Khazal took inventory of the artifacts they had so far. All but one item were in their possession to assemble this mysterious spherical artifact. They had acquired another piece on a barren planet, inhabited by reptilian creatures. No signs of intelligent life were on that planet, which was a bit of a relief to the crew. They seemed to get distracted by individuals while they were looking for components.
However, the last leg of the journey was a long one, and they were all getting restless. They had finally seen the big oceanic planet that was marked on the star chart.
"This is where your mother is from," Jinji remarked to Venus.
"I understand that," Venus replied. "She has told me about the place."
"Will we get to meet your grandmother?" Jinji inquired.
"Ugh," Venus uttered. "Possibly."
"I wish to meet Nana," Jinji said with a sweet voice. "I believe she will like me most!"
Khazal got away from the mayhem. "Do we have coordinates for the last piece, Delia?"
Delia typed at the console. "We have it here--a village called Treblinka, in a nation known as Poland. I believe we can find the artifact component without incident." She swivelled in her seat. "We have an issue, however. We must purge the fusion tanks. The deuterium has fused an excess amount of helium-3 together, due to the amount of travelling we have done."
"I do not wish to delay our return to Bok," Khazal said. "How long will the purging take?"
"Sixteen of the days of this planet," Delia replied. "We will have to park the ship on the surface and let it vent. It is a serious hazard not to do it."
Khazal's real motivation was that she wanted to test the artifact right away, but would not do so on the surface of the ocean planet. "Very well. We will take refuge with Venus's nana. How will we acquire the artifact component?"
Delia turned back to the console. "I have something these people will want."
They had landed away from the village as to not attract attention, then caught a ride share. Penny had given Venus access to a credit account she had set up the last time she was on Earth.
The detector brought them to a run-down antique shop. The last part of the artifact was sitting on a shelf right behind the elderly man with a total of nine teeth. In exchange for the artifact, Delia offered a five carat diamond. The old man agreed easily to the trade. The women all made way back out of the shop, with Khazal holding the piece. It was a bowl shape similar to the one they found on Gerek.
"That was it?" Khazal looked down at the bowl, with its strange inscriptions on it. "We now have to spend sixteen days on this planet just waiting?"
"We can see what Venus's grandmother is getting up to lately," Delia responded. "I imagine she will be delighted to see her granddaughter."
The sophisticated build of the
Parallax Vista
allowed for scattering of radar, so the ship could fly into American airspace completely undetected. They managed to get over Florida, where they could safely dispose of the ship. The ship would be disguised as an abandoned school bus in a scrapyard.
The four women disembarked with their gear bags. "Where are we supposed to go now?" asked Jinji. It was dark out, and the only light source was an old LED street light.
"My grandmother has said she is dispatching a carriage for us," Venus said. "We should wait here for it to arrive. I have tapped into her...what do they call them? That you call people?"
"A cell phone," replied Delia.
"Right," Venus remarked. "We can patch into her primitive device with our hand-comms."
A white van pulled up alongside the four and parked. The driver got out and walked around to meet them. "I'm looking for someone named Venus?"
The man was mid-twenties, tall, and well-built. His face was hard to make out in the dim light cascading down on them. He had a deep, forceful voice.
Khazal stepped forward and put her hands on her hips. "What is this rust-bucket supposed to do for us? Is this how you would treat your guests?"
The man smiled and held up his hands. "Well, as far as transportation, this is all I got. Can I at least grab your bags?"
Khazal clutched her bag to her chest. "I would not trust you with any of my possessions!"
"This will suffice for us," Venus said as she placed a hand on Khazal's shoulder. "We are not in any position to disparage this land vehicle."
"Yeah, and I don't feel right leaving four girls stranded in Bithlo," the man said with a chuckle. "C'mon! I'll let you ride in front."
Khazal seemed reluctant to move, but allowed the man to escort her into the high-up front seat. She wiggled around, the vinyl on the seat broken and uncomfortable. The other women climbed into the back seats and got as comfortable as they could.
The man eventually climbed in. Khazal got a better look at him now with the dome light on. She was mesmerized by his handsomeness, but also irritated with his cavalier attitude.
The driver looked back over his shoulder and smiled. "Wow. You women sure are pretty. Where are you all from, anyway?"
"Far away," Venus said flatly.
"Okay, I get it," the man said with a nod.
Khazal sat there with her arms folded. "You have not even told us your name, rude man!"
