6y 11m 3w 2d BV
The ship Brilliant Light arrived at the station Unto Dawn with minimal problems. Regalo had left the human in his silent reverie in the docking port of the ship whilst he manned the messy bridge. “This is the ship Brilliant Light to space station Unto Dawn requesting for docking and a clean up team. We’ve been in a Hunter attack,” Regalo broadcasted on the coms. He waited a while for a response until losing patience and demanded. “This is Brilliant Light to Unto Dawn do you copy?”
A befuddled voice quickly replied. “Uh y-yes we read you. You said that you survived a Hunter attack on your ship?” it asked tremulously. Regalo sighed in irritation and replied.
“Myself and another passenger on the ship hid during the Hunter attack.” He could hear voices talking in the background of the person at the station’s coms unit.
“Alright hold for docking procedures,” the voice replied. Regalo set the ship into autopilot, letting the computer shake hands with the station system’s and dock. He quickly left the grizzly scene of the bridge but slowed his pace once he was outside. He plodded along the winding hallways of the ship to the docking port where John was waiting for him. As he neared the docking port he heard a mellifluous voice reverberating through the ship. For a moment Regalo was entranced by the melody. He couldn’t make out the words but the tune simply resounded with his soul. It sounded so pure and innocent yet melancholic. He followed the voice with a faster and faster pace as his curiosity for what could be possibly making that sound grew. As he chased the siren’s voice he noticed a shift in the emotions of the song as the melancholy turned to happiness. Compelled by his curiosity and adoration of the lilting sounds he began running. As he rapidly approached the source he could make out words to the song.
“Even breathing feels alright.” Regalo heard as he found John leaning against a wall with his violin case. John stopped singing and looked to Regalo with worry.
“Hey what’s up? Something wrong with the docking thingie,” he asked as his eyebrows knit together in concern. John had discarded the gore-covered sweater and was left in a tight fitting undershirt and jeans. Regalo took a moment to catch his breath before asking.
“I heard a melody coming from here. Was that you?” John sheepishly smiled as he averted his eyes to the floor.
“Yeah I’m not as good at singing as I am with the violin. Sorry if it sounded horrible,” he apologized. Regalo simply stared with deadpan eyes at John and flattened ears to complete the are-you-fucking-kidding-me look.
“Not good? You’re really good! I’ve heard songs on Gao but none of them have that… I don’t know how to describe it but that feeling that yours had. It’s like I could feel what you’re feeling while you were singing,” the Gaoian explained. John scratched the five o’clock shadow that had begun to grow on his face.
“Well what do your songs sing about,” he asked curious as to what the Gaoian would have listened to growing up.
“Well most of our songs are of great deeds done by past Gaoians or usually have some sort of moral to them,” Regalo answered. The opening of the docking port interrupted their conversation. The duo was greeted by a team of hesitant looking Vzk’tk in biohazards suit with mops greeted them.
“We’re the clean u-up crew,” one of the quivering blue sapients announced quietly.
“The mess is in the Bridge of the ship,” the human instructed them as he strapped his violin to his back and walked passed them. Regalo quickly followed his friend but soon bumped into the human.
“Why did you stop,” he asked, annoyed as he rubbed his snout.
John knew he had been abducted by aliens and was in space but it hadn’t felt like he was in space until he saw the bustling space station. Creatures of all kinds milling about like the currents in a great ocean of life. Huge hillocks of fur walked around in packs as their coloured sides flashed and changed colours. Giant fat men with four arms and bulging necks helping to move cargo from ships. Dozens of what John could only describe as blue giraffes who missed the memo on how many limbs they were meant to have were cleaning ships or doing things beyond the human’s current understanding. One random observation surfaced in his mind as he looked up to all of life’s creation.
“Everyone is naked,” he said in awe as he looked about. Well, mostly naked. He thought as he looked at the assortment of what looked like fanny packs and hoops the station’s denizens wore.
“Clothes aren’t very practical when you have a lot of fur or live in space so we wear pouches and belts. My race and I think another one are the only ones who wear more clothes,” Regalo informed before pausing to think of who the other race was. He quirked his head in a shrug and continued. “Now come on we need to go to customs and get you some papers.”
The human knit his brows together in confusion. “Papers? You mean like a passport,” he asked as he walked through the sea of sapients with Regalo leading him.
