Cleo was more than a little surprised. "Who, me? Your alien ambassador wants to meet me? I mean, Scott already murdered one of them and threatened war against the rest. What more can I do?"

Predictably, Scott visibly seemed to die a little inside at her description. "Do you have to word it like that? I mean, that's not really how it went down..."

Cleo ignored him, knowing that would only irk him more as she continued. "I mean, what's a quasi-retired pirate got to offer in interspecies negotiations?"

Still playing catch up, Scott could only ask, "What do you mean quasi-retired?"

However, everyone was more focused on Alice, who shrugged. "I don't know. When I told Dotty you used to be a pirate like our mom, that seemed to interest her."

Cleo didn't know how to respond. She didn't know the first thing about diplomacy that didn't start with a knife to a person's throat. Not to mention the words "Like our mom." What did that mean? What would these aliens think that meant? She was about as far from being a mother figure as a person could get. Hell, the giant alien spider monster was more of a mother than Cleo. She suddenly felt an uncomfortable pang in her gut, which she imagined Scott had been feeling this whole time. How was she supposed to represent all of humanity to a bunch of intelligent alien bugs? This was a job for someone who overthought everything, like Scott, and not a fly-by-the-seat-your-pants person like Cleo.

Cleo was about to say no when in walked another giant bug alien Cleo didn't recognize, who could only be Dotty. It seemed to look around the room, then focus on the pirate before speaking. "You must be Cleo!"

Not sure how to respond, all Cleo could offer was a somewhat startled, "Um, yeah, that's me, alright!"

Dotty continued, unabated. "Alice tells me you used to be a pirate, which is kind of like a rogue human. And yet, you've reformed. How is this possible?"

That surprised Cleo. On the one hand, she liked the word Rogue. It sounded pretty awesome, but for the rest... "I'm not sure what you mean by reformed..?"

Dotty seemed happy to explain. "Well, as a pirate, you acted against the interests of your people for self-gain, but now you've realigned yourself with your fellow humans once more. What first turned you against humans, and what made you come back to them?"

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Cleo was kind of annoyed at the accusations of acting for her "self-gain," even if it wasn't really wrong. "Listen, Dotty, or Dot, can I call you Dot? Anyway, it's not as simple as you make it sound. I didn't run off and join the pirate life because it sounded like fun. I did it because I didn't have a choice. It was either become a pirate or get dead, and I didn't really consider dying an option, so I did what I had to do. I won't say I didn't enjoy parts of it or that I didn't act for 'self-gain,' but I would have preferred growing up and living a normal life. It's just that, after a while, it was all I knew, so that's what I did."

Dotty nodded in apparent understanding. "So you're saying you were a pirate by circumstance, not by choice? But surely that can't be true for all pirates. Some must choose to go renegade? Do you think one such person can be reformed as well?"

Cleo shrugged. "I don't know. There are all kinds of people who become pirates. Many just find themselves in the lifestyle because that's where life led them. They usually found themselves on the wrong side of the law, and it became the only way to make a living. However, some people choose to become pirates. Those ones are a mixed bag. Some are stupid and think it looks like fun, some are rebelling against family or society, and then there are a few who are just...wrong in the head. Those are the ones you gotta watch out for. They're...unpredictable."

Dotty seemed to consider what she'd been told momentarily before responding. "So these people who are 'wrong in the head,' do you have no way to fix them?"

Thankfully, Scott came to the rescue and offered his own thoughts. "Well, yes and no. There are ways to treat a lot of psychological issues, but the problem with having such a large population is a lot of people slip through the cracks. There's a lot of debate about how to fix that issue, but it's never been fully addressed. Even then, the person in question has to want to get better. Holding onto pain can, in its own way, be comforting because it's familiar, and weirdly, that can feel safe."

Dotty seemed fascinated by what Scott said. "Pain can feel safe to humans?"

Scott coughed and shook his head. "Well, no. Not like that anyway. It's more that the situation causing the pain can feel safe despite the pain, not because of it. At least in most cases..."

As fun as it was to watch Scott flounder, Cleo decided she should cut in again. "Well, listen, it's not that complicated. When you've only known one way to live, trying something else is scary, even if you know it might be better in the long run because there's always the possibility that it might somehow end up worse."

Dotty turned her attention back to Cleo. "So, how did you handle 'trying something else?'"

Cleo laughed. "Well, I didn't have much choice. Just like the first time, it was adapt or die, and like I said before, dying wasn't an option. So here I am!"

Dotty seemed appeased by that. "Adapt or die... Yes, this I can understand. It is the underlying law for all life and the core principle of how we live. Thank you. This has been a most enlightening discussion."

Scott and Cleo looked at each other silently, wondering what lessons had been learned here and whether they should be worried. However, Dotty seemed to still be in a good mood as she turned to Alice. "Now, I believe you were going to show me something called a frisbee?"