Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance)

by Marlow, J. A.

"Excuse me," Vallory said, and ducked away before Ms. Mishley could continue her gossiping. The woman would talk for hours with something like this to spur her on.

  She had animals to check up on. After all, if one group of pets were gone, there might be others. Did anyone think to check all the other enclosures in the same building.

  Getting through the crowds slowed her down, but her heart raced as if she'd run a marathon. Enclosure after enclosure of rare breeds of small pets, but none of them hers. Each enclosure with animals in them. That must be a good sign, right?

  Her "excuse me" and "pardon me" lines became more terse and frantic as she pushed her way through the groups of people. Didn't they know others would need to get through? Others as worried as her?

  Her breath came out in short frantic puffs as she finally came to a stop in front of the right enclosure.

  To find both Penny and Clementine sitting at the front, as if waiting for her arrival.

  The relief was tempered by the realization that the two were watching everything outside. All the people talking or going back and forth. Their ears angled forward and they sat up straight on their haunches. Two of the others moved to the front of the enclosure to adopt the same pose.

  They were a little too interested. Enough they might want to come out to investigate.

  "Please, vacate the area if you are not involved in the investigation," Vallory heard someone say in a loud authoritative voice. "We have brought in additional security personnel. Your pets are safe."

  Vallory heard some of the pet owners question that. If she were them, she might also. If she didn't have daubpups as her 'pets.' After all, a daubpup wouldn't stay where they didn't want to be. They'd proven that more than once.

  "Please, stay inside," Vallory whispered at them. "Just for a little while longer."

  Penny cocked her head at her before going back to watching the show of the people around the enclosure. Vallory got the point. The other people were more interesting than her.

  She settled herself on her knees. This would be a long night if she needed to stay in order for them to feel comfortable enough to settle down. But, she would do it if needed. She'd already put the rest of her life on hold for the creatures.

  "Oh, I'm sure they'll find the missing creatures," Ms. Mishley said as she walked past Vallory on the other side of the aisle. "Redpoint One has excellent scanners at all the docks."

  "It wouldn't be the first time smugglers transported animals through tight spaceports," the deeper voice of Mr. Pyman said.

  "But, an alien spaceport?"

  Their voices faded out, to mingle with the other conversations in the room. Other groups started moving, as well. The daubpups watched it all, their heads rotating as they followed one person after another as they walked by.

  "Eat a little something," Vallory said through the screen of the smaller feeding door. "Go to sleep."

  The daubpups paid her no mind. Not even when she opened the door to reach in. Usually, a few would come over for a few scratches. This time, not a one gave up their position along the front of the enclosure.

  Vallory finally closed the door and tried to make herself as comfortable as she could on the hard cold floor. At least they weren't trying to leave the enclosure. It was a small blessing.

  "Please, clear the building for the night. We are shutting down," a voice announced through the PA system.

  But, the people in the building were already well on their way out. The large aisle in front of the enclosure was almost empty, with the people now congregated near the doorways.

  With the lack of outside interest, the line of daubpups started to break up. Two of them came over to the feeding door and demanded attention. Clementine got to her feet and headed towards the piles of straw. She rooted out the center of a nest and rearranged until it was just right.

  Penny shook her head, causing her ear tufts to wave back and forth. A chin-scratch with one hind leg, and she got up to prance to the back of the enclosure. Soon, she was rearranging her own nest.

  A few moments later the eyes were closed and their bodies relaxed.

  Asleep? That fast? And she'd been worried about them settling down tonight after so much excitement in the day, starting off with a malfunctioning environmental controller. Thankfully fixed quickly by Redpoint One maintenance engineers.

  Which brought to mind something else that had been on her mind all day. She'd been rather short with both of the men in her worry over the daubpups. They did come rather fast, and they did fix the problem. It didn't matter if one of them was in training. The one called Damien knew what he was doing. Obviously. She wished she could apologize.

