Mazorium #2
“I’m in high demand and have assignments lined up for the next nine solars.
Early in my career I worked exclusively for the Colonial Advancement Committee.
I told them not to colonize Yulom. They did it against my advice, but five solars later the planet had to be abandoned due to volcanic activity.
After that no one went against my advice and everyone wanted me to assess their planets. ”
I never considered what went into colonizing planets. I’d spent my adult life working on stations. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been planet-side.
What would it even feel like to have sunlight on my skin and a real breeze tugging at my hair?
Suddenly I realized Mazorium could give my daughter access to life outside of a station.
Something I couldn’t possibly do even if we hadn’t been sold.
Traveling was expensive and jobs on planets could be hard to get.
There was no future where I could give her any of the experiences I’d had growing up with the small human community on Wimol.
But maybe Mazorium could.
On one of his circuits, he looked up and noticed me. “Mika, you’re awake. How do you feel?”
“I couldn’t find you,” I said, then winced. My words came out sounding accusatory.
“Oh no, did my absence cause you fear?” he asked, walking to me. He stopped making the marbles-clinking-in-a-bag sound and started purring. He still moved in that odd, jerky way though. Had he hurt himself, or was this a Talin thing where sometimes they walked oddly?
“I’ll make sure to leave you a message so you know where to find me when you wake,” he said. I straightened up and reached for Nadia as he got close. I was desperate to hold my baby in my arms.
He let me take her, but I could tell he was reluctant to let her go. It seemed he was becoming attached.
“She’s probably ready to feed again,” he said. “Should I fetch a milk ball?”
My breasts were hard from all the milk filling them, so I shook my head. “I can feed her.”
“Do you need to lay down to feed her?” he asked, his arms opening like he was about to scoop me up and carry me back to the bedroom while I held Nadia. I wasn’t sure I wanted him carrying me while he was walking oddly.
Besides, now that I was calm, I realized I was hungry too.
“Could we go to the galley for a meal? I can feed her while I eat,” I told him.
He sounded the rapid-steps-running-on-soft-ground rumble of agreement. “Of course. Would you like me to carry you?”
“Nope,” I said with a shake of my head and turned in what I thought was the direction of the galley. He rushed to walk next to me and didn’t try to guide me in a different direction. I must’ve chosen correctly.
It only took a few strides for me to notice he wasn’t walking oddly anymore. Did he have fits or spells of poor balance? “Are you feeling well?”
He made the engine-running-badly rumble. He’d made that a lot when learning to handle Nadia. I assumed it indicated confusion or a question.
“Why would you ask that?”
I debated continuing, then decided it was probably fine. “You were walking weirdly when I first saw you.”
He sounded a rumble that reminded me of a lot of snapping fingers.
“Be assured, I’m not injured or hurt. It took some trial and error, but I found Nadia is fond of that gait,” he explained, glancing down at the burbling baby.
“She was upset, and then I discovered what made her content. She’s been happy ever since. ”
The snapping fingers sound must be the sound of comprehension or understanding. I filed that away for later.
“How, um, how long were you doing that?” I asked.
He looked down at his Ident. “A little over a mark.”
My eyes went wide. That was a long time to walk in an unnatural way! “Didn’t you get tired?”
His back stiffened. “Of course not. I’m in peak physical condition. I could’ve done that for an entire rotation. I also found that your pup likes the sound of my rumble of amusement and the lights overhead. I’m proud to announce that I’ve found the keys to taming her when she’s inconsolable.”
He sounded so proud of himself I couldn't help but smile. I didn’t think her actual father would’ve done even half as much if he knew she existed.
“You’re very smart and strong,” I praised.
His chest seemed to puff out. “I know.”
I giggled as we walked into the galley. My eyes fell on the dirty section of wall near the reconstituter.
“How did that happen?”
He didn’t look at it. “I have no idea.”
Somehow I knew he was lying to me. He didn’t seem the type to leave a mess for long or not know how it occurred. Now I was dying of curiosity!
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t,” he repeated. As if to distract me, he rushed to a storage locker and pulled items out. “Let me get you a meal while you feed Nadia. I’m sure she’s hungry.”
I sat down and thought about the fact that this Talin had spent a lot of time and energy trying to figure out how to make Nadia happy. It was so sweet, tears gathered in my eyes.
“This might not be where I wanted us to end up,” I whispered to her as Mazorium loudly explained everything he was doing as he fixed me some food. “But I have to admit, this isn’t so bad.”
I worked the shoulder of my top off to bare a breast for Nadia to suckle.
She latched on and sucked greedily. It felt good to be able to nurse again. My eyes glanced over at the stained wall as Nadia nursed, making my curiosity flair again. Mazorium had never hesitated to explain everything in great detail before this.
I dropped my eyes back down to the feeding baby. “I wish you could tell me what happened,” I murmured. “I bet it’s a good story, and I bet you had something to do with it.”