Chapter 19
Nineteen
More than a week passed before Holly had a chance to make good on a few things that had been nagging at her.
She was on her way to the spaceport when a voice stopped her.
“Holly!”
Alyce hurried across the square, her gold eyes bright. She was slightly out of breath when she reached Holly, but her expression was warm. Warmer than Holly had seen it before.
“I’m so glad I caught you,” Alyce said. “I wanted to thank you.”
Holly blinked. “Thank me? For what?”
“For opening Luv’s boundaries.” Alyce clasped her hands together.
“I should have mentioned it earlier, but I thought she would. She came to Sam for maintenance yesterday. First time in fifteen years. That poor robot was in rough shape, but Sam managed to repair most of it. She’s running so much better now. ”
Holly smiled. “I’m glad. She deserved better than what Charles gave her.”
“She did.” Alyce’s expression softened further.
“We all did, I suppose. But things are looking up.” She gestured toward the gardens.
“The forest and gardens are doing much better now that the lighting is at the correct brightness. I took a walk this morning and I could swear the trees look healthier already.”
“That’s wonderful to hear.”
Alyce studied Holly for a moment. “You’re good for this place, Holly Greene-Moone. I wasn’t sure at first, but I am now.”
The words settled into Holly’s chest like a warm drink on a cold day. “Thank you, Alyce. That means a lot, but without you and Sam holding it together all this time, well, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Well.” Alyce looked away, as if uncomfortable with praise. “This is our home.”
It was as simple as that, for her. They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, and Holly decided to take a chance.
“Alyce, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Did you ever see Charles with an extra currency chip? Something other than his main one?”
Alyce’s brow furrowed. “No, I can’t say that I did. Why do you ask?”
Holly hesitated, then decided to be direct.
“I’ve been going through Charles’ financial records.
There’s a discrepancy. A big one.” She shook her head.
“Based on the station’s income over the years, his fifty percent cut should have added up to far more than what was in his account when he died.
And there are no expenses to explain where the nits went. ”
Alyce’s expression grew troubled. “That is strange. Sam and I have access to the station account, as you know, but we were never authorized to purchase anything beyond the recurring transactions Charles had already approved. We never circumvented his authorization.”
“I know,” Holly said quickly. “Your recordkeeping has been excellent. Both of you. I’m not suggesting anyone was stealing.”
Alyce relaxed slightly. “I appreciate that. We both collect our pay for the services we provide, but nothing more.” She paused, thinking. “You believe Charles had a secret account?”
“I think it’s possible. I’m trying to find where he may have stashed nits.”
Alyce was quiet for a moment. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he did,” she said slowly. “Charles was a secretive man. But why would he hide his own currency from himself? What purpose would that serve?”
“Maybe he knew his mind was failing,” Holly mused. “We need those nits for work around here.”
Alyce reached out and touched Holly’s arm. “If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
“I will.”
To Holly’s amazement, Alyce pulled her into a brief hug.
It was quick but genuine, and Holly hugged her back, surprised by how much she missed the simple contact.
Surprised by how easy it was for some. Her parents were huggers, but there was no public touching at all on Nova, ever.
She’d gotten used to it. But being here, among these people whom she genuinely liked, she didn’t want to get used to it.
It was nice to hug friends. It was nice to talk. Really talk.
“I need to check on the irrigation system,” Alyce said as she stepped away. “But we should have tea sometime. Just for fun. Not for station business.”
Holly smiled as her chest felt warm. “I’d like that.”
They parted ways, and Holly continued toward the spaceport with a lighter heart.
The spaceport was in its usual state of controlled chaos.
Holly followed the sounds of clanking metal and muffled cursing to the maintenance bay on the bottom level, where she found Sam with his upper body buried inside a large, cylindrical device.
Three mismatched bots rolled around him in a frenzy, their various appendages waving as they searched through bins and shelves.
“Flow laminator!” Sam’s voice echoed from inside the machine. “Someone give me the flow laminator. It’s right there on the blasted shelf!”
The bots rushed to comply, but they were barely waist-high, and the shelf Sam was referring to was well above their visual range. Holly spotted the tool immediately. A slim, silver instrument sitting on a high shelf, completely invisible to the frantic robots.
She picked it up, walked over to the device, and poked her head inside the opening. “Looking for this?”
Sam jerked in surprise and bumped his head against the interior casing. “Ow.” He backed out of the machine, rubbing his scalp, and took the flow laminator from her hand. “Thanks. Where was it?”
She pointed to the shelf. “A little too high up for them.”
“They’re not good with anything over waist height.” He cast an apologetic look at the bots. “Sorry. I thought I left it down here.” They chittered in buzzy noises that sounded like retorts.
“What is this thing?” Holly asked, peering at the device.
“Rubbish-recycling unit.” Sam wiped grease from his forehead with the back of his hand. “It’s been acting up. We have three left. Can’t afford to lose this one.”
Holly nodded. “I wanted to thank you for taking the time to give Luv a tune up.”
“She needed it,” Sam said, shrugging. “Long overdue.”
Holly put her hands in her pockets and felt the small plastoid bag for collecting Bean’s messes. “That reminds me of something else I wanted to ask about.”
“What’s that?”
“Cleaning bots. Does the station have any?”
“We do, but they’re all decommissioned.” Sam set down the flow laminator and crossed his arms. “About ten years ago, when the population dropped and I took on more duties, the cleaning bots were one of the things I let go.”
Holly nodded. “I’ve noticed that quite a lot of trash has accumulated in the forest over the years. And, well, animal waste.” She grimaced. “I’ve been cleaning up after Bean, but there’s only so much I can do. The forest needs to be clean to stay healthy.”
“You’re not wrong.” He crossed his arms. His expression turned just a bit defensive. “Not sure what you want me to do about it.”
“If I cover the cost of any parts you need, is there any way to revive one or two of the bots? Deploy them around the outpost to keep things tidy?” She met his eyes. “I know your hands are full. If it’s not possible right now, I completely understand.”
Sam rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “How much are we talking?”
“Thirty-seven hundred nits. It’s what Charles has left in his personal account that’s been left to me.” Holly pulled up her wrist comm and navigated to the currency transfer screen. “I’m transferring it to the station account now.”
She tapped the confirmation, and Sam’s console chimed with the incoming funds.
He studied the screen for a moment, then nodded slowly. “I can get one or two bots running with that. Enough to order some replacement parts, and a little extra left over.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Sam.” She smiled. “And thank you again for fixing up Luv. I suspect she needed some work after—”
Before she could finish, an alert sounded from his console. Sam held up one finger and turned to study the screen, his brow furrowing as he read the incoming data.
“What is it?” Holly asked.
“Ship requesting docking clearance.” Sam’s fingers moved across the console. “They’ve got a radiation leak. Few other system problems, too. The occupants are going to need to stay somewhere while I clear the leak and make repairs. I hope the hotel has accommodations.”
“We do.” Holly straightened. This was her moment. The first chance to begin to improve the station’s reputation. “I’ll show them to the hotel personally.”