Xena's Arc

Chapter 5 of 13

Xena slept two nights in a lodge bunk while Tom Paris waited on a cargo transfer. On the third morning she came down to the common room to help the innkeeper with the stove. A shuttle hummed low over the cedar roof and set down on the plank pad outside. Xena wiped her hands on her apron and stepped to the window. A woman in a black and red uniform walked up the porch steps, blonde hair pulled back, a green implant bright above her eye. Xena's chest went tight. Seven of Nine had not waited nine days. Seven of Nine had come. Seven of Nine stopped in the doorway and looked at her. "Your message reached me in transit. I diverted." She stepped inside. "You will explain why later. First, I have not eaten since yesterday. Feed me." Xena laughed once, sharp, because she did not know what else to do. She said she would. She said the crew would eat too, and the captain, and the innkeeper if he wanted. Seven of Nine sat at the long cedar table and folded her hands. She did not smile, but her mouth softened at one corner. Xena went to the kitchen and worked. She had smoked pork from the freighter, potatoes from the lodge cellar, a jar of pickled greens, a slab of hard cheese. She built a stew on the stove and set biscuits on a sheet in the oven. She sliced the cheese thin. She fried the greens in pork fat until they crackled. Tom Paris came in from the cargo pad, saw the uniform at the table, and stopped in the doorway. Xena caught his eye and nodded once. He sat down two seats from Seven of Nine and said nothing. The innkeeper brought beer without being asked. Xena carried the pot to the table and ladled bowls. She served Seven of Nine first. Seven of Nine ate three bites, set the spoon down, and looked up. "Acceptable. Better than acceptable." She looked at Xena's belt, where the sword hung openly for the first time since the spaceport. "You came a long way with that on your back. I want to know why." Xena sat down across from her. She said she had come to swear to her, if she would have it. Seven of Nine did not answer at once. She lifted the spoon again and ate. Then she said, "We will speak after the meal. My shuttle leaves at dusk. You will come with me to the Stargazer, or you will stay here. Decide before the biscuits cool." Xena felt the sword at her hip and the heat of the stove at her back. The dinner had done its work. The next choice was already on the table.