Tales From the Terran Republic

Chapter 188: The B Team, a Side Character Extravaganza

Chapter 188: The B Team, a Side Character Extravaganza

"Bye!… Bye!!!" Jeruzz exclaimed happily down the hallway, waving his tail rapidly as Gavin quietly facepalmed.

"This is entirely your fault, you know," his foreman chuckled.

"I know," Gavin replied with a rueful smile.

"See you tomorrow!!!" Jeruzz called out, "… Bye!!!"

He slithered happily into the office.

"Ssshe wass ssso niceth!" he exclaimed, his jaw hanging open slightly in his equivalent of a smile.

His jaw shut as he looked at the expressions of the people in the office.

"… Whath?" he asked as his eyes widened, "Did I do ssomething bad?"

"Jeruzz..." Gavin said carefully.

"Am I in trouble?!?" Jeruzz wailed in agonized confusion." Whath did I do now?!?"

"Jeruzz!" Gavin said a bit more forcefully, "You are definitely NOT in trouble."

"I'm noth?" he asked, "Then why are you all looking at me like thath? Thath the ‘You messsth up.’ look!”

"I need to make this very, very clear." Gavin said carefully, "You are NOT in trouble, and I am NOT reprimanding you, nor will you experience any reprisal of ANY sort."

"Oh no!" Jeruzz wailed, "You are thalking all funny! Thath meansss thath I REALLY messedth up!… WHATH DID I DOOOO?!?"

"You didn't mess up, Jeruzz," Gavin smiled as the room all chuckled despite itself. (It was impossible to stay mad at the danger noodle.) "I did. I made the mistake of not clearly defining my expectations… again..."

Gavin looked at the tablet in his hands and winced.

"When I told you to 'help' the nice lady from during her visit," Gavin said, trying not to burst into laughter, "I meant to unlock doors, fetch records, let me know if she needed anything specific… maybe get her a coffee or some lunch if she wanted… I did not mean 'help' as help find extra things to gig us on!"

"… but you sssaid helpth her..." Jeruzz said in a small voice. "Oh no! Am I going to get—"

Gavin snatched a spray bottle off his desk and pulled the lever, sending a harmless jet of water at Jeruzz.

"Bad Jeruzz!" Gavin shouted, "Bad! You are NOT getting fired! If we were going to fire you over some stupid bullshit, we would have done it before now, dummy! In fact, this time, we couldn't if we wanted to! You're a fucking whistleblower now, asshole!" he laughed.

"A whsthleblower?"

"A tattle tale," the barrel-chested woman snickered. "You told on us," she grinned.

"Oh no!" Jeruzz wailed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Peeeese don'th be mad ath meeeeee!"

"We aren't mad," Gavin chuckled, "and we still like you, but 'peeeeese' stop giving that bitch more ammunition."

"Don't worry too much about it. Littlegull is a fucking beast," the foreman snickered. "You probably didn't tell her anything she wouldn't have found out anyway. We have actually done pretty good so far."

"That's because we run a pretty tight ship," Gavin replied. "But tomorrow, she's going into the new workshops."

His expression turned serious.

"Tom, Linda," he said to the pair, "Let's head over there and make sure everything is perfect."

"But it isn't, and you know it," Linda replied. "It's all drop cords and duct tape over there."

"And the power 'regulators' are just homebrew 'electromagnetic breakers'," the foreman added, "It's like the second millennium in there."

"And we had to make them ourselves," Linda added. "She's going to take one look in one of those panels, and it's all over. We might as well start ripping it all out now and send everyone home."

"If she wanted to shut us down," Gavin said calmly, "She would have headed there first. I would have. I also certainly wouldn't have turned this into a two day inspection, either. She's been known to spend days on-site when blood is in the water. She's giving us time to get our shit in order. We are going to test every one of those breakers with a real load, again, log the results, again, scan the drop cords for any degradation, again, make sure they are routed and secured properly, again… and for God's sake, pull out any multiple outlet strips those dingleberries hooked up behind our backs… again. Oh! Let's take the powercell chargers out of there, bring them into the main building, and hardwire them in. They are just going to have to live with the longer trip. She might still shut it down, but let's make sure no fines are lurking in that place we don't know about."

He reached for his hat and headed for the door.

"Jeruzz!" he said as he turned to the nervously fidgeting creature.

