Cycles Go ‘Round [Chapter 8]

Some people might say that working for a company like Cycles Go ‘Round would be exhausting, and they’d be completely right. I’d say, personally, that I’m glad I’m no longer dependent on my parents’ money or housing anymore. It’s all about perspective. For example, the stretch of twenty cycles straight of assignments might be seen as rough, but there’s a lot of downtime, too, between cold calls and other meet-ups. Then, after those twenty cycles, you get a full five cycles off to do whatever, with a few added on either side for travel. And with my last assignment just a jump away from a galaxy class resort, I was about to take every last moment for myself.

Veykey III was not terribly close to other major systems, but as a result, it often ended up as an extended shore leave for rich folks on a long cruise from wherever they had begun. The company ship under my control was perhaps a fraction of a percent as comfortable as a cruise liner, but at the very least, it was going to bring me to the resort for free.

“I’m signing off for the week, Grep,” I communicated to dispatch just before landing.

“Veykey III? I’m jealous, Anna.” He said back. “You’ll have to tell me if it lives up to the hype.”

“I’m certainly paying enough for the stay, even if it is the cheapest accommodation.”

“Well, have a good rest, at least. Hear you again in a few cycles.”

Everything was powered down, including my work tablet, and secured away nicely in the ship. All I needed was my bag of casual clothes, my book visor, and the readiness to forget about insurance sales for several cycles. After a painless check-in at the front desk of the resort’s hotel, I was taken up in a ground shuttle to bring me to my room.

Instead of strapping myself into a little pilot’s seat, the bed in my room was enough for someone twice my size to stretch out in. Instead of waking up to work calls and radiation warnings, the sun coming through the window gently urged me awake. Instead of synthiene and square blocks of food in sealed packages, I was only a single phone call away from having fresh delicacies and iced coffee delivered right to my room. And finally, instead of doing my business into a little… well, let’s not go into that much detail.

My first full day there began with breakfast served to me as if I were one of the rich folks also staying there. Feeling full and content on real food, I consulted with myself in the bathroom mirror. I came to the conclusion that I was desperately in need of UV rays to turn me back into a properly pigmented Terran.

Unlike other planets I had seen, Veykey III was no icy and chlorine-soaked rockscape. No, the planet’s oceans were H2O as they should be, in a liquid state, even, with a temperature high enough to swim in. The system’s sun having a consistent place in the sky throughout the year made that possible. But from the moment I saw the pool area from my balcony, its great collection of lounge chairs, and its readily-available bar, I knew where I was going to find myself for most of my stay.

It didn’t take further convincing to find myself in my swimsuit, on a lounge chair under the sun, book visor on, and a straw leading to a strong, fruity drink. This perfect storm of my own creation was enough to readily put me to sleep there by the poolside.

I don’t know how long I was out, but when you’re on vacation, who can really say if it’s for too long or too short a time? Remember what I said before about time not really meaning anything? Either way, it was a shrill scream that brought me back to the waking world. My book visor had gone to sleep on my face detecting my lack of eye movements and left me with a tinted view of the pool deck. In my cocktail-influenced grogginess, I figured the scream was simply some kid diving into the deep end. Then it hit me; first the warmth of my own skin and growing headache, then the realization that a resort like this was made with no children in mind.

The sun seared my eyes as I took off the visor. The arm I draped across my face as I sat up had turned a nice shade of red, leaving me vulnerable to accusations of being a Takoan. My legs, also burned nicely, wobbled as I stood up, ready to bring me back to my room. Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.

The other guests of the pool deck were all standing about, leaving the cool, inviting water empty, save for one poor soul. Submerged at the bottom, barely visible, was a dark blue figure, nearly blending into the shade of paint on the pool liner. From the body of the person came a thin line of red liquid, clouding the water around it. I jerked back, holding my mouth and shaking my head.

“Terrible thing, isn’t it?” An older guest beside me shook her head. “What could have happened?”

“Yeah, and not just ruining their own vacation,” I said lowly, thinking of my own limited days off and my skin desperately needing UV gel. I backed away without another word, looking for the pool entrance.

At the gate was a round green person in a suit that stood out even among the refined uniforms of the other resort employees. The lifeguard, a burly aquatic type, was with him, shaking his head, both of them blocking the exit.

“Excuse me,” I said waveringly, trying to find a space between them.

“Not now, miss,” the manager said, hiding his frustration under the guise of hospitality. “You’ll have to wait just a moment. How could this have happened?”

The lifeguard held his leathery-skinned head in his hands. “It was only a moment I was gone.”

“This is going to make our insurance rates go wild…” The manager huffed.

“You can say that again,” I mumbled, still waiting patiently.

The manager planted his hands on his wide waist and snapped at me. “What are you, some kind of insurance expert? No, I’m sorry miss, we currently aren’t allowing anyone to leave the pool area in the case this is… more than a simple accident.”

“Wonderful,” I sighed, looking down at my broiled stomach and legs. “Well, this little insurance expert needs to get out of the sun so I can deal with this so I’m not peeling the rest of my vacation.”

The green man finally turned fully my way, looking me up and down. “You say you are in the insurance business, then?”

My smart-ass, and likely some of the cocktail still in my system, took the reigns away from the common sense part of my brain. “Yes, and one who would rather not have skin cancer later in my life.”

The manager turned to the lifeguard, nodding. “Keep the gate closed. Little burned one, come with me.”

I was herded by his long arms to the lifeguard’s shack, just out of sight of the rest of the guests. “Uh, should this not be the job of the authorities? You have them on this planet, right?”

The manager stared into my eyes as if I were speaking a sub-sapient language then immediately went to a different topic. “I know insurance folks. I like them! The best, you know? They see things in different ways, the ways where things can go wrong, and the ways to make sure they don’t.”

“Well, yes, if something isn’t correct… certain accidents may not be covered by your policy. But my insurance deals with…”

The manager interrupted once again. “Listen now. If say… something does go wrong, insurance people are so good at finding out how and why.”

“Yes, I guess, so we can see if you were doing everything you were supposed to…” I said, the dots connecting.

He patted me on a burnt shoulder with a wide, padded hand. “Yes! Like that! Maybe this is because a bad person did a bad thing, but I do not think that is the case here. An accident! Whose fault? People do not think so well with vacation brains. Our fault? It should not be, we are very careful and safe. Maybe someone saw the accident. Let’s say I have you look around and talk with the other guests… to see when and what happened to the poor swimmer at the bottom of the pool? I’d… love to comp… at least a day of your stay with us.”

The offer rolled around in my mind. I tried to calculate the number of drinks or spa treatments or simply room service orders I could get by trading in the cost of one night. The only thing I could process, however, was the hot sun tearing at my skin and the lifeguard guarding the exit, likely until the situation was rectified. “No promises,” I decided upon those words, glaring at the manager.

The green man wagged an enthusiastic finger at me and followed up with a wink. “Just give us a plausible story we can use.”

Before I could give a fully-formed response, the manager ducked back out to the main deck, raising his hands up. “Listen, everyone! My wonderful guests! Of course, you want to leave the site of this accident behind, but we must make sure… everyone here is also… safe. Yes! So we must ask you all a little bit about what you saw here today. We have a… specialist…” he paused, urging me out with a wave of his pudgy hands. “To see if there was anything… particular about the events surrounding this accident.”

I glanced about at the other guests, most of them looking me up and down. Some rubbed at their arms, avoiding the sight of the body in the pool. Others studied the still hot sun passing overhead, or discontentedly fussed with their belongings. The manager was already on a portable phone, side by side with the lifeguard still blocking the gate. I took one last glance at the red cloud at the bottom of the pool and sighed, making my way to the least imposing guest.

My hand was on my brow to block out the sun as I looked up at the towering, lanky mammalian. “Hi, uhm, you’re pretty tall.”

