Feels Like Falling: a Science Fiction Space Opera Adventure: a Wolfegang standalone novella (2.5) (the Wolfegang series) Read online

  My eyes narrowed. This Tral was a dick.

  “Give me what we agreed on,” Wolfe said. “Or these seeds will go to someone else and your planet will starve for all I care.” He was so nonchalant about it I was shocked.

  Would he really let an entire planet starve?

  Tral frowned. Wolfe waited a few seconds and then nodded. “All right then, I’ll find someone else to trade with.” He turned to go and Tral panicked. The seeds must have been in high demand for Wolfe to be so confident.

  “No, the original trade is fine,” Tral said, grumbling as he took out stacks and stacks of little glass vials. “You’re sure the seeds are completely organic and unmodified? They have been sealed properly?”

  The captain nodded and set down his box of cargo. “I checked them myself before buying them.”

  Celeste put her box on top of his and then Ricky followed suit. Wolfe beckoned Ricky forward and he checked the vials of medicine.

  Tral scowled. “You know I wouldn’t trade you second rate shit.”

  Wolfe nodded and then smiled. “You know I wouldn’t trade before checking the product. Take a look at the seeds so we can be on our way. This medicine needs to be on Ishi as soon as possible.”

  Tral opened the top box and sliced open the vacuum-sealed packet. The small seeds spilled into his open palm and a nice, earthy smell filled the small backroom. He even popped one in his mouth and I wrinkled my brow. It couldn’t taste good. “These are perfect. We’ll be able to start planting tomorrow. Thank you for these, Wolfe. It’s hard to acquire real seeds the government hasn’t tampered with. Their seed clones can be hit and miss and we can’t afford another lean year bearing seedless produce.”

  Wolfe started loading up the medicine into a nondescript box. “I heard the Federation raised the taxes again this year.”

  Tral nodded sadly as he carefully placed the seeds into a glass box. “Yes, it’s becoming more difficult to break even on the border planets. Making a profit is nearly unheard of these days.”

  Once the medicine was securely packed away Wolfe handed it to Ricky. “I’m sorry to hear that. You know if you ever need anything I can acquire it.”

  Tral clapped him on the shoulder. “Of course, your contacts are quite fantastic from what I’ve heard.”

  Wolfe smiled and gave him a mock salute. “Make sure those seeds are put to good use. I’m not sure when we’ll be back in this part of the galaxy.”

  “The hyperspace jumps out here are few and far between. I’ll make sure to send a comm out in time if we need your services.” Tral followed us out into the main part of the café. “Can I offer you and your crew any java or cakes?”

  Cakes sounded like they’d be good but Wolfe was already shaking his head. “We need to refuel and be on our way, but thank you.”

  They bowed and I glanced at my other shipmates to see if we were supposed to as well. Japanese custom permeated every part of human culture now and I wasn’t always sure how to operate in this new world. I bowed when the other two did and then we were moving again before I could feel stupid.

  Wolfe shouldered his way through the crowd and a tall blue alien glared at him with the prettiest sets of eyes. Every time I saw a new species I felt the shock all over again of learning humans had traveled the galaxy and confirmed we weren’t alone. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to it.

  Before I knew it we were back to the landing field. “We need to buy some fuel and take the jump out of this area. Ishi isn’t far, but we’ll have to take an unsafe route to avoid the Federation. If we’re lucky we’ll make it to the surface by tomorrow evening.” Wolfe activated the panel on the transport and the stairs shot down.

  I could have stayed on the ship. The crew was so used to operating without me and I wasn’t important to their – our work. There was still so much to learn. I could only perform extremely basic repairs on the ship. I’d had some training with the weapons but my injuries didn’t make me the best backup at the moment. Skipping an opportunity to see a new planet, or to see a new species was something I wouldn’t let happen though. They were few and far between and I refused to miss out after having slept through the last five hundred years. Wolfe waved me forward. I wouldn’t miss out on anything else.

