before she rounded the corner and walked on.
After a short walk Daniel had left the area where all the high building were. He sauntered through a street with respectable establishments. They were all restaurants to him, and he picked one that looked the least fancy. That would be safest in price.
The restaurant, called ‘the Mighty Oxen’, was quiet. A waiter showed him to a table, handed him a menu and walked off with an order for some tea. Daniel was getting used to drinking tea by now. There was no coffee, and the other beverages here probably required being born here to appreciate them.
His food was served quickly and looked good. It tasted good also. Daniel was not in the mood to discover what it actually was made of. That was a challenge for other days. As he was watching some of the other people in the restaurant, suddenly his hydger started rattling. He almost jumped up because of the unexpected sound and prepared for being thrown out for that noise, but nobody seemed to mind.
Daniel quickly picked the small box from his pocket and opened it. At least that would shut the noise off. There was a message on the screen for incoming communication from Mr. Tomlin Barker.
“Tomlin Barker?” Daniel’s jaw was about to drop. He flicked the switch.
The face of a man appeared on the small screen.
The waiter walked up to Daniel’s table and placed a screen around it, so the conversation would not be heard through the entire restaurant.
“Daniel Zacharias. I’ll be damned,” the man spoke from the box. “What in the name of everything that’s unholy are you doing here?”
“Tomlin? Is that really you?” Daniel could not believe his eyes as he looked at the face of his old friend and former partner in crime.
Tomlin Barker had been in the military also. He had served with Daniel for several years, but when he had gotten into some unenjoyable differences of opinion with the “high management”, he had resigned. The two men had kept contact for a few more months, until Tomlin had suddenly vanished.
“It’s me, bud, alive and kicking.”
Daniel stared at the tanned face and the shoulder-length brown hair. “Christ, I would not have recognised you. What are you doing here? And how did you find me?”
Tomlin grinned. “Let’s talk about that somewhere in person. Where are you?”
Daniel told him. Tomlin said he could be in Skarak within an hour and suggested a club where they could meet. “Enjoy your dinner, Daniel, I’m looking forward to meeting you.”
The display faded to its normal grey and Daniel closed the box. “Tomlin Barker. This is insane.”
An hour later, Daniel strolled through the avenue of Loda ko Ubris, looking for the club called Brostil Faring. He found it behind a large fence that was covered with purple plants. Inside, he was greeted by a lady who nodded as he said Tomlin’s name. She led him through a room with large empty sofas and a small crowded bar, guided him into a small hallway and directed him to the door of a private meeting room. “Your party is in there, sir,” the lady said. With a slight curtsey she left him. Daniel knocked on the door.
“Come in, you bloody space cadet!”
The meeting was one of long lost friends. Daniel learnt that Tomlin had first moved back to Earth for half a year. From there he had enrolled in a program to visit and explore new planets, with lots of own initiative. He had gotten to NGC6637-VIII, met a nice girl here and got married. He worked as an engineer now, designing pumps and pressure kettles for factories.
“I admit, it is not the most exciting kind of life,” the broad shouldered man said, “but I love my wife and kids, life here has been very kind to me, and I found that I had all I needed to settle down.”
“And become a good husband,” Daniel added with a grin.
“I hope so. Nadinka has not thrown me out yet, so I must be doing something right,” his friend laughed.
Daniel then told Tomlin about his life and the reason for his deployment to NGC6637-VIII.
Tomlin nodded as he heard about the Bactine surgery. “You always were a better soldier than I was, Daniel. I’m not surprised they patched you up. Already wondered about your strange colour as you came in.”
“So why didn’t you ask me about it?”
“A gentleman does not ask things like that. He waits until he’s told. That is something private,” Tomlin told Daniel.
“Good grief, you’ve really turned into an old gentleman fart from here!” Daniel laughed.
Tomlin grinned. “It grows on you. It does. I’ve learnt to appreciate it, Daniel.” The man was serious now, Daniel knew.
“I am sure, Tomlin. I did not mean to offend you.”
“You never will, old friend.” Tomlin raised his glass with what came closest to cognac on this planet. “To a friendship refound and reforged,” he said, “and to many more meetings like this.”
They toasted.
The evening flew by. Tomlin was quite unstable on his legs by the time they left the Brostil Faring club. Daniel supported him. Again, the alcohol had no effect on his Bactine body, so he made sure that Tomlin got into a carriage safely and checked that the address his friend put into the vehicle’s plate was correct. Tomlin insisted on giving Daniel his address, and after loading that in Daniel’s box, the carriage rattled off.
Daniel started his walk back. At times he grinned, recalling some of the stories Tomlin had told him. Daniel was happy for his friend. Tomlin really had become a citizen of this planet. His life was here now.
Tomlin married. Daniel chuckled at the thought. Daddy Tomlin. That made him grin. His grin froze as through a sneaky back-door the image of his brother Malcolm was thrown in. It made his pace slower and it unsettled him.
“No. You are not going to ruin this night’s memory, Malcolm,” Daniel whispered and shook off the image, forcing his thoughts back to Tomlin and the things they had done together, when Tomlin had been his partner in active duty.
Somewhere, despite (or perhaps because of) the late hour, he had to wait crossing a street as a line of carriages passed by. The curtains over the windows were drawn. Wondering what this caravan was, Daniel watched as the vehicles went by. He just stood there, staring, seeing nothing, as his mind was drifting off into a void.
A gentle tugging at his sleeve brought him back to the side walk in Skarak. He looked down at the rather scruffy boy that peered up at him.
“You well, Seigner?” the child asked. He had a few smears over his forehead and cheeks.
“Yes. I am well. Thank you.”
The boy nodded and smiled. Then he walked away. Daniel wondered why the boy wasn’t at home and in bed. “Hello, boy?”
The child stopped and turned. “Seigner?”
“Are you okay?”
“I am, sir, I am. Thank you for asking.” In the dim light of the street lanterns, the boy smiled again. “Is that all, sir?”
“That’s all.” Daniel was tempted to tell the boy to go home, but something held him back. That was something for… fathers.
“Good night, Seigner,” said the boy and then continued on his way.
Daniel crossed the street and went home himself.
He lay on his bed for several hours, but sleep did not come. His thoughts kept running in circles. They wanted to focus on Tomlin and Malcolm and Tomlin and — “Oh, crap…”
Daniel got up, poured a glass of water and stood in front of the window. His eyes were drawn to the now dark shape that was the Pricosine. A few lights were burning aboard the enormous sailing ship. Then the dancing lights on the water behind the boat attracted his attention, and after lingering there for a while he was looking up at the three pink moons that reflected the light from the giant star that was known as NGC6637.
12. All aboard