"Yesss?"

"Get to your desk and start going through emails and online orders. I need you to pull up every single time we have tried to buy the right equipment and every single wait list we are on. Also, pull up all that shit you found concerning temporary and field expedient electric wiring. When she pitches a bitch tomorrow I want to be able to shove a tablet right into her face."

"Yes, ssssir!" Jeruzz, "I won'th leth you down!"

"You know what," Gavin smiled, "I have absolutely no doubt about that."

After they left, Jeruzz hummed happily to himself as he wiggled the mouse with his tail, industriously going through pages of orders and emails.

He wasn't going to let them down…

...and he was getting pretty good at this!

A few minutes later, he slithered down off the really nice perch his friends had made for him and slithered over to the water cooler.

Using his tail, he took his cup, filled it, and raised it to his lips, spilling only a little of it this time.

As it splashed onto the "jumpsock" they had come up with to protect him out on the shop floor, he realized that he still had Ms. Littlegull's nifty little penlight/inspection camera in his top side pocket.

Oh, that's right! he realized. She had asked him to hold it for her while she wrote something down just before they went to the office at the end of the day.

She must have forgotten.

He scribbled down a note on a post-it with his tail (He was getting really good with his tail!), reminding him to give it back to her.

***

A convenient distance away, Tabitha Littlegull, veteran Republic Department of Labor investigator, lounged in her grav car and munched on a cold grilled spammite, tomatoelle, and kindalettuce sandwich (they didn't get wilty, soggy, or stale… for days if necessary) as she watched Jeruzz pen that very same note on her car's display console.

She smiled as she reached for her Skysmack Instaice Chocacaffiene Ephedrablast (now with genuine artificial coffee flavor crystals!).

They were good guys.

She liked them. They ran a little fast and loose and were a bit "sloppy" where certain things were concerned, but nothing to lose sleep over.

They had even already repaired the "broken" safety interlock that allowed Jeruzz to open that access door in the first place. She even suspected it was out of actual contrition instead of concern over her appearance.

That Gavin guy actually looked a bit nauseous and not out of concern for his wallet. She could tell that the incident had really shaken him.

Of course, the final bit of evidence was how they treated the snake after she left. Many places would have turned him into a pair of boots for what he did.

If they had done that, they would have gone down. She would be on the way back right now to eat them alive.

She smiled. It was nice to be reminded that not everyone was a piece of shit.

She punched in the address of her hotel, and her grav-car flew off.

As she enjoyed her dinner, she started researching magnetic circuit breakers and regulations concerning temporary and field expedient electrical regulations. She was NOT going to be caught off guard tomorrow.

This was going to be fun, and she was looking forward to seeing what these gunrunners would come up with.

She sipped her "coffee" and sighed.

Now she had to make the hard decision, the one she had been avoiding.

Was that entirely too likable little snek simply too stupid to survive in that work environment or not? There was "somewhat undertrained," and then there was that guy.

They might refuse to fire him…

but that just made it her call, not theirs.

***

Teeva happily spun around in a circle, admiring herself in the echoes from the smooth metal walls of their room.

She looked beautiful!

"These clothes are wonderful," she gushed. "They feel so good!"

Kvaaan smiled at her joy.

She was right. He couldn't believe the finery they were simply handed. These were the finest jumpsuits he had ever beheld, made of some luxurious cloth that he had never felt before…

And they fit perfectly.

They were even given more than one! Astounding! The wealth of these humans was beyond understanding.

Beyond understanding, he thought with amusement, a very common thought these days.

The past two days had been a blur. They had been treated like royalty. No, better than royalty. Even the overlords themselves would be amazed.

First, they had been swarmed by doctors, more than one for each of them. It turns out those magical cookers and wonderful cookware weren't cookware at all but arcane devices in which they worked their chemical magics.

The knowledge terrified him. He had no doubt their chemistry was (heh) "beyond understanding," but he knew something about the subject. He had dabbled in many things plying the darker side of his trade, and the thought of drinking out of his "other cooking pot" was not a happy one.

Serving his beloved Teeva and his unborn children out of it was the stuff of nightmares.

Fortunately, the lab (not kitchen) they had raided had been used for testing of "raw organic compounds" that they somehow extracted from the huge planet beneath them (how did they do that?!?), and none of them were "that bad". They then said a bunch of words he didn't understand after that, but they said there was little to fear either for them or their unborn.

