Which meant she needed to worry about herself. Needed to get to the other side of the door. Her feet pounded against the metal floor of the corridor.
So close.
A flash of copper.
Vallory skidded to a halt instinctively. She whirled around just in time to see Penny coming out of a pipe and wall, solidifying into her solid form to perch on top of a front pipe.
Penny cocked her head at her and squeaked before giving a pleased hum.
"Now's not the time. We have to get out of here." Vallory shoved the computer into her purse as she rushed forward. Penny allowed herself to be picked up and cradled in both of her arms.
That was, until Vallory turned back towards the closing door.
Penny let out an angry yowl, sounding like a wild alley cat. Her soft paws prickled with tiny claws that dug into Vallory's skin. Then she tried to climb over Vallory's shoulder.
Daubpups weren't really big, but still the size of a medium-sized dog. Enough to make that climbing uncomfortable.
"We need to leave, Penny. Stop it!"
Which Penny ignored, of course. She planted all legs on Vallory's shoulder, pushing her head to the side with the big body there. Vallory trying to catch her didn't work. Penny launched herself right back to the pipe behind them.
Vallory whirled back, shaking her hair back away from her face. "Fine, stay here. Come to me on the other side when you are ready…"
The words trailed off. Her steps backwards also faltered.
All because of the sight of a new moving shape. A small one on the same pipe as Penny, nuzzling Penny's front chest. One with a stripe of Penny's copper fur, but then also stripes of gold and a deep emerald green.
What little air remained in Vallory's lungs expelled.
Another daubpup. One only as big as Penny's head. It could be only one thing...
A small baby daubpup.
She held her breath as she stared. So beautiful. So cute.
But, here and now? Why?
A sharp clang echoed down the corridor.
With horror she looked back at the door. How could she forget about it closing?
The door stood still, half closed over the entrance of the corridor. Good, still time to get through and out of this crazy part of the station.
Vallory turned back to the daubpups, lifting Penny from the pipe. "We can't wait. Come on, bring your baby."
Penny cooed at the new little daubpup, who looked up at Vallory with large nervous eyes. Big round eyes with the same copper flecks among the brown that Penny's had. Vallory didn't want to scare it, but they really needed to get out of the corridor. She held out an arm to it.
"Time to go, little one," Vallory said in the softest voice she could manage.
A small soft paw reached out to rest on her arm. Then another. Yes, the baby was getting braver, especially with several pounds of it's mother cradled to Vallory's chest.
A clang, one that set all three of them jumping, preceded the door starting to close. The baby squeaked in protest as Vallory picked it up and set it on the back of Penny.
"Sorry, time to run!" And that she did. Not easy to run fast with her arms full, but at least they were all together.
The solid bulk of the door grew, blocking off the width of the corridor. Barely enough to get by now, if she could reach it in time.
With a shriek of metal, and other undefined noises, the door slammed shot with one violent jerk.
Vallory came to a stop only a few steps away.
It had been moving so slowly before, and only now it decided to close fast? Did the station want to trap her in this area for some reason?
"Anyone there?" Vallory asked, her voice breaking. Silly. If she really wanted to know, she should yell.
As she drew breath into her lungs to let out a suitable yell, the other lights in the corridor turned off in unison. In the pitch black that surrounded her, she lost the air in her lungs. No lights no matter how she turned. The lights in the side corridors must have turned off, as well. Nowhere was there even a glimmer. No side glow. Nothing.
She hugged Penny closer, focusing on the feel of the soft fur brushing against her skin.
She felt a paw at the base of her throat. A tiny paw, soon followed by another higher up. Vallory smiled despite herself. The baby. It was using her to climb. Just like the adults, they loved to climb. All daubpups loved to climb. The instinct must start from birth.
"Okay, we have a problem," Vallory whispered, trying to control her shivers. Hard to, considering how heavy the darkness weighed, pushing in from all directions. So heavy, so cold.
What direction should she go? She briefly considered setting Penny on a shoulder so she could use her hands to feel her way along the wall. Maybe find another way out, such as a door.
She dismissed that idea. Penny was much too big to properly perch on her shoulder. Besides, the baby was now there, snuggling her neck with its tail trying to curl around the back of her neck. A baby that was humming to itself with happy little squeaks interrupting the humming.
"At least one of us is happy."
Penny gave a shake and let out a small yip. Still staying there, though. That was a good sign. Maybe Penny was done getting into trouble today.
Vallory inched to the side, trying to find the wall with her elbow. It shouldn't be too far…
And froze again.
A new light source glowed among the inky blackness, blue and soft. The color shifted, turning to a deep red. All of it coming from the bundle in her arms.
Penny craned her head to look up at Vallory, her eyes glowing copper.
Vallory let out another breath. "Right. The notes mentioned sometimes glowing."
As in, observed only once during a moonless night by one of the first biologists to describe the daubpups. No wonder she didn't think of it.
Penny pushed at her arms, and with one quick movement, jumped to the ground. The baby continued to nuzzle Vallory's neck right under her ear, apparently in no hurry to follow Mom.