He looked down at me with pursed lips. “I’m average for my species. Does that have something to do with this… investigation? You don’t look like any sort of specialist. More like a guest, just like the rest of us.”

“You’d think so,” I attempted to joke, unable to tell if it was received in the slightest. “So you didn’t see anything that might have led to that person falling into the pool here?”

The lanky man shrugged. “I just got here. Was busy scooting around the lounge chairs so I could put them end to end and have a place to stretch out for once.”

“Ah, well… I’m glad you could manage to sort out your accommodations.”

“Not like I’m going to be able to enjoy them now,” he declared with a sigh and a crossing of his arms.

“I’m sure it will be sorted out,” I said, stopping to wonder why I had drifted into my customer service mode. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, at least.”

The next people appeared to be a couple of a heavily furred species, sitting close together with hands nervously entwined. “Hi there—“

“Uhm, hi,” the female of the pair said intently. “You’re asking people questions? Can I ask you one first?”

“Honey, no,” the man rebutted quietly near her ear.

“I mean, maybe…” I said back.

“What… species are you?”

“You can’t just ask people that, babe.”

“Shush, you wanted to know as well.”

“Well—“

“I’m Terran,” I interrupted.

“Oh, well, of course, that’s what I thought,” the female nodded. “I’ve seen a few of you, but never one of you… of that color.”

“Honey!”

“Ah, well, exposure to certain things can cause this… coloration,” I said, tugging on the strap of my top to move it away from the burned skin. “May I… ask you about what you might have seen?”

“Did…” the female leaned in, whispering “…someone kill them? Drop them down in the pool?”

“Officially, this was an accident,” I said proudly, wondering why I was backing up the good-for-nothing manager. I glanced back to him briefly, thinking only to the comped night promised to me. “Is there anything you may have noticed that might have caused an accident here? Perhaps something that could cause a slip or fall?”

The male nodded emphatically. “The drinks… over at the bar there… pretty strong.”

I swallowed hard, the taste of old alcohol sitting at the back of my throat. “Oh, I agree with you there.”

The nodding continued slower, followed by a head tilt in the direction of the female. “She had one of her own, and then some of mine.”

“They were super tasty!”

“And now she’s… well, maybe the bar doesn’t know how to balance their drinks for other species.”

I stood up straight and sighed. “That could definitely be a problem. Anything else?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“Well, thank you for your cooperation.”

Following the first thing that could be considered a lead, I headed towards the poolside bar. The shade curtain above the seats was the first relief I had felt since waking up. The stool beneath me creaked as I sat down to clear my head and wait for the bartender to show herself.

“Sorry, we’re not serving drinks right now, manager’s orders.” The woman’s voice came first, followed by the dark, ridge-faced employee rounding the door from the back room.

“No, uh, I…”

“Oh dear, you look like you need some water, maybe.”

Before I could answer my true intentions, my dehydration called itself to attention. I licked my lips as the icy cold drink was poured for me, readily collecting moisture from the air. I snatched it up and drank until my breath gave out, then slapped down the glass, half full at that point. “Oh, universe, I needed that. No, uh, I have a question for you.”

“I might have an answer,” the bartender smirked, rubbing down another glass with a hand towel.

“You saw the poor person down at the bottom of the pool?”

“Yeah, a shame,” she shrugged.

“Did you serve them anything?”

“No, and I’ve been here since we opened with the pool. Hold on, why are you interested?”

“I’ve been… asked to do a little bit of an investigation.”

The bartender balked at me through squinted eyes. “You’re a guest, though? Yeah, I remember taking your order. What exactly is going on? Wait, did the manager…”

“That’s okay, really,” I held up my hand to stop her. “I’m just really bad at saying no to people.”

“Knowing him, he probably didn’t give you a chance to,” she said lowly, moving in closer to me. “If you’re out here again during your stay, I can make it up with some free drinks.”

I stared at the water glass and my beet-colored reflection barely visible in the condensation. “Thank you, but today might be the only day I can suffer the sun.”

“I don’t blame you.”

I sighed, ready to pull myself away from the shade and ice water. “Well, more people to talk to. Cheers!”

On my way back to the other guests impatiently wasting away on their comfy lounge chairs, I inspected the pool deck for anything that could have been an unchecked safety hazard. My eyes traced the cracks in the tiles, looking for any spots where tripping and falling could have occurred, any uncleaned messes that could have been slipped on. The depth markers were all present and clear, both ends of the pool at a respectable level. A ‘no running’ sign was posted by in several places and in several languages, including beside the lifeguard tower, located in a sensible position.

I decided to take on the most frustrated-looking person while my patience and cool was still intact. The humanoid appeared middle age, with too-tight swim trunks for his pudgy body. He reminded me of the boss that interviewed and hired for Cycles Go ‘Round, likely just as patient too. He seemed intent on making himself the least comfortable as possible, regardless of how long he was going to wait, possibly in a way to protest the whole situation.

He spoke first as I approached him. “I was wondering when you were going to come my way. I know what you’re doing.”

I paused, keeping more distance than originally intended. “I, uh, just have a question.”

“Sure you do. I didn’t see anything. You know why?”

“Are you blind?” I blurted out.

The pudgy one stomped his foot. “No! How could I have seen you waltzing up here if I were blind? I saw nothing because none of this makes sense. This is a training exercise, and they’re forcing us guests to be a part of it. Except you, you’re some… insider, huh? Go tell your boss that I want this previously nice day of mine to be on him.”

“Sir, I think you’ve got this all—“

“All wrong? If that’s the case, then why is the ‘victim’ getting out of the pool right now?” He huffed with a jab of his finger.

I jerked back, thinking halfway through that I had allowed myself to be fooled. Instead, the blue, possibly bleeding, guest was marching up the stairs of the pool, making a direct line for the gate.

“Oh no, oh no,” I heard her fussing, gills flapping at her sides. “I’m so sorry, I fell asleep and… my spawn started. Oh dear, I must get back to my room.”

I went to confront the manager and the lifeguard after she had been allowed to depart through the gate. “You didn’t check to see if she was alive down there?” The manager was fuming and tearing the lifeguard a new set of breathing holes. “You should have known better!”

“It is entirely my fault, sir!” The shamed lifeguard said, head bowed.

“That’s right, and you’ll be helping the cleaning crew drain and rinse the pool down!”

I cleared my throat. “So… I’ll let you know that I still expect to have tonight taken off my bill.”

Back in my room, I was finally able to face and take care of my singed skin. Across my face, exactly where the book visor had laid, was a perfect clear bar where, at least, I was still my pale self. No more UV exposure on this trip.

<– Previous Chapter | Next Chapter –>

Cycles Go ‘Round [Chapter 7]

“A fallen meteor came down and did some damage to a bit of farming equipment,” were the details I got from dispatch on my way to the client’s planet. “The Grengians there are a simple kind, welcoming, but I’ve heard they can be stubborn. We’ve set aside several cycles for you to be able to hash out what sort of reimbursement will be needed for their claim.”

I double-checked the ship’s navigation as I descended upon the planet. It seemed as if every inch of the surface was covered in grid-like formations of farms, stacked upon each other, laden with even smaller grids of plants in all colors my eyes had ever known. Neatly among the farms were roads, all of equal width, crisscrossing the visible surface.

With various larger transport craft setting down and lifting off, landing space seemed to be at a premium. For once, I was glad to have such a tiny ship, more so that the landing fees were covered by the company. Of course, the coordinates that the client had forwarded us were a ways off, so the hoverbike was a necessity for the rest of the way.

Before locking up the ship, I contacted dispatch one last time. “Grep, are you there?”

“I hear you, Anna.”

“When was the last time the company reached out to the Grengians here?”

