative but, in a moment, she returned his
kiss.
"About my proposal...." Apollo said.
"Let's dispose with ritual. My room is next door.Mmmm... whatever's in that grog, I'm considering taking
itwith me when we leave this place."
Arm in arm, they left Boxey's room. Muffit Two's headsettled back on a pillow, its eyes staying open,
keeping asteady watch on the doorway.
FROMTHE ADAMA JOURNALS:
 I've tried many times to make entries in this journal aboutBaltar's treason, but somehow 1 can't deal with
the subjectwithout seeing the man's puffy egotistical face floating beforeme, ghostlike, and feeling
excruciating waves of hatred gothrough my body. 1 become tense and can't think of words.Trying to put
his treason into words would give it a set ofperimeters whose very limitations would diminish the pure and
unalterably selfish evil of the act. And I'm not about to rationalize a treason of such dimensions. The acts
of alienslike the Cylons or Ovions are at least understandable to me asmanifestations of ideas that belong
to different, perhapsultimately incomprehensible, cultures. With Baltar I canunderstand the ideas he
spouted, and 1 can even imagine theawesome selfishness that led him to sell out his own peoplefor
rewards that seem trivial in perspective-but that doesn'tbring me any closer to a clear conception of the
man himself.It's all 1 can do to make the ghost-face of him fade away. Inhis evil he is alien to me, more
alien than any multi-limbed ormulti-eyed creature from a different part of the universe.
CHAPTER NINE
On the Cylon base ship, Imperious Leader contemplated thelatest report from his centurion on Carillon.
The plan wasproceeding efficiently; more and more humans were fallingprey to the lure of Ovion
contentment. Lotay had managedto doctor the food of several of the human leaders (except, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]