“The information we take from the client helps the higher-ups decipher patterns like who have the most questions, or what questions are most common, and that helps them refine the immigration services they provide, as well as the information they provide to the human public. So the first thing we do is fill out a form like this.”
Maggie pulled out her tablet and brought up the form. It was simple, with slots for the client’s name and contact details, and a box for a description of the problem. She passed the tablet to Ro so he could look at it. He tapped the screen to zoom in and scroll, and she was relieved to see his claws wouldn’t be a problem.
“You fill that out from the email or while you’re taking the call, and when you click ‘Create File’ it will add it to the database and assign a reference number.”
Ro nodded along as she explained.
Creating a case file didn’t take long. Depending on the question, Maggie could do it in under five minutes. She knew the rest of the Enquiries department saw them as their secretaries, their receptionists. It was their job to answer calls and respond to emails. Maggie didn’t have a problem with what she did though.
Incomings was about good customer service. It was about solving people’s problems. On the surface, it was answering the phone, and forwarding emails, and redirecting enquiries to the relevant teams. But it was also about being polite, and kind, and compassionate, even when the client wasn’t. It was about thinking on her feet, and being ready for anything, and facing the unexpected with a smile. Some days Maggie would get the same question she’d answered thirty times that day, and sometimes she’d hear something she’d never heard before.
To be good, she had to have a working knowledge of every single team on the floor, in the building, even. She had to know everything about DETI so she could direct enquiries to exactly the right person. She knew more names, extensions, inboxes, opening hours, shift patterns, and break times than anyone else she could think of. She almost never had to consult her directory anymore, and she prided herself on never transferring a call to an unmanned desk. She knew who was busy and who had time, she knew who preferred to deal with what kind of enquiry. Some people liked the simple, rote stuff, and some people liked the complicated stuff, and she made sure everyone was kept happy.
“To help us, we have this directory, and a script.” Maggie opened her drawer and pulled out her old directory. It was scribbled on as changes had been made over the years, but it was what she had at the moment and it was meant to be an example. She passed it to Ro. “That’s got all the extensions and inbox addresses for all the DETI staff. It’s confidential so be careful. Once you figure out where an enquiry needs to go, you just forward it to somebody on the right team from in there. We can get you one of your own later.”
“This is the script you’ll be using. It’s in English, I’m afraid, so I don’t know how useful it will be to you. I suppose it would be difficult to try to translate it as you’re talking to somebody. We have mail templates for written enquiries which I can share with you.”
She watched him flick through the dusty folders, checking that he didn’t look overwhelmed. “How does that sound? We have everything set up for the basics, and if you don’t know what to do, just ask me.”
He looked up at her and nodded, smiling politely. “Very helpful,” he said.
“Do you have a log-in yet?”
Ro glanced at the computer as if checking that was what she meant. “No.”
“Do you have a staff card?”
“No.”
“Okay, we can get you those. Do have I.D. and proof of employment?”
“I have the offer they sent me, telling me to come here,” he said.
“That’ll do. Why don’t we go and get you set up with I.T. and I’ll give you the tour of the building? You won’t be able to do anything if you don’t have clearance,” Maggie said, getting to her feet and inviting him to join her.
As they walked out of the office together through the big glass double doors that looked fancy but could be a pain to open, Maggie looked Ro up and down again. The suit really did not fit him, wouldn’t fit any Teissian she suspected. It pulled tight across his knees, though they weren’t where knees would be on a human, and hung off his torso as if he was emaciated. The sleeves were too short, showing his wrists, and she wondered how he had managed to slide his hands through, since they looked wider than a human’s. The seams for the shoulders on the jacket were in the wrong place, and his shirt was barely long enough to be tucked in, his belt seeming to ride very low, making his torso look elongated.
He was also wearing shoes which she couldn’t remember seeing a Teissian do before. They were standard office-wear shoes, but even they looked funny somehow, too long and too wide, and she got the feeling he wasn’t walking comfortably.
Working at DETI, she had seen plenty of Teissians from all departments. Those who worked for the support teams wore uniforms which had been altered to accommodate Teissian bodies. They wore tight trousers that were cropped to allow for their elongated heel that acted almost as a second knee, and the talon that some of them had. They didn’t wear shoes, but dark rubbery socks that left the claws on their two toes exposed. Maggie knew some of them wore loose polo shirts that had slits in the sides, while some others wore tight sleeveless shirts or T-shirts.
The DETI employees without uniforms wore more varied clothes. She had seen them wear wrapped skirts as well as capris, and loose clothes on top, sometimes with a wide-sleeved jacket. They were always in professional colours, and sometimes they wore ties or something resembling one. Maggie wondered where they got clothes that fit them so well but still looked close enough to human to comply with the dress code.
Maggie wouldn’t comment on Ro’s clothes though. It was obvious he was trying, and he hadn’t even been on Earth for a week. His life must have been in chaos, especially since the support he could normally have expected from DETI and the Teissian community leaders at the dorms would have all been rerouted to the emergency arrivals that rushed in before the border closed. She would give him a couple of weeks to get sorted, and get the feel of the office and maybe talk to some of the other Teissians who worked there, then if he still looked uncomfortable she would offer her advice. She couldn’t imagine how he could wear shoes, unless his feet were radically different to other Teissians.