“Oh, it’s been… seems a decacycle.”

I hummed. “The notes said that they were a simple people. They’ve been… busy here on this planet.”

“Simple, hard-working,” Grep stated. “Course, trying to categorize everyone of a species in the way is in bad taste, even if it is positive.”

“Well, I can already tell you, tracking down this client isn’t going to be a walk in the… hydroponic farms.”

“Well, as you know, you have ample time. Just put on your best face and get back to me when you can.”

“I hope I will.”

The air of the planet, at the very least, was fresh and earthy, no environ suit required. Carried by the hoverbike, at much less than top speed, of course, I garnered multiple glances my way by the locals. The Grengians were short and gangly, with pale green skin and wide eyes, hands, and feet not too different than my own. Their residences and businesses were hidden beneath the massive farm structures, hiding most of the sunlight from the paved streets below. Despite the rubbernecking, the grid-like layout of the thoroughfares made approaching the coordinates fairly easy.

I knew I had arrived when the attention of the locals was more drawn towards the scene of the accident than myself. Shoving the hoverbike to the side of the street, I morphed into the edge of the crowd to seek out what was so interesting.

Before I could get close enough, the sea of small heads twisted up towards me, all wide eyes eventually finding their way my direction. “Uh, hi. I’m Anna with Cycles Go ‘Round Insurance. I’m looking for the resident by the name of Pawal.”

“Get, get, get,” the raspy voice called out. Some of those blocking the road began to disperse, and one of the locals finally made their way to me. “That’d be me myself, Anna insurance-folk.”

Pawal had light blue streaks on his skin, showing what I guessed to be signs of age. He grabbed my wrist and yanked me further into the group, my strength somehow no match for his. “Uh, yeah, let’s see what’s been damaged, I guess. A meteor, huh? They can be troublesome here, I’ve heard, on smaller planets like these.”

Only the most talkative of locals remained around the impact zone. To be honest, it wasn’t much larger than myself, had I laid down beside it. The meteor itself, a blobby, slick, shiny, and at that point, uninteresting rock, remained inside. I noticed Pawal’s other hand pointed up to the air to one of the stacked farm structures. The view was straight up to the daylight above, a neat hole, pierced through multiple layers at a steep angle. “The meteor has done great damage.”

“It has indeed,” I said, just able to free my wrist in order to have both hands available for my tablet. “But that’s what we’re here for. We will simply have to calculate how much damage was caused in total, and I’m more than happy to sit down and cover all this with you. I assume… we will start with… the cost of the construction, then the amount of product… and the production… lost as a result of this. I’m sure our main office has asked you to prepare all documents and other financial records to make sure that you get the most out of…”

I realized that my words were being lost beneath the local’s conversations, even Pawal joining them. Those that remained were chattering around the impact zone, eyes jumping up and down from the meteorite. “I, uh, is there something I should know about this, though?”

Pawal turned back and shrugged. “It is silly nonsense, Jawok neighbor-folk is talking.”

“It is not! Look at the thing.”

The client jerked back, hands out before him. “What is there to see, I see it has destroyed my planters. No more!”

“It is a strange material. Not of this world, you see. A mix of metals. An alloy.”

“Most… meteorites are not of this… or any other world, I’d assume,” I spoke up, trying to redirect the conversation.

The locals looked at me, only to continue without seeming to consider my words. “It has landed on my plot on the way out of yours, Pawal. My damages, too. I also get a share of money from insurance-folk here. But if the meteorite is of value…”

Pawal clapped his hands together. “Talk of a fool.”

“The geologist-folk!” Jawok exclaimed.

“He is halfway around the planet. So much trouble for him. You may call him if you like.”

“I will. He will be here. If this meteorite is of money material, then I will not take insurance-folk money. That is decided now.”

The client shook his head and rolled his eyes at me before bowing to his neighbor. “See if it makes a difference. Anna insurance-folk, it is late in the day and we must wait for neighbor-folk’s nonsense. Do you have lodging for the night?”

“The night? My ship is back at the yard not far from here—“

“Too far. Wife-folk and children-folk will accept you for the night.”

I looked around at the surrounding lodging. “That is…”

“There is no choice, Grengian people will show you comfort.”

I nodded slowly, glancing up at the thin strip of sky above. “Then I will gladly accept.”

---

I soon found myself at the client’s dinner table, knees hitting the bottom of the furniture from the cramped chair, being stared at by two young Grengians. Pawal’s wife-kin served us dinner while the children fired off questions, putting my translator through its paces. I assume whatever I responded back with was just barely coherent, but they accepted it nonetheless, eyes relentlessly drawn to me. Before I knew it, it was dark outside and Pawal was guiding me to a guest room, my stomach still full with the plant-based meal and my ears no longer ringing with constant talk.

The bed was a good deal shorter than what my legs would have enjoyed, but it was undoubtedly better than staying back on my ship and having to ride back out to the site. It felt like I had only just closed my eyes to drift off to sleep when there came a knock to the door. “Anna insurance-folk. The geologist-folk is here.”

I sat up, emancipating a groan as I saw the client in the doorway. “I thought I heard… he was on the other side of the planet.”

“Ha, the planet is not that big. He is looking at the rock.”

“Right now? Isn’t it the middle of the night?”

Pawal laughed again. “Terran are a funny kind, or just you? The night is over. The day is come.”

I rubbed at my eyes, somehow not crusted over. “Can I ask… how long is it exactly?”

“Two suns, or did you not notice? Haha! One-quarter hexaturn is our night here. Long days, short nights. Sunlight during all the year.”

“That isn’t nearly enough, Pawal,” I mumbled, forcing myself up. “Though… that makes perfect sense here, doesn’t it?”

“Up, up, you want to see the rock?”

I decided that if I did as Pawal desired, I could sooner than later find myself back on a mostly normal sleep pattern. “It now has become part of my duty to see this through, I guess.”

The one I recognized as Pawal’s neighbor-folk was already chatting with the new arrival, a more manageable crowd looking upon the meteor.

“It is not a meteor at all, he says!” Jawok announced.

Pawal pushed into the group. “If not a meteor, what is it?”

The one who I assumed to be the geologist spoke up. “It is not an alloy of a natural form. This is manufactured.”

“By who or what?”

“My eyes are not for this sort of thing, but I believe it to be a spacecraft.”

“What sort of craft?”

“One for landing, of course. And it has landed here.”

The Grengians looked back and forth among each other. Fearing how long the discourse might drag on, I spoke up. “Are you saying that something or someone is inside? I could check for a signal, maybe…”

“It is too small.”

“Why would it come this way?”

“By accident? Or because of an emergency?”

“Is it dangerous?”

“A creature could be in there?”

“No, it is too small. It is said so.”

“There are smaller creatures than us.”

“Why would they come here?”

“Like I said—“

“Hey—“ I butted in. “Could it be… opened?”

Several sets of eyes met mine before anyone dared to speak again. “The Terran-insurance-folk has such an idea.”

“She could want to sell it insurance.”

“If it is an it.”

“It is not our matter who she sells insurance to.”

“It should leave my property, then.”

“It can’t leave if it is trapped there inside the craft.”

“Can a craft really be so small?”

Pawal clapped his hands loudly. “That is enough. We must call engineer-folk from nearby. He can examine the craft. He has tools to see what is inside. Then we can tend to it and the insurance-folk can sell it her insurance.

I stared at the once-thought rock. “Uh, I don’t really want to need to—“

“Call the engineer-folk.”

“Call him!”

The chatter continued while I assumed their second expert of the day was being reached out to. I wandered a bit, watching my wrist communicator for any sliver of a signal able to reach off-planet. When I was finally able to connect to a comms satellite, I tapped away a message to Grep.

