CHAPTER 11
Selene sat on Koal’s shuttle, watching him interact with her mother. God, how she hated that man. It was because of him that she was on the run on Lortex Station all those weeks, scrounging and scraping for food. If he’d just left her alone… she’d have never left Earth. Of course, she’d have never met Korban either. The thought of never having met him made her chest ache.
Koal sat with one arm protectively around her mother. He was a hottie, she’d have to give him that one. In fact, they looked like the perfect couple. How could someone so young and hot look fatherly? Maybe it was simply that he was with her mother. Clearly, that was all it took for Mr. Hottie to become Mr. Dad in her screwed-up, convoluted world.
Selene knew that her behavior had been reprehensible towards her mother. It further embarrassed her that she’d lost it after being the one to invite her all the way out into the middle of nowhere.
It was obvious to Selene that Korban couldn’t keep her safe. He couldn’t even keep himself safe. She’d had to sacrifice herself to keep them from destroying his vessel. Shit, everything was a complete mess. Resting her face in her hands, she wished the floor would open and gobble her right up.
Before she could think of filling the stilted silence growing by the minute between them, the shuttle docked with Koal’s freighter. It felt like coming full circle for Selene. She was right back where she started two years ago. Truthfully, she wouldn’t have recognized Koal by sight. He was so rarely in her presence and paid absolutely no attention to her personally. She vaguely remembered her first few months in space. A female attended to her. A nice woman who couldn’t understand a word she said. All the frustration of being unable to communicate with them came flooding back.
The first thing that caught her notice when they boarded the freighter was that everyone spoke English in their presence, no matter if they were speaking to each other or to them. For that to happen, Koal had to have had each one of them take the neural download. It boggled her mind that they all simply fell into line that way.
Heading straight to the captain’s quarters, they barely stopped a moment to catch their breath. Koal’s quarters were easily as lavish as the royal palace. Before Selene had time to take it all in, her sisters came running up.
Amie threw herself at Koal, who quickly picked her up and let her bury her face in his neck like a tiny scared animal. The little girl had some type of small fury pet clutched in the crook of her arm. Amie was not even born when Selene had been taken from Elaine, who had been widowed for around five or six months and pregnant barely longer than that. Selene decided to let her be and focus on the more curious of the two.
Emily had been around six and a half the last time Selene saw her. Now she was the curious nine-year-old who always spoke to her on holo-vid. They both looked like they were thriving.
“Koal says you married that smarty pants with the silver crown.”
“We’re not married quite yet. Even if he is a little on the pompous side, I like him anyway.”
“Koal says he is really nice too.”
As she spoke, he gestured them towards a seating area.
“I’m sure Koal’s right about a lot of things. How do you like living on a ship?”
“It’s a lot better than living in a dome or a cave, that’s for sure.”
“I heard things were really rough on Earth. That’s why I wanted you to come and live with me, but now it seems like you already found a nice place.”
The little girl lay on her stomach, swinging her feet a little. “I guess. We’re getting more bugs for the lab, so that’s good. Oh, and you didn’t meet Charlie.” Turning upside down, she looked under the settee, coming out with a huge bug. She proudly held him up. “This is Charlie. I’m supposed to keep him in his habitat but he don’t like that very much. You can pet him, but watch out for the pinchers; they’ll get you.”
“You have a bug for a pet?” Selene could hardly keep the shock off her face.
“Yep, Mom says I’m obsessed with bugs. I’m not though. I only like the ones with exoskeletons.”
Understanding lit her face. “I see. Bugs are kind of your thing.”
“What’s not to like about bugs? They’re great.” Cutting her eyes sideways at Koal, she murmured. “Koal doesn’t even try to have any loose on the ship. He thinks they’ll eat through wiring and crap.”
Selene smiled indulgently. “Let me guess. You think every ship could do with a few more bugs, but only if they have exoskeletons?”
“You got that right, sister.”
Elaine smiled and Koal did this strange little flipping thing with his head. Maybe it was their version of laughing, joy, or happiness. He was busy playing with the little one and looked up to find her eyes on him.
“Do not concern yourself, Lady Selene. It took Amie but a short time to warm to me as well. She is more comfortable in the secret garden. Perhaps the girls could show you the way there.”
Emily jumped up and tucked her huge beetle under her arm. Selene watched its pinchers grabbing for something to clamp down. The little one was careful enough to avoid its claws. What a strange pet.
“Do not put the animals in the refreshing pool.”
“Aww, Koal.”
Elaine joined in the conversation. “You know the rules. No animals of any kind in the refreshing pools. You two are on the honor system.”
Emily kicked the toe of her boot into the flooring. “We won’t put them in there. Scout’s honor.”
Soon the girls headed the way down a long corridor.
“What’s the secret garden?”
“You’ll see. Koal made it for us. It’s just for family.”
Selene watched Amie smash her pet’s face up against the scanning pad and the door popped open. Glancing at Emily, she must have looked confused.
