by S M Matthews
The left one picks up a data pad off the table and looks it over, “We have been provided with data from yourself, a Pack of Station managers, a Pack of medics, and numerous individual eyewitness testimonies. Your race has been deemed intelligent.”
This is so not the time to fist-pump.
The one at the other end starts speaking now, and I wonder if they rehearse this or something. Maybe they do rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to say which bit.
“However, due to numerous reports of aggressive behaviours, from yourself, the human currently residing on Homeworld station, and particularly the human in holding, you are restricted to class B. We will award you a grace period, you have the remainder of the current day to remove yourself from Homeworld.”
Wait, what?
All their chairs make a horrific scraping noise as they stand in unison.
“What aggressive behaviours? What does Class B mean? What human in-”
The middle one cocks his ears, “You deny verbal aggression toward one of our males in a public place? I have reports from several eyewitnesses present in the...” he looks across at what his brother is showing him on the data pad and frowns, “...grooming supplies?”
“What are you-” What the fuck?
“You deny the attempted assault of Her Lady Beiti-Grace? She very kindly provided footage of the incident.”
“I- Look, I don’t know anything about the first one, but that Beiti deserved-”
“We retract our grace period; you have four hours or will be held as Class B.”
“You can’t just do this, I don’t know what Class B even-” The door had opened behind me, and spacesuit guy was pulling me up by my arm and guiding me along the corridor, one of his brothers had appeared in front of me and was leading the way. My guys stand anxiously when they see me, and space suit guy releases my arm so I can go to them, “Class B, you have been awarded status as Keepers, you have four hours to remove the human from the surface or she will be held under Class B ruling; Aggressive Creatures Act.”
“Who the fuck are you calling a Creature?” I all but screech at him, I’m so angry and confused I can feel that I’m starting to cry. I can feel Pate scoop me up, and Spacesuit looks down at me like I’m scum.
Like I’ve just turned out to be exactly what he thought I was.
By the time we make it out to the transport the rage has subsided, leaving behind a huge amount of confusion and frustration. I’m crying freely now and keep trying to wipe the tears away. The guys are all asking questions, and I relay what has happened. To be fair not a lot was said so I repeat most of it back to them.
“She was recording it?” Tark shakes his mane and huffs, and then shakes again like he he’s so incredulous he has to work through it.
“Well, if we weren't certain before that it was pre-meditated...” Abner trails off, picking at one set of claws with the other.
“They said something about a human in holding?” Everyone shakes their heads at me, they don’t know either, “And I was ‘verbally aggressive’ in a grooming supplies?”
Tark snorts, “Oh yeah, you sure told Pate. Over the soap on the space station.”
Oh. Oh yeah. I did do that.
We sit quietly in the transport, my tears slowly subside, and then the whole thing makes me angry and they come back. It’s all so stupid.
The guys are talking, planning packing and what they are going to do next, I tune it out, wiping at the glass I’m fogging up with my breath.
Abner starts the engine, and I watch as three matching Spacesuits come out of the front door of the building we exited maybe fifteen minutes ago. Our transport’s docked at the end of the building, but around the corner, so I have a clear view straight back at the paths and patches of greenery at the front of the building. Another set of Spacesuits, I turn and sit up straighter to get a better look.
Then two females come out, one of them I recognise immediately.
The guys are still talking amongst themselves, “Guys…GUYS...look.” I’d know all that sparkly jewellery anywhere. Their much larger transport has pulled up for them, right at the front of the building, and they follow the path down to it. Another six Spacesuits emerge to follow.
“That’s a lot of guards. Do you know who the other one is?”
The guys are all leaning across and squinting.
Tark pulls out his little handheld thing, and looks something up, then spins it round to show us, “I’ve just searched for pictures of any female royal, what do you guys think?” They all pick the same one immediately, I’m ashamed enough to think that they all just look the same to me.
“Yeah, I think so too,” Tark adds. Abner starts the transport again and we peel away, it doesn’t take long to get back to the house, Abner docks the transport and we all get out and crowd round Tark whilst he shows us some pictures.
“I’ve done some reading, she’s a proper princess, this one, actually has a chance of being queen.” Tark flicks through more pictures.
“Are they her mates?” I ask, pointing at one of the pictures.
“No, they have been courting for a while, and the actual mating ceremony was meant to be in two weeks but she called it off...about three weeks ago. No reason given. Everything was just cancelled, there’s a lot of speculation as to why but no official answer. She’s just suddenly rejected them.”
“And who are they? Must be sort of important to be dating a princess?” I ask Tark.
He flicks through a few more pictures and turns it back to us, it’s a picture of just them, wearing formal clothes, they seemed to be at some sort of ceremony or other.
“This picture’s from some time ago, but it says that they will be Leaders of Health.”
All the guys frown at each other, and everyone's tails and ears are having an epic twitch fest.
“Guys?”
“That is a huge coincidence...but the timing is right...” Abner says.
And then they all look up, Homeworld station is clearly visible, but I could probably obscure it with my thumb. They are all looking at it.
