Zakota: Star Guardians, Book 5

by Ruby Lionsdrake

  “That’s not how I pictured Tala getting it on. I assumed a big, comfortable bed would be involved. Satin sheets. Lots of pillows. Maybe a tray of crudités on the bedside table.”

  “I had no idea you spent time imagining how your friends have sex,” Zakota said, looking more intrigued than appalled.

  “Well, we were on the ship for weeks and weeks, and there’s really not that much to do in that rec room.”

  He chuckled and slipped his arm around her waist. “Now you know why I spend so much time carving things.”

  “Yes. All right, let’s buy a bunch of stuff and get back in time to set up the barbecue. It’s time to relax and celebrate being alive.”

  • • • • •

  “Max, Tiger, Brock, Nibbles, Fuji!” Angela exclaimed, recognizing several of the dogs in the kennels. Most of the familiar ones were gone—all adopted, she hoped—and she shouldn’t have been ecstatic to see ones she knew, since that meant they hadn’t been adopted yet, but she couldn’t help it. A grin sprawled across her face as she bounced to the different kennels.

  “Max and Nibbles are going to a new home tomorrow,” Ben said, from behind her.

  He and Dorothy had been ecstatic to see Angela and Juanita, and it had been heartwarming to know they’d been missed, that people besides their families and friends had worried about them.

  “Where have you two been, anyway?” Dorothy asked. “And Dr. Matapang? Have you seen her? Let her know I have her cat at my house. Mindy was so upset when the police first brought her by, but she’s settled in with my boys. Oh, the police. It was so crazy. There was so much speculation when you all turned up missing, and—oh, pardon me.” Dorothy had bumped into Treyjon, and she peered up at him uncertainly.

  Treyjon was studying the dogs and barely noticed. “They’re so small.”

  He looked over at Angela while Juanita attempted to explain their two-month absence. The shelter staff had heard the stories about the “aliens” from another planet, as the news seemed to be reporting Earth’s visitors. Whether they believed any of Juanita’s story or not was another matter. Knowing her, she would want to show them the spaceship.

  “That dog is part wolfhound,” Angela said, pointing to Brock. “He’s not small.”

  “Lulu would eat him for a snack.”

  “Lulu eats Zi’i twice her size for a snack.” Or so Angela had heard from Indi. She wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or relieved that she hadn’t been there to see the svenkar take down the murderous alien.

  “That one in engineering on the warship was only slightly larger than her,” Treyjon said.

  “I stand corrected.” Angela moved farther down the row of kennels. “Now, that dog is small,” she said, pointing to a Chihuahua that snarled at them through the chain link.

  “Lulu wouldn’t even have to chew.”

  Angela swatted him on the chest.

  “It’s clear that training such creatures is not a worthy challenge for you,” Treyjon said, “and that you’ll have to return to space with me. And the svenkars.”

  “I’ll be happy to do so once I’ve been home to visit my parents. And you’ve come to visit them too. Do you like lavender lemonade? And lavender chocolates?”

  “I don’t know, but I look forward to finding out. Assuming your parents think I’m an appropriate match for you and don’t drive me off the farm with pitchforks. Do they have pitchforks on Gaia?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “So they’re a galaxy-wide tool? Who knew?”

  “There must be hay all over the galaxy.” Angela wondered how many planets there were out there that could support human life and that could also grow plants from Earth. Would her entrepreneurial parents be interested in traveling to a different planet to start a galactic lavender farm? Maybe lavender would be a big hit elsewhere. An exotic plant from the mysterious and legendary Gaia.

  “Of some sort, I suppose,” Treyjon said. “Lots of different species of what we call grasses.”

  “Will you all be coming back to the shelter?” Dorothy asked Juanita, part of the ongoing conversation near the door. “We’ve picked up a couple of new volunteers, but we always have need for dog walkers.”

  “I’m not sure yet. I may be going off on adventures with my new… friend.” Juanita beamed a smile up at Orion.

  “Er, yes,” Dorothy said, eyeing him with more wariness than enthusiasm. “What language is that he’s—they’re—speaking? Where did you say they were from?”

