17. Chapter 17
Mika
“Where are we going?” I asked for the third time. After our talk, I’d thought we would do more things together since Maz wasn’t avoiding me any longer. To my disappointment, he’d worked extra hard for the last few days.
At first I’d thought it was because he had some kind of report due to the group that invested in the planet, but then today he’d packed up a small flier and said we were going on an adventure.
Nadia was snuggled up in her carrier next to me. Behind me were several carrier bots loaded down with cases.
“I told you, it’s a surprise,” Maz said with an amused rumble.
“But what kind of surprise?” I pressed. The flier wasn’t very big and didn’t have any windows. The shape reminded me a little of the emergency tubes on some stations that you could use to slide down into an evacuation craft.
I would’ve been nervous if I was with anyone but Maz. He was so careful and meticulous with all his tech and gear I knew he’d never overload a craft or take it anywhere it couldn’t go.
“I was unaware there are different types of surprises," he responded, adjusting the pitch of the flier.
“There are all kinds of surprises,” I said. “Good surprises, bad surprises, and surprise-surprises.”
“The first two make sense, but the last one is redundant," he responded. I felt the angle change and thought we were slowing. We were probably about to land. I couldn’t wait and almost bounced in my seat.
“It’s not redundant,” I argued. “Even though we call things surprises, they’re usually within the realm of expectation.
A surprise-surprise is when something happens outside all expectations.
Getting pregnant with Nadia was a good surprise.
Being sold was a bad surprise. Neither was outside the realm of possibility. ”
“What would you consider a surprise-surprise?” he asked.
“You,” I answered simply.
He jerked a little at my answer. “How am I entirely outside the realm of possibility? Any Talin would’ve bought you and Nadia and cared for you.”
“Sure, that might be true,” I said. “But I doubt any other Talin would’ve realized I was an equal.”
“Then I pity them,” he murmured.
Damn, I was rapidly falling for this man. We slept snuggled together in my nest each night, his scent in my nose and his comforting warmth at my back.
I was already picturing a life for the three of us going from planet to planet as a happy little family of surveyors.
The only thing that put a hitch in my plan was Maz didn’t seem interested in touching me outside of cuddles. I tried to look up Talin interpersonal relationship expectations and sexual practices, but there wasn’t anything on the ship’s UniBase. Only laws regarding marriage contracts.
Were Talins mostly asexual? Or maybe they were only sexual a few times a year, like when an Ugarian goes into rut. It would be nice to know, but I hadn’t built up the courage to ask him yet. Maybe he wasn’t interested in me like that. Except it felt like there was a kind of chemistry between us.
Or maybe I was seeing things that weren’t there.
The flier landed with a little bump. The thing was too narrow for him to leave the pilot’s seat without opening the side panel to the outside.
He was quick to slide it up and jump out so he could turn around and reach in for me.
He pulled me out and held me tight against his body with his arms around my waist.
“You’re the best surprise-surprise that could’ve ever happened to me,” he whispered. “I will spend the rest of my life thanking the ancestors for bringing us together.”
“Thank them for me too,” I said, hugging my arms around his neck and pulling my legs free from the edge of the flier so they dangled under me. We stayed like that, holding each other, until Nadia made a little fussing sound.
“I think someone feels neglected,” he said, setting me down.
I turned to get Nadia but he reached past me to pick up the entire carrier.
The thing was heavy but it could be secured to a bot, flier, or inside the ship.
He’d made it for her out of a baby bed and reinforced base normally used to transport delicate instruments.
It was brilliant and was yet another example of Maz taking care of us.
Stepping back, he unhooked his Ident with one hand and was able to hold it with his bottom thumb and two fingers while tapping on it with his upper thumb. Hearing the bots inside the craft turning on, I stepped back to get out of the way. I wasn’t paying attention and almost tripped.
“Oh, Mika, let me carry you!” he exclaimed as I turned to keep my balance. I didn’t hear his next words because my attention was completely captured by our surroundings.
“Maz, this is amazing!” I breathed.
“I hoped you’d like it,” he said, obviously pleased by my reaction.
I stepped further away from the flier, completely in awe at the sight before me.
