Chapter Seven
Charity waited to pester Sara until Utber and the kids had left for their softball league practices and Groteg had departed for the fields to inspect their progress. It was the weekend, but farmwork apparently never took a break. Sara was humming as she set the kitchen to rights following breakfast, directing Charity where things should go as the younger woman tried to help. Charity had the feeling she was slowing her hostess down, but she certainly wasn’t going to sit at the table and sip coffee while Sara did all the work.
“Detodev,” Charity said as she put cups in a cabinet. “What’s the gloomy guy’s story? He has all the warmth of a brick, but there were moments he acted as if he’d like a better connection to his fellow man.”
“Hmm.” Sara considered, darting an evaluating glance at her ward as she did so. “Well, his is an interesting story, but it isn’t my place to tell it to you. You’ll have to get it from him, if you can convince him to tell it to you. He is the silent type…but once you know him, he isn’t a cold fish at all.”
Charity was certain she didn’t imagine a shadow of sadness on Sara’s face as she talked of the Nobek. “I probably won’t hear it if I have to pry it from his lips. You can’t give me a hint?”
Sara smiled and shook her head. “He trusts me to keep his secrets, as you do.”
“Then you shouldn’t tell me. I do hate a mystery, though. What weakness I can exploit to gain his confidence? Food? Money? Lots of pretty knives? Nobeks love those.”
Sara chuckled and sidestepped the question. “The plates go up there, next to the cooling unit.” Following a few seconds of silence, she added, “Be his friend. I know he doesn’t exactly invite it—”
“He probably has a moat surrounding his house. Filled with alligators. And sharks.”
“He’s standoffish, but there’s a kind man under his shell. I’d be thrilled if you were able to draw him out of it. He needs friends.” Sara suddenly swung to face her. “You’ve given me an idea. Invite the gang to dinner tonight. Ilid, Detodev, and Mitag. Utber’s too busy shuttling the kids to their activities to cook, but Detodev adores my pork tenderloin. We’ll roast some potatoes…I think Utber froze some wedi sauce. It’ll go nicely on the spuds.”
“Can I help? I can bake a pie. Wait, we’re talking Kalquorians. I’ve seen how much they eat. Two pies. Oops, you have a teenage boy and James the Food Tornado. Three pies. What fruit do you have I can use? Do Kalquorians like fruit pies?” Charity was excited at the notion of baking for her new friends. They probably thought an astronomy student with a supposed penchant for blowing up labs had never set foot near an oven.
Sara grinned. “A few baskets of strawberries and blueberries were dropped off a few days ago. I made most into jam, but there’s probably enough for three pies.”
“Perfect! Okay, where can I set up?” Charity looked at the myriad surfaces where she might assemble her contributions to the meal.
“Hold on. You haven’t done any of your schoolwork since you arrived. You may not be on punishment detail for real, but you won’t let your studies slip on my watch. Concentrate on your courses for a few hours. Then you can work on the pies.”
Charity felt a rush of warmth to be mothered by Sara. “I’ll get on my lessons once I’ve talked to Detodev. I overheard Groteg say he’s in the west field. Can I take the hovercart again?” She headed for the door.
“You don’t have to go see him. You can com him the invitation, same as the other two.”
“Ha! He’ll see my frequency and never pick up.” Charity was certain the Nobek was the type to regret having hung around her last night. He’d avoid her for at least two days if he could.
Before the door to the back porch closed behind her, she heard Sara confirm her suspicions by muttering, “Yeah, that’s what he’d do, bless his heart.”
* * * *
“Replacing doohickeys and whatchamacallits again?” Charity hopped off the hovercart and trotted to Detodev.
He awarded her the briefest of glances. He dismissed her and bent to the field monitor spilling its guts on the tilled ground where he knelt. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of such components.”
“Crabby. You look tired. How late did you guys stay up? Where did you go after you left? Was it somewhere fun? Did you crack a smile?” She flopped down to sit cross-legged beside him.