It turns out that their water vessels were the real problem (they had just thought the pictures of the roaches on the side of them were pretty), but they were given injections that they claimed would "clean them up".

After that, there were more examinations where they were told that their lives before this magical place were far more damaging than anything they had experienced here and that they would be cured of things they didn't even know they had.

Once again, he understood little. It was, once again, "beyond understanding."

Then there was the food… Oh!… the food!

It was amazing! Not only did they have the hyper roaches, they had worms, grubs, beetles, snails… all sorts of amazing things.

They were even given pure, uncut algae! Not only that but something called "seaweed"! He had never seen (or tasted) the like. Teeva said that the overlords would dine on something like it, but she had never tasted it herself.

Some of it even still had little snails still in it! It was straight from a real ocean!

It turned out that their diet of roaches and "Jovian rice" wasn't quite "enough" (by human standards) but that they had been "chronically malnourished" for probably most of their lives. Someone called a "nutritionist" said that just a few additions would make their diet "complete".

Once again, completely beyond understanding, they were told not to worry about paying and that they would "work it all out later" once they were trained and given jobs.

This worried him more than a little, but he was prepared to serve his new masters with everything he had. No matter what labor they demanded, he would do it. They said something about "well above minimum wage," but he didn't quite understand what that meant.

What he did understand was that they were going to be paid… in real money, the same money that the humans themselves used! Not only that, but they would be able to buy anything they wanted!… Anything! They even said that all of the finery and the marvelous foods they had sampled would be "cheap", easily purchased with money to spare.

He would believe that when he saw it, but they had no reason to lie. He and Teeva were entirely at their mercy.

His thoughts were interrupted by a "quiet" (for humans) knock at the door.

"May I come in?" a voice inquired.

Kvaaan went to the door, raised up on his rear legs, and pressed the panel that would cause the door to open, wondering once again about what exactly caused the "magic door" to work so well. Whatever it was, it had to be in the thin wall, which didn't leave much room for it to…

He would worry about it later.

He bowed low before the mighty human before him, completely shocked when the human bowed as well!

"Good afternoon," a man wearing one of their luxurious jumpsuits said. "May I enter?" he asked again.

"We are honored by your visit and powerless to oppose you, oh great and mighty human," Kvaaan said as he, still bowing low, backed into the darkness of the room. "Teeva!" he exclaimed to his beloved, who was completely prostrate on the floor. "Turn on the lights to please the mighty human!"

"There's no need for that," the human smiled as he pulled out something from his pocket and put it over his eyes. "I can see just fine."

Of course, he can, Kvaaan thought.

"And you do have the power to 'oppose' someone entering your residence," the man said. "You are a free man, Kvaaan, no different than I am. You can also drop the whole bowing and scraping bit. We 'mighty humans' don't get off on that."

"Yes, oh mighty human," Kvaaan replied, returning to a normal quadrupedal stance.

The human sighed. They were worse than he thought.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, "My name is Cable, and I am part of Zeus Industries's security division, external affairs section."

"Greetings, my lord."

"Ok, Kvaaan," Cable smiled, "That's going to get real old, real quick. We go by first names here. You are 'Kvaaan,' and I am 'Cable'. I appreciate what you are trying to do, but you need to get with the program."

"Get with the program, oh might… Cable?"

"Learn and adopt our ways," Cable replied gently. "We judge people by their character, personal qualities, and most importantly, how good of a job they do. We find overly submissive displays very offputting. I know you are trying to show respect like you have been taught, but it comes across poorly."

"Forgive me, my…" Kvaaan caught himself, "Forgive me… Cable."

"Nothing to apologize for," Cable replied. "That is the custom where you are from, and I bet that if you failed to do that to the overlords, it wouldn't be pleasant, would it?"

"No… Cable."

"Well, we aren't the overlords, and making the implication that we are is something you don't want to do. We don't like people like them and definitely don't want to be treated the same way you would treat people like that."

He stepped towards Kvaaan.

"This is how you greet a human," he said. "You extend your hand like this," he said as he extended his own.

"Like this?"

Cable then took his hand, surprising Kvaaan, and gripped it firmly.

"Now you do the same," Cable replied. "You want a good firm handshake."

"Like this?"

Cable winced.

"Strong little guy, aren't you," he laughed, "a bit less firm… ok, now that's just a dead fish. A little firmer… firmer… Good! That's pretty good. Grip around that hard."

Cable laughed again.

"Don't think about it so hard. Just somewhere around there is fine."

Cable then shook his hand.

"Hello, my name is Cable."

He paused.

"Now you say your name."

"My name is Kvaaan."

"It's nice to meet you, Kvaaan."

"It's nice to meet you… Cable."

"Good," Cable smiled." That's what you do when you greet a human for the first time. After that, just talk to us like you are talking to one of your own. That is our custom, and you should start trying to learn our ways."

"Yes, mighty Cable!" Kvaaan replied.

"No," Cable replied. "No 'mighty Cable' nonsense. Just 'Cable' or just 'Yes' or even 'Yeah'."

"Yes… Cable."

"Better," Cable smiled. "Now that that's out of the way, as I said, my name is Cable, and I work for Zeus Security Forces in their 'external affairs section'. We handle issues outside the Republic, including dealing with foreign governments, external threats, and the like. We also advise Zeus Corporate on xenological matters. As such, I will be your main point of contact and assist in your integration into both human society and Zeus Industries's unique culture."

He smiled at the pair.

"I would also like to learn about you, your culture, and the Kilven Dominion. I would appreciate it if you would let me learn from you."

"It would be an honor, oh mi— We would be happy to help, Cable."

"You learn fast," Cable smiled, "That's a good sign."

He took a seat and leaned forward meaningfully.

"Now," he said as his features turned wicked and predatory, "tell me about the Kilven..."

***

Honx, spattered with mud, stumbled as she wrestled with some long heavy cables.

Every muscle she had ached as she gasped for breath.

Creators, she was so tired… so tired.

She tripped over a cable and fell to her knees, yelping with pain.

Her legs shaking, she struggled to her feet.

Jamal looked back at his new helper and waved happily.

"We are in the home stretch now!" he called out happily, "Only a few hours and we got this one in the bag!"

Hours... Honx thought, blinking back tears. She had never been driven this hard before, not even on her homeworld.

And Jamal? He just kept going and going and… going…

just like all of the other humans. They were like machines. No. They were worse. Machines needed to be recharged. Machines broke. Humans did neither. They just kept going, even the other helpers.

The apprentices and the journeymen? They were unnatural. They would go all day and all night without sleep, without even a real break, grabbing a mouthful of food or gulping some water or that coffee that they all seemed to use as deuterium.

She didn't know how much longer she could last.

Tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She was exhausted and hurt in ways she didn't even know she could hurt. She needed rest. She needed sleep. It was like her mind was frying in her skull…

And they all just. Kept. Going…

Her 'dream come true' was a nightmare! She had finally found acceptance, a real shot at a real trade, a community of people who, despite what Jamal had said, were all too happy to share their knowledge… well… most of them, anyway...

...and it was all slipping through her fingers.

She choked back a sob, gritted her teeth, grabbed the cables, and started dragging them through the mud.

***

"Easy money!" Jamal smiled as he and Honx climbed into his grav-lifter.

"Yeah!" Honx lied, "easy..."

"You are going to love your next check!" Jamal said as he lightly tapped Honx's arm with his fist.

She smiled weakly.

"I have to say," Jamal said as he entered the address for the closest Waffle Palace, "I was a little worried when I took you on but damn, Honx. You have done really well. I'm proud of you."

Honx's heart broke a little.

Jamal sighed.

"Whew, I'm worn out. I'm telling you, a belly full of crap, a hot shower, and a bed sounds really good right now."

Bed!!! Honx thought desperately. Sleep!!! The thoughts shone like the stars in the night.

A few minutes later, she knew true despair as Jamal's phone rang.

"What's up?… What?!?… How the fuck did that happen?..." he said.

Oh no... she thought. No no no no no no!

"Dude, I am beat," he said. "Is there anyone… Well, what about Candice?… Nguyen?… Well, shit… Dude, you don't need to tell me how important this is, Velut Luna and all that… Right. Well, I am going to eat a real meal, and then we will be en route. We should get there… around zero four thirty or so, give or take, and both my helper and I are on double and a half now, just so you know… I don't care if you have food there. I'm hungry now, asshole… Ha ha… See you then."

He turned to Honx and smiled.

"We're going to have to eat quick," he chuckled ruefully, "and sleep in the air again. That was the shipyard. You won't believe—"

Honx burst into tears, ugly ones.

"Honx?"

"I (sob)… I..."

She started crying again, unable to speak.

Jamal swiveled his seat to face her.

"What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I'm so tired!" Honx wailed. "I can't… I just can't..."

"Honx?"

"I tried (sob). I tried so hard!… I sob… I'm so tired, Jamal. I'm not a human… I'm not like you… I… I..."

"Hey," Jamal said gently, laying his hand on her shoulder. "It's ok. We've been going nonstop for days. A lot of humans can't hold up to what we do. If you need a break. You need a break. We'll grab some waffles, and then I'll drop you at a hotel along the way."

"I'm sorry, Jamal."

"Let's just get some food in you and get you checked in someplace," Jamal said gently.

It was a quiet meal. Neither said much.

I am such an asshole, Jamal thought as he looked away. I never even thought about her limitations. Poor kid must have been killing herself, and I didn't even notice.

He isn't even looking at me, Honx thought, feeling heartbroken. I must be such a disappointment. No wonder humans don't want to hire us. We're worthless. Now that I've tried to stand among them, I see it now. I will never be like them, never.

"I… um..." Jamal said quietly, "I found you a room not too far from here and got you checked in."

"Thank you," Honx said, fighting back tears. "I'll pay you back, I swear."

"It's a business expense," he replied, "we were going to stay somewhere anyhow."

Jamal picked up the tab, and they silently headed to the hotel.

***

"Ok," Jamal said as they pulled into the parking lot, "You are all set. Give me a call when you wake up. I should know more about this trouble call then."

"You..." Honx said, looking down, "You could come up with me? Maybe for a little bit?"

"What?"

"I let you down," she said as she pulled her snout back, making her pony face, and unzipping her arc-flash coverall. "Maybe I could make it up to you? Since, you know, I can't do as much as a human, maybe I could do other things for you? I—"

Her voice froze when she saw the look on Jamal's face.

Jamal was angry. She had never seen him look like that before.

"Honx," he said, "If you were a human, do you know what I would do right fucking now?"

"Jamal?"

"I would throw you out of this truck, fire you on the spot, and then call the union. Not just my union but the RFL-CIO. You would NEVER work a union job, ANY union job again."

Honx just sat there in horror.

"But," he said sternly, "you aren't a human, and you didn't know. We are pretty laid back, but there are some hard lines you don't cross. Trading sex on the job, for the job, is one of those lines. What you just did… we don't do. I should get rid of you right now because you just threatened my career."

"I… I did?!?"

"Yeah, you did," Jamal replied grimly. "But, you aren't one of us, and you didn't know that. You are also exhausted and not thinking straight. That's what we are going to say this was, understand?"

Aren't one of us... Honx's heart broke with an almost audible snap.

"Now you are going to get some sleep, and when you wake up, you will go to the union website and look up 'sexual harassment and 'sexual misconduct. You are going to find some training modules. You will take them."

"Yes, Jamal."

"I will hopefully be done with whatever is going on at the shipyard by then and had a shower and a nap myself. If you have any questions, we can discuss this then."

"Ok," she replied quietly, "Um… Jamal..."

"Just..." Jamal said as he looked away, "Just go. Get some sleep. We'll talk about this later... if we must."

Honx quietly got out and stood there as Jamal flew off.

Several minutes later, a Kalesh wearing a smart uniform walked up.

"Excuse me," he asked, "are you ok?"

He backed away a little as Honx looked up.

"No," she said with tears in her eyes.

***

"Well, now I've seen everything," Tabitha Littlegull said the next morning as she looked into an electrical cabinet.

She pointed a scanner at a strange tangle of components.

"I can see how that could work," she said, "But I'm not an engineer. Hang on."

She pressed "send".

"We'll run that past the engineers and see what they say," she said.

"It was either that or make 'fuses'," Gavin replied, "And there is no way I'm going to do that. This is bad enough."

"While we're waiting," Tabitha said quietly, "Can we speak privately… about Jeruzz?"

Gavin nodded. He was afraid this might happen.

"Let's step outside."

***

Honx lay in the hotel bed as the morning light shined on her face.

