The Space Merchants

by Wendie Nordgren

  "Thank you for inviting my lady wife to stay with you during our visit. Our business will keep us from Tora for a few days."

  Hiroshi said, "Please keep an eye on my little sister. She tends to wander off and get into trouble."

  "I do not! That wasn't my fault."

  "No, it wasn't your fault, but Simon deserves fair warning," Phillip agreed.

  "Yukihyo has already told me what happened. Perhaps we will have time for me to give you some additional weapons training while you are with me," Simon told me. "Don't worry, Hiroshi. I plan to spoil Teagan while I have her all to myself."

  "Do not attempt to entice Teagan away from me, Simon Montgomery," Yukihyo said. Simon gave him an innocent look.

  "Yukihyo, my dear friend, you are going to have to beg her to come back to you. You should have gifts ready when you return for her."

  Phillip said, "Simon, you do keep a doctor at your estate, right? Don't feel guilty when she hurts herself. Cupcake can hurt herself even on carpet." My cheeks flamed.

  "Chitter chitter chitter chitter."

  I caught Phillip's eyes.

  "Phillip, one word from me on Malta and you sleep alone." That shut him up. Hiroshi and Yukihyo had a chuckle at his expense. Simon held his hands up.

  "Don't look at me, Phillip. I've seen Teagan angry."

  "When?" I asked.

  "When you charged out of the forest with a blaster in one hand and a charge stick in the other, ready to fight off a team of soldiers to protect these guys," Simon answered.

  Phillip let out an exasperated breath, "So, you have a physician on staff?" Simon nodded an affirmative response.

  "Are you ready, my lady?" Simon asked.

  "Yes, thank you." Cass jumped down from the web to Simon, and Thunderdrop hopped down to Yukihyo and then over to me. Yukihyo got our bags and carried them down in the lift. He put them in the back of Simon's transport. "I'm not taking mine?"

  Simon winked at me and said, "If you wish to go anywhere, I have transports from which you may chose. However, I know where all of the best shopping is and am your willing servant."

  Yukihyo patted Thunderdrop and said, "Take care of your human mother. She is your responsibility while I am away."

  Thunderdrop blinked at him and responded with, "Chirp chirp." I gave my husband a kiss and a hug.

  "I'll miss you," I said. I kissed him again.

  "Other than Hiroshi and Phillip, there is no one else with whom I would entrust you. You will never leave my thoughts while we are apart. May I expect a warm welcome from you within minutes of my return?"

  "Yes." Yukihyo nibbled at my neck making me giggle. Hiroshi drove the large land transport out of Tora, and Phillip followed him in his transport. Yukihyo helped me into Simon's transport. Then, Simon drove us out to his estate.

  Simon drove away from the land port. "I've missed you," he said.

  "I've missed you, too. I'm relieved to be back."

  "Yukihyo told me what happened. You are a strong woman, Teagan Lee. You didn't just sit around waiting to be rescued."

  Looking out of the window at the trees, I said, "I don't think I would have gotten away without Yukihyo and Hiroshi. I had to do something. I was terrified for Thunderdrop. The way they treated him...."

  "Chitter chitter," supplied Thunderdrop.

  "Click click click chitter," Cass sounded from behind Simon's seat.

  "You and Thunderdrop seem to have grown close."

  "I can't imagine my life without him. He's my spider baby." Thunderdrop crawled over the seat and into my lap. Thunderdrop blinked up at Simon, who rubbed a finger down one of his feelers. "Simon, Thunderdrop is really smart." A "chirp" interrupted me. "See? He just agreed with me. Chirp means yes and chitter means no. I'm not crazy either. It's true." Simon's eyes sparkled at me.

  "I know. Arachnean Silk spiders were the most evolved species on Arachne when my ancestors first began to settle here hundreds of years ago. He may continue to surprise you." My stomach growled loudly.

  "Sorry."

  "Don't be. I dragged you away before you could eat on purpose. Stewart has been tracking our progress toward the estate and will have the table laid with breakfast, and plenty of coffee, upon our arrival." I closed my eyes and smiled.

  "Stewart's meals are amazing. How much longer until we get there?" I glanced at the sensor screen. "Simon, are we being followed?" I asked as my heart sped up.

  "Yes, it is just a security detail. After what happened last time, I didn't want you to be afraid driving down my road."

  "Thank you."

