Page 12 of Eat My Moon Dust
The blood drained from my mane as my eyes sped over the basics.
These were applications formy job.
“I don’t understand,” I breathed, crushing the copper cup in my lower hands as I slid another resume across the holoscreen, hoping my eyes were deceiving me.
Zufi lounged back on his cushion, upper arms splayed against the top while he laced his lower fingers together over his lap. “Well, I’m not an engineer, so I thought you might have insight into your replacement.”
“My what?” I snapped, mane roiling with unease. Zufi’s brow creased.
“Your replacement?” He leaned forward, setting one pair of elbows on the edge of his desk. “Hunar, your contract is up in three weeks.”
“But it can be renewed,” I insisted, letting the holoscreens float back towards the center of the desk.
“I was under the impression you don’t plan to fulfill the renewal requirements.”
Realization hit me like a cold wave. The delegation’s original contracts required us to pursue romantic partnerships to see if humans could induce a coil. Ezraji Zarabi, the medical delegate, had proven they could, and now he and Dr Ahlberg, hispriya,were expecting spats. But when the humans in charge had found out about the fine print, they’d been livid. To keep the peace and salvage his diplomatic efforts, Zufi had agreed to take the clause out of our contracts.
Or so I thought.
“But… I thought the pursuit clause was removed. I approved an update to the terms of agreement months ago, and the other uncoiled delegates haven’t said anything about it.”
Zufi’s mane swayed back and forth with sympathy. “Special cases. Bajora is a test subject, and Piro’s family guarantees the media will behave as long as he’s in. Besides, he’s very diligent in his reports. The boy’s smitten with one of the human girls, so I’m expecting results.”
“But the update–”
“Stipulates that if you don’t meet the original terms, we’ll terminate your contract with the severance package we’d normally give you if we were at fault for the lapse. Going forward, there will be no pursuit clause.”
My jaw fell in utter disbelief. “Can I just sign the new contract then?” It seemed so obvious a solution, but before I’d even finished asking, Zufi pressed his lips together.
“I’m afraid not. It’s essential that I maintain a fair playing field.”
What hemeantwas that he still wanted delegates to pursue coils, but without saying the quiet part out loud. He didn’t want a paper trail or publicity to hang his laurels on. He just wanted fucking results.
Zufi leaned in with that oily politician charm they all had, and his tendrils reached out to me in sympathy across the desk. “The word is out now that humans aren’t gritty orange barbarians like theirfotozsuggested in previous research. I can find delegates that have the proper training to protect them without strong-arming desperate people.”
Wellthatfucking stung.
Screw civility. I guzzled the rest of my drink and slammed the cup down on the carpet.
“No. What you mean is you can find young men falling tendril over foot to coil with them without having to state it.”
Zufi opened his palms in agreement.
What was I going to do?Chudthi.
The spats were born seventeen years ago, and I’d immediately taken the highest paying position I could find, sold everything I owned, and visited during shore leaves. Corsa and my relationship degraded pretty quickly after that, and soon sleeping on the sofa turned into sleeping in bachelor dormitories instead. I didn’t know anything about having a permanent life in Samridve anymore. School, housing, a new job… All in three weeks? It was impossible unless I agreed to send them to a guardianship. Which I absolutely fucking refused.
“I came by to see if I could get visas for my brood,” I said, curling my lower hands into fists where he couldn’t see, hoping the tension would travel there instead of my tendrils. I licked the corner of my mouth, trying to twist my words into something meaningful. Something that could save us. “They’re a good age to integrate with the human children on a long-term basis.” I glanced at Zufi to see if that ambiguous claim would catch his attention. He watched me intently, mane stilled and focused. “And their mother and I split ways officially. I was hoping to make the situation more… permanent.”
Zufi was quiet for a heartbeat longer than was comfortable. He grunted thoughtfully, sitting back on his cushion, tapping one finger against his desk. “How many?”
Fuck me.“Two boys and a girl. Seventeen. Most of the human spats are about twelve. It equals out developmentally.”
He nodded slowly. “Right on the cusp of curiosity then.”
I winced. “Don’t remind me.”
He smiled, the first genuine expression I’d seen on him. Ever. “I have two broods myself. My oldest, all boys, are in their fifties now. The second set is in their thirties, finally. I don’t envy you.”