“Indeed. You didn’t think people could just come and go as they pleased without some form system keeping track of where they are did you? The only time you don’t require papers is if you don’t intend on staying here and are just docking and remaining on your ship. Plus I doubt you’re the first species the Corti abducted people from so I’m sure we can do something with you,” the Gaoian explained. John’s expression went blank as he contemplated the Gaoian’s words.
“Well… That’s a fair point I guess,” John mumbled. It went unspoken between the two of them that they would not be living on the ship for a while, not with the image of the ship’s crew still fresh in their minds.
Forgeg processed the papers of the being in front of him with practiced efficiency. The Guvnuragnaguvendrugun’s sides were grey with boredom as sapient after sapient brought their documents to be processed. Eventually a Gaoian and a squat bipedal quadriform he couldn’t recognize greeted him, but both struggled to see above his desk. Forgeg looked to his scanner and could see the Gaoian had a standard translator and the unknown alien besides him had a cruder one but at least it was functional.
“Please present your documents,” he droned.
“Actually my friend here,” the Gaoian gestured to the unknown alien. “Is a pre-contact abductee and needs some papers.” The alien’s lips curled up and it waved a pentadigited manipulator. Forgeg’s grey sides were tinged with a faint red of irritation. He followed protocol and closed the both.
“Come with me,” he ordered. The unknown alien and the Gaoian followed Forgeg. He stopped and gestured with an arm saying. “Only the unknown alien Sir. Please wait outside while I interview them.” The two sophonts walked into a closed room. The room’s only furniture was a computer terminal, a recorder and two multispecies chairs. Forgeg sat down at the computer terminal, the chair molding to comfortably fit him whilst the human was mistaken for a morbidly obese Gaoian by the chair and sat awkwardly with his case on his back as the chair groaned slightly under the his weight. Forgeg, who didn’t hear the slight groan, turned on the recording device. “Interview begins, interstellar convenient standard date/time 1194-6-14.6, Civilian trade habitation station 922 ‘Unto Dawn’, Customs and Immigrations Officer Forgeg Gruvudgudiguvnido interviewing pre-Contact abductee, assigned number 907-42-81-01-9, please state your name, sex if you have one, name of species, and planet of birth,” He read off from the terminal display.
“My name is John Ash. I’m male. My species is called Humanity. My planet of birth is called Earth?” John stated.
There was a small pause in the line of questioning as Forgeg typed the information into the terminal. “Now sir, could you please describe to me your home planet,” Forgeg droned.
“I don’t understand the question.”
“Could you describe what environmental challenges a species would face on your home planet,” Forgeg clarified.
John pondered the question. “Well it’d be pretty difficult to survive in the wild since there are predators and stuff but can’t be too hard. I think the gravity is a little higher there than here since I’ve been feeling lighter than usual,” answered the least qualified person.
Forgeg hesitated slightly then asked. “How much higher is your gravity compared to this one?” Blue stripes began to tinge his sides.
“Oh it can’t be that much higher, maybe just a tad y’know? I don’t think the Gaoian I had with me would struggle too much under the gravity,” said the person whose last science class was 4 years ago.
Forgeg’s sides slowly lost the tinge of blue as he classified the Humanity’s home world as a Temperate 9 planet on his identity card.
“Alright sir if you could please provide us a form of DNA, your ID Travel Card will be ready,” Forgeg stated as the terminal spat out a swab and a petri dish at the Humanity. John took a swab of his inner cheek and handed it back to the Immigrations Officer. Forgeg put the swab in the petri and slid it back into the computer and after a few minutes the terminal beeped that is had recorded the DNA information onto the card’s chip. Forgeg rippled with a mild yellow approval and printed the card.
“This Abductee Card will serve as your identification card and travel document. You have been issued a work visa for this station should you choose to work here but to work at other stations and/or planets will require a work visa issued by them. As an Abductee you have been provided with 500 Dominion Credits as compensation to use by the Interspecies Dominion Bank, which you can access with your card. Article 227 Paragraph 18 of the Galactic Treaty of Laws has recognized you and only you as sapient until your species develops FTL travel at which point your species will be classified as sapient. As a sapient you are allowed to own property and seek employment and are protected by the laws of the Interspecies Dominion,” Forgeg recited as he rose from the chair.
“Wait, why can I not go back home,” John asked.
