“Yes, it means ‘obedient one’ in old Aaz’axian.” My interest picks up at that familiar word, and Viggy takes Fiona’s distraction as a chance to move away from us all. He lumbers away, no more interested in us than any other kind of domestic animal now that our attention is elsewhere.
“Weren’t the Aaz’axians hellbent on galaxy domination?” Fiona's gaze turns shrewd, her disgruntled eyes boring into me.
“Yes, they were a great warrior race, and they were misunderstood.” William snorts behind me, and I catch John nudging him out of the corner of my eye. “How do you know about them?” she questions.
“Oh, well...” Shit! They told me about them when I got the lecture on the orb, but I probably shouldn’t share that bit of information. “My tablet had information on so many different races, and I found it fascinating! I've learned so much over the last few days; it’s why I’ve been so busy.”
She seems to accept my answer, but I don't want her to ask any more questions, so I bound away from the cage to another nearby structure.
This one, unlike the giant tank that I saw that day with Dylan, is more of a portable one on wheels. It’s probably the size of a caravan, and through glass side walls I can see movement in the water but can’t make out what it is. Stepping up, I press my hands and my head against the glass, trying to get a better look at what’s moving inside. Suddenly, before me is a dolphin. I startle slightly, stumbling backward, and John chuckles, catching me then pushing me back toward the glass.
Once I get my bearings, I study the creature before me. It’s almost exactly like Earth’s bottlenose dolphin, but I can see that unlike ours who have smooth skin, this one is scaled like a fish. Big dollar-sized scales that shimmer, the lights playing off their beautiful green and gold pastel tones.
I put my hand back up to the glass, and it presses its nose against the clear surface, rubbing its head back and forth so its nose makes a squeaky sound. A smile crosses my mouth as a chuckle escapes. Along with the simple happiness of this moment comes a hint of surprise. This is one of the first times I’ve just had an easy laugh since I got here. There are no strings attached, just a lighthearted moment with an alien dolphin.And we’re back to the weird again.
“That’s Nikos,” John tells me as the dolphin starts flipping in circles before waving its flipper at me. I wave back, and it suddenly shoots upward. With an impressive burst of speed, he breaches the surface of the water, does a perfect flip, then crashes back down with a giant splash that sends water over the edge to soak John and me.
John shouts with dismay, but I just keep giggling. The water isn't freezing cold like I had expected; it’s almost bordering on warm. While I’m shaking off the water, I notice more movement, and my head goes back to the tank in the hope of seeing the dolphin again, but this one is more humanoid. She’s the very picture of a mermaid, except unlike human fairytales she doesn't have seashells over her breasts, only scales that match the pretty pastel blue and gold of her tail.
As my eyes rise to her face, I notice the gills in her neck pulsing in and out as she breathes in the seawater. When I get to her face, her lips are pretty pink and her eyes and hair match the gold of her tail. She’s studying me just like I’m studying her. There’s no annoyance or malice, just curiosity, so I lift a hand and wave, giving her a smile.
“Hi,” I mouth, and her lips turn up into a smile before she opens them to reveal sharp shark-like teeth. Thankfully, she throws her head back with laughter when I flinch, bubbles exploding from her gills, and when she turns back to me, she’s grinning and the sharp teeth are nowhere to be seen. She was messing with me.
She manages a wink at me before a rumbling sound signals the movement of the vehicle carrying the tank. She waves goodbye, and with a sad smile, I wave back.
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that Nixie likes you.” William has joined us, his eyes on the tank rumbling away to join the parade.
“That wasn’t the same person as the dolphin?” I ask, remembering that they had said its name was Nikos.
“No, that was his sister.” Before they can say anything else, the floor starts to shake. Whirling on the spot, I turn and find Viggy directly behind me, Fiona on his back. He’s wearing a saddle and has a weird harness around his forearms. It looks so uncomfortable. Another dinosaur comes lunging forward a moment later. This one I recognize as a velociraptor despite its orange and yellow markings. Phillip is riding on its back but looks like he’s struggling to keep it contained.
