“What does that even mean?” Desur asked as they put away tools.
“That whoever designed what you’re working on is very dumb,” Myrum explained, helping Desur lift a tracer bot ontoits storage bracket on the wall. The bot clicked into place, and Desur let out a long sigh.
“I’m tired,” he muttered. “When we get back to our home station, do you think we could talk Helmen into having a maintenance crew to do a full overhaul?”
“I’m already planning to schedule it,” Helmen said from the door. “You all did great work; thank you.”
Amina gave Helmen a grateful smile, Desur glowed from the praise, and Teshor grumbled something under her breath.
“You have a most excellent crew,” Gis said.
They all jumped a little in surprise, except for Myrum. Amina hated the way Gis could be in a place, standing right there, and you didn’t notice him. It was disconcerting! No one should be able to fade into the background like that.
“Damn it, Gis,” Teshor said, her tone much less severe than her words. “You need to make more noise or something when you’re hanging out with us.”
Gis flinched slightly but tried to cover it up with a little bow. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trained my entire life to be inconspicuous. It’s a difficult habit to break.”
Teshor softened. “Hey, no, I didn’t mean to be harsh. That was mean of me. Forget I said anything. You be whatever you're comfortable with.”
For the first two days, Gis had been reserved and quiet. Yesterday he’d started interacting more, especially with Teshor.
As if worried her words would undo all his progress, Teshor stepped up next to the Ossiso. “Let’s go get some tea. I want to try it your way again. I think I might like the extra spice.”
Gis perked up at her words. “I’d like that. Thank you, Teshor.”
The two walked off, chatting about tea.
“Gis spent the night in Teshor’s cabin last night,” Desur commented.
Myrum had moved to stand next to Amina. She felt him tense at Desur’s comment.
“She was intimate with Gis?”
Desur waggled his ears in a shrug. “Probably not.”
Amina chuckled. “I know they didn’t because her cabin is right next to mine.”
Myrum sounded a questioning rumble. “What does that have to do with knowing if they were intimate?"
“When Ugarians have sex, you know,” Helmen said with a snort of laughter. “We’re loud and energetic. Not even the sturdy walls on this ship would muffle all the sounds.”
Myrum sounded an amused rumble. “Oh, I see.”
“I bet Teshor’s seeing if Gis might be a good match for her marriage,” Helmen said.
“What does that mean?” Myrum asked,
“Ugarian marriages are always open to adding another matriarch or husband,” Helmen explained. “Right now, Teshor’s marriage has an equal number of males to females, three and three. They’d like to add two more males, but the current trend is to add one non-Ugarian male. Gis is the fourth male she’s interviewed in the last year.”
“Fifth,” Desur corrected her. “But I think she likes him the most. I hope this works out. I don’t want to send Gis back to the Ossiso. They’re so mean!”
“We can’t save everyone,” Helmen reminded him.
Desur’s expression clearly said he thought that statement was stupid, but he kept his mouth shut. He left, probably to join Teshor and Gis for tea.
Helmen turned her attention on Myrum. “I need to speak to you.”
“Of course,” Myrum said.
