Page 31 of Mazorium Buys a Human

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” I admitted, moving to another planter to get a closer look at the orange and green needle-like leaves.

Ithorum made a rumbling sound I knew had to be pity or something close. I ignored her and focused on the plants. The two Talins followed me, and once we were near the center, Ithorum spoke to Mazorium.

“You might not be aware that the section director invited the sub-director, chief of outer-technology, interim chief of inner-technology, and senior staff coordinator to the meal.”

Ithorum’s declaration didn’t mean anything to me, which wasn’t surprising. But apparently Mazorium didn’t get it either.

He sounded a questioning rumble. “I don’t see the significance of this information.”

“They all share the family name Rilk.”

That had to be a big deal because Mazorium sounded a rattle of surprise. “How is that possible? There are laws against that kind of nepotism.”

“They own it, so it’s not illegal," Ithorum said, then looked at me. “Don’t be concerned about quality. It was built by the Uriam Clan. They do excellent work.”

“I knew who built it; that’s why I was startled to find out the Rilk family owns it. I thought the Uriam clan always kept a stake in the stations they built.”

“Usually, but not this time,” Ithorum said. “Now you can understand why I needed to warn you.”

“Our stay here could be problematic,” Mazorium agreed.

Those words made me turn back and join them. “Why?”

Ithorum purred. “Do not concern yourself. Your owner and I will see to it.”

That didn’t answer my question, so I looked at Mazorium. “Maz, what’s going on? Why is it a big deal that the peoplein high positions here are in the same family that owns the station?”

He paused, as if debating telling me, then spoke. “It means they’re powerful. Inevitably, they’re going to make an offer for you and Nadia. It’s going to be hard to refuse.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Because it’ll be a lot of wealth?”

He sounded a negative rumble. “Wealth and connections.”

Real fear ran through me. “You said you’d never sell me.”

“I did promise and I won’t,” he said. “They will try, but I will resist their efforts. The worst that could happen is that our departure will be delayed. They can threaten me with inspectors, but my ship and conduct are above reproach. They’ll find nothing they can use against me.”

“They might not act entirely honorably to achieve what they desire,” Ithorum warned him. She gestured to the hanging gardens around us. “The biosystems chief didn’t want this to be so big. He said the station was only set up to deal with a garden half this size. The Rilk family was able to override him. Now we constantly deal with biosystem issues, and yet we still pass each inspection every solar, even though the biosystems chief always expects us to fail.”

“A station inspector has a duty to everyone who lives and works on these stations,” Mazorium said. “I’m sure they’re using their best judgment when inspecting this place.”

There was nothing else Mazorium could’ve said that would prove his naivety as well as that statement and the absolute and honest faith he had in his empire's government.

I had to face it, I was owned by an idealist!

“We’re in deep trouble,” I muttered.

Mazorium sounded a rumble of amusement, “There is no problem here. We are within the Talin Empire, where logic, honor, and duty will decide outcomes.”

When Ithorum sounded her pitying rumble, I knew it was for Mazorium this time and not me.

Merchant row was no less impressive seeing it a second time. As with the hanging garden, this area was several stories high and full of shops jam-packed with items.

Normally, there was only a small area for merchants on the stations I’d been to, and inevitably, it was next to the food shops and gambling. It was never clean or well lit, and it rarely had what you were looking for. I’d become a master at figuring out how I could make do with whatever was available.

It struck me again how rich this species was. Merchants here could stock everything because they expected customers with the means to buy it. The way it worked at most stations was, if you needed something, you paid the shopkeeper far more than the item was worth, they ordered it, and you got it eventually.

After a quick look around, Mazorium pointed to a second-level shop. “That’s the one we should go to first. I contacted them on our way here. They assured me they had almost all the items in stock. They’re expecting us.”