His eyes opened, as the last waters of the fugue ebbed away. His gaze drifted from the ceiling, to the fire, to Julie’s partially naked form. And he knew, not logically, but in his heart, that the quarx was telling the truth and that he had, really, no choice.
For a few moments, he just gazed at Julie and let his troubled feelings revolve through his mind. Finally he sat up and climbed carefully over her to stand beside the bunk. He checked his pants pocket and made sure that Charlie’s stones were still there; then he went to Julie’s comm terminal and began quietly typing.