“We hope the storm abates soon so you can enjoy our planet,” the other one said. “The crimson dunes are worth visiting.”
“I agree!” Nova said. “After I saw a picture of them, I wanted to view them in person. Can an outsider pour some red sand over their head as a blessing?”
Both of them made pleased sounds at her question.
“Yes, you can! Anyone can be blessed by the red dunes,” one of them said.
The other one made a warning sound that reminded Miran of a clucking bird. “Make sure to check the roller schedule before you go because the storm might have caused some damage to the tracks.”
“Your advice is received and appreciated,” Nova said.
“Your acceptance makes me happy,” one of them said with a pleased thrumming sound from her dome.
For someone who claimed to have never been on any planet, let alone Fielden, Nova seemed to know a lot about their customs and polite speech patterns.
They chatted with Nova a little longer, then finally left, taking the old food box with them. After the door shut, he carried both boxes to the side of the bed where she was sitting.
After setting the food box down in front of her, he pressed it open. “You should pick first.”
She leaned over to see what the offerings were.
“Oh, holkie!” she exclaimed and snatched a box up. She opened it up and took a deep breath before putting the corner of the container to her mouth and tipping some of the food in.
He picked up a container for himself and took a seat on the floor next to her legs. “How did you know about the red dunes?”
“All the Delight workers get lectures on the species we’re visiting,” she explained after swallowing her mouthful. “It’s important we don’t alienate customers by accidentally insulting them or causing misunderstandings. This was our third time visiting the Fieldens’ system so it wasn’t hard to remember all the study materials we’re supposed to memorize. The red dunes are a big deal so there’s a lot of references to them in their mythology, philosophy, and history.”
It made sense, but he was still impressed. “Fielden didn’t have sexually dimorphic appearances. How did you know Dranker was female, not male?
“It’s true that they don’t use looks to differentiate," she said. “They use their voice and speech patterns to tell everyone if they identify as male, female, or miesha, their neutral third gender. Dranker was using a female voice wobble. We’re at the end of our visit here, so I’ve listened to a lot of Fielden talking. Picking them out is easy now.”
The implications were huge. “You have to study every species you visit? That has to be hundreds!”
“Not quite that many, but a lot,” she said with a little chuckle. “I don’t know everything about any of them, but I know enough to create a good show.”
It occurred to him that Nova was far more sophisticated than he’d previously thought. She might’ve spent her life on the Delight, but that place had introduced her to far more species and cultures than him.
He was ashamed for thinking of her as naive.
“What’s with that?” she asked, pointing her good foot at the med box.
“I thought it would be best if we had extra medical supplies,” he said. “So we can treat someone if they get hurt.”
“Someone, or me?” she asked with a chuckle, then tipped more food into her mouth.
“Anyone,” he said. “But probably, mostly you.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t comment.
They ate in silence, finishing off several containers of food each. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten so much.
“How bad is it outside?” she asked, shoving an empty container back into the food box.
He ordered the shutters lifted to reveal a large window. The light in the room barely changed because it was so dark outside.
Her eyes went a little wider. “I thought it was morning.”
“It is,” he said, checking his data bracelet. “Late morning. The current prediction states that the storm will abate late tonight.”