  Chapter Two

  Wolfe had me at the navigation console. The ship could run on autopilot and once a route was charted a pilot wasn’t necessary until maneuvers such as hyperspace jumps were required. Despite all this, someone still needed to chart the fastest and safest route which could mean a variety of things depending on the situation. In this particular instance we needed to avoid the Federation in case they decided to stop the Wolfegang for a random inspection, and then found the undocumented medicine among other illegal items.

  Navigating wasn’t too difficult, but I was alerted when we put in the destination and route. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked. Maybe I had, but I’d followed every step of his instructions exactly.

  “No, you did perfect.” Wolfe waved his hand over the console and ignored the warning. “I put in an alert for that section of space a while ago because of some reports I’d received. It’s not patrolled well by the Federation so pirates heavily populate the area.”

  Of course they did.

  “Is this a good idea?” I glanced at the captain, wondering if I’d made a mistake to question him.

  He shrugged and manually accepted the route. “We are traveling with cargo I can’t afford to lose to the Federation with fugitives onboard. Pirates we can handle. We can shoot pirates; the Federation would be a completely different story.” Once the ship accepted his route the engines rumbled down to a quieter hum.

  The subtle reminder of Enzo made me feel guilty. He was right. Now we were both fugitives and traveling would be infinitely more difficult. If it weren’t for me and my stupid brother we never would have needed to go there in the first place and Wolfe wouldn’t have risked his life or his livelihood.

  “I’m sorry about that,” I murmured, wiping away the holographic display and putting the console in sleep mode.

  Wolfe placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “I told you I would help you find Kris. All we do is travel from job to job. It’s the perfect way to find him.”

  It didn’t make me feel better. His words only reminded me how much I owed him, life debt or not. “I should go…” I trailed off awkwardly. I didn’t want to stand there on the bridge alone with the captain and no job to do when I knew he had feelings for me.

  I was always the one who made it awkward. Every time he reached out I pulled away. It wasn’t only the time I’d spent in prison, but it was also Kevin. I’d lost him too, and he had been dead for over four hundred years now which completely messed with my mind. I wasn’t ready to move on and Wolfe knew that.

  His patience was almost as aggravating as his persistence. He never pushed me, but he was always there for me and it was difficult to ignore.

  “Ricky said he cooked a real dinner tonight, nothing freeze-dried or in a can.” Wolfe grinned at the prospect. His white teeth shone against the cocoa of his skin. His jade-green eyes sparkled as he smiled down at me. “We also have a card game I think you’d like. Would you like to join us?” the captain waited patiently for my response.

  I tugged on my hair. Normally we all ate whenever we wanted or when we were hungry. Single meals were the normal go-to. On occasion we all managed to eat at the same time but it was always quick without a lot of talk. I rarely sat with the crew and hung out like I would have with my friends back in L.A. “I don’t see why not,” I finally said.

  Wolfe tucked his hands in his pockets and waited for me to be the first to head out. The space was small and our shoulders brushed. I pretended like I didn’t notice. “The game has a few variations,” he explained.

  His deep voice faded as I concentrated on the sounds in the galley. Ricky banged around and it sounded like Celeste was already in there too. Those two didn’t always get along, but they actually seemed to be e
njoying each other’s company.

  “Can you hand me the patone?” Ricky asked. His voice grew louder as Wolfe and I made our way down the narrow hall, boots clanging against the metal floor.

  “I do not know what ‘patone’ is,” Celeste stated in irritation.

  “The vegetable.”

  “Which vegetable?”

  “Do you not have these on your planet? Sometimes I wonder about your culture. It’s a simple fungus to add texture and taste to the meal.”

  I walked into the galley to see Ricky cooking on the small metal counter, fingers tapping out settings as he fried something that smelled like mushrooms, spices, and meat. Celeste stood next to him, handing him whatever he pointed at. I cocked my head to the side and wondered if I’d ever seen them so comfortable together.

  “We mostly eat flowers and meat. The fungi is left for the animals you small orange menace. It was not my position to know of various foods and how to prepare them.” She huffed as she handed over a small bag of spices and then something green.

