“This is the safest according to theMummer.We can’t get any closer without a covert elite up our asses. And if you’re worried about the vital pods, they can last months.”
“Why can’t we just hail the colony?” I asked.
“I can’t let theMummerget near it. Security risk.” Traveler tried to move on, rotating the hologram to highlight a section of our suggested route.
“Why not?”
The captain cut me with a sharp stare that melted into a smirk. “An old friend is the pilot on that covert ship in orbit. If she sees me, she’ll shoot me down and ask questions later. I know it’s the long way around, but at least the only real threat you have to worry about is Sizzle. Just scream my name when he tries to eat you, and you’ll be fine.”
Before I could press again, Fásach’s thick palm wrapped around my wrist and gave a gentle squeeze. I let the topic drop after that. Whatever Traveler’s reasons for not getting close to the colony, they were his own.
But they definitely didn’t involve a pissed off pilot.
“Come, we’re getting close. Time to tuck the little ones in for the journey and suit up.”
Traveler sauntered away, calling the girls over, and Fásach leaned into my ear, his hot breath tickling my curls. “How big of a deal is it that you gave him your code?”
“Oh…” A nervous lurch twisted my gut. “Well, it felt unnatural, but I was happy to pay. And theMummeris nice. I think they’ll take good care of it.”
Fásach bowed his head with a slow exhale. “Alright. I trust your judgment.”
Safia and Misila had spent their nights and naps sleeping in their pods, but their vitals were still elevated as we stood above them in the cargo bay. Fásach held them each to his sides while the pods warmed up.
“I want my stuffy,” Misila said, her little talons kneading a hole into the leg of Fásach’s pants.
“I’ll give it to you a little later, okay?” Fásach soothed, a chirrup in his throat. Misila’s mandibles quivered, close to crying.
I knelt down between the pods and extended my arms with a smile that felt the same as the ones the teachers in the colony used to greet the children on steamy jungle mornings.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I cooed to Misila first. “I have to charge every night, and it’s not so bad. And when you wake up, you’ll be somewhere new and exciting.”
“Renata?”
“Probably. Or maybe the jungle! Wouldn’t it be fun to see all those pretty leaves up close? If you sleep in the pods for a little bit, you get to miss the cold part.”
“Will we see flowers?”
“Definitely. I remember a lot of them in the colony. There’s also a river.”
Misila gasped. “Ofwater?!”
“Yep!”
Her cute, bifurcated mouth shut tight, wide eyes glistening. She gave me a hug and I kissed her brow plate before she crawled into her pod with determination. Once she was settled and nibbling on one of her talons like a human child sucking their thumb, she waved at her sister. “River, Safi! Think of the river!”
Safia let her dad push her forward. She gave me a hug that wasn’t nearly as excited as her younger sister’s, and said in my ear, “I’m scared.”
Fear… It was one of the reactions I could still turn on and off in my systems. That, and pain. I didn’t need to feel the negative things if I didn’t want to.
But everyone else here had no way of turning it off. A blip of music popped up in my LMem. Music that my father would play, that always made me feel comforted and at home. “If I sing you to sleep, will it help?”
Her mandibles fluttered, and I helped her into her pod as I uploaded the memories and prepared my speakers.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she said after fastening her own harness.
[Retrieving…] I smiled serenely, opened my mouth, and reggaetón blasted out of my speakers.
Everyone jumped. Safia raised her arms in surprise, and both sisters’ mandibles splayed wide in a gaping look of shock.