She didn't move, despite the glare.

She couldn't.

What had she been thinking?

The look Jamal gave her…

Why did she even think he would be interested? Only the freaks at the Drop of Oil were interested in something like her…

Even her own family threw her out…

Just like Jamal did!!! He was her "alpha," and she was going to lose him just like before!

Honx started crying again.

***

"Mr. Richardson," Tabitha said in her official voice, "I understand why someone would take a liking to Jeruzz. I honestly do. You taking on someone like him is commendable, but his complete lack of training puts him and everyone around him at risk. He's lucky his tongue grows back and snaps off so easily. If it hadn't, he would be dead."

"I know," Gavin responded, "and that is entirely my fault. I made the mistake of assuming knowledge and skills that just aren't there… yet. Jeruzz is a smart guy, but he's just so fucking ignorant it hurts. The game plan was to find him a better job while he was on disability, but he was losing his shit so badly that we put him in the office where the damage is contained… mostly..."

"Mostly?"

"He tried to 'help' by refilling the water cooler once."

"Oh dear God," Tabitha laughed.

"I wish I had a camera," Gavin smiled, "It was amazing!... And then there was the time he—"

"Yes?"

"Nevermind," Gavin chuckled.

"I couldn't help but notice a scorch mark under his desk," Tabitha smiled.

"Oh, that," Gavin scoffed, "It was there when I moved in."

"If you say so," Tabitha smiled. "Look, I took some time to get to know Jeruzz a little yesterday."

"Did he show you the pictures of his family?"

Tabitha winced.

"Did he mention how his little brothers and sisters can now go to school instead of working in places that are right out of our history books? How his mother is safe from the same conditions that already killed his father?"

"Goddammit," Tabitha muttered.

"He's actually a pretty good office snake, aside from the occasional water bottle."

"Or fire?"

"He's a good office worker," Gavin insisted, "and we confiscated his space heater."

"Probably wisest."

"We are giving him training, and I still believe in my soul there is something he can do!" Gavin replied. "For one thing, he's the one who found the regulations that said those breakers are still legit. He also came up with a solution for a design problem that had been kicking our ass. This isn't charity. He's worth something. I just need to find out what. I'm not firing him, and that's final."

"Ok," Tabitha replied, "but it's your ass if this goes south. You know that, right."

"Painfully so," Gavin laughed.

"Well," Tabitha smiled, "I think I'm done here."

She tapped her tablet.

"There's my report. I trust you will correct the few minor issues I listed."

"Of course," Gavin smiled.

"Well, have a nice day," Tabitha replied as she walked away.

Gavin looked at his phone.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he started to scroll… and scroll.

"Littlegull!" he shouted as he started jogging after her. "Hang on a second!"

Tabitha Littlegull just smiled and kept walking.

***

Jamal walked through the airlock and removed his helmet.

That was a clusterfuck. He had no idea he would actually wind up out here when this one started.

Somebody needed to lose their card, maybe even go to jail.

The eyes of the rest of the assembled experts indicated they agreed.

"So," an older woman with a half-shaved head growled, "We gonna talk about this?"

"Yeah," Jamal replied. "We know who installed that bullshit?"

"I'm going to find out," an old Kalesh rumbled. "I documented everything and will submit a full report to the union as well as the Department of the Navy. They're done."

"Any objections?" the Kalesh asked.

Silence.

"Well, thank you, everyone," he said, "It sucks it took this to get us all in one spot again, but it's great to see all of you."

"Same here, Senior," the old woman with the punk hairdo replied. "You all want to head down to Lacey's, and grab a few?"

"Sounds good."

The group started heading out, everyone except for Jamal, who was staring at his phone.

Resignation?!? What the fuck?!?

"Hey, sparky," the old Kalesh growled, "You coming."

"I can't," he replied, "I got another fire to put out. It can't wait."

"That little 'issue' you mentioned to me earlier?" the Kalesh inquired.

Jamal nodded.

"Sucks for you then," the Kalesh shrugged, "Come on, guys! First round's on me!"

Jamal pressed an icon.

"This is Jamal Mayweather," he said into his phone, "Yeah, that Mayweather. I need transport to the service an hour ago. It's urgent. Can you help?"

***

"She's been like that since she came back," Littlefoot whispered to Craxina as she rushed into the tent.

"Honx?" Craxina asked, "You ok?"

Honx just lay there, silent and motionless.

"Honx?" Craxina asked quietly as she crawled on top of her, hugging her tightly.

"I messed everything up," Honx said quietly, "Can… Can I come back… please?"

"Of course, you can," Craxina said as she lay on her, still hugging.

"It's all I'm good for," Honx wept.

"Now hang on," Craxina replied, "You can come back if you want, but this sounds like something different. What happened?"

Honx burst into tears as she told Craxina everything.

***

A few hours later, Craxina glared up at Jamal, who fidgeted uncomfortably.

He was much bigger than her, but at the moment, he didn't feel like it. He felt like he was staring into the jaws of a dire wolf...

...a very pissed-off one.

"May I speak to Honx, please," Jamal asked as Craxina silently glared at him.

"Close the door," Craxina said icily.

***

"I know this part is tedious and unpleasant," Charlotte said patiently to a motley group of xenos sitting in front of her, each holding an actual slab of slate and a bit of chalk (that they cut themselves… Charlotte insisted.), "but I promise it will become very interesting indeed. However, before we can build a tower of knowledge that reaches heaven itself, we must first lay the foundation. That is what we are now doing."

"But do we have to do all of this?" someone whined.

"My dear sister," Charlotte smiled (a real one causing everyone to wince), "you do not have to do anything. We Nope have a saying, 'Many hatch.' You've hatched. You have peeked out of your tiny little egg and have crawled into this first shallow little puddle. Whether or not you proceed from this point is not for me to say… or to enforce. I shall lead the way, my young sister. My trail will lead you to that certificate… and beyond… It will lead to so many wonderful things. Follow or not. However, please do not detract from what little time we all have with these protestations. If I did not feel that you 'had to do all of this,' I would not waste my time like you are doing right now. Giving my time to those who seek the light is my pleasure, honor, and sacred duty. As such, I have NONE to waste with the foolish or the lazy. Take up your stone and begin again or leave. I simply lay the trail. If someone tries to follow, I will never abandon them, no matter what it takes. They are my sister and my swarm and my life. If someone does not follow the trail, then they are not my sister and not my concern. Many hatch, dear. Many. Hatch."

The xeno fell silent.

"Now, my newly molted sisters," she smiled, "Begin agai—"

They all fell silent as Craxina's angry voice screeched and chittered.

"Man," another xeno giggled, "Someone fucked up. I wonder who is in there."

"I think I saw a human walk in," yet another replied, "you know, the cute guy who makes the lights go."

"She did NOT like that invoice," someone else whispered.

"This sounds worse than that," someone whispered. "do you think something happened with Honx? I thought I saw her earlier!"

Charlotte sighed as she lost control of her outdoor classroom… again.

There was always something going on. It was great for her actual assignment but a terrible environment for learning. Still, her "classroom" was a welcome bit of normalcy, and the chaos made up for the fact that they were so boringly compliant as opposed to a hunt of newly molted underclassmen.

She paused to appreciate the colorful language coming from Craxina's newly installed port-a-office.

Who would have thought that something so small, soft, and cuddly could become so hard, spiky, and terrifying the way that she did? The others of her kind said it was because she had become a 'mother'.

A 'mother'… Was this part of their strange reproduction practices? As her class whispered and giggled, she started to ponder this. Maybe this is why it was so successful, not because of the resources expended on the young, but what it turned the parents into?

Something to think about, and include in her next report.

***

Jamal quietly opened a tent flap.

Honx looked up at him with wounded eyes.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Honx looked down and didn't say anything.

"Look, Honx," he said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I pushed you too hard. I had no idea you were having so much trouble keeping up. I was just going like I always do. You are so… ‘human’… I forgot you weren't one. Look, if you are having trouble, tell me. If you need a break or a bite to eat, take one. That's what we do, and I assumed you would do the same. I… I just had a talk with Craxina…

Honx made a quiet little chuckle. Craxina was furious. That probably didn't go well.

"She told me about you… your people… what you are… some other things...”

Honx flinched.

"You were waiting for permission to take a break, to eat, or drink, weren't you?"

Honx nodded miserably.

"I didn't know," Jamal said as he sat down on the cushions beside her. "We don't do that. You were waiting for permission that would never come, and I had no idea you needed it. I just thought you were a hard charger."

