Humans for Hire

Gryzzk swallowed as he looked at Nhoots' shoulders. The markings branding her as Nameless would taint her for life; even the miracles of modern reconstruction wouldn't mask the smell entirely. If she were returned to her clan, and if they accepted her Nhoot would still face a life of outside. Any jobs that would be open to her would be menial at best and degrading at worst. There wasn't even a guarantee of surviving to adulthood, as Gryzzk recalled whispered rumors of the Great Lords gatherings that culminated in hunting Nameless for sport. The last he would immediately have dismissed as a tale to frighten small children to bed, but now he was less certain of many things.

Still, it wasn't exactly the right time to brood on the future. Right now Gryzzk had a long list of things to look after. Reilly gave Gryzzk a final solid back-slap and trotted forward to catch up with Edwards. Gryzzk wasn't familiar with Terran smells yet, but there was something he hadn't caught before from Reilly. Or maybe it was Edwards. He scowled at himself as Muranaga palmed the lock and let all three of them in. Nhoot sniffed the air a bit and went right to Gryzzks bed and settled in.

Muranaga gave a little grimace. "I think you mighta been adopted for the rest of this job, Gryz. Could be worse, I guess. Hurry up, debrief in ten with the Major."

Gryzzk hurried through shedding his armor and under-suit with a few winces. The painkiller he'd been given was wearing off, and in addition the stresses of the past few hours were taking a toll unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He'd fought, taken life, been shot, and found a Nameless that by all rights he should have turned his back on the moment he saw the brands on her shoulders. And that was skipping over a great deal of other events. Still, he pulled on his normal clothes and prepared to have to explain what happened – even though he was having a difficult time recounting it all or explaining it to himself.

Muranaga was dressed in the usual casual ship wear and then took the firearms and secured them in a trunk. He gave Gryzzk a once over and nodded. "Relax. He's not going to shoot you, and he can't fire you. It goes like this. He asks questions, we tell him what we remember. If there's any contentious points, they'll pull the feed from our helmet cams and see what's what."

They were preparing to stand and deliver their reports when there was a soft whimper from the bed. They looked to see that Nhoot was sitting up, blinking wide eyes at both of them.

Gryzzk went back to his bed and took a knee, wincing slightly. "Nhoot. You have to stay here. But this is a safe place. A safe place with good smells. I have to talk to someone for a bit, but we're not going anywhere. When we're done we'll have something to eat and then we'll go to sleep. Okay?"

Nhoot gave a little nod, but still scampered to a corner of the bed to make herself small under a blanket pile. There were a pair of sighs.

Muranaga signaled their readiness for debriefing, standing rigidly. Gryzzk mimicked the stance as best he could as the major came into view, nodding at both of them standing.

"We have a few minutes before the rest of the squad is due. I am advised that your squad has captured a Hurdop child and that said child is currently in your quarters."

Muranaga answered for them. "Yes sir. Given our current status and the fact that Observer Gryzzk is the only one on the ship with variable gravity controls enabled, I felt that was the most efficient decision."

There was a nod. "We'll go with that decision for the time being. I'll have supply deliver the necessary items. Now that everyone's ready..." The major glanced down and tapped, bringing the rest of the squad into view. "Now then. We're here to get an after-action report and answer some questions. Lieutenant, if you would?"

Muranaga kept his eyes forward as he recounted what he'd seen and done during the boarding, fighting, and subsequent location of Nhoot. Going by rank, everyone else did the same, and lastly was Gryzzk. For his part he was as honest as he could be, but certain parts of the action were not easy to recall.

The major nodded, before continuing. "I have a question for the entire squad. That includes you, Mister Gryzzk." There was a pause as he touched and his form drew back slightly to reveal a small box with the remains of Gryzzks shotgun. "Earlier today, this was a Fostech Universal Armaments 2985 variable-environment shotgun with a six round total capacity. It is by far one of the most rugged firearms we have, and their sales reps offer a lifetime guarantee contingent on it not being issued to Infantry troops. Inventory shows it was checked out to Mister Gryzzk. Does anyone in this squad recall seeing what happened?"

Muranaga spoke up first. "Omnia possum explicare, sir." To Gryzzk, the atmosphere changed - Muranaga smelled like he was sweet and sour and the same time. It was quite confusing.

