She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 30

Devaki headed for the mess hall for lunch. Zie usually preferred to eat alone in the Kurgara barracks. It was a habit zie needed to break for two reasons.

Zie was moping. Zie knew that. But it was hard to stop hirself. As the earth people said, zie had made hir bed. Zie would have to learn to lie in it.

And zie had a mission. Zie had a mule to receive the supplies, a brave young man willing to risk so much for freedom. Zie was setting aside supplies for him. But zie couldn't deliver, not without help.

Inside the mess hall zie held back again, scanning the crowd. These earth people were biologically the same as hir people, but the cultural differences seemed so wide at times. Especially when it came to groups like the kurgara, that didn't fit their definitions of men and women. The men were often suspicious of hir sisters and the women often saw sexual offers where there were none.

Then zie saw a young dark-skinned man with a bald head. Zie had seen him a number of times, even talked to him a few times. He was a friendly sort that could talk to anyone. And he was a driver.

Zie discreetly found a place in line behind him. "The peanut soup smells good today," zie commented.

"Yes, like my mother makes," he replied. "It's Bintou's specialty." He gestured at one of the cooks.

"Local dish. I've never had anything like it back home," Devaki said. "And it's made the trip worth it."

He laughed at hir joke.

"Your friends aren't here?" Zie asked. He usually had a close-knit group with him, one of which was a Consortium citizen and a hanuman, another reason Devaki felt comfortable approaching him.

"Off base," he said.

"A seat then?" Zie offered, as they left the line with their food.

He agreed and they found an open table.

"Devaki," Devaki offered as zie sat opposite him.

"Abioya," he replied. "I usually drive long-range, but lately our mission has been shortened."

"Yes, lots of borders closed everywhere," Zie offered.

Abioya scowled. Just when zie thought zie had misspoken he began to talk again. "It's a shame. We are helping the poor. Where is the danger? There's none, except to..." he broke off, looking embarrassed by his outburst. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Zie told him. "I'm very curious about politics here, what the locals really think of it."

Zie had hit the goldmine on hir first try. Abioya was happy to talk for the rest of the lunch about growing up in a small village in Benin, among some of the poorest people in the region. Nor was he shy, once he found he had a receptive ear, to voice what he felt about the people in power.

"They manipulate us constantly. Their aid is the carrot and the threat of paramilitary terrorist is the stick. We must do whatever they want, vote for the men they want in charge."

Devaki was almost thrown by the reference until zie remembered someone else using it, and explaining about using a carrot and a stick. Zie nodded. "And the current protests?"

"Jake and Chatura, my crew-mates, drove down to a camp in Guinea."

"And you?"

"Short missions only need to two crew. Besides, there's lots to do around here."

So there was no problem with his crew. That was good.

"It's good, what we do," he went on. "Helping those people. I just wish we could do more."

"What if there was more you could do?" Zie asked quietly.

He paused, watching hir thoughtfully. "Like what?"

"I would like to talk to your whole crew about that."

"Violence..." he began slowly.

"It wouldn't be like that. I promise."

He paused again and then nodded. "I can ask them. Should I message you?"

"Let's keep this off work records. Maybe supper some time, in town."

He digested that and then nodded. "I will see what I can do."