The man pushed his lips out as if he knew what kind of trouble he was in. "Well, I'm Chris. Chris Martinet."
The women in the back all called out their names. Khazal sneered and looked out the side window. "I am Khazal. You will now transport us to Venus's grandmother."
Chris nodded and shifted into gear. "We're off to Evergreen, then. Hey, maybe you'll get to see the rockets lifting off while you're here. You staying in town long?"
"Sixteen days," Delia said.
"Cool," Chris answered. "Hey, did you all get fed on the plane? I can get us some burgers or something."
Chris took them to a fast food restaurant. They all piled out and went inside. Chris asked what they wanted, but they were confused. He picked for them and hoped for the best. Jinji was the brave one and took whatever, finding she really liked the french fries. Delia liked the sodas tasting like cactus juice without the alcohol. Khazal reluctantly ate some of a cheeseburger, trying to ignore Chris as much as possible.
"Why did you pick us up?" asked Jinji to Chris.
"Oh, I worked with Ms. Leighton for a while now," Chris explained. "I do a little handiwork for her on the side. I also do trips with the van." He pointed out the window at the vehicle. "One of the few gasoline engines on the road these days, but it's being good to me so far."
"That van is ugly," Khazal said between bites of her cheeseburger. Venus gave Khazal a kick under the table.
They continued on their journey. Chris was doing his best to coax some conversation out of Khazal, to no luck. "Uh, can I turn on the air conditioning, or something?"
"You may," growled Khazal. "It is gross in this climate, like a fish tank. Ugh."
Chris shook his head and flipped the switch. The other women were chatting and laughing.
Chris got them into the community of Evergreen and pulled up to a humble abode. The women all piled out with their bags. "Let me know if you need to get picked up, okay? I'll be up for another couple of hours."
The women waved goodbye, but Khazal stood with her arms crossed. They headed to the front door. "Why are you being so difficult with that boy?" asked Jinji.
"He is a clod," Khazal groused. "I do not appreciate his cavalier attitude towards us. Plus his taste in food is appalling."
"I liked the food," Jinji said.
"You are an idiot," Khazal growled.
They rang the bell, and an older woman answered the door. She got out her glasses and squinted. "Venus?" Venus stepped forward. "There you are, my
baby
!" She gave Venus a huge hug and groaned in delight. "Oh my goodness!" She touched Venus's hair. "Dear! You're all supposed to have silver hair, aren't you?"
Venus touched her own hair. "Oh, I just wanted to dye it."
Grandma looked at Khazal. "Dear, did you dye your hair as well?"
"This is natural, Mrs. Leighton," Khazal replied. "I got it from my birth mother."
"Oh, sweetie! You can all call me Nan. Maybe Joanie if you're feeling comfortable with it." Joan waved them all to come in.
The four Boccan women all filed in and settled down in the small living room. Khazal sat down on the floor, as seats were scarce. "Oh, can I get anyone anything?" Joan want to the kitchen. "Tea? Coffee?"
"I would like coffee," Delia called out.
"You do not even know what that is," Khazal griped at her.
"We will be gracious," Delia shot back. "It was good enough for the queen, and it is good enough for Nan."
Joan brought in a steaming cup. "I hope instant is okay, dear." She handed the cup to Delia. "My goodness! I thought my dear Penny was athletic. Look at you all! Just such gorgeous young things!" All of the women except Khazal were beaming.
"Nan, this climate is unbearable!" Khazal seemed whinier than usual. "I am used to heat, but the vapour in the air? Bleh!"
Joan giggled as she switched on the air conditioning. "Better, dear?" She went to sit down with her own coffee. "Oh, you must be the daughter of that lovely couple who came with Penny. That was what...twenty years ago? Yes, Penny was almost as grouchy as you are!" Joan laughed. "Venus, sweetie, you remember meeting me before, right?"
Venus looked confused. "I was on Earth before?"
"Oh, yes," Joan said. "Your mother insisted on me meeting her first daughter. She was so proud to have a daughter to get to become queen someday. You were maybe three years old." She put a hand to her chest. "Now look at you! Oh, I just wish Tommy was alive to see you."
"Nan, I do not wish to be discourteous, but I do not believe we will be comfortable in this small home," Jinji said timidly.
"Oh, I can't have you poor girls sleeping on my floor," Joan replied.
"We can survive for one night," Venus offered. "I hope it is not an imposition. This is very late to be seeking out an inn."