“You risk exposing our existence to your species,” Forgeg answered mechanically as he started shuffling to the exit. John followed suite and exited the interview room with the Immigrations Officer leading.
The Gaoian was waiting at the desk where they had left him.
“Finally! Got your documents John,” he asked as he handed Forgeg his documents marking him as a Gaoian from Gao since he lacked the ID chip Dominion citizens had. Forgeg passed the papers under a scanner and it bleeped green, authenticating the papers.
“Yeah but I can’t….” Their conversation faded into the background as Forgeg dealt with the next sophont.
“It must be difficult for you to never be able to return home,” the Gaoian sympathized with his friend. The pair was walking to the Housing Office to look for someplace to live on the station.
“Yeah but now that I look back I didn’t really have much going for me except for my music,” John sighed as he processed that he’d never be able to go home to his dorm room in London and the nice view of the Royal Albert Hall from his usual practice room. He’d never take a walk through Hyde Park. He’d never see his parents again. The violin was the only memento of home he had. He received it as a present from his parents before he left for the UK. “No son of mine will be caught dead playin that excuse you call a violin. No sir only the best for you,” his father had told him.
Regalo found the human’s way of grieving odd. There was no outburst or anything, simply this melancholic silence that seemed to fall on John. The human’s shoulders seem to slump as if the weight of his sadness was physically pressing down on him. Water began welling up at the human’s eyes as his lips pressed together. Slowly an idea began to form in Regalo’s mind.
“Who’s to say your musical career ended?”
“What do you mean,” asked John as he sniffed and wiped his tears away
“Who’s to say you can’t be a musician here? If you play that… Iolan as well as you sing then I’ll have to fight back all the people that’d want you to perform for them,” The Gaoian huffed with pride, struggling to pronounce the name of the instrument. John chuckled as his tears dried.
“Yeah… Nothing stopping me from becoming the top musician here.”
“Too right, there is nothing stopping you so lets work on making you the best musician the galaxy has ever seen,” Regalo declared with grandiose pride and happiness for John.
“Yeah!” John cheered and laughed at the prospect of becoming the best violinist in the Dominion. Technically I’m already the best violinist since I’m the only one in the Dominion. He thought.
They had arrived at the Home Office where they spent the most of comparing prices for different rooms in the station. Unto Dawn was a relatively large station due to the ore rich planet below it. As such most of its inhabitants worked in the mines below with a few working in shops and restaurants dotted across the station and the docks. John and Regalo were busy looking over the list of available housing around the station. Mentally, John kept track of where the restaurants were so that he might enquire for a job there.
“Man housing is cheap here. I mean look, rent here is 8.88 credits per month for that place, 9.2 credits per month for that. Real estate must be cheap here,” commented John as he continued reading over the list of available housing thanks to his translator. Regalo looked to John with his ears flattened in confusion.
“9.2 credits is a slightly hefty price for rent and I don’t have any money to cover us, it’s meant to have transferred to the colony on Gorai.” Regalo explained.
The human smiled mischievously at the Gaoian. “Good thing I have the 500 Dominion Credits I was given as compensation for being abducted so don’t you worry my furry friend I will keep us fed and clothed,” he assured
Regalo’s jaw dropped slightly at the amount the human had.
“Now come my dear Sancho Panza, we have a 1 Locayl sized bedroom apartment with a multi species bathroom that is in an up and coming neighbourhood at section three, hallway B65.”
“Who’s Sancho Panza?”
“I’ll explain on the way!”
“This place looked so much better in the advertisement.” Regalo said as he looked about their new living room and kitchen. The pictures they had seen had led them to believe that the house was furnished and ready for use but what they were greeted with was some of the most Spartan interior decoration John had ever seen. There was a TV or at least something that resembled a TV mounted on the wall with a single chair facing it, behind that was the kitchen with a sink, a few cabinets and some empty drawers. John set his violin case down by the chair.
“Welcome to life,” John teased as he went to see the other rooms. The bedroom at least lived up to the pictures in the Housing Office. The bed was large enough to comfortably accommodate both of them. John jogged up to the bed and hopped onto it, landing on his back. The bed cracked slightly under the sudden force exerted on it.
“Oops,” John grinned his toothy smile. Regalo had seen that smile often on the ship whilst they had traveled but it still unnerved him slightly.
“Not even a full minute on the bed and we have already started to break it,” Regalo sighed as he hopped onto the bed as well.