“I thought Htaed hadn't been cleared for a parade yet?” John sounds and looks worried as he slowly moves us back and away from the practically vibrating dinosaur.
“He’s fine,” Phillip scoffs, and before either of the grandpas can say any more, they barge past us and join the tail end of the parade. Everything else already entered the dome. Wow, that was brave to defy the guys in charge. I’m kind of stunned, really. Everyone else seems to respect them so much. You’d think that if Fiona and Phillip were hoping to eventually lead the circus, they wouldn’t blow off the grandpas. At this rate, they’ll never be the heirs even if I stay a boring human.
William brings his watch communicator up to his mouth. “Xavier, I need you in the arena to watch the dinosaurs. Those foolish children decided that Htaed was ready for the parade. Ready the tranqs. Lester, ready the beam to send him back to his enclosure on the big ship if needed.”
I hear both men respond with affirmatives as the loading dock doors close behind them.
“Okay, Xavier and Lester are on top of that. Let’s make our final checks of everything, and once the parade is finished, it will all be beamed back to the ship and we’ll be good for relocation.” William leads me further into the loading dock and the storage area, him and John pointing out everything that needs to be completed before we can leave the Earth’s atmosphere. Even though the ship is powerful, Earth’s gravity takes its toll on the thrusters, causing things to shudder and shake while we clear the atmosphere, so everything needs to be secured properly.
“This really won’t be your job, but I want you to know the procedure. If anything ever goes wrong, they will eventually come to you, and you can’t be floundering.” William leads us back through the corridors to the main lobby as he talks. Once we get there, I can hear the cheers and applause of the crowd again, then the arena doors open, allowing people to flood out. Movement out of the corner of my eye shows two security guards standing at the elevator, not allowing anyone to enter even though a few enterprising people try.
“Everyone is encouraged to leave the premises, though the merchandise stand will be busy for the next hour or so. We will have you man that one too, so you get a feel for what we sell on Earth, which is different to the merch in the rest of the galaxy.”
“What happens next?” I ask, watching the chaos of excited families making their way home with tired but happy children.
“Well, because it was the final show for this stop, there’ll be a party tonight, but that won’t happen until we dock back with the ship. Everyone has the next hour to shower and wind down from the show before we have to prepare for immediate departure.”
Excitement flows through my body at the thought of what’s to come. Fuck me, I’m going to space! “Is there anything specific we need to do for that?” I ask as we move through the crowd toward the merch stand. It’s surrounded by people, their happiness and energy so palpable it gives me second-hand shivers of excitement.
“Yes, it’s roughly four hours to make it back to the other ship. We need to pass a few of Earth’s sensors and our cloaking technology on the arena can only handle slower speeds, so we can’t go any faster.”
I’m trying my best to focus on what he’s saying, but there’s a little commotion at the merch stand that’s grabbing my attention. A young couple is arguing over the merchandise. The woman wants a poster with Caspian and Dylan on it, but the guy she’s with is refusing to buy it for her. Poor girl looks like she’s just about in tears. Before I can step in, John pushes past me to the booth, grabs a poster, rolls it up, and puts a band around it before returning to us. While he’s in the process of doing that, the jackass boyfriend storms off, leaving the girl looking around like she has no clue what to do now.
My marshmallow grandpa walks up to the girl and hands her the poster, whispering in her ear when she continues to sob. Before I know it, he’s escorting her outside. “It’s not quite our responsibility to make sure the humans all get along, but it does benefit us to limit the drama that happens on the circus grounds,” William explains. “John’s likely calling the girl a taxi so she can get home safely. No one in the crew would ever take advantage of her, but it’s good to care for others if you have the means to do so.”
My white knight grandpa rejoins us, and as we walk back toward the elevators and the two men guarding it, William continues to tell me about the trip.