She decided they would take the elevator rather than the stairs, just in case.
“I’ll take you to Security first to get your staff credentials set up, then we can go to I.T. to get your system access. Then we might check out Printing to see if they’ve got any up-to-date copies of the directory or script for you. If you’d like it in a different language, just ask, but we only have Earth languages at the moment. I can see if Derek will okay a request to Language Services for a translated version. We should have that anyway, I think. It’s a good idea. If I say anything you don’t understand, stop me.”
Ro chuckled as if it was too late for that, and Maggie looked at him, amazed. He really did have a nice voice. He could do voice-overs for adverts. He deserved to be broadcast. She wondered if she should tell him, point out his chance at stardom, but she wanted him on her team for at least a little while.
He noticed her look. “I will… pick it up as I go along?” he said carefully, stirring the air with his claws as if searching for the words. He smiled, and Maggie got a proper look at the white dental ridges Teissians had instead of teeth. She smiled back, and wondered what he thought of the differences between them.
They reached the elevator and got in. Security had their offices in the basement, which was only one floor down.
“You’re doing very well, I must say. Your English sounds perfect.” Maggie tried not to cringe as she heard herself compliment him a little too enthusiastically. She would have to make sure her crush on his voice didn’t become too obvious, or unprofessional. She would hate to make him uncomfortable.
“Thank you,” he replied. “The transporter
ship that brought me from Teiss had a human crew. I enjoyed talking to everyone on board.”
“What languages do you speak? I only ask because you’re going to be our interpreter, and I don’t want to put you on the spot with someone you don’t understand.”
“I speak Balin and Balor, and enough Volin though I am not fluent, and less Volon than that. And English, of course. A little Spanish.”
The doors dinged and they got out. The basement levels were brightly lit, with white painted cinder block walls. Anyone was allowed into this corridor, but to go further required clearance she didn’t have. She led them over to an empty reception desk and pressed a button for service.
“That’s an impressive list. I feel quite inadequate. I only speak English.”
Ro’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean to offend you!” he rushed.
Maggie giggled and waved him off. “It’s fine, it’s my own fault. I should take a few language classes or you’ll be after my job,” she laughed.
“I wouldn’t!” Ro insisted, clasping her arm. She looked at him in surprise and he snatched his hand back. “I am sorry,” he said, hanging his head and looking like he wanted to retreat.
“Ro, it’s okay. I don’t mind. I was just messing around. I know you won’t steal my job, not after a day. You don’t need to be careful around me. I’m training you, but I’m not your boss. We’re equals,” she said, trying to reassure him. His hand had felt hard through her clothes, his grip firm, but he hadn’t hurt her, not even with his claws. It had been an alien touch, his fingers fewer and thicker than a human’s, and his thumb longer, but it hadn’t been unpleasant, not at all.
He peeked at her, and she had the strangest impression that brown eyes didn’t suit him, they looked at odds with the rest of his face somehow.
She changed the subject. “What’s your mother tongue? I’m sorry I can’t tell,” Maggie asked, a little awkward at not knowing enough about the Teissian races to be able to tell which one he belonged to.
He smiled at her. “I am Balin,” he said.
“Oh, of course, you said you were from Bala at the meeting. Am I saying that right? Bala? I should have remembered.”
“Bala, yes. And that is alright. Would you like to know how to tell the different Teissians apart?” he offered.
He seemed sincere, not like he was being sarcastic or making fun of her, or like she had offended him. Still, Maggie wanted to tread carefully. She didn’t want her ignorance to be taken the wrong way.
“I’d be interested to hear it from you,” she hedged.
Ro held up his hands. “Balin have curved claws,” he said, tracing the tip of one over the other, miming a hook though the bone itself stopped short of that. “So we are encouraged to file them down if we are going to be typing. And our scales are very dark, with colourful… hmm… spots?” He brushed his claws over the pick patch on his cheek to draw her attention.
Maggie nodded at his choice of words. “I know what you mean.”
A Teissian security guard appeared behind the desk, giving Ro a nod of recognition or solidarity. “How can I help?” he asked.
“Ro is starting with us today and we need to get his staff card set up,” Maggie explained.
The officer nodded and collected Ro’s I.D. and other paperwork, then went into the back office to check it all over. Maggie had done this enough times with new people to know that the guard would be doing a quick background check, making sure he really had been offered and accepted the job he said he had, and just that everything was in order. It would probably take longer than usual, since DETI was still in high alert after the loss of the Tiberius.
Left alone again, Ro picked up their conversation again. “The Vol people are greener. Volin have wings, and Volon are very tall. That is how you can tell,” he informed her with a smile.
“And what about the fourth one, the Balor?”
Something flickered across Ro’s face, his smile dropping for a second before he pulled it back, but he looked away from her.
