Paz de Lune Animal Sanctuary, Verderi Kashtar • GDAT 3243.094
“Valtrova, open front door.” Taz voiced the command so Shen, the shepherd at her side, would know her wish was being granted.
The Russian-named house computer opened the floral-decorated interleaved sections to reveal the wide entryway.
Shen bolted through them and launched from the front steps into the small expanse of green beyond, sliding a bit on the rain-slick grass. She danced in a circle, barking in excitement.
Taz followed more sedately, amused by the silly dog who loved to bite raindrops. She cradled a warm mug against her chest and savored the subtly fruity whiff of hot morning kaff that tickled her nose. Her loose, drapey tunic and pants fluttered a little in the chilly morning breeze. The cold textured plascrete under her feet made her wish she’d stopped to put on slippers and a scarf over her head. When she’d cut her hair asymmetrically short to change her look, she hadn’t anticipated that her ears and neck would miss the insulation.
The covered front porch bumped out into a shallow half-circle on this side of the house, with a blue-tinted glass railing. In the summer, she hoped it would be a nice place to sit with Rylando, soaking in the sunlight.
He called their sprawling home a modest ranch. Her childhood in a crowded city and career on military bases had never involved any living space so spacious and open. For just two humans and their pets, they had a dozen rooms with windows everywhere, even the roof.
Out in the grass, Shen crouched and barked twice, tail wagging.
Taz didn’t need to access the dog’s controller to know what she wanted. “No, it’s too wet for me to play right now.”
Contentment filled her as her gaze drifted to the low shrubs and narrow trees beyond the grass where Shen cavorted. The previous owner installed them as a living privacy screen between the neighboring houses in the enclave. Rylando liked the illusion of living in a wilderness clearing. She liked knowing they were still part of a community.
After the recall, their shorthand for the CPS’s precipitous dissolution of the Galactic Search and Rescue division, the journey from Perlarossa to Verderi Kashtar had been more stressful than a rescue. Hatya’s connections got them temporary travel identities, the kind celebrities used, and her Jumper credentials got them passage on a large, slow interstellar passenger liner.
But the “family stateroom” that she and Rylando shared with six “household pets” had been no bigger than their rescue airsled. And the trip itself had taken twenty-two long interstellar transit days to reach their destination.
On the ship, they kept to themselves. At first, they’d just needed the sleep. Then news of the recall exploded across the newstrends and that was all anyone wanted to talk about. Rylando had to maintain near-constant contact with the animals to keep them calm in their cages, meaning he overused his talent and paid for it with insomnia.
She fended off the hospitality stewards who wanted them out of the room and buying souvenirs. She also arranged room service for their prepaid meals and finagled items for the more exotic dietary needs of the animals.
Trending rumors said several thousand GSAR fugitives were on the run. Her and Rylando’s reported deaths should have kept them off the wanted list, but if the rescue business taught her nothing else, it was that mitigation measures worked better when taken before the potential disaster. After her own improvised haircut and makeover, she pried Rylando out of their stateroom long enough to visit the ship’s body parlor and change his look enough to fool casual AI surveillance.
When they finally arrived at the animal sanctuary, physically flatlined and emotionally exhausted, their new life truly began.
From Rylando’s descriptions, she’d imagined the sanctuary facility would be a frontier-style slab building with space for a small population of animals and volunteer keepers. To be fair, his memories were fifteen years old. His contribution to the organization at the time had been a large swathe of rural land on the nothing-special planet of Verderi Kashtar, acquired from a complicated, multi-property real estate swap of inherited family land on other planets.
The actual Paz de Lune Animal Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Research Center now occupied nearly ninety square kilometers of rural land, with five major buildings, a veterinary hospital that put big city human medical centers to shame, dozens of staff, hundreds of animals, and enough territory to create habitats for all. Most of the staff and residents were minders, and easily half were GSAR or Minder Corps veterans.
Rylando was in heaven. The sanctuary was more than an hour’s flitter flight to the nearest city. He was surrounded by nature and animals who loved him, had non-recycled air to breathe, and a lake big enough to swim in. And best of all, no disasters.
