Sentimentality

Dierdre peered through the window frame at the hunting party. A pack of creatures like none she’d ever seen were methodically searching the buildings on her street. There was no indication what they were looking for, as they left each one empty-handed. That didn’t mean she was safe. They had materialized on the street out of nothing, so they could have been taking every scrap of junk, and she’d never know.

It had been a long time since she’d seen another person. At least, she thought it had. Two winters, maybe three? It was safer that way. The roving gangs of men that had passed through before terrified her. Her brother died because he refused to join one. They’d left a message on his body as a warning to others. She’d been young then, just starting her monthly bleeding, and he made her swear that she would hide from the gangs. He told her that they would use her to “keep the species alive” if they found her. She hadn’t understood then, but found a hidden treasure shortly after he died – a personal library, intact. She learned a lot from it, including exactly what her brother had been protecting her from.

Clutching her locket – a heart-shaped one her mother gave her, a relic from before the collapse – Dierdre watched the strange creatures. Did they count as people? Their actions and materialization suggested intelligence, but they weren’t human. She’d never seen a human with pale purple skin, horns, and a tail! Her books said it was possible for intelligent aliens to exist, and that seemed most likely. Yes, they were aliens, probably sentient, but did that make them people?

A sudden pain in her back shocked her, and she found herself unable to move. She heard voices behind her, and realized that she had missed a second party. A pair of hands turned her around on her knees, not caring for the skin she lost to the rough floor. Face to face with an alien, and the first sentient she’d seen in ages, Dierdre was glad to be frozen. It meant she didn’t have to figure out what to say, and she didn’t collapse in shock.

Staring at his purple face and deep-set sapphire eyes, she realized that she had no idea what his expression meant. Were the wrinkles between his eyes permanent, or an indication of something? He wasn’t showing his teeth, but was that friendly or aggressive? Her breath came faster and she got light-headed. There was tug and a twinge from her back, and her knees gave out as the paralysis passed as suddenly as it started.

“Ow, shit, my butt hurts!” Dierdre rubbed her sore ass and glared at the closest alien. “You could have given me some warning!”

His face changed - mouth dropping open and eyes widening. He said something unintelligible.

“I don’t speak whatever that was. You know English?”

There was a burst of chatter around her – the whole party talked at once. Finally, the one at the back held up his hand and said something authoritative. She was grabbed and pulled to her feet rudely, and held in place with her arms behind her. Another alien pulled a device out and waved it at her. After staring at it for a minute, he pulled out another device and pressed it to her neck. Her eyes grew heavy and she passed out.

A loud thumping sounded in her ears, and she opened her eyes to see nothing. Total blackness surrounded her. Dierdre swung her arms sideways and smacked them on something hard. Blinding lights came on, and she winced.

“You’re awake. Excellent.”

Dierdre squinted and blinked away the spots in front of her eyes. The only person she could see was one of the purple aliens. He was standing over her with a device in hand.

“You had quite a few intestinal parasites, as well as a disturbing number of minor injuries. Thankfully, the medbox is able to handle humans, though we’ve never encountered one before. Healed up, and clean, you’re kind of cute.”

Dierdre stared at the alien, then glanced down at herself and squawked in surprise. She was naked! Also, since when was her skin pale and pinkish on her belly? Wait, clean and healed up? What happened while she was out?

“What did you do to – hang on, how can I understand you? You didn’t speak English before!”

“I’m not speaking your primitive ‘English’ now, child. I implanted you with a translator. It’s basic tech, been around for ages. Though, I suppose, on a primitive world like yours, you don’t even know what tech is, do you?”

Dierdre bristled, “Of course I do! It’s all the broken stuff that they used before the crash to make life easy. It doesn’t work anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never heard of it. I read all about it! And my name isn’t child, I’m Dierdre.”

“Nice to meet you, Dierdre, I’m Altazor. I’m the medic on board. The captain wants to see you. He’ll be here any minute.” He sounded patronizing, but not unkind - more like he thought she was the child he’d called her.

“Meet the captain? But I’m naked! What happened to my clothes?” Dierdre felt the beginnings of panic set in.

“Naked? Oh, you must have nudity taboos. I wondered what those bits of cloth were for. They were infested with parasites and filth. They didn’t survive the sterilization process. I’ll find some coverings for you – “

The wall moves aside silently and another alien walks in.

“Captain, may I introduce my patient, Dierdre. Child, this is Captain Azlatn.”

“Well, hello Captain. I’d curtsey, but I seem to be lacking the skirt.”

The captain looks confused by her sarcastic comment, but ignores it.

“Hello Dierdre, welcome aboard. I’m sure this is all very confusing for you. I’m going to give you a quick rundown of the situation, and then I have a proposal for you.”

Dierdre sits up on the table with as much dignity as she can manage. How did you feel less naked when you were, well, naked?

The captain continues in a kindly manner, though he has the same condescending tone as the medic.

“We are a salvage ship, frequently on our own, but occasionally we are hired to salvage a particular area. Your planet’s salvage was an independent move, but we’re hoping, with your cooperation, to move forward as a specialty crew.”

Dierdre raised an eyebrow at him. She’d actually spent quite a bit of time learning to do that – raise just one eyebrow. She tried to ignore how her brother would have judged her for that waste of time. He didn’t get it, though, life got boring when you were alone.

The silence dragged on for a few seconds, then the captain seemed to realize she wasn’t going to reply.

“Right. So, we would like to start taking on lifeform salvage. It’s a highly desirable specialty, with much bigger payouts, but you have to prove yourself before anyone will hire you. You will be our proof. We take you with us to the meeting, showing that we have a docile inhabitant of a pre-spaceflight society that we’ve kept alive and healthy. Boom! Jobs galore.”

“So, you want me to be your little mascot? Or pet? I get dragged all over, including to boring meetings where I’ll get stared at, so you can make a little more money?”

“Oh no. It’s a lot more money, actually. We’ll take excellent care of you – “

“Well if you want me to agree, that excellent care starts with two things – my locket and some flipping clothes!”

“But if I clothe you and feed you, you’ll do it?”

“It’s not like I have any better offers, now do I?”

“Delightful. We’re agreed. You will get your clothing tomorrow, and I believe your locket is – yes, here it is.”

He hands over her locket, nearly unrecognizable after cleaning.

“Well, captain, I guess we have a deal.”