Page 48 of Mazorium Buys a Human

I was left sitting there, struggling to bring my thoughts and feelings into some kind of order.

I had two more revelations to contend with alongside my new view of the Talin Empire.

First was that Mika was just as intelligent as I was, perhaps even more knowledgeable in certain areas.

Second was that I desired her, and I thought she was interested in me too.

Chapter 15

Mika

After our talk, I expected things to get better with Mazorium. In some ways they did. He was speaking and interacting again. He wasn’t staring off into space and acting depressed any longer. That was great.

Except now he wouldn’t sleep in the nest. At first I thought it was because he was still healing and didn’t want to worry about me accidentally knocking into him. I missed his warmth, but I understood. No one wanted to be abruptly woken up from an errant foot to a healing rib.

That couldn’t be it any longer. He was mostly healed and moving around without any problems. The only thing he struggled with was lifting heavy items, so I’d bullied him into using bots when things needed to be moved.

It meant he couldn’t lift me yet, but he didn’t even invite me to sit on his lap. I couldn't remember the last time he’d even invited me to hug him.

I didn’t realize how much I’d gotten used to all his hugs and snuggles until I wasn’t getting them anymore.

“Do you want to see our home for the next three solars?” Maz said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see him in the doorway of the galley. I set down the mug of tea I was holding.

“Yes!” I said. Nadia was sitting in my lap, so I tucked her against me and stood up.

“We’re in a slow descent, but still high enough that you can see a large section of the planet,” he explained, stepping back so I could join him in the hall.

“Do you know where we’re going to land, or do we need to do some survey stuff first?” I asked, walking with him.

“I have a spot picked out for us,” he said. We turned into the control room, and I let out a little gasp. I didn’t know one of the walls could turn into a giant display.

“It’s so green,” I said, entranced by the images the display was showing. I’d only been to two planets in my life. Both had been industrial planets with almost uninterrupted city and manufacturing structures covering the surface.

“I’ve never seen so much wilderness,” I murmured, stepping closer to the display.

“It’s a lush planet,” he said. “But I don’t think it will be suitable for agriculture.”

“Wait, why?” I said. “There are so many plants there already. Can’t they be removed and other kinds put in the soil?”

He sounded a rumble of amusement. “It’s hard for you to see, but everything down there is megaflora. The trees and bushes are massive and their root system must be deep. That indicates the soil isn’t very fertile until you go many lengths down. Topsoil can be enriched, but it’s a question of cost vs production.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” I didn’t know what megaflora or root systems were, but it all sounded too complicated to learn about right now. There’d be plenty of time to have long, involvedconversations later. I thought of something more important to ask. “Is there anything dangerous down there?”

“There are small animals I believe have a symbiotic relationship with one species of tree,” he said. “They’re brutal to any other plant that tries to encroach on their chosen tree’s space. They aren’t a worry though because they aren’t a predatory animal.”

I chuckled at the thought of something small and furry chirping at me for walking too close to their tree.

“Are you sure they’re the only animals?” I asked.

“I can’t be absolutely sure, but if there are other animals, they’re either aquatic or much smaller.”

I frowned as something occurred to me. “If you’re here to do a comprehensive survey of the planet, how do you know all these things already?”

He pointed to a smaller display on another wall. “I sent an independent automated survey bot ship to do preliminary research. They’re limited, but they sent back enough data for me to plan my survey out better.”

Although I should’ve been reassured by his knowledge, unease grew inside me. I focused on the slowly shifting image on the wall-sized display as we got closer to the surface. Nadia started to fuss, but when I shifted so she could see the display, she quieted down. We both watched with wide eyes as big green areas gradually resolved into trees interrupted only by jagged valleys.

I couldn’t see any open water, but small lakes or ponds could easily be hidden by the dense, leafy canopy.