An Unexpected Debt

by S. J. Pajonas

  With a few more keystrokes, Carlos wiggles his fingers in the air.

  “Ai, say hi to Skylar, and welcome back to the Amagi.”

  We both suck in our breaths and wait, but it only takes a millisecond.

  “Well, I do declare. It looks like I’m back in the Amagi’s good graces once more. Who’s ready for an orgy?” Ai asks.

  I let out my held breath, and Carlos swears lightly.

  “Welcome back, Ai.” I clap my hands together. “Now, let’s work on our first plot of revenge. You up for some data hunting and hacking.”

  “Oh honey, Skylar, that’s music to my ears. Who are we ruining today?”

  I place my hand on Carlos’s shoulder and drop my head.

  “The battle has begun.”

  I can hear Carlos roll his eyes without having to see it for myself.

  9

  Once I make some plans with Ai on what to do about Takemo, I head back to my room and prep to leave the station. I shuck off my fancier, less comfortable clothes and slip into something softer and easier on my body. I’ve had nothing but aches and pains since the last weeks of flight school, and I would do anything to ease them. What I need is a nice hot bath. Oh, wow. That sounds heavenly just about now.

  I stare into my bathroom at my pulse shower and frown. Why didn’t I take a bath when I was planetside? I wish I thought about these things before running off to handle another task for another ungrateful family member.

  Grabbing my wristlet, I lie on my bed and take five minutes to page through my messages. I really don’t have the time for this, but these are the little things in my life that need to get done.

  First, there’s a vidmessage from my older brother, Oliver. His face appears on my screen, and I immediately swipe it away. No. Not today. Screw that. I scan the transcript of the vidmessage, and it tells me all I need to know. He’s upset about having to house Dominic and Jukia, and he can’t believe Ana is moving into my dad’s place.

  “I’ll do this, but I’m not happy about it. You owe me,” he says.

  “In what fucking universe?” I reply under my breath. If anything, these lazy men owe me. I’ve seen how good consorts and husbands are supposed to behave now after helping Vivian put her relationship network together, and I will settle for nothing less. And I certainly won’t be coddling my spoiled brothers anymore, that’s for sure.

  I fire off a quick text reply.

  “Learn to be happy with what you get. I owe you nothing.”

  There. That will probably earn me a load of grief and a talking-to from my mom, but it’s worth it to tell him off.

  My inbox is loaded with messages from pretty much everyone. Mom called to find out what happened with Takemo Diaz. So now she’s talking to her spoiled brat daughter? My older brother, Raphael, is wondering when I’ll be in town again, probably to hit me up for money. Vivian is checking in to see how things are on the Amagi.

  My finger hovers over the option to call her back. I should. I should ping her and tell her about what happened to the Mikasa. As it is, she’s going to find out from Mom soon enough. Vivian is bound to ramp up the business, and she’ll need the Mikasa for shipping. But the Mikasa will be hauling trash, and Mom said she would have to decline work for Kawabata Holdings. Vivian will ask me if I knew about this, and I’ll try to lie, and she’ll catch me. I can see it all unfold right in front of me.

  And Vivian will be so upset about the situation, too. She’ll blame it on herself, when really, I’m to blame here. I didn’t keep a close enough eye on Mom and her business. I was too busy at flight school to pay attention to the details. My failure sits heavy in my chest, and I close my eyes against the pain. I feel like I can’t do anything right but be a fuck-up. And that’s wrong, so it’s not right.

  Yes, this is the wacky backwards world I live in.

  I would give anything to be doing something different right about now. Maybe I should have become a teacher or an engineer or a love hotel owner. God, anything but this.

  I relax my muscles and sink into the bed.

  How am I going to earn enough money to pay off Mom’s debt? This feels close to impossible.

  But come on, Skylar? You’re smart. Think of something!

  My wristlet buzzes with an incoming communication, and I reluctantly look to see who it is.

  I sit straight up. It’s Amira!

  “Hi!” I say, my smile nearly breaking my face. “You are a sight for sore eyes right now.”

  “Aw shucks, Skylar. You say that to all the pretty girls.”

