A window offered Pan one of her first views of her home planet. Below the great space liner, Scaldigir sat among pinpricks of light – stars.

Another time, Pan would have found the view special. Now, she just found it a relief. A whole summer hiding in the wilderness left Pan thin and bitter. She’d stayed in the northern hemisphere, unable and unwilling to make her way south. When fall crept up early, Pan almost followed the migrating birds and insects. Instead, she found her escape.

She’d portaled her way onto a ship. Pan had to avoid the Scaldin on board, but she got her last look out the window. It would be the last she saw of Scaldigir, Aria, and Sotir.

 

The ship traveled four days, and Pan struggled to hide from the Scaldin crew. The ship joined with another, and in secret, Pan disembarked.

The ship she boarded wasn’t like a ship at all. It looked more like a train, with cars devoted to sleeping, sitting, eating, and, in the case of her car, standing around.

Pan had a good deal of space to herself. Not many wanted to stand in the empty car, but Pan didn’t know what else to do. She had no understanding of the world outside Scaldigir. She barely understood her own world. Pan saw no Scaldin aboard. Brynn had been right. She’d be on her own.

In her time as a ghost seer, Pan had seen few aliens in person. She’d seen a couple Soffigen, and that was it. Other aliens she saw only in books and pictures. In one hour on this ship, she saw more than ever.

Everyone looked like they belonged in an encyclopedia, or worse, a monster movie. Species of vibrant color, with skin, scales, feathers and fur, stalked the halls. They paid no attention to the Scaldin woman, seemingly taken from the composition of a grayscale drawing.

Pan tired of watching them. She needed to get to work.

Pan looked down at her worn garments, stolen from another Scaldin’s laundry. She would need new clothes. She would miss the beautiful flowery things she used to wear. She hoped Aria would keep them, even though Aria couldn’t wear them. Aria possessed two more inches of height but a smaller frame. Pan’s clothes would be a bit loose on Aria. At the same time, they would be too short. Still, Pan prayed Aria would keep them – at least a few.

Pan shook her head and tried not to think of her friend or her left behind things. She’d chosen to leave her home with nothing more than a computer and pencils. What an idiot she had been. How much art did she get done in the forest running from trackers? None. Absolutely none. Now, Pan wasn’t sure that she wanted to draw much at all.

Crowded around a board of small ads, Pan saw a group of aliens. She pushed her way into the group and determined that everyone around her was looking for work. Same as Pan.

Aliens didn’t put as much stock into paper and pen as Scaldin, so the board displayed a patchwork of digital ads. Aliens held devices and aimed them at favored jobs.

Pan glanced side to side. She extracted a small page and pencil from her bag. She’d need to find work the hard way.

Pan stared at the board. This handy board just happened to advertise unskilled jobs or positions that offered on the job training. Just what Pan needed. She had no skills whatsoever.

She spotted one advertisement for refrigerator repair. Unfortunately, you had to be willing to work on any of three worlds, and Pan knew one of them was swampy.

A big, wrinkly alien aimed his device at a plumber’s ad. The ad disappeared from the board.

Pan watched him walk away and wondered how such a big creature, with poorly fitting clothes, might make a good plumber. She shook her head to get the image of the alien butt crack out of her mind.

She turned her attention back to the board. Nuclear medicine technologist? What was that? A humanoid woman snatched the digital ad. Pan had just seen the salary. Her mouth dropped open. She didn’t know what the job involved, but it sure paid well for the amount of schooling it required. Too late, the other woman got it.

Pan searched the board again. She needed something, and she needed it before all these other aliens picked through the good ones. Pan didn’t want to go into construction or some other job that would require her to build more muscle. She’d be too tempted to use her telekinesis, and that would be disastrous. She didn’t want to do makeup or style hair, though many of the other females at the board snatched up those positions.

Pan grew antsy. She struggled to read the small Scaldin translations. Apparently, Scaldin didn’t get out much, not if their language was such an afterthought. The tiny type really slowed her down, not great in this competitive job market.

Advertising, sales, mail carrier – no, no, and maybe. Pan jotted down some mail carrier details, but six devices aimed for the ad in turn. After the last one, the ad disappeared. Pan kept her growl to herself, but she wished she could use her reaper abilities on these people. Then, they’d see who could grab the best job.

She set her eyes on the board again. Miner. God, no. If Pan never saw a mine again, it would be too soon. Another job stuck out: marketing artist. Pan passed it over. She saw other art positions, but she couldn’t risk being identified by her work.

As the board cleared, and the ship got ready to move, only a few jobs and seekers remained. A tiny alien jumped up and snatched what Pan thought was an electrician position. She didn’t get a chance to read it. Pan sighed. She was the only one who remained. At least, she could take her time.

Real estate, piloting, bartending, firefighting. Nothing was for her, except…

Pan jotted down the details of a small ad. It read:

Nursing Aide. Desperate need for nursing aides on Last Cruise Space Liner. Training available aboard ship. Nursing aides are responsible for assisting nursing staff. Nursing aides take patient information. Check patient vital signs. Clean bedding, clothes, and patient rooms. Assist with patient hygiene, meal time, and mobility. Please contact Linn Snall at 2-895-908-4657-87465.

Pan could do that. She could probably even sneak some telekinesis into her duties. Who would believe a dementia patient when they said she levitated them or their things? Better yet, among the dying and the dead was exactly where Pan should be. She might even find some abilities to reap, assuming she could take from the corpses of aliens.

Brynn would be so proud.

