The man, having said his fill, slid back into the shadows of his bunk.
“Who the fuck do you think you are, telling me what I can and can’t do?”
Maureen shook her head. “That’s Heydar. He’s been in here longer than any of us, and believe me, if you won’t listen to us, you should at least listen to him.”
“Why’s that? He some kind of expert on alienology?” he said with a mocking sneer.
“He’s an alien himself, obviously, and he’s familiar with the Raxxians. Not to mention, he’s the one who gave you the translation rune you haven’t even noticed you’re using.”
“The what?”
She lifted her hair and showed him the rune tattooed behind her ear.
“We all have them. Got ’em as soon as we were brought in.”
“What the hell sort of—”
“It’s what lets us all understand each other,” she interrupted, realizing she wouldn’t get a word in edgewise if she didn’t.
“You’re speaking English,” he protested.
“She is, but I am not,” a woman with flawless dark skin interjected. “In fact, very few of us actually speak the same language. Just think of the runes as a sort of translation device.”
“You’re not expecting me to actually—”
“Andyou should be grateful,” the woman cut him off, pointing an accusatory finger. “If you had been allowed to raise more of a fuss, you would have been taken to be the Raxxians’ next meal, no doubt, not to mention getting the rest of us in trouble.”
Maureen nodded her agreement. “Thank you, Nyota. Well said.”
Nyota nodded, stared at the man a moment longer, then made her way to one of the indented bunks lining the walls like some ancient crypt beneath a city and took a seat.
Maureen turned her attention back to the man, settling her gaze on him with a stern look. She locked eyes with him a long moment before finally speaking.
“So, I’m assuming your earlier rudeness was the result of your waking up in a strange place, not to mention realizing you had been abducted by aliens. We all understand, it was the same for each of us when we first arrived.”
“Well, sure. But—”
“Now, if you are quite through making a fuss, which I assume you are, tell me, what’s your name?”
The man’s jaw moved a few times but no words came out as he processed the tsunami of information.
“Ah, cat’s got your tongue. Well, I’m Maureen, and that was Nyota. She’s been here almost as long as I have. You’ve already met our resident alien. That’s Gina over there,” she said, gesturing to a tall black woman with tight braids. “Olaf and Diego are the two sitting over there.”
The two men nodded their greetings.
“Olaf,” the blonde said.
“Diego,” the stocky ginger with a man bun added.
“That’s Shalia,” she said, nodding toward a caramel-skinned woman who had been watching the exchange with a moderately amused look in her eye. “Mei’s that one sitting against the wall, and the blonde over there is Carolina.”
“Hey,” she greeted. “You can call me Caro.”
“Uh, nice to meet you, Caro,” the man said, finally coming to his senses.
Maureen was glad to see he had finally settled in and arrived at a far less agitated state. She didn’t hold his initial freak-out against him. They’d all had one, in one way or another. His just happened to be a bit louder than most. Fortunately, they’d managed to head that off at the pass before it drew the attention of the Raxxian guards and became a problem.
“Soooo, do you have a name?” Maureen asked.
