EXCAVATOR: Tales from the Twelve Vessels

Chapter VIII: Going Straight

Sauk couldn't remember the last time xe had been to a first day of a non-shifty, completely legal job. Surely there had been one. Xe hadn't always lived a life of shady underground activity. There was a time in there when xe had like, hopes and dreams or whatever.

Xe thinks.

The past was in the past, anyway. Today was the first day of the next exciting step in Sauk's life: trying to make it through this stupid vocational rehabilitative program so xe could go back to living the life that suited xem best. Not that it was the best possible life, per se, but it was xers.

Sauk was eager to get out of xer new lodgings today. Xe wasn't a huge fan of the glorified prison cell. The new living unit was basic: bed, kitchenette, a desk and a bathroom in a studio setting. It had everything Sauk needed, but xe hated how bland it was. Xe also hated how it was so much nicer than half the homes xe had found for xemself over the past handful of cycles. Helpful note: couch surfing is significantly less fun when you consider most couches aren't manufactured for people over seven feet tall to sleep on.

Xe felt monitored as xe left the unit and made xer way to the public transport. As normal as the corrections folk wanted xem to feel living in a standard unit, xe was serving a sentence. It was something they wanted to remind xem constantly, just in subtle ways. The nkreyan belief in penitence was only a thin veil for the sapien belief in punishment.

Excavation was a federal gig. Makes sense, a job that involves gathering raw material for the entire population of the ship should probably be regulated by a public entity. It didn't stop some private interests from trying to get a stake in it for—oh, who could say—the past couple millennia or so.

The thought occurred to xem as the transport pulled up to the location of xer new job training—the Aquattan federal building.

For cycles the only reason xe would see xemself here was if xe pulled off the riskiest, most impressive job of xer life, got caught, then got sentenced to a massive public execution in which xe would utter something humorous and utterly profound before being disposed of in a way that was fitting and also kind of badass.

Xer train of thought was broken as xer stopped was reached. Xe hopped off the transport and made xer way inside.

The building was confusing to navigate. There were rooms everywhere with people filling in all the spaces in between. The early morning bustle was a very real phenomena here and not many had the patience to pay any mind to the unfamiliar nkrey meandering their ranks.

Sauk was eventually able to find the correct room without any help from literally anyone else. All hallway noise immediately died out the moment the door closed behind xem.

The training room was nothing to bat an eye at. It was a modestly-sized, cream colored space with blank walls and tiled floor. Long tables mimicking desks were lined in rows from front to back. A large display was glowing at the front. The room was only about a third of the way full. Most of the individuals looked about as thrilled as Sauk was to be there.

The instructor, a sapien woman with big brown eyes, stood at the front. "Sauk Wood?"

Xe hadn't realized xe was late until that very moment. "Yes?"

"Perfect, have a seat wherever, we were just about to get started."

Sauk hurriedly took a seat next to a nice looking pteroi, but still left a seat in between because xe wasn't a complete monster.

The two made eye contact.

"Hey," xe started, with a low voice and nod. "I'm Sauk."

The pteroi returned the nod. "Sphex, nice to meet you." They may have smiled, but it was hard to tell. Pterois were a rare breed on the Maude Aquatta, and even rarer on the rest of the Jaundian fleet. Unlike the sapiens and nkrey, there was still a home for them somewhere on a distant planet. The ones on the fleet were descended from a group of curious adventurers who were charmed by the Jaundian ways. There were even rumors some still had contact with the home planet, but that was nearly scientifically impossible.