“Koal said it was okay, cause her hand is too small to scan. She really wanted to scan Buster’s face. It looks strange but it doesn’t hurt him.”
“Accommodating guy, that Koal.”
They slipped into the most beautiful garden that Selene had ever seen. There were rows after rows of flowers, hedges, and vines climbing several large trees. “Where did all this come from?”
They wandered all around, smelling flower after flower. “Every ship has a seed bank. It’s supposed to preserve all the plants from their home world. Koal took out some to make this garden. These are all from his world that got destroyed when their sun went supernova.”
“You’re quite knowledgeable.” The little one finally came up, plopped down on Selene’s lap, and played with her pet. It felt nice to finally get some attention.
“They teach us all about stuff like that in class. I like the classes on space and different cultures. Since you ended up with prince smarty pants, I’ve been learning about the Krylon home world. They have some messed up ideas. They don’t trust anybody.”
“I noticed that. I guess that’s why two of them are standing outside this door right now. I’m not supposed to go anywhere by myself.”
“I’m glad that I have freedom.”
“I’m free. You’re just a kid.”
“A kid who can go anywhere on this ship I want by myself. As long as I got this and this, I’m safe.” She touched a tiny bottle around her neck and held up her hand. “I can scan any door on the ship open with this hand right here. If I get hurt, I just take a swig of this and I’m right as rain.”
Selene noticed a similar tiny bottle around Amie’s neck. “Aren’t you ever afraid?”
“Of what? Everyone here’s been nice to us, even the other kids. This is Koal’s ship and we’re his family. If you think anyone would mess with us, you are crazy. Some people think he’s scary, but he’s really a pushover.”
“Doesn’t he ever get irritable or disappear on you?”
“Sometimes. When he gets irritable, we just play a game and he forgets whatever’s bothering him. When he’s gone a long time, I ask the computer where he is and go looking for him. I found him asleep at his desk on the bridge one day. Another day he was knee deep in some negotiations with an ugly squid-like person over units of algae or something.”
“They’re Tardazian, not squid people. I used to call Candorians fin heads.”
The little girl shot her a look of disapproval. “They don’t like that.”
“There are several species with tentacles. The Tardazian are the only ones that don’t leave mucus behind when you shake hands with them.”
“Interesting. You know the Shardon are a little wonky too. They can’t tell a lie.”
“I know. It’s why I trust them.”
“I don’t think that’s true of all of them. Even the ones who can’t lie can still be deceitful. Koal concludes every negotiation with them by asking what they haven’t told him. Funny thing is, they just come right out with whatever they tried to hide from him.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
“So, where’s this bug lab of yours.”
“It’s called an entomology lab. It’s not mine. It belongs to the ship. We’re getting more bugs though.”
“I remember you saying that earlier. That must be exciting.”
The young girl grinned. “Only for those of us who like them. Everybody else thinks we’re outta our minds.”
“Well I can see you’re absolutely bug crazy.”
“Koal ordered me a new form suit with bug designs. Can’t wait to reach Krylon Five. There is a lady there that makes them in every color.”
“Koal takes good care of you, doesn’t he?”
“He’s nice. I like it here better than any other place I’ve ever been. I feel bad for them because they don’t have a home world anymore. Koal really misses not being able to live under the sea. It’s why the symbol of his house is an underwater scene. See, it’s here on my bottle.”
“I can tell, you feel bad for him.”
Shrugging, the little girl scanned her hand again. As soon as they stepped into the entomology lab, several scientists looked up.
“Some of your new specimens got delivered today by Terillian shuttle. They’re super quick.”
Selene replied. “They can’t turn their heads though. Makes it easy to give them the slip.”
Emily looked concerned. “Avoiding them is no way to get your stuff delivered.”
“Couriers of the galaxy, are they?”
“You’ve been out here for years. How can you not know that?”
Shaking her head, Selene muttered. “For the majority of that time, I was the package, not the person waiting for their merchandise.”
“Sorry to hear. I don’t know who you are, but Captain Koal has been known to give sanctuary to those in need.”
Gritting her teeth, Selene snarked. “Don’t get me started on Captain Koal.” Catching herself, she smiled brightly. “So, what new and interesting bugs did you get delivered?”
Sounding disappointed, Emily plopped her beetle on the counter. “Little ones. I thought they’d be larger from the pictures.”
“Where did you get that?” The woman looked shocked.
Selene interjected smoothly. “Haven’t you heard? Charlie here was a gift from Captain Koal.”
The woman picked up the jumbo-sized beetle. “Well, Charlie is a female and she is getting ready to lay about a hundred eggs. Also, you might want to be aware that a specimen like this is extremely rare. I’ve seen specimens half this size go for a thousand credits each.”
Emily danced a little jig as she sang an impromptu jingle. “I’m getting a hundred gigantic beetles. I’m going to be the beetle queen.”
The woman shook her head. “Captain Koal is not going to allow you to keep a hundred of these things.”
Emily stood with one hand on her hip, pouting. “Will too.”
“He will not, young one.”
