Humans Are Space Orcs

It's Nothing & What Cat?

Humans were once one of the best pilots in the history of intergalactic travel, that was a well-known fact. And yet, the ITA warned against hiring human pilots. Not an outright ban, per se, just not recommended.

Ch'xal never understood why. Xe had worked with several humans in different positions before, though no pilot yet, and most of them quickly became xir favorite crewmates. That's why xe didn't think twice before hiring Matt, the human pilot when xe got promoted to rhyly, or "captain" as the humans called it. That was two months ago, and that was two months without incidents involving Matt, more than what xe could say about the rest of xir human hires.

They were about to take off to Veeria when Ch'xal wandered into Matt's cabin to warn him again about the meteorites they were supposed to cross paths with. Stepping through the automatic doors, xir eye was immediately drawn to the flashing lights on the screen. Xe immediately forgot what xe came here for, xe didn't have much knowledge about driving spacecrafts, but xe knew flashing lights on the screen were never a good sign.

Xe pointed a limb at the screen. "What is that?"

Matt jumped slightly in his seat, he probably didn't hear xir come in, before following xir eye.

"Oh, that?' He smiled wildly. "That's just the 'check engine' sign as I call it, something is apparently wrong in the system. Nothing to worry about, it's been on for more than a month."

Ch'xal forgot to breathe for a moment.

"Something is wrong with the system?!" Xe screeched finally. "And it's been like that for months?!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Just barely a month."

Catching the look xe gave him, he threw up his hands. "Fine, fine. No need to scream at me. Look, just give me my screwdriver, I will fix it in a minute."

Ch'xal watched bewildered as the human grabbed his favorite tool, a small piece of old steel, and ducked under the panels. A few minutes, and muttered curses later, the flashing light disappeared, and Matt emerged with a grin.

"Happy now?"

Ch'xal blinked slowly. "Yes." How is that even a question?

Xe left, the meteorites were long forgotten, but definitely happy about the no-longer-flashing lights. Xir happiness lasted exactly one earthly hour after departure when xe overheard Matt and Ella, and another human talking about the flashing lights.

"...and what did you do?" Ella asked, to which Matt just nonchalantly shrugged.

"I disabled the check engine light."

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Looking back, the first sign that something's wrong was that the human had been gone for hours. There aren't many places to go on a spaceship, and yet Gyali was unable to find her.

Now xe spots the human, Alex, as she's hurrying down the long corridor with a brown paper box in hand and a huge smile on her face. Gyali long ago learned to be suspicious of that smile.

"What's in the box?" Xe steps in front of the human, glaring at said box.

Alex's grin widens, showing all teeth and making Gyali shudder. "Wouldn't you like to know." She coos at the object.

Gyali's scales flutter in confusion. "Yes, that's why I asked."

"Oh. It's just... Stuff."

If possible, Gyali's suspicion levels rise even higher. "What stuff?"

The human shrugs, the movement rattles whatever's inside the box, muffled sounds of scattering emerge from it. The human winces. "Sorry, sorry!" She hushes the box. "It's... Come, I'll show you."

Gyali reluctantly follows after the human. Xe doesn't really want to know, not really. But xe's the human's supervisor, so it's not like xe has a choi8ce, does xe?

They hurry down the remainder of the corridor, the human silent as death, while Gylai's steps echo heavily around them despite xir small size. When they reach Alex's quarter, she lets Gyali in first, then firmly shuts the door. She carefully places the box on her desk, then beams down at Gyali.

"They must have been here since we ported at Earth."

The box opens, and Gyali jumps back with a screech. The human doesn't even flinch, the sound must have been over her hearing levels... From the box, Two small, furry creatures look up with round, black eyes, both of them baring sets of small, but sharp-looking teeth. The creatures are terrifying, yet the human watch them with such adoration. Of course, she does.

"They are mice," Alex says as if that explains anything. "I haven't seen one in ages. They are harmless, don't worry."

Gyali continues to worry. "Where did you get them?"

"In the garbage cabin. I was just in time, the cat was hunting them, but I managed to catch them first!" She smiles proudly.

Gyali's scales slowly rise into a defensive position. Xe knows what a cat is. The humans' pet predators are vicious and deadly creatures, absolutely banned from all intergalactic ships.

"What cat." Xe squeezes out.

Alex freezes.

"Alex? What. Cat."