Volunteer (Selected Book 3)

by Robin Roseau

  "Our names are names," said another male. "If they once meant something, that knowledge has been lost to us."

  "Well then, we can't use a translation of your names, as there is no translation," I said. "You could look through a list of human names. If you have access to the human Internet, there are web sites with lists of names. And it doesn't need to be an English name. You could pick a name from another Earth culture. But you don't have to do that, either."

  "I am not sure she is helping," said the female.

  "Ah, but they are to be your names, and they should be names you would enjoy receiving. You could choose words that describe you physically, but I think you would all choose words such as Strong and Big and Powerful, and that might become repetitive."

  They offered growls at that, but Violet whispered into my ear, "Their form of laughter."

  "There is one other choice," I said. "You do not have to choose names in this fashion. You could choose names a human could pronounce, even if they are unusual. The only danger with this is the increased difficulty for a human to remember."

  They looked back and forth, and some signal was passed. "We do not choose this last choice."

  "All right. Are there more of your species that are coming today?"

  "Yes," said a male. "The rest of our squad will be here."

  "Are there others of your species here on earth?"

  "No," said one.

  "Yes," said another. "At the-" Then he broke off.

  I smiled. "In Africa?"

  "That is the large southern continent."

  "These others hope for a mate?" And that was when I realize the limitations on what I could say wasn't based on what I could say, but whom I could say it to. The limitations didn't apply to the aliens, only to other humans.

  They glanced at each other.

  "My mother is the cook for the human mating candidates," I said. "All of us know what happens there. One of my classmates broke into your broadcasts, and we saw the shows you produce."

  "Shows?"

  The female spoke rapidly in their language then returned to English. "Humans have their own reality television shows."

  "Yes," I agreed. "So there are members of your species there."

  "Two," she said.

  "Well, they aren't here," I said. "I think this is an important decision. I think all of you tonight should discuss your choices and decide together what you want. Later, if you want, we can try to find human names for you."

  More glances, and then, "We would like that."

  "Now, there is a little more I must say." I explained about family names and given names. "In history, some people have been named based on where they live. One of the most famous humans from history is known as Leonardo da Vinci. His name was Leonardo, and he was from a town in Italy called Vinci. I imagine at home, he was known simply as Leonardo, and the da Vinci part was added to separate him from Leonardo da Milan, for instance. Do you see? And in the German language, there are names that begin with von, which in English means from. The most famous example is probably Manfred von Richthofen, who was a pilot in our first world war. But we also have a famous musical about the von Trapp family. Do you see?"

  "We understand," said the female. "We will discuss these things. Will you help us later?"

  "Of course. Now, I must know one more thing. Bluebell said the name of your species, but it is also not a sound I can reproduce."

  "We do not have a human name for our species," said the female.

  "That isn't true," said one of the males. "At the-" he paused. "Some of the mating candidates called us Effbees."

  "Effbees?" I asked. I laughed. "Do you know why?"

  "Yes." But he looked uncomfortable.

  "You shouldn't be embarrassed. As warriors, you should be proud."

  "But it is not a proper name," he said. "We can not use either of the words."

  "All right, but I can. Fucking Badasses." And they all looked quite uncomfortable. "But you're right. I can't walk up to the Ambassador and say that. Or, for that matter, my mother."

  "No."

  "I believe your species should have a proper name humans could say." Then I paused. "You know, I assumed you are all the same species. Was I wrong?"

  "You are not wrong, although we are from different planets. Our species has colonized sixty-two planets."

  "Oh, well done," I said. "Unless you took them from other species."

  "We will fiercely defend land we take, but we do not take land from anyone," said the female. She sounded fierce when she said it. "We wish other species felt the same way."

  "Humans have a bad history about that," I said.

  "How could you not? Seven billion all on one world. We are less than twenty billion across sixty-three worlds."

  "The worst happened when we were far fewer than seven billion," I said. "I am pleased to know you do not covet Earth."

  They made their sound of amusement again.

  "Are all the members of your species warriors?"

  "No, of course not. We have many-" the male broke off. He switched to his own language and spoke rapidly. He turned back to me. "I am sorry. We do not know the word."

  Violet spoke. And for the next minute, there was a back and forth. Finally, with a little wave of her tentacles, she said, "Caste." She turned to me. "We had to find a mutual language, and then find one where we both knew the equivalent word.

  "Caste," said the male. "This means a group of people devoted to similar work."

  "So you have a warrior caste and a scientists class?"

  "Yes, and others. The warriors are like us." He looked around. "Some are bigger. Some are smaller, but not much smaller."

  "And the other castes?"

  "We range in size," said the female. She looked me up and down. "Although none of us are as small as you. A small female is about the size of a Catseye. The males can be smaller, but not much. I am small for a female in our warrior caste, but that is because my mother married outside her caste."

  "So your females are larger?"

  "Yes. We understand this is unusual for humans but not for all species on Earth."

  I couldn't think of any counter-examples, but it didn't matter. "All right. Does the name you call your race have a special meaning?"

