'This is the moon of Altoraki. Available for immediate settlement with pods already in place plus a healthy hydroponics set up.' The realtor adjusted his spectacles with one tentacle and folded two of them in front of him, the fourth one curling and uncurling on the table.
Menarsh eyed him with distrust. 'How much?'
'A mere 800,000 credits and the moon is yours.'
Menarsh could feel his wife's excitement as her antennae vibrated wildly. He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
'Why such a low price? What's wrong with it?'
The tentacles all spasmed briefly as the realtor cleared his mucus. 'There's nothing wrong with the moon, per se. It's just been marked for demolition.'
'When?' asked Menarsh.
'Oh, in about... seventeen thousand rotations.' The realtor swallowed nervously or at least his body convulsed and Menarsh assumed he was swallowing.
'A moment, please,' said Menarsh and he entwined antennae with his wife.
'OMG we can totally afford this moon! We should totally get it, don't you think? It would be just perfect and it's so within our budget. It's like the stars aligned for us Menny, the stars aligned! Can we buy it? Can we? Can we?'
He smiled indulgently and turned back to the realtor.
'We'll take it.'
The tentacles danced for joy. 'Oh that is wonderful news,' gushed the realtor as he readied the paperwork, the pen, the payment system and had a spare tentacle to shake Menarsh's mandible.
****************************************
'We are really going to have to do something about this infestation, Doc,' complained Altokari Moon Base Commander, Rex Edwards.
'Oh they're harmless space bugs, Rex. Tiny lifespan of just a few rotations. We should take it as a good sign for the successful colonisation of Altokari. Now, what we really need to talk about is the growth rates in hydroponics chamber four,' said the bases' Doctor as they walked down the corridor.
Claire Buss is a multi-genre writer and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.
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