The no-disasters part suited her just fine, but she’d needed a few ten-days to appreciate the other aspects. She was still unaccustomed to sleeping in, though a nova-hot sexy lover in her bed gave her every incentive. In a way, she was like Shen, still needing things to do with her time, and having to learn how to play. It helped that Paz de Lune really did value her tech skills and welcomed her telekinetic talent. And that she’d fallen deeply in love with Rylando.
Shen shook herself like a wooly weasel, then trotted up onto the porch to sit in front of Taz, watching her expectantly.
“Yes, Captain Shen?” This time, she connected to the dog’s controller. Per Rylando, Shen had decided on her own that Taz was clearly in need of shepherding. Taz was enjoying learning to be a good partner.
See...Rylando.
Taz nodded. “Yes, let’s do that. I bet he hasn’t checked messages.”
Her hand was halfway to her ear before she caught herself. Civilians didn’t wear earwires at home. They talked in person.
She reentered the warm house with Shen at her heels. The doors irised closed behind them. The dog veered straight for the built-in solardry unit next to the coat rack and barked the two-one-two pattern Rylando had taught her. Contained jets of warm, dry air coaxed the water out of her wet fur.
Taz dropped her mug off in the kitchen, then walked with the damp-smelling dog to the largest room at the far end of the house. It stood nearly two levels tall, with a domed ceiling full of octagonal window ports that concentrated or generated daylight as needed to keep the room warm, bright, and airy. Rylando designed it as a playroom room for his team… er, pets, and she’d put her construction experience to use and helped build it for him.
He sat in the center of the room, cross-legged on the floor, with gaily colored Moyo sprawled to his right, gently snoring. Rylando’s back rested against the heavy crescent-shaped padded bench. The blue-green color complemented the fading blue tint to his skin, the remnants of the hasty cosmetic job from the passenger liner’s body parlor. His lap held a blanket filled with six roly-poly feline kittens. They snuggled against a custom-printed, fur-covered pouch that delivered temperature-regulated formulated milk.
He looked up at her with a grin. “The new pouch you designed is a hit. They’re all eating today.”
“That’s great.” She basked in the warmth that flooded her from his smile, unabashedly admiring the smooth planes of his muscled bare chest. “If you don’t mind my asking, can you feel the kittens with your talent when they’re this young?”
The orphaned litter of starving babies had kept her and Rylando up at all hours for days. He’d insisted on taking most of the shifts, so he was tired but full of heart-melting smiles. This was his element, helping animals thrive.
“Sort of.” He twitched a shoulder. “They’re like little sparks of potential. Once they start recognizing and interacting with each other, they’ll start recognizing me, too.” His finger delicately brushed along the top of the darkest kitten’s head. “They’ll know our scents a lot sooner. The dogs’ scents, too.”
Taz laughed. “They’re going to be very confused kittens, thinking they have four mothers.” When neither she nor Rylando could tend the kittens, Shen or Moyo stayed with them and patiently let them snuggle up against their warm bellies.
“They’ll be fine. Domestic cats are amazingly adaptable creatures.”
She pointed toward the media wall. “We got news from Hatya. Want me to queue it up for you, or just tell you the highlights?”
“Highlights. I’ll listen after I feed the rest of the menagerie.” He gave her a shy smile. “I like the sound of your voice.”
“Thank you.” Subtle pleasure stole over her, making her want to curl up in his lap with the kittens. He always seemed to know the right thing to say.
“Let’s see. First, the CPS held an emergency mass sale of GSAR’s non-military ships and equipment. Maybe they needed the funds? Anyway, Hatya and her brother bought six of the better transit ships and a bunch of shuttles to start an interstellar transport outfit. They’re hiring ex-Jumper buddies as pilots.”
Rylando smiled. “How fitting. I’ll put in a word with the office. Paz de Lune will be needing a trustworthy shipping company more than ever.” He pulled a damp textured cloth from the small bucket on the floor to his right. “I got a casual ping yesterday from a rescuer I went to vet-med training with, asking about job leads. The sanctuary replied with the usual ‘no one here by that name’ notice, but sent the link to their position list. If the query is legit, we might have more new residents on the way.”
“This would be a great place for them.” She sighed. “Chaos, but I hope we can someday go back to assuming old friends just want to reconnect, not betray us to the CPS. Buying a new set of permanent identities and running again would totally tank.”