“What’s a huge coincidence? Guys?”
Tark looks down at me, and then back up. “They are looking after the human. The rescued one.”
“Oh. Oh! You don’t think she’s the reason they broke up?” That is a bit of a leap.
They all do the ear twitch I’ve come to think of as The Shrug.
I hunch myself on the sofa, listening to them milling around and packing. Abner bought me one of those sweet milks and told me to stay put whilst they sort everything.
By the time I’ve finished my drink I’m starting to feel better again, “What does Class B mean?” I call out.
They’ve moved a lot of stuff to near the front door, we didn’t come with very much at all, but we will be leaving with a bit more than what we came with. Still it didn’t take them long to pack.
They all come and sit around the coffee table, and Tark pulls out his hand-held thing to look it up. I guess they all want to hear.
He sits and reads for a minute, “So basically you’re deemed intelligent, and that affords you some basic rights but the important bits are...right, so, this first bit says that there will be no open contact with the species homeworld, but since we don’t know where it is anyway, this makes it look like we are effectively banned from looking for it. Any aggressive action taken by any human whilst on, or in, the vicinity of any of our people or assets must be logged with Homeworld authorities...indefinitely. Allowing of humans onto assets is by the responsibility and judgement of the relevant responsible individual; and will be taken on a case by case basis...highly restricted access to Homeworld...stasis travel recommended for unknown individuals...this is quite a list.”
Tark sighs, “We had better go and see our parents.”
Oh no. I hadn’t even thought about that.
I start weeping again, “I’ve just caused a huge amount of trouble for you all. If you want to...I’d understand...” I can hardly
get the words out.
“Absolutely not,” Pate says without hesitation. I think he’d understood what I’d meant through the tears. “Come on, you can come with us and say goodbye.”
“Oh, no, please no,” I’m nearly wailing now, “How can I possibly face them? Your Mother? I’ve caused all this.”
I am unceremoniously lifted like a child, I’m so used to Pate taking control, but this time it’s Tark, he has a steely look on his face, and he gives the top of my head a quick sniff as he walks us out the door.
“It’s fine Tark, I can walk...I’ll go willingly.” He allows me to slide out of his grip and takes my hand instead.
PATE
Mother is tearful and absolutely incensed about what has happened.
“No tears!” she says to Maisy even as she’s trying to brush away her own.
She hugs us all tightly, one at a time, and says she will meet us in orbit next time we visit. “This is all my fault, I should not have allowed her to railroad me into sending that message – but she was so insistent she would mate you and…and…I wanted to believe her. So stupid!” She actually waves her fists in frustration even as my brothers try to dismiss it as nothing.
She gives us all little baskets of our favourite snacks, and even gives Maisy a small box and tells her not to open it until we are back in orbit. It’s a short, confused, emotional visit, and it doesn’t feel long before I’m herding Maisy and my brothers out. I will not take a risk; and would rather be comfortably in orbit long before our time runs out.
She sits in Tark’s lap whilst Abner and I pack our things into the transport, and is passed to Abner’s lap for the journey. The smell of her utter despair is a palpable thing, and it is distressing to all of us. We take the transport all the way to the ship this time, I have no desire to make use of public transport. I snort then, how different this journey is to how we were when we first arrived.
We load onto the ship, and I take a last look.
I realise I am fully prepared to never set foot on Homeworld again.
Just as certain as I am that the humans are being set up.
Epilogue
MAISY
The last few hours have been emotional, overwhelming, horrific...and probably a hundred other words to describe just how awful this is.
“Where are we going to go now?”
We are sat on deck, orbiting Homeworld. Slouched in various chairs. “I’ve contacted the Orbit station, maybe we could go and see that Human? Find out what’s going on? After, we have work to do...and that could involve visiting Poppy?”
That...makes me feel a bit better, gives me a bit of purpose.
“Thanks, Abner, maybe there actually is something going on...we will have to be careful though, I hear that humans are aggressive...” I trail off, the news feed playing on a screen has all my attention.
We've all sat up to look, Tark instructs the computer to increase the volume. “...only newly afforded the status of intelligent, and so reprieved from euthanasia. The human’s trial starts tomorrow under a torrent of media speculation.” There’s a human woman on the TV, she’s being escorted by a brother pack, and she’s very thoroughly restrained. I’m used to seeing people in handcuffs coming and going from court with a coat over their heads desperately trying to dodge the media’s photographs, but there’s no such circus here. The crowd is orderly, and there’s no obvious recording devices. The angle we are watching from makes me think the camera is suspended or flying, like a drone. Her arms are bound in front, and there's a tie around her waist and another linked to a collar, each rope is held by a uniformed brother strategically positioned around her. They lead her up the steps and she disappears through the courthouse doors, some officials trailing behind. I collapse back into the chair as the news changes; I wasn’t able to read the text scrolling across the screen, and the reporter had very little else to say.
“What’s she being charged with? Did it say?”
“Yes, it said,” Abner looks as incredulous as it’s possible for a cat to be, “It said murder.”
