(Day 21- 1130 Words)
A Colony Named Prayer
Shaedine wiped her brow on the back of her hand.
The dish washing room was steaming enough to make a sauna feel dry. She really wished they could get someone in to work on the leaking pipes, but with all the technicians on strike, necessary businesses only could afford to get someone not union in to fix things. Big corps or government or someone really rich.
The spaceport diner was not big corp, government or owned by someone really rich. It barely made ends meet, she knew, having worked here for the last three years. Which was why she was back here moving dishes from one compartment to another, instead of the washer-robo, which was also out of commission. Robos weren’t generally meant to work in such wet conditions all the time, unless they were specifically made for water work.
The bell dinged to let her know it was time to change the dish crate to the last cycle, and then she could get out of here for a while. It was almost end of shift and there wasn’t another ship due in until tomorrow early.
Once the crate was in the compartment and the last cycle started, she went to the bathroom and did a quick check there for cleanliness. Then brushed her hair back into it’s proper bun and fixed her makeup which had tried to melt in the steam, despite being “waterproof”. Then out the door and back to the dining room to help spell Maricia who was nearly eight months pregnant.
Maricia looked like she was going to drop the baby any moment she was so big and Shaedine felt really sorry for her, though she was a little jealous, too. Maricia had a good husband who was a pilot, on a shuttle from the station down to the planet and back. So he was gone during the week, but home on the weekends. They had been married for about a year now. And she was only working the extra shifts to make extra money for decorating the baby’s room and clothing and such, as his work would cover the birthing costs.
Shae and Thom had been living together for about a year, but had dated for a couple of years before that. Union work was supposed to be steady and the best pay and benefits. So, Thom had apprenticed with his uncle in the technician’s union right out of secondary school, and was already working on some passenger ships, as well as the mining ships and station shuttles. He had always had a knack with mechanical things.
But, until they could get a larger place, they weren’t authorized to have a child. And there was the intent to get married, but Thom said he wanted to wait until he could afford a really good ring for her. So all of her money from the diner went towards savings.
Until now.
Now, it was paying for their food and utilities. With the union on strike, there was no other money coming in. They had almost argued when she had suggested that he break the line and get some part time work. Shae pushed those thoughts away for now and hustled over to Maricia.
“Let me get that table, you go to the back and put your feet up a moment, you look like you are wearing enviroboots around your ankles!”
“Oh, Shae, thank you. That table is so demanding. I don’t know if it’s just because they are alien and don’t understand Spacer Lingo very well, or if they are doing it on purpose. But, surely, they wouldn’t be that mean.” Maricia was far too kind and always thought the best of everyone.
“Well, don’t worry about it. I got this. You go rest.” Shae glanced over at the table, and taking a quick look at the folks sitting there, she was pretty sure that they were indeed that mean. She was about to give them a ‘come to manners’ meeting.
Shae waited until Maricia went through the kitchen doors before heading over to the table with a small towel that was damp for wiping up spills on the tables, since the table-bots didn’t always do a great job of that. They really needed some repair, as well. If she had her own diner, it would be run very differently.
There were two white-haired black-skinned males there, along with one black-haired, black-skinned male and then two green-haired, green-skinned women with them. The males were all Lekthish, and the females were likely Paras, because they weren’t Tree-singers. They all looked pretty young in general, though with both races it could be hard to tell. And young people could be pretty cruel to service personnel.
Shae finished her slow walk to the table by picking up a large pitcher of water, normally used for watering the actual live plants in the windows, to help the oxygen scrubbers work a little better.
They were already starting to get a bit fussy and pushing rowdily at one another, egging each other on. They had been here for almost two hours and had finished their main meal quite some time ago. So, yes, just causing trouble. But, that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be dangerous. A quick glance at the clock on her wrist let her know that her timing should be about perfect for moving them out of here and back towards their ships. She was very glad that the diner didn’t serve anything that was a recreational drug.
“Ladies and gentlemen, good folk, it is time for you to pay your bill and leave this place. The kitchen is closed for the night for cleaning, and no food can be cooked at this time. The beverage makers are also being cleaned and cannot serve beverages. It would be the best if you were to pay, and to go perhaps to the bars for some recreation.” Shae hoped she got it all correct, as her Secondary school Lekthish was a bit rusty.
“We were promised more drink by the fat one,” the Para almost whined.
“There is no beverage available. You have eaten and you have drank. The diner is closing for cleaning, as the station protocol requires every twenty-four hours.” Shae repeated this in both Lekthish and Spacer. Though she could see from the flicking of the eyes to the sides, to engage the others at their table, that they understood her perfectly.
“Our women will have beverage, or we will not leave.” The black-haired one spoke up then.
Shae was annoyed, but kept her best smile plastered on her face for the cameras. She glanced out the front window for a second and saw what she was waiting for. It was time.