Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance)

by Marlow, J. A.

  His bot gave an answering whistle as it turned around to go to the main water valve.

  Shay stepped aside and watched it go. "What's yours named?"

  Oh great. Not this again. "Doesn't have a name."

  Shay frowned. "No name? Then how do you know which one to call to tell it what to do?"

  "Your bot knows you. It will respond," Damien said, pointing at Shay's bot that was still looking up at Shay. As if waiting?

  "Not very efficient, and possibly rude." Shay grimaced. He looked down at the waiting bot and asked it directly, "Wouldn't you prefer to have a name?"

  The bot gave a whistled questioning sound. The sound of water through the pipe signaled the test of the new valve was about to start. Shay scratched the back of his head while Damien watched the internal workings of the valve with a scanner. No leaks. No issues with the valve tests. One plumbing job down.

  "Bandit," Shay suddenly said.

  "I should mention that the bot also chooses. It took forever for Rachel to name hers," Damien said. Another reason he hadn't bothered, just in case his bot preferred a silly name like Rachel's did. What self-respecting bot would choose "Pookie" as a name?

  "Bandit is a good name," Shay said. "Right, pal?"

  The black and yellow bot chirped. A happy chirp, not a questioning one.

  Shay grinned at the noise. "We have a name!"

  Just like that, the bot accepted the name. No trial and error. Damien shook his head, half in disgust, and half in amazement.

  Shay helped gather the tools and stow them in the proper places in the cart along with the help of both bots. "Where now, boss?"

  "Arthur is the one we call 'boss.' Call me Damien."

  "You got it. So, what's next?" Shay's good-natured grin slipped. He sniffed at the air. "Life-support this time? Wow, that smell can't be right. Or, is that another plumbing problem?"

  Damien paused to test the air. The air was dry, but it carried in it the smell of mold with a harsh taint of methane and something else he hadn't been able to define the few other times he'd come across it.

  "We don't know if it's a plumbing problem." No matter how Damien turned, he couldn't determine which direction it was coming around. He stopped to look down at his bot. "What direction is the smell coming from?"

  His bot chirped at him in what was clearly a question.

  "Sounds like your little guy doesn't know. Bandit, how about you?" Shay's bot gave the same questioning chirp. "Is that normal? Do they usually not know where problems are?"

  "Usually they do, sometimes before us." Damien finished putting the tools away, snapping the cover over the box holding the bad valve. By the time he finished the smell was gone, disappearing as fast as it appeared.

  Shay waved at the air in front of his nose. "Clean air again. At least, for now."

  "For now. We haven't been able to ascertain the source of the smell. It disappears as fast as it appears."

  "Not good. Something needs repair."

  Damien nodded. "Yes, we know."

  Pulling up the flat computer pad out of the pouch in the cart, Damien found a different sort of problem awaiting. Not the next plumbing problem as he expected, but instead a bright red alert in one of the rings.

  And, in a place no one wanted a problem right now. "Looks like the next job isn't plumbing, but life-support."

  Shay gave another grin. "Good. Maybe I can be of more help. Where are we heading?"

  Damien pushed the computer pad back in its pouch, wishing they could stay in the service tunnels of the station as they worked out where Shay may belong. Straightening, he said, "We go topside on a ring. Heard about Redpoint One's Exotic Pet Show?"

  CHAPTER TWO

  "CLEMENTINE, DON'T EVEN think about it!"

  Vallory glared through the cage clear sides. She'd finally made it to the official Redpoint One Exotic Pet Show grounds and transferred the daubpups into the larger show-provided enclosure complete with plenty of climbing material inside. The first hurdle, only to be presented with another.

  The daubpup in question kept its back to her but cast a glare of her own over a shoulder. The glare didn't have a lot of power behind it, mostly because of their tufted ears, striped thick tails, and colorful fur made the creatures look like a huggable fantasy creature. She'd heard some of the other pet owners remark how cute they would be to have as a pet. She kept herself from replying that they weren't to be anyone's pet. The pet show was merely the tool to get them where they needed to go.

