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"Thank the Gods!" Mae exclaimed as she hugged Cali. "I was so worried I'd messed it all up."
"You didn't." Cali hugged her back reassuringly. "You did everything exactly as I told you to, which is why I'm back so soon."
"Really?" Pulling back, Mae searched Cali's face.
"Really. Everything is good. So," Cali looked around the bar taking in the number of patrons, "is there anything I need to handle, or have you got this?"
"I've got it." Mae walked beside her as they headed to the concealed door of Cali's quarters. "There is one thing I need to know, though."
"What's that?"
"How many waitresses do you want to hire? I've already received twenty applications."
"Really?" Cali gave her a surprised look. "That many?"
"The Brink has always been a good place to work, but since you've taken over..."
"Since I've taken over what?" Cali encouraged when Mae trailed off.
"Well, word has gotten around about how well you're treating your staff, that you gave Tay and me your old quarters, and how you hired Hamm and found a den for him when no one else would. And..."
"And?"
"And how you caused Vaine to punch herself," Mae couldn't help but giggle at that. "It seems like most can't stand her. They just never said anything because of who her tad is."
"Oh," Cali felt her cheeks start to heat. "I guess I didn't think anyone would notice. Or care."
"Because of you being Earthan." Mae completely understood what Cali had to be feeling. Galaians also weren't highly thought of within the universe.
"Yes."
"Well, all I have to say is that after meeting you, I wish there were more Earthans out here."
Cali felt her eyes fill at the sincerity in her friend's voice. Few people other than her family cared whether she lived or died. But Mae did. It made Cali's deception all that much harder. "Thank you, Mae. Ten."
"Ten?"
"Hire the best ten and get them trained. I want all working before you deliver this little one," Cali gestured to Mae's stomach.
"Alright, I'll go through the applications and pull out the best ones, then you can okay them."
"No."
"No?"
"You're the manager now, Mae, and one of your responsibilities is to manage the personnel of The Brink. So, you choose, and you hire. I'm only going to step in if I feel it's necessary." With that, Cali put her hand on the bio-scanner and entered her quarters.
Cali knew she'd shocked Mae, not only with making her responsible for the hiring but with her abrupt departure. But Mae was going to have to get used to the heavier responsibility, especially if one day she was going to be the owner of The Brink, which Cali was going to make sure happened. As for her abrupt departure, Cali wanted a moment to herself before her dad contacted her, which she knew would be happening soon. He was going to want answers she hadn't been able to give him in the conference room.
She'd misjudged her dad's impatience because she'd no more than settled down on one of her couches with a glass of wine when her dad's code pinged her link. Knowing he'd want to discuss this face-to-face, she transferred the comm to the screen on the wall.
"Hi, Dad," she said, lifting her glass to take a sip.
"What the fuck is going on, California Rose!" he immediately demanded.
Cali winced slightly at him, using both her names. He really was upset. He'd even reverted to an Earthan swear word. "It's not as bad as it seems, Dad."
"Not as bad..." Paul Baker-Wik'ax gave her a skeptical look. "A Coalition general tried to kidnap you, Cali."
"A misunderstanding. One caused by a manipulative, lying datter. I should have realized Vaine would involve her tad and taken precautions. You won't be telling Mom or the Paramount about this, will you?" She gave him a pleading look.
"That depends," he told her.
"On what?" she asked warily.
"On what you tell me in the next few minutes. I want to know everything."
"You already know all the relevant facts," she said, hoping that would soothe him. She should have known better.
"Then fill me in on the irrelevant ones. Like you being personally involved with this Pilot. Your report said nothing about that."
Cali sighed and took a fortifying sip of her wine before responding. "I didn't include it because I knew it would look like retaliation. Which.It.Wasn't!"
"But you had been involved with him," he pressed.
"Do you really want to know about my sex life, Dad?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"No," Paul immediately denied, "because you're not old enough to have one."