This is Anna. These people are… quite nice, but talkative. I think I’m making progress, but there’s this whole deal going on right now. Hardly able to proceed. Do you think they would take it badly if I tell them to fix the damage on their own, and then we can comp them?

As I waited in place for a reply to come back my way, I garnered a few looks. I halfway expected for someone to ask if I were lost or in need of lodging, but at least most of the locals seemed to be focused on their daily tasks as the day went on. Finally, a ding came to my inbox.

That’s not good business, Anna. Just stick around. Remember, you have the time. Just don’t have too much fun! -Grep

“Thanks,” I said under my breath, sighing as I turned back to return to Pawal’s farm.

Sparks were flying as I arrived. The onlookers had managed to pull themselves far enough away as the engineer-folk did his work. The client found and joined me, speaking loudly over the sound of the whirring machinery.

“Engineer-folk has the right tools,” he said with a nod. “He says there is something inside.”

“Hopefully not anything delicate.”

“It was not so delicate that it could not smash my planters,” Pawal said lowly.

I glanced to the side to see him forcing a smile my direction. “Was… that a joke, Pawal?”

“An attempt to keep up with you, Anna insurance-folk.”

“It is open!” The Grengian at the impact site called out. At that point, there were more locals about than when I had arrived. I stuck to Pawal to make sure we made it into the center of the group.

Despite its melted, distorted exterior, the fallen object seemed to have a proper structure inside. However, even deeper inside was some sort of mechanical object. It seemed fully unnatural, with metallic humanoid-adjacent features, attached to a stout, round body with robotic appendages in the form of a biped.

“It is a creature!”

“It’s a machine.”

“Is it the dangerous type?”

“It doesn’t even seem like it’s working.”

“It could be dangerous if it was.”

“Why was it in the meteor?”

“It wasn’t a meteor, it was a craft.”

“A pod, like one ejected during an emergency.”

“What sort of an emergency?”

“Why does that matter?”

“It is dead?”

“Machines don’t die, they stop working.”

“Engineer-folk does know about machines.”

“Yes, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Who could know about a machine like this on this planet?”

“The brother-folk of my wife-kin works for robot making factory in neighboring system.”

As the chatter go to me, I backed away, leaving Pawal to shrug and nod with the various ideas. I hoped I could find the satellite’s favor once again and ask Grep to reconsider me being there, but the tall structures did me no favors. The client eventually pulled away from the group. “Good news, Anna insurance-folk.”

“Yeah?”

“The robot-knowing-folk can come visit in a day. It is of great interest, so of course.”

“Oh…”

“My guest bed is your pleasure for one more night, at least.”

“I… appreciate your hospitality.”

That night, Pawal’s children seemed to have come up with plenty more questions for me to fumble through. At the end of it all, I was happy to be able to return to the guest room, but somehow even the cramped space of my ship seemed preferable.

It was bright day by the time Pawal called on me. It was still far from enough sleep, but the thought of being able to get off the planet that day forced me to get myself up and prepared.

The neighborhood was chatting in a big circle around the impact zone. Inside the pod was the mechanical being, still immobile. It was not long before a vehicle came along the road, carrying the guest of honor from off-planet.

The robot-knowing-folk had several instruments with him. He seemed to part the sea of locals to examine the thing that had descended upon them. “Is it alive?”

“A robot is not an alive thing.”

“Shush, robot-knowing-folk must work.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Not if it is not working or living.”

The so-called expert raised his hand to the air, his body leaned close to the pod. For once, the crowd listened. “It is alive! There is a signal of a brain of sorts!”

With his computer, he seemed to talk with the machine— in the programs and numbers sort of way, of course— to do whatever seemed necessary. The locals, as well as myself, crept closer. The head area of the robot suddenly folded open, revealing a chamber where there was a tiny but separate creature. Its tiny eyes and purple body were indeed active, glancing about us from its tiny cockpit. It began to squeak and jerk about, shaking a minute fist up at us.

“What is it saying?”

“It is too tiny.”

“It does not use our words.”

“We need someone who can translate.”

“What sort of thing is it? And what does it speak?”

“Wait!” Pawal said loudly. “Anna insurance-folk has the power of a translator. She has communicated to my children-kin with it.”

I stepped back as the eyes of the locals found me once again. “I… perhaps my translator can decipher his language.”

The Grengians stepped back, allowing me closer. The tiny voice inside the robot inside the pod inside the impact zone squeaked at me, allowing the words to be pulled apart and put back together.

“I have determined that this world and its resources and people shall now belong to me. I demand to see the leader of this world to transfer command to me.”

I stood, watching the various eyes follow me up. “I, uh… it wishes to see your leader.”

“The leader-folk!”

“She is to the south.”

“Is she not busy?”

“She leads busily, yes.”

“We can get her here for something as important as this.”

“We must contact her.”

I glanced back to the road, attempting to remember where I had left my hoverbike. Before I could step off onto the road, a small hand grabbed at my wrist. Pawal shook his head at me as I turned around to face him. “This has become a great matter, Anna insurance-folk.”

“That is… yes, it has.”

“Perhaps bigger than a dispute over land. I think that neighbor-folk Jawok will not need my insurance money from Cycles Go ‘Round insurance.”

“Oh.”

“For you to put aside your job duties to observe this event, Terran-folk must be very inquisitive.”

“I mean…”

“I should have given you my documents on the day you arrived,” he smiled, offering out a data chip. “But I have been happy to have you as my guest. You will not wish to stay another night, to see our Leader?”

“I, uh… no. I’ve already lazed around here quite a bit. Other things to attend to. But I will see to getting you your money as soon as possible, getting you working again.”

<– Previous Chapter | Next Chapter –>

Cycles Go ‘Round [Chapter 6]

Pirates. Yes, they do still exist, even in times like this. And here I find myself, captured by these self-proclaimed pirates, all before I was scheduled to have my days off. To think, it began as such a simple assignment.

It began with docking my little ship to the freighter. The Reptorian captain, Rex, had an account with our company to cover his employees in their little shipping business. As I was told, his two new workers aboard would need to be put on his policy, easy stuff.

“So, first off, just to make sure all our information is up to date,” I said, going through the paces in the confines of the freighter’s crew hold. “Does your business ever handle cargo that could be considered toxic or dangerous?”

Rex, with his green scaly nature, shrugged and presented a grek-eating grin. “Only if you could consider smelly grub-gagging crewmen as being toxically pungent. Water tanks are heavy and take up a lot of space, so showers are mostly discouraged.”

I nodded, tapping my finger on the edge of my tablet to stifle my retort. “Uh, let me change how I put it. Is there anything on board that could negatively affect your crewman’s health?”

“Oh, if that’s what you mean, we have plenty of gut-water on board for when the long hauls get too boring.”

I clicked my tongue and nodded, pretending to put details into my tablet. “No water, but plenty of booze, check. Luckily for you, alcohol abuse would be a topic for your health insurance provider, not our worker’s comp insurance.”

“Hooray for us!” Rex grinned again, clapping his scaly hands.

“You know, I could just reach out to the trade board in this area to pull the records of your past manifests, just to make sure everything is still above board here,” I bluffed, knowing full well neither I nor dispatch had that power.

Rex nearly tumbled out of his chair, pulling his feet down off the table. “Oh, well it’s not like that would be a problem. But to save you time, no, nothing dangerous or toxic that would do my employees in. Just the usual nonsense of space.”

“Perfect,” I nodded, happy at being able to make progress. “Then, I would like to take down the names of the two crew members enrolling, as well as their species and age. Then if you could make sure all the employer’s information is up to date. If you would?”

Rex reached out for my tablet. I said back in the rickety chair, most of the old foam and upholstery ripped and shredded or completely absent. With toes pointed together, I stared at my knees, with the occasional glance to Rex’s pointy fingers on the screen of my tablet, tapping away.