  One of the other daubpups ran by, and then leaped to dive into the pile of fine straw at the end. Another rubbed against the side of the enclosure. Only two were on the branches in the upper parts of the tall cage.

  Uhoh. She knew what it meant when the entire group started getting antsy. Moving to the edges of the cages. At a certain point, no matter how she called to them, they would have enough and that would be it.

  "Please. We just got you here," she pleaded under her breath even as another daubpup started moving towards the back wall. If Clementine was wanting to leave, then she had a real problem. Unlike Penny, Clementine was one of the calm ones of the group.

  Yep, this could be the start of a big problem.

  "Never fun getting them settled in," Ms. Mishley said, pausing next to Vallory. The older gray-haired woman tugged the strap of a big bag over her shoulder. Her own pets slept peacefully in their own enclosure just down the wide aisle. She smiled as she peered at the daubpups. "Fluffy little things. What did you say they were?"

  "They're called Etrucian Daubpups," Vallory said, trying to smile naturally even while trying to keep an eye on them at the same time. They were still moving towards the walls, stopping to look back at her as if seeing if now was a good time to escape unnoticed.

  "Never heard of them, but then that's not surprising. There are a great many animals and breeds here that I've never heard of. Part of the joy of attending," Ms. Mishley said.

  "I agree. Animals from all over the Galactic Commonwealth." And part of the reason Vallory had gathered every bit of money she could lay her hands on to get the daubpups here.

  "Get a good night's sleep. The whole thing starts in earnest tomorrow morning." With a friendly nod, Ms. Mishley headed for one of the exits.

  Right. Tomorrow. It would be nice to start off the day with a full enclosure of daubpups.

  "Can't you wait even a few minutes?" Vallory demanded as Penny bounded for one of the back corners. "They said help was coming."

  Penny gave her a disgusted look and flicked the end of her tail in her direction. Yep. She would disappear soon, and she wouldn't care if anyone saw her.

  "Enclosure 291. This is it," a deep modulated voice said from so close that Vallory gave a little jump.

  To her right stood two men with a cart towed by one of the rounded robots she'd seen around the station. Both youngish men in great physical condition, especially the one who had spoken. The man looked like he weight-lifted.

  Not that the other was a light-weight. Compact body, but balanced in his musculature. He wore a mask of cool authority, even without speaking, telling her exactly who was in charge of the two.

  She found herself staring a little longer than she should. Really, she should be staring at the cart filled with repair tools and parts. Those were the most important things right now. "Please tell me you are here to fix the life-support?"

  "Am I to understand this is your enclosure?" the second man asked, regarding her with unusual green eyes. Spiked short brown hair framed a thoroughly male face. One she found herself drawn to despite the urgency of the moment. Really. What was wrong with her?

  A movement out of the corner of her eye reminded her of just how urgent. "Yes, the daubpups are mine. Vallory Schist, and we need to get the temperature lowered fast."

  "Shouldn't the normal controls handle that?" the weightlifter asked.

  "If it were that simple the show organizers wouldn't have contacted maintenance." The second man turned to pull a long black
tube with controls on one end out of the cart.

  "Right. Daubpups don't like high temperatures. Turning up the fans hasn't helped, either." Nor had opening the front access door for a few minutes. Vallory tapped the front panel lightly with a fingertip. Not loud, but it was enough to get Penny to flinch and hop back towards the middle of the cage.

  "Cute things," the weightlifter said. "Don't worry, ma'am. Damien and I will get this fixed up. What first, boss?"

  "First we find out the problem."

  "What is that wand-thing you have?"

  The second man moved between the cages towards the small aisle running between the cages of their aisle and the cages lining the next one over. "Follow me and I will show you."

  Vallory watched them with big eyes, her heart sinking. Show him?

  Penny started heading towards the back of the enclosure again. In fact, all of them were, and doing it fast. They'd obviously lost patience with the entire too-hot cage-thing.

  And now this?

