Chapter 14

As Pri headed for her quarters, Kazlaena suddenly emerged from her own quarters, doing a bit of a dance to some music. She was dressed in loose fitting green pants and a light grey t-shirt, being ready to go to the Rockpig once her ride arrived.

“Ah!” Kazlaena was gleefull. “Pri! ‘ow is see?”

“Hello Kaz.” Pri smiled as Kazlaena hopped up to her.

“You were doing sa fitness?”

“Correct.” Pri nodded.

“Sat’s good. I need to do sat more often too.”

“Will be sure to bring invitation when next I pursue desire.” Pri said.

“Sanks,” Kazlaena gave her a smile and shimmied her behind for a sec, letting her tail wiggle to and fro. “Um, are you ok?” She saw some discomfort in Pri’s face.

“I am,” Pri replied. “Please pay it no mind.”

“Um,” Kazlaena stopped Pri when she tried to continue to her quarters, holding the Sezars hand intently. “Please don’t be mad, but I want to know for sure sat you are ok. You um, you do not look ok.”

Pri lowered her head and let out a bit of a deep breath, then faced Kazlaena. “Current discomfort stems from troubled thoughts, little golden heart. Past memories can be difficult to face, to accept, to let go.”

“No, no,” Kazlaena stepped in and embraced Pri tightly. “Sorry for sat. I wis I could take it away. Is sere anysing I can do to ‘elp?”

“You already do.” Pri knelt and they held their cheeks together for a moment before Kazlaena rubbed her muzzle against the side of Pri’s neck. “Offering help is sufficient to know one does not stand alone in the face of difficult thoughts.”

Kazlaena spoke quietly. “I wis sere was some way to make sem go away and never come back.”

Pri brought her head back enough to look at Kaz. “Replacing difficult memories with joyful ones make burden easier to carry.”

“Um?” Kazlaena looked at Pri intently. “You sould come wis me. You ‘ave day off today, yes?”

“Until 21:00 tonight.” Pri replied.

“I will be back by sen. We will be.”

“Intent is kind, but-”

“Please,” Kazlaena interrupted politely. “You like Valeria. See likes you. It would be sooo fun and I sink you could use some fun, yes?”

“I...” Pri looked at the way Kazlaena was watching her, full of hope and expectation. “ ... ok,” She almost couldn’t believe she had agreed.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend time with Kazlaena or go see Valeria. It was partly that it made her feel like she was intruding on their get together. And partly that she just wanted some alone time, despite having an abundance of alone time whenever she wished. She also knew how much it would bother Kazlaena if she said no.

“Yeeek!!!” Kazlaena hugged her again.

“Ah, little golden heart always gives reason to smile,” Pri patted her shoulder and grinned, seeing the Vandean giggling with happiness. “How long until departure?”

“Um, like twenty minutes,” Kazlaena replied a little meekly and they began walking swiftly to Pri’s quarters.

“Leaves precious little time to get ready. Need shower and to gather appropriate items.”

“I can ‘elp wis somesing if you need. I am almost ready.” Kazlaena said and Pri nodded.

When they stepped inside Pri’s quarters, Pri retrieved her shower kit and a towel along with a change of clothes.

“Will have power shower. Can look over anything you wish. Back momentarily.” Pri said as she exited.

Kazlaena looked over the terrarium and the art on Pri’s drawing board. She looked over her painter’s easel, along with what was in her drawing book.

“Sese are really amazing,” Kazlaena whispered.

As she flipped through the landscapes, she fell upon character sketches of the crew. She saw Jack, Lucinia, Cardox, Sita and finally a drawing of herself. It only took Kaz a moment to figure out this was Pri’s way of capturing the essence of her friends in a better manner than photos ever could. This was personal, by her hand. Kazlaena whirled around as the door to Pri’s quarters opened and the Sezar entered in a bit of a hurry. She was in a purple bush shirt with black Khaki style pants.

“Oh!” Pri saw what Kazlaena was looking at. “Intent was to keep friends close, hope that bears no issue.”

She barely finished as Kazlaena hugged her for the umpteenth time that day.

“Sat’s more san ok, I like sem.” She gave the Sezar a tight squeeze. “ ‘ow much do you need to bring?”

“Current clothing should suffice. Personal effects are of only concern. Is there other kit to be considered?”

“No,” Kazlaena shook her head. “Valeria ‘as most stuff, I am bringing some oser sings. You just need you.”

“Understood.” Pri smiled as she went over to a cabinet and pulled a few things out.

She slipped a hardcase wallet in her back pocket and her commpad in her front pocket after sending off a fast message. Lastly, she grabbed a necklace with a pendant bearing a carved image of a Sezar, over her head.

“‘ey, is sat a game you were playing on your computer sere?” Kazlaena asked when the black screen on Pri’s portable computer flickered away, revealing a vidgame.

“It is,” Pri nodded as she brushed at some lint with a sticky roller. “Is a colony sim game.”

“Really?” Kazlaena looked at the paused game. “I never knew you played sa games.”

“Not a hobby spoken openly,” Pri replied. “Presumed there to be lack of interest in personal recreational choices.”

