Page 40 of Tarek

Jimmy helped the boys out of their seats, making sure neither rushed off before we were ready to leave. I unfastened my own restraints and leaned over to check Laura. She stirred when I lifted her from the car seat, gave a sleepy little grumble, and promptly settled against my shoulder.

"Hello, sweetheart," I murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Did you have a nice trip?"

She answered with a soft snuffle and closed her eyes again.

Jimmy retrieved Laura's car seat from the passenger compartment. I was grateful for the assistance. Between the baby, the children, the dog, and the luggage, I had quite enough to keep track of without trying to carry everything at once.

Skye stood patiently beside me while I clipped her leash to her harness. She looked around the shuttle with bright, curious eyes, her tail moving cautiously from side to side. I gave her a reassuring pat before checking that the boys had their bags.

Each boy had his own Hot Wheels carry case, and I had learned by now that arguing with them about carrying their precious cars was a waste of time. The rest of our luggage was part of a matching yellow set, including the train cases we'd chosen as overnight bags. They were the sort of cases people had once used to pack clothes for traveling by train and sleeping in Pullman cars, and they were perfectly practical for keeping our essentials close at hand during the journey. I carried my own train case, while the boys proudly managed their Hot Wheels cases. Our other belongings were being shipped separately, so we weren't traveling with every possession we owned.

When the shuttle door opened, the scale of the docking bay became even more apparent. The ceiling rose several stories above us, and the shuttle itself seemed tiny beneath the enormous framework of the bay. People moved around us in every direction, some arriving with families, others heading toward departing craft, and a few pausing to watch the human children who were staring at absolutely everything.

A Mylos officer approached us. He wore a sash draped across his bare torso, and his manner was calm and welcoming. The faint impression of scales along his jaw caught the overhead lighting when he smiled.

"Mr. Brooks? Welcome to the Bride Fleet. I'm Veylan, and I'll help you get settled aboard."

"Thank you. It's quite a place."

"Most visitors say that the first time they see it." He glanced at the children, who were trying to look in three directions at once. "And these must be Evan and Matt. We've been expecting you all."

The boys immediately straightened, pleased to be recognized. Veylan greeted them warmly, then crouched slightly to say hello to Laura, who had finally opened her eyes and was peering at him with the solemn suspicion babies reserve for unfamiliar faces.

"And this little one must be Laura."

"That's right," I said. "She's not entirely convinced about traveling through space yet."

"She'll soon become accustomed to it. We have plenty of families traveling with young children."

Veylan turned to Jimmy, who had now brought Laura's stroller over and unfolded it for me, and then to two members of the shuttle bay's personnel waiting nearby. He gave them instructions for moving our luggage to the appropriate area. The two Mylos nodded and came over to help, arranging the heavier cases on a low transport pallet that floated rather than having wheels.

The boys kept their own Hot Wheels cases, naturally, and I didn't try to talk them out of it. They were old enough to carry them, and there was no point starting our stay aboard the Bride Fleet by picking an argument over toy cars.

"Your accommodation is ready," Veylan explained. "We'll take you there first, and then I'll show you where to find the dining facilities and the leisure deck. You should have everything you need in your suite."

"That sounds wonderful."

He led us across the docking bay toward a set of lifts. The boys were quiet for all of about ten seconds before they began asking questions about the other shuttles, the lights along the walls, and whether they would be able to see the planet again from our room. Veylan answered as many as he could while keeping us moving through the busy bay.

At the lifts, the two Mylos assisting with our luggage guided the grav pallet toward the nearest cargo elevator. They would take the cases up separately and deliver them to our suite. Jimmy remained with the shuttle, ready to help the next passengers arriving at the berth, while Veylan ushered us toward the passenger elevator.

“Xero, residential deck seven, please. They are in Suite 62 on that level.”

“Got it! And hi, guys! Welcome aboard!”

The doors slid shut, and we began moving upward for a few moments, before pausing and moving sideways before pausing again and resuming moving upward. Evan and Matt watched the floor indicator with fascination, while I kept Laura's stroller steady and Skye close beside me. It was strange to think we were traveling through a spacecraft large enough to contain whole neighborhoods, restaurants, parks, and accommodation for families like ours.

When the doors opened, we stepped out into a corridor that looked more like a hotel than anything I had expected to find aboard a spacecraft. The lighting was soft, the floors were clean, and the walls were decorated in muted colors. It was all surprisingly ordinary, which was a relief after the scale of the docking bay.

"If you need directions, simply call Xeranos's name, and he will give them to you," Veylan said. "He can be accessed through the integrated speaker system, which is available in most areas, including the corridors, or through your wrist communicator or a data tablet."

"Good to know," I said. That would definitely help keep me from accidentally wandering into somewhere I shouldn't.

We hadn't gone far when Veylan paused beside a corridor junction. A man stood nearby, checking something on a tablet. He looked to be around my age, with an easy smile and the sort of relaxed manner that suggested he was accustomed to meeting strangers.

"Nick!" Veylan called.

The man looked up and grinned. "Veylan. I was wondering when that shuttle you said we should expect was due in."