  I burst into a laugh at her crooked grin. “No, seriously. I’ve been going through my messages for the last ten minutes, and it’s nothing but complaints from my family. I’m super glad you called.”

  “I live to serve,” she says, giving me a jaunty salute. She’s wearing her thick, black curly hair down today. In the background, sunlight streams through gauzy curtains behind her, so she must be on Palo Alto. “I thought I’d check in and see how things are going. Are you making friends? Enemies?”

  “Mostly enemies. I’ve got a real problem I’m dealing with. Mom got into some debt to Diaz Waste Management, and they’re taking the Mikasa as collateral on her loan.”

  Amira is silent and staring at me, horrified, and for a moment, I wonder if I’ve gone too far. I’m never this open with friends.

  “Holy shit, Sky. That’s awful. That’s a fucking Corsair!”

  “Yeah, I know. He’s going to use it to haul trash,” I say, wincing.

  “Haul trash? What the fuck? Who’s doing this?”

  “Takemo Diaz.”

  She raises her eyebrows. “You’re not serious? That guy? The one I see in the gossip news all the time?”

  “The very same.”

  She whistles and sits back. “Of course, we’re going to have to ruin him.”

  I close my eyes and thank the stars I have finally met someone who gets me. Now, I need to work on more friends and men who understand me too.

  “I’m so glad we’re on the same page with this.” I smile at her. “I already have a few things in the works, but hopefully, I can get you involved soon.”

  “Great!” She claps her hands together and rubs them. “So, when are you coming to Palo Alto? Because I’ve got a new man, and I’m eager to throw him into the lion’s den and see if he comes out alive.”

  I press my lips together and nod my head. Damn girl, she works fast. We’ve both been out of school for the same amount of time, and she’s already met someone? And she doesn’t have Marcelo like I do.

  “I’m impressed you’ve found someone so quickly. Fantastic work, my friend.”

  “Don’t get too excited. He’s an old classmate, so he was easy pickings. But still, I think he’s got a lot of potential.”

  “So, you’re on Palo Alto right now?” I ask, switching away from my inbox and coming to my Estrela home screen. Estrela is an interface Carlos put together for us a few years ago to run everything on the duonet with encryption. He’s crazy paranoid like that. He wants nothing running on Athens Industries tech if he can help it. Athens Industries is respected and feared across both the Brazilianos and the Californikos Systems. Vivian works for them now, but there was a point in our journeys where I thought Athens was coming after us to kill us.

  But that’s a long story involving those Rio seeds and the plants that do some freaky shit. That’s Vivian’s territory, not mine.

  “Yeah. I’m still at my parents’. I’ll probably be here for a while until I can figure a few things out.”

  On the Estrela home screen, I access the Ossun-Palo Alto Jump Ring reservation system, and, yay, I can reserve a jump slot for three hours from now. I switch back over to my messages, and there’s one from Marcelo. He wrote to say that he’ll meet me on Palo Alto in Concord City in a day.

  Perfect.

  I’m ready to jet out of here. There’s nothing more I can do on Ossun, especially if Takemo Diaz won’t negotiate.

  He’ll negotiate eve
ntually, but let’s give it some time for my magic to work.

  “Guess what? I can be there in five hours, and it’ll be dinner time. So roll out the red carpet, and let’s hit a hot new restaurant before I have to go do this boring charity event.”

  “Yay!” She raises a fist. “You’ve got it. I shall await your arrival. I hope you love Lebanese food.”

  “I have no idea, and I can’t wait to try it.”

  “We’re all set for tomorrow evening,” Marcelo says, leaning into the vidcall. “I’ve been handling the meetings, and I’ve purchased half of your wardrobe already. When you arrive here tomorrow, you’re to proceed directly to the spa and get cleaned up for the big night.”

  I nod and pretend like I’m paying attention. Sorry, Marcelo, but I’m cataloging everything I need to head down to Palo Alto right now. I’m here sixteen hours early, but he doesn’t need to know that. I’m going to hang with Amira tonight, and I’ll crash at her place. I need a night without obligations because my new life starts tomorrow.