“He’s my dad.” The smirked little look on her face was adorable.
Selene intervened. “Think of how rich you’d be if you sold them all. You could buy one of every bug in the galaxy.”
Emily’s face brightened, as she watched the woman put Charlie into a glass hatchery.
She smiled at the lady. “Sorry. I got a little greedy there for a minute. My sister and you are right. We can’t keep a hundred of these things. They take up way too much space and what if they all started breeding? We’d be chasing them down morning, noon, and night.”
The woman smiled indulgently. “Maybe you could keep a good breeding pair and sell off the rest. Then you’d have a little money maker to keep you in bugs.”
“And clothing with bug designs. Don’t forget that.” Selene chimed in that reminder for good measure.
“Is everything well, little one?”
“Sure is, Kre. Where’s Jalona?”
Selene turned to see Ambassador Kredor. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I can’t believe it’s you in the flesh.” Selene gave him a quick hug.
“You look well, Lady Selene. I’m sorry about that unfortunate business with the Shardon raiders. “Thanks be to the gods, you’re here with us now.”
“Except now I’m right back where I started.”
“We struggled with what to do with you when you came aboard to sign your contract.”
“I wasn’t signing up to leave the solar system.”
“Everything happened so fast. I negotiated a mining contract with Earth and before we could get the operation set up, your ozone layer collapsed. Captain Koal was very leery of taking you but I advocated that if we sent you back, your chances of survival would be minimal. I looked around for another similar mining operation and found that one was operational on the Sylon home world. Once Prince Korban saw you, he was insistent upon meeting you. I could hardly fault him for that. I thought it better to have a new home with a prince than a life of hardship on Earth. I did negotiate that you would be given a choice in your resettlement. Korban agreed that if you didn’t take a liking to him, he would settle you on your world of choice.”
“Well, when you explain it all like that, it sounds real considerate. Could you not have just communicated that to me? We could have used that computer thingy that we used to negotiate the contract.”
“I was worried about your fragile mental health. We decided for the prince to explain that to you in person, once you reached your destination.”
“Thought I’d flip out on everyone, didn’t you?”
“Yes. That was a great concern.”
“I probably would have. Thanks for trying to help me. I know you did your best.”
“I remain at your service, Lady Selene.”
Amie was falling asleep, so Selene scooped her up and made her excuses before heading back to the captain’s quarters.”
Emily tapped on the glass, giving her beetle a good night kiss. Turning, she scooped up her sister’s snoozing little pet. “Buster never lasts much longer than Amie. These two were meant for each other.”
As they stepped out of the room, Tref and Shafra shimmied into view.
“What’s up with the invisible guards?”
“They’re my friends. Lady Shafra was an imperial princess but disavowed the imperial family to seek a life of action and adventure.”
“Wow, that sure sounds like fun. Does the big warrior belong to her?”
“His name is Commander Tref and they belong to each other.”
“That’s kind of romantic. Do they kiss? I only ask cause Koal don’t even know what kissing is.”
“I try not to pry into their personal business. You shouldn’t either. They’re going to be traders, like Captain Koal.”
“They should hang out here. Koal could teach them all the best places to trade. He even has a special place where he buys shuttles and ship parts. They sell freighters there too. I’ve seen them.”
“He took you to a junkyard?”
“Shipyard. It’s not the same thing at all. You don’t get out much, do you?”
Selene shook her head. “You’ve had a lot of interesting experiences in a few short weeks.”
“Koal says I’m an adrenaline junkie like him. That’s why he takes me to all the good places. Sure beats hanging around on Earth, getting sun and wind burned.”
“I’ll agree with you about that, sister.”
“About what?”
Elaine’s question caught her off guard. Selene hadn’t realized they were back until she walked over the threshold. Handing over the little one to her mother, she noticed Emily walking off towards a reflecting pool. Pulling off her clothing, she stepped into the water. Selene walked over.
“Strange water. What are you doing in there?”
Selene reached out to touch the water but Emily warned. “No touching. You weren’t invited.”
Tilting her head, Selene asked curiously. “Can’t you just invite me?”
“It is Koal’s water. He has to invite you.”
“Forgive me, I have been remiss. Lady Selene, my water is your water. Please enjoy yourself anytime you like.”
Nodding, she rolled up her pants and stuck her legs in.
Koal tossed his head happily. “You are so very like your mother, Lady Selene. She only put her feet in the first time she visited as well.”
“Well, you managed to win her over in the end.”
“As Prince Korban did you, Lady.”
“That stuff I said back on the raider. I didn’t mean it. Well, I meant it when I said it. After taking to Emily and your ambassador, I know how wrong I was. Can you forgive me?”
Touching her cheek gently, he spoke with a quiet dignity. “Because your mother has captured my heart, you will always be a daughter of my heart. Know that come what may, you can count on me to advocate for your needs and fight at your side if need be.”
“My sister’s right. You really are a big old softie.”
“I believe that is a compliment.”
Nodding she smiled at him.