  Simon drove through the tall gates that allowed entry to the grounds surrounding his home. Flowering shrubs clung to the bases of towering trees. "I didn't appreciate how beautiful it is here on the drive out last time."

  "Thank you, Teagan."

  "Thank you for letting us stay with you. We would have been lonely and bored on Tora all by ourselves. So, are you going to give me the tour you promised me so long ago?" Simon gave me a charming smile.

  "Yes, but first, you get breakfast and a chance to unpack. Then, I will remain your humble servant for as long as Yukihyo allows it."

  "Oh, Simon." He stopped and powered down the transport. As he opened his door and got out, one of his security officers opened my door and helped me out, while another removed our bags from the back. Simon walked to me, placing my hand on his arm. "Well, at least now I know why that waitress at the cafe practically fainted at your feet."

  "Why is that?" Simon asked.

  I smiled at him, "Because you treat even the lowest of us as though we were princesses."

  "Do you dare refer to yourself as low?" Simon stopped walking and gently took my elbows into his hands.

  "Simon."

  "Teagan, are you telling me you aren't a princess?"

  I rolled my eyes at him and opened my mouth to say, "I've never been within a mile of one that I know of, Simon." Cass and Thunderdrop skittered up a tree near the house. Simon's pale blue eyes looked down into mine.

  "I can see that I have much work to do."

  "What do you mean?" I asked. Simon moved his hands from my elbows down to grasp my hands.

  "I mean that I feel it is now my duty to remove this low notion you have of yourself from your mind. I can't have you believing such a lie."

  Embarrassed, I said, "Oh, Simon. I fear I have misled you in some way, and I promise it was completely unintentional. Now, I feel terrible." My cheeks burned.

  "If you are referring to your struggle for basic survival alone and unprotected on Earth, you have misled me in no way. I knew everything I could find out about you before I sat down at your table. A life of privilege and connections does not make a woman a lady. Her character does. Your character is such that Thunderdrop and I both believe you to be a true princess." The end of my nose began to tingle and I felt my eyes start to spill. Simon released my hands and began to dry my tears with an expensive piece of Arachnean silk.

  "You knew everything about me? Simon, that princess stuff is really sweet, but the investigation stuff is creepy," I sniffed. Simon shrugged.

  "I'm a very wealthy man. I'm cautious. Let's eat." Simon ushered me inside where Stewart welcomed me and gave me a bow. I shook my head at him.

  "I kind of thought you liked me well enough to give me a hug, Stewart." Stewart gave me a genuine smile and a hug. Showing us to the table, Stewart pulled a chair out for me. Beautiful, fluffy, thick waffles, bowls of berries, mounds of eggs, and a plate of sausages were spread over the table. "Oh, wow!" Stewart filled our cups with steaming hot coffee and then began to pile food onto my plate. I grabbed my fork and waited, watching for Simon to do the same. Simon picked up his coffee instead. I wrinkled my brow. He laughed, put it down, and picked up his fork instead. Relieved, I ate all of my eggs and then doused my waffles in syrup. I chewed blissfully with my eyes closed. After a few very satisfying bites, I had a sip of coffee. "Oh, that's so good." I remembered to use my napkin and then dove back into my breakfast
. Stewart refilled our cups as I finished eating everything on my plate. "Thank you, Stewart. That was the best breakfast I've had since, well, since I was here."

  "You are very welcome, Lady Teagan."

  Placing his napkin on the table, Simon stood. "Let's get you settled in. I'll help." Simon took me up in the lift to the room he had given me on my previous stay.

  "Oh, I remember. This is the beautiful room with that huge deep bathtub."

  Simon said, "You like your room?"

  "Yes, it's the most opulent place I've ever stayed other than Tora." Simon seemed pleased with my response.

  "You didn't see this last time." He pressed a button and the wall, behind the table that held the vase full of blue Salvia, slid away vanishing somewhere into the ceiling. The wall had hidden a plasti-glass wall that provided an amazingly clear view of the inner courtyard. I drew in a surprised breath. I could see the large rock pool and all of the beautiful flowers.

  "Simon, it's so beautiful. Look! There are Thunderdrop and Cass!" They were playing on strands of silk. I heard my case hit the bed. I walked over to help. Simon helped me put all of my things away. Most of the clothes had been his gifts to me. Simon opened the backpack.

  "What's this?" Simon pulled out the wand and waved it around. "I thought you denied being a princess." I smirked at him.

  "Those are Thunderdrop's toys and things. I need to buy him some more food by the way."

