Mazorium
“Why are you crying?” I asked Nadia, although I knew better than to expect an answer. “You’ve been fed, your everclean isn’t soiled enough to be changed, I even helped you expel air bubbles from your belly. You should be happy, or at least not showing displeasure. What do I need to do?”
I kept up a soothing rumble even though it wasn’t calming Nadia. Maybe if she stopped crying for a moment, she’d hear it and be soothed. It was a hope.
“I can see now why your dam was so exhausted”, I said as we turned a corner and started down another hallway. “It has to be distressing to Mika when she’s unable to make you content. Although, you don’t seem to ever act this way with her. Don’t worry, we will figure this out while your dam rests.”
It had been almost a full rotation that Mika had spent sleeping. I had woken her up several times to eat and drink though. She’d groggily do as I requested, hold Nadia for a little while, then drift back to sleep.
I let Nadia remain in the nest with Mika until the infant started fussing, then I plucked her up and tended to her. I didn’t need much sleep and knew from experience that I could go for several rotations on only quick naps. Caring for Mika and Nadia wasn’t difficult.
Until now.
After the last time I tended to Mika, Nadia woke up and refused to go back to a calm state, even after accepting some milk. She’d been this way for half a mark and I was flummoxed on how to fix her.
“Should I try to sing as your dam does?” I asked the pup. Of course the only response I got was more crying. I tried to mimic Mika’s sounds and melody.
Nothing changed.
“I don’t blame you,” I admitted. “My voice doesn't sound anywhere near as lovely as your dam’s. She has a melodious voice, and if I keep going I’ll probably damage your sensitive ears.”
That gave me an idea. I walked to the control room and sat at the command chair. It didn’t take me long to find all the examples of singing available from my ship's unibase.
“Do you like Delorta birthing chants?” I asked. The music filled the room, but it was clear after only a few mircomarks that Nadia wasn’t interested.
I tried again with the next sample available. “What about a Hoquin harmony?”
Nadia wasn’t a fan.
“This one is a Hunga melody," I said, starting the next one in the queue. I shut it down after the first few notes. It didn’t matter if Nadia liked it, Hunga music was an assault on the earholes.
“I think that could be used as a torture method,” I grumbled. “In this instance, your continued displeasure is completely justified. I apologize profusely. Let’s move on to the Leemron selection.”
We went through every bit of music I had access to and Nadia didn’t like any of it.
“It’s too bad your species is so rare,” I muttered. “Otherwise I might have human samples to play for you.”
A brilliant thought occurred to me. “Next time your dam is awake, I’ll record her caring for you. Then I can play back her voice later!”
It was going to be a great help next time, but right then I was still faced with an upset pup and no strategy to pacify her.
Getting up, I walked out of the control room. Nadia didn’t seem to care if I was seated or standing, but moving made me feel better. My walking took me to the open doorway of the galley.
“I think we could both use a nice cup of tea,” I said, going to one of the units and ordering a double strength tlash tea. I was tired, but more than that, I was frustrated. I needed to solve the mystery of crying Nadia!
The reconstituter pinged and I picked up the cup and took a sip.
With a rattle, I spat it out. I’d forgotten I’d set the reconstituter to a low base temperature to make several meals for Mika. The tea was nothing but bitter, lukewarm sludge at this setting!
I moved to shove the cup back into the reconstituter when Nadia made a burbling sound.
Freezing with the cup halfway into the unit, I looked down at the tiny human. She’d stopped crying and was staring up at me with a fascinated expression.
“Was it the spitting?” I asked her. We stared at each other for several submarks before her face screwed up again and she let out another cry of deep unhappiness. I brought the cup to my lips and filled my mouth with the sludge and spit it out again all over a nearby wall.
She didn’t stop crying.
“So it wasn’t the spitting,” I said. “But something I did appeased you. We will figure this out!”
I mimicked everything I had done, keeping my eyes on Nadia as I moved. Because I knew it wasn’t the tea, I used an empty cup. I pretended to take a sip and remembered I sounded a rattle of surprise. No, it wasn’t the rattle either. In fact, the rattle made her more upset.
