Captain Diamond found a pile of small and large boxes inside the bay. They did not look like any kind of standard shipment.
He spotted Alyn all but bouncing as he came down the lift.
"Captain!"
"I assume these are yours?" he said with a wave at the boxes. "Have you checked weight allowance --"
"They're not mine. Well, not technically. Sort of."
Diamond had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Not Alyna's either, right?"
"Oh no," he said with a shake of his head, curls bouncing. "She never buys much for herself. The woman has no taste in clothing and accessories --"
"Alyn, tell me they're not --"
"Stuff for Mik and Min," he said with an energetic nod and began to wave at the boxes. "A proper place for them to stay, special food and treats, uniforms --"
"Uniforms." Diamond thought his head might explode.
"They're darling. And don't worry, I made sure all of it can fit in the cabin with Alyna and me."
"Oh, I'm sure that's going to go over well. Alyna is going to have a few things to say."
Alyn grinned. "She wasn't happy about it until I pointed out she'd have more of a chance to keep an eye on them."
Diamond supposed he should be happy for paranoid alter-egos. Besides, at least he didn't have to look after them.
Two days later, they launched and headed back out into IWC territory. As much as he enjoyed visiting Earth, there was always a feeling of relief to get away from some of the rabid Earth Only people.
He didn't see the rats for the first few days. They did fix the glitchy door on level 2. Smarl and Retra took them down to the engine room, but Diamond only learned that afterward. His heart probably missed a beat, but Smarl and Retra were ecstatic in their praise of the creatures. He just nodded numbly and wondered why he'd failed to ask Fisher how long they'd have the rodents.
The following week, Diamond did see Mik and Min in the lounge working on a wonky screen. The little uniforms were adorable.
He did not tell Alyn that, though. In fact, he'd only seen Alyna for the last few days. She didn't look as annoyed as he had expected.
Best not to mention any of it.
By the time they were out to the Pegasus Fringe, Mik and Min were familiar sights in the corridors. They liked to sit on the bench in the control deck and watch as they came off of slide. Retra made them special harnesses to keep them safe from any sudden shifts in direction or of gravity.
The crew didn't take as good of care of him.
The Pegasus Fringe was light on colonies, especially since the one major world, Summer, had started into its centuries-long winter. That was less than a decade ago, and it already looked like a giant ball of ice.
Mik and Min chattered with an unhappy set of squeaks.
"Yeah," Diamond agreed. "But the lone outpost pays well for deliveries, and we won't be sticking around for long."
And when the hell did he start talking to the rats?
Dyna smirked. Alyna did not look at him, but he could imagine her face. Lucky for all of them that the landing beacon kicked on and took their attention.
Diamond was sure he didn't hear anyone snicker. He went to work on the coordinates, watching the white world coming closer. He'd never liked the snow, and an entire world of it didn't appeal to him. The others were intent on their own jobs now, and he did the work he loved. Landing on a new world always pleased him.
Though maybe not this one so much. Diamond read the wind speeds and then the temperature. If he hadn't already committed, he would have pulled out and waited for better weather, like in a few centuries.
"This looks ... unfriendly," Kyle said from his post at communications. "And I'm not picking up anything but the beacon so far."
"I can't imagine they sit around waiting for guests to arrive," Alyna suggested, but she sounded uncertain.
"We're almost below the cloud cover," Kyle reported. He made constant corrections to interior gravity and atmosphere. "Not that it's going to help much. It is snowing."
Snowing was not what Diamond imagined it to be. This was a wall of white, a wind from hell, and temperatures that made him shiver without feeling them.
"Something wrong," Kyle said.
And that sent another chill through him. "What do you see?"
"There is a ship about two kilometers outside the port. Down on its side and only showing a small residual power source. I don't know what brought it down -- but there ought to be at least a distress signal from it."
"Damn." Diamond made a quick check. "I can't pull out. Besides, they might need us."
"We need to be ready for trouble," Alyna warned.
"Yes."
She knew what that meant and left the control deck, despite the danger from sudden moves. Diamond glanced back as she reached the opening --
"Hold on. Get Mik and Min out of here. Into the ventilation shafts would be best. Box up their stuff and make it look like a shipment for somewhere else. Dyna, help her."
"Yes, sir," they both said, grabbed the rats, and hurried away.
At least those two were going to be out of sight and safe. If there was a problem at the outpost, he didn't want the little guys drawing attention. He imagined shooting them would be the first answer.
Diamond feared it might be the same for the crew, though. There would be no easy way to hide any of them.
"If it's trouble -- scatter. Get clear of the ship If you can. That's the only reason they'd be silent. They want the ship."
"I do not want to be stuck here," Kyle said.
"Not my favorite spot, either."
But they were almost down.
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