"I'm three hundred and twenty-five years old, Dad," she reminded him. "By the time Mom was my age, she'd already had three offspring."
"I hate it when you do that," Paul grumbled.
"Do what?" Cali asked innocently, sipping her wine to hide her smile.
"You know what. You logic your way out of an argument just like your mother does." He glared at her for a moment then released a heavy breath. "Alright, I know you're old enough to have sex. I just don't want to know about it, but in this situation, I need to know."
Cali sighed, "Alright. Yes, I was involved with Nox, but only briefly. He'd been coming into The Brink for about six months, always flirting and making suggestive comments. I knew it was because he thought I was Earthan, but it had been a long time since I'd had sex, and with their tail, well, Phocs are supposed to be skilled lovers." She shrugged her shoulders at his incredulous look. "I was bored, so I decided to find out. The experience was disappointing, to say the least. I only gave him a second chance because I thought it could only get better. I was wrong. I planned on telling him it was over when I got back from signing the ownership transfer for The Brink, but when I returned, I discovered what he'd done and the rest, you know."
"How did he get your worker’s chip?" Paul asked quietly.
"It must have fallen out of my pocket. Triz refused to set up the secondary security I wanted on them, so all Nox had to do was use it. I never permitted him to do so." She could tell her dad believed her. "But I had used it to purchase drinks for him in the past, which was all the Base Commander needed to hear to side with Nox."
"It never takes them much," Paul grumbled. "Still, you should have included that in your report."
"Did Triz when he banned Iantha?" she countered.
"Iantha?" Paul gave her a puzzled look.
"The Bix female Triz banned," she reminded him.
"What does that have to do with your situation?"
"She was banned because she attacked any female Triz fucked after he got tired of her."
"They were involved?" Paul frowned, knowing Triz had never told him that.
"Yes, and I can tell by your expression that he failed to include that in his report."
"He didn't. It seems I'm going to need to start digging deeper into the reports my children give me."
"I don't think that's necessary," Cali quickly said. "It will only draw attention to us if you take a bigger interest."
"That's true," Paul hummed.
"So, we're good?" Cali gave him a hopeful look.
"To a point," he hedged.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I won't inform your mother or the Paramount about this on one condition."
Cali released a heavy sigh. She'd learned long ago that her dad's 'conditions were often a punishment in and of themselves. "What's the condition?"
"That you allow Xanto to stay at The Brink with you for a while," he said and could tell he had shocked her.
"What?!" Xanto was an old family friend who was like an Earthan uncle to Cali even though he wasn't Zagreus. Having him living with her would be like living with her parents again. "Why?"
"Because you were nearly kidnapped!" Paul's rage returned with a vengeance. That was unacceptable.
"But I'm fine," she soothed, hoping to calm his anger because an angry Supreme Chairman was never a good thing. "I can take care of myself, Dad. You made sure of that."
"I'm still not taking any chances. Xanto will stay with you, or I inform your mother and the Paramount."
Instead of arguing, because she knew it would be pointless, Cali asked, "For how long?"
"Until I can be sure the threat against you is gone. Now tell me about your Commanders?"
"My Commanders?" Cali didn't understand the sudden change in topic. Had her dad developed a Zagreus ability of which she was unaware? How else could he know she was involved with Jamis and Taarig? Carefully she asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't think I didn't notice the way they watched you, Cali, and how they reacted to you. It wasn't as Commanders but as males."
"Well, it's hard to miss that they're male," she teased, hoping to distract him.
"This is not funny, Cali." She couldn’t deter him from this. He knew what he saw.
"What do you want me to say? I don’t know what you think you saw, Dad, because I didn’t see anything." Thank the Gods; her dad hadn't seen Taarig slam that guard against the wall. "Yes, I’m acquainted with Commander Dexxirs and Sub Commander Ynn because of the situation with Trudo and because I’m the owner of The Brink. They stop in occasionally."
"Are you sure there isn’t more to it than that?"
