Page 16 of Relyn
The first thing she’d insisted on doing once she left the med bay had been to send a message to Earth, telling them that she was indeed alive, and filling them in with as many details as possible about the murder that she had witnessed. As it was a written message, she left out any real clear reason for why she’dbeen at the warehouse, or any mention of Marco at all. Without her there personally to advocate for him, Nora feared him being accused, rounded up and put in prison with the rest of them. Until she could talk with him and guarantee his safety, it was best to just avoid complicating things.
Nora also sent a note to the principal asking for leave, and then sent Lydia all of her access codes and lesson plans that she’d created to get the students through the next few days while they were hopefully finding a long term sub that was worth their salt. Then she told herself to relax. There was nothing more she could do from here. Nora felt that familiar guilt creeping up on her, the guilt that she always felt when taking any personal time off during the year. The kids would be learning nothing, and so many of them had no constants in their lives that seeing their teachers every day in school was the only thing that tethered them. She always made a point to tell them that her birthday was in July and she would not be disappearing in the middle of the year. Now she was gone. It wasn’t her fault, but that didn’t stop the pit in her stomach no matter how nice and welcoming everyone here was.
Meadow had obviously recruited a group to keep her busy, constantly dropping by and offering her different activities to do. Nora was pretty sure that Meadow was determined to change her mind about staying. She’d talked about the number of unattached Mahdfel that were due to arrive next month, and how Etlonians had a genetic predisposition to humans, or Terrans as they called them here. It did strike Nora as odd that every woman she’d seen appeared to be human here. Apparently their clan leader had been the first one to match with a human, and they’d liked her so much that they’d ticked that off on their preference box.
There was a beep at the door. Nora assumed it was yet another scheduled visit from the welcoming committee, butwhen she opened the door, a woman boldly stepped through and immediately began sizing her up. She was definitely not human. Her pale green skin seemed to match the Etlonians, but she had hair, lots of it, though it seemed thicker, almost like dreadlocks or tiny tentacles in a blue mop on her head. She peered at Nora through crystal sapphire eyes that suddenly turned purple. Nora blinked at her silently for a moment, forgetting any polite hellos. No she hadn’t been mistaken, because now they were emerald green and her hair was purple.
“I am Bright,” the alien announced. Yes. Yes she was, but Nora judged this to be her name, not a description of her physical appearance.
“Hi,” Nora said, waiting for some response.
“Yes, I think you will do,” the woman said after a moment.
“I will do what?”
“It was explained to me that you wish to go to Terra,” she said.
“They said that there wouldn’t be a ship here for another month or two,” Nora said.
“From Etlon. In a cruiser. They are fast and comfortable, but you must have enough power to pull the strings to get one. I think neither you nor I have such pull,” she said. “I do, however, have a daughter-in-law with a cargo ship that is much smaller, much less glorious and a lot slower, but it is here.”
Nora felt like there was a catch somewhere in this agreement. She just wasn’t sure what it was. “And your daughter-in-law is just going to take me home?”
“No,” Bright said, shaking her head, hair changing to blue and white as she did. “I will borrow the ship. It is not just you, but Wendy I will be escorting home. It was considered too costly a journey to send just one passenger home, but now we have two. There has also been a second flugle bloom and the warriors culled quite a number, more than enough for a cargo tosell for fuel. The journey will probably be net neutral, but I have been approached by more than one Terran demanding a product called chocolate. And Odette has requested certain plants that might fare better with someone who will care for them during their passage. Is chocolate widely available on Terra?”
Nora had no idea who Wendy was or what a flugle bloom was, but found herself trying to squelch the rising hope within her.
“Chocolate is a major flavor. It’s refined from the cocoa plant. How long do you think it will take to reach Earth, Terra?”
“I shall include cocoa on the list. If anyone can grow it, Odette can.” Odette Nora had heard of; she was the wife of the planet’s leader, though apparently they were on an extended vacation on Etlon One. “I believe the term the Terrans use is weeks. About six of them, Clover said, are needed to reach Earth.”
That would potentially cut her time away by half, and there was no guarantee when the ship from Etlon would arrive and if they would actually agree to take her home. Nora felt it was the thing that no one was really saying. Mahdfel law dictated that she was technically their property now, and despite her wishes, they might decide to keep her, or at least prevent her from going home in a prompt manner.
Nora didn’t know Bright, she didn’t know Wendy, but she did know that staying here on permanent vacation was getting her no closer to helping Marco or making sure Tommy rotted in prison for the rest of his miserable days.
“I’m in,” Nora said.
“Of course you are. I will come again when I have finalized all the details.” And with that, Bright left as suddenly as she had come.
Chapter 8
Relyn
Less than a day later, Relyn’s gamble paid off. A message appeared on his com. He was invited to a meal at the captain’s table. What he did not expect was to see the crate, blast dust and all, to be parked in the corner the moment he walked in.
Rutra’s quarters, the captain’s quarters were spacious and airy, the way that most on the ship were not. The ceilings were tall, and the windows provided a panoramic view of space as they flew by. The force shields on those alone cost more than a lifetime’s wages for some. Interior design was not Rutra’s forte. The whole room had been done up in a deep red and a garish purple that clashed with his own current skin color. The floor was covered in thick plush shaggy carpets with rings upon rings of the same two colors. Everything was highlighted with touches of kalite, a crystal that glowed bright white when charged.
Relyn had never been in Rutra’s quarters before, but he knew the layout after studying the plans of similar models. On the left coming into the door was his sleeping area, and off of that the master bathroom. On the right was a second bedroom, designed for guests, and an office, but both of those doors were closed. The middle of the suite was a flexible space that couldbe transformed for large gatherings, small intimate dinners, or whatever Rutra had programmed.
Currently, the right side had display cases full of objects that Rutra treasured, though without directly inspecting, Relyn could not tell what they were. In the center of the room, the floor sunk down and a large table was laid out with a plethora of shiny dishes and enough alcohol in the center to drown even Ketle’s sorrows. Rutra sat at one end, apparently having no qualms about starting his meal before his guest.
“Come in, come in. Sit down,” Rutra said.
Relyn proceeded down the steps to the chair opposite Rutra. As he sat, he noticed that the chair was built in such a way so that his seat was slightly lower than the captain. He was tempted to adjust his height as the captain had, to put them on equal eye levels, but he resisted. Let the captain win at his own game now, to lose later.
“We waiting on anyone else?” Relyn said casually as he helped himself to the bottle closest to him. He had no intention of giving Rutra the satisfaction of reaching across the table for the good stuff, all of which were positioned closer to the captain. His body didn’t really process the alcohol, anyway, so while Rel the Sangrin would enjoy getting drunk, Relyn would be clear headed no matter how much he drank. It was quite convenient for getting information out of pirates trying to drink him under the table. It was also rather fun to play drunk.
“I wanted to speak with you privately,” Rutra said.
