Shalia's Diary #8

by Tracy St. John

  I was on Kalquor. Against all odds, I’d made it here. I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.

  I rolled out of bed and padded into Anrel’s room. As I’d hoped, she enjoyed her wakeup surprise. Colorful blue lizards darted all over her crib, the tiny creatures singing in lovely, high-pitched bird voices. Drils, I think they’re called. Anrel watched them with wide eyes, laughing as they scurried here and there on quick little feet. The vid simulation wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. Certainly good enough to entertain an infant.

  I changed her diaper, fed her, and hit the dispenser up for my first cuppa. There were also half a dozen stim tabs in the kitchen, and I had one. My caffeine fix needed some extra help.

  The door announce buzzed. “It’s Candy.”

  “Door open,” I said and grinned as she bounded in. She was already dressed, made-up, and coiffed to perfection.

  “Hey! Oh wow, you’ve unpacked already?” she asked in amazement. My few decorations were out on the table and the counter that separated the greeting room from the kitchenette.

  “Mostly,” I said. My answer was ignored as Candy and Anrel squealed at each other.

  “Good morning, sweet girl!” Candy was on the floor with Anrel, laying on the blanket I’d put down and covering my baby’s face with pink-lipstick kisses. Once she’d done that, she looked up at me. “Coffeed up yet?”

  “Working on it.” I raised my cup. It was only half gone, but I felt pretty alert. Stim tabs are good for the quick fix.

  “So, already bringing the clans in, I saw?” She gave me a wink. “You aren’t wasting any time.”

  “Clan Seot decided to surprise me,” I informed her, secure in my innocence.

  “I wouldn’t mind surprises like that,” Candy laughed. “Get a shower, get dressed, and let’s go.”

  Speaking of people not wasting any time. I stretched and yawned the last of my tiredness away. “Where to?”

  “Breakfast first. Then the market. I’m dying to see the shops.”

  “And flirt with the men?” I gave her a knowing look.

  To my surprise, her dismissive shrug seemed genuine. “If you want. Based on that particular eye candy you had surrounding you last night, I wouldn’t look any further.”

  I laughed, but she had a point. Clan Seot was delicious in every way, all right. “They won’t be back until Betra and Oses have gone,” I said as I started for my bath. “Plus I’ve got Mom’s surgeries to contend with, so I’ll be seeing Clan Aslada too. I have to remember to com them and let them know we’re here.”

  I showered quickly and dressed. Since Candy was adorable in a cute little dress, I wore something I thought would pass for stylish too … but comfortable since the orientation vid had shown me there would be some walking involved in our trip to the marketplace.

  I made sure I packed everything I needed for a day out with Anrel in her diaper bag. We had our breakfast in the dining room and went outside.

  It was another fantastically pretty day, going by the overhead vid. A few fluffy clouds drifted across the powder blue sky. Two moons, one a pale white orb similar to Earth’s and one with a greenish-blue tinge, hung like ornaments in the heavens. We trailed after small groups of other Earther women along the wide path that wound from the complex to the market.

  That meant winding past some of the sculptural homes on the ground and the ones high up in the trees. I thought a tree house might be fun to live in, but the thought of Anrel crawling off one of the decks took the charm away. Yikes.

  The residential area gave way to woods on either side of the trail. It was hard to believe we were actually below ground. How had the Kalquorians managed to do this? It was some seriously amazing engineering.

  We came to a place where the trail split into two. The one on the left led into a long tunnel cut into the side of the mine wall. If I remembered correctly, it would empty out onto the pink sanded beach I’d seen from the shuttle yesterday, the one with the cliffs hugging the shore. I could hardly wait to check that out.

  Kalquorians entered and left the tunnel, most coming from or going towards the market area, which was further down the main path that continued straight on. I stopped and grabbed Candy’s arm at the sight of two of them.

  “Look. Kalquorian women,” I whispered.

  Candy looked as awed as I felt. Who wouldn’t be? They were astounding to look at.

  They had the typical black hair, purple eyes, and brown skin of the men. From there, the similarities ended. Oh, they were tall and muscled like the guys, but they didn’t look masculine at all. No, they were definitely females – Amazonian, statuesque females with full bosoms and rounded hips.

  One had sleek hair down to her waist, a gorgeous sheet of blue-black hair. She was more of what I’d call a handsome woman rather than beautiful. Her features were strong and attractive with a square jaw and wide cheekbones. She wore a gown – an all-the-way-to-the-ankles dress – of shimmering purple that matched her eyes. I suddenly felt woefully underdressed. It was sleeveless, showing off those toned shoulders and arms to full advantage. I’d kill for those arms.

  Her companion was no less magnificent. Her hair was wavy, also down to her waist. Her face was prettier than her companion’s, with a delicate nose and small chin. She too had arms to die for, displayed to advantage by the one-shoulder white gown she wore.

  I’m not ashamed to say I envied those women for their amazing physiques. No wonder Dramok Resan always made fun of my puny body. The females of his kind are goddesses.