  “Outer space,” Juanita said. “You said you saw the news.”

  “Yes, but I thought—well, I didn’t realize they were those people—aliens. They don’t look like aliens.”

  “No, they’re human, the same as us. Their ancestors were taken from Earth.”

  “Taken? Taken by whom?”

  “That’s where the aliens come in.”

  Dorothy looked faint.

  Ben stuck his fingers in the loops of his jeans and gave Orion a frank look. “You have a house of your own? A yard?”

  Orion blinked. “I don’t have a house right now. I live on my spaceship. I’m a bounty hunter.” He looked to Juanita to translate.

  “Big spaceship? Room to run?”

  “Not really.”

  “Enh.” Ben waved at him in dismissal and walked toward Treyjon. “What about you?”

  Treyjon scratched his scalp through his ropy dreads. “My family has a few huts and owns some of the land around the village. The Falcon 8, where I work, has room to do laps.”

  “That’ll do. If any of these fine animals appeal to you, we could fill out the paperwork today.”

  “Ben,” Angela said, realizing what he was trying to do.

  “Some of them have been here a while,” Ben went on, looking at Treyjon instead of her. “Not the easiest personalities to deal with—some came from abusive and neglectful situations. They need good homes, a strong hand to establish who’s boss, but someone who’ll also treat ’em good, make sure they get exercise, and give them purpose.”

  “What’s happening?” Treyjon whispered to Angela.

  “He’s trying to get you to adopt a dog.”

  “Or dogs,” Ben offered, stroking his gray beard. “Maybe he wants to populate his home world with dogs. Great hunters. Man’s best friend. Do they have dogs in outer space?”

  Angela didn’t know how to answer, mostly because she was torn between laughing at the pitch and not believing that Ben had accepted the notion of space travel and humans from other planets without missing a beat. He was not, as far as she knew, a science fiction aficionado like Juanita.

  Juanita merely watched this conversation, her eyes twinkling and two fingers pressed to her lips. They’d all seen Ben try to charm people into selecting one of his dogs instead of some pet store or breeder offering, so technically, this was nothing new.

  “We’ve used various native species of animals for hunting purposes to varying degrees of domestication for centuries,” Treyjon said, Juanita again translating, “but as far as I know, creatures such as these were not taken from Gaia by the Wanderers.”

  Juanita added a few more words to explain the Wanderer legend.

  Ben listened, not appearing particularly fazed by the idea of people having once been plucked from Earth to colonize other planets.

  “No dogs at all? I bet your quasi-domesticated predators don’t wag their tails when you come home, lick your hand, and hop up on the bed to watch TV with you.”

  “Lulu wags,” Angela protested. “Sort of.”

  A part of her wished they had brought Lulu along, but Angela feared her earlier joking would have proven all too apt, that the big svenkar would see dogs as a dinner treat.

  “I’d be alarmed if she or any of the other svenkars climbed into bed with us,” Treyjon said.

  “If you can provide a good home for some of these dogs, we can get you fixed up,” Ben said.

  Dogs. There it was again. Ben was determined that there be many canines in outer spa
ce.

  Angela laid a hand on Treyjon’s forearm, intending to lead him outside and away from the sales pitch. After all, Katie would have a truck full of groceries soon and be ready to head back for the barbecue.

  But Treyjon turned toward the kennels with a thoughtful expression on his face. “You say some of these are hunters?” His eyebrows quirked at the Chihuahua.

  “Yes, let me show you some of the hound mixes. Oh, and I’ve got a vizsla mix down here. She’d make a fine bird dog. Do they have birds in outer space?”

  “Flying creatures of various sizes, yes.”

  Juanita continued translating, though it didn’t seem like the two men needed it. They pointed and grunted as they moved away, this being sufficient for communication.

  “What’s happening?” Angela asked, tugging on her braids. “I mean, is what I think is happening happening?”

  “What’s the matter?” Juanita asked. “You don’t think Captain Sagitta will like dogs on his ship? They drool less than svenkars. Slightly.”