“Yeah, it would. I don’t hold it against them, though. The CPS can exert tremendous pressure when it wants something.” He lifted the dark-furred kitten to gently wipe its butt, like the mother cat would have done, then put it in the heated nesting crate to his right. “I’m glad the sanctuary asks for background checks on all new residents, regardless. Some people shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near animals.”
“Like Bhayrip.” It still outraged her that their asshole former captain would have killed Rylando’s team out of spite. She hoped his next post made him the local commanding officer over the bots on a hazardous landfill moon.
“What else did Hatya say?” The snowy-white kitten squawked and squirmed when he lifted it from his lap.
“She misses Moyo.” Taz glanced down at Shen, still standing by her side. “I was thinking maybe you could source a trained military dog for her like Shen. Someone to travel the galaxy with her. A Jumper might be too proud to accept help from people, but I bet she would from a dog.”
His eyes crinkled as a smile widened his face. “What a great idea.” He deftly wiped the white kitten’s butt and put it in the nest. “I don’t know how she got the CPS to pay out our supposed debts so fast, or we’d still be staying in the sanctuary’s guest suite. We owe her.”
“That we do. Let’s see, what else? Oh, yeah, she found out why that jerk Po wanted to blow up the galactic node data center on Perlarossa. Turns out they’d already secretly destroyed all the others across the planet. Some twist about deleting the last authoritative archive of land ownership records so his family could scam a bigger percentage of the RSI settlement. And Stramlo wasn’t as innocent as he claimed. He sold Po the explosives and the instructions. Po wanted insurance, so he kidnapped Stramlo and Jhidelle. Even with the scans and Kem-X packet I saved as evidence, Po’s family matriarch got him and the bodyguard acquitted. Stramlo got sentenced for indenture, but he disappeared himself and his bank accounts, abandoning Jhidelle. I guess he’d already showed her how little he valued her when he let Po shove her out of your airsled to lighten the load.”
“Still a rough ride for a kid.” Rylando frowned. “I hope she finds a better family of her own.”
“She’s smart and resilient. She’ll be okay. Besides, she’ll inherit Stramlo’s fraction of the RSI settlement, plus an extra decimal for her part in saving the planet’s last node. I’m glad our last mission had no casualties.”
“I can’t say I’m missing the rescue business these days.” He put the last kitten in the box.
“You and me both. I like that the only disasters we have to respond to now are when the cats tease Moyo into chasing them across the furniture.” She waved toward the wall’s clock display. “Do you have time for us to try breakfast? Or should I grab something for me and Shen at the community kitchen?”
He set the milk pouch aside, then rose to his feet. “I’ve got rounds this morning. Let’s save our science experiments for the evening meal.”
Neither of them knew anything about cooking, but they were having fun learning. In the win column, they hadn’t yet set the house on fire.
She laughed. “Deal.” Crossing to him, she plied him with a lingering kiss so she’d remember the taste of him for hours. “Love you.”
His arms tightened in a momentary bear hug, then freed her. “Love you, too. Take your flitter. It’s warmer.”
At the door, Shen vocalized a soft yip.
Taz laughed. “Coming, Captain Shen. You’re a much better captain than we had before.”
Rylando watched the love of his life leave the room, suppressing the urge to follow her just like Shen. He had an advantage in that as long as he was physically close enough to the dog, he could find out how Taz was doing without having to ping her more than once or twice a day. If he pinged her as often as he thought about her, she’d never get anything done.
He’d used up all his luck for a lifetime when she’d agreed to give up her career and bind her star with his. With each new passing day, he was discovering how deep her compassion went. Probably what made her so good with people. Made her so good for him.
He wanted—no, needed—to be as good for her. Share his feelings with her, not just with the animals. Talk to her. Tell her how much he admired and appreciated her. Build a strong family together, since her own biological relatives had pushed her out the airlock for the unforgivable sin of being a minder.
“Mealtime,” he announced, and sent a brief nudge to the daylight-active animals. He’d kept his unusual team together for now, but he knew it would change with time and looked forward to it. After one more check on the kittens, he crossed to the room’s food prep station and began pulling out containers.