“Ilid dropped us off. His parents were expecting him, he said.” Detodev tossed his head to swing the long braid hanging over his work out of the way. “Do you always ask a hundred questions before letting someone answer?”
“Sometimes I ask a thousand. You’re cleaning the circuit board?”
“They get gunked up faster than anything else. Half the breakdowns are due to dirt getting in the circuit boards.”
“Show me and I’ll help.”
“You?” He finally looked at her.
She scowled at his disbelief. “What do you mean ‘you’? I can handle delicate objects. Have you ever manually calibrated a priceless antique cadioptric telescope? I have, thank you so much for asking. I’ve also disassembled loads of telescopes and put them together again. By hand.”
“Wouldn’t have figured you for the manual labor type, starry-eyed college girl. Don’t you have the heavens to gaze at?”
“Stop making my eyes roll so hard at your obvious attempt to convince me to leave. I’m getting a headache.”
She watched him dip a brush barely bigger than a sewing needle in a solution to clear grit from the circuitry. She selected a similar brush and tweezers from the folding leather case next to him. She used the tweezers to extract another paper-thin circuit board from the field monitor, laid it delicately on her pantleg, and set to work. She glanced at how Detodev worked from time to time to make sure she was cleaning it properly.
After a minute, he used his set of tweezers to pluck the board from her custody.
“Hey! I’m not messing it up.”
Detodev looked at it closely and grunted. He set it on her pantleg again. “No, you aren’t. You’re actually doing a pretty decent job.”
Wait until you see how I bake a pie, you big grouch. You’ll literally eat your words. “I’m a fast learner. I also spent a lot of time assisting my sister on her projects. She builds micro machines. We’re talking nanos you have to look at through a microscopic holo. I bet I can solder faster than you and with greater precision.”
“I’m happy for you. Don’t you have anything else to do?”
The man who’d hovered at the edges of their bar group and had occasionally darted in their midst was clearly gone. He wanted her gone too.
Tough cookies, jerk . “You realize the more you try to scare me off, the more I’m likely to hang on like a tick?” She resumed cleaning.
“What’s a tick?”
“Oh joy, they didn’t revive those horrible little monsters. Score one for Haven.” Her com buzzed for attention, and she set her work down before grabbing it from a pocket. “Hey, it’s Ilid! Hi, Ilid. I was about to com you.”
She was aware of Detodev gazing at her. “No, you weren’t. You were cleaning a circuit board.”
“Well duh, I was going to com him when I was done. Ilid, you’re on speaker, by the way.”
Ilid chuckled, his deep voice giving her a pleasant shiver. “Is that Detodev?”
“His evil twin. Nice Detodev is apparently hibernating.”
“Oh, sorry to hear it. Hi, Evil Detodev.”
“Hello, Ilid. Feel free to take her somewhere I’m not.” The Nobek sighed.
“Miss Behavior giving you a hard time?”
“Does she do anything else?”
Charity blew him a raspberry and concentrated on the laughing Ilid. “Anyway, Ilid, Sara invited you here for dinner tonight, here being the farm in case you didn’t guess where I am. Pork tenderloin and berry pie.”
“Sounds good, I guess. You know I’m unfamiliar with most human food, though my mother bakes a type of berry pie called aserch .”
“You’ll love my strawberry and blueberry version.” Charity drew out the word love to ensure he understood how amazing it would be. “You’ll worship those who fed you such an amazing meal.”
“Okay. Should I bring anything?”
“I’ll ask Sara, but she didn’t mention you needing to. If you don’t hear from me beforehand, assume you just need to bring your appetite.”
“Will do. Thank Matara Sara for asking me.”
“Hey, you commed me. What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you were busy tonight. I guess my question’s been answered.”
