"So what is the first order of business?" Dan asked as he came up to Cheyenne's side. Kleppie, Madsen and Jensen were there with him. "Check into the hotel? Check out the market?"
Cheyenne gave him a sly look. "I would think your first order of business..."
"Had to go back on the ship, to finish a few things," Dan finished. "He'll contact me when he's done. In the meantime..."
"Lunch," Kavi said as she appeared. She put her arm around Kleppie's shoulder.
"Lunch, that sounds perfect," Lana said. "But where?"
"I think we should let Janda decide," Cheyenne joked. "This mission has been so hard on his belly after all." They all laughed.
"Weeks of processed foods," Janda groused. "All I want is a salad. A nice fresh salad."
"Hungry Javvies!" Kavi squealed. "There's one just a few doors down, there." She pointed across the market.
"Yes, yes, yes," Janda said, spinning around. "That's it. Hungry Javvie's salad bowl."
The diplomat had a small crew of locals to assist the sailors to get settled in their hotels and find their way around. Cheyenne figured they had guides enough and their group bypassed them and headed into the market, following Janda and Javi.
Hungry Javvie's Salad Bowl turned out to be a chain within the consortium. Kavi insisted on paying until the manager came over and declared that he "knew who those people were" and insisted just as loudly that it would be free. They were each given a large bowl and sent down the line.
The restaurant was bright, the entire ceiling covered in grow lights. One wall was a mass of leaves, lettuces and edible greens of all kinds. There was a shelf and Kavi and Janda helped them sort through the variety and pick their leaves. A worker nearby pulled out the stems of over harvested greens and replaced them with fresh plants.
The second wall had fruit and vegetable plants growing on it. Janda yanked a small tomato off and popped in his mouth. While he chewed he picked a couple of small cucumbers, pulled a knife from the shelf and started dicing, making short work of the veggies that Kavi was now picking and handing him, and filling their bowls.
The third and final wall contained plenty of toppings, crouton like crackers, vinaigrettes, nuts and olives. Again Kavi and Janda talked them through the options and before long they were all finding seats, bowls brimming with food.
"Oh, oh, oh, this is so good," Janda cried as he ate. "So good."
Everyone around the table laughed.
"By the mother, it's like he's having an orgasm in his mouth," Kavi joked.
A young woman, one of the servers, laughed. "I agree," she said.
Janda covered his mouth and swallowed. He leaned over and whispered something in the woman's ear. She blushed bright red and giggled. He sat back with a smug smile and said. "I'm Janda by the way, Janda Markus."
"Kali-enda," the woman said, taking his proffered hand. "Kali-enda Juliash."
"We will be here for several days," Janda said.
"Perhaps I will message you then," she said, "when I am off some day." With that she was gone.
"What just happened?" Dan asked. "What did you say to her?"
Janda shrugged. "I merely said that I am not only person to have orgasmed in my mouth." He smiled.
Tea sprayed everywhere as Madsen laughed. "Holy shit, and that worked!"
After they had eaten lunch, they all went their separate ways to check into hotel rooms. Madison and Jensen headed back to where the American crew was being put up to see what the rooms looked like. Kavi had an apartment on Shin station, but nothing on the base ship, so she was planning on getting a hotel as well and Kleppie accompanied her. Dan decided to walk with Cheyenne and her healers to their hotel.
A medical hotel was a foreign concept to Dan and Cheyenne, but Janda explained they were a common thing on stations, especially those that saw a lot of deep space travelers. "The hazards of deep space are different then say, planet-side," he said as Lana checked them in.
"We are in room four," Lana said coming back. "And Janda is showing his deep space bias. There are plenty of dangers on a planet as well, and as many sick. It's a difference in the population."
"Oh," Janda replied his eyebrows arched. "Radiation burns, decompression injuries, traumatic injuries..."
"Regular burns, falls, industrial accidents..." Lana shot back. "I've seen as bad on planetary assignments as on stations. The difference is on a planet local healers either keep you at their station, if you require it, or you are sent home. Deep space crews, however, may be thousands or even millions of light years from home. What then?"
