Chapter Four
The cleanup from breakfast took a while. Finally, Sunny said, “So what was the wet t-shirt contest thing about?”
“The what?”
“You were wet and outlined faithfully when I got here. The guardians were enjoying the view.”
“I changed.”
“Not soon enough. What happened?”
“Oh, someone pushed the stall into the drink, and I went to go get it back.”
“So you really went for gills?”
“I really did.”
“You really commit.”
“This is my home now. I am not going to keep myself apart from it.” She touched her mouth.
“What’s that about?” Sunny smiled.
“Vecchin don’t kiss.”
“But he did.”
“So he either is a weird Vecchin, or he’s been researching humans.”
Her brother laughed. “Look out, you may have a suitor or whatever they have around here.”
“Wait. You have been here for four years, and you still don’t know how the Vecchin do things? Are you only hanging out with the colony pod and family?”
Sunny blushed. “It is easier.”
“We are here for life. It is going to be not easy at some point. You may as well start now.”
“Is that why you got the pigment?”
“I got it because I face deep-sea Vecchin every day, and they deserve to see a face they trust. Business has increased since I made the effort.”
“Wait. What?”
“Yes. If they see a face that is trying to be familiar, they trust, engage, and converse more easily. When you are dealing with people face to face, you want to make them comfortable. This makes them comfortable.” She waved toward her face.
“It helps me do business, make friends, and talk to strangers.”
“Are you telling me to do it?”
She finished clearing the counter and looked at him. “I am telling you why I did it. Your face is your own. But try and make some Vecchin friends.”
He snorted after scrubbing the grill. “When does the second wave happen?”
“Ten more minutes. We are still serving breakfast for three more hours.”
“Right. Got it. What are you going to do?”
“Akko prep. We need to catch up.” She smiled and got to work.
She shredded thirty pounds of the vegetable and got the dressing ready.
That involved a citrus juicer and safety glasses.
She got the dressing mixed, poured it into bottles, and got the next batch of akko ready for the incoming lunch rush.
Sunny had done pretty well with the morning rush, but folks still yelled past him to her when he answered the window.
The next cleanup had them caught up on prep and behind on container cleaning, but they worked on it and put the containers through as fast as they could before the next wave arrived.
She looked at him. “Grill or window?”
“Grill. I’ve got it now. I won’t say it’s easy, but there is a rhythm to it.”
Cloudy smiled and geared up for the approaching horde. “Don’t enjoy the rhythm method too much. That’s how we both got here.”
He barked a laugh, and she lined up at the window, using Vecchin manual as she greeted her regulars.
They got into a pattern and went through the food faster than the day before. They were down to the stragglers when a familiar set of faces slowly made their way down the dock. She finished the order on her list and said, “I am stepping out for a minute. Emgoth and Ariget are here.”
“Cool. I can do both. I think. Don’t go far.”
She laughed and stepped out of the stall, walking over to Emgoth. The regulars greeted him and winced at his bruises.
“Emgoth, what the hell are you doing here?”
He looked at the stall and shrugged in relief. “I got a message saying that our little stall was in the bay.”
“It was. It got better. I am happy to say that all of the precautions were useful. We only lost a handful of akko.”
He looked at the shop and grinned. “It floated?”
“No, it went down sixteen feet, but I got it hooked up, and when I was at the surface, the guardians were arresting the thugs who shoved it.”
“The tow cables worked?”
“They did. The guardians hauled it out before the glides extended, but it did everything it was designed to do. We still have a shop.”
Emgoth smiled. “Your gills work?”
“They do. Not as elegant as your slime coating, but they are effective. That water is fucking cold, though.”
He grabbed her and hugged her. “Thanks for doing this with me.”
“It’s fun. Ariget, you look appalled.”
“How do you feed this many?”
“Oh, this is about a fifteenth of those who were here for lunch. A lot of them eat further down the dock or go back to the office.”
Ariget looked around while supporting Emgoth. “This is more than I thought that little stall could do.”
“I know. Weird, right? So it’s here. Emgoth, go and rest. Be back in two days.” She patted him to get him to let her loose.
“First, I have to meet your brother.”
She smiled. “Fine. This way. I left him in charge.”
Ariget laughed and helped Emgoth to the side door.
“Sunny, this is the other normal half of the stall, Emgoth. Emgoth, my younger brother, Sunny.”
“Cloudy, Sunny. Are you all named like this in your family?”
Sunny smiled and said, “Our mother is named Elspeth, Dad’s name is Thunder, and our grandmother was Eclipse. It is a family tradition to name after the weather situation when we are born.”