The major quirked an eyebrow. "Continue."

Muranaga began. "We were in the Engineering section and fully engaged. Mister Gryzzk had moved to an advantageous position during the fight, however was unable to fire without endangering his squadmates. Without proper hand-to-hand training, he performed the only action available to him and utilized his firearm as a blunt weapon."

The Major snorted. "That is a Grade-A fairy tale you're spinning, Lieutenant. Can anyone corroborate this?"

Edwards promptly spoke up. "Had Gryzzk fired sir, I would have been hit. Mister Gryzzk displayed exceptional situational awareness and a keen tactical sense."

Major Williams snorted. "Now I know you're lying. However," he paused to straighten up a bit, "the engine room was poorly shielded, and as such the helmet cam footage is not accessible for me to check the veracity of the statements made. Since I trust my officers and troops to be honest, and with no evidence otherwise, I will simply accept it as the truth. I will conclude by noting your collective actions in the log. Mister Gryzzk as you were instrumental at several points in this, I am authorizing a combat share from the sale of the Glorious Purpose be transferred to your Universal Account. The squad is stood down for 24 hours. Use the time wisely, and prepare for your surface mission. Now, if there's nothing else, dismissed."

The figures disappeared from the room, leaving the three of them pausing for a moment to wait for the next coming storm. It wasn't long, as it took about 5 seconds for Muranagas' tablet to chime. He chuffed softly.

"Movie and chow time. You two ready?"

Gryzzk gave a little shrug, but Nhoot was easing slowly out of the blanket nest she'd made. The rest of the squad returned to view, looking much more casual – there were cups and food trays in hands, and the squad looked a great deal more relaxed.

"Hoooo L'eten'nt can we hire Gryz please? He done missed his calling when they made him a butler or whatsit." Laroy got the first words out before he was fully resolved. "Him's a tracker."

"Who's gonna teach him to reload? And where's my woobie?" Reilly had priorities.

"Nhoot is well?" Edwards had her own priorities.

Muranaga stilled the chatter with a hand. "Alright, at ease with the future looking jazz. We don't know what's gonna happen, and we're damn sure not going to have the final say on Gryzzks' life. So, control what we can control. Movie Night; we've got three, one tonight and then a double feature tomorrow. Voting last for 5 minutes, and I would advise that you keep Nhoot in mind when selecting."

Gryzzk was looking through his luggage – Nhoot was going to need some assistance, and Gryzzk was there to assist. He found his spare translation unit and beckoned Nhoot forward. There was concern from Nhoot, but she did finally ease forward as the squad was voting and allowed Gryzzk to secure it to her ear. She breathed in wonder as technology did its thing.

"I can hear them now. But I can't smell them." She seemed perplexed by the disconnect.

Gryzzk nodded. "It is a very odd thing. But with this, we're able to hear and talk to them. It's better than nothing. And we can see what Terrans watch for fun."

There was a slight thump as the door slid half-open, and a small crate was sent inside – after which the door closed rapidly, leaving Muranaga and Gryzzk to check it over. Inside were several boxes marked as rations, three sets of clothes, and a hammock with bedding that appeared to be Nhoots' temporary sleeping arrangement. At the bottom was a small thing that held a shape Gryzzk couldn't recognize, and appeared to have no purpose beyond being soft. Items were set up, ration boxes stowed, and the squad watched Nhoot closely as she became more comfortable with the space, slowly edging out to look at things curiously. She seemed to have trouble with the lower gravity, but at the same time was able to adapt.

Once everything was tallied, Muranaga tallied the votes and nodded as their movie was selected. "Against my better judgment, but alright. Everyone grab something to eat and it's well, movie time."

The movie was very hard for Gryzzk to follow. It seemed to follow the life of a "Brian", who appeared to have been chosen to be a living god. However there also seemed to be an aspect of revolt against the local lord, despite all the lord and Great Lord had provided for the people.

