Captain's Log:

Today is Darkeve.

This old holiday, originating among early spacer societies out in the void, was apocryphally considered a cursed date when a terrible accident befell one of the original twelve Seed Fleets, the Children of the Stars.

While there's no evidence that a singular event caused the breakup of that fleet, the holiday has still become connected to it in such a deep way that it is universally accepted on a cultural level.  Over time the holiday took on a more light-hearted tone and went from a solemn day of remembrance to a day for children and adults alike to dress up to scare away the demons of the Dark.

It remains one of the more popular holidays, and costume-creation is a cottage industry on the Craton, with many trying to outdo each other in complexity and creativity.

So long as it does not affect the ship negatively, I am quite fine with the celebrations.  Who doesn't enjoy a chance to have a party?  Aside from Jaya and myself, that is.  Though in my case I am somewhat duty-bound to make an appearance and wear a costume, being the Mayor as well as Captain.

Ah, well.  At least it's not a fancy party filled with people who hate me.

*******

Apollonia felt a strange mix of embarrassment and pride as she stepped into the bustling hall.

Sure, she was dressed in a green tube of foam from her neck down to her waist, which gave her the appearance of a fat green bean.

Her legs had a spiderweb of crinkled and rolled brown paper, which she hoped anyone who laid eyes on would recognize as roots, and with the large green leaves she'd strapped to her arms, the illusion was nearly complete.

But it was the huge and round yellow flower she was wearing about her head that she hoped would make immediately clear that she was not a green ravioli or bean, but a wonderfully cheerful Earth sunflower.

A few people glanced at her as she went down the halls, some giving her curious looks and others smiling.  Many were themselves decked out in costumes that, while she could admire the craft, seemed far less clever than hers.

But as she went further, seeing more and more costumes, she started to have a nervous realization; some people had put remarkably more time and effort into their costumes.  Many were quite clever and creative too, incorporating drones, lights, specially-printed materials, and even holographic projectors.

She started to feel a little silly in her flower outfit, but took a deep breath and puffed out her chest.  She was Apollonia the Sunflower today, this was her first Darkeve she'd ever gotten to really celebrate, and she wasn't going to let anything dampen her mood!

The halls were packed with people, a situation she normally hated, but one that today at least she could tolerate.

A tiny sound of tinkling metal on metal caught her ear, though.  She would know that sound no matter the ambient noise, and she stopped before homing in on it.

"Angel!" she cried happily as she saw the tiny spot of fuzz near people's feet.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The ship terrier's ears perked up at the call, and she dashed between the legs of several crewmen, who yelped in alarm.

"Angel, wait!" another voice cried, but Apollonia did not see who; she crouched and tried to catch the little dog in her arms.

"Awwww ohmygod you're so cute!"

Angel, the small ship terrier was nearly a blur, her tail and rear end waggling so hard that she seemed twice as wide as normal.

The outfit the dog was wearing only enhanced the effect; a tube of yellow and black cloth down her body, a pair of bouncy black antennae on her head, and two round, light blue wings on her back.

She was, unmistakably, a bee.

Apollonia had never seen one of the little insects, but she had heard of them, one of the things about the homeworld that every human child learned about.

Angel licked her hand frantically.

Apollonia tried to pet her more, but Angel's tongue seemed to be everywhere she reached, and finally a very undignified giggle escaped her lips.

"Calm down, I just want to pick you up!" she said.  But the dog would not calm down, just becoming more wound up.

She went out of her way to find the little dog often, but it always seemed to get incredibly worked up when it saw her; more than most people.  She wondered if it was because it liked her more than most, or if this was an expression of the generalized anxiety her presence seemed to bring to beings near her.

But the dog did not seem to hold it against her.  And the fact that she was a bee was absolute perfection.

"Who dressed you up like this?" she cooed.  "Did they know it would match me so well?"

A pair of boots stopped in front of her, and Apollonia finally looked up at a woman she hesitantly identified as Rachel Zhu.  Chief of . . . something with drones, she thought.

The woman looked slightly bemused, hands on her hips, and she herself was in a costume; some sort of ancient attire, complete with a funny little hat and a fake white beard.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Apollonia asked.  "I'm a sunflower."

"That much I surmised," Zhu replied, smiling slightly.  "I'm Zhu Xi."

That did not clarify much for Apollonia, but she nodded as if she knew who that was and tried again to pick up Angel, whose wiggling, while still extreme, seemed to have died down slightly with Rachel Zhu's arrival.  The dog easily avoided her grasp again.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about Earth history," Apollonia noted.

Zhu focused on the ship terrier.  "Angel, come.  We've got a schedule to keep."

"Aww, dogs don't want to keep to a schedule!" Apollonia said.  "I'm sure she'd much rather run around and enjoy herself!"

"And pee on the geraniums again," Zhu replied.  "No, I need to walk her in certain places where the drones can easily clean.  Then I need to get back on my shift."

"You're on duty?" Apollonia asked.  "That's terrible!  It's Darkeve, everyone should get to relax!"

"A ship still needs a crew," Zhu replied, a little amused now.  "But I appreciate the sentiment."

"Well, what if I walk Angel, and then you can get started sooner and be free sooner!"

The woman looked tempted.  "As long as you don't lose her.  She sometimes wanders off and gets lost and scared."

"Oh no, I won't let that happen!" Apollonia promised.  She made another attempt to grab Angel, but this time the dog seemed to have no desire to dodge her.  "She'll stick with me, see?  I'm a flower, after all and she's a bee!"

Zhu snorted.  "Well, I appreciate you taking her, I have a lot to do.  We normally take turns walking her, and it just fell to me today."

Apollonia gasped.  "I could do that!  I could be the ship's dog walker!"

Zhu laughed.  "I'll see you later, Ms. Nor."

"Hey, hold up just one more sec," Apollonia said.  "After the parade and stuff I'm going to show a movie at my place.  Shark Hole 7, it just came out!"

She grinned.  "It's going to be terrible, you have to see it!"

Zhu hesitated, clearly trying to tell if Apollonia was even being serious.  "I'm afraid I'm on a twelve-hour shift," she said.  "But you've got me curious.  Perhaps I'll catch number eight when it comes out?"

"All right!" Apollonia said, waving.  "Say goodbye, Angel," she added, taking the dogs's tiny paw and making it wave.

Zhu laughed again as she walked away.