When She Dances

I shake her hand. “Hi Lucy. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Come on. I’ll show you two around town and then drive you out to your homestead. We’re going to be neighbors!” She moves to stand next to me, skirting a motorized crate that whizzes past. “Though I should warn you that the last tenant of that farm met an unfortunate ending. Property war.” She grimaces. “Kelcie was attacked by vagrants that tried to steal her farm and she killed two of them before the third got to her.” Lucy shakes her head. “She was a badass bitch, and I’ll miss her dearly.”

“Vagrants?” I ask, a little alarmed.

Zakoar looks even more worried than I am. “I was told this place was safe.”

He looks like he’s ready to burn shit down at being lied to. I put a calming hand on his arm, soothing him. “Lucy’s just letting us know the bad stuff so we don’t hear it in town, right?”

Lucy nods. “Exactly. That’s the reason why your claim is so close to town. It came open. Otherwise you’d be way out in the boonies with nothing but noli flowers.”

I think I wouldn’t mind flowers.

Zakoar puts a protective arm around my shoulders. “Tell me more about this attack. I brought Tessa here because it’s supposed to be safe.” He grits out each word as if he’s ready to lose his shit. “This does not sound safe.”

“Each human refugee has been offered a farm, but for a while we had some corrupt authorities in charge.” Lucy’s tone becomes matter of fact, and she doesn’t cower at Zakoar’s anger. “Girls were murdered to get to their land, and the authorities wouldn’t do shit. Someone finally got the balls to complain to Lord va’Rin and he pulled some strings and had new officials sent. I’ve met them all—law-abiding mesakkah and very nice.” She puts a hand to the side of her mouth. “And cute, if you’re looking to get married.”

Oh god. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at Lucy’s “helpful” advice, especially since Zakoar just looks even more irritated. “No husbands,” I tell her.

“I don’t blame you,” Lucy says. “Most men are more trouble than they’re worth. Come on. I’ll show you around town.”20ZAKOARThe human called Lucy never stops talking. Ever.

She's fascinating in the way that she has rich brown skin, big hips and thighs, and a chest that jiggles as she walks. Even more fascinating is that she never seems to pause for breath, this Lucy. She talks as she escorts us through town. She introduces us to person after person, most of which are human, and all of which stare at me with a hint of alarm in their eyes. Lucy talks as she brings us to the port authorities office and introduces us to the settlement custodians, two mesakkah males who look as if they are fresh out of training. Then, she drags us to the store, and the one cantina in this place. She brings us to her run-down sled, still talking about gossip and some local female that married a praxiian male. She talks as she pilots the air-sled (badly) out of the tiny settlement and into the farmlands surrounding Port.

And then we come to what will be Tessa's home.

I try not to show my dismay, as it's clear that Lucy thinks it's a fine home. The place is small, obviously mass-manufactured, and domed to regulate temperatures. The interior is dark and cramped, with a few windows and a tiny bedroom. Tessa smiles at the sight of it, her hand tight on mine as Lucy chatters and talks of food dispensers and morning sunlight.

"Well?" Lucy says, turning her bright gaze upon us.

Tessa looks at me.

"Morning sunlight," I manage. "Very nice. You will like that, Tessa."

She gives me a small smile. "I will."

She is silent as Lucy bustles us out to look at the crop fields. She points out the boundary lines, comparing them to the property map we were given, and while the fields are overgrown right now, when the bots get to work, it will take no time for things to grow. The soil is good, the location prime. I think about Lucy's comments in regard to the female that lived here before and was murdered, and hold Tessa a little tighter to me. The males in charge back in Port seemed like law-abiding types, but they also seemed wet behind the ears. Between the two of them, not a single scar or prosthetic, which means they have not seen combat. I worry Tessa won't be safe…but this is what she wants. How can I ruin it for her?

My dismay only grows when Lucy escorts us out to the barn. It's empty and everything is covered in a layer of grit from disuse. The barn is large, though, big enough to house several dozen meat-stock at once, and there are tube incubators and nursing units, at least, even if everything is currently empty and abandoned.