The Space Merchants

by Wendie Nordgren

  "Then, it is this. When we are on the ship, call me Hiroshi. Only when we are off of the ship, is formality needed. We tend to function as a family here most of the time," he said.

  "Hiroshi," I said, glancing up at his liquid brown eyes and then down at my toes. "I have even less experience with family than I do with spaceships."

  Hiroshi said, "There is plenty of time. Take things at your own pace." On the back wall and to the left of the entrance, was another door leading to an exercise room. Yukihyo had shown it to me, and I remembered not to step on the mat. "We spend time in here each day. It is common to become weak in space, if one does not remain active," he said.

  "I guess that's understandable. If I were in Union Port City today, I would have already walked a few miles and dumped a few bins by now." Hiroshi showed me how to operate one of the treadmills. Having me stand on it, he set it for two miles. Seeing my flip flops, he set it for a slow pace. Stepping onto the other treadmill, I saw him set it to four miles, raise it to an incline, and then begin jogging. Yikes! "I'm trying to put the layout of this deck together in my head. How many rooms are there?"

  Hiroshi answered, “Including the bridge there are twelve. Six crew quarters, the kitchen, laundry and storage, recreation, exercise, and relaxation rooms make up the habitation deck. There are three decks. This is the third and where you will spend most of your time. The second deck contains engineering and weapons systems. The first deck, with which you are familiar, contains cargo and land transports.” I had walked half of a mile. The door on the wall beside and slightly behind me slid open, admitting Phillip and Yukihyo. I heard them as they stepped onto the mat that took up the center of the large room. I looked over my shoulder at them. Both men had bare feet and were wearing short-sleeved tightly fitted shirts and loose pants of the same fabric. Their clothes looked like fancy pajamas to me. Yukihyo's were a pale blue, and Phillip's were black. They began to fight. I tripped in shock. Without breaking his pace, Hiroshi caught me by my elbow to steady me. I decided to face forward and ignore them. I could hear a lot of swishing noises and the occasional impact of a punch. Once, I heard one of them hit the mat. By the time I had finished my two miles and Hiroshi had finished his four, their breathing had become audible. "Let's go." Hiroshi led me through the door to the relaxation room. I was relieved to be away from the fighting. I knew they were just sparring, but nevertheless, it frightened me. I followed Hiroshi into the kitchen where he took two glasses from a cabinet and filled them both with water from the beverage dispenser. He stood with his hip against the counter and drank. I sat and finished mine. He took both of our empty glasses to the cleaning unit and then replaced them in the cabinet. "Let's go set your alarm," he said.

  "Okay." We left the kitchen and exited the relaxation room into the corridor, and walked down to my room. Hiroshi waited for me to enter first. Then, he walked over to the vid-screen, tapping it a few times.

  "It is now synchronized with our wake and sleep cycles. If you look here," he pointed to the top corner, "there is a clock, so you will have a better concept of time as it passes. Space travel can be disconcerting at first." I thanked him. "I have some work to complete in engineering, so I will leave you to your own pursuits for a while."

  "Yes, sir. Thank, you, again." Hiroshi frowned at me.

  "We have discussed this, Teagan." I stared at him for a moment, unsure of his meaning.

  Then, I sighed and said, "Hiroshi." At my use of his name, he smiled and left. I stepped out of my flip flops, walked over to the pillow covered couch, and sat down. I saw a device on one of the cushions and picked it up. The vid-screen activated. The device was cylindrical, about ten inches long, and about the diameter of my pinky. I learned how to use the device to control the vid-screen. I pulled up the menu. Under the surroundings option, I saw view port. I pointed at it, and the screen filled with stars, shining against empty black space. This must be the view from the bridge. Standing in the corridor, anyone could look straight into the bridge and through the now un-shuttered windows. This view from my couch had me in awe, and I sat and watched for a while. Then, I aimed the device, which I had decided to call a wand, at the vid-screen. Personally, I had never before used a vid-screen. They were in stores, and some were located outside of major buildings in Union Port City, but most of them were set to the news or Galaxic Militia recruiting videos. I stopped at a documentary program featuring the planet Scipio. One of the men had said that our first stop would be on planet Scipio and to a city named Polybius. I started to watch. It was a beautiful planet. Towering trees, mountains, steep cliffs overlooking large pools of water, and a temperature that consistently remained around eighty degrees, except in the mountains, made Scipio a popular spot for wealthy tourists. Scipio was heavily protected by a strong Galaxic Militia presence. The planet had a favorable environment for agriculture. Farmers there produced enough surplus to spawn a prepared food industry that catered to the restocking of spaceships and to supplying the militia. Tourists could enjoy the many shops, mineral baths and spas, or sightseeing trips that some settlers offered. All of Scipio's inhabitants looked beautiful. The women's faces were all adorned with smiles and their bodies with flowing gowns and short jackets. It looked like paradise. I couldn't wait to be there. I hoped that after I had finished loading and unloading cargo I would have a little time to look around. I wondered how long we would stay. The program ended. I figured out how to turn it off, used my bathroom, and then thought it should be time for lunch. The clock in the corner of the vid-screen remained, even after I turned it off. I went to the kitchen.

