Page 13 of Eat My Moon Dust
I thought of my spats and softened a little. “They’re alright.”
Zufi chuckled and poured me another drink. His smile faded as he took another sip of his own. “I’ll issue their visas for the next satbit, but I’m not budging on your contract, Hunar. You still have time to gain some ground on your… predicament. I expect to see results by the time I visit.”
He got to his feet, fingers flying over his holotab. Someone answered him as he spoke into the linguitor embedded behind his ear. “Pajri, issue three adolescent visas–yes, that’s them. You’ll coordinate with Delegate Fareshi on their vaccines and biometrics. Thank you.”
I stood with him, still cradling my liquor. In a smooth motion, I drank it down and set the cup on the corner of his desk. “When are you visiting?”
Zufi guided me to the doors. “Next week. I should pay my respects to Ezraji and hispriyabefore their brood is born, don’t you think?” Zufi opened the door, smiled at my spats, and ushered me out. “Good luck.”
My tendrils went slack, stunned, as the door shut behind me.
Next week?
Ssshit.
04
?HUNAR?
I’d planned on spending the weekend in a small unit for short-term rent so the spats could enjoy looking out at Kaca Falls. It wasn’t in the fanciest part of town, but the rusted balcony was overgrown with flowers and the cabinets were full of colorful handmade pottery instead of plas plates and bidents. It reminded me of the few things I remembered fondly from my own baan’s home, so even if it wasn’t perfect, it felt right.
But I’d had to swallow the loss to my credit cache and put us up in a hotel near Nilah Port instead so I could take care of visas, vaccines, security customs for all the luggage, and remove Corsa from my emergency contacts. We still had a view of the falls,technically,but we were so close that the window was sealed shut and mist doused the glass. A low rumble vibrated the walls from the force of the massive torrent, which meant that the walls and shelves were barren. The suite was as boring as spit.
I was beyond bitter. It had taken meweeksto settle on that ancient little unit. I’d wanted to make my visit special since Corsa hadn’t let the spats stay with me during my visits. She’d always said it was easier for them to sleep at home and spend the days out.
Now I recognized it for what it was though. A control tactic. She’d wanted to monitor what they thought of me, and what they told me.
At least Tahavir and Reha had stopped asking me where we were going on the second day when I told them they should let their friends and extended family know they’d be out of comm range for a while. Ladh, much more obedient than his brother and sister, hadn’t asked since we’d gone to Zufi’s office. But at that news, even his big blue eyes had flown open in shock. For the next several hours, I’d enjoyed a nap while they commed everyone they knew, gossiping about going off-world on an ISU vessel or maybe even to Dharatee…
If I weren’t so overwhelmed, I might have found dodging their questions and eavesdropping to be fun.
The next morning, Piro met us at the transpo, the crate of luggage already loaded. He was dressed from head-to-toe in the port’s lime green rubber coveralls to keep the worst of the falls’ mist from drenching his pilot’s uniform but pushed up his visor as soon as he saw us.
“Come on, everyone, before you get drenched!”
Piro waved my brood into the transpo with a holobaton that cut through the heavy water, all according to regulation.
The boy really was a by-the-book golden child.
“Can you tell usnow,Baan?” Tahavir asked, tossing off his poncho as the other two stomped their shoes on the grated floor. I collected all the rain gear, shoved it in a “Wets” bag and tossed it in an overhead net.
“Not until we’re out of civilian space, son,” I told him with the ghost of a smile. Could they see the dark rings beneath my eyes? I could feel them, heavy and weighing me down.
“He doesn’t want us snitching on our holotabs,” Reha pronounced, huffing into a seat. Ladh helped the others figure out how to put on their harnesses as Piro jogged up the ramp.
“Is there enough space? I collapsed the port-side seats last night so the crate would fit,” he asked quietly, locking the doors. I grunted in approval.
“Thanks,” I told him with a hiss of my mane. He pulled off his visor and hood and gave me a relieved smile as he unlatched the coveralls and let them drop to the floor.
“No problem,syali.”
“You go ahead and get the bird airborne. I’ll bag those up and check the lashing.”
Piro greeted the spats as he squeezed by, making sure he knew their names. When he asked Reha, she did a double-take, her mane scrunching up with embarrassment.
“Hi…” she managed, enthralled with his rare lavender coloring and bright, handsome smile. Reha’s speckled markings glowed just a touch of pink against her turquoise cheeks and tendril tips.
Oblivious, Piro checked her harness. “Make sure you’re strapped in, okay? This tarmac gets a lot of turbulence on takeoff.” The lieutenant pilot then bounded into the cockpit, grabbed the bar above the seat, and vaulted into place. Reha followed his every move, staring at the back of his head with a look of adolescent wonder.
