CHP 2
"This is the worst!" Nebula groaned from the other side of the zap pad, "It's inky and terrible and black hole-ish all rolled into one!"
"Now think about how I feel," Zenon smirked at her bff in the zap pad, "Are your parents going to meet you down on the islands?"
"For the rest of the semester, at least. It will give us a chance to figure out where to go next. Cassie should head this way, too. Her parents are going to be the last off before decommission."
"She's already on her way. Everybody saw her off this morning," Zenon nodded, "She's lunarious, Neb. I'm going to miss both of you now."
"What's going on with Margie?"
"There was talk of staying at a nearby military installation, but I think Bronley may take her up to his station for a bit. At least his isn't falling apart."
"What are you going to do until your parents come down? Staying with Aunt Judy and Plank crew?"
"Negative. They got enough going on without me stalking around their place. They would welcome me, especially Dasha, but it's too many bodies and emotions are high. Don't worry, I've got it covered, Neb."
"Oh? A plan up your sleeve?"
"An offer too good to refuse," Zenon chuckled to herself and heard the knock on her cabin door. Zenon left the zap pad on her now empty cot and opened the door to a smiling Protozoa.
"You ready, love? The Wonder Bus is ready for takeoff."
"Zoa!?" a distant voice squeaked from the zap pad.
"Nebula, darling! How is my favorite dance partner?" Protozoa grinned and opened his arms toward the zap pad as if she was there to give him a hug in person. He picked up the zap pad as if it was his conversation, "It has been too long! Is that Maui? I love the big island. Zenon told me you were doing some special work over there."
Zenon laughed at his interaction with her best friend as she picked up the last of her things from around her cot. He jumped into an easy conversation with her, like Nebula was his best friend and not hers. He led her out of the room and kept a fast pace discussion with Nebula as they gushed of their shared love of the 'big island'. He suddenly slowed down and wrapped an easy arm around Zenon's shoulders as they walked down the hallways toward the makeshift landing strip for the many ships now coming and going. It was something so simple and so easy with him. No pretense, no anxiousness, just a relaxed routine despite the months and sometimes years between seeing each other in the flesh. Didn't help the suddenly subtle fluttering of something in Zenon's stomach, though.
"Did our lovely girl tell you she's staying over for an extended vacation with yours truly?" Protozoa pulled her in closer so they were both in the shot.
"She did not!" Nebula looked to stomp her foot in agitation, "Zee!"
"I didn't have enough time to tell you," she pushed playfully at Protozoa and grabbed back her zap pad, "Mom and Dad won't be planet side for at least a few weeks and I told you I'm not intruding on Aunt Judy and Commander Plank with a new daughter and a new puppy. Protozoa offered to put me up for the time."
"She's one of my best muses for songs. I'm taking up an opportunity," he corrected and looked Nebula in the screen.
"There is something else," Nebula narrowed her eyes at them both in the screen and pursed her lips in thought.
Sudden panic gripped Zenon's chest without reason. She felt Protozoa shift at her side. Their pace slowed through the hallway leading to the landing platforms. Sudden thoughts of what two people alone in a secluded villa- of age, with no distractions- may sound like. Nebula wouldn't think that way, would she? She and Protozoa were friends. Good, life-long friends. Sweat minor.
"You two..." Nebula started with a knowing half grin, "... are planning something about the spay-stay, aren't you?"
"Is it obvious?" Zenon asked in a high voice, somewhat relieved her best friend hadn't gone the direction she thought she would.
"More than," Nebula huffed out an exasperated sigh and shook her head, "Keep me updated."
"Well will, darling," Protozoa promised and looked up toward the doors at the end of the hallway toward the Wonder Bus. He turned to Zenon, "I'm going to get the old girl warmed up and ready for liftoff."
Zenon nodded with a smile as he pushed the small handheld clicker in his hand.
"Nebula, keep stellar as I know you are," he winked at the zap pad as he ran ahead toward his ship.