“Here, everything looks good,” he said, standing and pushing the screen back my way.

I examined the form, nodding along with each line filled out. “Thank you very much,” I said, ready to stand.

Rex cleared his throat. “So that goes out right now to your company?”

“I will submit it and send it off with my stamp of approval over the warp-waves as soon as I’m back to my ship,” I said, putting on my best customer service voice.

The captain clapped his hands together. “The sooner the better. I beg you. Like… what do you Terrens say— ASAP?”

I lowered my eyes in made-up concern. “I’m afraid there is only so much I can do once it leaves my hands. But I can assure you that Cycles Go ‘Round works as efficiently as possible.”

Rex nodded, eyes seeming to water with anticipation. “Well, I hope so, as we are already out here on track with those two blokes aboard. I’d hate for something to happen to them.”

Despite my distaste for conflict, I had learned and practiced a phrase just for the occasion. “I understand, but poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.”

Just as I was ready to tuck my tablet under my arm, a loud bang radiated from deep in the ship, accompanied by a sudden jolt that nearly took my feet out from under me. I pushed myself up against the nearby wall. The captain swung about on his chair and rushed to the control panel across from me, slamming down on a button near a readout screen. I felt his eyes land on me for a moment before crossing the petite room.

“You’re not going to tell me what that was?” I said, sliding in his way.

Eyes flickering back and forth, he simply shifted past me and onto another bank of controls. “We have to do a little bit of expecting the unexpected here. But don’t worry, the bulkhead doors are sealed… for now.”

I bit my tongue to hold back my fury, producing the following words with restraint. “I work in insurance sales, captain. My business is all about expecting the unexpected, and making sure that people aren’t… screwed over by it. And frankly, I’m feeling a little bit screwed over right now.”

Rex had his back to me, talking into the ship’s radios in a different language. Between annoyed-sounding grunts, he glanced back to me and shrugged. “Poor planning on your part does not con… make an emergency for me, you know?”

My restraint came loose. I jerked forward, shoving a finger into his back. “Unexpected!? No! You were expecting something! Something exactly like this… whatever’s going on. Right? That’s why you had me out here to update your policy! Whatever trade route this is, it isn’t a good one!”

Rex turned himself back, eyes narrow, voice with a self-assured hiss. “We are not technically in danger, personally. Certainly not you or me. That was just our hull being breached. And likely, our visitors won’t even come our way, once they get what they want.”

“And who exactly are we talking about?” I huffed. “Like, pirates?”

“Pirates,” he said with a nod. “That is what they’re called, huh?”

I looked into his eyes as if waiting for him to give up the joke. “…great. And here I’m docked far on the opposite end of your ship, past your cargo hold. I don’t suppose there’s another way to the aft to get out of here?”

Rex shrugged. “Old, dusty vents. Your slim, smooth-skinned body might…”

I held up a hand to his face and scoffed, deciding to plop back down in the mangled chair. “I shall wait. All the doors are locked, I assume?”

“Yes, like I said, no reason for them to come this way.”

The chair creaked and complained as I spun it around to face away from the captain. Despite its rickety nature, I found my body relaxing and eyes feeling heavy, despite some miscreants likely causing havoc in the cargo hold a few compartments away.

The pneumatic hiss of one of the doors pulled me out of my almost napping state, almost sending the chair backward with me in it. I rolled out and caught myself on my feet, hiding behind the table. Rex stood up, facing the one who had come through.

“Dart, are they gone now? Why haven’t you been answering the radio?”

I recognized the name as one of the new crewmembers I was adding to the policy. He was another Reptorian of a different sort, with pale yellow scales. Another person behind him was of a different species, one of smooth, slick-looking skin with frog-like features.

“She’s the insurance lady, boss?” Dart asked, looking me up and down. I huddled behind the table further into the far corner of the room.

“What’s going on here? Why are you with him, unlocking the doors!” Rex fumbled, looking between his crew member and the other fellow.

The pirate pushed past into the room. “Okay, listen here boss.” He said with a gulp. “Your man here was havin’ a nap right in that cargo hold when we latched on and busted in. How convenient that we would have an extra pair of hands to help pull apart all the crates you’ve got. But ya’ know what, Cap’n? ”

Rex folded his arms. “I don’t know what.”

The frog man clicked his tongue a few times. “Well, obviously you ain’t gonna tell me where the most valuable things are packed, I’m thinkin’. Dart here certainly don’t know. But then I heard from the man that someone else was on board, a neat little thing that might be able to help us out in other ways.”

“You were trying to get insurance on me!” Dart chirped in roughly. “So if I die out here, you get all the money. Isn’t that right, smooth-skin?”

I jumped up as if controlled by his finger and shoved myself into the corner. “That’s not exactly what I do, nor how it works. It’s… workers comp and stuff, so your boss can provide for you if you’re injured and… and…”

“See!” The pirate huffed. “All the red tape ‘honest’ work like this comes up with is nonsense. This guy’s with me, now, Cap’n. And after we get what we want from the cargo hold, we’ll be back for her!”

Rex balked for a moment but found the peace of mind to lean back against the wall. “Take him, then. Traitor. And don’t expect to get your paycheck from your training period, either.”

Dart frowned and glanced at the pirate, then shook his head. “Fine.”

I ignored the payroll violation playing out in front of me and carefully raised my hand to draw the least intimidating attention to myself. “I’m… not sure you want anything to do with me. Certainly… more red tape to deal with if you do…”

“Oh, no,” The pirate huffed and chuckled. “Well, we’ll see about that, Terran. At the least, we certainly don’t want ya’ scooting out of here and calling the authorities. So stay put. Cap’n, you’re free to tell us where the expensive stuff is, so we can get out of your hair sooner.”

Rex and I met eyes across the compartment, and he turned to shrug at the pirate. “If you want the good stuff, you’ll have to work for it.”

The pirate sneered and jerked back. “Come on, Dart, plenty of crates to pry open. You’ll have to excuse the mess we leave behind, Capn’,” he turned out the door, laughing.

I turned back to Rex as the doors closed. “He’s just walking all over you! You… don’t have any weapons? A single laser pistol or something?”

The captain hissed, flicking his thin, pointed tongue at me. “Do you realize how bad an idea it is to be shooting weapons inside a thin metal shell floating around in the void of nothingness? And even if we didn’t pierce the hull, we would just rile types like these up.”

I planted my face into my palm. “So let me get this straight— since you head through known pirating sectors, you decide you need insurance for your ship and crew.”

“Obviously.”

“I can’t blame you. But to get me out here, in the middle of the sector to sign up your new hires… you’ve put me in this situation!”

Rex put his hands on his hips. “We needed them aboard, and I needed us to be on our way. A freighter’s gotta keep its schedule.”

I traced the edges of the ceiling and corners of the floor, looking for anything resembling a hatch. “Yeah, and so do I. Which means being captured by pirates is not going to be in the cards for me. Not to mention whatever they have in mind for me… tell me how I can get into the air vents and get out of here.”

“That’s, uh,” said the captain, hand rubbing against the back of his head. “That was kind of a joke. I mean, we do have air vents, but I don’t think anyone could fit.”

I huffed and plopped myself back down in the old seat. “Oh, so we’re both just gonna let this happen now, huh?”

Rex took his own seat. “Well, I assume you must have insurance as well? I’ve heard of kidnapping insurance. Does Cycles Go ‘Round not have that sort of thing?”

“I am insured, to inform you,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “But that’s separate from what my employer sells. If I were you, I would get insurance for your cargo back there, too. Our sister company—“

Rex was frozen in his chair. “Oh, is that a thing?” he mumbled, gently turning away from me.

