18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Palathum

The first thing Palathum noticed when she walked into the crowded galley was Iris's absence. Little Mia was there with Dek-lee and Danakium, but no Iris. Utharium stepped to her side and spoke before she could voice an inquiry.

"Iris spent a few marks today with Merrick, but the rest of the time she's been with Damascus," he said in a whisper so his words didn't reach past her earholes. "I believe those two have become intimate."

"That's exactly what I wanted to know. As always, you anticipated my needs," she murmured back. If her scent glands hadn't been emptied recently, she was sure they'd be aching to release all over Utharium again.

Utharium sounded an affirmative rumble. In this context, it meant he was pleased by her words. "They're in his cabin currently. Later this evening, I'll check in on Iris to make sure she's well and see if she plans to return to her own cabin for the night."

"I'll go with you," Palathum said, barely stifling an irritated rattle. She didn't want to make such a negative sound so close to Mia. "I was afraid this might happen. Iris seemed strangely drawn to that male. I wish she'd picked someone on the crew instead."

Utharium couldn't respond because by then Mia had noticed them and was shouting for their attention.

"Palie! Uthie!" she called out. "You're late! I was worried."

"I apologize," Palathum said with a loud, soothing rumble.

"You has to play tag with me later," Mia demanded, making several of the crew rumble with amusement. When Mia laid out the rules of tag to them, she'd very seriously explained that she always won. If she didn't win, it wasn't a real game of tag.

"Of course we can play," Palathum agreed. "While we're doing that, Dek-lee can enjoy an ice bath."

That made the Delorta perk up. "Ice bath?"

"We refitted one of the storage rooms in the aft of the ship. There's a pool with water circulating near the engine's re-freezer unit. It was finished about a mark ago so the water should be only a degree or two above freezing by now."

The look of delight on Dek-lee's face made the extra effort worth it. When Iris first asked about lowering the temperature in Dek-lee's room, Palathum worried about Mia accidentally getting stuck or falling asleep in a room too cold for her. At Palathum's request, the crew engineered the ice bath.

Originally Palathum had hoped Iris would tire of the Delorta's presence and they could release them on a planet or space station with the funds to find their way home. To her surprise, Dek-lee had proved to be friendly, helpful, and a good caregiver for Mia.

The crew loved helping Iris look after Mia, but they all had jobs they needed to do. Sometimes no one could be spared. Iris never complained, but Palathum liked having someone dedicated to helping Iris look after Mia. Iris was only one person, and she was used to living in a human community where there were many other humans and older children always available to help with the younger ones.

Dek-lee was a kind soul with the patience and insight to deal with Mia when she got overly tired and fussed, or even had an emotional meltdown. Talins were taught emotional restraint at a very young age, so none of them were prepared to deal with Mia's darker side.

"The door to the ice bath will open to your touch," Palathum continued. "As long as Mia has a keeper with her, you're free to enjoy it."

"I miss home very much," Dek-lee admitted. "The ice bath would be a nice way to spend some time. I spent so much time in the cold waters growing up, my life-bearer said I was going to grow flippers."

Mia giggled. "Like a fish!"

Dek-lee pretended to flap their arms like a fish. "Exactly!"

"Can we visit your home?" Mia asked.

"I'm not sure," Dek-lee said, looking back and forth between Mia and Palathum. It was clear the Delorta didn't want to give a definitive answer for fear of upsetting someone.

"Where we go next will depend on what Merrick and his people want to do," Palathum said.

"They'll want to be with us," Mia said quickly. "We are the best!"

Her loud announcement made many in the room sound rumbles of amusement and loudly agree with Mia that this ship and crew were indeed the best in the universe!

Mia wasn't wrong. Everyone on Progress was dedicated and smart. With the introduction of Mia and Iris, they'd all relaxed. After only a few days of having the two humans on board, Captain Nomium had commented on the increased comradery.

It was as if the two had created a safe place to be happy.

"I heard Iris is taking care of that disgrace, Damascus."

Palathum looked over to see Tortorian and Sormorin leaning in close, talking intently. Neither noticed her listening.

Sormorin made a low rumble of disgust. "Why would she want to spend any time with that one, especially while he's wounded? He couldn't help her if anything happened. I can't believe he was a commander of a ground unit."

"He'll be gone soon, and Iris can return to talking to us," Tortorian declared confidently. "If we visit Igthor, I plan to show her and Mia the third moon."

"Is that the one with the iridescent sea? They'll enjoy that greatly," Sormorin said with obvious envy. "I wish I'd thought of that."

As the two talked about the places they wanted to show Mia and Iris, Palathum turned her attention back to her food.

"I wouldn't pay much attention to what the crew says about Damascus," Utharium commented as he passed a platter to her.

"Why not?" she asked, accepting it with both hands and tipping some of the food into her bowl.

"One reason is because the crew are jealous, but the other is that Damascus does a good job of making everyone dislike him," Utharium said. "It makes one consider the idea that he does it on purpose."