Zenon heard Nebula strain in silence for the next few beats before she spoke again.
"He's out of earshot, Neb, what's going on?"
"So... you sure you aren't having a touch of hero worship, crush minor feelings from our younger days?" Nebula asked from the screen, her arms folded over her chest and eyebrow quirked, "Because I felt a connection from my side of the screen."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Like you can hide this from me, Zee. You're blushing, by the way."
Zenon lifted one hand to her cheek, unable to check if she was blushing.
"Gotcha," Nebula giggled like she was thirteen again.
"Stop it, Neb. It's the last thing on my mind after the disaster major I just dodged with Sage," Zenon waved her friend's assumptions off, "Besides, he's doing this as a nova level awesome favor for me. I would do the same for him."
"I'm sure you would, Zee."
"Enough, Neb."
"What did your parents say?"
"They have no problem with it. It isn't the first time I've stayed at Nova Linda with him. First time when I was fifteen with Margie. Then we had a huge weekend party there for my sweet sixteen- you were there on that trip," she rolled her eyes but smiled at the memories, "And again for my eighteenth- of which you missed and I still haven't forgiven you for."
"It was over a year ago, girl. My Blurp," Nebula sighed dramatically, "My point being, this is the first time it would just be the two of you."
"My parents aren't concerned, you're making something out of nothing, Neb. It takes two to tango, and even if I was in the mood for dancing, he would need to be too."
"Who says he isn't?"
"Neb-"
"Well, no matter what happens," Nebula let the sentence hang before continuing without a reaction from her best friend, "Keep your chin up. If anything can come of this, if anything can be done for the station, I know you can find a way."
"Thanks Neb. Love you."
"Love you too!"
Zenon shut off the zap pad as she cleared the last set of doors, took a deep breath, and jumped at the ridiculous horn of the Wonder Bus.
"You're wrong, Neb," she smiled and waved up at the large spacecraft. She smiled and felt her heart feel lighter and then squeeze in panic, "Cetus-Lepeedus, I hope you're wrong."
Zenon took little time in dropping off her bags at the entrance to the living quarters and up to the cockpit. She popped her head in and saw only Protozoa in the driver's seat.
"Took you long enough, we're ready to take off," he smirked at her and pressed a few more buttons before pointing at the other seat next to him, "I'll need a copilot."
"What happened to your pilot?"
"What pilot?" he asked.
"The one who piloted the Wonder Bus up to the moon?"
"I don't need a pilot anymore, sweetheart," he nodded his head at the side panel.
Zenon followed the direction and saw a pilot license with Protozoa's shining smile in the picture window.
"You got a pilot's license?"
"Our brief trip to see those alien fans of mine inspired me more than you thought," he chuckled and pressed for ignition, "Not to mention your mother and her actions. The brave woman she is."
"That she is," Zenon smiled with a nod of her head, "We taking the Wonder Bus to Nova Linda?"
"Just to the main hanger to give her some rest. I have a pod waiting there. I refuse to draw that much attention to my hiding place. And one thing the Wonder Bus does is-"
"Grab attention," Zenon giggled with a nod.
"Care to help?"
"With?"
"Getting there. It's not too hard, I promise. After all, if I have time in my super hectic, super star life to learn, it can't be that difficult, can it?" he pointed to a row of buttons above her head, "Push the third, fourth and seventh button, would you?"
"Buttons I can do," she nodded and pushed the ones he told her to and the bus shifted and they were lifting off. She laughed and buckled in, her hands gripping the arms of her seat in excitement.
The smile on her face was infectious and Protozoa couldn't lose the one he had on his. They got airborne and he clicked a few more panels and set some numbers into the screen between them as they got into proper cruising height. He looked over at her as she absorbed all he was doing. With a few coordinates set and the autopilot engaged, his attention fully turned to her. Her blue eyes jumped around the cockpit as she took in the instruments, even as she didn't know what they did or what they meant. He could tell her mind was working to figure out how similar they were to the ones in the pod she drove for Moon-Stock. She was so brilliant, not to mention she turned more lovely every time he saw her. He turned from her and cleared his throat as he realized he was staring.
