Broken Flyght – Chapter 15

I have three more hours before I need to meet Jinzo for lunch. Instead of wandering the casino floors and the neighborhood for Tomu, I catch a ride to the Amagi to meet our new Flyght client before I find Marcelo at his airdock.

Transporting a wife, one of her husbands, and their collection of art to Ossun should be a cinch. A hell of a lot easier than transporting pigs and strange boxes that attract the wrong kind of attention. My skin crawls remembering the way that Customs official walked around the box and kept his eyes on it. Gai Reis wants me to do business with him again soon, and I’m wondering if it will be worth it. If I get another box, will I feel okay with it being there? Or will I want to open it next time?

I should probably make sure there isn’t a next time.

Those storm clouds I saw earlier this morning have made their way into town. It’s not raining yet, but it will be soon. Moisture-rich air picks up my hair and twirls it around my head as I walk out to the airdocks. Places like this, on the edge of the floating cities of Rio, are where you’re keenly aware of the ground below. We’re one hundred meters above the trees here, and their lush green treetops wave in the breeze below us. The calls of alien animals echo off the hard plaststeel walls of ships. Off in the distance, I spot a family of horned dragonsnakes diving into the treetops, spearing meals with their horns, and flying off.

“Captain!” Lia waves from the open cargo bay of the Amagi. I smile and wave back, feeling that sense of home I haven’t felt since the bank ejected me from the family land. The feeling isn’t strong yet, but it’s enough to make me a little more secure.

“Hey, Lia! I hear our new clients will be here soon. Are you getting the place ready?”

“Yep.” She strolls down the cargo bay ramp and dusts off her jeans. “I just finished getting the girls into their new coop area, and the sheep are settling in well. I also cleaned in every nook and seam of this cargo bay so that it would be in good shape for ‘art.’” She puts air quotes around the art. I smile, holding back a laugh.

“Yeah, we’ll see what they have.”

“The closest thing my family had to art were the crayon drawings we made as kids. That and the embroidered art my great-grandfather made.” She lifts her eyes to the sky, reminiscing. “Those were kind of pretty.”

“I’m sure.” Her entire family has always worked for my family on the land I’m about to lose. I’m sure this great-grandfather also lived there, long ago. “Hey, so I’m going to need you to go into town and pick up supplies for our return journey to Ossun. Nothing too much. But I want to make sure we have fresh vegetables and some fruit onboard for our new passengers. Check with the Flyght portal. I think we have a stipend for food and other amenities.”

“Sure thing, Captain.”

“And then I have a list of things for the aquaponics setup too.”

“Oh good. I was wondering when we’d start with that. I’m looking forward to helping.”

I’m now stalling because I’m not ready to go inside and face Sean again.

“How’s Frogger?”

“Oh, he’s happy,” she says, brightening. “He’s the best dog, but he misses you. I took him for a walk this morning. I think he’s sleeping in your quarters now.”

“Good. I miss him too. Do you know when our clients will be here?” I have a lot to do this morning before returning to the casino to meet Jinzo.

“Actually, here they come now,” she whispers, jerking her chin at the long dock behind me.

Great timing!

I turn to take in the people approaching us, and I freeze. Who did Carlos say they were, anyway?

The man at the front is dressed in a full military uniform with a sash (an honest-to-God sash) across his chest. His jacket drips with medals. A woman also in a military dress uniform, decorated to the high heavens, walks behind him with several other people navigating hoverlifts.

I swallow hard and try to coax my face out of slackened shock. Why, oh why, did I let Carlos pick the next client? Military people? That is not ‘flying under the radar.’

“Captain,” Lia begins, stepping forward. “Meet Lady and Lord Correa. Ma’am, Sir, this is our Captain, Vivian Kawabata.”

Lia bows and moves back. Correa… That name sounds familiar, but names, well, we already know how terrible I am with them.

“Thank you, Lia,” Lady Correa says. The warm smile on her face is at odds with her strict military uniform. “Captain Kawabata, I had the pleasure of meeting your crew earlier this morning when I stopped by during my daily walk. You have a lovely ship here.” She draws in a deep breath through her nose. “Reminds me of my early days working on Avenal.”

“Well,” I say, trying to break out of my mind-loop of Shit-Military-Shit-Military. “It’s a pleasure to have you flying with us then.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

I relax a little at her pleasant attitude.

“This is my first husband, Lord Faron. His family has long lived on Ossun, but we met in the military.”

“I see that.” I lean forward to offer my hand to shake, and he gives it a firm grip while also clicking his heels together. He bursts into a hearty chuckle.

“Sorry about the dress uniforms.”

“Yes,” Lady Correa says, her face brightening. “We have an event to attend today. We’ve been retired from the military for fifteen years, and yet there are always ceremonies and dinners and fundraisers to attend.”

Ah, right. The titles should’ve been my clue they’re retired. When military officers retire after a certain rank, they are given lady and lord titles. It’s the most distinguished titles one can obtain in the Duo Systems. The military settled and carved out all the planets here hundreds of years ago. They’re our royalty now.

They’re also our keepers. Athens Industries came out of the military. The Vir Gene is a military disaster. Neve, the Brazilianos snow planet, is a military testing ground. The military is the devil and our savior all at once.

