The rain was coming down in warm, fat drops that splashed onto the concrete landing field of the spaceport. In the .87G of Minotaur's gravity, the large drops impacted surfaces gently, giving the impression of a light rain, when in reality, it was a deluge. The humidity carried a scent of salt water from the east, where large cargo shuttles were using the relatively calm waters as a landing field, and a vaguely spicy, floral scent from the north where Banghi was known to flourish. The scent was an olfactory assault for which it was difficult to prepare, and Alex felt a sneeze coming on. She always sneezed the first day on planet, but some planets were worse than others; she wouldn't go planetside at Vulcanfall, because sneezing was all she could do there without wearing a facemask. It was a mild type of allergic reaction to the local pollens and airborne particles, but it rarely lasted more than a few hours on Minotaur. Of all of the planets in the Known Sphere, however, Nova Sol was her favorite, it was the planet on which she'd been born, and the only one that didn't make her sneeze.
The spaceport was linked to Níngjìng Bay by a high-speed maglev railway that continued along the coast to several smaller cities south of the capital, and to several communities in the interior of the continent. The dozen crew members of the Jester who had signed up for shore leave besides Alex included Bao-Jian and Jinx, both of whom had family here.
Bao-Jian's parents had emigrated to Minotaur from Earth; his father from Hong Kong, and his mother from Vancouver. Jinx was descended from four generations of Minotauran Chinese on both sides of her family, and she took a certain pride in the fact that her family were all native born, from the first wave of colonists, no less. Both of them were looking out the window, chatting in Minotauran dialect Chinese, which was fairly close to Mandarin, but Alex's comprehension of the language was limited, and she couldn't keep up with the conversation.
She turned to look out the window, next to which Dirk was sitting, and looked past him to the picturesque scenery of coastal farms, and wharves where small, recreational boats were tied up. She wanted to try out sailing, just once, before they had to head out. It looked like a lot of fun. She would have her work cut out for her if she was going to take Dirk along, though. He had a strange aversion to natural bodies of open water; not that he couldn't swim - he swam like a fish, but just an odd paranoia she couldn't figure out. She snaked her arm through his, and rested her head on his shoulder, the smell of his peculiar spice-scented soap filling her nostrils. She felt a deep contentment, and looked forward to the next three days, because the workload going forward was looking to be anything but restful or relaxing.
"You two make a cute couple, you know." Said Jinx from where she sat directly across from them, next to Bao-Jian.
"I like to think I did OK, pairing up with this fine specimen of manhood, here." Alex replied, grinning, and squeezed Dirk's arm with proprietary affection.
Dirk said nothing, but kissed the top of her head in an incredibly rare public display.
"What about you, Jinx, any prospective partner on the horizon that you'd like to share, hmm?" Alex teased, knowing that she lived a nearly monastic life while on the ship.
"My family has some very old-fashioned ideas about ethnic purity, not ones I agree with, but we are also practitioners of Falun Gong, which places a great degree of importance on personal moral responsibility. So, no, not really. There's always hope." Jinx answered, without really answering at all.
"How about you, Bao? Anyone interesting in your life lately?" Alex asked the Jester's pilot, and Jinx turned in her seat to look at him as well.
"I had a brief, but fulfilling, affair with a well-hung Greek gentleman while we were at New Detroit. Other than that, nothing serious." He told them, and continued; "Naturally, my folks would like me to settle down, and start a family of my own, and I will no doubt have to endure their gentle reminders that I'm not getting younger. But they'll do it while setting homemade noodles and dim sum in front of me, so it's not all bad." He concluded with a smile.
"I have been craving Níngjìng Bay clawfish dumplings since the last time we were here, with fried noodles, and crisp vegetables." She said, excitedly, and the conversation turned to favorite places to eat in the capital, until the train began to decelerate.
When the train stopped, Alex watched as Dirk patted himself down, in a habit she was willing to bet he didn't know he had. He did it before he left a vehicle, a building, or even a room. There was a time when it had driven her crazy, but she reined in her frustration when it dawned on her that it was a habit he'd probably picked up in the Marines; to check his gear and placement of equipment, making certain he had everything he needed where it was supposed to be.
She waited for him to finish, then got her handbag from under her seat and pulled out her personal data tablet. She had spent some serious money for the gold-edged, gunmetal gray Saad-Nanotek unit she held in her hands. She ran her finger over the logo engraved into the body, which caused the 10 by 15 centimeter slab to open up, into a tablet a mere four millimeters thick. The screen was a nanofilm almost as strong as the metaplast casing that held it. She was already hooked into the local network, and proceeded to look up restaurants specializing in clawfish dumplings close to their hotel. She had one picked out, and reservations made, by the time he had their bags out of the overhead storage compartment.
"You'll be pleased to know, I've managed an early evening supper for the two of us. It's a bit pricey, but they use indigenous marine life exclusively, and they're highly recommended." Alex said, as Dirk handed over her duffel.
"That takes care of tonight, but what about this morning? And lunch? And tea? We landed just after local sunrise, y'know." He asked, more in jest than anything else.
She stepped in close, hooked a single finger into the collar of his shirt, reached around with her other hand to grab his backside, and pulled him close.
"Last time I checked, our hotel had room service." She whispered suggestively into his ear, and nipped his earlobe gently with her teeth, before grabbing her bags and turning to exit the train.
Jinx and Bao-Jian were looking at Dirk with barely concealed amusement; his aversion to public displays of affection being well known to both of them, and he was unconsciously looking around to see if anyone else had noticed. Jinx decided to make him even more uncomfortable.