Pan glanced around the area and saw several public message terminals. Pan chose one and typed in Linn’s number.

To her surprise, the woman answered immediately. “Yes?”

Pan took a deep breath and employed her knowledge of the Cardinal language, one of the only things Scaldin arcanes got taught. “Hello, my name is...Eldi. I’m on the Space Liner…” Pan looked up at the top of the video screen and read the ship’s name. “Utforsk. I saw your ad seeking nursing aides. It said to contact Linn Snall.”

“Yes. That’s me. We haven’t got many bites from the ads. These days no one wants to work on a dedicated nursing liner. Let me explain a little about the job to you…”

As Linn talked, Pan studied the woman. Linn had dark blue hair and minute wrinkles. She was a Liti. Pan knew they came in many colors, and their artists worked mostly in wax. Linn seemed friendly if a bit stiff and stern. She reminded Pan a bit of Brynn, but Pan pushed the thought out of her head.

“We’re very understaffed, so we can’t always be as compassionate as I’d like, but we do our best. What interested you in the position?”

Pan decided to be honest. “Frankly, I need a job. I’m not all that squeamish in terms of blood and other bodily fluids, though I can find vomit a bit challenging. I’m not afraid of dying or dead people, and I’m not disturbed by the very old or the very sick. I have a fair amount of experience helping others who are stuck in wheelchairs or need walkers and canes.” Technically true, as all young arcanes assisted the eldest mentors out of courtesy.

“Where did you work before?” Linn asked with some interest.

“My experience is from my large...family. We have a history of bone loss, nerve damage, sciatica – that kind of thing,” Pan said. The shift from non-arcane to arcane always caused problems in old age that might have been delayed or never occurred.

“I see. I do hope you’ll be spared the pain.”

Pan was a healer now, so she answered with confidence. “Oh, I will.”

Linn paused. She narrowed her eyes but let it pass. “Well, if you’re able bodied and willing, let’s have you meet us on the Last Cruise.” Linn picked up a tablet. “I’m assuming you don’t have personal transport. Not a lot do.”

Pan nodded.

“That’s alright.” Linn tapped the screen. She took a moment to read. “I’m afraid we won’t join up with Utforsk directly, but I see your ship’s itinerary.” Linn tapped her screen. “Utforsk is headed to a port that the Last Cruise will pass two weeks later. You’ll arrive there in three days. Do you think we can meet at Plats?”

Pan wondered how she would eat for that amount of time, but she agreed, “Yes, I can meet you there.”

“Excellent. I tentatively welcome you to our group. We badly need the help.”

“I can give it,” Pan promised.

They said goodbye and exchanged the last of their information. Pan still needed to get clean, and she still needed food. She sighed, certain that she would have to do some stealing via portal. It would have to be okay.

A wave of sadness and gloom threatened to fill all her emotional space, like she was too small to feel more than one thing at a time. It felt strange. It reminded her of learning a new power, especially recently. During the summer, Pan had felt too big for her skin, like a woman without borders.

It took Pan a long time to feel comfortable with herself again. Now, the feeling of overflow threatened to return.

A man waited for Pan’s terminal. With a polite nod, she backed away.

A pencil dropped from Pan’s bag.

The man bent and picked it up. “Oh, are you an artist? Traditional kind I see.”

Pan took the pencil. She shook her head. “I’m not. Well, I used to be.”

“I hope someday you will be again.” The man smiled. The way he said the words sounded almost like a saying.

Pan liked it.

She moved away and examined her pencil. It was violet blue.

Pan paused.

In this pure emotional state, why not hold the pencil? Maybe, it would absorb the feeling of blueness. Maybe, it would become blue not only to Pan’s eyes but to a certain someone’s back on the planet she once called home.

 

Aria and Sotir sat outside in the courtyard. Summer had gone. Fall returned. It didn’t matter to Aria. All the seasons seemed the same.

“So, you’re back to work?”

Sotir nodded. His aura had changed. He possessed new base colors of deep green and somber blue. “I’m not on probation anymore. They like what I do for Scaldigir. They can’t exactly get that upset with me. Besides, Pan is gone. She left the planet, and she never hurt another person.”

Aria looked at her own aura. She looked dusty blue and white. Not a lot could change her it seemed, probably because an undercurrent of melancholy always existed in Aria. “Pan was never what they said.”

“No, she wasn’t.”

“Are we going to see her again?”

Sotir’s aura phased a bit white. “I can’t be sure. All those scenarios I studied…where she was…mine. They don’t mean anything now.”

Aria bowed her head. “I’m sorry.”

Sotir nodded. “We’ll both really miss her. I hope she’s okay.” Sotir’s aura showed some dull pink – love lost.

Aria frowned. She tried to remain composed. Messy emotions peppered Sotir’s aura, and Aria finally saw some of those things leak over her own. She saw guilt of dull grey and knew it came from her initial desire to part Sotir and Pan, when she now knew they were probably a decent match. She saw a deep blue, possible shame for her failures. But, within it all, Aria saw the yellow glow of hope.

A long silence followed.

Sotir’s said, “It might interest you to know that I’ve been doing some work on those bodies again.”

Aria looked up.

“There’s a lot to be concerned about.”

Aria met Sotir’s eyes. “What kinds of things?”

“Maybe, Soffigen arcanes. Maybe, those aliens we half come from.”

Aria looked skyward. She worried a bit for Scaldigir. Soffigen arcanes could mean trouble; scary aliens more so.

Aria worried for Pan. Now was not a time to be alone.