Star Trader Update .012

.012.01

There really was a negotiation job for Arr on Ukhra. He eventually succeeded in creating a treaty that both parties could live under. The trip back to the refitting station where the guys left the Calpernia was leisurely. They did not have another job lined up yet. I was still looking for something simple. I didn’t need a challenge right now. I was still recovering – not so much of body, the body was pretty much healed, more of mind. I was still having nightmares.

Two days before we arrived at Refitting Station Delta I found a cushy little job shuttling a diplomat around for three months while he re-negotiates treaties with the planets in his solar system. Cassie and I checked out his Bio on the NET and he looked good to both of us. We took on the job contingent on the fact that we all liked each other’s company after the first stop.

Now it was time to say our good-byes.

Jake pulled me into a big bear hug and planted a kiss on the top of my head.

“Contact us if you need anything,” he offered, “or even if you just want to talk.” He squeezed me tight and then released me. “You take care.”

“The same back at ya,” I said.

Arr hugged me. “See you sooner rather than later,” he said with a smile.

I hugged him back. “I will miss you two.”

When I stepped back to get in my pod and found Kay-o standing at my heels. I slipped him a handful of the red raspberry goo chews from my pocket. It seemed every outfit I had contained at least a few stray candies that hadn’t made it to the Dar-dolf yet. He scarfed them down and nudged my hand for more. I felt around and found one more candy. I handed it over and patted his head.

“You be good,” I instructed. As if that would happen – then again, he had saved our lives by leading Tim and the Ukhra search party to us. I gave him a hug around his big ruffed neck, than stepped back into the pod.

I waved as I pulled out.

On my own again.

Just me and my nightmares.

 012.02

Councils. Contracts and Confusion

Attalla is drop dead gorgeous. He is the kind of man that turns women’s heads. Over six-six if he is an inch, he makes me feel small. He has wavy, close cropped, jet black hair with just a touch of silver at the temples. Not white. Not gray. Shiny silver. He is clean shaven which makes it easy to see the dimples that appear so readily when he smiles. And he smiles a lot. When you first look at him you think he has dark eyes – maybe blue, maybe green, but when you get close enough you realize he has one sapphire blue eye and one emerald green eye. His gaze is mesmerizing up close.

When he came aboard my ship it was all I could do to keep my mouth from gapping open. His attire consists of tight black leather pants, knee high boots and a long tunic style vest, sans shirt. His skin was a lovely shade of bronze, but his well-muscled chest, with a dense layer of curly jet black hair is the first thing I saw and could hardly draw my eyes away from it in order to greet him properly.

“Welcome aboard Ma-rye-a.” I extended my hand.

He took it in his and placed his other hand firmly, just above my wrist. I must admit I wished we had known each other well enough that he would have pulled me into a hung like Jake or Tim do when we meet. What would it be like to nuzzle into that mat of chest hair? Wow!

“Thank you for agreeing to shuttle me around for the next few months. I will try not to be a bother.” He released my hand. “I have a confession though,” he said dropping his eyes to a small leather pouch that hung at his waist. “I am so used to her that I forgot to tell you about my girl.”

I stood silently baffled until he reached into the pouch and pulled out a mahserg. It was curled into a ball and had been asleep until he touched it. When she uncurled, I saw that she was a white tuffed, ringtail. Her hair curled up in long white swoops off the tips of her rounded ears, her nose was white and her tail ringed in black and white. The rest of her body was coal black.

“3su, this is Chee.” Her body wasn’t anymore than about 6 inches long, but her tail was at least that length again. She opened one huge, lazy, brown eye and blinked sleepily at the bright lights in the bay. “She’s nocturnal, so she is a bit lazy right now.” Attalla stroked her belly with his finger. She rolled in his hand to expose it further for his touch and her long tail fell over the edge of his palm. “She’s totally ship broken, quiet and doesn’t eat much.”

“She is adorable,” I said. “I have a friend who bought one for her son, but it’s brown. It seemed very affectionate.”