  “So, is this mystery man who likes independent women all set to be my date for the charity event?” I ask.

  Marcelo’s grin is a little wicked, and I swallow down my fear. He’s getting back at me for all the love hotel and sexbot visits, isn’t he?

  “Yes, and I’m going to keep his name a secret until tomorrow. But let’s just say that he’s really excited to be here.”

  “Really excited?” I ask, my eyebrows climbing. “Are you sure he’s not trying to start some kind of devious plan?”

  Marcelo holds up his hands. “I have double and triple checked him to the high heavens. I won’t be caught again with a suitor who has skeletons in his closets.”

  That’s been a problem for Marcelo in the past. Not discounting what happened with Vivian, but Juan, one of Marcelo’s matches to Mom, soured over time. Though I love Juan, Mom’s last consort, he turned out to be a bit of a whacky loner, and Dominic took advantage of him right away.

  Marcelo can’t see into the future, and his overall average is the best in the Duo Systems. I will have to trust in fate.

  “I even called and spoke to his two ex-girlfriends. Let’s hope that solves any impending problems.”

  I nod and purse my lips. Marcelo is on top of things.

  “Are we sure his family is prominent enough? I want to make sure I’m bringing in independent men, too.”

  “His family is great. We’re talking lots of land and a big business, and that’s all I’m saying.” His smile is secretive. “I think you’ll be pleased.”

  I stare hard at the screen, my breathing becoming shallower and shallower. Shit. This is going to fail. I imagine meeting a wealthy and handsome man who finds out about this crap with my mother and my lack of a future, and he walks away. I couldn’t blame him. I want to walk away too. I could kill Mom for indebting us to this filthy rich asshole.

  With Vivian, it was different. She was always a candidate to buy the farm back because the bank played by the rules. Takemo Diaz is an unknown. He could hold on to my mom’s ship and the business forever, just to spite me.

  Say something, Skylar!

  Marcelo deserves to know what’s going on. This shouldn’t blindside him.

  I open my mouth and close it again.

  I need to talk to Amira first. I need to come up with a game plan before I say anything.

  “Okay, then. I’m looking forward to meeting him.” I paint on a confident smile and make sure it reaches my eyes.

  My mom always said I was ‘too smart for my own good,’ and this is a moment when I’m sure she was right. I can read the writing on the wall. I know how much trouble my family is in. This could literally be the end of us if I don’t do something about it.

  And soon.

  Hopefully, I don’t run us into further ruin.

  “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow.” Marcelo leans into his side of the call. “And Skylar?”

  “Yes?” I ask, my hand on the communications console.

  “Tell Amira I said hello.”

  He ends the call, and I close my eyes as my stomach sinks to my shoes.

  Argh! Damned Marcelo! He fucking knows everything, doesn’t he?

  I slam my boot on the console and stomp out of my chair. Well, there’s plenty that he doesn’t know, and if he thinks he’s going to find everything out, he’s sorely mistaken.

  I leave the ship in Carlos’s and Lia’s capable hands and jet down to Palo Alto on the shuttle service.

  10

  Hummus, tabbouleh, kibbeh, olives, and stuffed grape leaves. Bread with the most amazing olive oil. Roasted nuts and vegetables.

  I haven’t eaten this well in a long ass time.

  I lean away from the low table and cover my bulging belly with my hand.

  “I hope you saved room for dessert,” Amira’s mother says, lifting the plates from the table and handing them off to one of her two husbands. “We have rice pudding.”

  When I said a hot new restaurant, Amira’s mom took that as a challenge to cook us a huge meal instead. In this case, I’m totally fine with an evening in. Dinner was delicious.

  I groan but smile at the same time. “I am so stuffed, but I always save room for dessert.” Like every other kid in the universe, I joked that I had a second stomach set aside just for desserts, and it’s true. Dessert is not something I can say ‘no’ to.

  “Let’s grab our drinks and head outside for a walk,” Amira says, pulling herself up off the floor cushions.