“Y’know. You and I buddy, we’re gonna make it big. I can feel it in my bones,” John voiced. The Gaoian looked to the human and saw eyes like he had never seen before. Those brown warm puddles that always seemed to alternate between looking confused or ignorant were now alight with a blazing fire. “Now you take my card and go rustle up some food or something,” he said as he took the card from his pocket and tossed it to the Gaoian. Regalo caught the card and read it
“Isn’t your species called humans?”
“Yeah, what does the card say?”
“It says you are a Humanity,” the Gaoian chittered.
John groaned as he realised the Immigrations officer must have misunderstood when he said humanity. “Oh God I think that furry customs officer thought Humanity is the name for my species. I mean he’s not wrong but human is singular.”
Regalo chittered even harder as he grasped his sides, trying to control himself. The Gaoian’s mirth soon infected John and he let out his barking human laugh.
After a good while the two calmed down enough to speak.
“Hey Regalo. Thanks,” the human voiced before leaving the house with his violin.
Regalo sat there for a while wondering what it was he had done to deserve thanks
John wandered the streets (are they called streets in a space station?) looking for somewhere to set up and perform. At hallway B42, in the same section he and Regalo lived, John had found a little restaurant of sorts. He walked but nothing prepared him for the assault on his nose. A multitude of different odors were vying for his nose’s attention, each stranger than the last. John shook his head to clear it then set about to look for the manager of the place.
A giant four-armed fat alien dominated the area behind the bar, a pair of arms cleaning a glass whilst another poured out a drink for a customer.
“Uh, hello there, my name is John and I would like to perform at your fine establishment,” he cheerily asked The alien looked down at the squat human. “What kind of performer are you?”
“Oh, I’m a musician. I spent almost all of my life practicing so I like to think I’m good. I hope you will grant me the honour of performing for your patrons tonight.” God if I brown nose any harder and I’ll be giving the dude a colonoscopy. John thought as he awaited the Locayl’s response.
“Fine, you can perform but if my customers don’t like you then I will not pay you.”
“Deal,” John chirped as he put his hand out. The alien simply stared at the hand, not knowing what exactly this signified. John slowly retracted the hand and said “Yeah… I’ll just set up in that corner if that’s fine with you?” The stoic alien nodded and John set about readying himself.
He opened the case and took out the bow and rosin from it. He tightened the bow and started rubbing the sticky rosin on the hair. Already a few sapients near him were beginning to stare but soon they went back to their conversations. Once he’d finished with that, he began tuning his violin. Now this had attracted the attention of several tables.
John took a few breaths as he blocked out the noise from the whole restaurant. Slowly he began playing one the many Irish jigs he had learned during his time at the Royal College of Music. Slowly, one by one, the general noise died as they all took note of the squat little human playing. The wistful melody reverberated through the restaurant as everyone listened intently.
Revno, the Locayl bar tender of the restaurant, listened intently as the squat little being began to play his music. The sheer wistfulness of the tune washed over him like a roaring wave of emotions crashing upon his jaded demeanor. The song brought back memories of halcyon days gone past. He remembered with clear vividness his childhood home on Ulo. The vruk were singing in the trees. He had grown up in the countryside, on the expansive fields of Ulo, far from the cities and all their artistic splendors. He remembered dreams of opening a restaurant amongst the stars where the Chancellor of Ulo himself would come dine at. He was reminded of all the lavish meals and delicate pastries he’d prepare for celebrities. He noticed his thyroid bulged in wistful sadness and quickly straightened his posture to keep the gland in its place. He looked to the strange creature that had inspired such intense emotions with him with renewed interest.
John himself had his eyes closed as he slightly danced with the violin for even he was entranced by the music. As the final note finished playing a few of the audience began to cheer. What started as a few shouts of “play more!” quickly escalated to the entire restaurant demanding the human play another song.
“Wow you guys are a terrific audience. How about something happier to let the spirits flow,” cried the human as he raised his bow. The crowd roared their approval and once more the human played another Irish jig, stomping his foot lightly to keep tempo. The audience cheered in awe and amazement at the coordination and skill the human displayed with his instrument. The rush of energy the song brought in was palpable amongst the aliens of the crowd as the began to stomp with the human, prompting John to play louder which got even more aliens stomping! The excitement of the crowd was electric, it was as if each note was an emotion communicated in its purest form. When that particular song had ended the audience demanded another. John took out his iPod from his case and hooked it up to a speaker he had placed in the case the night before he was abducted. He hit play for the backing track to this song and immediately began playing as to not be out of sync. The intensity of the melody coursed through the very souls of the restaurant patrons as a fire alit in all of their eyes. They cheered the human on as his fingers danced across the violin’s black fingerboard. At the last song the crowd roared as they congratulated the human. Slowly the aliens began to leave to restaurant to go home until only the four-armed alien and the human were left.
“You played exceptionally well. Never have I heard such fantastic music. That first song you played reminded me of my days on my home world Ulo. I dreamt of opening big restaurant where all the rich people came,” the alien confessed. Its neck bulge protruded even more as his neck seemed to sink back into his chest.
“I’m glad you loved my playing.” John replied reflexively as he put away his violin and turned off his iPod to conserve battery power. “Where is Ulo?”
“Ah Ulo is the home of my people, the Locayl. It is in the 42nd sector,” The Locayl answered. John walked up to the bar and took a seat, setting down the violin besides him. “So about that pay you mentioned.”
The Locayl nodded and asked. “What is your name, species, and planet of birth so I can send it to your chip.”
“I’m John Ash. I’m a Humanity. I’m from Earth,” he replied as he picked up the violin, leaving the Locayl to tap at a coms unit.
“Come back same time tomorrow!” the Locayl called out as John left.
“You got it boss.”
John arrived home and was greeted by the scent so many sweet smelling foods it almost made him wonder whether this was the right house. “The prodigy returns!” Regalo announced, happy to have his friend home. “Back in time for the end day meal. Did you find somewhere to play?” he asked from their kitchen/living room. Regalo had taken it upon himself to decorate their household. The living room now had a couch besides the multispecies chair with some alien tapestry on the wall. The kitchen part of the room had a multispecies table and 2 multispecies chairs at each end, with a stasis fridge tucked away in the corner.
John whistled as he set his violin case by the door. “Ya really know how to turn a house into a home.”
“I bet the females offer you mating contracts all the time,” Regalo teased as he set the table with two bowls of boiled vegetables and a bowl of nutrient spheres for John. Regalo, who had witnessed the prodigious appetite of the human on the few days they had spent on the ship travelling to the station, made sure to stock up on the tasteless spheres.
“0-offering me mating what?” John stammered as red began to colour his cheeks.
“Mating contracts John, or do you humans do it differently?” Regalo asked as he took his seat at the table. John joined him as a full blush now settled in.
“W-well we don’t exactly have contracts…. We just pair up and if we really like each other then we make a kid I guess. I haven’t exactly sired a litter.” John blabbered. Regalo chittered at his friend’s nervousness. The Gaoian himself had sired a cub or two before he had been kidnapped.
“Don’t worry John there are probably other female human who would kill each other to mate with the finest iolin player in the Dominion,” He assured with grand sense of pride for the human.
“More like the only violin player in the Dominion,” John retorted in good humor. Regalo chittered slightly he began eating. John wolfed down the boiled vegetables with gusto but seemed to take his time eating the nutrient spheres.
By the time Regalo had finished his meal, John was still soldering through the last nutrient sphere. Regalo yawned loudly. When he finished he noticed the odd look John was giving him.
“What? What is it?”
“N-nothing!” John stammered, suddenly gaining a passion for staring at nutrient spheres. Oh sweet baby Jesus he looked just like a dog yawning. That was so fucking cute oh my fuck. He mentally gushed.
“Well, I’m off to sleep. Since I cooked I believe it fair that you clean,” Regalo announced as he slid off the chair and trudged tiredly to the bedroom. Eventually John swallowed the last piece of the contemptible nutrient sphere. He was in the midst of doing the dishes when he heard noises from the bedroom. John stopped and listened to the noises for a while before going to see what was going on. He opened the bedroom door to see Regalo sleeping restlessly. The slumbering Gaoian restlessly tossed and turned in the giant bed. John reached out and gently stroked Regalo’s fur and began singing a lullaby. Slowly the peaceful tune soothed the sleeping alien. John still sat there stroking Regalo’s fur.
“Sleep easy bud. God knows you’ve earned it for dealing with my shit,” John whispered as he returned to finishing the dishes. Soon enough John joined Regalo in peaceful slumber.