“So we’re here to secure the cargo, and then we’re off for food and dancing.” Lady Correa waves her helpers forward, and Lia ushers them all into the cargo bay. “I have it on good authority that you and your ship are personally backed by Ken Mata himself. We only ever take Diamond Level transit, so it’s a great relief to us that this precious cargo will be taken care of.”

Hint, hint. Don’t fuck this up or we will fuck you.

Got it.

“Absolutely, Lady Correa. We have high security, and my crew will watch your cargo at all times.”

Her eyes follow the hoverlifts into the ship, and she ignores the wind gusts portending rain.

“We’ll leave bright and early tomorrow morning at eight local time. We’re planning a nice lunch for us all on the way to Ossun. I hope you like curries. I make a mean curry.” With plenty of my dad’s Happiest of Hot Sauces to keep everyone feeling great until we touch down.

“You cook?” she asks, looking me over from head to toe. “I married three husbands who could cook, so I’d never have to.”

I shrug. “I like to fend for myself when it comes to food.”

Lord Correa returns to offer his arm to his wife. “Only another few weeks until we don these uniforms again for our daughter’s wedding.” He squints up at the sky. “And now we should run for it before we get rained on.”

I lean on the cargo bay ramp support to watch them sprint for the passenger terminal, laughing the whole way.

They seem sweet and happy, not really what I expected from military people. I hope I’m that happy with my husbands someday.

—-

Inside the ship, I check on the art collection. All the pieces are wrapped up, and I have no idea what we may be carrying. I’m going to guess paintings and sculptures by the size and shape of the boxes. These will be transferred to the daughter’s estate upon the first marriage. It’s a thing that’s done with the wealthy.

It feels good to be carrying something above board this time. Lady and Lord Correa may be military, but at least they’re not trying to smuggle something.

Unlike me.

I leave Lia to take care of the cargo and head further into the ship to talk to Carlos.

“Hey, Captain. What’s up?” he asks around a mouthful of red candies. “Didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow.”

“I decided to come in and meet the new Flyght clients. Did you know they’re military?”

He coughs through a sugary mouthful. “Ah, no. I didn’t look. I figured anyone good enough for Diamond Level was good enough for us.”

I fold my arms across my chest and lean on the doorway. My broken sleep from the night before is catching up with me. Will I ever be back in good health?

“Next time, let’s choose someone less likely to be a problem when it comes to our second enterprise.” I stress the last two words, and Carlos’s mouth forms an O.

“Okay, Captain. Got it. No problem. Sorry.”

Not his fault. Not his fault. Besides, they seem like nice enough people, and we can make the trip in eight to nine hours, possibly less if we burn more fuel and we get a priority spot in the jump ring queue. I’ll have to consult with Skylar.

“So I have two things I need done before tomorrow.”

Carlos turns away from his tech to give me all his attention.

“One, I need you to cover for Lia for a few hours this afternoon. She’s going into town for me to run some errands. I’m having her pick up food and also purchase the fish and nutrients I need for the aquaponics setup. Now that Jinzo installed the lights, I can get the whole thing up and running in a day, but I don’t want the Flyght cargo unattended.”

“Okay, fine. I can do that.”

“And two, I need you to finish up whatever security measures you’ve implemented on the system. I tried to call Ken, and I got an encryption warning. I didn’t know what that meant, so I stopped my vidcall, but I left him an awkward message. Now he’s messaging me back and I… I don’t know what to do.”

Carlos holds out his hand. “Not a problem, Captain. I’m one system reboot from being done. I was working on it with Ai when you walked in.”

“We are unable to reboot the system because Sean is on a vidcall to Ossun,” Ai pipes in. “And I got those supplements for you, Captain. They’re in your quarters. You should start taking them tonight at bedtime.”

Carlos’s eyebrows pull in. “How did you get Ai to run errands for you?”

I snap my fingers. “Magic.”

“The captain asked me to buy something for her. I had it delivered to Lia, and she put it in the captain’s quarters. It’s not magic.”

“It might as well be.” I wiggle my fingers in the air as I withdraw from the room.

I make my way to my quarters, and I’m greeted by my sweet dog.

“Hey, buddy,” I coo to him as he wiggles around my feet. I know he wants to jump up and be close to me, but I taught him never to jump on people unless invited. So I plop my butt on my unmade bed and pat my knees. He leaps right up and kisses my face.

“Aw, I missed you, too.”

Frogger has been with me through thick and thin. I got him as a puppy in my first year at school on Rio. Ken and I had only been dating a few weeks at that point, and I figured, why not throw a dog into the mix and see what happens? I lived in my own small apartment, and I knew it would be tough to keep a puppy happy in such a small space, but I did it anyway. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I noticed how depressed Frogger became after Ken and I broke up. He’s a people dog and the more, the merrier. He blossomed on the farm with tons of people around — spent his days running and chasing after everyone. But he always ended up at my feet at dinner and on my bed at bedtime.

“Do you like all the new people on board the ship?” I ask him. He cocks his rust-brown head at me and then pants. Okay. I’ll take that as a yes.