"You aren't the only one who got a new license," Zenon gasped as if she remembered something and pulled out her pod license, careful to keep her thumb over her ridiculously inky picture.
"Pod license, impressive," he chuckled.
"Yeah, now if I only stopped backing into things and actually drove straight, I might have made it first to the moon- not to mention making myself come back around for another go at hooking the dome."
"From what I saw and heard of the flight, you did very well and even helped another competitor. That's no minor feat."
"And yet Selena still had to help me by knocking out two competitors. I'm glad I didn't win, it wouldn't have been true."
He knew bad self talk when he heard it and his smile dropped. A few rounds in the ring with his own negative self was draining, he could only imagine what could go on in her own struggles. With a few quick ideas running through his brain and another check for the autopilot back up, he decided she was due for another 'Protozoa pick me up'. He looked at the controls in front of him and then at the set in front of her. He looked at her square in the eyes, "I'm feeling peckish."
"Okay? You need me to get you something?"
"Nope, I'll get it," he said. He instantly got up from his chair and took his hands off the controls.
Zenon yelped and grabbed at the flight controls shifting in front of her, "ZOA!"
"You have it, love, I'll be right back," he waved over his head even if her eyes were wide and focused on the front window.
"You get back here, you- you," she struggled to find anything to call him, as all her attention was keeping them in the air. She gritted her teeth and took a breath, "Okay Kar, it's just like a pod. A really large pod with more buttons. That's all. This is okay. It's... stellar major. Just keep saying it's stellar."
Her hands gripped hard at the controls, and she made sure any other vehicle was over ten miles from them. Her eyes would jump from the screen to the surrounding clouds to make sure the craft followed the plotted dotted line. Her heart beat slowed down, and she settled back into her seat with a more relaxed, yet attentive state.
"It really is a big pod," she whispered and nodded to herself as her smile came back to her face.
"You're flying pretty well from what I can see," Protozoa came back in and sat in his seat, chewing on the last doughnut from his kitchen.
"You left me to live or die," she growled at him with narrowed eyes, even if she didn't turn to him just yet.
"I left you to do what you do best," he reached over and tapped her on her nose affectionately, "To figure it out and take control. How's your confidence?"
"Better," she nodded and took a chance glance to her side to give him a slight glare, "Give me warning next time before you drop our lives in my lap."
"I would not put you in a macro dangerous situation. I made sure the autopilot would kick in if you needed her," he pointed to a blinking light on his side of the controls, "I wanted you to have a boost in self-assurance, but I would never put you in the middle of anything that could hurt you. You're too important to take that chance with."
She let the sentiment sink in and the fight in her lessened, "You could have told me about the autopilot."
"It wouldn't have made you think on your feet," he explained and buckled back into his seat, "I had every confidence you wouldn't need it, but things happen. I have a back up. I'm not just a pretty face, love."
"That pretty face is going to be pancaked if you do that to me again," she warned with another quick glance at him, "But thank you for the boost. It isn't as bad as I thought."
"Better than just pressing a few buttons?" he asked and took back over the controls.
"For the most part," she let out a relieved breath and leaned back further into her chair.
"You can relax for a little here. We'll be landing soon. Didn't have to go very far to return her. Then our real work begins."
"Mission: Save spay-stay."
"Mission: Save space home," he added and reached over to put a hand over hers to let her know once again he was in it. It meant something to him, too. He was going to fight and she wasn't alone.
She turned her hand over and linked her fingers with his, "Home."
After dropping off the Wonder Bus and grabbing a much less inconspicuous pod car, Protozoa dangled the key in front of Zenon. She took the offer with a smirk and jumped into the driver's seat, with no prompting. Protozoa made sure Nova Linda's coordinates were in the computer and tossed the last of his bags and guitar in the back of the pod.