“You got louder,” I marveled as her cry echoed off the walls of the galley. “I’m impressed.”
Her face was turning an alarming shade of red. If this continued for much longer, I’d need to wake Mika for advice.
“What else did I do, cub?” I asked her, starting the motion again. Cup in the reconstituter. Tap the display menu. Wait for the ding. Pull the cup out. Sip from the cup. Spit out the tea with no rattle this time.
“That was it,” I said, beginning to feel defeated. “I’ve done everything the same and you aren’t responding. Please, Nadia, help me a little.”
I reached up to put the cup back. That movement made me realize there was one part of my actions I’d missed. I went through the whole thing again but this time I added the jerk I’d done in reaction to the tea before spitting it out.
Nadia went silent. I looked down and she was staring up at me with wide, pretty human eyes full of interest.
“It was the movement of my body!” I said with a rumble of amusement. She must’ve liked that sound because her tiny arms waved a little at the rumble.
I continued to sound a rumble of amusement and simulated the little jerky movement. It was awkward and I wasn’t used to sounding a continuous rumble of amusement, but it made Nadia happy, so I was willing to do it for as long as necessary.
As I did a jerky walk around the room, Nadia made another burble and didn’t start crying. Elation filled me!
“I figured it out!” I told the empty room. “I’m the best human owner that’s ever been!”
Mika
I woke feeling more rested than I had in, well, forever!
Sitting up, I yawned and stretched. It felt good to not only get enough sleep but to also wake up without pain.
There was tightness and a little discomfort, and my breasts were full of milk, but none of the intense pain that would make me break out in sweat and my vision waver.
My brain still felt a little dull, but that could be due to being groggy.
Running fingers through my tangled hair, I looked around the room. It took my sleepy brain a while to figure out I was all alone. Concern chased away the last of my haze as I scrambled to my feet.
Where was Nadia?
My first step was unsteady and I ended up going down on my knees in the nest. Soft padding made my landing painless, but I got tangled and ended up tossing pillows around as I stumbled back up to my feet.
Once I reached the door of the room, I was steady again. I sprinted down one hall, then another. As with most ships, each corridor looked the same, and at one point I got myself turned around and ended up back in Mazorium’s quarters.
“I need to calm the fuck down,” I panted. I had a stitch in my side and was leaning against a wall. My body didn’t want to run anymore and was telling me in all kinds of ways that it was unhappy.
So much for not being in pain!
The moment I could straighten up again, I looked around and took note of a few distinguishing features in this corridor, then walked to the end and turned left instead of right. I did better this time. I found the galley and noticed a mess on one wall. Had he flung a cup of something?
Was it because Nadia was being irritating?
Fear for my baby made me start running again. I found the control room, several storage rooms, and a large bay full of different kinds of survey bots. With every empty space my fear got worse.
Finally I heard him. He was making a sound that reminded me of glass marbles clinking around in a cloth bag, and he was talking. I couldn’t make out the words, but it sounded like he was explaining something. Had someone else boarded while I’d been asleep?
Unsure what I’d find, I slowed my pace and approached an open door where the noise was coming from. As much as I wanted to charge in there and snatch my baby back, I knew better than to rush into an unknown situation. That was never a good idea!
I peeked around a corner and didn’t understand what I was seeing at first.
Mazorium was standing under some tall equipment, walking in a small circle with a strange, jerking gait.
The equipment overhead was lit up and soft lights in various colors were sparkling down on him, but nothing was activated.
There was no one else here; he was talking to Nadia as if she could understand.
Nadia was in his arms, awake and staring up at the lights. Seeing my baby safe and content made my legs go weak. I slumped against the wall to catch my breath.
“We only pick planets with strong magnetic fields,” he told Nadia.
“That doesn’t mean they are automatically inhabitable, but it’s a better place to start.
Then we do atmospheric testing. If those are favorable the owners of the planet will order a survey to be done.
There are several kinds of planet surveys, but my kind are the best. I’m on the planet for three solars and I do a comprehensive analysis of every aspect of the planet including fault lines and plate tectonics. ”
His words weren’t being spoken smoothly. He was going up and down in pitch with every sentence, as if he was a malfunctioning announcement unit.