“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “I’d prefer for you to make something you’d like to eat.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” A smile quirked her lips. “Besides, it’s not only you’re celebrating.”
Her words caught me off guard. “You mean you’re coming back to Earth? With me?”
“Sh!” Maisie said, shushing me and glancing at the empty canteen’s door. “Keep your voice down. We don’t want the crew overhearing about our plans now, do we? I’ll return with you, once… everything’s been sorted out between you and the captain.”
I tried to gauge what she knew by her expression. Had Nighteko told her about the poison in her food? Did he want her to be a part of it?
“I don’t know the details,” Maisie said. “And I don’t need to. You’re up to something. You were so intent on returning home when I met you that I doubt you would accept working here if going home wasn’t on the table. And I’ve decided to join you. I’ve spent too long running away from old demons. I’ve seen a whole lot worse than what awaits me back in Scotland.”
I embraced her. She was kind and good and deserved a good retirement.
Maisie wiped a tear of joy from her eye. “Now, be a dear and go fetch the cake tin for me. It’s in the pantry.”
I entered the pantry with a hop in my step. It was great news. I would take Maisie under my wing the same way she had taken me under hers in this place. I would make sure she was comfortable and cared for. I couldn’t wait to show her how the world had changed.
The door shut behind me with a solid thump. It was heavy enough for it to be a struggle to get it open in the first place.
The pantry was lined with entire shelves of ingredients. Most were completely unknown to me—which wasn’t much of a surprise considering how little I knew about cooking.
Here, there was some crushed blue flower in a plastic pouch. It was labeled in Maisie’s delicate hand as: “CINNAMON POWDER”. Although, I had to say, I’d never seen blue cinnamon powder before. I guess when you were traveling the galaxy, you had to make do with whatever you could find.
On another shelf, purple orbs that seeped oily liquid that gathered in the corners of their plastic pouch. I curled my nose up at it. I read the label: “CHOCOLATE”.
My mouth fell open and my eyes bulged. I became fixated on it. I glanced at the pantry door. She wouldn’t mind… would she? Of course not. She was a human female. She understood these things.
I couldn’t help myself. I reached inside for one of those slimy little balls. I hesitated for just a moment. What if this was a trap to see if I could keep my dirty little mitts off the ingredients? If I could be trusted? I shrugged. It was worth the risk. I pressed the ball to my tongue.
At first, it tasted nothing like chocolate, but musty and old like I’d just stuck a dirty flannel in my mouth. And then the flavor came. It wasn’t just chocolate. It was chocolate mousse and black forest gateau all in one. Once you got past the initial taste, it really popped.
I wiped the juice off my mouth and licked my fingers. But the liquid stained the tips of my fingers. There was no getting it off.
Caught purple-handed.
I slipped the tray back on the shelf and looked for the cake tin. I moved along the long shelves until I reached the end. With so little space in the kitchen, the pantry was the only place to store the larger cooking utensils.
Much of it was dented and cracked, but it was all polished to a high shine. I imagined Maisie promising the crew the most delicious food the galaxy had to offer… so long as they salvaged the best equipment they could get their hands and hooves on. That was probably how she got so many ready ingredients too.
Living on a ship packed with testosterone-fueled males was just about tolerable so long as they had a good meal in their bellies.
The cake tin was at the top. Of course. I brought the stepladder over and climbed to the top. It was a little rickety beneath my feet. I grabbed it and came back down. Me and stepladders were not a good mix.
The moment my foot hit the floor, I heard a thunderous crash.
I shuddered and thought I’d caught something with my elbow—it wouldn’t be the first time—but when I noticed there were no shards on the floor, I knew the noise had to have come from outside.
My blood turned cold.
The stepladder clattered behind me as I raced for the door. I shouldered it open and stepped on a piece of broken crockery.
The ceramic shards lay scattered, powder drizzling as if it were raining. But none of that caught my attention.
Maisie lay on the floor, unmoving, curled into a tiny ball, a fist pressed tightly to her chest. She lay still.
Too still.
“Maisie?” I said, dropping to my knees beside her. “Maisie?”
I clicked my fingers and poked her gently. She didn’t respond. I pressed my fingers to her throat and felt for her pulse.
There wasn’t one.
Nighteko
I placed the white sheet over Maisie’s delicate face. All her warmth had drained, turning her skin dull gray.
In my culture, we left the deceased’s eyes open so they could forever watch the stars circling above. This was not the human custom. Alice insisted on closing Maisie’s eyes. It made her look like she was asleep and hadn’t left this world.
The crew looked somber, their hands clasping their hats before them. I nodded, and they stepped forward to pick her tiny body up before gently placing her inside the escape pod located in the engine bay, in an object Alice called a coffin.
Save for Stryder, who stood at my shoulder, my entire crew was inside the escape pod. I felt