The flight to the elusive getaway was uneventful, and Zenon was more than happy for the landing platform being completely empty and large enough she wouldn't hit anything as she parked.
Protozoa marched right into his tropical hideaway and stretched to the ceiling, "Nova Linda Cove, how I've missed you, darling."
Zenon grabbed her single bag from the pod and walked inside to look around at the now familiar vacation spot.
"She doesn't change all that much, does she?"
"As if she should. She's perfect just the way she is," he turned to her quickly, "Just like another lady I know."
"Okay, what are you buttering me up for?" she asked suspiciously.
"You wound me," he answered and nodded his head toward the bedrooms, toward the back of the villa. They passed the three doors for the first guest room, recording/music studio and enormous bathroom. Beyond was another guest room, bathroom, and his room. Zenon noticed new pieces of artwork made by fans or commissioned by Protozoa himself flanking the hallway.
"Some of these are new," she commented as they went.
"Moved some of them from my loft in LA," he motioned to the pictures, "And though Nova Linda doesn't change often, I've done some renovations since you were here last. Wanted to make some changes in case you should pop in as you are known to do."
"Oh? Should I expect a Protozoa fountain in the courtyard?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"Nothing that glamorous... as glamorous major as it would be," he assured her and stopped in front of the door she knew as his room and a door across from it. He grinned widely and nodded at the door opposite of his. The last time she was here, the door led to a hall closet squeezed between the largest guest room and bathroom. Now, the door to the guest room was nowhere to be seen.
"I hope the renovations don't have me spending my time here in a hall closet."
"Open the door," he huffed impatiently.
She turned the knob and walked into something definitely larger and more comfortable than a hall closet. The closet was gone. The guest room had been remade into a guest suite with an en suite bathroom. The queen bed was now king sized and sat in an alcove with the most stellar view of the mountains. She knew there would be an even more lunarious view of the night sky once the sun went down. There was a small desk and work area reminding her of her work room back on the station. A computer setup was ready for her to work from. The colors of the room reminded her of her station or of space and the bright light coming in from the floor to ceiling windows made it feel brighter than the dark colors would have made it. Above her head was an enormous glass dome made to highlight the stars at night. Spots of silver or chrome sparkled along the room like stars and she checked the bathroom. Also dark, but swirls of purple, blue and pink swirled among the touches of silver. She walked back into the main room and turned to Protozoa who hadn't moved from his place, leaning against the door frame.
"You like it?" he asked with a knowing yet hopeful grin.
"I love it," she nodded and tossed her bag by the desk before she ran back up to him to wrap him in a huge hug, "How sure were you I would use it?"
"Were you planning on never visiting me again?" he asked with a laugh, "You're my most frequent visitor here. The only one I really want to be here. I wanted you to feel comfortable when you made it this way."
Zenon looked over the room and noticed all the pieces of her in every facet of the room. He really knew her. She hugged him tight again, "Thank you."
"I'm going to let you get somewhat settled," he took a step from the hug after a moment. He pointed to the short wall with the closet doors, "They're empty, currently. If you need more clothes, order from the mall catalog. They deliver out here."
"Zoa, I don't need you to get me anything else. This is more than I need, really."
"I won't have my girl going without," he tapped her nose again in affection and took a breath, "Not to mention the couple of outfits you have in that little bag are going to get old fast over the next few weeks."
With that, he turned and walked back down the hallway and to the pod.
Zenon took her time trying to feel out the fluttering feeling in her stomach again. She took a deep breath and another look around the room before she planted herself at the desk. She had the most lunarious friend in the rock star and she could never pay him back. But she had work to do.
She pulled her zap pad out and made the first call.
Dasha Plank sat at her own desk and had just wrapped up her latest batch of inky homework when her zap pad flashed with an incoming call. Dasha squealed as she picked up the pad.