"If there were, do you really want to know about it? The Commanders like to share."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Jamis stared out through his viewport, into the blackness of space, absently swirling his Apreian skotsk around a diminishing sphere of ice.
"You going to drink that?" Taarig asked, moving to fix himself a glass.
"What?" Jamis jerked. Jamis was so lost in thought that he hadn’t heard Taarig enter.
"Are you going to drink your skotsk or just let it go to waste?" Taarig settled into one of the chairs in front of Jamis’s desk.
Looking at his glass, Jamis grimaced at how much ice had melted but took a sip as he sat down behind his desk. "Anything I need to know about before I go begin my rest cycle?"
Taarig's eyes narrowed at his friend. Everything that happened in the Commander's Conference Room had weighed on his mind the rest of the light shift, but he and Jamis hadn't had a chance to talk about it. Now late into the dark shift, they finally had the opportunity. "You don't want to discuss what happened with Cali first?"
"What’s there to discuss?" Jamis asked, taking another sip.
"You don’t find it strange that she knew what Article 89 was, and Masala didn’t?"
"Of course, I do, but according to the Supreme Chairman, they inform all their high-level personnel."
"And Cali, an Earthan who has been an owner for less than a standard-month, is one of their high-level personnel?" Taarig gave him a skeptical look.
"So, it would seem."
"What the ruk is wrong with you?" Taarig demanded, glaring at his friend and partner. "You know there's something more to it than that. This is Cali. Why aren't you pursuing this?"
"Because it's Cali!" Jamis all but roared. "We can't become involved with her, Taarig. You know that!"
Taarig understood all of Jamis’s concerns and even agreed with them. He didn't want to outlive Cali or their offspring. Unlike other species in the universe, Apre males bonded deeply with the female with whom they created offspring. Because of that, the pain of losing them was excruciating. Still, Taarig wasn't as confident as Jamis that they would find another female they'd feel the way they did with Cali, either together or separately.
Was it worth risking a lifetime of loneliness because of future pain? Even if they found an Apre female, there was no guarantee she wouldn't die before them, which meant they were right back to what they were trying to avoid with Cali.
"I'm not so sure about that." Taarig finished his drink then rose to leave. "Cali might be our only chance."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
From the Owner's Booth, Cali watched the new waitresses Mae hired work. Mae had decided to train several during each half of her shifts so she could assess their skills. A smart move that so far was paying off. The Brink was moderately busy during this dark shift, and as of yet, there hadn't been any problems. One of the new waitresses was doing exceptionally well and looked familiar to Cali. Frowning, she tried to figure out why and then it came to her.
It was Crimson Dae, the datter of the only other bar owner on Star Base Twelve. What, in the name of the Gods, was she doing working here? Touching her link, Cali contacted Mae.
"What is it, Cali?" Mae answered as she continued to pour drinks.
"Mix me up one of your Galaian Wraths and have Crimson Dae bring it to me."
There was a long pause before Mae responded, "Alright."
Cali watched Mae mix the drink then place it on Crimson's tray before pointing to the currently-shielded Owner's Booth. As Crimson approached, Cali lowered the shielding.
"Your Galaian Wrath, Khatun Baker." Crimson set the drink down in front of Cali.
"Thank you, Crimson." But when Crimson turned to leave, Cali stopped her. "Please, sit."
"Wh... what?" Crimson stuttered.
"Sit." Cali gestured to the spot across from her.
"But..." Crimson glanced toward her assigned area.
"Mae will make sure your customers get served. Now, sit," This time, it wasn't a request, and Crimson slowly did, sliding her tray onto the table. "So tell me, Crimson Dae, why are you working here and not at Dae's End?"
"Is there a reason I have to work there?" she asked defensively.
Cali was surprised at the attitude. "No, but I know for a fact that you do. I also know you pretty much run the place."
"Tell that to my broder," Crimson muttered.
"I see." And Cali did. She had five older brothers, and while she was three hundred and twenty-five years old, it had still taken her nearly four years to convince Triz she could handle The Brink. "So, you've left your family business?"
