Capital Spaceport
City of Mendel
Planet Mesa
Mesa System
“Don’t bother to unpack.” Cachat was waiting on the concourse when Damien Harahap and Indiana Graham disembarked from the shuttle. “We’re leaving in a couple of hours.”
He jabbed a thumb at another shuttle, parked on an adjacent pad.
“Just go ahead and take your bags to that one,” he told them. “We’ll be going aboard as soon as everyone gets here.”
Indy and Harahap looked at each other, then back at Cachat and the large fellow in the uniform of a Solarian Marine major standing next to him.
“‘Everyone’ being—?” Indy asked.
“This is Bryce Tarkovsky. He’ll be going with this. I’ll explain later. We’ll have plenty of time on the trip to Congo. Right now, I suggest you stow your gear and then grab something to eat.”
“I can recommend the diner on Concourse G,” Tarkovsky said. “Provided you like Vietnamese cuisine with a heavy dose of Basque, at least. Don’t ask the chef to explain it. I made that mistake, and I haven’t recovered yet. But it tastes good.”
“Vietnamese/Basque?” Harahap smiled. “Just what I’ve always daydreamed about. Will you be joining us?”
“He will,” Cachat said, nodding toward Tarkovsky. “I won’t. I’m having lunch with Thandi. I don’t know when I’ll see her again.”
Indy and Harahap looked at each other again. The treecat on Harahap’s shoulder shook his head in a resigned gesture he’d learned from his two-foot. Then all three of them looked back at Cachat.
“Am I correct in assuming Indy and I are in that same ‘don’t know when we’ll see X again’ situation?” Harahap asked.
“Yes. You are.”
Cachat nodded, and Harahap and Indy looked at each other again.
“The only one I’m close to, other than you,” Harahap said, reaching up to touch Fire Watch’s ears, “is this guy.”
Fire Watch bleeked.
“And he’s coming with us,” Harahap added. “How about you?”
“Not anybody in range.” Indy shrugged. “My folks and Mackenzie, but they’re back in Seraphim. And…uh…well. There’s maybe someone else, but I can’t reach her in two hours, either.”
Harahap nodded, then turned back to Cachat.
“Lucky you,” he said brightly.