@Oakiin
Ba'al was reeling a little bit with all the information, but managed to keep her wits about her. She glanced questioningly at Treb, as if asking him what the plan was here. "No, thanks."
Ba'al was reeling a little bit with all the information, but managed to keep her wits about her. She glanced questioningly at Treb, as if asking him what the plan was here. "No, thanks."
Treb noticed her look as he was heating up the food and shook his head, as if saying that he was working completely without a script at the moment. "Well," he muttered so that only she could hear, "Looks like our expedition will be postponed until we can drop this kid off somewhere. That applies to your paycheck as well, so that should hopefully motivate you to help me figure out what to do here. Ever met an alien like her before?"
"That's not fair," Ba'al objecte, though her heart wasn't in it. Money wasn't her biggest motivator, but it was the fear of staying in one spot that made her speak up. "No, I haven't. Maybe we can take her with us? You were looking for two crew members originally."
Treb growled and rubbed his forehead. "Yeah….but we have no idea if this person is even vaguely qualified for our work. Between you and me, she doesn't really seem all that….street-smart. Not from what I've seen." The heater pinged and he teased the food out of it, cutting open the packages and pouring the contents into a couple of chipped bowls. "Let's grill her a bit, see if we can find out where she's from and what she's up to."
"You've known her for two minutes," Ba'al scoffed. "But fine. You do what you're gonna do. I'll follow along."
Treb nodded, carrying the food back into the sleeping quarters. "Okay, I got you some supper. Mind if we sit with you and ask you some questions while you eat?"
Effy opened her eyes and sniffed the air, then stood and stretched. "Oh this looks perfect!" She took the bowls and lined them up to admire before settling in to feast.'
"Hey, you two just saved my life. I will gladly answer any question ya got."
She whispered something to herself, picked up the first bowl on the left and hungrily but delicately started to devour it.
She looked remarkably hale and hearty for someone who'd been at death's door less than a half hour ago.
Treb eyed her for a minute grimly, then sat down in the cubby across from her, waving for Ba'al to find a seat as well. "All right. First things first, I guess….. My name's Treb Noke, and I'm the captain of this ship–the LAIKA, it's called. It's a Fringe scavenger ship. I'm a human from a trading colony on Neue. This is Ba'al, my newly-hired crewmate. She can tell you her personal info if she feels like it. But for now, tell us a bit about yourself. What race are you? Where are you from?"
Ba'al gave Effy a salute, settling down as comfortably as she could in the cramped space.
She looked up, then licked her face clean. "Effy Sy here of the Amabelle race, from the planet Gretchen. It's really a joy to meet the two of you formally. My family and I will forever be in your debt. I bow to you, Mr. Noke." She solemnly bowed her head in his direction, then turned towards her other companion and repeated the action. "I bow to you, Ms. Ba'al."
Then, with a slight twinkle in her eye, she continued her meal.
"O…kay." Treb blinked a couple of times, then decided to plow onward. "Great. So, how did you end up here on Dsanti, Effy? Seems like it wasn't something you planned out very carefully f you don't mind my saying."
"Well, now that's a pretty hard thing to explain, and you are very correct to say I didn't plan especially well. I can be a little impulsive. But the basics are… I am a very devoted mother, see? And one of my sons seems to be getting some ideas in his head that make me feel concerned for his future. I learned in a circuitous fashion of a … situation taking place here on Dsanti and felt it a possible aid to my plan to … well, to illustrate a point - try to actually get through to him. He is very willful, maybe you have children of your own, and can understand? Anyway a couple of weeks ago, I hitched a ride from the traders of our city, and did a rather rash thing, which may or may not play out well, and nearly lost my life, as you know. It was a price I was willing to pay. My life is nearing its natural end, and of course I'd do anything for my kids. However, to find myself with a bit more time, and my health intact and a pair of new friends…well, it is just a delightful surprise! I am very happy and … hey, do you want to have a celebration with me?"
"Uh, well, just–just hold on a sec." Treb held up his hands to slow down the chatty alien. That had been a lot of information at once for him, and he was still stuck near the beginning. "You have kids? surely you're planning to head back to them now….right?"
"I guess I didn't mention that they are all grown and flown, so to speak, they don't really need a thing from me, very independent personalities, all six! I guess they probably got that from me. Which is not to say that I wouldn't love to make it home eventually and see them all, and the grand kids again. I have a feeling the … well, I won't bore you with the details, I can see you are a more … methodical type than I am, which I assure you I can appreciate that! Suffice it to say that I am not in a huge hurry to get home as things currently stand." She neatly licked the crumbs from the first bowl, set it down and picked up the second one. "I'll celebrate alone, it's just as fun for me, just thought I'd offer."
She paused, then said quietly, "Isn't it a beautiful life?!"
Treb paused for a long moment, slowly looking over at Ba'al as if silently asking whether they might have brought a lunatic on board. He had met chipper, bouncy, talkative races before, but those encounters had not granted him any confidence when dealing with them. Maybe he should treat her like a little kid?….No, that didn't seem like a good idea. He took a deep breath.
"Welp! Um. I've got some important captain stuff to do up front right about now. Why don't you two settle in and get comfortable? Ba'al, you can have the honor of entertaining our guest for a bit."
"Oh," Ba'al said lightly, shooting Treb a look of absolute death. "Right, sure. I'll take my paycheck now, thanks."
Effy looked questioningly at Treb, then tilted her head at Ba'al. She shrugged and got on with her meal, sighing happily. Her tail wagged a little.
"I can't pay you yet, haven't sold anything," Treb shot back at Ba'al, fleeing to the flight deck. "Don't break anything! I'm taking us up, so expect turbulence. We should be space-bound in about thirty minutes."
"So…" Ba'al said. "You uh…I…well, that is to say…Are you…" she paused, blinking a couple times. "Yeah, I have no idea what to talk about, I'll let you start."
"Just wondering what you're doing and all, but you didn't seem to like that question the first time around. Do you play cards or anything?" Effy smiled. "I love your outfit, girl, it's perfect for you."
"Cards?" Ba'al thought for a moment. "I know how to play spoons, if that's what you're asking." She gave Effy a blank look.
"There are…more card games than that?"
Effy laughed and pulled open a drawer. "I'll bet there's a deck of cards around here. Just wait till I show you how we play Black Jack where I come from…hey, look around for some snacks, will ya?" She scratched her ear with her hind leg.
"Well, I have one, if you're looking," Ba'al said, watching her bounce around the room. "Uh, as for snacks, I'm not stealing food from my captain on my first day at the job, okay?"
She paused as she turned towards the door. "Ya want the cards or no?"
Effy munched on a few crumbled bits of toast the were on the floor in a dark corner. "Good point, but he can take it out of our pay, don't you think?" She settled herself on the floor near a small table and attempted to focus on the game. She dealt the cards. "Now, first off, it's very important you don't let me see your cards…"
About a half-hour later, Treb leveled out the ship and set them on a course he knew wouldn't get them in any immediate trouble, then switched the controls to autopilot and left the pilot's seat, stretching his stiff neck and arms. He couldn't put off checking on his new crewmates any longer–and anyway, he was getting a little nervous at how suspiciously quiet they were being. He climbed through the hatch and into the ship's living quarters, grabbing a drink from the small cooling unit on the way. "Hey guys? How's it going?"
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