“Never make assumptions when it comes to me, my fine Dramok. My real mission is to distract Sara’s clanmates while she woos you. I told you the dinner invitation was her idea. I think her wandering eye likes the looks of you and Mitag.”
“Mother of All,” Detodev muttered. He looked scandalized.
Ilid laughed at her teasing. “Is Mitag going to be there?”
“I’m comming him after Detodev and I are done autopsying this field monitor. No problem him showing up, I hope?” She fished for information of what the trio had done once they’d dropped her off. She doubted Detodev would tell her anything.
“None. He’s a nice guy from what I could tell.”
“And?” she prompted.
“And what…oh, I took him and Detodev to his house.”
“Which I told you,” the Nobek whispered between gritted teeth.
“You didn’t say you went home with Mitag. You made it sound like you each went to your respective abodes…not that it’s any of my business.” Charity returned her attention to Ilid. “The pretty Imdiko failed to ensnare you, Dramok?”
“I went home and found my mother waiting up for me.” It was Ilid’s turn to sigh.
“She loves her widdle boy.”
“Don’t start, Miss Behavior.”
“I wouldn’t dream of teasing Mommy’s big, strong Dramok.”
Following a few more joking insults, they ended the com. Charity’s gaze met Detodev’s scowl.
“What?”
“You shouldn’t have said what you did about Matara Sara. It wasn’t respectful.”
“I was teasing, and Ilid knew it. By the way, she expects you to come to dinner too.” Charity set the circuit board she’d been cleaning on the square of fabric Detodev had laid out for his work.
“I can’t.”
Charity put the tools she’d been using away. “Can’t or won’t? She says you’re a big fan of her pork tenderloin.” She clicked her com.
“It’s excellent, but—”
“Hi Sara!” Charity interrupted when the woman answered. “Quick question: do you want the guys to bring anything for dinner?”
“No, it’s all right. We have everything covered. Are they all coming?”
Charity rose gracefully to her feet and stepped out of the Nobek’s reach. She headed for the hovercart. “Two out of three so far, Ilid and Detodev. I still have to com Mitag, which I’m doing now. Heading in as I com, so I’ll be there in a few.”
She stuck her tongue at the glowering Detodev as she set the hovercart in motion. “See you tonight, Grouchy. Don’t be late. It would hurt Sara’s feelings if you were.”
She skimmed back to the farmhouse, smiling broadly at the snarled curse that chased her. “He’ll thank me later.”
* * * *
“But they’ll be charming. Unexpected. Ironic.”
Mitag gazed at the hall where several tables for six had been set out, topped by gleaming white covers and elegant centerpieces of flowers and candles. He did so thoughtfully, as if seriously weighing the prospective bride’s suggestions.
He gathered all the diplomacy at his command. “It would be unexpected indeed. However, your guests will be dressed in formal attire. You stipulated they wear black tuxedos and gowns, so you and the wedding party would stand out in your white and silver. Using haybales as chairs, while incredibly ironic at a swanky reception, will result in everyone covered in chaff. They might be less than happy about the mess and the cleaning bills as a result.” At her dubious expression, he added, “It’ll look terrible in the stills and vids. All the hay on the dark fabric will stand out.”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess it would.” Matara Selene…“Matara Selfish,” in Mitag’s head…had shown little concern for how her guests would feel when it came to her ceremony and reception choices. It always came down to how her big day would look.
Whenever Mitag pointed out how her decisions impacted others, it always came back to “But it’s my special day.” Consideration for her family and friends and future in-laws be damned. She was paying the price for her self-absorption. What had started as a guest list of three hundred was down to one-twenty-six as the excuses why the invitees couldn’t make it mounted. Mitag had a feeling it would be far lower before the nuptials in a few days. Selene’s demands continued to become narrower and more frivolous.