  I sat at the table to watch them. I couldn’t help the small smile as they stood there and cooked, acting as though they’d done this a thousand times. For all I knew it could be a normal occurrence for them. “What’s for dessert?” I asked.

  Both heads popped up and Celeste frowned. “Dessert?” she asked.

  Shit, was it no longer a thing? I normally kept my mouth shut as much as possible to prevent problematic situations. If I said too many stupid things they’d either commit me to an asylum or suspect the real truth.

  “Was dessert not planned?” Wolfe asked, unknowingly saving me once again.

  Ricky shook his head. “No I completely forgot.”

  The captain set the cards down on the table and went to rummage in some of the cupboards. “Don’t worry about it, I can whip something up.”

  I watched the three of them work around each other in the small space. They were graceful and organized. No one had to say a word and still they knew when to move or duck. Watching Wolfe do something as mundane as cooking was strange. The fierce ex-military turned-smuggler captain didn’t seem the type to enjoy something like making dessert.

  He whisked by and set a glass bottle on the table and then a bowl of little tart fruits from some terra-formed planet I couldn’t remember the name of, and then he went back to making some sauce for them.

  I picked up the cards and shuffled them over and over before turning one face up on the table. These weren’t the normal cards I was used to. The deck felt like more than fifty-two cards in my hand and the material was a bit thicker. They were worn, but still well taken care of. The figure on the first card was a beautiful Japanese woman with some hiragana written next to the woman. Reading Japanese wasn’t one of my strong suits but I thought it said, ‘the spring has passed/and the summer come again/for the silk white robes.’

  Was this a karuta deck?

  I frowned and flipped over the next card and there was another figure with three different lines of hiragana. The poems were obscure and my translation not completely reliable, but it was a game I’d actually heard of even if I’d never learned to play. My grandfather had his own karuta deck stashed somewhere in his house. It was a game his wife had taught him and he never stopped offering to teach it to us at family gatherings, but my father never approved.

  “Have you played this version?” Wolfe asked, setting a large bowl with some creamy substance on the table.

  Carefully I set the deck down. “I’ve never played this game,” I admitted.

  He smiled and went to grab cups. “It can be a lot of fun. Things go crazy when everyone is trying to find the card they need.” He set the cups down and uncorked the bottle. He poured four glasses and I could smell the liquor from my seat.

  We were going to bond as a crew over alcohol and cards. It was something I’d wanted for a while, but I was so nervous I’d slip up and say something I shouldn’t and give myself away. I didn’t like having to lie to them every single day.

  I took a sip from the cup as soon as he handed it to me to try and still my nerves. It was like fire down my throat and I coughed, but it was pleasantly sweet. The buzz was nearly instant and I set the drink down. Food first otherwise I could get sloppy drunk. “What are the rules?” I asked, flipping over a few cards to see if I could figure out the gist from the pictures and words. Admitting I couldn’t read hiragana well was probably something I should keep to myself.

  Ricky nodded in the corner of my vision. He had heard that thought then. He couldn’t always listen in. Ricky tossed something else into the pan and the smell was delicious. I couldn’t wait to try whatever it was. The particulars of the ingredients could stay a mystery. I’d rather not know.

  Wolfe sat next to me, elbow brushing against mine. He didn’t seem to notice as he took a sip from his own cup. “We have to match pairs. Take the cards in your hand and match them to the ones laid out on the table. The second card has to complete the first, and there are fewer cards available to grab than there are cards in everyone’s hand so you have to spot it before anyone else.” He grinned as he started shuffling the cards. “Person with the least pairs loses and so on. Occasionally we bet, but we’ll keep it simple this time around. Would you like to play a practice round while we wait for dinner?”

  I picked up a different card, a man in traditional Japanese robes playing an instrument. The poem was completely different than the first. It was difficult to make out the symbols but I managed. I’d be slow and would lose but I was all right with that. This was more about bonding than winning and as the outsider I wanted to get closer to my crew mates.

