Children of Sol

XIII. Rest and Relaxation

Cerule was a small, largely tropical water-world, the oceans broken up by floating cities, archipelagos, and beautiful beaches. Much of the planet's economy and revenue was either mining or tourism. In particular, the Ashguda Islands were highly populated, gleaming towers housing the embassies of the Trade Federation and Hegemony alike. The world was nominally under the control of the gavari, but the population was diverse and the Hegemony was allowed a significant presence in the area. Most of the mineral refining was oceanic in nature, great ships filtering the abundant precious metals out of the seawater. Other facilities were deep under the waves as they worked.

It was a beautiful sunny day when the Desperado touched down in the planetary bays in Ekshaaki City. A warm sea breeze greeted them, ruffling their hair and leaving them with the smell of tropical plants and oceanic spray. They weren't far from the beach at all, the vast ocean easily visible as blue to the west. Alyssa looked around. "It's pretty, at least."

The starport was a structure of silver metal and gleaming glass, square and blocky as was customary in gavari architecture. Their sense of aesthetic was inclined towards square or rectangular shapes, multicolored lights, and shiny surfaces. Appearances were very important in their culture, hence their attention to their fur. Shay had heard it said that a dull coat on a gavari was a sign of horrifying social misfortune, and that even outcasts preened as much as they could to avoid the stigma of an unkempt or patchy coat.

Naamah had decided to accompany the two humans and their zho'zhalai, leaving Bug and ADDie in charge of resupply. "I will need to obtain some replacement organs for Alyssa. Captain, perhaps it would be beneficial for you and Leraje to accompany me? I am certain that Shay can keep Alyssa from inciting a riot or similar mischief. We have twenty four hours before our meeting with the Hegemon. I believe downtime is warranted after our misadventures on Nirvana and before." The gavari spoke softly, but something about their tone suggested that the renegade and their captain should not refuse.

Kgosi nodded. "Sure." He looked over at Shay and Alyssa. "Try not to burn anything down, you two. I want to be able to come back here if I ever make enough money to take a vacation from my own damn crew."

Alyssa gave him a lazy salute. "Aye aye, Cap. C'mon, Shay. I love Bug to pieces, but I think I need a vegetable that ain't been fried."

Shay watched the other three go. Part of her was still worried about leaving Kgosi and Naamah with Leraje. If Alyssa was right about the rogue zho'zhala, what would happen to the Captain and their doctor? Not that there was much Shay could do about it even if she were there, of course. "Do you think they will be alright?"

"Cap's got his shit locked down. If anybody can handle our resident turncoat if she goes nuclear, it's him." Alyssa nudged Shay in the ribs gently. "C'mon. I ain't gonna get any less hungry the longer we wait."

The sensitive smiled despite the fact that her concerns were still lingering. "So, vegetables?"

Her patchwork friend nodded as they started walking. They stayed close together as they walked, almost shoulder to shoulder. It was a busy enough street that they could be jostled or lose each other. "I didn't get 'em much as a kid, growin' up in the belt. Ain't like you get a lot of greens growin' on asteroids. I was born on Anteros. It's one in the Sol system. Real rich, lotta money in it. Not that you'd know it from my parents' paychecks. So y'know, I like to get some green stuff when I can."

It was a reminder to Shay that despite the fact Alyssa was an open book, she didn't know much about her friend's history. "Why did you leave the belt?"

Alyssa laughed. "Trust me, jitterbug, there are a lot of reasons to want the hell off those asteroids. Ain't nothin' there but rocks and ore. Soon as I could, I signed up. You ain't seen the ads, but recruitin' was a big deal when the war was on. Join the Earth's navy, so you can travel the galaxy, meet interestin' people, maybe blow stuff up. Sweet deal, 'cept I got stuck in the engine room since I knew my shit."