We’d landed on another trunk, although this was taller than our home one, but that wasn't what was holding me still with its sheer majesty.
Easily viewed from this spot was a long, crescent-shaped waterfall creating a mist of rainbows. I’d only ever seen both things in images, and witnessing the power of the waterfall and the beauty of the rainbows firsthand took my breath away.
I stepped forward so I could see the rest of the area.
The trees obscured the area past the waterfall, but now I could see an area Maz must’ve set up for us.
There was an awning stretched between poles buried in the tough wood under us.
The area beneath the awning was covered in soft mats with giant, fluffy pillows piled in one corner.
“What’s all this?” I asked, looking back at where Maz was standing holding Nadia’s carrier. Behind him were the bots, all ready to follow him wherever he went.
“You don’t like it?” he asked.
“It’s wonderful, but why did you go through all this effort?” I held out my hand, and he was quick to take it in his free one. We started slowly walking across the uneven stump to the spot he’d set up. All the bots followed right behind us.
“I’ve been reading all the literature I could find about human pair bonding,” he said. “There isn’t much, but I’ve developed a plan, and I’m ready to implement it.”
I was pretty sure that was Maz’s way of saying we were on a date and he had more planned, but I needed to be sure.
“Pair bonding?” I pressed. “What does that mean to you?”
“Humans also call it falling in love, but I understand it’s a process,” he said. The word love made my heart jump a little.
“You want us to pair bond?” I asked. “To love each other?”
“I do,” he said with a purr. “But I understand it can take some time to develop these feelings.”
I almost told him I was already in love with him, but something stopped me. Maybe I wasn’t ready to say it out loud yet. It would be the first time I said it to anyone I wasn’t related to.
Maz continued to explain. “As a way to show my intentions, I’ve started courting you. If a human male wants to show romantic interest in a human female he takes her to interesting or entertaining places. He also feeds her and gives her small tokens of affection such as sweets or flowers.”
We were at the edge of the pads now, and I could see a line of old bot tops turned upside down and filled with flowering plants. It reminded me of the green area on Helsin Station.
Was it weird that even though we were already surrounded by blooming plants that curled up the lower half of the trees, these plants felt extra special to me? I decided it was because Maz had picked them out especially for me.
“This is wonderful! I exclaimed, toeing out of my shoes and stepping onto the mats so I could sit down next to the plants.
“Stay,” Maz ordered the bots before following me onto the mats. Nadia was awake and looking around, clearly entranced by the gently billowing awning overhead.
“Can we take these back with us?” I asked, pointing to one of the plants.
He sounded a questioning rumble. “I don’t think we can fit them in the flier on this trip, but I could come back for them. I thought we’d leave them because I planned for us to take more trips back here, if you wanted to.”
“We’re coming back?” I asked, already excited for the next trip. I loved this place. It was too bad we couldn’t live here, but I could already see the issue with this uneven and smaller stump. One end of it looked like a mountain from the way the tree had broken.
“We can come back as often as you like,” he agreed. “As long as it isn’t raining.”
He kept warning me about rain, but so far I wasn’t impressed. The one time it happened it was nothing but a gentle mist that fell for half a day and then left brilliant blue skies. If that was considered rain, I wasn’t scared.
“Thank you, Maz. This place is both interesting and entertaining. You did great on our first date,” I said. Not that I had a lot to compare this date to. I’d had a quick meal with Nadia’s father before we tumbled into bed. Did that even count?
“Date?” Maz said. “Is that a word for this part of the courting ritual?”
I chuckled. “It’s what we called it in my family. Other groups of humans might have a different name for it.”
“Then this is our first date,” Maz declared.
Nadia lost interest in the awning and started to fuss. I moved around until I was sitting next to her carrier. Lifting her out of it, I sat her in my lap and pointed to the waterfall.
“Look at all the pretty colors,” I murmured.
She stared at it and waved a chubby fist around. Then she got distracted by the movement of her own hand and brought it to her face, bonking herself in the nose.
“Yup, that’s attached to you,” I said with a giggle. “Maybe be more careful with the power that is a hand!”
