Holly made dough in the lounge and left it to rise. She had azigsent to the hotel, and an hour or two later, after Mr. Binn had settled in, gotten his bearings, and freshened up, she took him on a ride around the dome.
She pointed out the residential section, which had gotten a fair amount of sprucing up. Most of the homes were still empty, but they were being refurbished. Newer appliances and features. Fresh cladding on the exteriors. With the rain system perfectly operational, plants and flowers bloomed lush and full in the yards. Mish’s house was evident from the small garden she tended in her patch of soil.
They swung through the area of the pond, which Holly had also finally swum in. She had begun work on Oliver’s cabin. Or rather, her and Rasker’s cabin. She had cleared the vines and weeds growing around it, opened it up, and was hoping to really get inside soon, clean it out and make it a private retreat when she needed a break from the hotel.
They continued the loop, and Mr. Binn seemed particularly in awe of the forest. The tall trees moving gently in the breeze. The smell of life and growing things, out here under a dome in the middle of deep, dark space.
“It would have been an absolute horror to see all of this destroyed,” he said with reverence. They had stopped at the overlook and gotten out to sit on Sam’s bench. Behind them, the forest leaves and branches rustled. Before them was the expanse of space.
“I think losing this nature sanctuary would have been the worst part of it all,” Holly said. “You can relocate people. Youdon’twantto, but you can. You can’t relocate this.” She spread an arm toward the forest.
“Not easily. Although there are a few species out there who could manage it, but they are not ones regularly in contact with such unevolved species as ours.” He flashed a grin, revealing sharp little teeth. “I want to ask you, Holly, before we return to the square. Are you certain you want to go through with this? Your plan, that is?”
Holly nodded firmly. “Absolutely. Never again should the fate of this place rest in the hands of one person. Charles almost destroyed it. Through his pain, his bitterness, his mental deterioration, whatever it was, it was almost all lost because he would not share both the burden and the gifts of this place. I never want to see that happen again.”
Mr. Binn nodded sagely. “I am representing you legally, so my opinion is irrelevant, but personally? I think you’re doing the exact right thing.”
Fifty
Later, when they returned to the square, and Mr. Binn had explored The Emporium and spent entirely too long sampling fungal teas with Harry and his partner, Vittor, Holly called the core group of residents who had been instrumental in saving Moone’s Landing to join her in the lounge for “a little meeting.”
Of course they came. They were curious to meet Mr. Binn, and Holly had promised a new dessert made from her great-grandmother’s cookbook with all-organic ingredients shipped from Earth. Chocolate croissants.
They sat in their assembled seats, the same arrangement as always. Sam took his spot next to Holly, and this time Rasker sat on her other side. He was as much one of them as she was. He was here to stay, and had proven very helpful in negotiating prices for supplies and repair services, while Sam had always been too tired and too busy to worry about bartering or debating contracts.
Mish had left her children in the happy room, and while Holly had gotten used to the fourteen identical offspring, Holly could not deny that she was very much looking forward to Mish’s children reaching the maturity level where they began thinkingand acting independently. They’d just be less terrifying to be around.
Harry came alone, with Vittor staying back at the shop. His partner had folded into Moone’s Landing with perfect ease, but theirs was a new union, and both knew that this was a meeting for the long-time residents.
Tyer sprawled in one of the chairs, legs crossed at the ankles, looking as relaxed as a lion after a large meal. He was slightly intimidating in his own way. Holly had learned that Tyer was the son of a powerful warlord and a mistress who had fallen out of favor. He lived quietly out here to stay out of his father’s reach, but that was all Holly had been able to pull from him. Tyer was fiercely private and kept his cards close to his chest.
Alyce came in wearing a green dress and a smile. She had a much lighter air about her these days. No longer having to hold the station together with spit and muscle, she was enjoying something she had not known for a long time: relaxation.
Orba and Sula glided in, took their seats, and waited.
Once everyone was settled and had stopped murmuring about how good the croissants were, Rasker leaned close to Holly’s ear and said, “You’ve got this.”
After a deep, fortifying breath, Holly began. “I wanted to thank you all for coming today. I’m sure you’re wondering what this is about.”
“You’d better not be selling after all,” Sam said, slanting a narrow look at Mr. Binn, who sat with formal dignity beside Rasker. “After all the work we’ve done here, that wouldn’t be right.”
“I’mnotselling,” Holly said with a smile. “Far from it. Moone’s Landing is here to stay, and hopefully, so are all of you.”
There was a murmur of agreement. Alyce crossed her arms. “Nowhere in the galaxy I’d rather be.Thisis home. With all of you.”
Holly’s chest felt like it was bursting with warmth. “I feel the exact same way,” she said, her eyes burning with the fullness of her emotions. “Which is why I wanted to speak with you all today.” She took a calming breath. This was it. The thing she had been working through in her mind since her parents had been here. “I asked Mr. Binn here for a reason. He has some contracts I’d like to share with you.”
Alyce raised her brows. “What kind of contracts?”
“A proposal that would change Moone’s Landing from the ownership of one person, to the ownership ofus.”
Holly’s words were met with blank stares of confusion.
“What do you mean?” Mish asked. She folded her hands and leaned forward. “Are you saying you want to make all of us part owners of this space station?”
Holly dipped a finger in her direction. “Yes. That’s exactly what I mean. If Moone’s Landing had not been completely in Charles’ control, this place never would have gotten as bad as it was. Because one person controlled it, and that one person managed it terribly, everyone suffered. We almost lost this place. And we would have, if I hadn’t been put on leave from my job and gone to my parents’ house the very day that Mr. Binn was coming to discuss the sale.” She frowned, remembering the delicate sequence of events that had resulted in her coming here. “We still have the binding terms of the will, which Mr. Binn has explained can’t be overwritten for ten years. Moone family member must own and run the station, but it doesn’t specify howmuchof it the heir has to own beyond a majority stake. So I’m proposing, with Mr. Binn’s help, a different structure. Residents, as in, all of you, become part owners of this place. The percentage based on how long you’ve lived here and how involved you are in the running of its operations.” Holly glanced at Sam on her left. “Records show that you’ve been here aboutas long as Alyce, and you run the entire spaceport, so your share would probably be the most.”
Sam frowned, crossed his arms, and gazed downward. “I never saw myself as an owner of a space station,” he said gruffly. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”
