Page 23 of Kranow (Brides of the Mylos #4)
Charlotte congratulated her and suggested they have dinner together to celebrate and do some lesson planning. Marley had suggested having her over but Charlotte quickly shot that down. “ No, no, this is also a celebration! Do you have a favorite place to eat out at? We can go there. I ’ ve been meaning to try some of the cafes within the fleet but felt awkward going by myself, so haven ’ t yet. ”
“ Well, there ’ s Rosa ’ s, ” Marley said. “ And I and some friends just went to Jaffe ’ s which was really good too. ”
“ Rosa ’ s? That ’ s the new Italian place everyone is talking about? ”
“ That ’ s the one. Jaffe ’ s is nearby too, only it serves Mexican. Depends on what you want to eat. I ’ m okay either way. ”
“ You think we can get a table at Rosa ’ s? ”
“ I ’ m sure we can. She leaves one open for Darla, and if Darla ’ s not coming, lets me, Melissa, or Steven use it if we show up and there ’ s no other space. ”
“ Okay, can you call and see? I fancy some tiramisu! ”
Xero took care of arranging the table, Rosa only too happy to juggle the tables for one of the fleet commander ’ s wife ’ s friends. Marley felt a little guilty over that, but shrugged it off. It wasn ’ t her fault that Rosa decided to give them preferential treatment, after all. She ’ d certainly never asked for it, specifically. Given her past, that would be the very last thing she ’ d ever do. She owed the Fleet and the rest of the Mylos, not the other way around.
Once classes were over, she had a call from Kranow. He couldn ’ t talk for long as they were leaving for an exercise, but had been excited to hear about Melissa and Junrig ’ s new baby. He ’ d also asked her questions about her favorite foods and what kind of places she ’ d gone to eat at when Earth side. She figured he was simply curious, as she was going out to eat an awful lot, including tonight, and was trying to feel her out for a celebratory dinner when he got home.
Charlotte met her outside of Rosa ’ s and got up from their table as soon as they placed their order. “ I just want to take some photos, I ’ ve never actually been on this ship. The park and row of shops and restaurants is unbelievable. I want to show these to my family back home. ” Marley watched as Charlotte wandered about, snapping pictures. Once Charlotte returned, she excused herself from their table. Not even in the second bimester, but already got to pee all the damned time. She returned to find their drinks and appetizers had arrived at the table.
“ So, the unit of study is going to relate to animals, ” Charlotte said to her, as she reached down to pick up a piece of cheesy garlic bread. “ Both Earth animals and the most common ones in Mylos. ”
“ Pets or wild animals or both? ” Marley asked, spearing an olive with a toothpick.
“ I was thinking we ’ d start with pets. Cats, dogs, guinea pigs, lizards, turtles, fish, rabbits and so on for Earth. Snarlops, klitherns, polrits, and harjacks for the Mylos ones. ”
“ I have no idea what any of those are, ” Marley laughed. “ Oh, wait, I think I saw a harjack once, in a carrier on the subway thing we took to go back to my sister ’ s house. Looks like a meerkat crossed with a lizard, but with bright pink feathers around its neck like a boa. ”
“ That ’ s it, yes. We won ’ t be having any animals visit, but there ’ s video and soft toys of them, coloring pages, that sort of thing. ”
“ Sounds good. I ’ m guessing there will be children ’ s stories featuring the Mylos animals, just as there are for the Earth ones. ”
“ Definitely. Xero has a list for us to go through. I ’ ll have him select ten of the most age appropriate ones that have picture book editions and we can look at them over lunch and pick five. Then we can pick five for the Earth animals, too. ”
“ Sounds good to me. ”
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their main courses. “ Oh this looks fabulous, ” Charlotte enthused, looking at her lasagna al forno.
“ I had that the last time. Just wait until you taste it, ” Marley told her, moving aside her side plate to make room for her plate of chicken Alfredo.
Charlotte eyed Marley ’ s food. “ Damn, that looks good too. I ’ m going to have to come back here. I ’ m going to get so fat! ”
Their server smiled and asked if they needed a refill on their drinks. Both women demurred as their glasses were only half empty.
They continued chatting, discussing the bulletin board, Marley ’ s tentative thoughts regarding maternity leave, and debating whether to order dessert and stay and eat it or take it away to eat at home later. Charlotte declared herself too stuffed to eat it there, so finally decided to order tiramisu to go. While Charlotte waited for it, Marley went to the bathroom once more. Charlotte ’ s dessert had arrived by the time she returned.
“ See you tomorrow then, if I can roll my fat ass out of bed, ” Charlotte joked.
“ I hear you. I could not eat another bite, I swear. ”
The two women made their way down the promenade, going towards the shuttle bay. “ We should do this again, ” Charlotte said. “ I can try some of that Alfredo or maybe go to Jaffe ’ s for tapas. ”
A roar shook the corridor, tossing the two women to the ground. Marley looked up from the floor. “ Charlotte? ” she asked, reaching her hand out. Why was she covered in dust? Marley blinked, suddenly aware of something heavy on her back. She reached her hand out to touch her friend. “ Charlotte? ”
Charlotte groaned and lifted her head. Except for a goose egg popping up on her forehead and being covered in dust, Charlotte seemed to be okay. “ I ’ m all right. Shit! ” she cried out, looking at Marley. “ Don ’ t move. You ’ ve got part of the ceiling on you! ” Charlotte stood up and began calling for help.
“ Charlotte, what was that? ” she asked, confused. The ceiling? Was that the heavy feeling she had on her back? Had that noise caused this?
“ I think it was a bomb, ” Charlotte said. Another explosion rocked the ship, more debris from the ceiling raining down. Charlotte grunted as it hit them, falling to the floor.
Marley frowned. A bomb? Why would there be a bomb? Surely no one could have sneaked aboard and planted a bomb. The idea was ludicrous. A wave of pain ran through her as she became more aware of the weight upon her back. The pain curiously stopped at her legs, so Marley supposed the panel or whatever it was that fell on her only hit her back. She became aware of screams, the sound of multiple people crying, and the hurried tramp of booted feet. “ Charlotte, we need to get up, in case there ’ s more. ” She spotted a pair of booted feet as someone stopped by them, watching in wonder as a puddle of red made its way towards them, A Mylos bent down and addressed her. “ Just try to remain still, we are going to get this off of you and take you to sickbay. ”
“ Okay, ” she said, as his arm moved to press against her neck. Too late, she realized he meant to give her drugs. “ No, wait, I ’ m pregnant. ” As darkness overtook her, she hoped that whatever he gave her was safe for the baby.