For a very brief moment Nadia looked like she wanted to be upset, but then she stared at something to our right. I looked over but there was nothing there. I adjusted her a little so she was facing the flowers.
“No more staring at ghosts,” I muttered. Mom once told me that when babies or animals stared at nothing, they were watching ghosts. I’d laughed until I watched my younger sister do it.
Unnerving!
Except what ghosts could be on this planet? Bugs? Trees? Vines walking around on their roots? No, that wasn’t right. Ghosts floated, didn’t they?
“As part of our date, I brought us food,” Maz said, pulling me out of those uncomfortable thoughts.
I was more than eager to turn my attention to him.
He pulled the crates off the bots and started opening them, setting up a feast for us on the mat.
He finished it all off with decorative plates and bowls I hadn’t seen before.
“This all looks and smells great,” I said, reaching for some of the food. He sounded a negative rumble. I drew my hand back. “What?”
“I’d like to feed you,” he responded, moving closer and turning to face me. “You could hold Nadia while sitting in my lap.”
He hadn’t fed me for a while, and I’d missed it. It wasn’t hard to maneuver onto his lap, especially when he grabbed my hips and helped. I ended up sitting sideways, half leaning my shoulder against his chest and facing the brilliant waterfall.
During our short time here the light had shifted, creating a soft yellow glow at the very top of the waterfall. A look down told me Nadia was enjoying this as much as I was.
“This is nice,” I murmured as he moved a few of the platters around.
He purred and held some food to my mouth. “Try this. It’s human safe, but it has a strong flavor so you might not like it.”
I took a cautious nibble then drew back. It reminded me of the fermented seed pod mash Doringos liked to eat.
“No,” I said, looking around for something to drink. He popped the rest of it into his mouth then handed me an open canister. I drank deeply to get the taste out of my mouth then set it down. “We can put that on the absolutely not list.”
He sounded a rumble of amusement. “Noted. Let’s try this one next. The flavor is much more subtle.”
After introducing me to a few more foods, he started to feed me what I liked the best. We ate slowly and talked between bites.
This might’ve been the most leisurely meal I’d ever eaten.
I never really thought about it before, but being able to eat at a leisurely pace was something I hadn’t gotten to do often before Maz.
Either I was starving so I quickly gulped my food, or I had to get it down fast between shifts.
Living with Maz meant I never had to rush and was never so hungry I felt desperate. I was a little scared that if I got used to this life, it might be ripped away from me. Someone once said showing happiness was taunting the universe.
Did I dare be happy?
After we’d both finished eating, we lapsed into companionable silence. I let my mind drift, sifting through all the things that had happened. Not focusing on any one thing, but simply letting memories filter in.
I don’t know how long we sat like that, but when I looked down, Nadia was sound asleep in my arms.
“We’ll need to leave soon,” Maz whispered. “I promise, we can come back though. This will all still be here. The awning, mats, and pillows are all weather resistant.”
That explained why nothing here was as soft as what was on the ship. “Thanks, Maz. I look forward to coming back.”
I moved off his lap with a little wince. It wasn’t until then that I realized how badly I needed to pee. Especially before I squeezed back into the flier.
“Can you take Nadia?”
Maz didn’t hesitate to hold out his hands. He handled the baby with his usual gentleness, and I stepped over to find my shoes.
“Where are you going?” he asked, sounding a little alarmed.
I pointed to a spot. “Over there. I’ll be right back and won’t go near the edge.” I gave him a warning look. “I’m doing something private. I don’t need an escort.”
“If you’re not back within a few submarks, I’m going to come looking for you,” he warned.
I shook my head and made my way to a spot that would give me a little privacy. I’d used a lot of different types of elimination units in my life, so peeing out in nature was actually one of the easier places I’d gone to the bathroom.
I hurried back but stopped when I got close enough to hear Maz talking to Nadia.
“I feel very strongly about you, Nadia. I’m not your biological sire, but I think of you as my child anyway. I hope someday you will call me father.”
What was that sound? Oh yeah, it was me falling hard for this Talin.
That was it. From now on I would dare to be happy because I had Nadia and Maz.