  Wolfe ran me through a hand and by the end he had me laughing, trying to keep me from grabbing the cards I needed or snatching one from me before I could put it in my own hand and pair it. It was hilarious to watch him and I had more fun than I’d had in a long time. It was nice to take a break from all the crazy.

  “Put it away, I have some delicious food coming this way,” Ricky announced with a large platter in each hand piled high with food.

  I helped Wolfe pick up some of the cards that ended up on the floor after a vigorous fight and made room for the platters on the table. “Vegetables and meat?” I asked, hoping he didn’t give me too many details.

  Ricky nodded and Celeste brought over some plates. “Vegetables, spices, meat, and a few delicacies.” He winked before going back to grab more food.

  Wrinkling my nose I decided to trust my senses. It smelled great. Ricky wouldn’t serve me something a human stomach couldn’t handle so I helped serve the food. Ricky set down some green bread and then sat with us. Celeste smiled as she filled her plate. Normally she didn’t eat too much cooked food, but she seemed to enjoy what Ricky had put together.

  We stuffed our faces in silence for a few minutes. It was like nothing I’d ever had before. There were so many flavors mixed to perfection. The spices were hot but not too spicy I couldn’t enjoy the meal. My eyes closed as I chewed blissfully. Food was still one of my favorite things and protein cubes just didn’t cut it.

  “You like it?” Ricky asked with a laugh.

  I nodded. “It’s absolutely amazing. I had no idea you could cook like this.”

  He shrugged and took a bite.

  “The pantone is better than expected,” Celeste stated as she delicately swirled some of the food onto her two-tined fork. “The males on my planet are excellent cooks and this cannot compare to that, but you have done quite well Olkchen.”

  Ricky rolled his eyes, but his smile was indulgent. “Of course, Celeste. I’m so happy to please.”

  A female dominated society went on my bucket list to see and experience.

  “You and your brother are…twins?” Celeste asked me.

  I stopped mid-bite and stared at her for a second. Was she making conversation with me? Our relationship was so up and down I never knew where I stood with her. It was always safe to assume she despised me though, so the inquiry into my personal lif
e was strange to say the least. “Yes, we are twins.”

  She shook her head. “We do not have twins among my people. Our bodies can only carry one infant at a time.”

  I cocked my head at her. Sarmations were more humanoid than I thought. “You carry babies like humans?”

  Celeste took another bite and nodded. “Yes, but our gestational period is much more efficient. It is only four…months, as humans say.”

  Shrugging I stuffed more food in my mouth and washed it down with the sweet alcohol that paired perfectly. “Humans aren’t built for it either.”

  “What was it like growing up with a twin?” Wolfe asked. “They’re pretty rare.”

  I glanced at him and took another drink. Then I looked over at Ricky who stayed focused on his food. Was this a safe topic?

  Human twins are rare. Evolution has made the human body more efficient, Ricky explained. His thoughts twisted in mine, distinct and masculine. Without Ricky as my secret ally I would have been outed a long time ago.

  “It’s like a built-in best friend,” I told them. “Someone made to have your back, who you can always count on. We experienced everything together.” I put down my fork and took another sip of the alcohol. I’d thought Kris would always have my back, but waking up in the abandoned hospital alone, his cryo-pod broken and empty had been the scariest moment of my life; worse even than when I found out I had leukemia. At least then Kris had been there to hold my hand and help me through. He knew exactly what it was like to hear the news. He’d had his own cancer on and off for years.

  They were silent as they processed my words. “We’ll find him,” Wolfe promised. He squeezed my hand in reassurance.

  “I know,” I said, squeezing back despite how much physical contact still bothered me. I owed Wolfe everything for this. “I couldn’t do it without you.”

  He grinned and knocked back the rest of the alcohol in his cup. My eyes widened as he refilled his glass. It was strong stuff but he acted like it didn’t faze him at all. “Finish up so we can play uta-karuta and have this dessert I slaved over.”