Chapter 2
Ruby
I leaned against the trunk of the large oak, watching the construction crew maneuver another roof panel into place.
The new Space Pearl's restaurant was taking shape, rising higher each day like a promise I still couldn't quite believe—a dream made real by a chance encounter that had changed everything.
My grandfather taught me to bake, his flour-dusted hands guiding mine as we kneaded dough in his tiny kitchen back on Earth.
The warmth of that kitchen, the scent of rising bread, the love in every lesson—those memories sustained me.
When I arrived on Tau Ceti five years ago, opening my own bakery seemed natural, the only thread connecting my old life to this new world, the only way I knew how to build something good from the ashes of what I'd lost.
I never imagined Chef Pearl herself would walk through my door.
That was six months ago. The famous chef had been touring the outer colonies with her mate Jutuk, scouting locations for her expanding empire of Earth-space fusion restaurants.
I was pulling a tray of my signature fruit tarts from the oven when the door chimed, and there she was—the woman who'd been a famous chef even before being abducted from Earth.
Chef Pearl tasted everything. The honey-lavender croissants.
The cardamom buns I'd adapted from my grandfather's recipes.
The Earth-meets-Tau-Ceti pastries that had become my specialty.
Then she made an offer that left me speechless.
She wanted to make my bakery part of the new restaurant, to incorporate some of my recipes into Space Pearl's menus across the galaxy.
A sharp yelp cut through the afternoon air. I glanced up to see Vrex clutching one of his four hands, hopping awkwardly on the scaffolding while his tool belt swung wildly from his midsection.
"Is fine! Is fine!" he called down in heavily accented, translator-produced English, waving his three uninjured hands at the human foreman already climbing the ladder. "Only small pinch!"
The foreman—Marcus, a grizzled man who'd built half the colony—shook his head as he reached the Bracciuan. "That's the third time today, Vrex. You're supposed to hold the drill steady, not let it spin free."
"On Bracciu, robots hold drills," Vrex protested, his ochre skin flushing a deeper orange with embarrassment. "Robots do not complain when drill spins."
Two other aliens on the ground chittered with what I'd learned was laughter. One of them—I think her name was Ssila—had somehow gotten her leg stuck in a bucket of sealant yesterday. It took three humans, two aliens, and a bottle of solvent to free her.
Marcus descended the ladder, aggravation clouding his grizzled face. "Well, you're not on Bracciu anymore. And we don't have construction robots out here. So you're gonna learn to do it the old-fashioned way."
"Old-fashioned way is barbaric," Vrex muttered, but he picked up the drill again.
I bit back a smile as Marcus demonstrated the proper grip for the third time. The patience required to train an entirely alien workforce in human construction methods was impressive.
"Ruby!"
I turned to see Mei jogging toward me, her dark hair swinging around her chin. She was the village mayor and had been my first friend on Tau Ceti.
"Did you get the new humans settled?" I asked.
"Yes, finally." Mei dropped onto the grass beside me, pulling a water bottle from her bag. "All seventeen of them. They're resting now."
"Do you think any of them would be interested in working at Space Pearl's?" Chef Pearl would send one of her trained chefs to run the kitchen, but hiring the rest of the staff was my responsibility as manager.
"Maybe." Mei grinned as a tall Romvesian male strode along the sidewalk, followed by three playing children. "Give them a few days to settle, and we'll ask."
The Romvesian settled onto the grass beside Mei with easy grace, folding his long legs beneath him.
The three children who'd been following him immediately scattered toward the playground across the street.
He grinned at me, then leaned over and kissed Mei—the kind of casual affection that spoke of deep love.
"The building looks good," he said, his deep voice carrying a melodic quality that still caught me off guard even after five years of living among multiple species and hearing a myriad of languages through my translator.
Tau Ceti was a melting pot of displaced beings.
"Even if the crew building it is a disaster. "
Mei leaned into her mate's shoulder. "They're learning."
"Learning to injure themselves, yes." Bartholomeus' dark eyes tracked Vrex, who was now holding the drill in what appeared to be an entirely new—and equally wrong—hand. "Yesterday I sold six tubes of burn gel, three bandage kits, and one emergency stasis patch. To a construction crew of twelve."
"The stasis patch was precautionary," I offered.