  They smiled and nodded to the Earther women they passed. Then they saw me with Anrel and stopped short. In an instant, I was face to face with the two superwomen.

  Purple Gown leaned down to gasp over my baby. “Look at her! She looks just like us. Can I hold her?”

  White Gown gave her friend a little shove, shooting me an embarrassed look. “Don’t be rude, Oni. You can’t just rush at strangers and ask to hold their babies.”

  “Oh. Oh, you’re right. I’m sorry.” She gave me a hopeful but conciliatory smile. “I’m Matara Oni, as you just heard.”

  “Hi. I’m Shalia,” I returned. “This is Anrel and my friend Candy.”

  The two women nodded to Candy, who made a kind of curtsey. I think she wasn’t sure how to greet majestic Kalquorian women. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

  White Gown said, “I am Hina. Forgive our excitement. We don’t see babies too often.”

  Oni sighed. “Look how perfect she is! And a girl. You had a girl.” She gave me a look that said she’d give anything to trade places with me.

  Well. Maybe perfect-looking bodies aren’t all they’re cracked up to be after all. I wondered if these two were infertile.

  Oni’s expression said that might be the case. I felt awful for her and held Anrel out to her. “You can hold her.”

  The woman’s eyes went wide. “Really? May I? Oh, come here, beautiful Anrel.”

  She clutched my little girl to her chest, her face alight with wonder and want. Anrel, who liked everyone she met, smiled and waved her little fists at her. Oni and Hina gasped over her, commenting on how wonderful she was.

  “How old is she?” Hina asked me as she took a turn holding her.

  “Four months,” I said. “She’s a little on the small side because she was premature.”

  “She’s perfect,” Oni sighed. “She is exactly how I hoped my daughters might be.” She gave me a sad smile. “I have carried four children. My two sons are healthy, but both my girls miscarried in the third month.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said as Candy made a hurt sound.

  “It happens to most of us that way. I have lost one daughter to genetic abnormalities,” Hina murmured. “Female children are usually damaged in some way. Most don’t make it to birth. Which is why you Earthers have come.”

  “To save us from complete extinction,” Oni agreed. She smiled at me. “It would seem that it was the right thing to do. Anrel is evidence of that. You have a beautif
ul child, Matara Shalia.”

  “Thank you.” I was at a loss as to what else to say. I had come close to losing Anrel to the It, but that loss had not materialized. I was in no position to fully understand the pain those women had borne.

  Hina handed Anrel back over to me. I actually felt guilty that I had my baby when they’d lost three between them. I watched them head for the tunnel, my chest tight.

  Candy was sober as she watched them too. “We are lucky, Shalia.”

  “I know,” I said. I clutched Anrel close to my body, thinking how empty life would be without her.

  We continued on our way. We were quiet in the wake of meeting Oni and Hina, not commenting on the swaths of rainbow flowered fields that had taken over for the woods. I think it was only about a quarter of a mile further when we entered the market area.

  We arrived in a square. Its central feature appeared to be a miniature mountain, the peak of which reached for the ‘sky’ hanging over our heads. A couple of Kalquorian men were climbing the thing. It kind of looked like fun.

  Candy and I walked around it, impressed by the idea that one could climb a mountain under the ground. We were delighted to see the waterfall on the side opposite where the climbers scaled. It splashed into a basin that proved to be the home of small swimming animals with pelts of colorful fur. I thought they must be someone’s pets having a lark, but Candy pointed out their webbed feet and gills. Cool.

  We noted that there were men doing various things around the mountain/waterfall. One played a haunting tune on the spookiest sounding instrument I’d ever heard. Candy said the wavering high-pitched sound reminded her of something called a theremin. It put goosebumps on my skin, and Anrel made a face that expressed her uncertainty about the strange noise. We moved away from it before she could get upset.

  Another man was fashioning furniture out of branches of trees. He amazed us with his carving skills. He’d cut the lengths of wood to make legs for tables, but he hadn’t stopped there. While we watched, he etched figures and scenes into the gleaming wood that naturally shined as if lacquered. The carvings were as stunning as any sculpture I’d ever seen. It made me wish I had a home to furnish with his work.

  Another man was reciting a story. My Kalquorian had improved to the point where I could pick up that it was either some legend or a tale from the old Nobek’s personal past. His face was scarred enough to make me believe he had been in the war party that was the feature of his story, a group of Nobeks facing impossible odds during a fight against the Bi’isils and their enslaved Tragooms. His deep voice rang with passion, making me wish I could understand better. Other younger Nobeks, some in military garb, sat at his feet, their gazes intent on the battered gray-haired warrior, their expressions admiring despite his old, bent frame.

  The smell of food cooking was thick in the air, making me wish I hadn’t already eaten breakfast. Once we tore ourselves away from the sights around the mountain feature, we realized the buildings surrounding us were mostly restaurants.