“Hold on now,” I said, glancing to my tablet on the table. “The name of your company was…”

“You know, if I go out to the hold and get in the pirate’s face, I can maybe distract him long enough for you to run out of here.”

I pushed myself up, tucking my tablet under my arm. “You have insurance on this cargo, don’t you? I didn’t think this was a trade route— and that’s because it isn’t! This is why you haven’t put up a single ounce of effort against this guy. You just want to get the insurance money only doing half the work. I think I need to have a talk with this pirate.”

Rex tried to catch up with me as I opened the door. “I can tell you that this pirate is very much the real thing, insurance girl!”

Past the bulkhead door was the hold I had crossed after departing my own ship. The metal crates that had been neatly stacked before were all shuffled about and torn to pieces, with haphazard piles of goods moved about the space. The port side wall had a laser-cut opening in the metal hull, with the pirate’s craft securely sucked to the exterior. The frog-like man and his lackeys glanced up at me and Rex, who ducked away behind the opened door.

“Has he come to offer us up the Terran?” The pirate chortled. “Is it because he knows that all his cargo is junk?”

I cleared my throat. “You’re in on this insurance scam, aren’t you? As soon as I get back, I’m reporting both you and the Reptoran, here.”

There was a round of laughter. A few of the pirate crew members began to close in on me, the leader included. I glanced back to Rex, who readily closed the bulkhead door, sealing himself back in.

“Back off,” the frog-like man croaked at his men. “Let me at her. I’m sure I can… make use of her.”

I pushed myself back against the crates behind me, trying to locate the passage back to my ship, but to no avail. The pirate leader was certainly stronger than I would have imagined, able to pick me up by the collar and drag me back to the opening where his ship had forcefully docked. “I promise you…” I whimpered, “I have a tracker on my ship. So… if you do something to me… they’ll know where to look.”

The pirate plopped me down in a seat inside his ship and placed himself in front of the hatch, clearing his throat. “No need to worry, Terran. Should I introduce myself, first? Call me Splut. I hear you sell insurance.”

“Uh… well, I’m Anna,” I reciprocated. “And insurance is my company’s thing.”

“Perfect. Now I don’t know what you have with that Reptoran captain of that other ship, but we’d like something like it as well.”

“You mean… insurance-wise?”

Splut tilted his head. “What else could I mean? You don’t think folks like us need insurance? And we just got another set of hands and a mouth to feed, in case ya’ weren’t paying attention. So, what can ya’ do fer us?”

“I, uh… I can give you a policy form, and as for cargo insurance… I assume you take some on from time to time… I can tell you how to contact our sister company…”

<– Previous Chapter | Next Chapter –>

Cycles Go ‘Round [Chapter 5]

“This one’s a bit of a high-maintenance client, Anna,” Grep explained to me as I was en route, diverted from my much-desired pit stop. “I’m sorry to hand this off to a rookie like you, but the agent that usually handles her account is halfway across the galaxy.”

“I assume they already know how we operate, right, if they’ve dealt with us before? I can handle it. I just need to go by the book, right?”

“Of course. But that’s not what I’m worried about. My only advice perhaps… not to judge.”

“Oh, believe me, I’ve put any notions like that behind me.”

The coordinates led me to a station in a sector I had never heard of. After a half hexaturn or so in warp, I tracked the meeting point to a location in deep space, the gleam from the nearest star a couple light-years off.

The station itself didn’t seem too special, just a boxy depot with a flight deck, a communications relay, and a few merchants with a hundred or so other permanent residents to keep the place running. My directions from dispatch were only to let the client find me. I sent out a generic company blurb on the commercial channel, adding another message to the rotating verbal spew that was somehow still choked, despite the desolate locale.

I was just about to dock on the flight deck when the contact was initiated to my personal frequency. “Is this Cycles Go ’Round?” A feminine voice asked.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I don’t recognize that voice,” came the response with a slight curiosity to it.

“I’m, uh… Anna. Your regular agent couldn’t make it this time. I’ll be able to help you if you could direct me to the location of your craft.”

“Don’t you dare dock on that nasty station.”

“Oh,” I said, adjusting my controls to pull me out of my slow trajectory. “I shall not. May I ask what class craft you are aboard, then?”

“I see you, Uh Anna, stay put.”

I leaned down around my flight readouts and through the front window. A fancy craft of yacht-class specification was making a sharp turn around the space station, lining the landing bay on its bow with my craft. I could do little but hold on as their tractor beams pulled me about, reintroducing me to their particular flavor of gravity. Sensing what could be called ground, my ship pushed out its landing gear, planting me right in the belly of the luxurious vessel.

Just outside on the ground, I was welcomed by a sight I can’t say I was expecting. I knew I blinked several times and scanned the crewman up and down to look for any other peculiarities, but there were indeed none to find.

“A Terran?” I asked, looking straight into the eyes of my kin.

The man, a stubble-bearing, shaved-head figure of unremarkable build nodded emphatically. “The Missus said that the person coming to see her sounded like she had a Terran name, so she offered to have me come and greet you. And like always, she was right on the money.”

“Well,” I nodded. “Not many of us out this far, are there?”

His furious nodding continued, “Different strokes for different folks, haha.”

I nodded and exchanged a forced smile or two with the man before daring to speak of business. “Well, uh… the Missus… as you said… she is your boss?”

“No, no, no, not my boss. But I will take you to see her,” He said, jerking around. “We will go. You have all that you need? The elevator is this way. Come, come.”

I had trouble keeping up with the man’s pace to the back of the dock. Apart from my own, I couldn’t help but notice that there were no other craft, despite the size of the space, but I certainly didn’t have time to question it.

The windowed doors of the lift brought us past multiple levels of consistently growing extravagance. Past what seemed to be extra rooms were floors of bright lights, saturated colors, and intricate fixtures. Despite the sights flashing past my face, I was more distracted by the foot tapping and fixated look upward by the fellow Terran.

“Is the Missus on a schedule? I am sorry if I am a bit—“

“No!” He exclaimed. “No, no, there is all the time in the galaxy.”

“I see. And I can only imagine that she is pleasant,” I said, hoping to pull some truth out of him.

“Yes, yes, she is perfect!” He said, huffing, foot still tapping.

I wrung my hands together, preparing myself for whatever person I was soon going to meet, and hopefully not judge. “Would it be better for me if I called her… Missus, or… my records say… Amberine?”

“She goes by Missus,” the Terran swallowed hard, fingertips touching the smooth surface of the lift door where he had poised himself. “Here we are.”

Beyond the smoothly sliding doors was a long chamber, leading to a wide window that seemed to serve also as the ship’s main bridge. The chamber itself had no furniture to speak of and instead was decorated by standing figures, all of the male form, lining the way up to the one I assumed to be the client.

The Terran rushed up to her, a tall, dark figure. He found his way onto his knees, bowed before her. I could hear a murmur of words before he stood back up, prancing back to an open spot in the lineup of other males. Avoiding the urge to look to my sides, I approached, meeting the client near her side of the chamber. “I, have, uhm, arrived.”

“And welcome to you, Anna,” Amberine said, arms wide and welcoming. She towered over me, tanned-dark skin that was almost like scales or leather, with no hair to speak of, but with eyes like pools of liquid chlorine. Her long, dark dress gave me the impression that she was floating, drawing my eyes hopelessly up and down several times. “My communications with your home office tell me that this isn’t your normal duty, so I won’t take up too much of your time. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a collector.”

“Is that so?” I said, neck straining to look up at her.

“Yes. My collection is very important to me. I have worked with Cycles Go ’Round for a good deal of time now to make sure that the bits of my collection are protected. And I’ve just gotten my hands on not one, but two, more pieces.”

“How nice. We will have them covered for you,” I said, double-checking my tablet for the necessary steps. “I assume you’ve obtained the proper appraisal forms? And, of course, I’d need to see the subjects to make sure they are in your care.”

