Te’rnu needed no further prompting - and stepped forward into the suit. It instantly came into life and adapted to his form, with all those satisfying whirring noises that accompanied such mechanical genius.
‘How’s it fit?’ I asked him.
‘It is…,’ he began, fumbling for the buttons on his helmet, but not finding any. Looking down at his arms, however, he noticed some, and pressed at a button. The helmet unfolded from his head, retreating back into the body of the suit. ‘It is good! Better than a title, I think, too.’
I laughed. ‘We shall see. Get on your knees.’
Te’rnu narrowed his eyes. ‘Why?’
‘Terran thing. Just do it.’
Reluctantly, he got to his knees. I picked up one of the longer boxes from in front of the broken U’kka dispenser, and tapped Te’rnu on either shoulder.
‘When you rise, you shall rise as Sir Te’rnu, knight of Z’h’ar!’
He looked up and broke into a wide grin. ‘Knight of Z’h’ar! I like that.’
‘Better than the mechsuit?’
‘Not quite. Sorry.’
I snickered again. ‘Fair enough.’
The control panel at the front of the ship beeped. Ahead, sparkling in the distance, our destination was just about in sight.
Epilogue
We collected Mel and landed on Itagurinatipilazutinafi, where her father welcomed us. Mel explained to him - sparing absolutely no detail, and going off on a lot of tangents along the way - how we’d been the ones to save her. Her father responded, in turn, by hugging each of us for several minutes. He was so happy, in fact, that Te’rnu and I each were left with a wet patch on our shoulders from where the tears of joy had flowed.
We were hosted by his family for several days, each day treated to new feasts, activities, and everything else that the planet had to offer. If solving every case had been rewarded like this one was, I might have tried harder in my work.
On our second day on Itagurinatipilazutinafi, Mel, Te’rnu and I were given, free of charge, access to the planet’s premier spa. While Mel and I gushed in agreement that this was exactly what we both needed after everything we’d been through, Te’rnu tried to eat every product the attendants put on his face.
Leave the cucumbers alone, Te’rnu.
Between treatments, I received a message on the console from my mother which made my gut twist in horror. The communication, with no signs that she was speaking ironically or that she was under duress, told me that she was proud of me. When I replied, pressing her on this further, it turned out that our rescue of Mel had made galactic news - even if it was a little overshadowed by the revolution on Z’h’ar.
If I had felt any joy in reading those messages from my mother, it was whipped away from me when a second communication came in - from Saotchun.
I groaned audibly as I realised that it was from him. Te’rnu’s face shot up from a mud bath when he heard this.
As always, I skimmed the agency message.
…where the hell are you? We have people ringing for you! Jobs to be done! … Heard about the bonus that the client sent you. Regulations stress that such bonuses must be paid directly to the employer, a.k.a. me. … I expect the units to be deposited by … If you wish to continue with your employment here at this renowned agency, you shall respond within …
I huffed and sighed as I skimmed it, and suddenly realised that Te’rnu was reading it over my shoulder.
‘This is your new boss?’ he asked me.
I rolled my eyes and nodded. ‘’Fraid so.’
‘I… have an idea.’
I turned to face him properly. ‘What is it?’
‘Do you remember when I boarded the ship for the first time? And you asked me what I would do out here amongst the stars?’
‘Yeah…’
‘I could work for you.’
I moved to speak, but Te’rnu interrupted me before I could.
‘Let me finish, please! I could work for you, and you could be the boss. I know you were sent a reward for your work. Do not give it to this… Saotchun. Use that to start your own agency, where you can take the cases you want, and where you get to take the rewards for yourself. You do not need to work for these people. You are smart. You are capable. I know this.’
‘And… you would work for me?’
‘Yes,’ Te’rnu replied, nodding. ‘You would teach me. I would be your assistant. If that would be OK with you, that is.’
‘I don’t know, Te’rnu… starting a new business, it’s difficult, and it’s hard to find new work and get off the ground, and…’
‘I read that message, Syl. There are people calling for you, this Saotchun says. I know that I know little of the galaxy, but my understanding is that there will be no shortage of work out there.’
I considered this for a moment. Deep down, I knew there was only one real answer:
Fuck it.
‘OK.’
Te’rnu’s eyes widened. ‘OK? You will do it?’
‘Yes,’ I replied, watching as a smile took over Te’rnu’s face. ‘But we only take cases that will help people, if we can. Deal?’
‘Yes! Deal. I agree,’ Te’rnu replied. ‘And…’
‘And what, Te’rnu?’
‘I know you were not able to decode all of Leya’s journal. But we have a part of it. We can take jobs on planets that we know she visited. We can learn more. Perhaps we can decode more, too. Maybe we will even find her along the way.’
I found my mouth stretching into a smile. ‘Yeah. Maybe we will.’
A GALAXY, ALIVE continues...
A Galaxy, Alive continues in book #2, A Planet That Longs To Forget - PREORDER NOW.
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