  “Looks like we’re set for lunch,” Candy said happily. “Let’s see what’s next.”

  The orientation video I’d watched had given me some idea of what to expect. In the former mine, the market squares lay one after another, like a string of pearls. They all had performers who promoted their crafts and performing abilities for the entertainment of shoppers. Each square featured a particular type of shopping. The first had been restaurants. The second was clothing and gifts and personal services, the third grocery items, and the fourth offered home furnishings.

  I told Candy all this as we walked on to the second square. “Well, we don’t need groceries and furniture is definitely not on the list,” she said. “So I guess this is the place we want to be.”

  It certainly was. I saw holographic displays before the shops, showing passersby what each place featured. “Let’s do a loop around and then figure out where we want to go first,” Candy suggested as she peered at her handheld. She’d brought up her account information and frowned over the amount. “I want to get an idea of prices and what I want most before I start throwing my money around.”

  “Smart,” I agreed as I dug my handheld out of Anrel’s diaper bag. “Let me see what I’ve got to work with.”

  My eyes went wide to see the number my account claimed I had. “What in the world?” I said out loud. “There shouldn’t be this much money. Someone at the bank, or whatever Kalquorians use, made a mistake.”

  “Doesn’t Anrel get an allowance too as a Kalquorian citizen?” Candy asked.

  “Yes, but at four months old, this is still too much. Show me transactions,” I ordered the handheld.

  The display had me groaning. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Those generous fools.”

  “Who?”

  “My dads. Clan Bitev.” I gave Anrel a rueful smile. “They said they were going to contribute to our welfare, but I didn’t expect this. It’s too much.”

  “I bet they wish they were doing more,” Candy grinned. “They’re such sweethearts.”

  “Too sweet,” I sighed. “Well, Anrel is growing like crazy. I have clothes she’s just now starting to fit, but she’ll be out of them in an instant. The extra money will be nice.”

  Candy rolled her eyes. “I was betting you’d spend all your money on her. Now that you have a little more, you should get yourself something nice too.”

  I shrugged. “I could use new weight-training gloves. I tore up my old ones during the Tragoom attack.”

  She shook her head at me. “Wow, what a splurge.”

  We set off on our spree. We soon found that Earther women were still new enough that there wasn’t a ton of options to choose from as far as clothing was concerned. There was even less for babies. Only three shops had ready-made clothes for Candy and me, and one for Anrel. The items were nice however, and the proprietors – one of whom was Earther herself, about the age of Katrina – promised us they got shipments of new items in once a month. I picked out a few items for Anrel and after Candy kept bugging me, I bought myself a new blouse.

  There was a custom shop too that would fit us with any of its thousands of designs, all guaranteed to be delivered within an hour. It was a bit pricey, which led Candy and I to decide we’d come there for special occasion wear only.

  I spent a decent amount on little specialty snack items, especially chocolate. That was pricey as could be since cocoa is getting hard to come by. The owner of the gourmet foods store said there were plans for a cocoa bean farm on one of the Kalquorian colonies soon. I was glad to hear that, along with the news of plans to cultivate coffee beans as well.

  I really didn’t spend much, certainly not all of my personal allowance. I didn’t touch any of what I thought of as Anrel’s money or what my fathers had contributed. Still, I’m ashamed to admit the greater part of what I did spend was on alcoholic beverages. Not that I planned to become a big drunk or anything. I just wanted to have refreshments on hand when Oses and Betra came over. I also thought I shouldn’t depend on Clan Seot or any other dates to supply all my party booze. When I invited someone over, I wanted to be a halfway decent hostess.

  The fees for having the shops deliver our goodies were reasonable, and we gladly paid rather than having to lug everything back to the complex. I was particularly delighted since I carried Anrel. Even with her in the carrier pouch that kept her close to my chest, it would have been awkward work to deal with all that.

  It was no surprise that we and the other Earther women roaming the marketplace received a ton of attention from the men. Bows, smiles, and compliments were the order of the day as we were flirted with. I had to stop often so people could exclaim over Anrel and tell her what a lovely mother she had. Candy, looking like a ray of sunshine with her gold curls, got her fair share of attention too. I was amused at the diffident attitude she adopted, as if the compliments were only a vaguely polite exchange of pleasantries. Ms. Bubbly was playing hard-to-get today.

  We were left the liquor st
ore and readied to return to the first square to decide on our lunch choice. “Let’s make it cheap,” Candy sighed. “I went through most of what I had.”

  “I can cover your lunch,” I said. My stomach was talking and I wanted something good.

  Before she could respond, my name rang out from two different directions.

  I turned first to the more familiar voice and saw Betra and Oses coming from the direction Candy and I were planning to head towards. Yay! The guys were here!

  Then I looked in the other direction to see who else wanted my attention. The beaming trio of Seot, Cifa, and Larten were heading my way.

  Well. This was looking awkward.

  “Oh boy,” Candy breathed, a smirk spreading over her face. “Looks like I got front row tickets to the show.”