  Incredulously, Simon said, "He has toys?"

  "Yes, he picked them out himself. We spend a lot of time playing. Are there any toy stores for spiders on Arachne?"

  "Uh, no."

  "Really? That's surprising. There are toy stores though, right?"

  "Yes, there are a few," Simon answered.

  "Can we take Thunderdrop shopping one day?" I asked. Simon raised his eyebrows at me.

  "Sure."

  "Simon, why are you acting like it's weird?"

  "I'm not. I just didn't know a spider would play with children's toys."

  Frowning I said, "Don't you play with Cass?" He shook his head. I was shocked.

  "Are you ready for your tour?"

  "Yes, thank you." I placed Thunderdrop's ball and wand on the bed and his bowls on the table. I filled his water and food dishes just in case he got hungry.

  Simon led me outside to a building behind his massive home. We walked through its wide opening, and I saw vehicles of many types. Simon slid into the seat of a two seater hovercraft. The front, top, and back were made of plasti-glass held in place by a frame. The sides were open and without doors. I got in. Simon pulled a strap across me and secured it to the seat. He did the same for himself. Simon propelled us forward and into the forest taking us above a rich dirt path and following it through the thick-trunked towering trees. I tilted my chin straight up and looked through the clear roof at the intertwining branches covered in green leaves.

  "They look like they keep going up forever, and the air here is so fresh and clean."

  Simon said, "This forest is new growth. My great-great-grandfather planted these trees."

  "How long has your family lived on Arachne?"

  Simon winked at me, and said, "We have lived here for several generations, and my family tree is not entirely human."

  "Really? Then, we have something in common, since my husband isn't human." Simon laughed at me. "That was funny what you said, too... your 'family tree'... because you have several trees." Simon rolled his eyes at me.

  "The men who settled out here found wives for themselves in the Laconian sector. That expanse of the universe is home to several races of humanoids who look much like us, but who evolved to better survive in their environments. Yukihyo comes from the Laconian sector. His eyes have adapted to allow him to see as clearly in a blizzard as we see in this forest."

  "I didn't know any of that. Thank you for telling me." Simon drove farther along the path. A dense growth of flowering bushes managed to flourish even with the little light reaching them. I rested the back of my head on the seat as I looked straight above at the light trying to make it through the leaves. Then, large webs, high up in the trees, came into view. "It looks like someone dropped large lace table clothes into the trees from the sky," I said.

  "Other than the one in the kitchen, has Thunderdrop built you any webs?"

  "Yes, his prettiest one is in my quarters, but he's built a web in each of the rooms where we spend the most time. So, had your great-great however many great-grandmothers adapted to their environments like Yukihyo?"

  "Yes, amongst other things. They could communicate telepathically," Simon told me.

  "Does that mean talk to each other just by thinking things?"

  "Yes."

  "Oh, is that why the spiders didn't eat the early settlers?"

  Laughing, he said, "Yes, I suppose so."

  "Can spiders make you think things, Simon?"

  "Sometimes, why?" I shrugged.

  "Sometimes an image of a can of spider food pops into my head out of nowhere. I thought maybe I was crazy." Simon gave me a half smile.

  "You aren't crazy, and Thunderdrop is still very young," Simon explained while looking into my eyes with his ice blue ones.

  Simon stopped by a meandering stream with a gentle current. "After a rain this stream turns into rapids. Look down there," he pointed. I looked where his finger was aimed. Near the stream, but far from our location, a few spiders moved stealthily along the ground. "They are hunting." Simon turned the transport, so we wouldn't interfere with the hunt. He drove us toward the right where another path came into view. I became thoroughly confused about in which direction we were going. We drove up on a scene that could have come directly from the documentary I had watched. Men stood under the trees holding long poles that had claw like ends. The men hoisted the poles up into the trees and while keeping the poles vertical, twisted the poles slowly in their palms to collect the abandoned silk webs around the claws. While I watched one man completed his harvesting of a web and retracted the pole. The pole shrank down to about five feet in length. He carried it over to one of their vehicles and placed the web covered clawed end into a box like device in the back. After a moment he withdrew the claw from the box, and it was completely free of the web.

  Pointing at the box, I asked, "What's that?"

  "That machine draws the silk away and compacts it. After the men have completed harvesting the webs, the boxes are taken to another machine that empties them and cleans the silk. Another machine turns the silk into thread."