"How is my absolutely fabulo, favorite cousin in the universe?" she asked as she answered.
"Hey Dasha, how's the Plank household?" Zenon asked as her cousin's face flashed up on screen.
"In a nova retro-fire," Dasha said with a roll of her eyes, "Dad is going into a global meltdown over the station and he is not happy about not being able to go back up. Mom's trying to keep him calm and I have to keep Z out of view in case she gets a hold of another of his slippers."
Zenon saw her pick the adorable puppy from her side, where the puppy yawned into the camera.
"Keep her out of trouble."
"Where are you? We thought you'd stay with us until the final countdown."
"Undisclosed location," Zenon answered easily as Nova Linda had become very unlisted in the recent years, "Listen, I need you to do something a little more sneaky than I would normally ask. I would do it myself, but I'm nowhere in the area to do it."
"All you got to do is ask," Dasha flashed a salute to the pad.
"There's my partner," she felt the pride swell in her chest, "When is the next time the dear Commander is out of the house?"
Three hours later, Dasha waved as her parents headed out for another meeting of the earthbound station personnel. Many of them marooned on Earth had to set up a small shelter or places to stay on the pay of the government for the next few weeks before something else is found more permanently. Seeing as Commander Plank was half of the team who controlled the station and the experiments, he was the one with all the apparent answers for the people.
Dasha made sure she wasn't able to see their pod past the last turn on their street before she patted the side of her leg.
"Come on, Z, we got some sleuthing to do," Dasha called to the puppy prancing behind her.
She pushed open the door to her father's office and looked at the shelves and desk dominating the space by the short window. Her mouth quirked up into a quizzical expression as she glanced around the room. Z sniffed as she went, exploring the room she was never allowed in before. Dasha pulled at the shelves and the rows of data chips and unlabeled volumes, giving her an idea for the station schematics that Zenon was asking for. Her father was a meticulous fellow, but instead of words and labels, he used colors and tabs of which she didn't know how to understand.
Dasha put her hands on her hips in frustration as she stood at the left bookcase against the wall and the hundreds of edu-pads lined on the shelves, "If I were station schematics, where would daddy put them?"
"Try the third row up on the left."
Dasha squeezed her eyes shut as the feeling of being caught settled in. She turned slowly to see her parents in the doorway.
"Here I thought you were on your way," she grinned innocently.
"We were, but your mother forgot her jacket," Plank sighed, "Okay, out with it. What's going on? And how much is your cousin involved?"
"Well..."
Zenon stretched as she tried to relax, her arm reaching high with her zap pad still gripped tight. She still had yet to hear from her cousin, but she shouldn't worry. Dasha was a smart girl, she should be able to find the plans and any communications between Plank and Hammond with little trouble. She was light years past her with Earth tech and she was becoming more stealthy than she was at that age.
She reached the hallway leading back to the main portion of the vacation home and smelled something delicious. She followed her nose and was led to the kitchen, where she was more than surprised to find Protozoa at the stove cooking. He shook the pan over the burner and pulled it off to cool to the side.
"Zoa?" Zenon asked as she got closer, a genuinely surprised smile on her face.
"There you are. I thought you'd get hungry," he lifted his brows and nodded his head to some cabinets to his side, "Grab some plates, would you, love?"
Zenon got a couple of plates out with a couple of glasses. She set them on the bar top across from him; her zap pad off to the side. She looked at the pans he was working with and found some of her earth favorites, home cooked. Baked potatoes and smaller burgers, if she was guessing with the ingredients he had laid out.
"No O-rings tonight," he mentioned and wiped his hands clean as the pan cooled, "I was out of onions and the breading and I don't have a fryer."
"You cook now?"
"Who do you think fed me while I was here on my lonesome?" he quirked a smirk back at her, "Unlike you, I never had a cook. Something I'm infinitely proud of myself for."
"Among other things. I'm impressed," Zenon leaned on the counter and eyed the small spread he made for them, "Now I feel like I'm a talent behind."