During all this, Nhoot was more focused on the ration pack she'd been given - once she figured out how everything worked, she glanced about for a moment and rapidly ate, keeping her upper eyes moving to watch for danger. Once she was done she kept moving them around and surreptitiously licked the tray clean, and then put the tray itself in her hammock. After this she settled in under the blanket to watch the movie, which appeared to be reaching a logical conclusion at least - the Brian was found to be not a living god, and sentenced to a sort of exile where he was held immobile. And at the end, they appeared to be cheerfully singing. Terrans had strange punishments. The parable seemed to be one of optimism. Of a sort.

After the movie, Gryzzk looked to see that Nhoot had fallen asleep. Gryzzk was cautious, and slowly placed Nhoot in her hammock where she stayed curled up in a protective ball.

Muranaga kept his voice low. "So...thoughts?"

Gryzzk yawned in spite of himself. "You have some odd behaviors. What is the purpose? The lessons that Brian and his compatriots were to learn? I seemed to see optimism, but...I could not smell anything so I'm at a loss."

Muranaga smiled. "Well, at the time it was released, Terrans had a great deal of religious belief - this movie was a parody of that."

The explanation didn't help. "It was comedy?"

There was a nod. "Yeah. What's Vilantian comedy like?"

"Generally it is not the focus – it usually takes the focus of a clumsy servant or assistant who teaches an unintentional lesson for their Lord, who uses it to great effect."

"Huh." Again, that single damned noise that carried such weight to it. "Anyway, Nhoot. If the Collective Aid Service can find her family, how's that going to go?"

Gryzzk stared at the floor. "Not well. A child marked as Nameless is not a child. Even if her Clan were found through genetic tracings, she would most likely be returned only long enough to be cast out."

"Well, that's a depressing way to end the day."

"But are Terrans not supposed to always look on the bright side of life?"

"We do that too. Cross your fingers and hope that Nhoots' a light sleeper." Muranaga chuckled a bit before dimming the lights and rolling into his own bunk.

___________

Bridge

The Major looked at the emergency beacon encased in copper mesh with a frown. Finally he tapped a control on his desk. "Tactical."

There was a short pause before a figure came into view. "Tactical here."

"I want you to take this cube and secure it to a torpedo. Three hours before we hit Teegarden B, I want it launched at Teegarden C. Make the Hurdop think we're going there for reasons. Throw 'em off, and maybe we get to sneak. Scans pick up any likely landing spots?"

"Four sir. All of them have metallic structures that are inconsistent with the surrounding environment. Defensive posture is unknown, but if it is treasure, we can expect heavy resistance."

"We'll have to be quick then. Start computing landing sequences, I want all four recon squads to land at the same time, and I want air support over them within thirty seconds of landing."

"Can do."

"Outstanding. Major Williams out." The link went silent just long enough for the major to touch another control. A sleepy face blinked as the image formed.

"Legal here, Major."

"Eagle, I got another headache I'd like to share with you."

There was a groan. "We're on the safe side of the Collective with this contract, but it'll take a month to prove it with all the dummied-up evidence they've got. The two things in our favor right now are the truth and that our Vilantian employer can't afford a drawn-out fight for more than a few reasons."

"Good. Now for the new headache. What does our charter say with respect to non-Terrans?"

There was a long pause. "There's nothing in the charter that forbids it. That said, it'd be a first. Non-terrans with the sand to be in our company usually join the local militia."

"Well, we got a unique situation. Our observer's getting set up for failure, and we rescued a minor Vilantian that according to our observer will not be well received. And Gryzzk..." there was a low whistle. "I got about five reasons to offer him a spot right now."

"Only five?"

"One being he's got the raw talent to be good. The other four I can't disclose on account of I know absolutely nothing about them."

There was a pause as the lawyer digested what he'd heard and chose discretion. "Jurisdictionally, the minor would be less problematic - particularly if she is an orphan. We would have to offer the government right of first refusal, but if we tie it to us being considerate on the first headache you gave me, they may see it our way."

"And the observer?"

"Much more difficult. If it plays out the way we're predicting, he'd be considered an escaped criminal and subject to bounty. He'd have to go through the legal process to be emancipated. Same for his family."

"Anyone think we can grease the wheels somehow?"

"Not without a lot of research into Vilantian law." The lawyers' face sank slightly as soon as he said it, knowing what was coming next.

"Isn't that what we pay you for?"

"Yes it is."

"Then crack a book and get at it, cause we're on the clock. Major Williams out."