"Do you think you will be able to debark with your manhood in that state," she nodded her head while staring at the front of his pants, "or will you want to wait for the swelling to go down?" She asked, in a voice that, without shouting, still managed to carry to every corner of the compartment.
Ignoring the friendly jeers and laughter of his crewmates, he shouldered his own duffel bag, and walked out onto the platform with his head up, his face set in a neutral expression that displayed a solemn dignity.
The effect was ruined by the bright crimson flush of embarrassment on his face.
The spaceport was linked to Níngjìng Bay by a high-speed maglev railway that continued along the coast to several smaller cities south of the capital, and to several communities in the interior of the continent. The dozen crew members of the Jester who had signed up for shore leave besides Alex included Bao-Jian and Jinx, both of whom had family here.
Bao-Jian's parents had emigrated to Minotaur from Earth; his father from Hong Kong, and his mother from Vancouver. Jinx was descended from four generations of Minotauran Chinese on both sides of her family, and she took a certain pride in the fact that her family were all native born, from the first wave of colonists, no less. Both of them were looking out the window, chatting in Minotauran dialect Chinese, which was fairly close to Mandarin, but Alex's comprehension of the language was limited, and she couldn't keep up with the conversation.
She turned to look out the window, next to which Dirk was sitting, and looked past him to the picturesque scenery of coastal farms, and wharves where small, recreational boats were tied up. She wanted to try out sailing, just once, before they had to head out. It looked like a lot of fun. She would have her work cut out for her if she was going to take Dirk along, though. He had a strange aversion to natural bodies of open water; not that he couldn't swim - he swam like a fish, but just an odd paranoia she couldn't figure out. She snaked her arm through his, and rested her head on his shoulder, the smell of his peculiar spice-scented soap filling her nostrils. She felt a deep contentment, and looked forward to the next three days, because the workload going forward was looking to be anything but restful or relaxing.
"You two make a cute couple, you know." Said Jinx from where she sat directly across from them, next to Bao-Jian.
"I like to think I did OK, pairing up with this fine specimen of manhood, here." Alex replied, grinning, and squeezed Dirk's arm with proprietary affection.
Dirk said nothing, but kissed the top of her head in an incredibly rare public display.
"What about you, Jinx, any prospective partner on the horizon that you'd like to share, hmm?" Alex teased, knowing that she lived a nearly monastic life while on the ship.
"My family has some very old-fashioned ideas about ethnic purity, not ones I agree with, but we are also practitioners of Falun Gong, which places a great degree of importance on personal moral responsibility. So, no, not really. There's always hope." Jinx answered, without really answering at all.
"How about you, Bao? Anyone interesting in your life lately?" Alex asked the Jester's pilot, and Jinx turned in her seat to look at him as well.
"I had a brief, but fulfilling, affair with a well-hung Greek gentleman while we were at New Detroit. Other than that, nothing serious." He told them, and continued; "Naturally, my folks would like me to settle down, and start a family of my own, and I will no doubt have to endure their gentle reminders that I'm not getting younger. But they'll do it while setting homemade noodles and dim sum in front of me, so it's not all bad." He concluded with a smile.
"I have been craving Níngjìng Bay clawfish dumplings since the last time we were here, with fried noodles, and crisp vegetables." She said, excitedly, and the conversation turned to favorite places to eat in the capital, until the train began to decelerate.
When the train stopped, Alex watched as Dirk patted himself down, in a habit she was willing to bet he didn't know he had. He did it before he left a vehicle, a building, or even a room. There was a time when it had driven her crazy, but she reined in her frustration when it dawned on her that it was a habit he'd probably picked up in the Marines; to check his gear and placement of equipment, making certain he had everything he needed where it was supposed to be.
She waited for him to finish, then got her handbag from under her seat and pulled out her personal data tablet. She had spent some serious money for the gold-edged, gunmetal gray Saad-Nanotek unit she held in her hands. She ran her finger over the logo engraved into the body, which caused the 10 by 15 centimeter slab to open up, into a tablet a mere four millimeters thick. The screen was a nanofilm almost as strong as the metaplast casing that held it. She was already hooked into the local network, and proceeded to look up restaurants specializing in clawfish dumplings close to their hotel. She had one picked out, and reservations made, by the time he had their bags out of the overhead storage compartment.
"You'll be pleased to know, I've managed an early evening supper for the two of us. It's a bit pricey, but they use indigenous marine life exclusively, and they're highly recommended." Alex said, as Dirk handed over her duffel.
"That takes care of tonight, but what about this morning? And lunch? And tea? We landed just after local sunrise, y'know." He asked, more in jest than anything else.
She stepped in close, hooked a single finger into the collar of his shirt, reached around with her other hand to grab his backside, and pulled him close.
"Last time I checked, our hotel had room service." She whispered suggestively into his ear, and nipped his earlobe gently with her teeth, before grabbing her bags and turning to exit the train.
Jinx and Bao-Jian were looking at Dirk with barely concealed amusement; his aversion to public displays of affection being well known to both of them, and he was unconsciously looking around to see if anyone else had noticed. Jinx decided to make him even more uncomfortable.
"Do you think you will be able to debark with your manhood in that state," she nodded her head while staring at the front of his pants, "or will you want to wait for the swelling to go down?" She asked, in a voice that, without shouting, still managed to carry to every corner of the compartment.
Ignoring the friendly jeers and laughter of his crewmates, he shouldered his own duffel bag, and walked out onto the platform with his head up, his face set in a neutral expression that displayed a solemn dignity.
The effect was ruined by the bright crimson flush of embarrassment on his face.
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