  “I don’t think they’ll get along. The svenkars and the dogs,” she clarified.

  “You’ll just have to keep them in separate cabins. Though maybe you could teach them to track game together—and not regard each other as enemies. Or prey. They could be one big happy pack. All watching TV on the bed with you.” Juanita grinned, her eyes twinkling even more now. “You never know. Dogs might be better at tracking than svenkars. Some of those hounds and pointers were bred for their noses.”

  “Yes, but I don’t know how they’ll take to life in space. Or on an alien planet.”

  “If they’re anything like humans,” Juanita said, “they’ll promptly find mates and start bonking like bunnies.”

  Angela snorted. She couldn’t deny that.

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by all this, given my horoscope for today.”

  “You’ve already looked up horoscopes?” Juanita asked.

  “Of course.” Angela smiled as Ben let out a floppy-eared dog, Treyjon crouched down to study it, and it promptly licked him in the nose. “Do you know how many alerts I had on my phone when we finally got back into cell range? Not only did everyone want to know where I was, but months’ worth of horoscopes popped up that I’d missed. Distressing.”

  “It’s amazing you survived without knowing your fate from day to day.”

  “Shocking, really.”

  “What did today’s say? What could possibly explain a man from another planet coming to Earth to shop for dogs?”

  Juanita extended her hand toward the two men. They now had three dogs out of the kennels, including the foxhound, Fuji. Good choice.

  “Any preconceived notions about the expression of your visions will ultimately be restrictive. Adventure starts where plans end.”

  “Well, I can’t argue with that.”

  • • • • •

  Hierax sneezed as soon as they hopped down from the Falcon 8’s ramp. He wrinkled his nose as he peered at the tall grasses, pines, and junipers spreading out in all directions from the ship. Numerous things were blooming, and Indi assumed from the lushness of the grass that the monsoon season had been a drenching one.

  “This doesn’t look anything like the paintings of Gaia,” Hierax said, and sneezed again.

  “We’re a continent and an ocean away from the part of the world your people came from.” Indi wondered if any Native Americans had been taken by the Wanderers. She’d come across people of African and Asian descent out there, and Ku’s and Zakota’s ancestors seemed to have come from the Pacific Islands, but if any of the Star Guardians came from the Americas, she wasn’t certain of it.

  “Are you sure you want to go out here?” Hierax asked. “I’ve cleaned up engineering since the battle. It’s looking quite appealing again.”

  “Don’t you want to see Katie’s log cabin? And roast marshmallows around an open fire?”

  Hierax sneezed.

  “We don’t have to stay all night if you’re having trouble with allergies.” Indi slipped an arm around his waist. “I didn’t know you had frail sinuses.”

  “What? They’re not frail. They’re simply under assault from your alien air. Also, a log cabin does not sound like the kind of place to interest an engineer. It sounds primitive.” Hierax peered at the field they were walking through. “Do your people not have roads?”

  “Not out here. Your captain wanted a somewhat remote location to set down. Katie’s cabin is somewhat remote, so we thought this would work.”

  “Remote.” His nose wrinkled. “And primitive.”

  Indi couldn’t argue much with that. Katie’s cabin had a satellite dish and a few necessities, but Hierax wouldn’t find a workshop full of high-tech tools to play with.

  “I ordered you a gift. It might be there when we arrive.” She hadn’t planned to tell him until later, but he seemed like he needed coaxing to get to the cabin.

  “Oh?” His expression did perk up.

  “As soon as my phone had service again, I placed the order. I think it arrives today. Tomorrow at the latest.” It had been a bemusing experience to pull up the Amazon website while the Falcon 8 was swooping out of the atmosphere to land for its meeting, mostly because nobody had hopped on the intercom to tell her that her phone had to be in airplane mode while they were in flight.

  “In that case, visiting a remote, primitive cabin sounds delightful,” Hierax said.

  Indi grinned as they walked.

