MIDNIGHT ON THE NEGOTIATION LINE - PART 3 By Sunraven In deference to her resting period, Neroon didn't respond back to her until about four hours later. She was just stepping out of the shower when the vid com chimed an incoming communication. Grabbing a robe, she was pulling it on as she activated the vid. "McClare here, oh, hello Alyt Neroon." At his look of embarrassment, she realized that Minbari were always so formal, her showing herself in dishabille was probably akin to showing up naked, or something. "Excuse my informality, I just stepped out of the shower." She felt her face redden as she said it. Damn it, hanging around with these people was turning her into a prude. He cleared his throat. "Of course. I have discussed this outing you wish to go on with the Shai-Alyt. He asked me to give you his regrets, but he had already planned to be meeting with the other warrior caste leaders to take care of Minbari business that has been neglected due to the peace talks. He cannot go with you tomorrow." "Shoot! That means I'll have to get one of the Earth pilots to escort me. Well, thanks for asking him for me, Neroon." "You misunderstand me, Doctor. The Shai-Alyt cannot go, but he has asked that I escort you wherever you wish to go. Keeping you safe is a high priority for the Shai-Alyt, and no other person on this planet can do that better than I." "Your modesty overwhelms me, Neroon, but I do appreciate the Shai-Alyt's concern, and thank him. I think I am going to arrange for a picnic basket. Who could I speak to on your side to insure that I have food that you will like and can safely eat?" "A...picnic basket?" At his confused look, she explained. "It is an ancient Earth custom. People pack up food and beverages in a container to take with them while enjoying the outdoors. Don't your people have a similar custom?" "The warrior caste would just take battle rations with them if they went anywhere for a prolonged period. Not that we really need them, since we can go without food for many days without too much deterioration." She smiled. "Fun is just another word for Warrior Caste. Well, I am glad that I will be able to introduce you to another Earth custom. Do you think I should ask Satai Relinn or Satai Delenn to accompany us?" "No! Uh, I mean, the two Satai are going to be doing the same thing as the Shai-Alyt. I expect they will be busy." Was he trying to get her alone? Well, maybe it was a good idea. She could pump him about Minbari mating habits while they were out. Just to make sure she would make no more slips, of course. After the way he reacted to the kissing, she didn't think there was any risk of that happening again. It just goes to show you. She who is the most blind is the woman who refuses to see. "All right, Neroon. Then I will see you here tomorrow at say, 1000 ETS?" "Fine, Terra. Until then." He bowed, and cut out the link. Terra found herself anticipating the outing like a child on Christmas. She went to Relinn's cook, a lovely worker caste woman named Sharul, who she had gotten to know a little bit, and arranged to get some Minbari treats for Neroon. Sharul even included some leh'and, which was a drink that the Minbari especially relished. For herself, she scrounged some bread, cheeses, some pickled flarn, some apple pie, and a bottle of wine (David Sheridan gave her that, she had no clue how he had smuggled it on to the planet.) She slept like the dead, with no dreams of angry Minbari or mutilated soldiers, or anything. After she woke, she meditated, ate breakfast, took a shower, braided her hair, and put on shorts over a sleeveless spandex bathing suit, a brightly colored floppy hat, and her tennis shoes. Then she went and got the food bundles, and carried them back to her room. There she packed a bag with the food, with a sheet for a ground cloth, a sundress to change into after she swam, a large towel, and some sunscreen for her fair skin. At exactly 1000 ETS her door chime sounded. "Oh, hello, Neroon. Just on time, I see." He didn't say anything for a minute, at least verbally. But the disapproving eyes and the arousal he gave off proclaimed his surprise and shock at her outfit. "Did I interrupt you while you were dressing, Doctor?" She laughed. "Of course not! This is a typical human outfit for enjoying the warm weather, Neroon. And I did mention that I hoped to get some swimming in?" "Y..Yes, you did. I was not aware that Human recreational attire was so, ...abbreviated." She looked critically at his typical black Alyt's armor and said, "Do the Minbari Warrior Caste even have recreational attire? You are going to roast in that thing." He was too shocked to answer, so she just blew it off. She turned and motioned to the rather large suitcase and said, "Would you mind carrying this?" He picked it up without straining, but did look down at it, then back at her saying, "You are taking enough on this picnic to feed an entire battleship crew. Are we going to have guests?" "Be quiet. You males are all alike, no matter what species you are. You always complain that a female brings too much! Let's go." Then she breezed by him, and started toward the shuttle bay. In the Minbari shuttle, she handed Neroon the coordinates crystal that the Centauri rep gave her. He took it solemnly, and told her to get strapped in. Once she was in her seat, he took the ship up and headed towards the eastern mountain range where the best recreational lake was hidden. Since the entire planet had been rented from the Centauri for the peace talks, it had almost been deinhabited due to the Centauri's lack of