  "It is just a word, like human is just a word."

  "Well, I believe your species needs a name."

  "We will discuss this as well," said the male. "Thank you, Ms. Andrews."

  "I hope you'll call me Skye."

  Over the next hour, all our guests arrived. Amaryllis arrived, and a short while later, Bluebell escorted the squad leader to me. I was still in conversation with Amaryllis.

  We greeted, and then he said, "My squad is talking about names."

  "Names?" asked the ambassador. I brought her up to speed, and she did her version of a smile. "Very good." She turned to the squad leader. "I would be pleased for your species to have a good name the humans can pronounce, and one that you are willing to repeat in my presence."

  I laughed. "I heard about the FBs."

  "It is fitting, but crude," she said. "And it does not accurately represent the entire species."

  Amaryllis and the FBs weren't our only guests. With Amaryllis came two small aliens. Their skin was tinted blue and they had four opposed fingers per hand. Bluebell introduced them as Octals. Their names were Rapid Flitter and Quiet Waters.

  "They are technicians," Amaryllis said.

  "And you are friends?" I asked.

  "Quiet Waters is one of my mates," Rapid Flitter said.

  "One of?" I asked.

  "The Octals are named for their love of things coming in eights," Amaryllis explained. "A full family unit is eight."

  "But we are four," Rapid Flitter clarified. "We are a young family, yet to merge with another. I wish to become stronger before we merge, or the other queen will remain queen."

  I again looked to Amaryllis for explanation. "An octal family has one leader, who becomes queen. T
he entire family becomes devoted to her."

  "I am our queen," said Rapid Flitter. "It was a close contest with Quiet Waters, but my will proved stronger."

  I looked at Quiet Waters, who was watching her queen with, well, if she were human, I would have called it adoration. Rapid Flitter saw the direction of my gaze.

  "It is a natural aspect of our species," she explained. "Quiet Waters struggled, but she is now devoted to me. I imagine if we were to merge with another four, I would also struggle, but I do not know if I would struggle as effectively as did Quiet Waters." She reached out and gently caressed her wife's cheek. "In time, I would be as devoted to my new queen as Quiet Waters is to me." She looked back at me. "As queen, I abhor the idea, but I would change, if I were to lose the struggle."

  "You would be happy?"

  "I would, but it is not our nature to enter the struggle lightly. We each seek to be and remain queen."

  "Do you fear Quiet Waters will challenge you in the future?"

  "She cannot. She has accepted her role." Then she gestured to her own head. "I carry the ridges of queen, made more prominent when Quiet Waters, along with her mate, West Gate, submitted to me."

  "The Octals are a fascinating species," said Violet. "I believe I would look good with similar ridges, and you with such an adoring gaze."

  "Are you sure you would win a struggle of wills with me?"

  "Oh, yes. I need only tickle you, and you would fully submit to me."

  That was definitely true.

  Once everyone arrived, the apartment was full, although that was in part due to the size of our guests. Amaryllis was tall and slender, but the warriors were quite broad, filling the available space. But they surprised me in that they eschewed the furniture and preferred to sit on the floor. I thought it was interesting in that they sat with their feet underneath them. It looked decidedly uncomfortable, but they all did it and seemed quite at home with it.

  A short while later, we invited people to enjoy dinner, served and eaten as informally as I'd ever seen in this house.

  What amused me the most was seeing Amaryllis sitting on the living room floor along with the rest of us, a plate balanced across her knees.

  I was also surprised by the delicate nature used by the FBs while eating. They cut their food very precisely, consuming small bites at a time. One of the two females present caught me watching her, and she asked if something was wrong.

  "I can't imagine a human warrior eating with such care," I said. "It must take a great amount of food to keep you supplied."

  "I understand now," she said. "This is not our normal style, but Ambassador Amaryllis cautioned us our normal dining manners might upset the humans. We took lessons to eat in a human fashion."

  "I am touched by your care," I said. "Do I want to know?"

  She spoke another language, and Amaryllis answered her. Then she turned back to me. "Our jaws hinge open very widely," she said. "We would normally only cut this food once, or possibly twice."

  At that moment, Violet reached a tentacle over and took a sip from my lemonade, which meant she dipped a tentacle into it and slurped. Then she took two of the vegetables from my plate, wrapping her tentacle around it completely, and everyone heard as she consumed it. She was particularly obvious about it. Both the FB female and I watched Violet the entire time she did this.

  I looked back up at the FB. "Would you say your habits are more shocking than what Violet just did?"

  "You hide your shock well."

  I laughed. "You don't think that's the first time she's done that, do you?" In response, I reached over and stole a bit of chicken from Violet's plate.

  Amaryllis said, "Perhaps this group would not be shocked." But her eyes flashed towards Mom very briefly. "But I have asked them to develop practices that could be seen around a wider human audience. This is part of my long term plan, Skye. Someday I wish humans to be as integrated into our societies as possible, and the ability to share a meal is important in almost all cultures."