  They’d walked almost a mile before she realized she hadn’t been watching the grasses for rattlesnakes, something she always did when forced to walk in uncivilized places. She wasn’t sure if she was distracted by the handsome geek walking at her side, or if snakes simply seemed innocuous after all she’d been through, including but not limited to being kidnapped, being shot at, deciphering alien transmissions, and being fired at in space battles. The wilds of Arizona didn’t seem as dangerous as they once had.

  “How much farther?” Hierax asked as they left the meadow and meandered through the pines, following a path of trampled grass.

  “You’re not complaining about having to walk two miles, are you?” Indi squeezed his biceps. “I’ve seen the kind of training your captain puts you guys through.”

  Life had returned to normal for the Star Guardians during the week-long trip from Dethocoles to Earth, which meant that the majority of the crew spent two hours before shift and two hours after shift in the gym. Despite his fondness for staying in engineering as often as possible, Hierax had been there, hurling weights around and wrestling with his colleagues. They hadn’t gone out of their way to pick on him, as she’d seen some of them doing when she’d first met him, perhaps because he’d been the one to adapt Wanderer technology to create the super weapons that defeated the Zi’i.

  “Not the walk itself. Mostly.” He sniffed with stuffy nostrils. “But the fact that we’re doing it without mental stimulation. Do you have any riddles you haven’t shared with me yet? Math riddles.”

  He hadn’t been amused when she’d given him a word riddle the week before. To be fair, it hadn’t made much sense after going through the translation chip.

  “All right, but I’m running out. I’ll have to download a bunch while I’m here, to keep you satisfied.”

  “I do like women who keep me satisfied.” He gave her a playful leer.

  “Here goes: a sexy database programmer and her sexy boyfriend are heading off on a date, but they don’t have much money. They plan to rent a chariot to take them to their date. It goes nine miles an hour. They’ll save money by walking back at three miles an hour. How far did they ride and how far did they walk if they had to be back in eight hours?”

  “How long did they stay at the place they were going?”

  “They didn’t. They were either riding or walking the whole time.”

  “That sounds like an awful date. You’d think such sexy people could come up with something to do at their destination.”

  “Are you st
alling because you don’t know the answer?”

  “Of course not. They rode in the chariot for two hours to go eighteen miles and they walked back in six hours, thus using up their eight hours. And then neither of them wanted to date each other ever again.”

  “What if they spent the walk back telling riddles?” Indi asked.

  “Oh.” Hierax’s expression brightened. “Hm. They’d have to be harder riddles than that. I could have solved that one when I was three. You don’t even have to set up an equation.”

  “So, you’re saying I didn’t satisfy you?”

  “No, just that I can satisfy you more.” He rubbed his hands together, then paused. “Wait, are we talking about riddles or sex?”

  “It’s your innuendo. You tell me.”

  Before he could decide—he looked like he might think about it for a while—the sounds of voices drifted to them, punctuated with enthusiastic barking. Indi spotted Katie’s cabin in the distance, nestled in a copse of towering pines. A surprising number of dogs were running about, chasing squirrels up the trees.

  The front yard hadn’t been mowed in months—Indi had been here before and knew the kidnapping adventure couldn’t entirely be blamed for that—but the back was nothing but dirt and pine needles, so there was plenty of room for people. Fresh wood had been stacked next to a fire pit built into an old flagstone patio, and a grill and Adirondack chairs ringed the area. A picnic table full of food and plastic dinnerware stood off to the side, an open cooler next to it full of ice, beer, and soda. Angela, Juanita, Katie, Treyjon, Orion, and Zakota were already helping themselves to the contents of the cooler.

  As Indi and Hierax approached, Treyjon noticed them first and lifted a hand. Indi wasn’t sure about those dogs—did they belong to some neighbor who let them roam free?—but they didn’t pay attention to her or Hierax. They were too busy racing around the base of a tree with not one but two squirrels up it, giant squirrels with big, pointy ears. The dogs seemed to believe that if they barked loudly enough, the squirrels would fall out of the pine.

  “Glad you made it,” Katie called, grabbing a couple of beers and approaching them. “There was a bet going around, and we were evenly split on it.”