Marsh Bug Mayhem

By Katie Phillips

“Relax, Nana. It’ll be fine.” Lili crossed two fingers behind her back, blowing a frizzy curl out of her face. It would be fine. It must be fine. Or she’d never escape the greasy walls of their tiny spaceship-turned-food-truck. There’s got to be more to life than noodle bowls.

“Ya,” her grandmother muttered. “You like shiny penny. Always the bad luck.”

Lili winced, scowling. Like a bad penny. But it was true. She had the worst luck of anyone she knew—not that she had any friends besides their eccentric, derelict domestic droid, Z24.

“You see.” Nana shook her head, wrapping her crocheted shawl over her bony shoulders and snapping arthritic fingers at their rusted shopping basket. It wheezed and sputtered, floating up beside her.

“It’s only an hour, Nana.” Lili rolled her eyes. “I can run the food truck without catastrophe.”

She shot a quelling look at domestic droid Z24, who narrowed his giant yellow eyes.

“We see.” Nana waved vaguely at the shopping basket, which ejected a puff of smoke and followed her out of their shuttle and into the bustle of New Gurald spaceport.

Lili let her shoulders slump, sighing. Technically, Haerald hadn’t been her fault. Or Yiok. Or Beirnde.

Okay, so maybe Beirnde was.

“The point is, I’ve got this.” Lili strapped on her spattered apron and pulled pots and pans out of the cabinet of their minuscule kitchen.

“There is a 94.3 percent chance that statement is false,” Z24 intoned.

“Did I ask for your opinion?” Lili brandished a wok at him, then leaped back as a jet of fire whooshed from the temperamental stove. She pinched a smoldering curl of hair between her fingers and poured a dash of oil into the pan.

“We open in thirty minutes.” Lili raised her eyebrow. “Get chopping.”

Z24 flipped out a large kitchen knife from his arm compartment, and pieces of onion flew as he minced an entire sack. The domestic droid started on a pile of carrots, while Lili pulled a roiling bag of marsh bugs out of the cooler and crossed to the stove. The wok spat scalding oil onto her hand, and Lili yelped, losing her grip on the sack of squirming marsh bugs.

“Jumping jireneks!” Lili shook her stinging finger, dancing in place around the scurrying insects fleeing for their lives.

“Language, Miss Uru.” Z24 calmly slid his pile of chopped carrots into the wok, snagged a strainer from the rack overhead, and scooped up masses of hopping marsh bugs.

Bang. Bang. The metal framework of the spaceship shuddered.

“Oh, for the love of sticky noodles—”

Lili leaned over the fryer and slid the pass-through window open. Coral-colored tentacles filled the space. Oh. It’s you. The endorian had been a regular the past week, despite their efforts to discourage his business.

“We don’t open for…” Lili glanced at her watch-comm. “Twenty more minutes.”

The endorian growled, blasting her with breath smelling of rotting sewage. Lili craned her neck to see past him. She already had a line: a motley collection of spaceport workers in oily coveralls, a few garans in dress suits, and a mother inali foiling escape attempts by her brood with a mass of limbs.

“Hurry it up, Z.” Lili glanced over her shoulder as the droid rolled past, chasing down a pair of marsh bugs hopping between his supports.

“This isn’t as easy as it looks.” Z24 straightened, dumping two more escapees into the wok to fulfill their sizzling destiny.

Lili sighed, glancing out the pass-through window, and froze. A port policeman. And he didn’t look happy. She gulped, slamming the window shut.

“What’s wrong?” Z24 trundled past in pursuit of more escaped marsh bugs.

This is bad. So, so bad. Nana is going to kill me.

“It’s the port police,” Lili squeaked. “He’ll want to see paperwork. I’m not old enough. There are bugs on the floor. He’ll kick us out of the port. I’ll never leave this ship!”

Z24 paused and blinked. “Do calm yourself.”

Lili closed her eyes. “What will I do?”

“Make your Nana’s marsh bug noodle bowl.” Z24 snatched a passing insect out of mid-air.

The droid had officially short-circuited. Like everything else on this ship.

“It never comes out right for me.” As if that’s the worst of my problems.

“Miss Uru,” Z24 said, depositing his catch in the spitting wok. “You can do this.”

Right. Lili snatched jars of seasonings off the tilting shelf overhead. Red pepper. A pinch of spicy soldrip bile. A dash of Nana’s special elixir—cucumbers and chiles in vinegar.

“Dock 149 culinary dispensary.” The croaking voice of the port policeman penetrated the thin walls of their shuttle. “Please present your credentials.”

Lili froze, chili vinegar still pouring from the bottle. She gasped and caught herself, replacing it and sliding the window open.

“Hello.” Lili flashed her brightest smile. Z24 tucked a handful of marsh bugs behind his back.

“Erm—” Lili cleared her throat, holding a scoop of fragrant noodles under the port official’s twitching nose. “Would you like a bite to eat?”

He wavered, clearly torn between duty and appetite. Lili didn’t hesitate. She dished up a bowl of spicy marsh bug noodles and slid it across the counter. He dug in with relish.

“Now what has she done?”

Nana’s approaching voice sent chills up Lili’s spine. The policeman looked up, tears in his bulging eyes.

“Made me the best bowl of marsh bug noodles I’ve had since I left home.” He slurped up the last noodle and nodded at Nana. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Lili stared after his retreating back. I can’t believe that worked.

“Well…” Nana got a lot into that one word.

Lili gave a nervous laugh, shifting to block Nana’s view as a marsh bug hopped along the counter. She grabbed another bowl and turned back to the window.

“Who’s next?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katie Phillips is an author, editor, and coach helping women writing YA sci-fi and fantasy to take their craft and business to the next level. She was a co-founder of indie publisher Crosshair Press (now UUP) and has been working as a writer for 10+ years. She’s passionate about bookish community, nerdy fangirling, and sushi. When she’s not traveling the world, she’s watching Netflix with her ballet dancer/carpenter husband in Wichita, Kansas.

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