Captain Samir leaned back in his chair. He had much to contemplate but there would be time for that later.

He looked to his odd guests.

He’d heard of Corvul; their claimed space was too near humanity’s for him not to have been briefed on them. The freighter captain looked and acted as he’d expected. Short, bristle-like fur where visible and appendages more akin to a dog. Bipedal though. Certainly, the closest of the three to humanoid.

The first mate was almost shrimp-like. It was a poor comparison but as bad a comparison as it was, it was the closest he could get to an earth animal. Definitely a species evolved close to or in water though. Slightly taller than his captain, he boasted tri-jointed legs and a coral like set of pearly frills that crowned his head. Samir never seen a Weilan before but as a founding member of the federation their name was quite familiar.

The third was of another founding species of the federation and even more alien than the second. An Ossian. Their habsuit seemed a nightmare to account for all the tentacle like appendages but it must be common make where Ton’et was from. They had also informed him that Ossian skin changes color based on their emotional state. This would be useful just as soon as he could figure out which colors correspond to which emotions. They currently showed a rust red.

An odd group certainly, but they carried themselves well. Deag especially. Gareth seemed a bit standoffish and Ton’et perhaps a little too excited.

“I have to say, I’m glad she found you all. She seems... better. With that in mind I’d like to invite you all to a small dinner.”

“The sharing of a meal...

"Precisely, it's a ritual of sorts in Terran culture. Sharing a meal signifies respect and friendship… that sort of thing. Initially I was just going to catch up with Pen but I think it would be a fine idea to have a small gathering. You, Pen, myself… maybe I’ll invite Excalibur too. Introduce you all to some Terran foods and share a few stories?”

“I think that sounds lovely.” Deag turned to his crewmates.

“Certainly!” Ton’et turned a bright green.

“… I don’t know why you’re both so eager… Pen isn’t even here to answer, and she didn’t exactly leave in the mood for a dinner date.”

Gareth shot a look at the human. It brought a look to the man’s face that Gareth couldn’t decipher.

“Of course. I owe her some more explanation on that front, but I think she’d enjoy a meal. I have an idea where she’s gone. If you’d like to oversee the offloading of the cargo, I will send for you shortly?”

“How about we-” Gareth started.

“That sounds fine.” Deag interrupted as he hopped down from the chair.

“Excellent. Martin will escort you back to your ship.”

Deag bowed his head and held his paws out in a traditional Corvul farewell. Samir mimicked the motion.

---

Pen had watched the defensive formations go through three cycles of their movements by the time Samir showed up. They were inscrutable at first glance, but the pattern revealed itself after so long. It seemed to be three independent nets. Each moving and repositioning constantly. Every clear shot at the station was nothing more than a ruse. Purposeful weak points created as traps. An offensive force could make for one of these false corridors only to find themselves caught in a vice, attacked from multiple angles.

“There’s something about watching massive ships floating through space that really is calming.”

“Mhm.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I guess some things don’t change. I remember you’d do this on the Basho too.”

“Conolly said he’s found you here too sometimes.”

“You taught me plenty. Suppose I picked up some habits.”

A battleship started to drift by, close enough to obscure most of the viewport.

“How big is the Yosa? Same as the Basho?”

“Slightly smaller. Basho was just over half a kilometer and Yosa is just under.”

“Right.”

“… I am sorry Pen.”

She let out a long sigh.

“… You’re fine. I shouldn’t have blown up on you like that.”

“Cerberus meant a lot to you.”

“She did… but I can’t blame you for her retirement. It’s on me honestly.”

“It’s not on anyone Pen. You did what you could. Sometimes… shit just doesn’t go the right way. Stuff ends.”

“Mmm…”

“You’ve found an interesting little group on that ship. The Blue Nebula.”

“Yea.” Pen chuckled.

“They’re protective of you and that captain is a shrewd one, even if he does his best not to show it.”

“They’re… good people.”

