“No, Plur, have it… no, no, no. I’m telling you have it stand there and pick the-“

“I’m telling you that won’t work, its faulty, remember? The third arm doesn’t work right. It won’t be ab-“

“Yea it will, I’m looking at it.”

“It won’t.”

“It will!”

“Fine…”

The loading frame moved to the side of the containment unit and clamped on to the supports. As it attempted to shift the weight, however, the socket of its third arm began grinding and its grip released. Without all three arms supporting the unit’s weight, the energy cells slammed back into the floor with a clang.

“…”

“Don’t say it.”

“But I did tell you.”

“Well I thought it would okay, how was I supp-“ S.M. quieted as she noticed a shadow move over her.

“You guys need any help?” the human asked.

Gods you’re big…

Deag had made it clear to the crew that eye contact and such direct attention wasn’t a sign of hunting or intent to attack but it was still unnerving to have the large things two eyes bearing down on her. Not only that but she’d had the misfortune of seeing this thing in action. Terrifying. Though the eyes and face were different now so maybe that was a good sign. Only two appendages to stand on; with how thick they were it was no wonder the humans stood upright.

“Well, we’re trying to move the cells and the loading bot has enough trouble with their weight as they are but its third arm has got something wrong with it so…” Plur answered for S.M. as it was clear she was distracted.

“Yea… uhh, stupid thing managed to mess up a socket or something loading them.”

“Gotcha” Penelope said, looking from the two crew to the robot.

They were tiny creatures compared to her and the frame. She’d noticed that most of the crew were closer in size to Twill than Deag or Gareth. The one named S.M. was about as large as a housecat and Plur wasn’t too much bigger.

“What?” Plur asked.

“I’m sorry?”

“What is ‘Gotcha’?”

“Oh,” She chuckled, she thought the translator would have picked that one up but apparently not, “It’s a mashing together of the Terran words ‘got’ and ‘ya’ or ‘you’ as in I’ve got you, I understand. I can move this though if the frame is having trouble.”

“They’re… pretty heavy, I mean, the bot is built for this and even it-“ S.M. stopped short as Penelope stepped to the unit and gripped its top with one hand. Tipping it up, she crouched and placed her other hand underneath it. With a secure grip, she lifted it up, resting it on her shoulder.

“Where do you need it?” she asked.

“…” S.M. stared blankly at the human.

“… uhh over, over here.” Plur waddled over to another set of containment units closer to the bay door.

Penelope followed and stacked it atop another. Ton’et was right. They were larger and heavier than her weapons crates but nothing crazy. The main trouble in lifting them was honestly bulk more than weight.

“Would you be able to get the rest of these?” S.M. asked.

“Sure!”

It only took a few minutes before the bay crew had all gathered to watch the small spectacle. She didn’t love crowds but something about them made Penelope want to show off a bit. She hoisted one above her head by its supports and did a few reps as she walked it over. With another, she did a few squats before putting it back down. Few of them smiled like humans but they were all clearly enjoying themselves. Various oohs and aahs came with each new trick until the work was done.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“What’s the heaviest thing you’ve lifted?” one of the crew asked as she placed the final unit down.

“Well, that depends. I was on a battleship once and a buddy was trapped under some debris. Dunno how heavy exactly but I nearly cracked a tooth. In normal conditions I’m not too sure if I’d be able to lift one of these.” She tapped the metal casing of the unit.

The crew collectively balked at those so called “normal” conditions they’d had the pleasure of experiencing for a few minutes the day prior.

“Why’d you almost crack a tooth?” another asked, looking wearily at Penelope’s mouth.

“I was clenching my jaw too hard and with all the adrenaline pumping I didn’t realize it. I'm sure most species have something similar right? It’s a tense situation so your bodies do what they need to to get out of danger.”

“Modins don’t” a small grey but plump alien spoke up.

“Well my people do, it’s for running, though, not lifting heavy objects. Was that a large concern in your people’s history?” S.M. piped up.

