Big Damn Project

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Tre did a quick sweep of the guest quarters to find the sound — and the smell — that was bounding its way through the Rose was Billy. The human leaned over the stove, holding a frying pan. All around him was the evidence of what may have been, at sometime, the makings of an omelet. What was in the pan could not, by any generous person, be called an omelet. Billy looked up at him.

“What?” Sweat beaded on his brow.

Tre pointed to the pan.

“Yeah, well, we have guests for once, and I thought I should see if I still had it in me before we brought them aboard.”

Tre narrowed his eyes, giving Billy a side-long stare.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

The lion held up his hands and shook is head.

“Right. Are you hungry at least? Care for some?” Billy held up the pan with the rubbery eggs. Tre backed away, shaking his head, ears slicking back.

“Fine,” Billy said, setting the eggs aside. “I suppose you ate already.”

The lion nodded fiercely, as if harder would make it more true. He’d grab something later, when Billy was far, far away from the kitchen.

“Then we should let Nina know we have guests. And where are our Travelers?”

Tre rolled his eyes. He tapped the First Mate patch on the shoulder of his coat, and then gave the clipboard he was holding a little wave.

“Right, sorry.” Tre left Billy alone with his eggs. Billy stared down into the pan. He skewered a glob with a fork. He chewed thoughtfully. “Yeah, no, that’s not going to work.” He scraped the pan in the garbage and started over.

Nina was asleep on the couch in the crew quarters, curled up tight on one side. Toby was on the other, and both of them were making a distinct point of leaving as much space between them as they could. Tre gently shook both of them awake. He showed her the spot on the clipboard where guests had been logged. She nodded, rubbed her eyes, and yawned.

“Is there breakfast?” She asked, standing and stretching.

Tre pointed up to the guest quarters.

“Oh,” Nina said. She started to the steps until her mind caught up with her. “Wait, from who? Not you. Billy?”

Tre nodded gravely.

Nina gave a little whimper. “Does he know we’re up? Is he expecting us?”

Tre shook his head.

“Oh, sweet Nibiru. I bet we have some toaster pastries around here.”

Toby looked up over the couch, brushing his long headfur from his eyes. “Toaster pastries?”

“Yeah, come on.” Nina opened one of the cabinets and started rooting around. Toby joined in.

Tre spun on his heel, back up to the receiving gallery. Their Travelers were late.

Cait passed Tre on his way up. He gave her a quizzical look.

“Good morning,” she said. She stopped to take a look at Tre’s clipboard. “I am expecting a package from customs. I also need to borrow Xiphos. We need to get Tobias some clothes.”

Tre nodded. He made a note on his clipboard. He looked back at Cait.

“What is it?” Cait asked, reading Tre’s face. Tre put a hand on her shoulder.

“I am fine,” Cait said. “I will be a little slow on the uptake this morning, but I did this to myself, so there is no use complaining. What of our Travelers?”

Tre shrugged.

“Alert me when they come in. I will rouse Xiphos and get her on her way.”

Cait padded down the narrow hall to the crew quarters. Tre made his way to the bridge. He began activating the ship, getting the engine started and the Relay up and running. After a moment, over the hum of the engines, voices floated up a back stairway to the engine room. Tre crept to the top of the steps.

“This is not what we’re here for,” one of the voices said. It was Tami. She sounded just on the other side of upset.

“It’s better than what we’re here for,” Patel said. “We have a chance to make a lot of money.”

“I’m not in this for money.”

“Don’t think of it as money. It’s freedom. You can do whatever you want. Give it away. But don’t pass this up.”

There was silence from Tami. And then she said, “We don’t even know these people.”

“Whatever.”

“What happens when they change their mind?”

“Not going to happen.”

“This is about trust.”

Patel returned Tami’s silence.

“I don’t have to go with you.” Tami said.

“No,” Patel said. “You don’t. But you will.”

Tre walked down the steps. Tami stood at the bottom, arms folded over her stomach, her ears pressed flat against her head. Patel stood as far away as he could, just over an arm’s length, his arms down at his side. They both looked up at Tre, Tami’s ears perking. Patel pushed back against the wall, his eyes growing a little wider. Tre raised his eyebrows at them, tapping his finger on his wrist.

“Yeah, sorry,” Patel said. “We’re working stuff out. Traveler stuff.”

Tre tilted his head a little, locking his eyes with Patel.

“Right, going.” Patel started back up the steps, Tami hanging behind a little. She avoided Tre’s eyes, instead staring at the weathered medallion around his neck. The Travelers had been adventurous once and read what it said. After that, Tre had found it much easier to ply them to their tasks.

Up in the receiving gallery, Nina waited, her hands folded in front of her. She had changed in to more professional clothing. She focused out the portal, down the gang plank, her ears twitching thoughtfully. Tre followed her gaze, resting his own on Xiphos leading Toby onto the docks to the waiting Dinghy.

“She’s kind of a mess, isn’t she?” Nina said, still looking at Xiphos.

Tre shrugged. He had known Xiphos since she first came aboard. In four years, he had seen quite a change. She had even managed to will away most of the fear she held of him. Sometimes, when he as finishing his shift at the helm, Xiphos would join him early. When she did talk, it was always about little things, except, on braver days, she would talk, at length about Nina.

“Does everyone think I’m going to dump Xiphos for Toby?” Nina asked, her voice suddenly developing a very sharp edge. Tre stood up a little straighter, taking a small step back.

“Or is that what happens when I’m nice to a random boy that wanders through our lives?” She breathed a sort sigh out her nose. “It seems like everyone else is on the same page about this but me.”

Tre carefully put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to a quick hug. He patted her on her head, his hand covering her like an oversized hat.

Nina cracked a smile, but it faded almost instantly. “I’m going to talk to her when she gets back.” Her eyes caught shapes moving up the gangway, and her demeanor changed instantly. “Hello! Welcome to the Rose!” She shook the hands of a few tired customers, checking their tickets against her list. There were only three, but that was better than none.

“Let me show you to the guest quarters.” She led the guests down the hall. “My name’s Nina, and I’ll be making sure you get taken care of today.” She disappeared around the corner, her guests shuffling after her.

Cait passed Tre again, heading back up to the bridge. “Have our Travelers reported in?”

Tre nodded, falling into step behind her.

“Excellent. The family mechanics will be here in a moment to take a look at the Rose. Nothing serious, mind, just an standard inspection Please show them to the engines. Once they are finished, we just need Xiphos to come back, and then we can shove off. And have you seen any sign of customs?”

Tre shook his head.

Cait took a seat in the navigator’s chair. “Call me when they do arrive.”

Tre started back to the receiving gallery.

“Tre,” Cait said. The lion stopped, turning back to Cait. “It is almost over,” she said. “In seven days, we will be free of our financial obligations.” She grinned, and then tried to hide her excitement. Tre nodded, and turned back to his duties.

In seven days, they’d be back to where they were two years ago. Cait was happy; he was happy. In seven days, they’d have a future again.

[g]

Back to Part 014 – Forward to Part 016

Tags: adventure, anthro, billy, boat, Boat Story, Cait, fiction, furry, nina, serial, story, tobias, toby, travelers, tre, web fiction, weblit, xiphos, YA