  “Yes, yes, young ladies. Go outside and enjoy the fresh air. The hyacinths are in bloom.” Amira’s mom smiles as she pops an olive in her mouth and sits back with her datapad.

  Amira drops her voice. “Mom’s going to get caught up on her latest dramas while we’re out of the house.”

  Her mom smiles and waves her hand at us, shooing us from the room.

  Outside, Amira and I amble through her neighborhood gardens. Everyone on this block shares this outdoor space full of green plants and tall trees to shade us from the sunset. Families stroll the paths while their kids run ahead. Couples take photos together under the wide green trees. It’s a peaceful place.

  “Sorry, Denis couldn’t make it tonight. I was really looking forward to you meeting him.”

  “It’s all right,” I say, walking along at her side. “It was a last-minute idea. I’m glad I could come, regardless. You grew up here?” We find a nearby bench and sit down.

  Amira sips her beer and nods. “Yeah. I think we moved here when I was two? Dad would remember. He’s much better with dates than I am. Most of my family lives around here. I have cousins everywhere.”

  I sit back and stretch my legs in front of me, crossing them at the ankles. “Your mom only has the two husbands?”

  “Now, yes. Reardon, her second, died ten years ago. Bone cancer. It happened so quickly that they couldn’t help him.” She shrugs. “He only fathered my brother, Daiam.”

  “He’s the one in pre-law?”

  She points at me. “The very same.” She inhales deeply and lets all the air out with a sigh. “Ah, it’s good to have you here, Sky. Mom seeing my friends makes this very real, you know?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  Amira has always been a bit of a loner, by her own admission. She studied and worked hard to get her Class Three license in the same flight school class as me. Her family has flown cargo haulers and worked out of Palo Alto for generations. Her father isn’t home right now because he’s out hauling goods from Sonoma to Laguna. Her mother leaves tomorrow to take parts from here to Lee Shipyards. Her entire family is busy busy busy, in and out of space all the time. They don’t own their ships, but their business is worth a lot of money. They secure enough contracts to get the jobs done, and they put their trust in the right people.

  Unlike my mother.

  “I’m terrible about keeping friends. I was always on the move as a kid,” Amira says, her eyes focused on the garden.

  I reach over and squeeze her arm. �
��Me too. I went to far-school a few times before I turned eighteen, but it was never enough to make lasting friends. I wanted to go away to school so badly. All the other ship kids did, you know? But the dads wouldn’t allow it. My only real friend is my cousin, Vivian.”

  She sips her beer again. “We moved here for good when I was in my teens.” She waves her hand. “I mean, we’ve had the place since I was a baby, but that doesn’t mean we spent any real time here.” She chuckles. “Oh no, nothing like that. My brothers lived here with my dad, and Mom and I spent most of our time together flying. Once I got the taste of flying, I couldn’t stop.”

  My breath stops in my chest, and I have to force it up and out.

  “We’re so alike. It’s a little nuts.” I laugh and widen my eyes at her. She laughs, too. “Look, we did what we could, right? We followed the instructions of our parents and kept everything in line. Now, it’s time to make this situation work for us.” I sigh. “I’ve spent years, more than a decade, raising kids and keeping my homestead afloat. Running shipments around for my mom. Finishing up my schooling early so I could be more help at home. Going through one flight school remotely and then our school.” I chug down my beer and stop a burp. “Making sure dishes were washed, and groceries were ordered, and fuel was purchased, and —”

  “Wait, wait,” Amira says, holding up her hand. “You did all that?” When I nod, her mouth drops open. “Holy fuck, Sky. You’re not supposed to be doing any of that. That’s what the husbands and consorts are for.”

  My returning grin is sad. “Not in my family. Those were my jobs. And let me just say, I’m a crap mother to my brothers and sisters. My younger sister, Ana, is so fucked up, and most of it is because of me. I ignored her eating disorder for years because I thought she would just get over it.” I roll my eyes at myself. “How fucking stupid do you have to be to believe that? I should have had her in counseling when she was an early teen.”

  Amira’s breathing is measured. “You said your home life was hard, but this? This is not why relationship networks were developed. What did your mom say about it?”