Jessica said, "You don't have fuel. You told me you did't want it topped off until after a few cases came in."

  "Shoot. I could take the public system."

  "The Luntan sent in a request to see when you would file your findings."

  "The case just landed on my desk. They can take a moment. And it doesn't add up." Detective Zander paused at the door. "Just stall if they bug you. Take that afternoon off to spruce up your tail."

  "I had my tail trimmed up. Didn't you even notice at the wedding."

  Zander flinched at the mention of the wedding. "Honestly, I kinda forgot about that, a bit of brain fog from that evening. We'll discuss that later. Right now I need to go to the Luntan system and see these carnivorous cabbages for myself."

  "I guess I could get another tail spa day. It will be a nice touch up before the honeymoon."

  "That's the spirit." Zander ran to the station elevator and selected the main hub. He tried calling Jolane and left an out of breath message. What was the angle? What did the Jolanges gain by creating toe eating cabbage?

  He couldn't think of a thing as he purchased a ticket on credit to ship out to the moon. If he didn't get paid from this job he dreaded the interest on the ticket cost. "Why is the price so high? I know the system is not that popular but come on. Last year a ticket like this would be a tenth the cost. No. I'll still take it thank you."

  The ticket system booth clicked and spit out a slip of paper that Zander waved in the air as he stepped across the security line.

  Gunks, and Frostbears crowded around a transport that would take them asteroid mining. Snobu, sized like the Gunks but possessing more dexterous fingers and often had a knack for technology clustered around a separate transport. That was a larger ship, destined for the core. Snobu had narrow arms and legs and loved dressing up in white coats or wearing pocket protectors and they often used goggles which made their buggy eyes even larger.

  Detective Zander walked past the asteroid miners and past the snobu scientist and engineers. It was good to see the work force out, maybe things were turning around for this part of the galaxy, or maybe Johhny wanted an indoor pool. Either way those workers were getting a paycheck.

  The last ship nearing it's departure time was Zander's he boarded the small craft and clustered in next to a family of Luntans. He discretely counted their toes.

  "What are you doing?" asked the female Luntan.

  "My apologies. Do Luntan have four or five toes?" asked Detective Zander.

  "Four. We have four."

  "Oh good, then you haven't you lost any to any unusually aggressive vegetation."

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  "No."

  "Does he mean the sweet cabbage? Mom is that what the human," the kid stretched the word human out, "is talking about. It's so tasty why don't we buy it anymore."

  "The cabbage is sweet. Sounds like a really treat. Thanks for your time." Zander tipped his head back and tilted his fedora forward as the ship readed for FTL travel. He'd rushed out and forgot about taking the chemBoosters to help with side effects.

  The Luntan moon port was a bustling city. The sky bridge took him down from a small hub where the transport docked. Zander stared at a large observatory. The big dome was easy to keep his eyes on and his mind off his stomach.

  The child Luntan, the one he'd talked with earlier, thumped him with their wings. "Hey mister, you don't look well."

  "I don't travel the FTL very well without taking some meds."

  "You should chew on some sweet cabbage. It always settles my belly when I'm sick. But the eels don't like. So funny. Who doesn't like sweets."

  The mother Luntan called her son back and the elevator settled into position. The doors open and the salt breeze of the moons ocean filled the air. Detective Zander stepped out into the center atrium with multiple easy openings to the sky. The Luntan family spread there wings and Zander scrambled out of their ways. The kid circled Zander twice and shot off to follow his family.

  Zander ducked as a shadow flew over his head and a familiar Luntan landed before him. "I caught wind that you were on the transport here. A personal notification of completion of the review was unneeded. You're delaying while more Luntan suffer crippling injuries."

  "I did not come here to hand in my stamp of approval. I came here to investigate."

  "What is there to investigate. I, Governor Asvenia, overwatch of this colony, supervised the investigation myself."

  "Do governors of moons frequently over see such investigations? Would not an issue as one fall to the usual galactic trade dispute bureaucracy or maybe you have a clerk or magistrate that this would fall upon."

  "I take the matter of personal safety very highly. It is the utmost importance to me that my citizens are safe."

  Detective Zander said, "Perhaps. I now find it highly suspect that you didn't introduce yourself properly. I also find it odd that you hand delivered these case files. I find it all unusual."

  "And you're an expert on Luntan's. Your role in this was a supervisory role. You would think you would be happy to take partial credit on solving a case of this public magnitude."

  "I'm happy when the guilty party is shown to be guilty. As hard as it is your evidence collected is compelling. The Jolangus do appear to be guilty as you suspect. The Galactic Trade Council gave me five days to complete this task. I am an independent investigator. You wouldn't want there to be any hint that I failed at my task."