Call Girl
Chapter 34
"Where is he?" Kate had been told by TiPhar that his ship had checked in after exiting FTL at the edge of the system and wanted clearance to approach the planet and land at this city.
"Give him a chance." TiPhar was standing next to Kate and looking at her pad. "He has been cleared from orbit and should be landing soon."
Kate searched the sky for anything moving and initially saw nothing. Then she finally saw a black spec that appeared to be moving. It wasn't until it was a lot closer that she recognized the shape of their ship, compliments of Rick's parents.
Now she was bouncing nervously. She was all dressed up for him after being told he was at the edge of the system. She wanted to look the best she could for him.
They both watched as landing legs deployed, certain amounts of air were released, and the ship landed nice and soft on one of the Space Dock's landing sites. Now Kate was trying to figure out where the ramp was located.
The second she saw the bottom of the ship crack open and the ramp start to come down, she ran straight for it. She literally jumped up onto the ramp before it even reached the floor and raced up the ramp to the door at the top.
Just as she reached it the door opened and there stood her husband, her mate for life. Kate squealed and jumped at him. She wrapped her legs around him as well as her arms, causing Rick to have to hold her up. She started kissing him over and over again. Not one long passionate kiss, she was giving him several quick ones.
"We're so never doing this again. I'm going where you go from now on," Kate informed him. She'd done a lot but she had missed him badly.
"Well, they weren't Zorgons, so I agree," Rick told her and was kissed yet again.
"Did you get paid? Do we have money?" Kate asked while still wrapped around him.
"Quite a bit, actually," Rick confirmed.
"Good, because I'm broke. TiPhar's been feeding me and the contractor wants to be paid," Kate told him and finally got down to stand on her own two feet. Only then did she notice her tears and wipe them away.
"You feel so good…" Rick leaned down to kiss her again which made Kate's smile widen.
"As much as I want to make love to you we need to pay the contractor and I need to show you what I've done to the design. The city forced a few changes on me." Kate kissed him again only this time it was a long and passionate kiss.
o- [:] -o
"TiPhar, I'm told I have you to thank for feeding Kate." Rick stopped at the bottom of the ramp where she was waiting for them.
"It was my pleasure. She is my best friend. May I ask how long you will be staying?" Rick needed to pay to park here.
"About a month," Rick told her which had Kate looking at him smiling wide again.
"In that case I will need you to move your ship to a different space. You can stay here for today." TiPhar held out her hand for his card so she could scan it to be paid.
"Our place tonight. You are cooking as always. Do not be late," TiPhar advised Kate and walked away since she had an entire Space Dock to administer.
"So what have you been up to?" Rick wanted to be brought up to speed on everything she'd done.
"I'll show you. Contractor first, though." Kate guided him to a monorail station so he could pay the contractor and get back to work.
o- [:] -o
Rick was eventually up on top of a mountain looking out at the islands and down at something he didn't remember seeing before. Rick pointed at it. "So what's that?"
"That's the Space Needle. The city changed their minds about the original design so I came up with this. The city approved and I had to pay to have the architect and engineers design it so the contractor could build it.
"I ran out of money so the contractor stopped working on it. Everything else is done. We just don't have any furnishings. We have a house and it has power but we can't live in it yet. TiPhar has been gracious to let us use her second bedroom for now. It's either that or sleep on the ship. What do you think?" She loved her Space Needle.
"It certainly looks better. So why is the building that much bigger? It looks like there are at least two floors. I see the solar panels and the pod system." Rick kept looking at it.
"One floor is a future restaurant. The kitchen's in the middle with seating around the edge. The seating rotates around the edge, changing the view while customers eat. That part is sometime in the future. Maybe ours and maybe not.
"The idea is that the waste is a vacuum system with pumps and tanks located on this island down there. The piping is embedded in the pod support but I ran out of money so the pumps and tanks aren't installed.
"We sort of underestimated how much money we needed." Kate hoped he wasn't angry about that.
"It looks really nice. Great job!" Rick kissed her for her design choices. Kate relaxed and leaned into him. "So we need to furnish all the buildings?"
"Yes, the house and even the greenhouse. Even the power station has an office that's empty save for the computer that controls it," Kate confirmed.
"So just those three buildings?" Their design had been for more.
"There was no money so I had to choose what to build. The Space Needle cost more than I thought and we needed it to even get to the house," Kate told him anxiously.
"You chose correctly then. It all looks amazing." Rick held Kate and kept looking over everything.
"I was out here a lot, watching. Oh, and TiPhar has a boyfriend! He's the foreman for the construction company. When his father retires he's giving the company to his son." Kate was overjoyed that they were still together.
