“I'm happy, I promise. I was just missing nature around me. We can make a point of going down to more planets, now that the Tecran problem is over.”
He gave a nod of agreement. “We can.”
“Ready to come up now?” Sazo asked, and she thought there was an eagerness in his voice she hadn't heard before.
“Sure. Let's go.” She put Sweetpea onto her shoulder and walked up the shuttle's ramp.
Kila glanced up at her from her seat, took note of Sweetpea on her shoulder, and gave a nod.
So either Dav had spoken to her, or she understood.
Either way, it looked like she wasn't going to give Rose a hard time about it.
Sweetpea was intrigued by the interior of the shuttle, and she kept everyone onboard amused with her chirps of excitement and her leaps from shoulder to shoulder as she explored.
When they slid through a gel wall and landed, Rose was surprised to find they'd come straight to Sazo.
“We'll get off here,” Dav told her. “The others will go back to the Barrist.”
They were the last of the team to go up. Everyone onboard the Barrist had had a chance to come down and have a break on Vuyn while they searched the forest for signs of what the Krik had been up to. They'd found more than one camp, and evidence of mineral sampling as well as a second spider cave that looked as if it had already been harvested, although the spiders were already reestablishing themselves.
Rose said her goodbyes and stepped off with Dav. He would go over later to the Barrist to take over from Borji, but she was glad they had a few hours to themselves.
Since they'd told Hri Rivel she was pregnant, the doctor wanted her to come over for a full medical checkup, and she didn't want to put that off too long.
Little hovers appeared to whisk away their things and Sweetpea grabbed hold of her hair as she took in the flight deck.
“I hope you're happy here, little one,” Rose said, giving her tiny head a stroke.
“I have a surprise for you,” Sazo said.
“A surprise?” She glanced at Dav, but he shrugged.
“Go through the doors, and you'll see it.”
Rose walked to the flight deck double doors and they opened silently as she approached them.
The smell from Vuyn below, of green and growing things, hit her, and she took a deep breath in as she blinked in surprise.
What had once been a passageway with a wall across from the flight deck doors was now a walkway with a railing.
Sazo's Class 5 was built like a spiky ball, and it was as if the center of the ball had been scooped out.
She stepped up to the railing, looked down, and gasped.
Dav came to stand beside her, hand on her shoulder, as she took in the explosion of green below.
“You've made a garden.” She could barely get the words out.
“There are only two of you on this ship, and it was built for five hundred. I decided we could use some of the space for other things, so I rearranged the interior.” Sazo suddenly sounded hesitant. “Do you like it?”
She started to sob, hands coming up to cover her face as she shuddered with the emotion of it. “I love it. I cannot say how much I love it,” she managed to get out. “How did you get the plants so big so quickly?”
Sazo started to tell her, something about growth hormone and something in the water, but she stopped listening to him and started walking toward the tube to get down below to see for herself.
Dav had said nothing so far, but he kept pace with her.
“Did you know about this?” she asked as she wiped tears away with the back of her hand.
“Sazo told me he was doing something to help you feel more at home in space, but I didn't know what exactly he was planning.” He looked introspective.
“What is it?” she asked as the tube whisked them down.
“I should have seen it myself. How unhappy you were. But I didn't.”
“I didn't know how much I missed being in nature until I was on Vuyn,” she said, taking his hand. “We've been busy avoiding a full-out war, remember. We've only just got clear of all that.”
He gave a slow nod, but she could see he wasn't convinced.
The tube opened up directly onto a pathway that wound through raised flowerbeds and mature trees, and Rose realized she'd have to get Sazo to explain to her again how he did it, because it was amazing.
With a happy chirp, Sweetpea jumped off her shoulder onto a tree and disappeared into the leaves, and something that had still been knotted inside her loosened.
Sweetpea could be happy here. Just like her.
She turned to Dav and leaned into him, and as his arms came around her, she lifted a hand, touched it to her lips, and blew a kiss in the direction of the nearest lens to say thank you to Sazo.
Things would be just fine.
About the Author
Michelle Diener is a bestselling author who writes historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy. Her Class 5 series has won numerous awards, and her science fiction novel, Sky Raiders, was awarded the RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Futuristic Novel. She lives in Australia with her husband and children.
Also by Michelle Diener
Dark Horse
Sky Raiders
Breakaway
Return Voyage
Star Cruise
To my daughters Valerie and Elizabeth, my brother David, and my best friend Daniel for all their encouragement and support!
STAR CRUISE: RETURN VOYAGE
By Veronica Scott
1
Trevor Hanson paused at the threshold of his cabin on board the Nebula Zephyr as he did every time he was ready to leave, taking a moment to center himself mentally, remind himself he was years away from the events that had scarred him forever and prepare to be an efficient security officer on this luxury cruise ship. He owed the captain and his chief loyalty in return for them giving him a chance at a normal life. The CLC Line was supportive of veterans but his case was a special one. He wasn’t your ordinary veteran of the interstellar wars and his case of post-traumatic stress disorder wasn’t garden variety either.
Take a deep breath. There is no threat out there.
“Ready?” the ship asked him. Maeve the Artificial Intelligence, who ran the Nebula Zephyr, knew his secrets and protected him.
Nodding, he practiced a smile. “Open the door.”
The door slid open soundlessly and Trevor walked into the corridor, acknowledging greetings from fellow crew members as he headed for the gravlift. There were no passengers allowed on this level but he’d be among them soon enough. His regular patrol route was Level A, being visible in the vicinity of the expensive gift shops, the swanky restaurants and the casino, so the guests would feel safe and well protected.
Which they were. Jake Dilon, the head of ship’s security and his boss was a badass former Special Forces operator and he ran a well-disciplined team.
As Trevor arrived at Level A, ready to start his patrol, Maeve sent him a message over the private communication link. “A change in orders. You’re to report to the captain on the bridge. Gayla will take over your patrol this morning.”