he makes his rounds though you'll have to go hungry He's got a much better memory than I Chastened but also relieved Teal stuffed her bread and nutrient paste tube into her pockets as she got up from the table You're acting like we're going to steal your food said G'kolu a twelve year old Anlari boy whose fleshy horns were only as long as a human finger The horns curled to show his amusement You're not going to enjoy eating that in the stinking fathier stalls anyway Leave it here I promise it will be here when you get back That's not why Teal stopped What are you planning on sharing it with the fathiers asked Jane a girl from Tanto Winn where everyone had green eyes That bit of bread isn't even enough to fill the gap between their teeth They won't appreciate it
Teal shook her head None of your business She turned and ran off The echoes of her footsteps bounced against the bulkheads and partitions drawing more groans and neighs from other fathiers massive towering creatures of incredible speed and grace when not confined in the cramped quarters of a spaceship They stamped their four legs each as big around as a tree trunk and a few meters tall and the din they made took a while to subside G'kolu's horns twisted pensively but he said nothing nothing The first rule of being on a deep space crew was that you respected the privacy of others Everyone had secrets Ulina turned to the rest of the deckhands Better get some sleep We'll be in port by morning watch and it's going to be a long day of unloading in Canto Bight
I'm thinking we need another serving of vegicus tails said G'kolu Even the captain has to agree that we need energy to do the work right The boy could wheedle for more food better than anyone else on the crew Ulina was about to object but Dwoogan the ship's cook was already firing up the fryer on the other side of the counter Dwoogan was a tall muscular woman whose scarred face hinted at a mysterious past Somehow Somehow she always managed to turn the most revolting ingredients into something delicious even the vegicus vegicus the vermin that lived in the bilges and storage nooks of long haul spaceships On long voyages with limited supplies a resourceful cook like Dwoogan sometimes turned to them as extra protein supplements Ulina grunted noncommittally but the young deckhands deckhands could tell by the pulsing green glow of her eye patch that she had assented A tantalizing oily aroma soon filled the mess deck
The deckhands let out a loud cheer that set off more groans from the fathiers in their pens in the ship's bowels I wonder if we'll see anyone famous in Canto Bight said G'kolu his horns standing up eagerly The city's immense fathier racetracks and crowded casinos were legendary Who do you want to see asked Dwoogan She dropped handfuls of vegicus tails into the boiling oil making everyone's mouths water as the greasy scent filled their noses The jockeys said Jane her green eyes wide as if she were already in the grandstands The holo stars said G'kolu The people who have so much money that they wear their clothes only once before throwing them away said Tyra a thirteen year old human girl whose family had scavenged in junkyards all over the galaxy The heroes of the New Republic said Naldy a