expansion activities in recent centuries. They took the trip mostly in silence. Terra knew that flying a shuttle in an atmosphere near mountains was a pretty tricky task, and she didn't want to distract Neroon. She meditated until his voice brought her out of it. "Terra, I have found a place to land, but it is about ten kilometers from the lakeside. Is that too far away for you?" "No, that will be fine. We can hike in." He landed the ship skillfully, took up the suitcase, and exited. He had chosen a beautiful place to land. They could see the mountains around them, and the lake in detail. Lovely green trees and sharp pinnacles of rock towered majestically over the blue-green of the lake. "Oh, Neroon! You landed us in the perfect spot! The view is lovely. Look at the lake, itís such a pretty color." She touched his arm in thanks, and he had to smile at her enthusiasm. "Actually, it is the same color as your eyes, Doctor. And you are correct, it is a...pretty...color." "Come on, Let's go! I can't wait to get a swim." They had to climb down a few slopes to get to the lake, but still made it in less than a half an hour. Terra couldn't resist herself. She had to get in that water. But first she used her empathy to check if there might be anything dangerous in the water. She only picked up the sleepy feelings of some bottom dwelling fish from the center bottom of the lake. She had already checked the consistency of the water by looking through Centauri records, and it was fine for human skin. She took off her hat, her tennis shoes, pulled her shorts off, and dove in. She paddled around happily for about a half an hour, but found that her body temperature was dropping in the chill of the mountain water, and reluctantly got out. Neroon had opened the suitcase, spread out the ground sheet, and put out some of the food, then had sat down to watch her antics in the water with the air of an adult spoiling a favorite child. As she came up, shivering, he got up, took the towel, and handed it to her. "Your skin is turning blue, Terra. You Humans are so fragile, perhaps you should not have stayed in the water so long. Of course," And he eyed her outfit with a definitely lascivious eye, "with so little clothes on, it is a wonder you could stay in as long as you did." "With as many clothes as you have on, aren't you hot?" Her empathy, of course, knew the answer to that. "A warrior does not pay attention to discomfort. To do so is a sign of weakness." "So you are hot! Does this armor even come off? Do you wear something underneath it? I'm beginning to suspect that it's sealed to your skin." He looked at her, a smile in his eyes, and an unusual feeling of, was it playfulness? coming off of him. "Yes, and yes. We do not wear the armor all of the time. Like other Minbari castes, we wear sleeping robes, and lounging robes when in the privacy of our own quarters. But those would not be appropriate in these circumstances." "Neroon, quit being an old maid, and at least take the armor off! Your discomfort is disturbing my enjoyment of the day." "What is an old maid? Never mind, I don't think I want to know." His smile moved from his eyes to his lips. "But to ease your discomfort, I will take off the armor. Just do not tell anyone back at the compound that I did, or the Satais and the Shai-Alyt will insist that we get married, just to save face from the dishonor!" "You are actually joking, Neroon. This is a side of you I don't get to see too often. I like it." "Thank you." "So, how do you get this thing off? I don't see any clasps or anything." She touched his armored chest. "Like this." He reached up to the neck, touched a hidden clasp, and peeled the armor open. "May I see it? It looks heavy!" "I am accustomed to the weight. I've worn it since I was promoted to Alyt seven years ago. You may inspect it, if you want to." He handed her the armor, and it must have weighed over 100 lbs. He laughed when she had to drop it. "Great Maker, Neroon, no wonder you're so grumpy all of the time. This stuff weighs more than I do! It must be like carrying another person around on your shoulders all the time." She looked at him. It was the first time she had ever seen him without the armor, and he looked decidedly different. Somehow smaller, but still as deadly. He wasn't tall, only about 5'10", and being without the armor gave him a naked look. Suddenly she blushed. "Terra?" "Let's get the food spread out, I'm starved after that swim!" When he saw what she had brought for him, she could tell he was pleased and flattered that she would go to the trouble. But when he saw the leh'and, he exclaimed, "Where in Valen's name did you get this? This is rarely allowed off of Minbar!" She smiled, pouring him some of the blue liquid. "The same place I got this." She held up the wine bottle. "From the cooks of our negotiators. Apparently the old boys like their favorite drinks close at hand." He sipped at the drink, obviously enjoying himself. When she offered him some more, he said, "If I didn't know better, I would think that you were trying to intoxicate me." "Oh, is it that type of drink? I didn't know. Sorry. You govern the amount you should have, then." She poured herself another glass of wine. Then picked up another piece of pickled flarn and popped it into her mouth. She had put on her hat again, but had not bothered to put her shorts back on. They ate in silence for awhile, just enjoying the beautiful surroundings. "So, how do you like the picnic, Neroon? Isn't it better than eating battle rations and getting hot sitting around in that armor?" "It is surprisingly enjoyable, Terra. Thank you for introducing me to the custom." The sun became hotter, and Terra looked at her fair skin. "I think I'm beginning to burn in the sun. Neroon, please hand me the lotion in the side of the case." He solemnly did as she asked. Then he watched her as she spread the white liquid over the exposed portions of her anatomy. "Wouldn't a UV shot be more efficient?" "Yes, but they take several days to reach full protection. Since this was a spur of the moment idea, I have to do it the old-fashioned way. Would you mind putting it on my back? I can't reach it." He hesitated a minute, then took the greasy bottle. She turned her back to him, pulled her hair braid to the front, and after a minute he started applying it. She could sense his amusement, and his erotic reaction to the task. His hands were callused from using the denn-bok, and she found she liked the feel of them on her body. Probably the wine, she thought, better lay off of it. When he finished, he took a deep breath to steady himself, and said, "There is something to say about maintaining the old ways." She started laughing, and turned to him with a smile. "Thank you." He looked at her, suddenly serious. "Terra, you know what Iím feeling right now." She nodded. The strong sexual vibes were like a heat wave coming from him. "I don't think this feeling is a cross-cultural misunderstanding. I wish to kiss you again, so much so that I am having a great deal of difficulty restraining myself. I know it is not right, but ..." She put her fingers over his lips to silence him. "Do you want me to put on some clothes? Would that help?" He laughed, reached for his glass of leh'and, and tossed it back. "I don't think that would help much at the moment." "Well, the lake is really cold, if you would like to take a swim. Cold water works to cool the, um, the ardor of human males." "I am not Human. Minbari males don't react the same way to cold. And I don't think it would help the situation at the moment for me to take off any more of my clothing, which I would have to if I wished to go in the lake." "I'll look the other way, if it is a modesty issue." "It isn't, at least not mainly. If I take away any more reminders of who and what I am, I am afraid that I may not be able to control myself or my feelings." She reached up and touched his face lightly. "You are the most controlled person I know, when you aren't losing your temper and being annoying, of course." That touch was the final straw. Neroon's tremendous self-restraint cracked and gave way to the deluge of his need, and he grabbed her to him and started desperately kissing her. She could feel his hunger, both through her gift, and through the contact of their bodies. Her needs matched his, as well, but she knew that she had to stop them both from committing a major mistake. "I need to breathe, Neroon, could you loosen your hold a bit?" After he did, she kissed him passionately, and sat up, out of his arms. "What?" "As much as I want you, all of you, and right now, Neroon, I can't let this go beyond what we've done." She picked up his anger, and his confusion, and continued, "My friend, it is still too soon after the war for this to be right. Physically, we may be able to give each other pleasure, but spiritually, well, there is a barrier of fifty thousand of my people's lives lying between my heart and yours. The wounds are still too fresh. I would not make that mistake with you." "I think I would settle for pleasure, at the moment." "You forget what I am, Neroon. I don't take casual lovers. If I made love to you, the bond that would form would be for life. And that cannot happen. Not until our peoples' wounds are healed." She looked down at the fire of passion in his eyes, in his body, that she knew was mirrored in her own. Here." She waved her hand, and reached into his body. Suddenly his physical need eased. "I can't do anything about the emotional ache, my warrior, but at least I can help with the physical need." The anger that erupted in his eyes tore her heart even more to pieces. "Did you think that the physical pain was the greatest? Do you really think that Minbari are such animals as to go meekly away if you take away theÖthe desire to mate?î Now he was growling at her. He looked down at the armor he was putting on, wrenched control of himself back to calm with massive willpower, then continued in a quieter voice. ěI...I am afraid itís too late for any small remedies. You came to Minbar with your hair of fire, your Valen-be-damned eyes the color of Earthís oceans, and your lips tasting of the salts from that place, and have torn my heart from my living chest! It will never be mine again. Once again you have dealt me a blow that I can't counterattack. You have the victory. Is that what you want?" She threw herself at him where he knelt. "Could you really think so poorly of me? In Valen's name, Neroon, pushing you from me is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Itís ripping my heart and my soul in two! I want you more than Iíve ever wanted anyone, ever. But you know in your heart that I am right. Too much is at stake for both our peoples." He nodded, and angrily stood up, dragging her up with him. Then he touched the tears on her cheeks. "Yes. You are. To proceed would compromise you, and thus hurt the peace talks. And there are those of your kind that I killed. I don't regret any of them. Maybe, someday, I can regret the taking of those lives, but for a warrior, I did my duty, nothing less." Part 4 - ending the picnic, back to the negotiations