"Does she now? You'll have to tell me all about him." Rick was well aware that TiPhar had liked him but she just wasn't what he was looking for.
"His name is Tao'a'Tell and he has muscles. She loves it when he's working out here without a shirt. He's a hunk." Kate could see what TiPhar saw in him.
"Does he now?" Rick questioned her since what he was hearing was that she liked his muscles, too.
"Don't you go getting all jealous on me! It's sweet but I have a hunk that's all mine. And I married him. So what did you learn about Earth?" Kate wanted to know the future of her planet.
"They've decided to leave them alone for now. In about hundred years from now we may go back and research again." Rick wasn't sure of that but it was a possibility.
"Cool." Kate liked the sound of that. "I'm hungry so we need to go home so I can cook. Then we're going to test TiPhar's bed in the spare bedroom." She had plans to make love to him all night long and well into the morning.
o- [:] -o
TiPhar wasn't off work yet so Rick was free to talk about the race he had done his research on.
"They're drugging the miners to make them work harder? That's so mean! And it kills them?" She wasn't sure she liked this race all that much.
"It gets worse, I'm afraid. Lucile thinks it might be addictive. So if they don't get it they'll go into withdrawal. I left it all behind with my research," Rick told her.
Kate shook her head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. And they're doing this on purpose just so they can get more of this metal?" Kate stopped what she was doing so she could look at him.
"They ship it out for it to be added to the water, food, and literally everything they eat and drink. But only in the cafeteria that's solely for the miners. There are no families located in the dome. Well, no children anyway. Wives perhaps, but not families," Rick assured her.
"So the wife lives and the husband has his head explode. And the miners don't know about this?" Kate questioned him.
"Lucile and I believe that they do but remember it might be addictive so they need it." Rick was thinking they did know but no one was fighting for them. It was all about money.
o- [:] -o
Kate was literally too tired to roll over so she could face Rick. She also knew walking was going to be tricky. She needed to adapt to Rick's size again since it had been months since she'd had sex.
They'd made love to each other all night long. They had agreed on the bedroom on the ship given that Kate was sure she was going to scream through at least one of her orgasms.
"Don't moan like that, please." Rick was dead tired and was certain he didn't have another erection in him for more sex. At least for today.
Kate chuckled tiredly but finally she did find the strength to roll toward him so she could at least touch him. "Did they offer you another project?" Kate wanted to know since at the moment at least he was making all of their money.
Rick tipped his head so he could see her. "They offered for when I was ready. I might be ready in a month or maybe three."
"I'm going with you this time. I'm not spending that many months alone again," Kate told him.
"You probably could've come with me this time. I spent all my time in a dome and slept on the ship. However, construction might have actually stopped so it was best that you stayed here." He really did like her Space Needle idea, though they still needed to talk about whether it was going to be them that opened a restaurant or not.
"TiPhar and Tao'a'Tell have gotten pretty serious lately," Kate mentioned.
Rick was happy for her. "TiPhar deserves to find someone. Just not me."
"Good, because I don't share." Kate put her arm over him and worked at snuggling up to him so she could breathe in his scent. "The house may look Earth-like but the interior's going to be all local since we don't have a choice."
"Is there a way to walk the site?" The pod system was down until the Space Needle was done. Besides they still needed a station on that mountain and in addition, the pump and tanks for the waste system.
Kate shook her head. "Only by boat. None of the islands are big enough for the ship to land."
"We need to start talking about what goes on some of the other islands. I'm thinking maybe the two most outer islands should stay just as they are. Full of trees. Though we could put in a trail or two and maybe picnic out there once in a while." Rick was trying to think about what was next.
"That would be nice. We don't want all of the islands to be barren rock. Are you still thinking of that lookout tower of yours?" Kate wasn't sure she wanted it or if they needed it.
"Yes, I'm still thinking about it. Though the power station interferes with the view of the house on one side so I don't know. Just trying to think of what to do with eighteen islands." Rick still wasn't sure.
"Can we ship or somehow pump in a lot of sand? Create our own beach perhaps?" All of their islands were rocky with not an inch of sand anywhere.
"Are you still looking for a way to get burnt so you can test your nanites?" Rick teased her.
Kate found the energy to punch him for that comment. "NO! It's just this girl wants a beach and we don't have one."
"It means spending money we don't even have yet," Rick reminded her.
Kate sighed. "Yeah." No sooner than they finished it they would up and disappear for months to earn more money. "My space isn't available yet. So how is this going to work? I'm trying to open a store after my workshop's built." She needed items to sell in her store.