  Neon looked up at her through the front of the enclosure, the tufts of her ears back against her neck as she leaned into the scratches Vallory was giving her. Her eyes should be closed. They usually were when she was enjoying scratches.

  Instead, Neon was giving her a mischievous know-it-all expression that Vallory had learned usually meant trouble.

  "No, it does not mean I think he might have been cute, in his own way," Vallory said firmly at Neon. "It only means I feel bad and want to apologize. That's all."

  Neon sniffed at her and tossed her head, causing the tufts to flop against the back of Vallory's hand. With another sniff and a chirp, she turned away and headed back to the grouping of grassy nests.

  "Fine, don't believe me." Vallory closed the feeding door and glared at Neon as the daubpup went about settling herself in.

  Definitely not interested. She didn't like muscled men like that. They usually had attitudes to go with it. Like the apprentice.

  A small voice reminded her that Damien hadn't had the same attitude. He'd been polite and straight-forward, and he got the job done quickly.

  Vallory pushed the hair away from her face, suddenly feeling flushed. Too much time away from other people. Too much time with the daubpups and not her own species. That was the only reason she'd noticed the man. And, really, he just wasn't her type. Really.

  At the last thought, Vallory looked up to glare at Neon, sure the daubpup would be staring right back at her.

  Not this time. All of them appeared to be asleep. Little colorful mounds in their nests of straw and grass. Settled in for the night.

  Something she should do herself. The daubpups didn't need her help tonight like she thought they might.

  Her knees protested as she climbed to her feet. Yes, time to take care of herself, and that included finding the meal she'd missed because of the meeting she'd just come from.

  With one more check on the daubpups, she headed for the nearest exit. Not many in the building now. She would be back in the hotel room in no time, with a quick stop-off for an indulgence for junk food from one of the small places in the nearby food court.

  "Vallory Schist?" one of the female security guards at the door asked as she started to pass through.

  Vallory paused. "Yes?"

  "Ma'am, security would like to speak with you before you leave for the evening," the guard said, gesturing back into the building and towards the far end of the building.

  In the direction of the pet-napping.

  Vallory felt her skin grow hot. "Why? I wasn't here when it happened."

  "It will take only a few minutes of your time. We are interviewing many of the exhibitors. One of you may have seen something helpful," the guard said.

  "But, I wasn't here," Vallory said, even as she found herself being guided back inside the building, her protest completely ignored.

  First the problem with the enclosure. Then the bad news at the meeting. Now this?

  Definitely not her day.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  DAMIEN FLEXED HIS shoulders as he settled back into his favorite swiveling chair on the raised maintenance platform. Too many heavy lifts and working himself into small spaces the previous day. He could see why Rachel did so well in plumbing with her smaller body size.

  Lord, he wanted her back at her job.

  Especi
ally when he was put back on plumbing duty for the day. Watching over two departments instead of one. He would be lucky just to keep up with the emergencies, much less perform the standard maintenance life-support required.

  "Hear that, Station? We need more help," Damien whispered before he took another sip from his rapidly emptying coffee cup.

  "Remember to keep your eyes open for any section closing off," Arthur was saying to the crew assembled. "Allegra nearly had one of her crew trapped last night."

  Not good news to start the day off with. What was the crazy station doing?

  "Any answers on why it's happening?" Vasiliy asked from the wall next to the break room door.

  All the attention went to Zane, who stood quietly at one side of the raised platform while Arthur gave out the morning assignments. He stepped forward, his face and body stiff. "If you are asking if I have discovered an answer to the station problems in the first day since my arrival, I'm sorry to report I have not."

  "Any clues at all?" Simon Mang asked. A man who had good reason to ask, considering he oversaw the hazardous materials systems and transport. Not stuff anyone wanted a system glitch to expose them to dangerous substances.

