Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode Four: Meteors #8

It was all Dan could do to talk Kleppie out of buying Bakala a jacket, despite the fact that Bakala's flight docked only ten minutes before their connecting flight to Shin left would leave port. Not to mention that Bakala was a Neanderthal and didn't seem much bothered by the cool weather.

Bakala found the station far less interesting than the others. "They darken the floors to hide the scuff marks," he explained. "This is just a way station for the terraformers. They'll haul a ton of equipment and supplies through here. Now, Shin. I've never made it there. I'm pretty excited to see their data cores. The bowl. So many sights. They say the zoo there is great, though not as good as the one on Saras."

Dan shrugged. "I can't say. I haven't made it to the Saras Zoo."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Kleppie asked. "I mean you've been on Saras, what? A day? And now you are on vacation?"

"I'm curious as well," Bakala said.

"It's not entirely vacation, but I'd rather not say."

"Our boy's a diplomat now," Bakala said with an easy laugh. "Got to keep his pretty mouth shut." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively. "Maybe I can find something to keep your mouth busy?"

Dan blushed, not sure how to answer.

Bakala put an arm around his shoulder. "Just teasing, my honey bear."

"Honey bear?" Kleppie said. He giggled. "You two are too much."

The conversation was cut short by an overhead announcement that their Shin freighter would be loading momentarily, and Dan was quite thankful. The final leg of their flight was a mere couple of hours.

The others were already gathered to greet them, all except Lana who had stayed back with Cheyenne's kids. They all looked happy and whole. Cheyenne's face and head were healed now. Only her hands and legs were still covered in black patching. She rushed to greet Dan. Kavi jumped on Kleppie, and the two kissed so long that Dan and Bakala started joking about it, a small payback for Kleppie's jokes about their reunion.

"What time is it?" Dan wondered as they made their way out of the spaceport. He felt tired suddenly. It had been a long day. Six hours on one freighter or another, and almost as many on Mars.

"Late," Cheyenne said, taking his arm. "We'll grab a quick bite and then head back to Kavi's. We'll catch up tomorrow. Flight long?"

"Not this lift," Janda said, his voice irritated. "Maintenance about halfway up." He turned and led them down another passageway. Dan was already lost; he'd never be able to find anything on this station without help.

"Takari lift is online," Kavi said. "We'll take that and then just grab a bite at Shelki's or somewhere in Holt-Takari. It's close to home."

They found the lift and rose for a long time. When they finally stepped out, they took several more side passages, eventually coming out into a large mall. Half was roped off undergoing what looked like serious renovation. The workers were gone for the night, and the place was mostly empty and silent.

Shelki's was a single lighted storefront along the mall. It was a chain restaurant that served what Dan was starting to think of as "typical" Consortium food—grain dishes heavy on vegetables and greens.

"You'd think they were building a whole new station," Janda groused as they stared at the construction.

"Really?"

"It's not that bad," Kavi said. She shrugged. "Just doing a lot of new projects. Good to do that, keep things new, running smooth. Yes?"

Kavi's creche was a warren of rooms and passages that made Dan's head spin, but she led them through confidently. The passages were dimmed and the rooms, the ones that were open anyway, were dark. The rest of the creche was already in bed. They stopped and greeted a couple of "uncles" before letting themselves into what translated as the "guest vault."

The room was a wide, round dome that best could be described as a vault. It was ringed by numerous sleeping nooks and small bedrooms. Cheyenne's kids were already fast asleep in one nook, and Lana greeted them wearily and was soon dragging Cheyenne into a nook.

Dan yawned and allowed Bakala to drag him to one of the side rooms. They were both exhausted and were asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow.