They’ve arrived at an apartment complex. It’s just as well used as any other they’d seen in the colony. No houses. No mansions. Just crowded apartment blocks made of metal, concrete, and glass.

  “Well, this is it.” Cai says as they stop in front of the door. “Apartment 303, so third floor.”

  Nyx is feeling excited, “Mya! Ya think she’s bein’ nice?”

  Cai shrugs, “Heidi didn’t say. I think she is if she’s put out an open offer to help take care of any Felis that visit.”

  Nyx pulls Cai inside, “Mya! Then let’s go gettin’ findin’ out! Get movin’!”

  Cai chuckles, “Someone’s in a hurry.”

  They walk up the stairs, and Nyx feels nervous, but excited. She’s finally meeting another Felis!

  They stop in front of Apartment 303.

  Nyx doesn’t hesitate and pushes the doorbell.

  It chimes for a moment, then the door opens, “Nyx? You’re here! I was expecting you earlier!”

  The woman who greets them is a middle-aged Felis. She’s short, though taller than Nyx by half a head. Her hair is black with streaks of silver. Her eyes are bright green, just like Nyx’s. She’s wearing a modest blue dress that’s simple, like most of the clothing the colonists wear. And of course, has two Felis ears and a tail, which is swishing back and forth excitedly.

  Nyx lets go of Cai’s arm, “Mya! Yer bein’ Allison?”

  Allison hugs Nyx, “Look at you! You’re adorable! It’s so wonderful to meet another Felis after all these years!”

  Nyx’s groans as Allison’s hug squeezed the breath out of her, “St… op…”

  Cai chuckles and just watches.

  Allison releases her, “Come in! My husband couldn’t get out of work, and my son is on an errand, but I’ve prepared lunch!”

  Nyx takes a deep breath as soon as she’s freed.

  Cai enters, “Oh! We brought some food.”

  He hands the cooler to her.

  Allison takes it, “Blessings to you. You’re Cai, correct? I understand you rescued this lovely young woman?”

  Cai snorts, “Not so much rescue as more she snuck into my ship and I decided to keep her.”

  Nyx bristles, “Goddum it, Cai! I’m not bein’ yer critter.”

  Allison laughs, “You two are cute together.” She waves them in before Nyx can even hiss at the comment, “Come on! I hope you like Nufuud casserole.”

  Nyx groans, the thought of having to eat Nufuud again sobers her after eating Cai’s, “Nufuud…”

  Cai doesn’t look happy either, “Yeah, never was a fan of Nufuud myself. Why do you think I take good care of my plants and animals?”

  Allison smiles as she places the cooler on the table, “Is it true you have returned after a hundred years in the black? It must have been lonely out there by yourself, dear.”

  “Yeah, there were times I almost came back, but after having to deal with human stupidity for two hundred years, I wanted a break.”

  Nyx looks at Cai, “Human stupidity?”

  Allison laughs as she opens the cooler, “Then you’re lucky you’re among Felis!” She looks inside, “Oh deary, I haven’t seen an apple in years. And is this cheese? Eggs! Oh, bless you. Meat. You’re awfully generous, Mr. Halley.” She turns to Nyx, “You’ve found yourself a fine man.”

  Nyx blushes, “He’s not… We’re not…”

  Cai is blushing too.

  “Oh deary, I saw how you were holding his arm when I opened the door. A woman doesn’t hold a man like that if she’s not smitten with him.” Allison pats Nyx’s head.

  Nyx mewls.

  Cai pats Nyx’s head too as he looks at Allison, “Hey, stop teasing her.” He then looks at her with a look that shows he’s possibly thinking the same thing.

  Is she really acting ‘smitten’? All she knows is that she feels safer holding him, especially in the colony. She’s heard so often that they’d hate her here for being a Felis, but so far, it’s been okay. Casey knew, and she teased her about Cai too. Maybe she is being too clingy with him? How did she feel about him?

  She had only just met him, so she still wasn’t sure how she wanted to feel about him. Could she think of him as a woman looks at a man? She wasn’t even sure what it was like to think of a man like that. Maybe she really was ‘smitten’? But Wrench was someone she’d felt safe with too, and she didn’t feel about him that way. He was a father to her, not someone to fall in love with.

  Allison puts a hand on her shoulder, “Deary, nothing wrong with having a crush on a fine man like this.”

  Cai coughs, “Um… Let’s stop teasing her.”

  Nyx pouts as Allison takes something out of the oven, “I suppose I may have gotten carried away.” She places the food on the table, “Now let me dish up the casserole. I’m sure you two are hungry.”

  Nyx sniffs at the casserole. It’s definitely Nufuud, but with a few other ingredients that she doesn’t recognize.

  She and Cai sit at the table as Allison dishes the casserole, “I added peas and carrots to add some flavor and texture. If you’re eating things like you brought, I’m sure it’s not the most appetizing, but these days, every bit of food is something to be thankful for.”

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  Cai takes a fork, “It looks good. Thank you for making it and letting us stay.”

  Nyx pokes at it. It looks better than the plain Nufuud the captain fed her on the Gaper.

  It tastes marginally better, but after eating Cai’s meals, it’s rather bland.

  Cai takes a bite, “It’s good, Mrs. Keys. It’s nice how easier it is to get all of your nutrients if you eat Nufuud over traditional meals. Like, we had to put nutrition information on everything to make sure the processed slop was healthy slop or garbage slop. I sometimes eat Nufuud to make sure I’m healthy even if I don’t care for it. And this is much better than Nufuud that’s sat in a depressurized cargo hold for over a hundred years so thank you.”

  Nyx didn’t recall ever seeing Nufuud on the Donati. He really was spoiling her, wasn’t he?

  Allison nods, “Well, that’s right, but I won’t complain if you stop by again with more of this delicious looking food you brought. That cheese is something I’ve only seen in holovids and I can’t wait to try it.”

  Nyx scratches her chin in thought, “This dum place isn’t havin’ cows?”

  Allison shakes her head, “Heavens no, deary. Cows take a lot to feed, and it’s much easier and humane to use cultured meat. The last cows in the colony were butchered long before I was born.”

  Cai nods, “Yeah, cows do take a lot of food. That’s why I opted for a miniature cow.”

  Nyx wonders how big a regular cow is. Cai’s is as tall as her waist. She’ll have to look in the VR later.

  “A miniature cow?” Allison seems interested, “I’m guessing you gave it the anti-aging gene therapy? It’s the only way I can think of you still having one after so long.”

  “Yeah. I have a cat and two chickens too. All genetically modified with anti-aging, but only that.”

  Nyx doesn’t know what to think about making animals immortal when so many humans would kill for the same thing, “Ya made yer critters Never Dyin’?”

  Allison laughs, “Strange, isn’t it deary. Immortal animals on a spaceship.” She looks at Cai, “I’m guessing you’re the captain of a long-range explorer? It’s the only reason I can think of how you’ve stayed out of this mess. Maybe you came back looking for a pretty lady for company?”

  She gives Nyx a wink, which makes Nyx blush and growl.

  Cai waves a hand dismissively, “The owner of La La Land Station sent a drone that found one of my exploration drones with a message asking me for help. Apparently, some group is going around stealing fabricator parts and sabotaging what they can’t make off with.”

  Nyx looks at Cai. He hadn’t mentioned this, had he? “Cai, why weren’t ya bein tellin’ me ‘bout that?”

  “Because you already have so many things going on, I didn’t want to add more.”

  Allison nods in agreement, “Yes, deary. Fifteen years with pirates. I’m sure things have been hard for you. A lone Felis as a pirate! I wondered if you chose to be one or they forced you to work with them.”

  Nyx flattens her ears at the memories of her time with the crew. So many things reminded her of her past, and she hoped one day she’d go a day without thinking about it.

  Cai puts a hand on her head as they eat, “Alright, no more talk about us. How about you, Allison? What do you do here? What about your husband and son?”

  Allison’s face brightens, “Oh, you’ll love my husband, Grant. Such a kind man to marry a Felis like me, even in a place like this. Saw the real me and not just the ears and tail! Of course I said ‘yes’ when he asked me to marry him. He didn’t even care that any children we had would be deaf. And my son, Adam! Poor thing had a rough childhood, but he’s a tough boy and I’m proud of him.

  “As for what we’re doing here? I help with the community. I started doing it hoping to show people that us Felis are just as human as they are on the inside, and I think I’ve done a good job if I’m going to trigger my own buzzer. My husband and son are both helping with the hydroponics right now with how many automations got destroyed in the raid. Tragic that, hundreds died. The dome depressurized before everyone could make it to the shelters, poor souls.”

  Cai leans forward as he swallows a bite of the casserole, “I still can’t believe they raided here. With Barnard Station gone, the only sources of food are here, Luhmen Station, La La Land Station, and Alpha Centauri Station.”

  Nyx recalls going to Luhmen and Alpha Centauri stations multiple times, “Cap’n was seemin’ real suspicious like around when the others were attackin’ here.”

  Cai gives Nyx a thoughtful look, “We should let Heidi know he might know something. Since your old crew is stuck on La La Land station, it shouldn’t be hard to find them. Hopefully, arrest them if Trevor hasn’t already.”

  Nyx doesn’t want to think about seeing her old captain again, “I’m not goin’ to be talkin’ to that bastud.”

  Allison pats Nyx’s hand, “Deary, if Cai takes you to see him, I’ll give him a talkin’ to.”

  Nyx nods, “I’ll be joinin’ you.”

  Cai chuckles, “I don’t really want to go back there either, so no worries. My place is out there mapping solar systems, not here bickering politics and logistics.”

  “I suppose you wouldn’t be out there by your lonesome for so long if you didn’t find it exciting. Or are you escaping something?” She raises an eyebrow.

  Nyx knows enough about Cai to know it’s probably both. Like she never wanted to go back to Barnard Station, Cai might not want to come back to the solar system?

  Cai shrugs, “I’ll leave that up to you to guess which one.”

  Nyx finishes her portion of casserole, “Mya. Thanks for makin’ food.”

  Allison turns to Nyx, “You’re welcome deary. How about you two relax in the park across the street? I imagine after being cooped up inside a spaceship for so long it would be nice to sit among what passes as nature here.”

  Nyx recalls the lake. What would a park be like? And it would be real trees and grass and not a simulation, “Mya! Cai! Let’s be goin’ to this park!”

  Cai finishes his last scrap of casserole in a hurry, “Okay! Okay!” He turns to Allison, “You sure? We can go after helping you clean.”

  “Goodness. I couldn’t have guests help with something simple like this! Go rest! I’ll join you when I’m done here, and I can show you around while we wait for my husband and son.” She whispers to Nyx, “There’s a hidden spot behind some bushes if you want more privacy.”

  Allison gives her a wink, and she blushes.

  Nyx is about to grab Cai’s arm as they go to leave, but is now self-conscious after Allison’s teasing, so settles for standing close.

  Cai gives Allison a nod as they leave the apartment, “Alright. I guess we’ll go check out the park.”

  Nyx still feels exposed out here. Everyone has been so nice so far, but after a lifetime of rumors from the crew about how much they’d hate her here, it’s hard to let her dread go.

  Cai points across the walkway three stories below, “There it is.”

  Nyx sees an open area, green with grass. There are trees, but they’re thin and look weak compared to the trees she saw in the simulation. There're some structures made of metal bars, a metal slope with one end at the top of a ladder and the other ending near the ground, and some chains with seats connecting the bottoms. She also notices smaller plants that might be the bushes Allison was talking about and glances at Cai, imagining them looking back there.

  They descend to ground level.

  It’s quiet, with only one person walking in the distance. She guesses everyone is inside their homes, at work, or at the market.

  As they enter the park, Cai looks around, “Huh, you’d think there’d be at least some children at the playground.” He then grins and points to the bushes, “Should we check out the secret spot Allison told you about?”

  Nyx’s ears fold back, “Dum it, Cai…” She admits to herself she is curious, and she wants to explore the trees and bushes anyway, “Mya. Let’s be lookin’”

  They finish pushing through the bushes when she feels a sharp sting on the back of her neck. When she pulls it out, she immediately recognizes that it’s a syringe , though it has a fluffy ball on the end, “Cai! What the sparks!?”

  Cai grunts and grabs his neck and a syringe too, “Shit! Tranquilizer darts!”

  Nyx looks around and notices men in clothes that match the bushes crouch-walking to them.

  Her vision swims, and she notices Allison standing in front of the window to her apartment, watching them with her friendly smile gone.

  As she falls to the ground, she hears, “Subject N-Y-X has been subdued. Securing her and her companion for transport.”

  Then everything turns to black.