Page 212 of Seven Oars
To her surprise, it worked. The alien grunted and pointed left.“That way. Move. Move!”
A robot stacked sky-high with small boxes was chugging up behind her.
Rosamma hurried in and looked around.
It was as busy inside the freighter as it was outside. More crew members wearing identical uniforms moved busily about. The walkway was cluttered with gear, and steam hissed from a pipe under the ceiling.
Rosamma’s eyes landed on a still uniformed figure leaning casually against a stack of crates. The person was watching Rosamma without hiding it. The person with a familiar blunt nose of a Sakka, permanently crooked by a pirate’s careless hand.
“Eze.Eze!”
They hugged, cried, and laughed, blocking the path and impeding the loading.
“Let me look at you, rosy cheeks. You look so good!”
“You too, Eze. And this?” Rosamma gestured around.
“Got hired to navigate. That’s what I do, you know?”
“I know. I know!” Rosamma laughed through her tears.
“Now, stop it. You’re making me all soppy. Hear me? Rosamma!” Eze swiped the sleeve of her uniform across her face.
“I’m sorry!”
Rosamma carefully folded her ticket and tucked it in a pocket, knowing she’d treasure it forever.
“Where’s Fincros?” she asked.
“He stayed behind on Megroyara.”
“On what?”
Eze sniffed.“I can’t believe you don’t know about Megroyara, Ms. I-Read-About-Everything.”
“Well, I don’t. Tell me!”
“Later. We’re about to take off. Are you ready for your new adventure?”
“Ready and set. No pirates on the way, I hope,” Rosamma said, laughing.
“Don’t jinx it! We can’t be that unlucky.”
Eze put Rosamma on a mattress near her bunkbed since the freighter had no passenger quarters. They were surrounded by other crew members, but it didn’t faze Rosamma. Her mattress was thick, the people were friendly, and food and water were plentiful. All of it was more than tolerable, including the freighter’s weak gravity-enabling system, which meant they were prone to levitating without warning.
When Eze wasn’t busy with her duties, she and Rosamma talked about everything. Of course, the conversation often returned to Megroyara, Rosamma’s destination and Fincros’new home.
“I wish I could tell you different, but it ain’t no dream vacation destination. So there’s that.”
“That’s fine, Eze. I will adjust.”
“I don’t doubt that.” Eze smiled warmly.“I just wish Fincros had picked a different place to settle. It’s very cold, a complete winter year-round. Snow and ice.”
“Makes sense. Rix like the cold,” Rosamma said.
“That’s not why he went there. The truth is, Megroyara is about the only place where hecansettle. They don’t extradite.”
“Do you live there too?” Rosamma asked Eze.
