by Susan Hayes
The marketplace wasn’t much more than a large square of packed dirt in the center of town. There was no rhyme or reason to the layout. Live chickens squawked from their cages inside one booth, while their neighbours sold fresh produce, seeds for the next harvest, and handcrafted goods. It was a hodgepodge of scents, sounds, and colors that reminded him of the promenade back at Astek station. It was one of his favorite spots on the station, bustling with beings and chock full of every temptation known to man, and every other species that called the Drift home.
Tianna made them stop at almost every stall, looking over the merchandise and chatting with the vendors. The only places she passed by were the ones selling clothing, and it took him a few minutes longer than it should have to fathom the reason why. When they passed another stall filled with brightly dyed women’s clothing and handwoven items he veered off the path, pulling her with him. She might not have any scrip on her, but he did, and he was in a generous mood.
“I think you’d look great in this,” he stated, pointing to a simple wrap dress dyed in a swirling pattern of various shades of red.
“It’s lovely, but what do I need a dress for? We’re hauling cargo, not entertaining.”
“And when we get back home? Your luggage was, uh, lost, remember?” Owen pointed out.
Tianna shook her head, but Royan ignored her and took the dress off the rack, holding it in front of her so he could check the color. It really was perfect for her.
“It’s too small,” she argued, trying another tack.
“It’s not. And before you even say it, it’s also not too short, too revealing, or any other excuse you’re about to try.”
“But I don’t have…” She trailed off before she deviated from the simple cover story they’d devised for her.
“Tia, I know my sister isn’t the most generous employer in the world, but you want to make a good impression when you get back, right?”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Then let us do this for you,” Owen said.
“Please?” Royan added.
“It is beautiful,” Tianna conceded.
Royan gestured to the vendor, handing her the dress. “We’ll take this.”
“And this shawl,” Owen added, picking up a loose-knit wrap of hand-spun fibers dyed a brilliant crimson.
“Lovely choices for a lovely lady. I’ll just wrap these up for you.”
Owen followed the seller and the two of them started to haggle over the price, leaving Royan with Tianna.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Tianna said.
“Sweetheart, the only person who could ever make me do something I didn’t want to was my mother. Since we’re not really on speaking terms these days, you can safely assume that if I’m doing anything, it’s because I want to.”
“You still shouldn’t have, but, well, thank you. I’ll pay you back once I have access to scrip again.”
“You don’t need to do that. If you want to give us a reward us for saving your cute ass later, that’s your choice, but the dress and the shawl are our gifts to you.”
“Why? If anything, I should be buying you presents, not the other way around.”
He stepped in close and cupped her cheek in his hand so the soft warmth of her skin caressed his fingers. “I’d rather have your company than any gift you could buy.”
“You sure about that?” Tianna lowered her voice to a cautious whisper. “Tia the cargo trainee might be broke, but she’s got a friend with very deep pockets.”
“I’m sure. In fact, I think we should forget about your wealthy friend until we’re back home, don’t you, Tia Maran?”
Her ice-blue eyes lit up. “I think that could work.”
“Good.”
She turned her head, nuzzling his fingers gently. “Just one question, though?”
He was so distracted by the touch of her lips it took him a few seconds to answer, and when he did it was nothing more than an inquiring hum. “Mmhmm?”
“Are their any rules about fraternizing between crewmates I should be aware of?”
His libido did a victory dance. There was going to be more on the menu tonight than just food, he could feel it. “None whatsoever. In fact, it’s highly encouraged.”
“Good to know.”
“What’s highly encouraged? Please tell me he’s not fishing for compliments. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but his ego does not need boosting.” Owen reappeared and handed Tianna a patchwork bag of red and black fabric. “Your things.”
“I took your warning to heart, Owen. Royan’s ego wasn’t the topic of conversation.” She stepped away from Royan to take the bag. “Thank you both, so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Owen held out his hand to her, then turned and held out his other hand to Royan. “Come on, we’ve still got more shopping to do and I’m getting hungry.”
That was all the invitation Royan needed. Hell, it was more than he needed. He took Owen’s outstretched hand and fell in beside him, fully aware of what this meant. Owen had just gone public with their relationship. His moment of celebration was cut short by a new thought - he was in a relationship. How the fraxx had he ended up here?
He’d always planned on being like his father – live fast, fly faster, and never look back. His father and half-sister were more like him than the family he’d been raised with, and Royan had idolized Russ Watson from their first meeting, aspiring to be like him in every way. Then, Russ got himself killed, and Royan got his first taste of the dark side of the path he was on. When Zura had offered him a chance to go straight, he’d taken it gladly.
“You’re quiet,” Owen murmured a few minutes later.
“Just thinking.”
“That usually leads to trouble and the need for a fast exit.”
“Not this time. I was thinking about how much has changed since Zura and those killer clones she married saved my sorry ass.”
“I thought you didn’t do regrets,” Owen said.
