Broken Flyght – Chapter 2

This trip through Customs is sketchy as hell.

Mendelson, Gai Reis’s ‘man’ in Customs, chews his gum and leans against the supports, his arms crossed and staring at me. His uniform collar is undone, and his pants sag at his ankles, two sizes too big.

I expected men in uniforms from the Shipping and Trade Regulation Authority, pressed and dressed for success. This doesn’t seem right.

“You’re new,” he says. It takes an exceeding amount of willpower not to roll my eyes at him.

“No shit. Are you going to count and inspect the pigs or what?” I’m irritated and grouchy from the lack of sleep, and I want these pigs off my ship. I caught one of them ransacking the galley ten minutes ago when I went to give Carlos everything he needed to download Dad’s database, and I haven’t been very forgiving since.

“Nah,” he drawls, turning his wristlet and checking the time. “Got fifteen minutes to kill, though, so we should chat.”

Or maybe you should just get the hell off my ship if you’re going to stand around and scratch your balls.

“You open the cryocontainer? Touch it or fiddle with it in any way?” He gestures to the cube on the other side of the bay.

“Nope.” But now I wish I had. The manifest stated that it was seed stores and pig sperm. I never verified it.

Should I have?

I cover my uncertainty by checking my own wristlet as well — no new messages except the few from the Ossun Entertainment News blow-up. As I look at the interface, I pay attention to the Hecate logo in the bottom left (an H with a ring around it, much like Rio’s rings) and try to understand what Carlos said before. Hecate is the interface. The duonet is where all the data is. Can Carlos build his own interface? I bet he already has.

“Okay,” Mendelson says, wandering away from me. He approaches the container and casually inspects it, glancing at each side as he strolls around it.

I try not to watch and pretend to access something on my wristlet while keeping him in view through my upper lashes. I’m not sure what to think of him or his preoccupation with whatever’s in the container. Is he hoping he can steal it? Is he worried I’ve already looked inside? Or am I being paranoid?

I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall while I wait. I just want to go to bed.

“Mendelson! You done?” someone from the airlock calls. I can’t see his face, but he sounds annoyed.

Mendelson’s head jerks up from among the pigs. He accesses his wristlet and nods.

“All done, boss!” he calls back.

My body relaxes as he approaches me, his demeanor much more professional now that his boss is on the other side of the door.

“You’re cleared to go. The contract will need to be timestamped within five days.” Mendelson nods once at me and strides from the cargo bay into the airlock. The airlock door cycles closed and locks.

Now, it’s just the pigs… and the cryocontainer.

I amble over to it. I had my misgivings about bringing it onboard when we took delivery of the pigs, but the whole exchange seemed to be standard procedure for Gai Reis’s employees. I wasn’t given the option to deny it.

I stalk around the outside of the cryocontainer, dragging my palm across the top. Despite not seeing anything out of the ordinary nor alarming, a thought niggles at the back of my brain. Whatever’s in the box, it’s important.

I step away.

It’s also none of my business, right?

“Captain!” Lia’s voice bounces off the bay, startling not only me but the pigs as well.

“Shit.” I jump back and cover my heart with my hand.

“Sorry!” she calls out from the balcony. “Didn’t mean to startle you!” She trots down the stairs and straight to me. “Are we done with Customs?”

“We are. The pigs will be gone soon.” I yawn and stretch. I need sleep immediately.

“I have good news.” Lia’s smile is wide, breaking her soft face into two half moons. “I’ve sold Stella, and I got a great price for her too.”

“Excellent.” I suppose this is good news, though I’ll be sorry to see her go. She was a part of the family farm, the family farm I’m in a desperate race to save.

“The ducks laid eggs, too, so I made a sweet egg custard and put it in the fridge.”

“Ohhhh, that sounds lovely.” Okay, the news is getting better. I don’t remember the last time I ate.

“And, the best news of all, I’ve figured out what other animals we need on board. Sheep.”

I bounce my head side to side. “Okay, sure. Sheep. Why not?”

“I got a deal on four Merino sheep. Two are runts of their litters, one was born blind, and the other is stubborn as a mule, but I think they’ll all do well in our space farm.”

I have to pass her statement through my head a few times before I fully understand her reasoning here. Runts will be smaller and better for the tighter space. Blind? Sure. It’s not like the poor thing will wander off the ranch. And stubborn? Well, that could be a problem.

“The broker wouldn’t let me buy them all without making me take the stubborn one too,” she whispers, leaning closer. She smiles and rocks back on her heels. “The sheep can also be milked, and I can shear them too for the wool to sell. I’ve done it before. We can bring them on in Mayashu. The farm is the next station over from where we’ll be dropping off the pigs.”

Lia is aglow with pride. I asked her to take care of the animals, to find Stella a new home and purchase new animals, and she took the task and ran with it. She may be young, but she’s capable beyond her years.

I set my hand on her shoulder.

“You did a great job. Thank you for taking care of that for me.”