I relax on the bed, pushing my back against the wall, and let my hands rub Frogger’s belly while I think. Now that I plan to cut Jinzo loose, I’ll have to rely on Sean to be an engineer… at least for a while. I hope I can depend on him to get the ship running and in good shape. But I frown and pause my Frogger belly-rubbing as I remember Jinzo’s words about how Sean is ruining the ship. Jinzo seems much more knowledgeable than Sean, more put together, more appealing in almost every way. Except he’s already taken.

Closing my eyes, I reminisce on the kiss. I haven’t kissed anyone in a long time, or no one’s kissed me. Ken teased me last time we were together, but he’s always been like that. One big ball of tease. Mmmm, it seems a crime to let a good kisser like Jinzo go.

Do I throw caution to the wind and keep him? What’s to even say he wants to stay? He might have changed his mind last night after watching Cressida’s vidcall five times in a row. I’ll probably meet him for lunch later, and he’ll let me down gently. I need to be prepared for anything. I’m sure I’m small potatoes next to a woman like Cressida. And now that she wants him back, I’ll be a passing thought, just someone he had dinner with. My eyes sting as I imagine myself in his head, a nobody.

Dammit. Why did I become attached so quickly?

I should’ve known better.

I give Frogger some more scrubs, up and down his long body, before resolving to leave. I need to find Marcelo in the spaceport so we can talk. I’m sure he’s made it to Rio now. Ai will know. After I see him, I’ll call this contact of Dad’s and find out how I can go on a Rio expedition hike and see some of these plants growing in the wild. I think it’ll help me figure out the best conditions for them to grow in.

Remembering why I came to my room in the first place, I grab the paper bag from my desk, giving it a little shake. Sounds like vitamins. Sigh. I hate taking vitamins.

“I know, I know. Please stop crying…”

I stand up straight and cock my head, mirroring Frogger’s usual state of being. That sounds like Sean, Sean trying to placate someone.

“Please,” he begs, and my curiosity piques. What’s this now?

I’m too nosy to not eavesdrop on him if he’s talking in his room with the door open.

I sneak up to his door, three down the hall from mine, and hover out of direct sight.

“I told you I was going to leave if he stuck around. I can find plenty of work without your help.”

Silence. I keep my breathing shallow, but he’s not listening for people eavesdropping. He’s paying attention to his caller and the sound coming into his ear implant.

“I love you too. I’m sorry it had to end like this…”

I close my eyes and curse all the gods I can think of. Oh… no.

“I’m sure I can find someone else if you don’t want me… Alipha, Alipha! You chose him. It’s over.”

Oh no. Oh, fuck me, no.

Alipha? I know only one Alipha. Could it be possible there’s more than one?

Wait.

I back away from the door as Sean tries to continue to soothe Alipha from his end of the conversation. He’s doing everything possible to keep her on the line while still saying no. If I didn’t like him before, I despise him now.

When I get far enough away, I run for the cargo bay. Dammit. It’s all clear now when it wasn’t a few days ago. I should’ve known. Alipha was right there at the fall festival. She was eyeing Sean the whole time. I thought she was watching him because he was someone new and with me. No. He was someone she knew, and she was wondering why he was with me. And then he pulled his fingers from my grasp when Alipha caught us heading for the dancing. He became sullen and silent after that.

Yep. It all makes perfect sense. Sean had been a part of Alipha’s relationship network. They’d been together, and they fought. Some disagreement over another man in Alipha’s network? It sounds like it. And Sean took the first out he could. He wanted to fly away and work on engines and figured he could just keep me at arm’s length. He’s banking on me believing he’s some kind of engineering gift from God, so good at his job I’ll want him here even if he doesn’t want me romantically. Of course, not once did he consider what this would do to my reputation. Alipha already hates me. Now, I’ve stolen her man, too.

Shit. Why is everyone looking to screw me over?

I grab an umbrella from the storage locker outside the port side airlock and let myself out of the ship. For fuck’s sake! I need to see Marcelo right now.

When I make it to the passenger terminal, I flick on my wristlet and call Ai.

“Yes, Captain?”

“I need you to get a copy of the vidcall Sean is currently making and stick it in my message center.”

I weave through crowds and try to keep my temper down. I fail. I throw a door open at the end of the terminal so hard it scares two people who were walking in the opposite direction. They skitter away from me.

“As soon as he’s done talking, reboot the system, and take his messaging privileges away before he ends me up in hot water.”

I stalk through the endless shops and try to calm down. I shouldn’t go too far until I know where Marcelo is.

“What should I tell him, Captain?”

“I don’t fucking care. Make something up. You can do that, right?”

“Oh sugar, fantasies are my strong suit. I’m sure I can come up with something.”

Sean’s last words play through my head. He said it was over and then he just kept on soothing her and talking to her. I’ve seen that before. Why doesn’t he hang up on her if it’s over? Because it’s not. Not for either of them.

I can’t believe this has happened to me twice!

“Marcelo’s docked, right? Where is he?”

“Port eight, airdock fifteen. Shall I let him know you’re coming?”

“Tell him to roll out the welcome mat. I’m three minutes away.”