  "No, I'm afraid not. Yesterday I noticed a bad odor go through this room. I understand this is a relatively recent phenomena?" Zane asked. Everyone in the room nodded or murmured an affirmative. "To help us pin this problem down, I ask that you report the moment you encounter the odor. I want to see if there is any pattern to the issue."

  "In addition to that request, report anything unusual," Arthur said. "Director Stemski is giving us the services of one of the administrative pool to help us keep records. Ami Cox, where are you?"

  A tall lanky woman wearing computer glasses stepped away from a wall and waved her hand in the air. "I'll monitor the maintenance frequencies and recording incidents. Just let me know where and when they happen."

  "Report them the moment they happen," Zane repeated. "I want to visit the locations as an incident is occurring, if possible."

  Damien couldn't help shaking his head at Ami's attire. Computer glasses for interfacing with a computer. Hair tied back and streaked with multiple colors. Fitted pants and loose shirt. The typical appearance of a tech-head.

  Still, if they wanted someone to log in information and look for patterns, that would be the kind of person they would want. Still, not necessarily the best appearance for a woman. It hid her real shape, and did her no favors.

  And yet, Vallory Schist hadn't dressed to her best advantage, either. Not even close, but Damien had certainly noticed her in their short encounter the day before. A long skirt, an oversized mid-sleeved shirt. The purples and blues hadn't really matched, either. Big clunky jewelry that overwhelmed her delicate features.

  "Also, a reminder. Today the Redpoint One Exotic Pet Show opens to the public," Arthur said, bringing up a subject far too close to Damien's thoughts. "If you are called to repair a system related to the show, I ask that you do it quickly. The show has high priority, an order direct from Director Stemski. Any questions?"

  Damien polished off the last of the coffee while the morning briefing wound down. With the few lingering questions dealt with, the crews started heading out of the platform for their morning repairs. Arthur, Tish, and Zane moved to the side with Ami to talk in a small huddle surrounded by bots.

  Time for him to head out. He had plenty to take care of, with several high priority repairs at the top of his list. By the time he rinsed out his coffee cup and headed back to the central room, his bot had appeared with the cart they'd prepped the night before.

  "Anticipating me, Scoundrel?" Damien asked. The bot stared up at him, not uttering a sound. He sighed. "Okay, so 'Scoundrel' is not your name. Ready to go out and work?"

  His bot gave a happy chirp and headed for the other side of the room towards the main exit. Damien followed, finding himself vexed. Shay managed to name his bot the very first day. From the sound of it, so did Tish. He'd been here for how many years, and he couldn't find a name for his?

  Not fair. At all.

  "Or is it that you don't want a name?" Damien asked the bot as they arrived at the transit platform.

  His bot chirped a question back at him, but not looking at Damien when it did. Instead, it watched as one of the smaller travel pods the maintenance crew used appeared from one of the tunnels and coasted to a stop in front of them.

  "You need a name," Damien informed it.

  "Damien?" Arthur's voice asked even as the bot whistled another question at him.

  Damien activated the communication link. "I'm here."

  "First request from the pet show today. Something to do with the air conditioning in one of the buildings. Can you head there now?" Arthur asked.

  "On my way."

  With the cart and his bot safely stowed, Damien slipped into the front of the travel pod. Already an emergency messing up his repair plans for the day. Oh yes, the day was off to a great start.

  They arrived at the problem site quickly enough. Someone in the show office pointed them towards the right building. His bot led them directly to a utility panel on the outside of one of the buildings. He unlocked the panel and swung it open. Before he could even get a good look inside, his bot gently pushed him aside and started working on its own.

  He leaned up against the wall as his bot went to work repairing the electrical problem. Straight-forward issue, as far as he could tell. The problem didn't make sense at all. "Why are we here?"

  His bot whistled at him while it stayed focused on the task, but he couldn't discern any information from it. Usually he could.

  "Seriously. Why are we here? One of the independent bots could have fixed a problem as simple as this. Should have fixed it. Why were we called in by the system?" A chirp this time, but still no answer. Why was his bot behaving like this? "Snowy? Albert? Ivory? Tachet? Sassy?"

