Betsy hung up before he could say more. She leaned back in her chair. “I think you should sit this one out. I don’t think it’ll be interesting. Go home, relax, pack, and prepare for the trip.”

Viera slouched but didn’t argue. “Okay. I guess that makes sense.”

“It does. You just ended a big part of your life. You need some time to reflect before jetting off into space. Now, go, take some time to decompress.”

Though Viera didn’t look happy, she squared her shoulders and gave a quick nod. Then she stood and walked out of the office with a wave good-bye.

Once Betsy heard the main door shut, she picked up her phone and dialed Thorn. “Betsy, I didn’t expect to hear from you. How can I help you?”

“Hi, Thorn. There is a situation. I’m not sure if you’ve been filled in, but I need use of the Ziner to check out a situation Horax found on the radar. Could I get your approval, and could you join us?”

There was a moment's pause then a muffling sound. “Miracle Max, get off the curtains. Inigo Montoya, so help me, you mangy ven, get down. Be like Buttercup and Westley; they know how to behave!” Thorn’s voice came back stronger. “Sorry about that. These babies are learning to fly, and I am going crazy. I’m starting to wonder if they’re half phoenix.”

Betsy laughed. “Your pups are adorable, and you know it.”

“Do you want one?” The hope in Thorn’s voice made Betsy smile.

“They can’t leave their mom for another few months; ask me then. Though, you should ask Viera first. If you give away her precious Fezzik, she may skin you alive.”

Thorn grumbled. “She does love that annoying pup.” She sighed. “I really need to get everyone here organized for the trip on Monday. Between Scout and Tiffany’s family, who’ve been living in the ocean for years, it’s more work than I like to think about. They want to leave, but don’t want to be away from the salt water for that long. We keep having discussions about options. They’ve brought up Star Trek IV over and over.”

This made Betsy laugh. “Are they looking for nuclear ‘wessles?’”

“Exactly!” Thorn chuckled. “I had to watch the movie to figure out what they meant. Then I had to explain that filling a part of the ship with ocean water for a four-day trip when they could stay in human form indefinitely was ridiculous.”

Betsy slumped. “Does this mean my request is denied?”

“No,” Thorn said. “Just because I can’t go, doesn’t mean the ship isn’t available. Why don’t you call in Violet? You know her, right? Maybe Flower Prancer will want to go.” There was a pause, and Betsy heard typing. “I’ll make some calls. The ship will be ready to leave in an hour.”

Betsy smiled at the room at large. She’d worked with Violet and liked the spunkier chanzii. “Thanks, Thorn. I’ll contact Horax for the transport.”

***

The bridge of the Ziner, the chanzii ship, was spacious. Even with two qynads, there was room to move around, though they did take up a quarter of the space. Betsy sat in an alcove area, out of the way of the crew, with a small rectangular table and four chairs, all bolted to the floor.

Next to her, Juniper, one of the engineers, sat with a wide smile on her face. Her curly dark purple hair flowed halfway down her back. “I know I’m supposed to be in engineering, but this is such a short trip, I can be just as helpful here. My second is down there in case anything needs immediate care.”

Standing next to the table, Flower Prancer, with his violet eyes, glared disapprovingly at both of them. “Ensign Snow, if your place is in the belly of this beast, shouldn’t you be down there?”

Juniper trembled at the Elder’s attention. “Yes, sir.” She slowly slid from her chair and slunk off.

Betsy narrowed her eyes at the yonat. On Earth, unicorns were supposed to be nice, friendly even—especially the ones with rainbow hair. This one was anything but. “You know, you aren’t her captain, or even her supervisor. She was given leave to work from the bridge for this journey. You just undermined the command structure for no other reason than to strut your importance. When she gets in trouble for not being where she’s supposed to be, I’m going to make sure they know it’s your fault, and not hers.”

He gazed down his very long nose at her. “If this was her assigned location, why didn’t she just tell me, Pillar Doeth?”

She sneered. Why am I even trying to socialize him? “Because, Elder Flower Prancer, she was intimidated by you and didn’t feel comfortable contradicting what you said.”

He scoffed and they both went back to observing the crew prepare for the short flight.

While she watched, Violet, one of the chanzii leaders, entered the bridge from the lift and walked to the captain’s chair, a huge smile on her face. “Crew, I know I don’t often visit the ship, but I am proud and excited to lead you on today’s mission. I am also thrilled to welcome Elder Flower Prancer and Piller Doeth to the bridge.” She turned to them. “We are honored to have you join us today.”

Everyone on the bridge turned and smiled at them.

Violet turned back to the screen. “We’ll take the short jump to Pluto and send out a message. Then we’ll wait for four hours, enough time for any ship to respond. After that, we’ll consult with Elder Flower Prancer and Pillar Doeth before returning to planet Earth.”

The crew applauded and everyone went back to prepping the ship for departure.

Once the ship left Earth’s orbit, Violet came over to personally welcome Betsy and Flower Prancer to her ship. “I’m thrilled and honored to have two such distinguished passengers.”

Flower Prancer bowed his head. “I am going to go below for a few minutes. Let me know when we reach our destination. I would like to oversee the dispatch of the message.”

“Of course, honored Elder.”

He shot Betsy a look, as if to say, “See? This is how you ought to address me.” Then he turned and sauntered from the bridge. Once he was gone, Horax snorted. “You two should go into the fighting box and battle it out. The fight would be epic. You’d make enough money to retire.”

Betsy shook her head. “I have enough money to retire. I don’t work for the pay. I do it because I love what I do.”

Violet snorted, then covered her face with her hands. “Sorry.”

“Oh, no, I was hoping to make someone laugh.”

The two smiled, and an awkward silence followed. Finally Betsy shook her head. When was the last time I was tongue-tied around someone? Quick, think of something to say! “Why haven’t we worked together before? You’re located in the U.S.? Right? Seattle, Washington?”

“I am. And I don’t know why we’ve never worked together; it seems like such a waste. We should rectify that, don’t you think? Maybe discuss it over dinner sometime?” A slow smile crossed the other woman’s face and there was a challenge in her eyes.

Betsy face heated. For fuck’s sake, I’m blushing. I don’t blush. What is wrong with me? “Sounds good. I’ll have my people call your people.”

Violate winked. “Mission first, dinner second—a plan!” She spun on her heel and strode back to her seat.

Lost in her thoughts about a date she didn’t know could happen, she wasn’t prepared when Horax bellowed, “We’re here!”

She stood as the yonat returned to the bridge.

Horax tapped on the panel in front of him before turning to the crew. “The ship is definitely a krottel ship, but I still can’t get a lock on their final heading.”

Betsy considered his report. “I’d still like more information about what they’re doing and where they’re going.”

Flower Prancer cleared his throat. “Are we ready to send a message?”

Horax waved him on.

“Krottel ship, this is Elder Flower Prancer. I am requesting information on your final destination. Planet Earth was restricted to you and your kind. Please send your answer post haste.”

Their relative distance from the other ship meant their message should take no more than an hour to reach them, probably much less time. The reply should be to them in, likewise, an hour or less.

Betsy spent part of the time they waited showing Violet and Horax how to play poker. They’d seen Earth cards before and knew about gambling, but poker was new to them. Horax was particularly good. Generally, Betsy was a shark at the game, but she kept on being distracted by the enchanting acting captain of the Ziner.

After four hours, when no response came, they dropped a node into the vicinity that would amplify any message or signal from another ship and send it on to Earth.