High Flyght – Chapter 12

I should not be at the Marquise Estates. During the dry season, this place is the most expensive resort on the planet. During the rainy season, no one would be caught dead here. It’s too bad Rio’s moons and rings make weather control here tricky. We could all benefit from sunnier skies and fewer wet days.

Rain pours from the sky as Jinzo, Ken, Gus, and I are escorted to our suite of rooms along an elevated outside path. The floating canopy above us does little to keep us from getting soaked even wearing ponchos and carrying umbrellas. We can’t even run for shelter because jellies cover the path in front of us. Jellies that can make us slip and fall to our deaths. Two service personnel inch along in front of us, sweeping the jellies from the path with brooms. They slosh over the side and plop into the forest below.

“Ugh, this is gross,” Ken says, guiding me along behind Jinzo. Gus brings up the rear. “We never got these in the city.”

“Nope. Just dragonsnakes in our bed if we didn’t close the window.” I smile at the memories despite how scary it was both times it happened.

“Did you live on Rio?” Gus asks from behind us. We pause to let the jelly-sweepers get a little farther along in the clean-up process.

“Viv and I lived together on Rio for two years,” Ken shouts over a torrent of wind and rain. “We both went to school here.”

“Yeah? Me too.” Gus nods, happy to have something in common. “Never been into the jungle, though.”

“Me neither,” Ken replies.

“I’ve barely been planetside, much less into a jungle,” Jinzo calls back to us. “It’s a bit nuts. Did your dad really do this for fun?”

“Yeah.” I shiver as I catch sight of a four-limbed fish climbing a tree to our right. It turns its beady eyes on us and stares. “But he is nuts. Not many people would voluntarily do this.”

“It’s clear up to the door.” One man in the lead waves and ushers us to run forward. We hustle past them and into the suite as new jellies crawl up the walkway supports and lie where we just walked.

“Ach! They must be spawning.” The man slams the door and presses a button on the adjacent panel. The sliver of light around the door disappears as it seals shut.

“What happens when they spawn?” Jinzo asks, dropping his bag on the stone floor to the right of the door. A warm, dry breeze blows across it to keep things from growing mold.

“Well, see. They climb onto land and eat all the vegetation between the water and their spawning ground. Then they split, sometimes one becomes ten or twenty, then they head back, covering everything in this slime along the way.” He stomps his boots, and they squish.

Ew.

“After that, the squids come and eat up the slime and the jellies that don’t make it back. Plus, anything else they can get their tentacles on.”

The man sighs, a knowing, weary sigh that tells me he’s been doing this for a long time.

“Why don’t they just stay in the water and do all this?” Gus asks. He deposits his medical bag next to Jinzo’s in the warm air.

“Who knows?” The man shrugs.

“Hmm.” Gus’s eyes turn to the window and the rain lashing the glass.

“Okay. You should stay here until Darmit returns from his expedition. Hopefully, he’ll be back tonight. We got a signal from his tracker about an hour ago, and it was heading this way. Food and drinks are in the kitchen.” He points to the kitchen off to the left. “And three bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms. Plus a couch here in the suite area.”

I can see why this place commands money during the high and dry season. Everything is plush, clean, and, most importantly, dry. The room’s environment is comfortable and quiet.

“The windows do not open,” the man continues. “They’re sealed shut during rainy season. Please check the toilet before you use it. You never know what you’ll find in there.”

I swallow through the lump in my throat.

“Call the emergency number if anything gets in, but you should be fine. The environmental system is contained. We haven’t had a breach in here in months. Check the bed before you go to sleep, just to be sure.”

I regret coming here. I regret it so much. I prefer the darkness of space to this nonsense. Why can’t Rio have nice, fluffy sheep or harmless dragonflies or any of the other number of docile creatures I grew up with on Ossun?

“We’ll leave two brooms here in case you need to evacuate, but you should wait for us to come get you.”

“What happens if we lose power?” Ken asks, looking at the sealed door.