Penny shook herself, the glow following the movement of fur. With a pleased yip, she started trotting down the corridor.
Vallory followed, putting both hands out in front of her. Her eyes adjusted, allowing her to see the reflection of Penny's glow on the nearest pipes and conduits. Barely, but it was enough to keep from running into anything.
"Don't get too far ahead," Vallory whispered. Both Penny and the baby gave a short hum in response.
Penny's glow disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. A second later, Vallory's hand touched a wall.
"Penny, get back here. I can't go through walls," Vallory said out loud.
In the absence of Penny's glow, the baby's glow started to show. A soft pink, barely lighting the top of Vallory's shirt. Vallory lifted her hand to stroke its soft fur. "Mom should be back soon."
At least, she hoped so. How long would it take Penny to realize they weren't behind her?
Her. Now that was an interesting thought. She now had evidence of a gender for one of the daubpups. That was, if genders among the species could be described in a known manner.
As if in response, Penny reappeared, her deep red glow bright in the pitch black. Penny looked up at her, setting a paw on the wall.
"Penny, you know I can't go through a wall. Find a door," Vallory said.
Penny disappeared again. Vallory blew at the hair falling into her face. It really was hard to tell how intelligent they were. Sometimes it seemed they understood what she said to them. She really hoped this time was one of those.
"Please, Penny. I can't go through walls," Vallory said when Penny reappeared. To which, Penny gave a frustrated squeal. Not a good sound, and if she decided to head off with her baby, Vallory might be in a lot of trouble.
Penny headed back through the wall. With only her glowing tail still in sight, a new light appeared to the side and towards the bottom of the wall. A bright brilliant white light that made her eyes water.
It grew in size and
intensity. She squinted at a form appearing in the middle of the light. A familiar oblong rounded shape with two lines standing straight up at one end. The shape whistled at her, the two lines bobbing.
A bot. One of the station bots.
"Damien?" Vallory asked, her voice cracking. Please, let it be him. Let him have found her. She edged along the wall towards the light, her eyes slowly adjusting.
The bot whistled at her urgently, backing back into the light. Vallory moved faster, dropping to her knees in front of the opening.
The red bot waited for her on the other side, along with its small hovering trailer. The same one she'd followed into the corridors in the first place. It came back for her!
With a lifted heart, she dropped to her hands and knees and started crawling through the hatch. The baby clung to her shoulder all through it, humming and squealing so much like her mother liked to do, that it made Vallory want to laugh.
She pulled her legs through the hatch, back into a bright corridor. Penny appeared out from the wall and bounded over to them. With a paw on Vallory's folded legs, she reached up to rub noses with the baby. Vallory scratched Penny along the back, eliciting more happy noises.
To the bot, she said, "Thank you for coming back to me. I don't know what happened in there. I didn't touch anything."
But, maybe Penny and her baby did as they walked back and forth through walls? Could they have triggered something?
The sound of a deep horn sounded through the corridor. So low that she felt it more than heard it. The small bot looked up at the ceiling at the same time as the rest of them. The sound faded away to be replaced by harsh slams and clangs. Including one directly next to them.
Vallory stared at the hatch she'd just climbed through. A solid piece of metal blocked the way. A bulkhead? Whatever it was, somehow she knew it wasn't going to open now. Not even for the bot. She also knew, as if from instinct, that the other side still lay in silent darkness.
This part of the station felt normal. They were safe here, she reminded herself.
And yet, she still shivered.
CHAPTER SIX
ANOTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL down.
Not a good time for a failure to happen. During the Pet Show? No, it should be when they tested all the equipment before putting it all in storage, or when pulling it out to set up the show.
Damien stood. The service aisle between two rows of enclosures was already small, but the boxes and bags of supplies the exhibitors stored there made it even smaller.
His bot reached up with a robotic arm, offering to take the defective controller. Damien handed it over. "And which one is next?"
The bot zipped between his legs and headed in the opposite direction with a fading whistle.
"Right, the glowing cats." Glowing cats that apparently liked things nice and hot, in contrast to Vallory's daubpups who apparently hated high heat.
Just the thought of her brought up her face in his mind. A very nice face, and the rest of her was fine, as well. Including a sharp mind.
He found himself frowning as he moved to the next problem enclosure. Yes, a sharp mind, and sometimes sharp tongue, but there was something else going on there. While she was obviously devoted to the needs of her pets, she wasn't so much to the pet show.
He automatically went through the motions of finding the problem and starting to fix it, allowing his years of working with the station to guide his way. Ah, the connection to the station facilities had degraded. How odd. Testing should have spotted the problem before pets were even put in the enclosure.
One part of his mind continued the repair, while the other side mulled the problem of Vallory Schist. The repair was more straight forward. The issue of Vallory proved more challenging. The pets belonged here at the show. Cute, lovable, a little mischievous. The attendees would love them.
Was Vallory here out of a sense of duty? Because breeders tended to do shows like this to show off new pets or breeds, whether or not they were for sale? If so, there were other avenues to get word out. She didn't have to come here. Considering the expense of attending, even doing smaller shows on whatever her home planet was would have worked better.
