Hutton Orbital, Epilogue
11 May 2017User4296
Erlich City, Sol SystemFederation Space
January 3302
Once again, I found myself outside of the same warehouse that started this adventure. This time, however, the screen didn't come to life at my approach, forcing me to shift the large bundle in my arms to tap on the screen.
The door opened, revealing Mindy. She looked like she hadn't slept in days - or showered or changed in that time, either. Still, her sunken eyes lit up.
"John, right?" she asked. "How was the trip to Hutton?"
I paused, mulling over my answer. "Eventful."
She laughed. "You back fer more, darlin'?" she asked, moving aside and motioning for me to enter. I followed, carefully maneuvering the bundle through the doorway.
"Not this time, actually," I said, once we were inside and the door had closed behind us. "I came to return something."
Mindy seemed to notice the bundle in my arms for the first time. I placed it on the floor, and pulled the blanket back.
"Sugar!" she squealed, dropping to her knees as the small dog burst forth from the bundle and into her arms, then set about licking her face. "Where have you been?! Mommy's been worried sick!" Finally, she looked up. "What happened?"
"Turned out one of the crates you gave me had a rusted corner that had come loose," I said, shrugging. "She probably managed to wedge it open and hop inside."
Mindy looked down at the dog, then gently kissed it on the head. "Why'd she do that? She's never done that before."
"Well, funny thing... You said she was acting strangely, and so I had a medic on Hutton check her out..." I said as I slowly unwrapped the bundle, pulling back layer after layer of blanket. "Here's why..."
Mindy looked into the bundle and gasped. There, neatly arranged in a basket, lay six tiny puppies, all of them sleeping peacefully.
"She was probably looking for a dark, safe place to have her litter," I said. "Unfortunately, she chose one of the crates we loaded onto my ship."
She seemed to melt, and gently placed Sugar down - who proceeded to triumphantly pad over to her litter, before sniffing and licking one of the small puppies. "She had gotten out once or twice recently, but I would never have..." Mindy reached down to pick up the one Sugar had licked. It yawned lazily in her hands.
"What will you do with them?" I asked.
She looked up, beaming ear to ear. "I love dogs. My husband won't like it, but I'm keepin' them!" She paused. "Well, maybe give one or two away. We have a few friends who've always wanted dogs." She looked up. "Do you want one?"
I coughed. "What?" Sugar padded up to me and barked softly, her tail wagging.
"She loves the idea!" Mindy whisper-shouted. "You spacer types are lonely, aintcha? A dog would be perfect!"
I knelt and inspected the litter. One stood out to me - this one had a beige spot over one eye, where none of the others did. I reached down to pick it up. Male, I saw.
"You mind?" I asked.
Mindy laughed. "Not at all, John. You earned it."
"Arf!" Sugar barked, seemingly in agreement.
“Oh, one final thing,” I said, and reached into my jacket pocket, and deposited what I found there onto the nearby table.
Mindy gasped again, and slowly made her way over to the table to pick the object up. “This is…”
“A Hutton Orbital mug,” I finished. “You said you wanted one, and I was in the neighborhood.”
“How can I ever thank you?” she asked.
I looked down at the small dog in my hands. “With respect, miss, I think you already have.”
***
I swiped at the screen, flipping through the ship displays. A saleswoman stood to one side, watching the ship schematics fly past.
"I'm sorry you didn't like the Python, sir," she was saying. "It's quite the popular ship."
"It's also damned expensive to fly," I said, swiping again. "Maybe I'll try it again someday, but I don't have the scratch to outfit it properly."
She nodded. "I understand. Do you see anything else you like?"
As if on cue, the Asp Explorer popped up on the screen. I paused, then shook my head. A good ship, but I was ready for something different. I swiped. The next ship caught my eye. "Got any Diamondbacks?" I asked, pointing at the screen.
"Let me check," she said, smiling, and walked away. I pulled up the schematics to take a closer look.
This should do, I thought. This should do nicely.
A few hours later, I found myself being pushed back into the seat of my newly purchased Diamondback Scout, accelerating forward as we cleared Snyder Enterprise's hangar bay. As the blue glow of the force field faded behind us, I looked over at my co-pilot - curled into a little ball in his basket, sleeping soundly.
"So, little one," I said. "There's a big universe ahead of us. Where should we go first?"
END