Honx started crying.

"I couldn't keep up… I tried so hard..."

"Do you have any idea how long I've done this?" Jamal asked, "What I've been through? I built up to this over years. You're just starting, Honx. Every new kid, human or not, gets their asses kicked by this job."

"I was afraid you wouldn't want me."

"Well, I do," Jamal replied. "You learn quickly and work your ass off. Just don't kill yourself doing it, ok?"

Honx smiled weakly.

"And about that 'other thing'," Jamal said uncomfortably.

Honx looked away.

"Craxina explained that too," he said desperately wishing he didn't have to talk about this, "about how your species works, the three sexes and all that, and how your… (cough) sex… works within their family… how work duties and sexual ones are all… fucked up… By our standards!" he added hastily. "You didn't know and were just trying to…"

He shifted uncomfortably.

"You were just…"

He looked away. This was just weird.

"I'm just saying I get it now," he said after a second.

He sighed heavily.

"She also told me about how your family rejected you, kicking you out of their vehicle and driving off, exactly like I did."

Honx started to weep again.

"I had no idea," he said, "I honestly just meant go to the hotel, get some sleep, and we would talk about this later. I had absolutely no intention of abandoning you."

"You didn't?"

"I didn't," he smiled gently, "We don't have 'families' quite the same way, but you are my helper and will become my apprentice. That is kind of like a 'family'… just without the sex."

"We're a… a family?"

"Yeah," Jamal replied, "kinda. For me to kick you out of my truck the way your first family did, you would have to really fuck up bad."

"I thought I did," she whimpered. "I thought I lost you!"

"Because I fucked up bad," Jamal sighed. "Look, this is all new territory for me in more ways than one. I've never taken somebody on like this before, and nobody has taken on one of you before. There are bound to be 'surprises' along the way."

He put his hand on Honx's shoulder as she lay there.

"I think this is important," he said, "not only that you are important or that we are important."

He sighed.

"It's bad, Honx," he said, "It wasn't always like this, you know. We humans and Kalesh didn't always work like we do now. It's the war. We lost so many people, good ones. That's why we drive ourselves into the dirt. We have too much to do and no time to do it… Do you think I like working the way I do? I hate it. I used to have a life, you know..."

He looked down.

"Now I just… work. I work every day like my life and the lives of everyone else depend on it because it's the truth. The bug is coming, Honx, maybe not today or tomorrow, but they will come back, and if we aren't ready, it's over."

He looked at her earnestly.

"We need good techs, millions of them that we don't have. We need you."

"You need me?"

"Yeah," Jamal said quietly, "I do… We do… We desperately need more of us, and building you is every bit as important as building another warship. We're fighting for our lives. We're just doing it with wrenches. Every job we do down here keeping everything running means one more person, up there, building our fleet."

"After how I treated you," Jamal said, "I really don't have the right to ask, but would you come back to work for me. I'll try to be better at this. I promise."

" Oh, Jamal!" Honx cried as she embraced him tightly…

and fondly… entirely too fondly…

"Um..."

"Sorry!" she exclaimed as she jumped back.

"It's… ok," Jamal said, clearly flustered. "About that," he added uncomfortably, "I get it now, but we humans keep that separate. I can be your employer, your teacher, and your mentor, or I can be your lover, not both, ok?"

Honx nodded.

"But I don't have to be both," he said gently, "I don't require it, and you shouldn't feel that you need to do it."

"… but what if I want to..." she said quietly, "Like you said, we are different, and you are such a good alpha… So strong and so kind… so giving… so… so wonderful..."

Jamal coughed. He really didn't want to have this conversation or even think about it too much.

"Honx," he said carefully, "I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't… um… I… I think you are pretty great, too…"

"You do?!?"

" But," he said firmly, "That can't happen. You are my helper, and if we started anything, it would completely discredit the both of us. Nobody in the union would ever take either of us seriously again. I could survive that," he said," You can't. You would never get to become a helper for anyone else, and you would NEVER get your apprenticeship. I won't do that to you because I care about you."

Honx looked away.

"I understand."

They sat in silence for a while.

"What do we..." Honx said quietly, "What do we do?"

"We take a few days off," Jamal smiled, "and then, after both of us are rested up a bit..."

He grinned.

"We get back to work."

"Yes, Jamal," Honx smiled.