Cloudy snorted. “If I have a kid, they are going to be given a nice, boring name.”
Emgoth frowned. “How old are you?”
“Uh, thirty-two? I think. Things got fuzzy when we left.”
“Can you still have children?”
Sunny snorted. “In our family, she has another fourteen years at least.”
Emgoth blinked. “You are only thirty-two? I thought you were seventy at least.”
“Nope. I am twice the breeding age for my own people. Well, almost.”
He looked at her. “So, my children are...”
“Way older than I am, yet I contribute to their educations.” She winked.
Ariget laughed. “I should have set you up with one of our boys.”
Cloudy snorted. “I would have chewed them up and spit them out, metaphorically.”
Ariget looked at her. “I think you might.”
Cloudy smirked.
Sunny contributed, “Besides, she’s been making eyes at that guardian Hazor.”
Cloudy froze.
Emgoth laughed. “Yeah, he was pretty intent on you.”
Sunny laughed. “That would explain the kiss.”
Emgoth and Ariget frowned. “What’s a kiss?”
Sunny explained. “Human mating ritual to gauge interest. A contact between lips.”
Cloudy hissed. “Stop being helpful. I still don’t know why he did that.”
Ariget chuckled. “Hazor’s uncle is mated to one of your people. His sister Hazda works with the guardians as well, over on Vecchin.”
“Sister. Right.”
“They are the grandchildren of Vecchin. Until recently, they were the only ones, but now there is another grandson. Vecchin is delighted. The new baby has wings.”
“Hazor doesn’t have wings.”
“No, neither does Mekked, the overseer of Vecchin. But he and his wife have a son with wings, and she has developed an activation of tremendous strength.” Ariget grinned. “Vecchin has been looking for other humans with the classification he needs.”
Cloudy froze. “What classification?”
“Hmrain compatible.”
She exhaled in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I am definitely not.”
Sunny called out, “And yet, you are still being courted.”
“Shut up, Sunny.”
Her brother cackled, and Emgoth walked around and looked at the stall. “There is only a little damage.”
“I know. All of those upgrades really paid off.”
Emgoth smiled. “I can see it’s in good hands for a few more days. Ariget is going to fuss over me.”
“She’s going to read you the riot act for leaving your territory without your trusty partner.”
Ariget snorted. “What could you have done?”
“You would be surprised,” Sunny called out. “Cloudy, they are coming.”
She chuckled and nodded to her partner and his wife. “Sorry, but some of us have to work today.”
Ariget grinned, and she and Emgoth got in line. Cloudy grinned and took her station after scrubbing her hands.
The folks in line cheered, and she got to work. Emgoth and Ariget got their meals, and to Cloudy’s amusement, they looked like they were on a date.
Locals came by, talked to Emgoth, asked him about what happened, and when two of them pulled back with shocked expressions, they took their meals and headed for their buildings.
Half an hour later, Emgoth was surrounded by managers who wanted details.
He sighed and explained, and their expressions grew dark.
Emgoth looked over to her and beckoned, and when she could hand it over to Sunny, she walked out and talked with the managers.
They each said, “We are hiring security personnel for you until this is resolved. On our companies.”
“What? Why?”
“This stall has increased the health and well-being of our staff. We appreciate it. Until we are sure you and your stall will be safe, we want to assist with security.”
Cloudy looked at them. “Thank you. We will accept gladly, but we would rather have the ability to anchor our stall to the dock. Both of your companies have lobbied against it. If we leave, if the stall must move, it is only eight wounds in the dock, but it would keep the thugs from pushing it off the dock when no one is here... again.”
“The peacekeepers came and got our footage this morning. Were those the guardians this morning?”
Cloudy coloured and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yes.”
“How did they know?”
“I called them.”
The managers were shocked. “How are you known to them?”
“They came by a few days ago after a mission, and I fed them. That’s all.”
Emgoth nibbled daintily at his akko. “And she is the same species as Overseer Mekked’s wife.”
Cloudy growled. “Shut up, or I will forget all my sauce recipes.”
Emgoth grinned. “It’s hilarious.”
“Shut up, or I will hide some new bruises with the old ones.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
He grinned.
Sunny chirped from the stall. “You have to admit it’s funny, Cloudy.”
“It isn’t funny. You and Margo Weller? That was funny.”
Sunny blinked, and understanding flashed. “Got it. Sorry.”
Emgoth looked at her. “Ah, I see. Right. No more jokes.”
“Thanks.”
One of the managers said, “We will contact the city about fixing the stall down.”
“If they say go, I can have it anchored in fifteen minutes.”
“How?”