"No, I'll still be working both places," Crimson admitted.
"That's not going to work."
"What do you mean? Are you firing me? Without giving me a chance? That's wrong!"
"Stop." While Cali didn't raise her voice, she let a trickle of the Zagreus power she usually kept in check bleed through. It had the desired effect, and Crimson immediately stopped speaking. "I am not firing you, but you have to know you can't successfully work both places." Cali held up her hand when Crimson started to open her mouth. "Not because you couldn't do it, but because your broder is going to expect you to still do everything you did when you were at Dae's End full-time. So, tell me what's really going on."
"I... I want to expand Dae's End," she whispered.
Of everything Crimson could have said, that was the last thing Cali expected, and it started her mind racing. Space was at a premium on a Star Base, and it was expensive. If her memory served her right, the area on either side of Dae's End was already rented, and the businesses were turning a profit, which made expanding that way impossible. There was an unused area, but it was far from the market level and wouldn't get much traffic.
"I don't think you can afford two separate locations on the Star Base."
"I do not want to expand Dae's End on this Star Base. I want to expand it to all the other Star Bases." Crimson's ambition caused Cali's eyes to widen. No one other than Wik Corp had a business on every Star Base.
"While your family's muttas are amazing," Cali knew that for a fact because she liked to go to Dae's End to have their malted beverages, "What makes you think there will be a demand for them on other bases?"
"Because I listen to my clientele, especially the ones that travel between the Star Bases, and they keep telling me how they wished they could get our muttas everywhere."
"But your tad and broder don't see it that way." Cali knew the answer to that already. She'd been trying to convince Oba Dae to allow her to sell their muttas at The Brink, but he refused. He felt it would pull customers away from his bar instead of expanding his clientele.
"No, they feel it's too much of a risk," she muttered.
"They're right; it would be risky. First, you'd have to secure a location large enough to not only serve your mutta but brew it. Unless you are planning on having your tad do all the brewing for you from here."
"He doesn't have the capacity for that," she admitted.
"So, then you're going to have a consistency problem with your product unless... Do you know how to brew?"
"I do, just not as well as my tad or broder. They like me either out front or doing the accounts." Cali watched Crimson's shoulders sag. "I suppose it was stupid of me to think this was possible."
"I didn't say it was stupid, or even impossible," Cali's words had Crimson looking at her in surprise. "What I am saying is that it's going to take some time and a lot of hard work on your part to make it happen."
"I'm not scared of hard work."
"I figured that since you're willing to work two jobs to make your dream happen. So, I'll tell you what. After your shift here, go home and work up a serious business plan, and I mean serious. Include everything you know you'll need to brew your mutta and to establish your bar. I also want to see all the costs and your projected profits. After you get that done, bring it to me, and during your next shift, I'll go over it then tell you where you're right and where you’re wrong."
"Why?" Crimson asked suspiciously. "Why would you do that?"
"Because I think you're right. Your family's mutta is the best I've ever tasted, and the rest of the universe should be able to enjoy it."
"But how?"
"By getting you a partner that not only believes in you and your product, but has the credit, experience, and connections to help you make it happen."
"Really? Who?" Crimson's eyes went wide as she looked at Cali in shock. "You?"
"Me. If you can present me with a sound plan."
"I can do that."
"Then get back to work, and I'll see you when you have it done."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"Taking another little lintu under your wing?"
Cali spun around to find Xanto casually leaning against the back wall of The Brink. "Gods, Xanto, when are you going to stop sneaking up on me?"
"When you start being aware enough of your surroundings that I can't." Pushing away from the wall, the handsome Elevsìs male moved toward her.
Elevsìs were an odd species. Their long, black hair framed pale, angular faces with delicate eyebrows and full lips that almost looked feminine until you took in their muscular physique, then you knew they were all male. Their females were more slender and leaner. Still, they had an aura about them that drew in other beings.