  She started shaking her head even before she could find her voice. When she did, it held a harsh edge as she demanded, "Show him? You are training or practicing your jobs on my daubpups?"

  The second man straightened from where he'd just bent over to grab something from a compartment on the side of the cart, looking straight at her with those unusual eyes. He leaned against the edge of the opaque sides of the cage that kept the animals from seeing the ones next to them. "My name is Damien Lysander, and I am senior life-support engineer on Redpoint One. I am hardly a beginner."

  "Senior?" Vallory repeated, latching on to the word.

  "Call him Damien," the weightlifter said.

  "I am," Damien said again before deliberately breaking off eye contact to disappear around the back of the enclosure. He didn't yell in surprise, so all the daubpups must still be inside. A temporary relief.

  "The pet show is important," the weightlifter said. He leaned against the corner of the enclosure, giving her a lazy smooth smile. "They wouldn't send just anyone. Shay Carlisle, at your service. And where do you hail from?"

  Vallory struggled not to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Why ask such a thing at a time like this? "No place special. Just a nomad."

  It was true, to a certain point. Her need for a job, and the jobs never seemed to last very long, meant she constantly traveled. To a wilderness study, to associate university projects, to consultation situations. From one place and world to another. Not that she necessarily liked it that way, but full-time jobs for a xenobiologist just getting going were hard to find.

  "I need a torque caliper," Damien called from behind the enclosure.

  Shay pushed off the enclosure to frown at the cart. "Right. Caliper. What would it look like?"

  But, the yellow and black robot was already handing something up to him with a jointed arm and hand coming out a small hatch on its back. Shay grabbed it and leaned down the back of the enclosure to hand it back. "Is this it?"

  "Thanks." A creak and a pop, and Damien said, "What does the front temperature read?"

  Vallory read off the temperature on the control panel next to the front access door. No change from before, and now two of her daubpups were fighting near the water bowl. They rarely fought. Showed just how much stress they were feeling. If they weren't on Redpoint One in front of other people, she would allow them to escape to where they needed to go.

  Just not right now. Not here.

  "Wait, it just went down a degree," Vallory said. The reading ticked one more down. "It's going down, slowly."

  Damien stepped out from behind the enclosure. "But, not fast enough. It should have dropped fast. We need a new sensor."

  Shay followed him to the cart to peer down at the contents as Damien started sorting through it. "Shouldn't the little guys do that sort of thing?"

  Vallory didn't know who the 'little guys' were, but she wished they'd done their job better. "One more degree. It's still not enough."

  Damien paused on his way back behind the enclosure. Still calm and steady, as he was from the start. "We'll get the temperature down."

  Simple words, but with a strength behind them. And she believed it. He said it, and so it would happen.

  With the words came something else. A tug of something more primeval, something she'd not felt in a long time. Not that she'd had much of a chance with being out in the wilds of various worlds over the years.

  "Thank you," Vallory found herself whispering.

  Damien gave a curt nod and disappeared behind the enclosure.

  Vallory watched him go, unable to take her eyes off him. So unusual for her. Both men were completely not her type. Too much a typical man, too much the masculine exterior. Yet, she'd felt a pull.

  Shay leaned back against the front corner of the enclosure. He crossed his arms across his chest, causing his muscles to flex. "Don't you worry. Damien knows what he's doing."

  Unlike with Shay. With him, she felt nothing. Just saw the exterior. A man maybe trying to be too much of one. Some women went for the bulked up muscles. Not her.

  "Nice to know someone does." Vallory looked at the temperature setting. "One more degree."

  "Changing the part out now," Damien called out. Not really a yell, either, but his voice carried. And, still with that air of quiet authority.

  She then realized some of the daubpups were no longer at the back of the enclosure looking to make their escape the moment her attention turned. Several were lined up at the front of the enclosure with their small twitching noses pointed up in her direction. Big oval eyes regarded her with curiosity, along with something else…

  "Stop thinking that way," Vallory whispered at them. Was it her imagination that the twitching of their noses and ears increased? As if they were laughing at her?