  Phillip had managed to dodge one of Yukihyo's strikes, but the second one flattened him to the mat. Once Hiroshi had led Teagan from the room, they had gotten serious. From Phillip's position, flat on his back, sweat ran down his sides toward the mat. Yukihyo pulled Phillip up by his hands.

  "Have you had enough?" Yukihyo asked.

  "Yes, but have you? You seemed agitated when we began, more than usual. I thought she was helping you." Yukihyo gazed at nothing.

  "We frightened her. She tried to hide it, but she cringed as though preparing to be struck. She would have fallen had Hiroshi not steadied her. It angered me, her fear. I may have transferred my anger to you. For that, I apologize." Phillip walked to the corner down from the treadmills and stepped into the unit that occupied the space. He allowed the sonic pulse therapy to repair his battered flesh.

  "Concentrate on the fact that it's over. She's with us now," Phillip said.

  "You are right. She will be happy with us. I know this in my mind, but after so long without my clan mother and sisters, and with a human female...." Phillip stepped out of the machine.

  "So, what I'm hearing is that you feel inadequate as a male," said Phillip. Yukihyo drew himself up to his full height and glared at Phillip, before realizing that he was being teased. Then, he laughed, and Phillip joined him. Phillip said, "I need a shower."

  Yukihyo nodded and said seriously, "Yes, you do." They laughed again and headed toward their separate quarters.

  Chapter Eight

  I heard male laughter as I entered the laundry room. I liked that everyone got along, and I hoped I was making a good impression. I knew I wasn't good with people. I was good at being inconspicuous. Becoming part of a family seemed as foreign to me as visiting Scipio. I made myself a cup of black tea, set it on the table, and looked into the cold storage unit. There were stacks of ice bear. I spotted a container labeled chicken, black beans, corn, and tomatoes. It sounded fabulous to me. I opened the door and pulled it out of its stack. I followed the instructions on the box to heat it, finding myself a fork while I waited. Sitting down at the table, I tasted my selection. I was right. It was fabulous. I devoured every bite, drank my tea, washed the dishes, and put everything away.

  I wandered into the relaxation room. There was a bookcase in the corner that held novels, military histories, biographies, classic literature, and even a few cook books. I found a large picture book featurin
g some of the more popular planets that had been colonized. I took the big book over to one of the couches and started carefully looking through the pages. I drifted off. I woke up on the couch with the book in my lap. How long I had slept, I had no idea. I put the book away. I wasn't sure what I should be doing. I stepped into the corridor. I could see Hiroshi in his captain's chair, but couldn't see the other work stations without standing right at the entrance to the bridge.

  I went into my quarters. I brushed my teeth, unbraided, brushed, and re-braided my hair. I found a small square cloth and used it along with a drop of the pink rose scented soap to wash my face and neck in the sink. Dropping the cloth into the laundry basket, I decided to learn how the laundry system worked. It worked the same way as the one at my old housing community, except, I didn't have to pay. Returning to my room, I put everything away. "Now, what should I do?" I asked myself. The light above my door flashed. I stepped near it, so it would open. Yukihyo stood there. "Hello. Please, come in." He entered.

  "Are you becoming acclimated to life on the ship?" he asked.