That wasn't something she'd thought of. It didn't seem logical to deliberately set out to make enemies—unless the goal was to remain isolated.

"Leave it to Iris to force her way past his barriers," Palathum muttered.

Utharium rumbled with amusement. "They might be a small and weak species, but their will is made of iron."

***

Utharium

Watching Palathum cuddle Mia in her lap as the little girl fought sleep made Utharium long to see her do the same with their own child. Halfway through the evening meal, Mia had crawled into Palathum's lap and demanded a story. Palathum told her a cute tale about two havanak birds trying to hatch a rock.

After Palathum finished, Mia pointed a finger at Dek-lee. "Tell Palie."

"About my homeworld?" Dek-lee clarified. "Or about what happened when you tried to groom your hair?"

"Homeworld," Mia said with a frown. "You promised no talking about my hair."

"What did you do, little Mia?" Palathum asked.

"Noooothing," Mia said in a sing-song voice. "Dek-lee, talk! Please?"

"Of course," the Delorta agreed with an indulgent smile. "My homeworld is very far from here. It's an ice planet with a deep, vast ocean. Half the ocean is covered in a thick layer of ice."

"How thick is the ice?" Mia asked. "Thicker than this room?"

"Thicker than many of these rooms all put together," Dek-lee answered. "Thicker than twenty Talins standing on each other's shoulders. Thicker than how far you can throw a ball even."

Mia gave a soft giggle. "That's really, really, really thick!"

"It seems to me you've told this story a few times," Utharium commented, eliciting small rumbles of amusement from several of the crew.

"Shhhh!" Mia admonished Utharium. "It's Dek-lee's turn to talk."

That caused everyone to rumble with amusement again. Dek-lee smiled and then started speaking again.

"Our oceans are rich in life, and that supports the few animals who live on land. Our ancestors developed many different fishing and harvesting techniques to take advantage of everything the ocean had to offer."

"But you didn't live in the ocean, right?" Mia asked pointedly.

"Many of us lived near the ocean, but we aren't an aquatic species. Many generations ago, we discovered a series of caves that were sheltered and inviting. We harnessed fire, and then learned to work with metals."

"I'd heard your species was one of the rare ones that developed metallurgy before woodworking," Palathum commented.

"It's hard to develop a skill when you don't have the material at hand," Dek-lee said with a little laugh. "There are no trees on my home planet, only long, viny aquatic plants. We learned to dry and weave them even before we discovered the caves, but it wasn't until we figured out metal that we truly began to advance."

Dek-lee went on to talk about their people rapidly advancing into space at a speed that far outpaced most other species. If the Delorta had been more military minded or interested in expansion, then they could've been the most powerful, widespread species in the universe.

However, they didn't like leaving their home solar system and only started exploring further when they discovered a nearby waypoint.

"I'm surprised your system was never invaded," Lossitun commented. Unlike most of them, this was the first time she'd heard any of this.

Dek-lee's eyes slid over to her and their smile turned mischievous. "Our ancestors engineered giants to protect our homeworld and the star systems we claim. They only wake when needed, and then their wrath is powerful and swift."

Lossitun sounded a loud rumble of amusement that abruptly cut off when she realized no one was rumbling with her. "That was a jest, wasn't it?"

Utharium sounded a negative rattle. "There is something lurking in Delorta space that no one can see, but it wiped out an Orlok armada when they thought to subdue Dek-lee's people. What their ancestors built is a mystery no one has ever solved, and the Delorta won't reveal anything."

The Delorta smiled at everyone. "I told you, they're giants."

"Giant beings that eat ships?" Lossitun said with a derisive rattle.

"They don't eat ships," Mia explained with an earnest expression. "They eat solar rays, and they travel on comets, and they sing." Then she paused, her nose wrinkling up as she thought about it. "Maybe they do eat ships, but I bet that's a dessert."

"That makes sense," Lossitun agreed, more ready to indulge Mia than Dek-lee.

"Dek-lee, tell them about being heavy," Mia demanded. "And make sure they know I's the heaviest because I's so good!"

"You are indeed very heavy," Dek-lee agreed. As they launched into an explanation of Delorta spiritual beliefs, Utharium thought about planets and expansion. The Talin Empire was massive and families or clans were encouraged to terraform and colonize new planets. With the addition of the Orlok territory into their empire, there were hundreds of new planets and moons that were empty but already had the necessary ecology to support a colony.

It wasn't an easy task. Building a colony was expensive and dangerous and could end up bankrupting everyone who invested. There were also the worst-case scenarios where colonists found out a planet was deadly in the worst way possible. It was rare, but there'd been two colonies in the history of Talin expansion where all souls were lost.

Losing everything or everyone was unlikely, and the benefits could be profound, including the ability to live a life not as bound by strict Talin censure.

Those thoughts gave him an idea.

"I have some personal projects I need to see to," he told Palathum then hurried off before she or anyone else could ask him anything.