  "Well, I guess it's a good thing that you have all of those contraptions. Thunderdrop's webs are very sticky."

  "Would you like to harvest a web?"

  "Sure! Those poles look heavy though."

  "They weigh a bit. They are heavier at the bottom than at the top. The pole retracts by nesting into itself. I'll help you." The men greeted Simon fondly. "Is there a web closer to the ground for Lady Lee to harvest?" Simon asked one of the men.

  "Yes, sir. This way, please." He showed Simon one. Closer to the ground? I almost fell on my butt trying to look up at it. Simon placed a hand to my back. He stood behind me and put the pole in front of me. I was a couple of inches taller than the pole and had a clear view of the claw like end. The pole wobbled, and I had to keep it from falling with my shoulder.

  "Simon, 'weighs a bit' to you means something completely different to me." He put a hand out to steady it.

  "It's okay. I'll help. Do you see that lever? Be sure that your head is away from the end. Then, push up on it." I leaned my head back, hitting Simon's chest, and pushed up on the lever. The pole began to extend up into the trees. It reached the web and then stopped as soon as the claw touched it. "Now, we turn the pole slowly to the right, over and over, until we have the web." We twisted the web onto the pole like spaghetti noodles onto a fork. As we twisted the pole, the leaves and branches were drawn toward the claw as well. They sprang free as they touched the claw. "Okay, you've got the web. Be sure your head is back an
d then push the lever down," Simon instructed. The pole retracted. The sticky web formed a white ball on the end of the pole with a few leaves sticking out. "Now, let's remove the web."

  "I can't carry this pole, Simon. I would have to drag it." He picked it up, and I followed and watched.

  "That, my lady, is how we harvest the webs of Arachnean Silk spiders."

  "You all make it look easy, but those poles are heavy. Their arms and backs must hurt by the end of the day."

  "That is true at first, but after building up the right muscles, it isn't difficult."

  "If you say so, Simon." We got back into the hovercraft. Next, Simon showed me were they took the boxes of harvested webs. We watched as webs were cleaned. Then, we moved farther along and watched the threads being formed. Simon had an entire building for each stage of the silk production process and several employees.

  "Let's return to the house," Simon suggested.

  As soon as I stepped into Simon's foyer, Thunderdrop climbed to the top of my head. "Hello, baby. Are you having fun?"

  "Chirp chirp chirp."

  "I suggest we enjoy the pool before the rain starts again."

  "Sounds good. I don't know how to swim, though. Is it deep?" Simon smiled at me.

  "It's okay. Stewart will get you a float." We went up in the lift to our rooms to change. I put on my exercise shorts and shirt and brushed my hair up into a high ponytail. Thunderdrop had eaten his food, so I rinsed his bowl in the bathroom sink and dried it. I took the towel with me. Simon was waiting. Stewart took the towel from me and placed it on a chair near the pool. He handed me a semicircular float and suggested that I hold it under my arms so as not to require "being fished out of the pool." Stewart then went about placing a pitcher and glasses on a table. Simon had already jumped into the water. I did as Stewart suggested and held onto the float. I walked over to the edge and looked into the pool. The stones made the water look like a dark shade of blue. I moved over to my left where I could see some steps in the water. I hesitated putting my foot in because it looked cold. I touched the water with my big toe.

  "Oh, it's warm." I heard splashing around the other side of the pool behind a small island. The island's flowering bushes, stones, and flowers obscured my view of the other side. I stepped down, and once my feet touched the final step, the water reached my chest. Holding onto the float, I stepped off, and the float caught me under my arms. Above me Cass and Thunderdrop had attached lines of silk from one side of the roof to the other over the courtyard and practiced walking across without falling into the pool. Holding the float, I kicked toward the center island and peeked around it. I didn't see Simon. Something grabbed my foot, and I jumped. Simon came out of the water laughing. Then, it became a game of tag where I was at a disadvantage. We played in the pool until my hands and feet were shriveled. Then, we sat at the table by the pool and drank the juice and ate the sandwiches that Stewart had put out for us. Water dripped from us through the open metal work of the chairs to make little "pip" sounds while we ate. It had been impossible not to notice Simon's heavily-muscled shoulders and arms. I made an effort to avert my sight from the drops of water as they slid over his skin. I thought instead about Yukihyo in the fighting ring on Malta, shirt off, stomach and back muscles rippling with power, and glistening with sweat. I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and felt all better.