  His bot ignored each name, until he said the last one, at which point is screeched.

  "Okay, okay, you don't like that one," Damien said with a sigh. Still no answer. Here he was, standing to the side waiting for his bot to do the fine electrical fix with its small robotic arm graspers poking out of an opening at the front of its shell casing. A repair they should have never been called out for in the first place.

  "Naming a pet?"

  Damien stiffened at the husky female voice. Annoyance and excitement bolted through him at the same time.

  He pushed off the wall. Vallory stood a short distance away, the morning crowd of the pet show starting to mill about the fairgrounds behind her. Instead of the conservative suits and presentation clothing most of the exhibitors would wear to impress the public and judges alike, she wore a flowery pink dress with long bunched-up dark red socks that folded over the very top of her athletic shoes.

  Athletic shoes? Not even a simple pair of flats? And purple and neon pink, to boot.

  "Good morning," Damien said, as way of saying anything at all. He couldn't take his eyes off her colorful attire, and what lay just underneath. Lithe and trim. He remembered that from before, with a flare of the hips he found pleasing, despite the current fashion fad of stick-thin. "Today is the big day."

  Utter confusion filled her face, causing her to scrunch up her freckle-spotted nose. "Big day?"

  He motioned at the growing crowds. "The start of the pet show?"

  Her face cleared, and she gave him a smile that set him going again. "Oh yes. Very exciting day."

  She didn't indicate the excitement he thought she should. That most exhibitors who returned year after year displayed. The Redpoint One Exotic Pet Show was a looked-forward event in the field. Many applied to display their pets and were turned away. Maybe she didn't realize the full ramifications yet of her acceptance?

  "Sorry. I'm a bit distracted by a meeting I had this morning." Vallory reached down to touch the top of his bot's white outer casing. "Is this the pet you were trying to name?"

  Damien frowned, quickly glancing back. Sure
enough, the electrical panel cover was closed and locked, and his bot was now at Vallory's feet, looking up at her as she smoothed a hand over its back shell. How did it finish the repair so fast? How did it get past him and to Vallory without him noticing?

  Why did he care?

  "Some of them like names. Some appear not to," Damien said with a shrug. "Mine appears not to."

  "It could be that you aren't trying the right names," Vallory said, looking up at him with a lop-sided smile. "That's the way it was with my crew. How many people have pets named Neon and Frumpmuffin?"

  Damien almost choked. "Frumpmuffin? How did you figure that one out?"

  "Long story, and a culmination of a long frustrating day and a conservative upbringing." Her smile turned into a grin, with a dimple appearing in her right cheek. The grin disappeared when she straightened. "Speaking of pets, sorry, I do need to go and check up on my pets this morning."

  Vallory headed off with a wave of her hand. Her skirt swished over the top of the bunched-up socks. As she turned away he'd noticed a streak of pink in her hair to match the color of her dress. Very unconventional for a exhibitor. Hadn't she been to one of these events before?

  His bot let loose with a sad whine. Damien raised his eyebrows as he looked down at it. Both its eyestalks were fixated on Vallory's retreating figure.

  Good grief, his bot liked her. Really liked her.

  "It won't work," he said to it. The bot looked up at him with just one eyestalk, the other still watching Vallory as she disappeared into the crowd. "Don't get any ideas. Once the show is over, she will be gone, and we will still be here."

  His bot gave another sad sound. A sadness Damien refused to feel. Redpoint One was his home. He had no intention of leaving. Especially not with a self-called nomad. He liked having a home.

  Stealing himself, he turned away from her direction, motioning at his bot. "Come on. Time to get back to work."

  ***

  It took all of Vallory's self-control not to look over her shoulder back at him. Even so, it was as if Damien's stare burned into her skin.

  Silly. At least, she tried to tell herself that.