Thanks to Hatya’s crafty efforts, he and Taz both ended up with more funds than they’d anticipated. The room addition had been his idea, and Taz had readily agreed. She handled all the details that would have driven him to distraction. He was learning to be more careful in what he asked for because she loved making things happen for him. He never wanted to take advantage of her.
Taking a veterinary behaviorist job with the sanctuary and living in a private nature preserve settled his restlessness, but had the opposite effect on Taz. Complaining wasn’t her style, but he noticed how much she looked forward to working with people, or even just socializing. Since she’d given up everything— even her customized GSAR mech-suit— to disappear quietly into the countryside with him, the least he could do was go with her on more trips to the city. Besides, during their first visit a couple of ten-days ago to try out her newly acquired flitter, she’d followed her sharp ears to the alley that had six orphaned kittens, so cities had good things, too.
If he was honest, Moyo the soft-hearted hellhound needed more interaction with people, too. She’d make a fantastic therapy dog for rehab treatment centers.
He couldn’t give up Moyo right away, though. Her comforting love and protectiveness had done wonders for the residual post-stress trauma that afflicted Taz and him both. His nightmares had mostly faded, and only really loud unexpected sounds triggered Taz’s hypervigilance response. Since they couldn’t trust unknown minder specialists to be mucking about in their heads, they’d have to use Moyo’s brand of therapy for a while longer. Better their unorthodox treatment method than hoping for the nonexistent mercies of the CPS.
Two cats materialized on the countertop as if by teleportation. Devious Deimos had learned to broadcast hunger pangs to him as she paced with excitement. Punctilious Phobos sat and hurriedly licked his foreleg in an emergency grooming session.
After Rylando pushed a bowl in front of each cat, he set bowls in front of Moyo and Lerox, then set the mix of vegetables and protein cubes in front of Otak’s den. The rat liked to nibble throughout the day rather than inhale it. He’d feed the snoozing owl later that day around sunset.
When his veterinary rounds were done for the morning, he planned to take Moyo and Lerox out for a ramble near the start of the red-colored canyons. The river that fed his beloved lake came from there. Hellhounds liked the exercise, and exploration was in the big weasel’s DNA. Maybe his, too.
Then he’d have the luxury of a whole evening with Taz. He looked forward to it. Every hour they spent together strengthened their heart connection. No life was perfect, but theirs was damned close.
He couldn’t wait to see what their future together would bring.
Thanks for reading Galactic Search and Rescue. I hope you enjoyed the adventure and romance between Taz and Rylando, and meeting his unorthodox animal team. If you want more space opera, adventure, and romance, check out OVERLOAD FLUX. A pandemic in the stars. A stolen vaccine. Can two brilliant misfits combine their gifts to save the galaxy?
Galactic Search and Rescue is an expanded version of the story that originally appeared in Pets in Space 5. Profits from the Pets in Space® anthology series support Hero-Dogs.org, a charity that provides trained support dogs to disabled U.S. veterans and first-responders to improve their quality of life. Seeing the grueling work and quiet bravery of disaster responders inspired this story. Animals continue to surprise us with what they will do for us, so the story honors them as well.
If you liked Galactic Search and Rescue, please post a quick review at your favorite retailer. Reviews help get the word out about my books, and are greatly appreciated.
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When the cure for a deadly disease is stolen, two misfits are all that stands between greed and intergalactic tragedy.
Luka Foxe can’t let anyone know about his secret mental abilities. Debilitated by their influence when faced with violence, the brilliant forensic investigator now only takes assignments involving theft. But when he has to hunt down a hijacked vaccine for a galaxy-wide pandemic, the tragic first clue is his best friend’s brutal murder.
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Racing to recover the critical cargo, Luka is surprised by his developing feelings for the capable-but-mysterious guard. And Mairwen may have to risk everything by revealing her identity, with deadly mercenaries hot on their tail.
Can the unlikely pair survive an interplanetary conspiracy long enough to save lives and find love?
Overload Flux is the first novel in the sweeping Central Galactic Concordance space opera series. If you like haunted characters, compelling mysteries, and interstellar romance, then you’ll enjoy Carol Van Natta’s epic tale.