She had been leading them down a hall and entered a large room. A woman in white was waiting for them. The room had a medical tank in one corner, a couch, a large view screen and a kitchen area. Two doors were along the back wall.
"Miss Cheyenne," the woman in white said, bowing to her. "Your heroism proceeds you. We are honored to have you as a guest here at Zantiba hotel."
Cheyenne bowed back and fumbled out a "thank you."
"We understand you have your own team of healers," the lady went on. "My name is Mira. If I, or any of the house healers, can be of assistance, you have only to ask."
"Thank you, Mira," Lana replied. "We will keep that in mind."
Mira excused herself. Janda inspect the rooms set aside for them and then messaged one of the housekeeping crew of Corelean. "Janda, Lana and Cheyenne are at Zantiba, room four. Have someone send our bags, if you please."
"I wish I rated such service," Dan joked.
Cheyenne looked at the tank. "I'm beat," she admitted. "I should probably nap." She looked at Dan, torn. She knew he was looking for something to do to keep himself occupied until Bakala was off.
Lana must have had the same thought. "We are not doing anything this evening," she looked at Dan for confirmation.
"I don't think so," Dan said. "Everyone is looking forward to some personal space, I think. Tomorrow maybe."
Lana nodded. She put a hand around Cheyenne's shoulders and led her towards the couch. "What would do your body good is to nap on the couch."
"Not the tank?"
"We must slowly wean you off it," Lana said. "You still need the support it gives your body, but you can grow too accustom to it. We must stress your body slowly, make it start responding on its own."
Lana sat on the couch and Cheyenne curled up next to her, with her head on Lana's lap. "Stay," she said to Dan. "Talk to us. If I drift off, that's okay, right?"
"Of course," he replied. He found a low stool and sat beside them, one leg curled under him. Janda returned from his inspection of the premise and sat on the other side. They turned on the viewscreen and watched a recap of the arrival reception on some news channel, ignoring it as they talked.
The door buzzed to alert them of a new arrival and then slid open to admit Aloka, pushing a low cart with luggage. Janda rose and helped her unload.
"You got stuck working late, too," Dan asked.
"Yes," she replied. "And my boss is in a snippy mood, because he wants done so he can take off and see someone," she added in mock outrage.
Dan blushed.
"We are almost done with unloading."
"Good. I imagine you are eager to get finished as well." He smiled as he said it. A conflicted look flashed across her face and her answering, "yeah," was flat.
"What was that all about?" he mused when she had gone.
Cheyenne's voice was sleepy, in fact he hadn't thought she was still awake. "She's wondering what comes next. I mean, there's got to be a lot of them thinking that. We've all been together, what six, seven weeks. We've built friendships, relationships. Now what? Do we just go home and not see each other again?"
"What about you?" Janda asked. "Will you keep seeing Bakala now?"
Dan shrugged. "Haven't thought beyond this leave, to be honest. I like him, a lot. But I have a couple more years in the navy. And once we cross back to the American side, I don't know if I can come back."
"Surely, in time," Lana said.
"I hope so, but its hard to say."
"Message for Janda Markus," the system said.
"Janda here."
It was Kali-enda, the server from the restaurant, blushing bright pink. "Umm, so some friends just messaged me. They want to meet up at Shulti's up on C deck."
"The appetizer place?" Janda said.
"Yeah. You wanna?"
"I would be delighted."
"Appetizers?" Lana said in mock astonishment as the display went blank. "I thought you had your fill of processed food."
"Well," Janda replied airily. "I did not fraternize on this mission, even once. And there is more than one kind of hunger."
A few minutes later, Janda dismissed himself to clean up for his date. The system announce, "Message for Dan Oleson" and Bakala's head appeared. "We are almost done."
"You can pick your boy up at Zantiba's, room four," Lana said before Dan could answer.
"Awesome, see you soon."
Bakala arrived about the same time that Janda was ready to leave. Cheyenne was out on Lana's lap, Lana stroking her hair. "Can we get you anything?" Dan asked her.
"Hand me my slate, I might want to read. But no, I am content," Lana replied. She looked it, too, he thought as he watched her sit and stroke Cheyenne's hair affectionately.