“She is,” he assured me. “The good mahsergs are hand raised like her and really want to be with a person. They become very dependent.”

“May I?” I asked as I reached over to stroke her.

“Sure.” He held her out to me in his palm.

I touched her head and ran my finger all the way down her back and the length of her tail. She was so soft. When I went to stroke her a second time she reached out and clutched my finger with her tiny, padded fingers. I let her pull it to her nose and felt her breath as she gently sniffed my finger.

“Once she has your scent, she will remember you always,” Attalla said. “I have had her since I was very young and she remembers all my friends and who carries the best treats.”

I patted the pockets of my jacket and found a stray Goo Chew. I held it up for Attalla’s okay. Kayo thought they were the best maybe Chee would like the treat too. I knew I had a left over bag in the galley if she took a liking to them.

“She will be your friend for life,” he said with a smile that showed those fetching dimples of his. “She loves sweets.”

I handed her the candy which she took without hesitation and immediately stuffed it in her mouth whole.

“So what does she eat besides red raspberry goo chews? I should take on whatever it is before we move out of orbit.”

“No need, she’s been with me so long that she basically will eat whatever I eat,” he explained as he carefully returned Chee to her pouch. “If we are planet bound for any length of time I usually let her hunt. Fresh insects are a treat for her. I think she likes the chase as much as the food though.”

Well, wasn’t this nice. He was not only good to look at, but he had a gentle, caring nature or he wouldn’t have a mahserg. They were a pet you didn’t take lightly. They lived very long lives and, as he said, became extremely attached to their owners. It was not unusual for the mahserg to die if its owner died. They were not a pet you could pass on. They were a commitment.

“Sam will take care of bringing your things to your room,” I said. “Let me give you a tour of the ship and introduce you to my crew.”

“Your NET ad said you were independent,” Attalla said “and sole owner of the Ma-rye-a.”

“That’s right, but I have an AI crew that you will need to interact with while you are aboard.” I turned toward the bay camera. “Sam, this is Ambassador Attalla,” I introduced.

“Welcome aboard, Sir,” Sam responded.

Attalla smiled and bowed at the camera. “Nice to make your acquaintance, Sam.”

“Sam is my security and maintenance man,” I explained. “Sam can you see that Attalla’s bags are moved to the guest room?”

“They’ll be there in a jiffy, Cap,” Sam snapped. A loader pulled out from the corner to start moving the bags unto its platform.

“Very nice,” Attalla said in admiration. “Thank you, Sam.”

“No problem,” Sam piped back.

“He is very interactive,” Attalla commented as we walked toward the bay door into the ship.

“Wait till you meet the rest,” I said proudly. My crew was the best. People were always impressed with them. I had to admit Daniel was a genius even if I was still pissed enough to kill him for his last prank.

*****

012.03

Attalla and I proceeded to the bridge first. I like starting out with a view and Ma-rye-a doing her thing. I just introduce her and she takes over the instruction of where things are (displaying her virtual 3D map – she likes to show off her hi-res), how things work, security, and emergency procedures. She also sets up the protocols for the doors, lights and air.

“Thank you, Ma-rye-a,” Attalla said. “I had no idea you were so well equipped.”

“My pleasure, Attalla,” Ma-rye-a oozed. She loves compliments on her systems. Attalla had already told her she could drop the diplomatic title.

“Another cup of tea?” Moby asked.

“No thank you, Moby,” Attalla replied. “But I think Chee would love another piece of your excellent scones.” A scone appeared in the prep unit at his elbow. Attalla broke off a small bite and handed it down to Chee in her pouch at his waist. She pushed the whole think in her mouth at once which made her cheeks puff out an either side. “Little bites,” Attalla said. She took it out and nibbled slowly, half asleep, but unwilling to give up the treat. “You keep cooking like this Moby and I’ll have to make a bigger pouch for Chee.”

“You think that is good, wait until you taste 3su’s cooking,” Moby bragged. My face turned a pale shade of red.

Attalla turned to me. “You cook too?”

“I like to take on fresh stores when I have someone to cook for. It’s no fun cooking for just one,” I explained. “Nothing fancy, just fresh.”

