"You need to get out more."

The Captain regarded Yvian with a serious expression. She still wasn't used to seeing him out of his armor. He wore black shorts and a black sleeveless shirt that Kilroy had referred to as a tank top. Instead of boots, he wore white socks and oddly comfortable human shoes called "sneakies." Yvian was dressed the same way, except her clothes were red, and her tank top had a picture of Space Captain on the front of it.

"Get out?" Yvian quirked an eyebrow at him. "You do know we're in space, right?"

"You know what I mean," Mims chided. "You're isolated. It's not good for you."

The cargo bay of the Random Encounter was mostly empty. A few crates of odds and ends were strapped down near one of the bulkheads. Captain Mims moseyed over to one and took a seat.

"I'm fine," Yvian assured him.

"You're lonely," said the human. "Even I can tell."

"I'm not..." Mims quirked a brow of his own. Yvian subsided. There was no point in lying. Yvian had spent most of the last several months either training or trying to learn City 43's frustratingly complex language. She'd had very little social activity, and no female companionship. The Captain might not know that she cried herself to sleep sometimes, but it didn't take a genius to see she wasn't happy. She sighed. "Alright, so I'm lonely." She picked out a crate and took a seat. "So what? It's not like I can do anything about it."

"Why not?" asked the human.

She gave him a frown. "You know why not."

"Yvian," Mims paused, searching for the words. He began again. "Look, there's a planet, a whole damned planet, full of your people. Millions of men and women, living new lives, learning to make their own way. You did that. It was your dream, and you made it happen." His brows drew together, a hint of anger slipping into his voice. "Are you telling me that means nothing? That being labeled a motherless outweighs saving your entire species?"

"It does," she told him. Her eyes watered. "It really does."

"Gribshit." His voice was firm. "There's gotta be people down there that recognize what you've done."

"The way the humans recognize what you did at Aldara?" Yvian regretted the words the moment she said them. The Captain's face flickered, his expression revealing a brief window into pain Yvian could barely imagine. "Crunch." Yvian bowed her head, placing a hand over her heart. "I have transgressed. Lend me your forgiveness, and I will-"

"No." The Captain cut her off. She flinched, thinking he was refusing her apology. He held up a hand. "No," he repeated. "It's a good analogy. No need to loan forgiveness." He grimaced. "I know there are humans who don't hate me, but not many, and trying to find them would be stupid and dangerous."

"Exactly." Yvian ran a hand through her hair. "I know no ones' going to attack me. Not with you and Kilroy there. But I... But they still hate me. They hate me the way you hate slavers and pedophiles. I can't..." She took a breath. Let it out. "I can't face it. I can't go down there."

"I know." Mims got up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault." She took another breath and squared her shoulders. "And it's not all bad. I've got you, and Lissa. Even Kilroy likes me, I think. I'm not alone."

"No. Not alone." Mims patted her shoulder again. "But you're still lonely, and you don't deserve to be."

"Deserve doesn't mean anything," Yvian reminded him. "What is it you always say? There's no justice in the verse?"

"Yeah. There isn't." Mims gripped her shoulder one more time. "But there should be." He sat down again. His head tilted as a thought struck him. "I guess it's just as well." He shook his head. "If there was any justice in the verse, I'd be burning in hell."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

The ship vibrated with a shuddering thump. Kilroy's voice piped in over the comms. "We are now docked in Tenril station."

"Thank you, Kilroy." The Captain stood. He cocked his head again. "Hey. What about that Myna girl? From the resort on Krog Prime?"

"Myna?" Yvian had been trying not to think about her. They'd spent a glorious two weeks together, but when it was over... "She found someone else. Another woman at the resort."

"Oh." Mims touched the console, and the cargo bay door retracted, a ramp lowering down to the station's deck. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm not." Yvian shrugged, trying for nonchalance. "She deserves to be happy." She frowned. "Do you know why she was made motherless?"

"No." The Captain peered down the ramp. The hangar bay was empty. Their new crew member hadn't arrived, yet. "Why?"

"She refused to service men." Yvian glowered. "Same gender relationships are fine, but to refuse the opposite sex... well." Her glower deepened. She was careful not to direct it at the human. "It's considered deviant."

Mims grunted. "Stupid."