He squeezed Owen’s hand. “No regrets. In fact, this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time.” And that was the problem. Happiness wasn’t a destination he’d ever tried for, and now he’d been pulled into its orbit he had no vething idea what came next.
Owen shot him a thoughtful look, then nodded. “Same here.”
Tianna spotted something in one of the stalls, letting go of Owen to take a closer look. It shouldn’t have meant a thing, but Royan felt a pang as the distance between them grew. She was only a temporary addition to their lives, so why did it bother him to watch her walk away?
Tianna enjoyed her time at the market. They found enough foodstuffs to replenish their dwindling supply of fresh produce, and she got to show off her haggling skills, saving them enough scrip that Royan suggested they hit the butcher’s shop for a delicacy – real meat. They ended up purchasing freshly butchered pork chops when Owen confessed he’d never tried them.
“I can’t believe you’ve never had pork chops,” Tianna said with amazement as they finished their shopping.
“I was born and raised in space, remember? Vat-grown proteins are cheap and plentiful enough, but even then, no one’s going to replicate a cut of meat with fat and bones in it. Too much waste.”
“And you?” She turned to Royan. “No real meat for you either?”
“I was born on Earth. Not enough resources left on that hellhole to waste it raising animals. By local standards I came from a rich family, but real meat was still a rare luxury.”
“How old were you when you left Earth?” Owen asked.
“Eight. My mother had met my step-father by then. When he transferred off the planet, he took us with him. Though to be honest, I think he and my mother would have happily left me behind if they could have.”
She’d heard about the hive cities of Earth. Grim places rife with crime and poverty, situated on a planet so toxic that no one could live outside. The hive cities kept the last true Terrans alive, but they were as much a prison as protection.
The only way off the planet was military service, corporate sponsorship, or to somehow find the scrip needed to pay for passage to a colony world. “You can’t mean that. What parent could leave their only child in a hive city?”
“By then, I wasn’t an only child. I had a younger brother and another sibling on the way by the time we left Earth. My stepfather’s a recruiter for Dazzle Enterprises. He came to Earth on a four-year contract, did his time, and left with a new family.”
“Did any of us have a normal childhood?” she muttered.
“Not even close,” Owen said.
“From what I’ve seen, there’s no such thing as normal. Everyone just assumes that everyone else is having an easier time of it. I was jealous of my sister, Zura, for years, thinking her life must have been so much better than mine. To quote the wisest woman I’ve ever met, ‘different ain’t the same as better.’” He drawled the last bit in a thick Terran accent.
“Phyl?” Owen asked.
“Who else?” Royan replied, the accent gone again.
“I just realized, you don’t have a Terran accent,” she said.
Royan shrugged. “I used to, but the second we left that starsforsaken rock, my mother made me learn how to talk without it. She didn’t want anyone knowing where we came from. She was always like that, reinventing herself to be whoever she thought other people wanted her to be.”
“That must have been hard to keep up with as a kid,” Owen said.
“I was a constant reminder of her past. She hooked up with my dad thinking he was her ticket off the planet and away from her family. That didn’t work out.”
“Considering your old man showed up to see you for the first time with your tiny blue half-sister in his arms, that’s not a surprise. I still can’t believe he did that.”
“Ouch.” Tianna winced. Royan’s mother didn’t sound like a very nice person, but no one deserved that kind of shock.
“Yeah, it was a hell of a family reunion. In her version, he wanted her to take Zura and raise us both on Earth. In his version, he asked her to join him on the Sun Sprite. The only thing they agree on is that she said no, and then threatened to shoot off his favourite piece of anatomy if he ever came back. Growing up, all I knew about my father was that he was an irresponsible asshole and a freight jockey. She wouldn’t even tell me his name.”
“I know how that feels. I never knew my egg donor’s name, either,” Tianna confessed. They were opening themselves up to her, it seemed only fair she did the same.
“Your father never told you?” Royan asked.
“He never talked about it. He told me it didn’t matter who she was, all I needed to know was that I was an Astor.” She’d had so many questions about the woman who gave birth to her. What had she looked like? Sounded like? Was she funny? Kind? Pretty? Why had she agreed to carry a stranger’s baby, then walked out of Tianna’s life forever?
Owen sighed and scrubbed a hand over his stubbled chin. “I know neither of you will understand, but I think sometimes it’s better not to know.”
She laughed. “I guess the stars are always brighter on the other side of the galaxy, huh?”
“Something like that.” Owen squeezed her hand, but the shadows didn’t leave his eyes. Whatever his story was, it wasn’t a happy one.
“Well, this conversation has taken a turn for the dark and depressing. What say we change course and find ourselves some food?” Royan suggested.
“And booze. I think we’ve earned a drink, too,” Tianna added.
“That can be arranged.” Royan pointed down the main street, away from the market. “Our dinner lies in that direction.”
They walked hand in hand down the street in companionable silence. It was one of the things she liked best about spending time with the two of them. They were easy company, honest, open, and just like Owen had promised, there were no judgements or assumptions. She was free to be her true self. All she had to do was keep in mind that it wouldn’t last, which made every moment precious, and every memory one she’d cherish for the rest of her life.
Chapter Nine
Owen had been to the diner with Royan before, but this time was different. They weren’t two crewmates grabbing a bite to eat before heading back into the big black. This felt like a date. A date between three people. If his family could see him now, they’d probably shoot him where he stood and figure they were doing him a favor.
His family weren’t known for their compassion or acceptance of anyone different from themselves. There was only one way to live, and that was by his mother’s rules. He had hidden his differences, denied who he was, and stayed on the She Devil because it was the only life he knew and the only home he’d ever had. He’d still be there if his mother’s greed hadn’t gotten his little brother killed. Might have stayed on anyway, if she’d shown even the slightest hint of remorse. But she hadn’t, and he’d finally had enough.
He forced thoughts of his family out of his head as they took a seat near the back of the restaurant. Owen claimed his usual spot: back to the wall, facing the door. Royan and Tianna claimed seats across from him, and he had to bite back a snicker at the look of mild concern on Tianna’s face as she took in the battered furnishings and lacklustre décor. The floor tiles were cracked, the paint faded, and the only decoration of note was a large mural someone had started painting on the wall and never gotten around to completing. It showed a cartoonish version of Taza colony done in bright, gaudy colors that didn’t match the faded façades of the buildings that lined the street outside.
“It doesn’t look like much, but they make great pizza, and they brew the finest ale this side of the Butterfly Cluster.”
“They make their own alcohol?” She looked so surprised he had to laugh.
“Do you think these folks can afford to drink imported liquor? Your upbringing is showing, my queen,” Royan said, and then leaned back in case she took offence to his choice of nicknames.
Tianna just waved a dismissive hand. “Go ahead and laugh, you two. I’m a visitor to your world. I bet you’d be just as flummoxed if you spent some time in mine.”
“I am un-flummoxable.” Royan barely managed to get his tongue wrapped around the nonsensical word.
“I’m tempted to invite you to a corporate dinner just to watch you eat those words.”
“Sweetheart, you name the time and place and we’ll be there.”
“We clean up pretty good, Tia. You might be surprised,” Owen added.
Flek walked out of his kitchen and interrupted them. “What is this talk of eating words? In my place, you eat good food I cooked!”
“Hey, Flek. That’s why we’re here, to eat the best pizza around!” Royan greeted the Jeskyran. Unlike most of his species, Flek was friendly and personable, which was why he preferred to live away from his homeworld.
“And drink. I’ve been told you make your own beer. Is that true, or were these two making it up?” Tianna asked.
Owen had to hand it to her, she hadn’t reacted to Flek’s appearance at all. Most people would take a second, third, and even a fourth look when they first realized their cook was a tall, thorn-covered alien wearing nothing but a loincloth and a smile.
Flek beamed and walked over to their table, his orange and yellow complexion almost aglow with delight. “Welcome to my humble establishment. I make two things, and I make them both very well. Pizza, and beer. You will have both?”
“We will,” Owen confirmed. “Two house specials and three cold beers, please Flek.”
“Beers now. Pizza soon.”
“Perfect.”
Flek strode across the room and slipped back behind the bar to fetch their drinks.
“Now I’ve seen everything,” Tianna muttered, her voice pitched too low for Flek to hear.
“Not yet, you haven’t,” Royan grinned. “Not only does Flek make great pizza, but he also hand-tosses the dough. I’ve watched him do it nearly a dozen times, now, and I still don’t know how he manages not to get it hung
up on his thorns.”
“You really know how to show a lady a good time.”
“We do our best,” Owen said.
The beers were delivered, and shortly thereafter Flek did his thing, entertaining them all with his dough tossing skills. Soon, they were devouring generous slices of his cheese drenched creations, washing it down with long pulls from their glasses.
“This is incredible,” Tianna declared as she polished off another slice.
“I said the same thing my first time here. We keep trying to get Flek to open shop on the Drift, but he won’t do it.”
“Too bad.” She looked down at the remains of their meal. “Is that why you ordered two pizzas? That way we’ve got enough for one more meal back on the Sprite.”
“It’s like you’re inside my head,” Royan said.
Tianna shook her head. “Nope. Not even on a bet. I don’t want to know what it’s like in there.”
Owen leaned across the table. “Speaking of bets, you still haven’t collected your winnings from our wager the other night. You ready to name your prize?” They’d taken their flirtations as far as they dared. The next move was hers, but there wasn’t anything wrong with giving her a nudge, was there? And the fact I can even ask that question proves I’m spending too much time with Royan.
Tianna cocked her head and tapped her forefinger to her lips. “So many possibilities, but yes, I think I’m ready.”
He sat back and folded his arms across his chest as nonchalantly as he could. “So?”
“What’s your pleasure, sweetheart?”
“This isn’t about my pleasure.” Her words sent Owen’s hopes into a tailspin, and Royan’s eager smile faded a little.