"Workshop! I forgot all about that place. The kit is only for the interior which means we still need a building to put it in. So what do we make it look like?" Rick asked her. "Keeping in mind the size of some of our islands."
"The city will shoot us down if it isn't artistic enough." Kate didn't want to go through another Space Needle again.
Suddenly Kate had an idea. It meant stealing from Earth again but no one was ever going to know. "What about a Kuwait Tower? It's this slender, cone-shaped tower, large base and tapering to a needle point at the top. About halfway up is this enormous ball. There's a restaurant and a café in the Kuwait Tower's ball but we could put shops in it instead. Maybe the city will buy into this idea if we light it up at night. Purple lights one night, orange the next, and so on. But we need a far away island. I don't want to have to see that every night from my bedroom." Kate waited to see what Rick thought about it.
"So a tall spike with a ball in the middle. The city might buy that. Unfortunately we just don't have the money for that idea." Rick had money to finish what they had planned now and money to live on but not that.
"CRAP! Two weeks to them. Maybe three weeks to research. Six months of research then repeat to get home. TiPhar might be married and pregnant by then." Kate was going to miss out on a lot if she left with him. She was going to kill herself if she had to suffer another seven to eight months without him.
"It means delaying the opening of your store," Rick pointed out.
"No workshop means nothing to sell anyway." She knew she didn't need a store if she had nothing to sell. "Fine, but we're moving in and living in our home before we leave."
o- [:] -o
Since they had a ship to live in and Lucile had moved it to a different space, it meant Kate moved out of the apartment she shared with TiPhar. TiPhar had made a small attempt at getting her to stay. "If I leave you can have your boyfriend over and spend the night and not worry about me hearing anything." Kate grinned wider as TiPhar began to blush. That told Kate that these two had clearly advanced to making love to each other. Probably at his place instead of hers and that was likely because of her.
o- [:] -o
Rick was in the city trying to find something and he was being very mysterious about it. Kate was oblivious since she was busy watching furniture and other things being brought into the house. She was looking at each piece and directing where each one went.
The plan was to sleep in their own house tonight. The contractor was done for now since they didn't have enough money to do much more. It meant she didn't see Tao'a'Tell that much, either. She even had to purposely go see TiPhar since she was now way over there.
o- [:] -o
Kate was sitting outside taking in the view and watched as a pod left the city and went to her Space Needle. Then a different pod headed her way. Kate was betting her husband was coming home. That thought had her smiling. They were finally home.
Kate tilted her head back so she could kiss him back and watched him sit down next to her. "So where did you go or is it a secret?" Secrets were not surprises so far as she was concerned.
"I took your idea to the city and so long as the lights don't shine up into the sky, possibly disrupting air traffic, they approved it. So I took it to our architect and engineers for them to design. When they're done we can take it to the contractor and get a price. We should have enough money to at least start the foundation." Rick waited for her reaction.
"Thank you! That was so sweet of you." Kate reached out to take his hand in hers. "Tonight will be our first night in our new home." She was glad they'd finally reached this moment.
Rick snorted. "For all of three weeks before we leave to accept another research assignment."
"Don't rain on my dream, babe. Think positive thoughts. We're going to live here a long time," Kate insisted.
"I am positive, Kate," Rick told her. "We're leaving in three weeks for several months."
"Just for that I'm not cooking dinner for you tonight. You're on your own." He was spoiling her dream.
"Really? You're sure there's nothing I can do to change your mind?" Rick asked her.
Kate was absolutely positive. "Nope, nothing." Then she watched him get up, bend down, and kiss her. Then kissed her and kissed her some more.
"You're sure I can't change your mind?" Rick covered the top of her breast with his hand.
Kate really wanted to be sure but she knew that he knew that she loved it when he touched her. "You're very sure?" Rick asked her again.
"Shut up and take me to bed and make love to me." Kate was willing to call it a draw.
o- [:] -o
They'd eaten out for the last week so that the refrigerator didn't have something go south on them and stink up the place. She had also said goodbye to TiPhar for now and even got to do the same for Tao'a'Tell since he was at her place.
"So two weeks to them. Then we stop to get our research project and find out how much they're willing to pay us. We get supplies based on how far away they are and how long we need to stay there." Kate thought she understood.
"That's the plan and no, I'm not going to ask them yet again about Earth. They've already decided to wait on Earth for now. Or do you want to make them angry with us?" Rick arched an eyebrow and waited for her to respond.
"No, but we're talking about my home planet, Rick. And no, I'm not going with you," Kate fired back. "I don't want to be roared at with a mouth full of sharp teeth."
Rick laughed a little and he kissed her. "Just stay in the ship till I'm back." He was interested in just what they'd found this time.