I didn’t think her smile could become wider, but it does, and her cheeks grow pink.

“Anything I can do to help, just ask.”

If only she could see through metal and plasteel, I’d ask her to peep what’s in the cryocontainer. Instead, I go for something simpler.

“Thanks, Lia. If you could make sure I’m awake by the time we reach Mayashu, I’d appreciate it. I’m going to bed.”

—-

I gasp and sit up in bed. Sweat covers my forehead and drips down off the tip of my nose, plopping on my naked thigh. I lift my hand from the bed and look down at my sheets in the dim light. They’re soaked.

“What?” I breathe out, before panting and groaning. What was I dreaming about? It was cold and dark. I shouted, but I had no voice. I remember seeing Tomu in the distance, and then he was gone.

I glance at the clock on the wall. Goddamnit, I only slept for forty-five minutes?

I feel so gross; I don’t want to lie back down in these sheets. Searching for a clean spot, I end up at the foot of the bed. Where’s Frogger? I could really go for some doggy snuggles right now, but he’s not here. Probably out and about in the ship, looking for something to sniff and play with.

Pulling my legs up to my chest, I roll over on my side and try to keep the shivers at bay. I feel like I have no outlet for stress release anymore. I can’t overeat because the food supply onboard is so limited, and the interruptions are numerous. I can’t sit down and have a beer with my dad. I can’t go for walks along the river in Sakata City. I can’t even sleep off the stress. I was never a good sleeper, as I’ve said before, but in the past, I was able to pass out for four or five hours at a time and wake up refreshed. Sleep has eluded me for a week now, and I’m starting to crack.

Wadding up the sheets in my arms, I fold my body over them and hug them to my chest. Go back to sleep, Vivian. It was just a dream.

But remembering Dad and the beers I used to have with him reminds me of Mom. I pinch my eyes closed to stop the tears from coming. She’s disappointed in me, I can feel it. Ever since the OEN segment, I’ve waited for the message to come, the one where she’s angry with me for everything I’ve done. But there’s been nothing. I’m getting the silent treatment, and that’s the worst possible thing that could happen right now.

With no guidance from Mom or Dad, I’m left to deal with everything on my own. I hope I’m doing a good enough job so far, despite the setbacks. I’ve figured out the seed situation. I’ve convinced Ken to give me money and the Flyght permit. I got the contract with Gai Reis though the cryocontainer makes me nervous. And Ken wants to start dating again. I thought I had failed, but I’m actually in better standing than I was two days ago.

I just need to figure out the rest.

Get a new Flyght client. Find Tomu. Fall in love, repeatedly.

Success is what I make of it, right?

Concentrating on my breath, I slow everything down in my body and let my brain drift off. When I really need to relax, I pretend I’m either on a beach facing a deep blue ocean (something I’ve only ever done once in my life), or I’m waiting for a thunderstorm at home. The weather on Ossun is controlled, mostly beautiful, sunny, and warm, but we can count on rain or thunderstorms at least once a week. I used to love sitting on the front porch at home, awaiting the oncoming storm. Moisture would soak the air, and the sky rumbled. The hair on my arms always stood on end as the wash of rain swept across the fields.

“Captain?”

The warmth of a hand on my shoulder jolts me awake.

“Are you okay?” Lia stands over me, her eyebrows drawn into a lump over her nose. “You told me to make sure you were awake for landing. But…” Her eyes drift over my rumpled and wet sheets before coming to a halt on me. I’ve soaked the bottom of the bed now too. “Maybe you should get more sleep. You look sick.”

I push myself up and blink hard, trying to bring the clock across the room into focus. I had fallen back to sleep for another three hours. A blessing right now. I can squeak by on almost four hours of interrupted sleep.

“I’m fine,” I say, though Lia is unconvinced. As I wipe the sleep from my eyes, she steps back to give me space. “I’m… not sleeping well. I’m sure it’ll get better once I fall into a routine again.”

“If you don’t eat and sleep enough, you’re going to fall apart.”

I yawn and glance up at her. “Thanks for the wisdom, Dad.”

She flattens her lips while looking at my bed. I know what she wants to say, and I can’t have it right now.

“Why don’t you go get everything prepped for the transfer?” I gently shoo her away with a hand wave. “I’m going to jump in the pulse shower and put my bedsheets in the wash.”

“Sure, Captain.” She turns to leave. “Oh, you got a message on the ship’s public comm while you were asleep.”

My heart skitters. Mom?

“It was from someone named Tatiana Álvares?”

Oh great. The bank has been trying to get in touch with me. I can only imagine what they want.

“I forwarded the message to your personal inbox, but it may not be there right away. Carlos is working on the network. Ai will be offline as well until he’s done. Skylar says we’ll land at Mayashu when Ai’s back online, so real soon. Fifteen or twenty minutes.”

I nod, not making eye contact as she leaves and closes the door behind me.

I had hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with the bank again for a few months, but it looks like that idea is out the window.

Time to clean up and carry on with this mission.