He smiled at me and I swear I started to melt. Those dimples.

“Let me show you to your room.” I stood up and led him to the guest quarters. “Cassie and I did some rearranging since we knew you would be onboard for a long stay,” I said as we proceeded down the hall.

We came to the door off the hall and I palmed it open. He stepped into the large room. We had moved one of the beds out into storage in the bay so we could install a desk and two nice conform chairs with a table in between. Sam installed a prep unit for nighttime cravings, good reading lights and some additional ports to the NET. Attalla could access data from his chair, bed or even the bathroom.

“Do you like it?” Cassie asked. “We looked on your profile to find your color preferences,” she explained. We had redone it in earth tones with shades of green liberally spread throughout the room.

“Attalla, meet Cassie, the last of my crew,” I introduced. “She’s my interior designer, web surfer, clothier, and confidant.”

“Pleased to meet you, Cassie.” I noticed Attalla made a point of always turning toward the cameras in the room when he addressed one of my crew. Most people just talked to the thin air wherever they happened to be. The crew could, and would, work with that, but they appreciated someone with the good manners of Attalla.

“It is a pleasure,” Cassie said. “We hope you will consider this your home-away-from-home.”

*****

012.04

Passing by Attalla’s door this morning I glimpsed him exercising. I had to stop and gap for a moment. He is sooooooo fine. He was on the treadmill built into the floor of his room with the virtual helmet on, so he didn’t even know I was there. Probably running in some field somewhere, or maybe a cross country course; Ma-rye-a downloaded a selection of programs for the helmet when we found out from his Bio that he loved running.

He was running without a shirt. He doesn’t seem to own any that I have seen. He must have been running for at least an hour already because his body was shiny with sweat. His bronze skin almost glowed.

It is not my policy to eavesdrop on a guest, but I couldn’t help myself.

“He’s yummy, huh?” Cassie whispered over the com.

“Shh,” I warned.

“It’s okay,” Cassie assured me. “He’s running on the beach of Licaira to the Symphony of the Bells.”

I pulled my eyes from Attalla and continued on down the hall to the galley where I was headed to fix us some lunch.

“Ma-rye-a? Can you download some more Zealichma for us to listen to at lunch?” I asked. If he liked the Symphony of the Bells perhaps he would like other works by the same composer.

“Will do, 3su,” she replied.

“And Cassie?”

“Yes,” she said.

“I agree, he is yummy.”  I proceeded to the galley with a smile on my face like a wave on a mud hole.

*****

012.05

I was chopping up vegetables for a salad and listening to Symphony of the Bells at an ear splitting volume when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I had a quick flash of Klaid grabbing me from behind and my adrenaline roared in my head. I spun around with the knife in my hand - instinct and fright taking over.

Attalla back away immediately.

“I’m sorry,” he yelled over the music.

“Ma-rye-a, mute,” I ordered.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he apologized at a more reasonable volume now that the music was gone.

“Not frightened, just startled.” I lowered the knife. “I don’t usually threaten my guests,” I apologized.

“I’ll try not to sneak up on you again,” he said. He moved a little closer to show that he trusted me not to stab him. He reached in the salad bowl and pulled out a piece of carrot. “It’s been a while since I’ve had fresh produce. This will be a treat.” He popped it in his mouth.

“Have a seat. It will be ready in a minute.” I went back to chopping.

“I like Zealichma too,” he said.

“Ma-rye-a, bring the music back up to background volume,” I ordered.

The symphony flowed through the galley. I put the salad on the table along with the dressings, bread and cheese platter.

“What would you like to drink?” I asked.

“This looks like a good compliment to wine if you have any.”

“Two wines coming up.” I went to the cooler and pulled out an excellent white Zellott that someone gave me as a perk from a former job. I hadn’t gotten around to drinking it. I didn’t go in for drinking alone. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I figured if I got that started, I wouldn’t be able to get it stopped.

I placed the glasses on the table.

“Allow me.” Attalla took the bottle and opened it.