"I'm perfectly aware of my surroundings. You, on the other hand, came through an outer passage. Apparently, I forgot to remove your bio-code."
"Which just reinforces my previous statement," he told her.
"Or perhaps I thought you would be courteous enough to make sure you were welcome before you entered my private quarters."
Xanto nodded his head in agreement. "I agree, my apologies. Your tad made it seem as if this were urgent."
"He exaggerated," she said, waving a dismissive hand.
"So, it would seem." He gestured to the spot Crimson had vacated. "May I sit?"
"Of course." Even though it still aggravated her that her dad had sent Xanto, Cali wouldn't take it out on him. "Would you like something to drink or eat?"
"Both would be appreciated."
Cali touched her link and ordered for him. "So where were you when Dad contacted you?"
"I was on Seyama handling an issue."
"Seyama?" Cali's eyebrows shot up. Seyama was a good three days from this Star Base, and it had barely been a day since she'd agreed to Xanto coming.
"I happened to be testing one of Wik Corp's In-D Core ships," he told her casually.
If anything, Cali's eyebrows went even higher. The In-D Core was the brainchild of her oldest brother and a heavily-guarded secret. It made it possible to travel across the universe at currently unattainable speeds, but only in a specially-designed ship that so far was only available to her family.
"Where did you dock it?!" she immediately demanded. That ship was guaranteed to draw unwanted attention.
"In The Brink's exclusive landing bay," Xanto reassured her, which was why Xanto had been able to use the secret passage that connected to her quarters and The Brink. Someone trusted enough to know about the hidden landing bay beneath The Brink couldn't have their bio-code removed from the system by anyone other than the Paramount or Supreme Chairman.
"Good, that means one less thing I'll have to try and explain."
"To whom?" Xanto couldn't imagine Cali explaining herself to anyone.
"To whoever notices you're suddenly here when there's no documentation of your arrival."
"That's already been taken care of. Paul had all the relevant information inserted in Star Base's systems."
"Ruk," Cali swore. "Dad did it himself?"
"You're his datter," Xanto gave her a look that asked, 'how could she have expected anything less.' "Of course, he did."
"He's overreacting to this," she argued.
"Perhaps, but if this makes him feel better, then what's the harm?" Xanto settled back into his seat. "Now, tell me about the Yisster."
Cali followed his gaze to where Crimson was waiting on a table. "Crimson?"
"Is that her name?"
"Yes, and it's her first shift at The Brink."
Xanto watched as the Yisster female skillfully balanced her tray when someone bumped into her. "Seems like she's done this before."
"She has. Her tad owns the other bar on the Star Base."
"And she's working here?" Xanto didn't attempt to hide his disbelief.
"I assume you were lurking against the wall long enough to hear what we were discussing."
"I wasn't lurking," he stressed the word. "I was observing, and yes, I heard. You are thinking about taking another lost little creature under your wing. Just like you have the two Galaians."
"She has a dream, an attainable dream if she works hard. She just needs a little help."
"A little help from you, you mean." Cali just shrugged. "You know you're just opening yourself up to heartbreak, don't you? She thinks you’re Earthan, so you only have ten to fifteen years to help her before your life span has to 'end' because they'll notice your lack of aging. And with her working with the two Galaians, that means it has to 'end' for them too."
"I know, and when that time comes, I'll handle it."
"Like you did the last time?" he demanded. "You cried for nearly a month."
"I was barely two hundred then. I'm stronger now. It won't be as bad this time."
Xanto gave her a disbelieving look but let it go when a server set a plate full of stewed phase wapiti and Elevsìs bread in front of him. Two of his favorites. That was Cali. Even though she was half Zagreus, beings who were typically arrogant and egotistical as long-living beings tended to be, Cali wasn't. Cali was like her mother and let her Earthan heart lead her.
"Just know, if you need me, I will be there for you," he told her quietly.
Reaching over, she squeezed one of his long, elegant hands. "Thank you, Xanto."