Free Collecting by Viola Grace Page B

forward. “ I will show you to the kitchen and make sure you get settled. We laid in plenty of supplies for this week. Em will make sure that the fresh fish keep coming. ”
    The male almost passed out with joy at the mention of more fresh fish.
    Rivvin smiled, “ Emharo, that is Weelar Tish. He is a chef for the Water Folk. We ran out of living food a few months ago, and this is our first opportunity to scope out fresh supplies. ”
    Em looked up at him. “ Oh, so that is the nature of this visit? ”
    The Wilder was on the other side of the room, “ That and we are looking for biological samples to restock our genetic banks for replication. ”
    Harold Baker blinked rapidly. “ Oh, I am sorry. Morro Nefurik of the Wilder, this is my daughter, Emharo Baker, our collector. If you need something, she can find it. ”
    Emharo nodded. “ Pleased to meet you. Oh, Dad, I got you that topical anaesthetic you were after. ” She opened her bag and hauled out the seaweed. “ It emits a gel that is highly effective. ”
    Morro inclined his head and turned to Rivvin. “ They have arranged the guest quarters for us, your bag is there. ”
    Daphne was standing by. “ Well, if you are all situated comfortably, I will be off. Call for anything you need and I will have it brought out, otherwise I will see you in a week. ”
    She nodded to Rivvin and Morro, gave Em another hug and was out the door before Em could do more than raise her hand in goodbye.
    Rivvin blinked both lids again. “ She was certainly in a hurry. ”
    “ Daphne worked here one summer and one of the biological samples bit her. She isn ’ t fond of this place. ” Em shrugged. “ Dad, do you have a list of what you need for their visit? ”
    Harold grinned, “ Here. Weelar filled me in on how much protein and vegetation they consume, so we will need a little more than initially anticipated. ”
    She lifted her spear. “ Done. That ’ s it? ”
    Harold nodded. “ Unless any of our esteemed guests have any specific requests? ”
    Rivvin blinked, “ Are you going back in the water? ”
    “ I am. ”
    “ May I accompany you? It has been a long time since I hunted in open waters. ”
    She looked from Rivvin ’ s intense features to Morro ’ s shocked face and shrugged. “ Sure. Do you hunt with a weapon? ”
    He frowned. “ I think I might use a spear similar to yours. Do you have a spare? ”
    She grinned. “ Of course. Come with me, and you can choose your weapon. I will show you the guest quarters while we are on our way. ”
    He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.
    She heard Morro gasp but ignored him for the feeling of warmth that spread from that slight contact.
    “ Thank you, Emharo. ”
    She shook her head and walked out of the lab, down the hall and out into the warm afternoon air. Em used her fishing spear to point down the yard. “ There is the guesthouse. My mom had me clear all my stuff this morning. You will be nicely segregated from the Gaians. ”
    “ That is not necessarily something we require. ” He was close to her again, very close.
    “ We were told that the Nine didn ’ t like contact with Gaians, well not casual contact anyway. ” She shrugged. “ The doors don ’ t lock anyway, so you can come and go as you please. Will you be here all week? ”
    Rivvin made a rumbling noise of assent. “ That is the plan. I need to put a locator tag in a few shoals of fish and our mother ship can send a transporter down to bring them up to replenish our stocks. ”
    “ So, you exclusively eat fish? ”
    “ It is our preferred food, though we can and do eat other proteins while on the mother ship. ” He shrugged. “ It has been a rather unappealing few months since we consumed the last of the live stores. They tend not to breed in space, so we only have what we can bring with us from likely planets. ”
    “ And since Gaia is the planet you evolved on, you can tolerate the foods here. ”
    She walked to the shed near the dock.