Page 40 of Trove’s Purpose

“I have promised to take care of you, Chee, and I mean that. If anything undesired results from a possible union with Trove, I will take care of it.”

Chee let out a long breath. “Because you’re my sponsor?”

“Exactly. But I also like to think we’re friends.”

Chee grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms. “I don’t feel like we’re friends.”

“Oh?”

“I feel more like a chess piece you’re moving across the board.”

“Ah. I don’t know what chess is, but I get the metaphor.”

Chee’s jaw tightened. She couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t actually deny it. Hyde calling her a friend felt a lot like the kind of thing people told pets. He liked her, but she would never be his equal, so they could never truly be friends

“Do you want me to get you out?”

His voice was quiet. The offer was sincere, however, she knew. But it also meant that her deal with him would be null and void. If she didn’t finish her job, then all of this would be for nothing.

“No,” she said, defeated. “I’ll stay.”

***

“Cheers!”

Chee’s voice rang out with the others as she lifted her cup, clinking it to the others. It wasn’t alcoholic, instead they were drinking a sweet, gently flavored water that almost tasted like rosé, just without the alcohol. The pregnant ladies couldn’t drink, of course, but the event still felt like it was deserving of a toast, so they made one.

They were off Tsik-Voll station and heading to a planet called Heava Yu. It was a planet that belonged to a very peaceful species, and the planet itself was supposed to be very beautiful. It was a huge, planet wide vacation destination because of that.

It was also the home of the person who owned the cup Hyde wanted. It was going to be a few days in subspace swinging all the way out there, but when the girls understood where they were going – thanks to Grace excitedly telling them – they’d eagerly declared their excitement. A vacation planet was paradise considering the places they usually went.

And that excitement turned into planning for what they would do while they were there, all the fun they would have, all the things they might see. And that somehow turned into the girls just sitting around, chatting, exchanging stories of life in space. Someone brought drinks. Then someone else brought snacks. Then someone brought more drinks. They’d all then decided to go change into pajamas, then they reconvened in the rec room with a bunch of pillows, blankets, their snacks, their drinks, and the energy of a bunch of wine aunts catching up on all the gossip.

It was, honestly, really nice. Chee had a couple friends at work, but she had never felt super close to them. Their problems just seemed so different from hers. Their lives too different. It was hard to feel any kinship with them. She liked them, sure, but sitting amongst these girls that bonded themselves to a group of hardened criminals, she felt more at home.

She was in her sweatpants and a big shirt and a pair of thick, fuzzy socks, sipping on some sweet, alien water, leaning against a pillow, blanket on her lap, hair frizzy and free, just enjoying herself as Haven detailed exactly how she ended up getting off Earth. The woman really was brilliant, but she also tended to go off on random tangents and had to be redirected back. But it was still fun listening to her story, hearing about her life. As fun as it had been hearing about how Garnet and Goldie were kidnapped or about Grace’s life working on a space station.

It was all a good time until suddenly eyes were on her. And she went still, realizing that they were waiting for her story on how she got here.

“Er,” she hesitated before smiling. “I went through kind of the same process as Grace.”

“No, you didn’t,” Grace chuckled. “Sure, we’re both sponsored, but I got my sponsor on the moon. My transition was quick and easy. Finding a sponsor from Earth is a lot harder. Did you do the Mate Match thing?”

“I thought about doing the scan once,” Chee nodded, “I looked it up. Figured out how much it would be. In the end, I didn’t do it though. I guess my looking though is what caught Hyde’s attention.”

“He found you,” Garnet asked, cocking her brow. “Were you looking for a sponsor?”

“No,” Chee shook her head. “I wasn’t looking to leave Earth. I was thinking about the scan because I thought I’d be matched to a human man. Most people are.”

“So, you were looking for love?”

“I wasn’t, actually,” Chee laughed. “That’s why I considered the scan. I just wanted my true love to come into my life without all that dating stuff.”

“Relatable,” Grace snickered, taking a sip.

“Here, here!” Garnet toasted her again. “This mating thing is just the best. Don’t even have to worry about it anymore.”

“Cheese has to worry about it even less,” Goldie pointed out. “Domini get that instant recognition of their mates on sight.”