“No trouble. In fact, you’ve already met one,” Amberine said with a clap of her hands.

“Met?”

“Traipse? Trott?” She called out. I glanced back to see two of the males exiting the lineup, including the Terran from before. Holding my breath, I looked back up at the client.

“Can I… make sure of one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“Cycles Go ’Round is not in the business of life insurance, I’m sure you know.”

Amberine nodded, arms tucked behind her back, glancing at the two men as they joined either side of me. “They are property. Think of them as such. The deal with your company allows me to be reimbursed if they should expire.”

I attempted to scroll through the open pages on my tablet screen before my unsubstantiated thoughts got the better of me. “You’re aware that slavery is banned in over 3,000 systems?”

The client slumped her broad shoulders and waved a finger in the air. “I must have a chat here. You are all dismissed.”

The reaction to the simple command was like a bus full of primary learners had been told that the ice cream machine of the service restaurant they had stopped at was out of order. The males ran forward, folding against themselves on the ground before Amberine’s feet, crying and cawing in all manner of abasement.

“Do not make us!”

“You cannot deny us your presence!”

“It is a punishment? It is a punishment!”

“The light from the sky has disappeared!”

With a sole click from the client’s fingers, the males stood and scattered, exiting through the lift or one of the various side doors.

When the last hint of wailing had disappeared from the bridge, she spoke up again. “You can see very well that they are no slaves. They have all agreed to be my property. As simple as that.”

“Is… this some sort of sex thing?”

Amberine folded her arms across her chest, lithe and petite. She looked me up and down. I shook my head suddenly, slapping myself across the face with my free hand. “I’m terribly sorry, I’m not sure what I was thinking. I was sent with the appropriate form here to fill out.”

The client relaxed herself and shuffled back to look out the front window. “Not all species are as sex-motivated as Terrans.”

“Oh yes, I know what you mean. I mean, historically, yes, if you look into that. Really, I’m one to talk, me, working this job out in the middle of nowhere most times. I haven’t seen, let alone interacted, with another Terran apart from that Trott guy for like… I don’t know how long. I don’t really know my prospects with other species either, you know, it can be… weird. And to say I’m motivated by any sort of thing like that… I’m really just motivated right now by moving up the corporate ladder, you know, getting a nicer ship, some vacations, a proper retirement, of course. If you really look back, there was this low point in our history where people absolutely were motivated by working long hours and not really getting married or having offspring… do you understand what it means to be married… not all kinds have those sorts of traditions.”

Before I could vomit out more words, I felt a long but soft finger under my chin, pulling my eyes up to the face of their owner. “Anna, was it? I take it you don’t have particularly high regard for yourself. How would you ever find yourself a mate when you carry yourself like this? Would you like some tips?”

I pulled myself back, heart fluttering in a way I had not felt before. “I… uh… I think that my code of ethics… working for Cycles Go ’Round… would have me decline such a kind offer.”

Amberine’s face turned a shade of pleasant, perhaps elated, with my words, and she pulled back, hand to her lips. “Well, that’s quite fine, in fact. The fact of the matter is that my kind does not… reproduce in a way that is compatible with any individual of any other.”

“Is that so?” I asked, imagination running wild with her words. “Can I ask something, maybe a little bit bluntly?”

Amberine nodded hopefully. “Getting any sort of bluntness or boldness from my flock is rare, if possible at all. I welcome yours as a unique amusement.”

“It’s just that… I had this thought that the reason you were getting insurance out on the males here on your ship was that it was some wild mating act that was… damaging them or something. But… I guess I’m just glad that they’re safe and… I suppose you want to look out for them. I just kind of wonder… if you don’t mind answering… how they find their way here. To join your crew— flock?”

The client sauntered back around, moving in a zigzag pattern about the wide chamber. “They just seem to… sense my presence during my outings on various planets or stations.”

“Does your flock come with you on these outings?”

“Of course, how could I deny them my presence for so long? But others seek me out nonetheless. If I judge them worthy, they may join me as well.”

“They must have to meet some rigid requirements.” I pondered aloud, glancing about the fancy cockpit.

“Only that they wish to escape conditions where they find themselves withering away. I take in those who typically have no worth in their surroundings. It is those types who I find to be the most worthy of my presence.”

“You could almost call that a noble cause, Amberine.”

“I can promise you, the pleasure is all mine. And when my flock is full enough, I can extract all the goodness from them in order to feed my well-being.”

“I see. Well, I don’t want to keep you longer than necessary with all these questions. Tell me the names, again, for your… new properties that I will be adding to your policy.”

<– Previous Chapter | Next Chapter –>

Cycles Go ‘Round [Chapter 4]

New assignments had yet to cease in their ability to make me sweat through my suit. At the very least, I managed to get a full night’s rest and a shower in one of the pod hotels in Zexa station, the tab courtesy of the company. I was still paying for my own meals there in the food court, but you can’t win every battle. When everything was fueled, myself included, I shoved myself back into the cramped cockpit to head off to the next stop directed by the company’s whim.

The autopilot kicked off when I arrived at the foretold asteroid belt, forcing me to maneuver through the debris on my own. I expected that the company ships were covered for any possible damage, being owned by an insurance company and all, but I didn’t dare to test it. At the very least, the idea of my craft and myself being impaled and imploded by unsuspecting space rocks shifted my anxiety from one distraction to another. At long last, though, I spotted the destination.

Grep had told me that the client that had filed the claim was an older researcher type, living way all out here on their lonesome. With the low gravity of the asteroid belt, it would be perfect for someone of an advanced age, especially with their old joints, I thought to myself. The landing platform molded into the rock below looked as if it hadn’t seen a visitor in some time. Despite the layer of decayed rock and dust on the pad, the still-working sensors synced with my guidance systems and helped me down.

When I was back on my feet and in the environ suit, I realized the reason why the client hadn’t seen or even needed a visitor in some time. The brightly lit biodome was lush with neat rows of crops and a handful of trees laden with fruit or something of the like. I proceeded to the airlock, engaging the comms system to make contact with the person inside.

The doors allowed me inside before I even got a response. Hoping to make a good first impression, for whatever reason, I took off the helmet in the conditioned dome and fixed my hair. Inside was a house, or more accurately, a home, constructed of wood with a metal roof layered with solar panels. A sole figure stood in the doorway.

Despite what dispatch had told me, the young-looking female was rather well put together, perky, with tanned skin and rich, neat curls. Her tight, casual clothes were not those of a scientist or researcher either, but I had made up my mind quite recently to not judge by appearances.

“Welcome, you must be from Cycles Go ’Round,” She said, leaning against the open door. Come in. Leave your suit anywhere you’d like.”

I zipped down and stepped out of the leggings, setting the bundle down just outside the door. “Thank you. My name is Anna, and I hopefully be able to help you today. Your name was Stael, I was told?”

The home beyond the front door was comfortable, with more hearty wood. In the space was a manageable kitchen, a bedding area, along with a nook with a sole chair, a bookshelf, and a lamp. At the far end was a half wall, guarding a more sterile and pale area with lab equipment and several banks of flashing computer equipment.

“That’s right. I certainly hope you can, Anna.”

I nodded. Grep had said that the comments on the claim form sounded more desperate, but once again, the cover of the book did not properly portray the content of the pages. “You said something was stolen from you here, correct? The coverage you have through us should be plenty to help you get back on track. Can you describe what was stolen, and its approximate value?”

“Oh, dear,” Stael held her chin and took one of the two seats from beside the kitchen’s dining table. “A creation of mine. She is nowhere to be found, I can assure you. There can be no other explanation that she was stolen.”

“She?” I puzzled, taking the opposite seat.

Stael looked up and me and stared from across the table. “A personal assistant, friend, companion— that I created myself.”

