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“Yes. And she has family on Siloven. She likes them.”
“Well, that is a refreshing change.”
He went to the immigration logs and looked for Terrans. There it was. Based on the age, her name was Cloudy.
He looked up Cloudy and found the citizenship grant. “Hell. She ran into a burning clinic and rescued four long-term patients who were not ambulatory. She rigged a gurney and had them all link arms and sit together while she pushed them out to safety.”
Hazda smiled. “It takes the recommendation of four citizens for citizenship.”
“Yes, it was their families. She actually had ten people recommend her. Two of the patients had children who were council members. Mom didn’t stand a chance.”
Hazda grinned. “So she can earn trust.”
“And loyalty. Before we went for lunch, we looked at a few places, and that food stand was busy right until the end of the lunches. They worked fast, too. She was by herself and managed to get us each three servings of sautéed meat and veg along with some of the best akko I have ever had.”
“You hate akko.”
“Not like this. They shred it super fine and put a dressing on it that is sour, sweet, and spicy.”
“That sounds good. Can you get the recipe? Kekkari can try it.”
“That would involve me going back.”
Hazda smiled. “Yes, I suppose it would.”
“It is a little far for a recipe. It’s on the Noringale continent.”
“That is a little out of the way.” Hazda nodded.
He grimaced. “Yes, it is. I get the feeling that her boss would riot if I just took her. Oh, and she has a serious mental shield. I touched her mind, and she closed it so hard, I stumbled back.”
Hazda grinned. “That is interesting. Misty had an open mind. It has been fixed, but the variety is interesting.”
“You are talking like Mom.”
“I know. They are just a new thing to research. Don’t get me wrong, I love Misty, but her people are interesting in their variety.”
“I am going to do some research.”
Hazda laughed. “That is how I know it’s serious. Good luck, brother. You may need it.”
He nodded and signed off. He hated homework.
Chapter Two
Cloudy walked into her parents’ home, carrying pastry and a salad from the nearby greengrocer.
“Hey, I’m here.”
Her mother, father, and brother came out, paused and then grinned. “Cloudy! What did you bring?”
“Salad and some pastry. Are you still getting used to the face?”
Her mother smiled. “I keep expecting it to fade.”
“Not the way I did it. This is genetic alteration. If I ever have kids, they will look like this.”
Her father smiled. “It’s a very good version of deep-sea Vecchin. Do you get comments on it?”