“You won’t. We have direct power and two backup systems. We spare no expense at Marquise.”

He jauntily salutes. Given that ‘marquise’ means canopy in Portuguese and also refers to other wealthy status symbols in English and French, I am not surprised by this place. I’m only surprised that I’m here.

“Thank you for your help.” I grab my bag and think about which room I want to claim. “I’m sorry we’re such a bother during your downtime.”

“Oh, it’s no bother, Ms. Kawabata,” he says, waving his hand in a friendly manner. “I’ve gone on three expeditions with your father. The Kawabatas are always welcome here.”

He turns to the doorway and wakes the door panel from its idle state.

“Now, before you leave, if you need to leave, turn on the door heater.” He taps the heating option and the door hums. “Jellies will move away from hot surfaces. The door will run through a heating cycle, and then you can get out of the suite without getting them all over you.”

The door chimes, opens, and the jellies have backed away about a meter. Steam wafts from the door and the threshold.

The three men each take their brooms and make their way out. Ken shuts the door, and it seals once again.

He shudders.

“Why are we here again?”

“Good question,” Gus says, leaving his boots at the door. “I’m going to get changed, and then maybe we’ll have a chat about this little adventure?”

He takes a bedroom and shuts the door behind him.

“I’m going to get changed too.” Jinzo grabs his bag and takes the second bedroom.

“Um…” I raise my hand. Hey, wait. It’s my money that’s paid for these rooms and my ass on the line here. I should get first pick of the rooms.

“I’m soaked, and I think there’s jelly ooze on my pants,” Ken says, picking up his bag and grabbing the third bedroom.

The third door closes and leaves me standing in the common area, soaking wet, and without a bedroom or bathroom of my own.

“Hey. I —” I raise my voice but give up as soon as I hear water running and doors opening and closing.

Fucking fantastic.

I peel my pants off, throw them onto the stone floor to dry, grab a pair of knit pants from my bag, and drop onto the couch to wait.

I think we’re all going to have a long and productive talk about who comes first around here.

As soon as possible.

—-

“So, what makes you think these seeds are special?” Gus holds up the plastic container to the light and stares into it.

“A few things,” I say, drawing the blanket around me on the couch. “Jinzo and I found these buried in a field with credits and a locked datapad. So they must be valuable.”

“Hmm.” Gus passes the container to Ken.

“And Vivian is growing several of her father’s varieties on the ship right now.” Jinzo opens the room’s mini-fridge and pulls out some beers for us. He passes one to me with a smile.

“Testing phase begins soon.” I chug at the beer and smack my lips with a satisfied sigh. Ah, I haven’t had a beer in a while. “I have a few plants nearing maturity that I can try out within a day or two.”

“Wait a second. Testing? Where will you be testing these things? I didn’t see a lab on the ship.” Gus sits forward and takes a beer from Jinzo.

“No lab. I’m going to test them on myself.”

“What?” He heard me.

“That’s right. And you’re going to make sure I don’t die.”

I was wondering how Gus would take this news. I’m not asking him to do everyday medical tasks like patching up cuts and bruises. No. I’m going to make him work for his salary.

Gus sits back in his chair and sips his beer. “It’s a good thing I worked in the emergency room for two years. They make you understand toxicology backwards and forwards.”

Score. I picked the right man.

“What was on the datapad?” Ken asks.

He kicks his feet up on the ottoman next to Jinzo’s. Even this little gesture of closeness warms my heart. It’s important to me that these guys get along. I’ve seen other networks where the guys hate each other. They don’t talk, don’t socialize, and don’t respect one another. I’ve also seen networks where the men fall in love with each other and neglect their prime. The woman, who went to all the work of bringing everyone together, ends up cold and alone.

Until this moment, I didn’t realize how badly I wanted them to be friends, even just friend-ly with each other. I don’t want to share anyone in bed. That’s not my style. But I want peace and harmony at home.