She was paying a high price to him as well. Despite the falloff in attendance, he’d begun adding to his fee in an effort to rein in the impulsive rustic design choices she made by the hour. Haybale seating was her latest effort to drive him bonkers. He’d somehow managed to render palatable the chicken wire arch she’d decided she couldn’t live without by weaving in white tulle ribbons and roses treated to appear fresh for weeks. Hay was an entirely different matter, however.
The event had begun as “elegance to rival a big-city wedding,” as Matara Selene had expressed during their initial consultation. However, the lifelong farmgirl seemed determined to devolve her sumptuous vision. No doubt Jennifer would have declared it a Planet Farm Hell Black Tie and Tails Hoedown.
Mitag managed to talk Selene out of the haybales and riding her favorite farm horse into the hall. “Manure on the floor also isn’t what you want in the vid” was the deciding factor on that idea. He’d been ready to strengthen his argument by noting the guests puking at the sight and smell alongside their dinners would result in poor recordings, but she’d seen the wisdom of making the groomsmen pull her and her betrothed in an old- fashioned horse cart instead. Mitag was pretty sure he could get the rig decorated nicely in time for the festivities.
He escorted her, her giggling maid of honor, and her eye-rolling mother to the hall’s door. Selene’s mother had long given up on debating her choices by then. At this point, she was simply there to watch Mitag handle her daughter as best he could. “I’m always tempted to bring popcorn for the show,” she’d whispered to him a week prior. When he bowed to them as they said their farewells, she grinned and silently applauded behind Selene’s back
As soon as the door shut behind them, he unleashed an extended sigh.
“I could still hire myself out as a waste tank scrubbing sponge at the sewage treatment center,” he said to the silently waiting assistants he’d hired to set up the room.
Chuckles brightened their sympathetic faces. He dismissed them for the day and thought about finding a barn to hide in until Selene’s wedding day was over.
His com buzzed. He brightened to see Jennifer’s frequency. Maybe the day was looking up. “Hi, gorgeous. Are you ready to run away with me and make all my dreams come true?”
“Ha! You’ll have to settle for dinner tonight at Clan Amgar’s. Ilid and Detodev will be there. I’m baking the dessert, so I’ll take a no from you personally.”
His heart skipped a beat. He heard the eagerness in his tone and didn’t care. “I’m as good as sitting at the table right now. What can I bring?”
* * * *
“It’s her. DNA, fingerprint, and vocal analysis confirm Jennifer Seng is Charity Nath.”
Wilkes gloated as if he’d personally brought the traitor’s daughter to Haven, but he couldn’t help it. So much of his work as an informant to the leaders of Mercy and New Bethlehem had been no more than reporting which humans had joined Kalquorian clans or given birth to hybrid babies. He’d begun to seriously question what benefit it was to traditional God-fearing Earthers to know such matters. It wasn’t as if they could stop the sins of so many.
None of the Earther colonies possessed space fleets designed to defend against or attack enemies. After the original Earth had been lost and their battlecruisers had been confiscated by the Galactic Council of Planets ten years prior, they’d had to rely on the member planets of the governing body to defend them from attacks of Tragooms. Only Earth II had been given permission under its Kalquor-loving governor Stacy Nichols to develop a defensive fleet. The fleet was yet to take shape, however. The new Earth was currently dependent on the goodwill of other species to keep them safe. It would mean years for humanity to resume its sovereign status as a fully liberated people.
Discovering Holy Leader Browning Copeland still lived and was kept prisoner by the Kalquorians and the former Earth general Borey Nath would prove humans had been treated unfairly. It might result in financial assistance from planets unaffiliated with the Kalquorian Empire, loosening the Earthers from their true foe. The idea he could have a hand in restoring his people to the path they belonged on excited Wilkes.
Governor McCarthy sounded on the brink of religious fervor in his enthusiasm. “You must capture her and fly her to New Bethlehem. It could finally swing matters here on Mercy in our favor. We could put down this damned rebellion and jail those behind it indefinitely. At any cost, Wilkes. Do you understand? No matter who you have to kill, get Charity Nath.”