“The Balor… wear lots of colourful clothes. They like to show wealth,” he said, but he sounded like he had to un-grit his jaw to do it.
“I’m sorry, should I not have asked about them?” Maggie worried.
Ro seemed to relax again and waved her off. “It’s fine,” he said with a smile.
Maggie didn’t want to press, so she let it go. “If there’s ever anything you want to ask me, you can,” she said, trying to cover the stilted atmosphere.
“I will,” Ro replied.
They got a temporary, limited access staff card for Ro when the security officer came back. HR had yet to confirm him ‘in post’ so it would be a few days before he could get the proper one, but the one they gave him would get him access to the offices so he could do his job.
I.T. used the card to generate a log-in profile for him, and they dug out a special earpiece for him that would fit him better than the ones designed for humans. Maggie hadn’t even thought of that, though she realised she should have. He was happy to use the rest of their technology, like the keymaps and tablets, because that was what he had learned to type with on the ship.
Printing had a stack of directories to hand, so they had no trouble getting Ro one of those, and they would deliver a new copy of the script before the end of the day. They said they would need a file from Language Services before they could print a Balin version, so Maggie made a mental note to ask Derek to put a job through to them.
Maggie offered to help carry the increasing load of folders and maps and forms and contracts Ro was being weighed down with at every visit, but he refused, so she took them back to Enquiries when they were finished with their errands so he could leave it all on his desk. She asked the others how it was going, and got a variety of looks that made her feel bad for not being able to help.
“Fine,” said Lucy.
“Busy,” said Nina.
Alex and Ben were in the middle of calls and couldn’t answer.
“I’ll be able to help catch up this afternoon,” Maggie said apologetically.
Nina hummed sceptically.
“Okay,” said Lucy.
Maggie knew they weren’t really mad, just busy, so giving them up for a lost cause, she gestured for Ro to follow her out again so she could give him a tour of the building and go over the fire procedures and first aid points.
She found him surprisingly easy to talk to as she led him around, introducing him to the people they dealt with the most and filling him in on all that DETI did and how Incoming Enquiries fit into all of it. By the time she was finished, it was lunchtime, and she took them back to their desks so she could collect her things.
“You can take an hour. There’s a café in the lobby, or the staff canteen is on the top floor. You can also go out for lunch if you want, there are some restaurants nearby. It’s up to you. I’ll keep you company if you want, but I understand if you need some time to think about something else.” She laughed. “It’s meant to be your break after all.”
Before Ro could reply, one of the other new Teissians, Kez, came up behind him and brushed his back, laying his clawed hand on Ro’s shoulder and tipping his head at the doors.
“Lunch, fila?” he said. Maggie assumed the word was some form of Balin address. Kez’s voice was not rich like Ro’s, but crackled like tin foil.
Ro glanced at her, about to say something, but Maggie cut him off. “I’ll see you in an hour, Ro,” she said with a smile. She didn’t mind that he wanted to have lunch with his friend instead. She recognised that his brain needed to digest too and it would be helpful for the two Teissians – she guessed Kez was Balin as well, based on what Ro had told her – to compare notes.
Ro nodded. “In an hour, Maggie,” he agreed, and followed Kez out, who was already talking to him in Balin.
Chapter 3
Maggie wanted to take her lunch outside, to get out of the office and enjoy the sunshine a bit, stretch her legs. She needed to give her brain a rest as
well, take some time to just turn off.
Walking through the lobby still gave her a chill. She had been there like everyone else, that morning the news came in that a transporter ship had been destroyed. It was only three days ago, and it still made her feel a little sick, a little shaky. It was too big for her to process.
Coming to work was still surreal. The grief and mourning was thick in the air, the sense of panic like a smell, an invisible trace of what had happened. The DETI building had always felt like a place of other-worldly competence, a nexus of Earth and the Universe, a bridge between humanity and beings from other planets. Now it was too quiet, like a mausoleum.
No one could wrap their heads around it, the loss. Over a million people, who had boarded that ship in an effort to survive, to keep living after losing their homes. That ship had been a promise, a helping hand reaching out across thousands of lightyears – piloted by a brave and generous crew, who sacrificed years away from their own homes and families to fly across the galaxy to help people who had no hope otherwise. And it had been incinerated by the Rhacahr, Earth’s allies. It had happened so far away but that seemed to only make it worse. No one wanted to die in space, with no witnesses and no burial. No chance to say goodbye, or look at the sky you were born under. Just vacuum.
And people were scared. The UNE had closed the borders, but everyone at DETI, at least in the San Diego office, knew a lot of softly-legal things had been done to rush as many refugees in as possible before that happened. They all knew tens of thousands of people had arrived overnight. People were still working overtime to process them all, get them all accommodation and Visas and I.D. while at the same time fearing for their jobs. If the borders stayed closed, did that mean no more DETI? But there was no time to think about that when the dorms were filled over capacity and food had to be ordered based on estimates, not concrete numbers.
The New Guy (Office Aliens Book 2) Page 2