“Hmmm, the datapad.” I turn over my wristlet and access my inbox. Sure enough, there’s a message from Carlos, received two hours ago, right around the time we were making our way into the suite. “Carlos says he’s cracked the encryption, and he’s downloading the files. But per my request, he’s not reading anything. It’s mostly spreadsheets and messages. Hold on.”

I open a new message to Carlos and write, “Please search the contents for addresses or locations. Our top priority is finding Tomu before he does any more damage.”

Before I can sign off, I see him respond, “No problem, Captain. I’ll get on it right away. Should take about fifteen minutes. I’m just finishing up a task with Ai.”

“I’ve asked Carlos to look for any clues as to Tomu’s whereabouts. Otherwise, I have no idea where he went after Rio.” I set the beer down on the table and rub my face with both my hands. “He took the money from his girlfriend and ran. Carlos has been over the shiploads and surveillance videos but…” I shrug. “He just disappeared.”

“No one disappears,” Jinzo says, pointing his beer bottle my way. “People can always be found. We may need to call in a professional to get the job done, though.”

“A professional?” I haven’t told anyone about the lawyer I hired to sell off my seeds. I bet he would know people who could track down Tomu.

“A skip tracer could find Tomu. My mother employs a few. We could ask her for help.”

The more I hear about Hera Lee, Jinzo’s mother, the more I’m frightened of her. This is a woman who has her shit together. Unlike me.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Ken says, nodding to Jinzo. “We should go to the shipyards after Palo Alto.”

“Great idea,” Gus joins in. “I haven’t been to either place before.”

“Then it’s settled,” Jinzo says, setting his beer bottle on the table.

Why is everyone so keen to make my decisions for me lately? I clear my throat, eyeing each of the guys.

“That is” — Jinzo pauses, catching on to my death-dagger eyes — “if the captain approves.”

I relax. “I approve of this, and I’m glad you all realize how important this is to me. What I don’t approve of is…”

Suddenly with three sets of eyes on me, I realize that my earlier attitude about needing a room to myself was petty. Or was it? I don’t know. I don’t know how to do any of this, and I’m always afraid that my first instincts are bitchy and selfish. I don’t want to be like Cressida, demanding of everything. And I don’t want to be like old Vivian who let others walk all over her. Sigh. I need to ask Marcelo for advice, and he’s not here. There must be a happy medium, but I’ve been feeling small lately. Best not to call any notice to it.

“Never mind.”

The wind howls and rain lashes the window just as a big thump and a yell come from outside. “Goddamned jellies!”

“The door!” Ken leaps from his seat.

“Don’t forget the heater.” I scramble from my spot, and we all wait at the door while it heats up. After about half a minute, the door chimes and opens with a hiss and some steam.

Lying on the walkway a few meters from us is an older man in dark camouflage jungle gear. His hat is askew, and slime covers his boots. He tries to push himself up, but he slips back down.

Jinzo and Ken grab their boots and ponchos, and Gus and I stand out of the way. They both use the brooms to clear a path to the man, get him to his feet, and usher him inside as fast as possible.

“Aw, fuck,” he mutters under his breath. “I think I threw out my hip.”

Gus and I peel the man out of his wet jacket and boots, and Gus directs him to a chair to sit.

“Let me get my medkit. I have pain killers.” Gus hustles off to his bedroom.

The man throws his head back against the top of the chair and breathes out a rush of a sigh. He’s rough like he’s been in the jungle for weeks. One eye is completely bloodshot, and he has a scar across the opposite cheek that bisects his beard there. When he opens his mouth to speak, several teeth are missing.

“Ah, shit. You are the spitting image of your father.” He thrusts out his hand, and I shake it warily. “I’m Darmit. You must be Vivian.”

“Charmed,” I say, and he bursts into a laugh.

“You…” He shakes his finger at me. “Now that I see you, I know. I know.”

He laughs again and rests his head back against the chair.

“We have a lot to talk about.” He pushes away Gus’s offer of meds. “Forget about the medicine there. Who’s got booze?”