Which brought to mind something else. Did she even have a home planet?
"I have a home. It's here," Damien murmured. His bot gave him a firm bloop of agreement. He grinned. "Glad you agree."
He didn't even try more names with his bot. He'd tried all morning to no avail. How embarrassing to be reduced to looking up baby names in an effort to find a name. Why did it bother him, anyway? He'd gone how many years without his bot having a name, and now he was looking up lists of baby names to try out? If he were looking through those types of lists, it should be to look up baby names for a coming baby.
He clamped that thought down so hard that his hand flexed on a circle of metal. The sharp edge cut into his hand.
He took a deep breath and forced his hand to open. A trickle of blood came from the fleshy part of the palm under the thumb. His bot moved in close, erupting with worrying noises.
"It's fine," he automatically told it. One day it would happen. One day he would find someone to share that life with him. To set up a home and start a family.
One thing he knew for certain, it would not be with Vallory Schist, the self-proclaimed nomad.
Her voice came drifting over the sound of the crowds. Vibrant and clear. And angry?
Damien finished reattaching the environmental controls, pleased to find his scanner showing it working. The temperature ticked upwards a fraction of a degree.
He stood, trying to determine the direction of her voice. Why angry? Other than in a hurry, she'd been in a good humor this morning. Perhaps someone was messing with her pets? They weren't far from her enclosure. Just down the service aisle a bit.
His bot tapped his hand with a metal hand. Damien glanced down, realizing he still held the defective part. He let his bot take it. It headed off down the aisle towards their waiting cart.
More raised voices, of which one was Vallory. Despite himself, he found himself heading towards her enclosure. If someone were giving her grief or bothering her daubpups, they would find that both of them had another protector.
Oh great. When did he start thinking like that? Not good.
And yet, he still continued on his way, unable to stop himself.
He slipped out of the narrow aisle next to her enclosure. The public aisle on the other side was still full, but there was an empty area around a small group with Vallory in the center.
She held a daubpup, the one that was the color of an old-fashioned penny. Wasn't that the name of the creature, as well? He couldn't remember. She'd talked to several of the animals the last time.
"Just what are you trying to say, Mr. Pyman?" Vallory challenged.
And challenged beautifully. Pale skin with spots of red on her cheeks. Leaning forward with her shoulders, feet planted firmly, placed under her shoulders as if ready to fight or dodge either direction. He had a feeling she would have had her fists on her hips if she wasn't carrying Penny.
"Now, now. We don't need to do this here," Ms. Mishley said, standing to the side. The woman looked like a regular exhibitor, with a nice gray suit against which her pets would display well, complete with a conservative skirt and flat shoes.
Then there was Vallory. She really didn't look like any of the other exhibitors. Not with her long flaring skirts, salmon-colored shirt with a dainty golden crocheted over-shirt. And yet, it fit her well. He tried to imagine her in a gray or dark-blue suit and failed utterly.
"What am I saying?" Mr. Pyman's voice raised a tick. "That every time another pet enclosure is found empty, here you come a few minutes later."
Other exhibitors loosely ringing the smaller inner group murmured agreement. Obviously, other's had noticed.
"I have meetings," Vallory said, her voice rising to meet his. The daubpup in her arms squirmed, as if wanting to escape the conflict. Damien didn't blame it.
&nbs
p; "Has another pet gone missing?" Damien asked, leaning against the edge of her enclosure. He purposely kept his voice calm.
Mr. Pyman glared at him for only a brief moment before returning his full attention to Vallory. "One last night, one this morning, and now another just before the show ends for the day. And every time, here she comes, trailing after." Mr. Pyman's ample chin jutted forward, jiggling the second chin under it. "Coming back to see how everyone reacts to your handiwork?"
Vallory's sharp intake of breath was short and small, but easily heard in the sudden silence around them. Her skin went even more pale. The daubpup in her arms let out a squeek, and he saw her forcing herself to loosen her grip.
"You're accusing me of being the thief?" Vallory's asked, the words shaky. With more control, and her anger rising again, she nearly shouted, "I am not a thief!"
"I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion at this point. From what I understand, the investigation is still ongoing," Damien said before she could say anything more.
Mr. Pyman gestured angrily at her. "I just told you why! Who else could it be?"
"Plenty of people. Security created a special team to look into it," Damien said. He pushed off the corner of the enclosure and also gestured towards Vallory, but specifically towards Penny. "To me, it looks like she had an escapee today?"
She nodded at his question, hugging Penny tighter. "This is my group's escape artist."
"Simple explanation," Damien said.
"Yes, yes," Ms. Mishley said, wringing her hands together as she looked between the two nervously. "I have an escape artist myself."
Some of the others didn't look so convinced. The situation needed diffusing and fast. This wasn't an argument to have in the open with visitors all around them. He should probably get Security over here to break it up. In fact, they should have already noticed. What was wrong with Security this year? No wonder pets were disappearing if this was their response time.
He froze. Something was pulling at his pant let. Another of her pets escaped?
Only, it wasn't one of the other pets. This one was so much smaller. A baby? He didn't remember a baby from the day before.
Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance) Page 6