He knew the routine. He poured me a little and allowed me to taste and approve the wine. It was a good vintage. I was glad I had it to offer. He sat back down and we spent the next two hours talking over a leisurely meal.

It was heaven.

*****

012.06 

It’s been just a little over a week and things have settled into a routine aboard ship.

Attalla spends the mornings in his quarters. He remains social during this time, his door is always open and I am pleased to say he is a neatnik – his bed is always made. He passes the morning hours at his desk doing whatever diplomats do on the NET. He looks up every time I pass and we exchange greetings. The late morning he spends on the treadmill running helmeted to one of the vids Ma-rye-a downloaded for him. After that, he showers and joins me for lunch.

I have found he works up quite an appetite running and prefers his big meal in the middle of the day. He likes a lighter meal in the evening, which is fine with me.

Afternoons I spend with my crew going over items of interest both regarding the ship and current Verse affairs. Sometimes Attalla joins us. Sometimes he goes back to his quarters to resume his work on the NET.

After dinner, we might play games, talk or watch vids in the lounge. When Chee’s stomach wakes her from her daily slumber she emerges from her pouch. Attalla feeds her what he has put aside for her during the day. If anything is tossable, he will throw it for Chee to scamper or lunge after. I have seen her leap up to ten feet to capture a flying nut. It is like she has springs in her legs.

Once she is finished with her meal she starts to investigate every nook and cranny in whichever room we are in. Doesn’t make any difference that she has done it the night before, it is all new to her. I have taken to leaving empty boxes out in the kitchen rather than putting them immediately in the incinerator. She delights in any receptacle she can climb into. When she couldn’t find anything at first, she would curl up in the fruit bowl on the table.

Once Chee has looked over everything thoroughly within the room she settles down on Attalla’s chest, curled up in a nest of his chest hair, her tiny hands wrapped in his curls. I breathe deeply at this point and wish I was a mahserg.

*****

012.07

I was lying in a field of grass spotted with fragrant wild flowers. Attalla was leaning over me and I raised my hands to run my fingers through the curly, black hair on his chest. He smiled down at me and pulled me up into his arms.

Then everything went nasty. I heard the material at the back of my shirt rip and felt a forked tongue slide up the side of my throat. I pulled back and it was Klaid. He had his knife in his hand. He smiled at me showing his fangs. I screamed and struck out at him. I couldn’t get away. He had me firmly gripped in his massive hands.

“It’s okay. Easy there,” Attalla soothed. “It’s just a dream.”

I woke up struggling against Attalla. We were in the lounge and he must have pulled me into his lap during my nightmare, because he had his arms wrapped around me.

“Is she all right?” Ma-rye-a asked in a worried tone.

“She’s been having these nightmares since she returned from Ukhra. There was…”

I cut Cassie off. “Cassie, silent mode.” Cassie’s program instantly went quiet. “Ma-rye-a, attend to your ship’s duties,” I said dismissively.

“As you wish, Captain,” Ma-rye-a answered in a shallow voice.

“They were just worried about you,” Attalla said.

I scooted out of his lap. As much as I would have liked that earlier in the evening, in the mood I was in now, I needed to be alone. How could I have fallen asleep during the vid? This was embarrassing.

“I am sorry,” I said.

“No need to apologize,” Attalla countered. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” I answered a little too loudly. “I will see you in the morning.”

I tried my best to keep from crying before I was out of his sight. I literally ran to my quarters. I fell on the bed, my body still shaking from the after affects of the nightmare. I buried my head in my pillow to muffle the noise of my sobbing. I hated the dreams. They were so real. So vivid. So haunting.

I could seek out an Antar. They could rid me of the memories associated with Klaid, but that would mean that I would lose those memories of Jake and Arr’s caring gestures and the growth of our friendship that came from being caught in those days with Klaid. I would lose the recovery time, the imagining chamber trip to Olympus and Jake’s fumbled pass. I wasn’t willing to give up that closeness we had experienced. That connection.

I pulled my body into a tight fetal position and cried myself to sleep.