  "I think so, but I'm not sure what I should be doing."

  "You are doing as you should be doing," he answered.

  "Yukihyo, what is that supposed to mean?" My exasperated tone elicited a smile from him.

  "Would you like to play a game?" Yukihyo asked, in his deep monotone. I couldn't remember the last time I had played a game.

  "Um, I don't know many, but okay." He walked over to the vid-screen and pulled a wand from the side of it. He found the one on the couch, handed it to me, and pulled me over to sit with him. Finding what he wanted on the menu, a board appeared on the screen. Its surface was divided into many squares. In the four center squares, were two blue stones and two red stones. Yukihyo told me how to play to capture stones. The player with the most stones would win. It was an old game, and I vaguely remembered playing it. Yukihyo called it Stones and said that he had played the game as a child, also. He beat me the first two games, but I beat him by three stones on our third game. The lights in my quarters began to dim. Turning off the vid-screen, Yukihyo returned the wands to its side.

  "It is time for dinner. Will you join me and the others in the kitchen?"

  "Sure. Let's go," I said. Yukihyo took my hand, placing it on his arm, and walked with me to the kitchen. He was very much the gentleman. No one had ever treated me the way Yukihyo did. They all were. Phillip, Hiroshi, and Yukihyo had opened doors for me and treated me kindly. It made me nervous. Phillip had beaten us there and had already started heating something up.

  "Hey there, little sister! What 'cha hungry for?" Phillip put his food on the table. It was a large pizza with several toppings. My heart kind of stuttered a little, and I must have blushed. I wasn't accustomed to being greeted with such enthusiastic warmth. Phillip threw his arm around me and walked me to the cold storage unit. It was packed, and he started rattling off choices to me from a shelf that I was too short to see.

  "Baked potato?" I said picking it out of the list.

  "Your wish is my command," he said. Phillip removed his arm from me, took the container out, and went over to heat it up for me. I got a glass of water. Yukihyo made his selection, and then Hiroshi came in and found something he wanted. Eventually, we were all seated and enjoying our dinners. After dinner and some pleasant conversation, they invited me to watch a movie with them in the recreation room. Phillip and Hiroshi sat in the chairs in front of the screen, and I sat on one of the couches. Yukihyo sat next to me. It was an action spy film of some sort that they all seemed to enjoy. They laughed and groaned during various scenes. I jumped a few times. At one scary part, Yukihyo held my hand. It felt nice, all of us just sitting together and watching a movie. After it ended we said goodnight to each other in the corridor. Hiroshi went to check on things on the bridge. The rest of us entered our quarters. I brushed my teeth, changed into my pajamas, crawled into bed, and watched the stars until I fell asleep.

  I woke up to the sound of birds singing. The lights were on in my room. This must have been Hiroshi's idea. Better than the squirrel, I thought. I slid out of bed and headed into the bathroom. I showered, washing my hair and totally enjoying the fancy soap. Afterwards, I dried my hair, dressed, and then brushed my hair up into a low ponytail. I found my flip flops, put them on, and made my bed. Everyone was in the kitchen making their breakfasts when I got there. "Good morning!" I said to everyone.

  "Good morning, Teagan." Phillip mumbled around a mouthful of pancakes. In the cold storage, I found a breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausage that I eagerly placed in the heater. I took my food and a fork to the table and then made myself a cup of coffee. Everyone ate. Hiroshi and Yukihyo talked about something technical that I didn't understand. Phillip managed to breathe in between bites. They started to clean up their dishes.

  I said, "Wait, please. Let me do that. I am, after all the domestic assistant, right?" Their movements halted. They exchanged glances and consented. They each went off to check on different ship functions leaving me in the kitchen. I quickly cleaned the kitchen. I noticed the desk fitted into the corner near the cold storage, with a mounted vid-screen above it, and a stool in front of it. It all smoothly blended into the walls. I decided to investigate the laundry room. I opened every cabinet and drawer. In one cabinet I found a floor cleaning bot. It was easy to operate. I ran it over the floor of the laundry room. Then, I took it into the kitchen, relaxation room, exercise, and recreation rooms. I made it to the corridor and slowly took it up and down from one end to the other in straight lines. On a trip with it back toward the bridge, I saw three sets of eyes watching me. I took a hand away from the bot, waved, and smiled at them before making my turn. When I finished the corridor, I cleaned the floor in my quarters. Then, I stopped outside of the bridge. "Excuse me," I said. "Would anyone like for me to clean the floor in their quarters?"

