Page 39 of A Monster’s Future

I thought of how she’d slowed by the busy display of antique jewelry and gemstones at the market. I hadn’t realized the significance at the time. And of course, she’d heard me call the items useless.

Too bad I wouldn’t have the chance to go back there with her. I’d need to stay until Charlene woke, which would be an entire light cycle. And by the time I returned to the station with the shuttle, it would be time for everyone to come back.

“But I know you need more than just gems in a nest,” Clara continued.

“First, I need a location. I don’t even have that.”

“That we can’t help you with. But maybe one of the other warriors knows a good spot. But I mean the other things that are needed in a nest. Things like bedding, storage, and personalized details.”

“I wish I knew more about her.”

“Remember those forms you had us fill out when we first joined the stronghold?” Clara asked. “The questionnaires about our favorite things? Why don’t you use those?”

“Yes, I remember. They were meant to help us build nests should we find our mates. But it has come to our attention that many of the females did not fill out those forms seriously. If I remember correctly, you were one of them.”

“Oh, right. About that…” Her awkward laugh came through the speakers. “It worked out anyway. But I know for a fact that Julie actually filled hers out seriously. She was serious about this whole thing from the very beginning. You do know that she’s the one who convinced me to come here, right? Not that she had to try very hard.”

I had not known. “I will retrieve her file.”

“Oh, one more thing,” Dana said. “She always wanted a pet.

“Yeah, she loves Hardtack. Maybe try to befriend one of those cookis.”

“I have already done so,” I said, thinking of Tatertot currently locked up in my temporary quarters on board this ship. It wouldn’t have freedom to roam until we got back to the stronghold.

“In that case, you’re already halfway there,” Clara said. “Good luck. And just know that you better be nice to Julie for the rest of your life, or else you’ll have me…”

“And me!”

“…to contend with.”

“It will be my life’s goal to make her happy.”

That seemed to satisfy the pair, and as they pressed Chris with questions about how the trade mission was going, a plan started to form in my head. What had seemed insurmountable just moments earlier wasn’t so impossible now.

“Technically, you don’t need to be here anymore,” Chris said to me after he ended the call. “I’m good on my own, and Charlene is in the med bed for the next day cycle. You should head back with the shuttle early.”

“I should be here when Charlene wakes.”

“How hard is it to turn off a medbed? I helped out after that last attack on Ellaston. We’ll be fine without you. I’ll call you if I need help.”

“But I should be here to check…”

“Just go,” said Ashtrr from the doorway. When had he arrived? “I have some medical training too. It’s best if you get the shuttle down anyway, just in case they need to leave sooner.”

“Thank you,” I said, standing. I was eager to get back to Julie.

Every second away from my mate was a second too long. The shuttle couldn’t descend fast enough.

Chapter 20: Julie

I flopped onto the hotel bed. Now that it was only me, it felt much too big. They’d called it a California king, and it was a little longer than a normal bed, so less of Grtirr’s legs hung off the edge. Without him, it was just too big. What the hell was I supposed to do with all the leftover space?

And Tatertot was gone too, so there wasn’t even anything cute for me to talk to and play with.

The talks with Vossell Industries had wrapped up smoothly. They’d arrive at Ellaston in a fortnight for the first of many ore shipments. In return, we’d be compensated well enough to kickstart all the infrastructure projects we’d been dreaming of.

Safety and security would benefit too, because Vossell Industries wasn’t about to let anything happen to their new trade partner, not when Nova Vita had been overcharging them for the same ore for years. This trade deal would take us one step toward being recognized as an official colony.