  "All right," I said, "but you know you're talking centuries before you convince all the humans it's okay to watch a Catseye eat."

  "It will be far sooner that we will be able to openly eat in human restaurants," Azalea said.

  "Perhaps in some neighborhoods," I said. "But it will be a very, very long time before you will be safe everywhere."

  "Are you safe everywhere?" she asked.

  "Well, no. That's a good point."

  * * * *

  It was after the meal was over that we had our speeches. Azalea spoke briefly, basically expressing pleasure everyone felt comfortable in our home. She then introduced Amaryllis.

  Amaryllis talked a little bit about being here on Earth, saying nothing we didn't already know, but it was as a prelude. She pointed out some humans were deeply accepting but reminded us that many remained afraid and suspicious.

  "Trust takes time to develop," she said. "We should not blame humans for fearing us. After all, we are intimidating, some of us more than others."

  That commented resulted in a variety of forms of laughter.

  "In this home today are good people." Then she repeated that. "Good people." She turned towards Audra. "We have a young human teenager, still beginning her life, but she shows such promise. She and her sister both find so much joy, often in the simplest things." She offered a small bow to a beaming Audra.

  Then Amaryllis turned to Mom. "Carmen Andrews is a good woman. Meeting her eldest daughter, I had a measure of the mother. She works hard and with pride in a job well done, one of the most important jobs in the world. She feeds her people. Many would look down at her for what sounds like a simple job. Those people are wrong to do so. It is through her work that so many people find joy in what could otherwise be simple sustenance." And then she offered a small bow to Mom.

  "I do not know if the people you feed thank you," she added. "And so let me say it. Thank you, Carmen. What you do is valued."

  Mom lowered her gaze. I thought perhaps she was embarrassed by the attention, but I was also sure she was pleased. I certainly was.

  Amaryllis talked about each of us, one after another. She managed to find something unique to say about each of us, speaking briefly perhaps, but in a meaningful fashion. She skipped me, but would come back to me later.

  Then she looked around. "Less than two weeks ago, frightened humans made a deep mistake. They sought answers to questions, questions I have already been answering, any time I am asked. But they do not believe me, and so they sought to forcibly extract answers from someone deemed vulnerable."

  I looked down and tried to contain my emotions. Violet tightened around me, and I laid my head on her shoulder.

  "This was a mistake. How could they possibly think we wouldn't protect one of our own? And Skye Andrews is certainly one of our own."

  I looked up. Amaryllis was looking around. "I could not protect her alone. I could not protect her without the people in this room." She turned towards the two Octals. "I could not have protected her without the work you do. You were able to rapidly assemble the proof I required, and you had it ready for me even before I could ask for it. At the same time, you kept track of Skye's location, which was never in doubt. And then you were even able to provide plans to the house where she was kept and a count of the people holding her. If we had needed it, I am sure you could have given us more information, and more, and that was even before we infiltrated with those clever little devices of yours. You helped to make everything else possible. Thank you."

  The Octal queen inclined her head once. I brushed tears away.

  Amaryllis moved on to talk about the FBs. She extolled their ferocity when necessary, but their strength and discipline. "We went into that house with overwhelming capability, and because of it, no violence was necessary. I did not trust the humans involved. I thought they would give Skye back to us, but I didn't trust they wouldn't first step up their questioning, or flat out attempt to move her, thinking they could hide her from us.
Instead, because of all of you, we stepped in, secured the house and the frightened little rabbits, and recovered our human with no additional damage done to her in the process." She bowed. "Thank you."

  She turned to me, and she was simple. "You -- along with your sister and mother -- are one of us. And we protect our own."

  Then she stepped over to me, pulled me to my feet, and hugged me.

  Then she left me standing there as she sat down.

  I looked around briefly. "I asked if I could host a thank you. I thank my Catseye family for the things they do for me, some days it seems like a dozen times a day." I received head bows from the four of them for that. "And I thanked Amaryllis repeatedly. But I wanted to meet all of you, and I am touched you would attend today."

  The Octal queen stood. "We also wished to meet you, and we are pleased to also meet your sister and mother." And she sat back down.

  "Well, I am touched. There is a human custom, although it is not only reserved to humans. We hug. I do not know how Octals feel about this gesture." Then I turned to the squad leader. "Or FBs."

  He offered their growl of amusement. "No one here would turn away from such a gesture."

  And so I turned back to the two Octals. They both stood, and I approached.

  "I do not know if there is a protocol," I said.

  "Begin with me," said Rapid Flitter.

  And so I closed the distance, and we wrapped arms around each other. I whispered into her ear, "Thank you."

  "You are welcome," she replied. "But you can repay us."

  "Oh?"

  "We would ask for friendship."

  "That is easy payment."

  Quiet Water was next, and thanks given and received was simpler. Then they both sat.

  The warriors were different. I didn't control those hugs. Basically one of the two females stood up and pulled me into a hug. She was firm but gentle, and when she released me, I knew I was well hugged. And then she literally handed me to the next, and to the next. I thanked each.