  "Uh, sure. Thanks," said Phillip. I followed him to his door. He ran around his room picking up discarded clothing and tossing them in his bathroom. He went back to the bridge. I ran the bot over the entire floor and then over the floor of his bathroom after I put his laundry in his basket. Afterwards, I carried his basket of laundry to the laundry room with me and placed his things in the cleaning unit. Once they were clean, I returned them to the basket, took the basket to his quarters, and left it by his door, taking the bot with me.

  Stepping to the entrance of the bridge, I said, "Phillip, I'm all done with your floor."

  "Thank you, Teagan. You didn't have to do that though."

  "Yes, I did, Phillip. Isn't it what I was hired to do?" I sent a questioning look to the back of his head. He did not respond. "Yukihyo, may I clean your floor for you?" He turned to me.

  "Yes, thank you, Teagan. The weapons systems are taking much of my time. It would be helpful of you to do so." I smiled. It made me happy to do something to contribute. Yukihyo met my eyes as he walked to me. His eyes had fewer lightning strikes of color. He took the bot to his door and opened it for me before walking back to the bridge. His room had nothing out of place. It was arranged similar to mine, but in pale yellow and orange and with only two pillows on the bed. Instead of a couch in front of the vid-screen, he had a chair, ottoman, and the hide of what I presumed to be the much larger than I had expected ice bear. It was huge. It must have covered a quarter of the floor in the room. Its fur was white. I reached down to touch it. It was soft and thick, but coarse. I admonished myself for being nosey and ran the cleaning bot over Yukihyo's floor. His laundry basket was empty, so I took the bot and left. On the bridge Hiroshi said it was time for lunch and that he would gladly show me to his floor afterward. He placed the bot inside of his door for me.

  After lunch I had to politely stop them from doing their dishes. I reminded them that I wanted to earn my pay. Exchanging glances with each other, they left and I cleaned and put away our dishes. Hiroshi had watched for me from the bridge, and met me at his door just as I got there. He let me in and then retur
ned to the bridge. I found a sock under his couch and put it in his laundry basket which was otherwise empty. I finished up and left. I put the bot away. I decided to wait until they left the bridge to ask for permission to clean it. Bathroom cleaning supplies were on a cart half of the size of the one Mary had used. I decided that I would clean our bathrooms tomorrow. I hoped they would be pleased with the floors. I drank a glass of water in the kitchen, cleaned the glass, and put it away. I went to the exercise room and programmed the treadmill for two miles.

  On the bridge Hiroshi said, "Are you sure she is okay?" He wasn't sure how he felt having another person cleaning up after him.

  "She felt happy," Yukihyo replied. "She enjoyed feeling needed, and it is the job designation you hired her under," he added.

  Hiroshi nodded, "Yes, however, when we dock on Scipio, we should take her shopping and to dinner."

  "Agreed," said Phillip. "Ship systems are all functioning. Let's go to the gym." Phillip said. They left the bridge. They saw Teagan for a moment before she went into the storage room and came back out with the bot.

  "May I clean the bridge now, Hiroshi?"

  "Yes, of course."

  I went to the bridge and was careful to clean every inch of the floor. When I finished I took the bot and put it away. I decided to have a cup of coffee. Afterwards, I went to the relaxation room and found the book I had started looking at yesterday. Scipio was almost as beautiful in the pictures as it had been in the documentary. I learned that while agriculture made food abundant on Scipio, there was a shortage of wool bearing animals for textile production, and the inhabitants did not want to use any of the valuable farmland as pastures. Therefore, most fabrics were imported. I wondered if Tora was one of their suppliers. Later that night during dinner, I asked how long we would be staying on Scipio. Hiroshi answered, "A few days at the least. We have cargo to deliver. We may trade some goods. I don't mind spending a day taking you to see something of your choice, since it will be your first time visiting another planet." I let out a screech. I couldn't help it. I jumped up and down in my seat.