Fast Cars and Intergalactic Speed Dating

46: Too Many Survival Instincts

The shuttle was nothing at all like the Karran ship that had brought them to Las-Kendarr. It was old and battered, disc-shaped and small. Richard walked around the vessel as he might have walked around an old pickup at a used car lot, although there were no tires to kick. Nearby was the entire human population of the planet, which was about to get smaller: Garth; Kavita; and Commander Brown.

"Looks can be deceiving," said Rrakrra, the pilot, a burly Arsargori with a pair of yellow-lensed goggles nestled into her wild thatch of hair. "It's perfectly safe."

Embarrassed, Richard tucked his hands into his pockets. He strolled back over to the group and stopped next to Kavita, saying, "Of course. Just curious."

The Arsargori smiled as if she could see right through him. "Humans have far too many survival instincts."

Garth laughed, raising his hand for a high five. Either high fives were currency on Arsagor or the pilot spent plenty of time around humans, because she returned it without skipping a beat.

"Don't worry," said Garth. "Richard's keeping all mine."

He set his rucksack on the ground and pulled Kavita into hug so tight that she squeaked.

Commander Brown looked on, their arms folded. "This is a big decision you're making, staying here like this."

"I know." Richard drew a breath and let it out with a smile.

"We both do," added Kavita.

Garth had stepped up to Richard and opened his arms. "If you try to shake my hand, I'm gonna punch you in the nose," he said.

Richard shook his head and stepped towar:d his friend, right into the embrace. They hugged tightly. "I'm going to miss you, mate," he said.

"Yeah, you will." Garth's grin was audible in his voice, but so was a suspicious rasp.

"Take care of yourself?"

"Always."

"And take care of Christine."

Garth pulled back from the hug, frowning. His frown only deepened when Richard produced a set of keys from his pocket and pressed them into Garth's hand.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Garth.

"I most certainly am not. I'm staying in space. You're going back to earth. You've inherited the car."

"We never talked about custody."

"What's to talk about?" Richard put his hands into his pockets again. "If you ever let Charlise lay so much as a pinky finger on that car, I will haunt you."

Garth's eyes widened. "You aren't dead."

"I know. It's a metaphor for the vast, incapacitating guilt you'll experience if you fail me."

"Oh. Well...I'll keep her safe for you, old chum."

"That, I am not going to miss."

Garth cracked a grin, tucking the car keys into his pocket.

"Drive safe, yeah?" said Richard. "And keep up with her. Oil changes. Detailing. Don't you dare hang one of those tacky trees from her rear view."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll take care of the car until you get back."

Richard mulled this over, looking from Garth to Kavita. He didn't know what the future would hold. Would he return to earth? Would she? Or would they spend the rest of their lives here in this space colony, lightyears from home? Maybe they'd embark on another adventure, travel deeper into space. He had no way of knowing.

He made a mental note to speak to Kavita about arranging his affairs back on earth, just in case. He didn't have much: his bank account was meager, his other possessions of little value. It was just the car, and he figured that if the Alliance for Intergalactic Peace could arrange for refugees to planet-hop, it could probably help him figure out how to transfer a vehicle's title from a galaxy far, far away.

"I wish you all the best," he said to Garth. "You're the best friend I've ever had. There's no one I'd rather have done all this with. Pick up where we left off. Make RiGarTek a thing. Go viral."

Garth waved a dismissive hand. "I can't do all that without you."

"Oh, please. I'll just be an intergalactic phone call away. Besides, you've definitely reached the FundUp goal by now—you can afford to bring in some more support for a while. Get things off the ground."

With a tentative smile, Garth met Richard's eye. After a beat, he said, "We'll see."

"We'll see." Richard exhaled a sharp breath. "Alright, off you go. We've kept Rrakrra waiting long enough."

Garth leaned down to pick up his duffel bag. "I don't know what you're gonna do without me," he said.

"Suffer a lot fewer Star Trek jokes," suggested Kavita. "Suffer a lot fewer Star Wars jokes."

"Suffer a lot less abuse of the English language." Richard raised his eyebrows at Garth. "Eh, old chum?"

"Have a lot less fun's what you mean," retorted Garth. He looked from Kavita to Richard. "I hope this is everything you could ever dream."

Richard cleared his throat. He smiled at Garth, then looked down at Kavita, opening his hand. She slipped hers into it, and he squeezed gently.

"I think it will be," he said. "Say hullo to Kin for us. And travel safe, mate."

Garth turned away. As he passed her, Rrakrra straightened and turned to follow him to the boarding door of the shuttle.

Richard watched Garth climb the steps onto the vessel. His heart twisted in his chest. This wasn't Bye, see you later. It was Bye, maybe I'll never see you again.

"Just an intergalactic call away," Kavita said softly. She squeezed Richard's hand again, then raised their linked hands up and kissed his knuckles, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "I'll miss him a lot, though."

"Yeah." Richard looked down at her. Now, his heart twisted for an entirely different reason. "But I'm very glad you decided to stay."