“Oh, like an android?”

The woman clicked her tongue. “Android… that word only applies to you Terrans, males to be exact. A biomechanical being, yes. In my own form, mostly. I mean, I am not the perfect form, but I am the only subject around, unfortunately.”

I felt the conversation trailing off from the company script I had practiced on the way over. “And… as far as some sort of report from sector security? Did someone land and sneak in while you were asleep?”

Stael shrugged. “No report. And no people here, other than yourself just now. I would know if anyone had landed and entered.”

I nodded and tapped at the screen of my tablet to fake filling in details to the case form. “Well, if I were my mom, I would say that things don’t just grow legs and run off, but… that isn’t quite the case here, is it?.”

Stael pushed her face into her hands and let out a low moan. “Guh! Why would she do that? We got along so well. And how? There’s… no place for her to go.”

“Of… of course. Let me… get back to my ship and… grab my gear to get a scan of this… scene. For my records.”

Her face remained in her hands as I stood, making a line for the door. Back in my suit on the landing pad, I opened up a channel back to dispatch. “Grep? Grep, you there?”

“What’s the matter, Anna? How’s it look there with the client?”

“There’s no security report or anything like we usually require.”

“Well… to be honest, no surprises there. Pretty far out place, and those types generally rely on themselves. The client’s been with us a while, I don’t think she’s out to defraud us now. Just do your due diligence in making sure the stolen items aren’t being hidden somewhere.”

I sighed and glanced back at the dome. “The… thing she says she’s missing… could be quite expensive. As in… one of a kind.”

“Hum…” I heard Grep, for the first time, speechless. “Her coverage is fairly comprehensive. If you need to negotiate a payout… then that’s what you need to do. The main office will just have to bite the bullet.”

“I guess I have no choice, do I?”

“That’s an affirmative.”

Back inside, I found Stael in the same place, albeit slightly more perked up. “Can I offer you anything to eat?” She asked, turning up to me.

“I couldn’t…” I said with a shake of my head.

“Fair enough. I know you’re working. Me, I’ve been so worried about this whole situation, I don’t think I could even look at something to eat.”

I glanced about to hopefully pick out anything strange. “Your crops and other plants are quite impressive, though.”

“They are a chore to keep that way, but that’s how I keep fresh food on the table, you know. And Frey… that was her name… she was learning to help maintain them with me, as it got harder for me to constantly be out there and move around.”

“I see,” I said, trying to scout about more without seeming conspicuous. “Well, I certainly want to help you sort this out, at least to get you reimbursed for your lost… creation. Just without a report, I have to make sure that I’m thorough and make sure that it is… indeed missing.”

“Sure thing. I understand,” she said, plating her face against her hands. “I know nothing will ever replace Frey, but maybe I can get the materials to make… some sort of replacement, even if I can’t see anything new to completion at this point.”

I stared at the table in front of me. “If you don’t mind, I have a few more questions before I have a look around.”

Stael groaned and covered her face. “Of course. She was free to do whatever she wanted, within her programming of course. But like I said, there’s nowhere to go.”

“No, no, of course not. It’s quite impossible to run off here, isn’t it? Especially without a ship. Where was the last place you saw Frey? And when?”

“Best I can recall… I was out in the garden, Frey was there too. After a while, I found myself back inside, and she was nowhere to be found. That was three days ago.”

I stood at the house’s window and glanced out toward the clear dome. “She maybe didn’t… go out through the airlock? Would Frey have needed an environ suit if that were the case?”

“Not that she needed air… but I told her that the outside wouldn’t be good for her. It wouldn’t have made much of a difference, to be honest, but I didn’t want her to go out there. She was getting very smart, you know. Like a child of my species. I mostly didn’t want her to get hurt. Solar radiation and all that. The buzzer for the airlock would have sounded anyways, just like it did when you came and went just now.”

“I… see,” I mumbled, looking about once more. “I might as well have a look around the garden, then?”

Stael nodded and stood up. “I can show you where I was. But I don’t think I have the energy to help out much, I’m afraid.”

I glanced out the window and then shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, then. It will just be a moment.”

Stael stood at the door for a moment as I walked across the fine, green ground foliage and to the garden. The rows of crops were neatly planted in perfect furrows, sprouting leafy greens and pushing down tubers. I looked for anything that may have been freshly dug up as if something had been buried and hidden, but the soil was mostly settled in place.

Further back, there were stalks of a plant climbing a wooden stake. The neat line where they had all been driven betrayed one plant out of place. It looked as if it had been yanked over by something heavy. The soil was turned up and stirred about as well. I pushed at the loose dirt with the tip of my boot, but at the lowest point, I found nothing but the hard surface of the dome’s concrete floor. “Who could bury someone… or something here?”

More soil was tracked on the grass from the planting bed there. I followed, looking for wherever it led. The streaks devolved into a series of uneven footsteps, finally ending at a back door to the home.

I found it unlocked, as I assumed was normal in a place with no visitors. It opened to the rear of the house, just outside of the lab space. Stael stood from the kitchen and turned my way. “Was there anything to see? Perhaps not, I assume.”

The metal floor of the lab was marked with more dirty footprints. I pointed to them as the not-so-old lady joined me. “Just a mess of dirt.”

Stael rocked her head back and forth. “Strange. I never bring my garden shoes inside. Frey knows not to make such messes either. And to think, into the lab… Broom, where is the broom?”

I nearly followed, but Stael gave no signs of wanting to pause and allow me my search. “I really must search here too, if that is alright. In the case you still want to complete the reimbursement process.”

The woman shuffled back and forth. “Let me show you where she… slept, if you want to call it that. So that you know there was truly someone else actually here.”

Still keeping track of the dirty footsteps, I joined her. At the far end of the lab was a mechanical door, with a taped-on paper sign labeled with neat print. Frey.

“She charged here,” Stael said, pushing on the controls to open it. Cold air whooshed out from behind. There was a form inside, much like the woman herself, but somehow more fragile-looking. “Frey— no. That’s…”

The curly hair of the person inside was matted to one side with green-tinted blood. A faint smell of rot came to my nose, and I stepped back.

“Bathroom. A mirror—“ Stael said, pushing past me. I came to her in the side room, mumbling to herself, leaning close to the reflective surface. “Thank you, Anna. I will not need any aid finding Fray, now. She is… here, after all.”

“Stael?”

Her young eyes turned towards me. “I hadn’t been in here to look because I had not needed to. An artificial body doesn’t have those needs. I remember now, I took a fall in the garden. At least the falling part, I recall. Frey must have gotten me to the lab before I had gone cold.

I was… working on a way to map one’s brain waves to an artificial organ. That’s… how Frey… came to life, borrowing some of my consciousness. As I got older, I played with the idea of mapping one’s awareness entirely to an artificial brain. Of course, Frey would have been my only subject, but at that point, I would have been taking away her own natural development. I didn’t want that for her. So I never tested it. I guess… Frey took it into her own hands, realizing that my body… my existing consciousness… wouldn’t have made it.

There are plenty of things that Frey didn’t possess because I figured them unnecessary. Like the ability to cry. At… at the very least, I can tell you thank you for coming here and trying to help.”

I couldn’t help but look at the floor. “What are you going to do… with yourself?”

“I… would have wanted my body to end up as nutrients for the plants. And to keep them tended to. This body will last a long time. Enough time to maybe find Frey in here, and give her… Herself back. Once again, thank you Anna. If you’re hungry, feel free to take anything you like. I won’t need them, unfortunately.”

I reached out to Grep as soon as I was back sealed in the ship. “I’m setting off, dispatch. Where next?”

“Hold on, what happened with the client?”

“Just… an old woman misplacing something of hers. We won’t need to move forward with the claim.”

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