“I was just gonna chat with you, but how about a small dinner. I already asked them but I get the impression yours is the deciding vote. We can catch up, tell a few stories.”

“We’ve got quite a bit to catch up on.”

“They mentioned… equipped and using kit-bashed frames as support?”

“Less as support and more as the actual fighting force. He was… less than exceptional.”

Samir chuckled at the familiar phrase.

“So some small fish trying to find a sufficiently small pond?”

“I would have thought so if it weren’t for other factors. Things just don’t add up. He admitted to a connection to the weapons and armor crates we found and there is no way an idiot like that managed to set that up on his own. Plus-”

“The second person.”

“Yea.”

“Human as well?”

“Yes and far more skilled than their counterpart. Waiting for me to do their job for them and the instant it was clear I wouldn’t they took the shot. Right through his head.”

“Head? That’s not a smart shot. Certainly not UEMC training.”

“Possibly… or they were just trying to show off.”

“What makes you say that?”

“They bowed to me. They waited for me to check their position and then bowed, demoed the ship, and left.”

Samir was deep in thought.

“It doesn’t smell like us, but Samir I have to ask. This isn’t us, right?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I can only tell you what things look like from my seat. We’ve been bolstering boarder defenses. I’m not in those rooms but the sense I get is NIA thinks there something happening, they don’t know what, but they want it nixed before it becomes an issue. You might have stumbled on what they’ve been trying to uncover.”

“Oh great. See that’s the opposite of what I was trying to do.”

“They’re going to want to hear all of this.”

“Yea, yea. I’m sure they will.”

“For now, though… Food?”

“It’s not that shit they used to serve in the cafeterias, right?”

“As a ship captain I enjoy a few perks. How does steak sound?”

“… mmmm.”

“And, while it may not be handmade Raicilla, there will be booze.”

“See that’s all you had to say.”

The two shared a laugh and admired the view for a moment longer before heading out.

---

In just an hour the cargo had been taken care of and Martin returned to the Blue Nebula to retrieve Captain Samir’s dinner guests. Everyone was led back to the small room they’d first met in and through the door to the right. It opened up into a well-furnished, if compact, dining room. A long wooden table took up the center with seats enough for eight.

As the three entered they found Penelope and Samir already seated and chatting.

“I don’t care what they-” Pen stopped quickly.

“Ah! Our guest trio arrives. Three from Excalibur should be here shortly to round out our number.”

Samir stood and helped each of them to their seats.

“The ships cooks actually seemed very excited when I told them who they’d be cooking for so I think you have something to look forward to here. They’ll be carefully accounting for dietary restrictions, but a full readout will accompany each dish just to be safe. Two herbivores and an omnivore, yes?”

“Indeed.” Deag said sitting.

“I must say, I am eager to sample real human cuisine. We did make soup and bread just before all that business on Raxia but it was with substituted ingredients.” Ton’et said as they sat.

At that moment Conolly, O’Brien, and a third came through the door.

“Bread? Ohh Captain, tell me they’re making that garlic bread for us.” Conolly looked to Samir as he made his way around the table.

“I couldn’t say. After telling them they’d be serving a Corvul, a Wielan, and an Ossian, I could barely get out a request for steak before they kicked me out. I learned a long time ago you don’t want to piss of the cooks unless you like synthmeal ration packs, so I didn’t argue.”

“An old lesson I believe, no?” Gareth asked, “I read that ancient human pirates gave ship cooks the same share of plunder as the captain because a good cook was so valuable.”

“Right you are, Gareth. ‘An army marches on its stomach’ after all.” Samir took his seat.

With everyone seated, a door on the opposite side of the room opened. From an elevator a few people exited pushing carts. Behind them was a well-dressed officer holding a data pad. Seemingly ignoring the humans in the room, he knelt by Ton’et and excitedly went through each dish.

Some of the food was indeed inedible to one or all of them. Said food was marked and, without ever speaking to any of the humans in the room, he wished the three aliens a good meal, and left.