  "So, Valerie, where did your little guys come from? Have more of them home?"

  The comment sounded so much like a come-on line thrown her way at the port bars that she been forced to use for a quick bite to eat on various journeys. Seriously, did they all get the same lines from the same place? Was there a secret pick-up line manual somewhere? If so, someone needed to hunt it down and destroy it.

  Vallory turned cold eyes to him. "They are quite rare, hence my concern." She raised her voice to demand, "No change in temperature. What are you doing back there?"

  ***

  "Nearly finished," Damien said, keeping his voice calm. One moment the woman was pleasant, the next sharp-tongued and blaming him for not repairing the enclosure fast enough? All packaged in a lithe body indicating an active lifestyle, with soft curls of auburn hair that cried out to wrap itself around a finger.

  "By the way, my name isn't Valerie. It's Vallory. Pronounce it like valor, as in, the better part of valor…"

  Sounded like Shay had pushed a little too far. Yep, a sharp tongue. Shay best watch out. For all his muscles, he was no match for a woman on a mission.

  "Right. Vallory," Shay said, pronouncing it slightly differently. With a calmer voice, too. He must have gotten the hint. "Don't worry about your little guys. Damien will get it done. He knows this place inside and out."

  Yes, in another job that Shay didn't appear to have any instinct for. And yet, the yellow and black bot remained with him, which meant they continued to look for the right job. Sometimes new recruits would find it right away, other times it took a while. Looked like Shay was going to fall into the second category.

  As he worked the new sensor into place he lost track of the conversation. A nose against the side of the enclosure made him jerk back.

  From the other side of the one-way wall, a daubpup stared straight at him. It shouldn't be able to see him. Everything but the front walls of the enclosure was opaque when looking through from the daubpups direction. Even from Damien's side, the view remained heavily tinted.

  Yet, there it was. Right on the other side, staring straight at him as if it could see. Another soon joined it, both with twitching noses and tails.

  "Great, an audien
ce," he muttered as he went back to work.

  It wasn't his imagination. They followed his every move. When he moved, they moved. When he went to pick up a new tool, their eyes followed. As if watching a show.

  "No change in temperature," Vallory's voice nearly shouted. One of the daubpups looked over a shoulder in her direction. "How long is this going to take? Do I need to move them?"

  So much for Shay distracting her. He gave one more twist to the coupling and slipped the rest of the system into place. "Finished. Turning it on."

  "What does the temperature say?" Shay asked.

  "I'm watching. What do you think I've been doing?" Vallory paused. "Down a degree. Wait."

  Damien scanned the modules while waiting for an updated response. A daubpup shook, fluffed its fur, then resumed its watch. Another put a paw on the wall and sniffed in his direction.

  "Two degrees. And another. The temperature is dropping." Pure relief filled her voice.

  "See. Told you my man would get it done," Shay said.

  The comment rubbed Damien the wrong way. Of course he would get it fixed. No question. Shay should be concentrating on learning the jobs. Sometimes it took a few tries before they started to understand an area. Life-support could still be his Redpoint One calling.

  "Thank you, thank you. It's dropping back to normal," Vallory said. "Oh, hello Ms. Mishley. You're back?"

  Damien gathered his tools, chiding himself at his annoyance at the department's new recruit. Shay had distracted a worried and cranky pet owner. In this situation, that was worth something.

  "Why would they want to speak to me today?" Vallory was saying as Damien emerged out from behind the enclosure with his tools in hand.

  The new gray-haired woman on the other side nodded at him politely before returning her attention to Vallory. A spiderweb of fine face wrinkles told him she'd not yet used any of the common rejuvenation processes available. "Most likely a cursory check-up, but you never know with judges. I'm off to mine, just in case!"

  Damien made a point of handing a few of the tools to Shay. "We pack carts a certain way."

  "Right. Time to learn the process," Shay said, still in his easy-going manner as he grabbed a few more tools from Damien.