“I would be interested,” Kazlaena exclaimed as she looked over the screen. “Oh! Seres a bunse of small ‘ouses, buildings. ‘ow do you play?”

“Game requires one to build cities on worlds, create goods, transport created goods to and from different worlds. Player must keep populace happy and fulfill needs.”

“Is sere battling?” Kazlaena asked almost reluctantly as she looked at what she thought was a military building.

“Game can lead to occurrences,” Pri replied. “Can be frustration inducing, but design is not as game of military strategy. Combat is only part of greater game. Most combat is secondary to objective, meant to increase difficulty. Can be disabled if choice is desired.”

“So you like, design cities on sa different worlds?” Kazlaena watched as Pri unpaused the game and the city came to life. “Wow, ‘ey do you play sis wis oser players?”

“You can,” Pri said. “I do not.”

“Um, is sat because you prefer to play alone?”

“Prefer to design alone, without having another dictate session.” Pri replied.

“Oh,” Kazlaena went silent for a moment.

“If you desire to learn, I can teach.” Pri patted her back.

“Ok,” Kazlaena looked up at her with a grin. “Would you like to play togeser sometime?”

“I would,” Pri saved the game and exited the program. “Good computer is required. Little golden heart has one?”

“Um, no.” Kazlaena shook her head.

“We shall seek correction to desired state.” Pri gave her a wink and Kazlaena grinned.

“Wat sat game called?”

“System of Elysia.” Pri replied.

“Ok, cool. I um, I will look forward to your teasings, er instruction.”

“As will I.” Pri took a moment to check her appearance over and turned around to face Kazlaena when she was content that she was ready. “Ready for departure.”

“Ok, I ‘ave to get my pack and jacket, you sould get a jacket too.” Kazlaena said as she darted from Pri’s quarters and raced to her own.

Kazlaena and Pri waited in the crew airlock of the hangar bay, wearing their jackets for warmth. Pri wore a brown jacket with some artificial fur around the collar while Kazlaena wore a light blue one with several ‘bad bots’ patches sewn over the pockets. The trip to and through the Rockpig would have areas they’d need to pass through that were not well heated, making an extra layer a necessity. They sat watching the light panel intently as the Sumpter model cargo hauler completed its docking procedure. Sumpters were the most common hauler in the employ of the League; good handling, durability and a modular cargo bay that could fit passenger modules, bulk freight, liquid cargo or fragile and precious cargo modules. The Sumpter was a blocky craft that did away with any elegant designs in favor of maximum volume. It held the pilot’s seat at the front in a small, protected compartment like a beak. The Astral Feather had a Sumpter model for use in shore leave or ship to ship conveyance. The Rockpig had several Sumpters, along with a pair of the larger, similarly designed Jument model hauler.

The Sumpter from the Rockpig came to a rest on deployed landing gear, four large rubber tracks that took the weight of the ship and cargo with ease. The Sumpter rolled forward to the center of the hangar and spun 180 degrees, dropping a ramp once the green industrial light began spinning, which signaling a pressurized space with optimal atmosphere. The door to the crew airlock unlocked automatically and Kazlaena shouldered a small blue pack with several doodads hanging from it. One was a little krite figurine, a big triangle eared cat like creature often kept as a domestic pet in the League. She also had a couple of ‘bad bot’ figures, one large and squat, the other tall and narrow, both wielding ridiculous weaponry. Kazlaena and Pri passed through the door and into the hangar, waving at the two crew from the Rockpig as they walked down the ramp. They were dressed in orange coveralls with hard hats that sported several hoses and attachments. These included a headlamp, illum strip, water and oxygen line to two small tanks on belts and confined space monitors and gas detectors that were small and lightweight but necessary on industrial vessels in space.

“Ello lil Kazo.” One of them, bearing a red strip on her hardhat that marked her as the pilot, said as she threw Kazlaena a high five.

“Awesome, I am awesome,” Kazlaena said back quickly. “I sall soon be even more awesome.”

“Pri, correct?” The pilot spoke to Pri next.

“Correct,” Pri bowed her head.

“Good. I hate when I can’t remember names. Good to see you. Been quite a while yeah?”

“Correct,” Pri nodded. “More than half year’s passing.”

“Heya Kaz, Pri.” The other bumped fists with Kazlaena and motioned to the side of the ramp. “Give us about five minutes to offload cargo and then we’ll get you seated for the trip.”

“Yes sir, will do.” Kazlaena playfully saluted and stepped aside as her tail flickered excitedly with Pri standing patiently beside her.

“Eeee!!!” Kazlaena looked up at Pri with bright eyes. “So many funs to be ‘ad.”

Pri smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

The two crewmembers offloaded two large pallets of iron sheets in various sizes with a heavy pallet jack. They then unloaded another small pallet of various refined minerals like spooled copper wire and twenty-five-pound ingots of aluminum and titanium. This pallet also had small iron rods and boxes of a variety of refined mineral shards and flakes for the science team. Spurius had directed them to an empty hangar bay where the cargo was delivered, then signed off on the data pad he was handed, making it all legitimate.