“Not exactly. Strictly speaking it makes us stronger and dulls pain so we can fight off a threat better. So inadvertently yea it helps lift heavy objects. Though, it also helps us run if fighting isn’t an option. I mean, I don’t care how strong you are a bear is a bear.”

“So, you’re people aren’t the apex predators of your planet?”

“Were one of them sure but we certainly aren’t the biggest or the strongest… or the fastest actually… we are the most intelligent though and damn if we aren’t persistent.”

“What is a bear?” another asked.

“Hmmm how to describe a bear. They vary but in general imagine something two or three times my size, four times my weight, and five times as strong. They’ve got furry brown hide that can shrug off knives and such. And if you’re close enough to be stabbing it with a knife then you’re already a goner cause they have massive claws and teeth.”

“But with that size they must be pretty slow right?”

“Oh no, they are astonishingly fast. Powerful legs and all that weight turns into a ton of momentum once they get going. Oh, and they are very good climbers too so no hiding up a tree.”

The gathered crowd was almost stunned into silence. A few had doubting looks on their faces.

“How are your people even alive!”

“Well they’re generally not aggressive to humans. Leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone for the most part. Unless one is starving for some reason there were far easier meals than a human. Just stay away and don’t threaten their cubs. Definitely don’t threaten their young, that’s a death warrant cause they will go out of their way to end you if they think you’re a threat to their young.”

“They sound terrifying…”

“Honestly they’re kinda cute… don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t go within a kilometer of one but they’ve got little ears? And sometimes they sit on their butts like a person. Its adorable.” The crowd watched in horror as Penelope mimicked pinching a bears face.

They were starting to think that Ton’et’s assessment of what humans find “cute” might be flawed. Nevertheless, the crew were all enthralled by the human, even the doubting ones.

---

After some time talking of various outlandish earth animals one of the doors slid open and in its frame stood their captain.

“Pen we’ll be exiting FTL shortly.”

“Understood.” She got up, realizing only then that she’d actually sat on the floor with the rest of the crew members.

She made her way to Deag and the two started towards the bridge.

“I see you’re getting to know the crew?” Deag grinned, if you could call it that.

“A little yea, I was telling them about bears.”

“You’ll have to regale me sometime as well. I’ve actually got a few questions. Ton’et was just telling me of the difference in how our two species sleep.” Deag was still debating asking her about this whole dreaming thing, but his curiosity was eating at him.

“Id be happy to. Funnily enough, bears actually have a very unique way of resting too. Another time though, are we expecting anything dropping out of FTL here?” Her face changed again, from relaxed to serious.

“Not particularly, were only one jump from a fairly significant trade station. We’ll actually be stopping there. The deal is only for the energy cells, but new colonies need all sorts of resources. They’ll be eager to buy other things if we have them. Also, we’ve got to get that poor loader bot fixed. We hired you as security not for loading cargo. I’m sure it’s not exactly what you had in mind when you came aboard.”

“I honestly don’t really mind. This is all pretty simple stuff comparatively.”

Deag wanted to push on that.

Comparative to what?

But he didn’t, later.

“I appreciate it, but we should still get the frame fixed.”

The two walked onto the bridge. Gareth moved from the captain’s chair to his station and Deag took his seat. Penelope went to her station, again readjusting the displays to her height.

As the ship dropped out of FTL a few signals came up on the scanners. Other freighters on the far side of the system and a Tinsne patrol.

“No odd signals or derelict ships this time captain.” Penelope relayed.

“Thank the Lumin” Gareth remarked as he groomed his frills.

“Oh, don’t be like that Gareth,” Deag laughed, “ping the Tinsne patrol and let them know what were about. Then bring us to the jump point.”

“Already transmitted our information, moving us to the jump coordinates.” Gareth would grumble but they both knew he meant little by it.

“Tinsne patrol transmitting an all clear, were good to go.” Penelope called out.

“Excellent.”

It took only a few minutes on sub-light engines to get into position. In a second, they were back to FTL travel.