"You have plenty of talents I cannot even come close to."
"Says the famous rock star."
He laughed with her and laid out the prepared ingredients on the counter in front of the plates, "Hamburger sliders and potatoes. No fries, again no fryer, but I will not be without my starch."
Zenon did not need to be told twice. She dug into making her first slider and took a bite, "I will never get over the food!"
"Glad it meets your Earth standards," Protozoa chuckled happily and put his dinner together.
"Super Nova over my standards."
"What are the next steps, space girl?" he asked between bites.
"I've already put things in motion," she mentioned as her zap pad went off with Dasha's number, "And there's the first piece."
The zap pad flashed and Zenon saw not the face of her cousin, but of her now concerned uncle.
"Commander! What a surprise," she squeaked with a nervous laugh. The look he gave her from the other side of the screen made her feel like she was thirteen all over again, caught during one of her dashes through the station.
"Why I would think you would leave it alone be is beyond me," he grumbled and looked over his shoulder where Judy stood with Dasha who waved awkwardly, "But to put your cousin in the middle of it is a whole new level."
"I would have done it myself, but I'm removed from the situation," Zenon admitted with a shrug and thought the straight forward truthfully approach was best.
Plank sighed heavily and shook his head. His eyes closed in frustration, but with another cleansing breath, he opened them to look directly into the screen. Zenon felt her back straighten as if ready to stare him down, but his eyes softened and he breathed out a quiet swear, "You know, Zenon, you could always just ask me."
"What?" she shook her head in amazement.
"I want to help. The station is more than a job, Zenon. It's home to me too," he chuckled fondly at her, "And if anyone can figure this out, it's you. I can't keep doubting you when you always seem to find a way."
"Your confidence is refreshing, but I don't know if it's a bit misplaced."
"I don't think so," Protozoa mentioned from his seat next to her.
"Who are you staying with again?" Plank asked as he strained to look through the zap pad in the voice's direction.
Zenon rolled her eyes and turned the pad to the side to show Protozoa.
"Commander and Mrs. Plank," he nodded with a wink and waved back at Dasha, "Dasha. How are you liking those vids I sent, darling?"
"Zoa! They're amazing. Thank you so much!" Dasha waved back at him and jumped on the balls of her feet.
"You're staying with a rock star?" Plank asked with a shake of his head.
"He was the first one to offer to help me save the station."
"We won't let her fall out of the sky on our watch if we can help it," Protozoa backed her up and leaned over her shoulder, easily draping his arm over her other shoulder. His face framed perfectly in the screen over her shoulder, surprised how easily and perfectly they fit in the zap pad frame, "It's nice to have more allies though."
Plank shook his head in deep thought, "I'll send you the files on the station lay out- even though you know the station better than any mechanic or maintenance worker we've ever had. I'll keep you briefed on the communication between the station and here. Be careful, Zenon."
"As always, Commander."
"That's what I'm afraid of," he huffed and pointed at Protozoa behind her, "Take care of her. Don't let her go too far."
"You say this like I can stop her," Protozoa laughed at the other man's slight smile, "I'll keep her safe. That I'll promise."
"We'll keep in touch," Zenon finished the conversation and cut off the call. She turned to her side to get snarky with him when she failed to notice how close they actually were for the call. Her nose instantly bumped his, and he reared back as if the contact burned him.
"Sorry," she said quickly and touched her nose.
"Nah, it's my fault," he waved her off and bit into his slider to finish it, his mouth now stuffed before he could say anything else that would make the situation worse.
He watched her nod and return to her food before he thought over the option of choking himself with his slider to end his embarrassment. He just couldn't help being close to her whenever he had the chance. He was drawn to her, and they fit together so well. His well-known lyrics kept coming back to mind.
There's no gravity between us...
Now, if he could only get the anxious, flapping feeling in his stomach to go away. He wasn't a bloody teen anymore. Even though it may have been infinitely easier if he has been.