"Yeah." Yvian's own mother hadn't been understanding of her preferences, either. "Some parents allow it, but Myna's mother was a traditionalist. Cast her out, on pain of death."

"The whole motherless thing is gribshit, anyway." Mims crossed his arms, leaning his shoulder against the bulkhead as he stared out of the open door. "Gives the parents too much power. Makes it easy for assholes to fuck over their kids."

"Maybe," Yvian agreed. "It's a holdover from the Darkening." She scratched the back of her head. "The Confed's run by males, and so are the guilds, but Pixens are a matriarchal society. It's one of the last pieces left of who we once were." She crossed her own arms. "We lost most of our people, and the ones that were left were kept isolated on different stations. We compiled the Registry of Families to prevent inbreeding. It was just a list, at first. After a while mothers started taking their children off the registry when they disowned them. Made them ineligible for reproduction. Things just sort of evolved from there." She shrugged one shoulder. "Got out of hand, I guess."

"Like I said," Mims twitched a shoulder. "Gribshit."

The docking bay door opened. Two and a half meters of surly green Vrrl stalked in. Scarrend was dressed in the same black leather vest and skirt he'd been wearing at the Trade Deal. Each of his four hands held the handle of a large black case. Scarrend prowled up the ramp, stopping just short of the cargo bay door. "Permission to come aboard?"

Mims straightened up and uncrossed his arms. He gave a sharp nod. "Granted."

The Vrrl stepped inside and set his cases down with a heavy thunk. He stared down at the human, eyes unblinking. "I know you don't want me here." He folded one set of arms. "You know I don't want to be here."

Mims stared right back, cold as the void. "And?"

Scarrend released a low, rumbling growl. He loomed over the human. "How do I know you won't kill me in my sleep?"

"You don't." Mims turned his back on the Vrrl. "Come on. We'll take you to your room so you can get your gear stowed."

Yvian followed the Captain. She heard Scarrend mutter under his breath as he picked up his cases, but his footsteps were silent as he trailed in their wake.

There were ten sets of living quarters on the Random Encounter. They were all on upper decks of the ship, just below the bridge. Four of them had nameplates attached to their doors. Mims led Scarrend to a fifth, next to Kilroy's room. He touched the panel and opened the door. "This one's yours."

Scarrend moved inside. He set down the cases as he looked around, taking in the bed, table, and storage panels in the otherwise empty room. "I will need to make modifications."

"Customize it however you like," The Captain told him. "It's your room, and no one will enter without your permission or some kind of emergency. The room's soundproofed, so you don't have to worry about noise."

"I smell." Scarrend moved to open one of his cases. "I have been too long without my armor. Step outside, human."

"No armor," Mims ordered.

"No armor?" The Vrrl snarled. "And do you wish me to take my fangs as well, human? Clip my claws?" He rounded on the human, knees bent, arms slightly spread. "Do you fear me that much?"

In a flash of insight, Yvian realized it was the Vrrl who was afraid. Though they wouldn't admit it, the Vrrl as a species were as terrified of humans as the rest of the verse, and Captain Mims was famously most dangerous of his kind. No wonder Scarrend was intimidated. The Vrrl crouched a litte further, radiating hostility, a hair's breath from violence. The Captain regarded him coolly, utterly relaxed. His feet were shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Mims was ready for violence, as well. Yvian wanted to break the tension, so she blurted out the only thing that came to mind. "You respond to fear with aggression."

The Vrrl's attention snapped towards her. Adrenaline flared. She'd made a mistake. Scarrend would not appreciate being told he was afraid. Oh Crunch. Why hadn't she kept her mouth shut? She forced herself to appear calm, meeting his three eyes with as little concern as she could muster. Finally, the creature spoke. "Yes." Scarrend nodded slowly to himself. "If the human was afraid, he would attack." He relaxed, unbending from his half crouch. "Humans destroy all that they fear."

The Captain let out an annoyed grunt. "You can't wear armor because we're going to be training as soon as we give you a tour of the ship. You can arm yourself when we're done."

The Vrrl blinked. "Oh." He hunched again, this time from embarrassment. Yvian thought about giving him a pat on the shoulder, but decided it was a bad idea. She gave him a helpless shrug.

Mims shook his head, walking out of the room. "Fucking new guy..."