Origin (Parallax Book 1) by Matt Conant & Lauren Cipollo

Author:Matt Conant & Lauren Cipollo [Conant, Matt & Cipollo, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE_

The Mayiy girl went about the rest of her shift. Mouth closed. Tight smile. Ignoring questions. Just doing her job that she clearly hated. That thing on her back was not whirring. Looked like a moisturizer. She coughed occasionally.

Emrald tried to make sense of the data in front of her. A ship, a serial number. A datapad she could not access. But now what? She read through data, slamming her fist shut every time the question popped up.

<<Do you wish to connect your device to the Terran Systems grid?>>

Slam.

<<Connection is included with purchase.>>

Slam.

She wiped the sweat from her brow. This bar was packed, and the bodies were nearly on top of her. She was getting sideways looks. But whether it was due to her sweat, her outfit, as the Mayiy girl had suggested, or her refusal to use Terran Systems’ grid, she had no idea.

Emrald had been doing a good job of spreading out the cat-man’s credits, only ordering one drink every two hours or so. The Mayiy had found every excuse she could to avoid her since their discussion, even switching stations with the braided-hair one, and purposely looking over or behind Emrald to other customers who were not even in line for drinks. Once, she cleared Emrald’s glass while it was still half-full.

It was no accident. But she was also no bartender. The system had convinced her she had to be. Still, every time Emrald looked up, the Mayiy girl was glaring at her. Good. Let her come back over. Maybe she can refill this drink correctly this time. Every once in a while, the girl’s headfin would rise, and she’d glare over again. Fascinating, this creature, making strange spiraled beverages that resembled the galaxy, served in spiraled glasses. What difference did it make?

Design did not affect flavor. It changed the serving time. When Emrald ordered a glass of brown, it arrived in ten seconds. These twisty beverages took upwards of a minute to make. She wondered if they cost ten times as much.

The Mayiy had just finished serving a group of Mayiy business folk from the surfscrapers when her headfin went up. She didn’t even bother brushing it back down this time. She stormed over, ignoring all semblance of crowd around them. “Okay, seriously, lady. What the fuck?”

Emrald sized her up. “Well. Took you long enough to talk to me.”

The girl’s face turned a shade more violet. She struggled with her words. “Why would I possibly want to talk to you? You walk in here with a plasma blade, insult me eight ways from Neptune, and look like you’re going to carve up my boss. Then when I try to de-escalate—hey, wait your turn pal—” she pushed away another customer “...when I try to de-escalate, you ain’t got shit to say?”

Emrald blinked at her. “I do not know this word, de-escalate.”

The girl laughed. Loudly. “And doesn’t that show! You’ve gotta be the least subtle black hole on the planet. And I know you’re from some shitty moon somewhere, but there’s eighteen billion people here.

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