"It was used within the hour." Bartholomeus shook his head, but his expression was amused. "One of the Qualeen nearly severed a finger trying to operate a nail gun."
I winced. "Is he okay?"
"She. And yes, perfectly fine once the stasis sealed the wound. She was back on the job this morning." He paused, watching two crew members attempt to lift a beam that clearly required three. "Your restaurant will be beautiful once it's finished. Assuming everyone survives the construction."
The laughter from the playground rose and fell in waves, pulling my attention from the construction site.
I watched the three children race toward the swings.
Cuietsu's arms spread wide as he ran, his short, bobbed tail swinging gracefully.
Mei and Bartholomeus had adopted him a couple of years ago after he'd been rescued from a Gilese mining moon.
Lingse, their biological daughter, was a blur of gray skin and dark bouncing curls as she chased after Cuietsu, her small legs pumping furiously. She had her father's strength and her mother's determination, a combination that made her fearless.
And then there was Teddy.
My son reached the swings first, his long legs giving him an advantage in the sprint. He turned back, his face flushed and grinning, waiting for the others to catch up. Four years old and already so independent that it sometimes took my breath away.
"Higher, Mama! Watch me go higher!" he would inevitably shout once he got on the swing. He always did.
I felt the familiar tightness in my chest, equal parts love and terror. Four years since I'd held him as a newborn in the village's small medical center, marveling at the miracle of him despite everything. Four years of watching him grow on this alien world that was somehow home now.
"He's getting so big," Mei said softly, following my gaze.
"Too big," I moaned. "He starts school in a few months."
Bartholomeus chuckled. "That's hardly sending him off to the mining moons, Ruby."
I knew that. But watching my son play with an adopted Torieki and a human-Romvesian hybrid on a planet light-years from Earth, still struck me sometimes how strange and wonderful my life had become. How far I'd come from that terrified woman who'd barely survived.
"Do you need us to watch Teddy tonight?" Mei asked, taking another sip from her water bottle.
I felt heat creep up my neck. "How did you—"
"Craig stopped by the office this morning to file his quarterly equipment report. He mentioned you two were getting dinner." Her eyes sparkled with barely contained amusement. "Again."
Bartholomeus raised an eyebrow. "That makes what, three times this week?"
"Twice," I corrected, pulling up a handful of grass and letting it fall through my fingers. "And we're just... hanging out. It's not serious."
"Mmhmm." Mei's grin widened, knowing and warm.
Craig had been asking me out since I'd arrived on Tau Ceti.
Persistent but never pushy, always backing off when I said no, his blue eyes patient and understanding even when disappointment flickered across his face.
It took years before I'd finally said yes, and even then, only because Teddy had started asking why Mr. Craig was always so sad when he left our shop.
That was three months ago. Since then, we'd fallen into an easy rhythm.
Dinners after Teddy's bedtime, walks through the colony under the stars, long conversations about nothing in particular.
We'd kissed exactly twice. Once after our first dinner, a brief press of lips.
Once last week, longer this time, his calloused hand gentle against my cheek.
Nothing serious. Just... nice. Safe. The kind of relationship I could control and keep at arm's length when the past threatened to overwhelm me.
"So, is that a yes on babysitting?" Mei asked.
I nodded, grateful for the out. "If you don't mind. I should be back by twenty-two hundred."
"Take your time," Bartholomeus said. "The children will be asleep by then anyway."
Mei drained the last of her water and pushed herself to her feet, dusting grass from her pants. "I should get back. I want to check on the new arrivals one more time before dinner."
Bartholomeus rose with her, his movements fluid despite his height. "I noticed a couple of them looking overwhelmed."
"They all look overwhelmed." Mei slung her bag over her shoulder. "First day on a new planet will do that. I remember the day I arrived. Everything felt too bright, too alien, too much."
"And now?" Bartholomeus asked.
"Now it just feels like home." She smiled, squeezing his hand before turning back to me. "Drop Teddy off whenever. Door's always open."
"Thanks, Mei."
I watched them wrangle their kids and walk away, Bartholomeus' hand resting on the small of Mei's back with such natural tenderness it made my chest ache.
They paused at the edge of the construction site, Mei pointing something out to Marcus, probably asking about the timeline again.
Then they disappeared around the corner, heading toward the residential district.
"Mama!"