“It’s fine,” she says firmly. “Just discussing station business.”
“And we will be finishing our conversation later,” Curran says pointedly before glancing at me. “Heard you had a fun day yesterday.”
I grin widely. If the sight of my fangs bothers Curran or Corrina, they do not show it. In fact, Corrina grins at me in response. “It was a very good day,” I say. “I am looking forward to the next time Corrina has a day off so that we can do more things together.”
“Already penciling yourself in for her days off, huh?” Curran asks. He raises an eyebrow and stares at me. I do not understand what his words mean, but if penciling myself in means that I want to spend more time with her then I would agree.
“Leave it, Curran” Corrina says.
“We spoke last night about the possibility of staying here,” Zann says, interrupting whatever Curran was going to say in return. “We would like to know more.”
“Staying?” Curran asks. “I thought you were looking into ways to get them back to Gyria.”
“I was,” Corrina replies. “But Zann asked if it would be possible for them to stay here, so now I’m looking into that too. Although technically, Liu is looking into both options for me.”
“Huh,” Curran says. I look at him, expecting him to say something else, but he just stares at Corrina and takes a bite of his food.
“Anyway,” Corrina says. “If you are interested in staying here, then you will need to find jobs. You’ll need to be able to earn credits to pay for your own food and a place to live and whatever else you might want or need.”
“Davix is an excellent tracker and scout,” I offer. “He led many patrols before we were banished from the city.”
“Banished?” Curran asks.
Zann nods. “It is customary for males who can no longer produce young to be banished from the city,” he offers. “Competition for females can be intense, and it is better for breeding males to not have to worry about a female being interested in an infertile male.”
“And what happens to females when they are no longer fertile?” Corrina asks. She and Curran are staring at Zann intently.
“They die,” Zann says quietly.
“They what?” both Curran and Corrina say at once.
“When female fertility begins to decline, more and more of their energy is devoted to producing young. Eventually, they die while laying their final clutch. Some females survive briefly after they lay their last egg, but most do not.”
Both humans stare at Zann for several minutes. “Stars and planets, you haleens suck all the fun out of sex,” he mutters.
“Curran!” Corrina exclaims.
“I’ve got to go,” Curran grumbles as he stands and stalks away from the table.
“Have I said something wrong?” Zann asks. “Have I made Curran angry?”
Corrina sighs. “It can just be a touchy subject,” she says softly. “Curran’s family wasn’t happy when they learned that he doesn’t like women sexually. They were even more upset when they found out he wasn’t willing to find a woman to get pregnant just to carry on the family name.” She is still staring at the doorway where Curran left. “Yuva never wanted children, and Curran wasn’t about to saddle the love of his life with an unwanted child for the sake of making his parents happy.”
“Our species are very different when it comes to procreation,” I say honestly.
“Yes, that much is clear,” Corrina says. She shakes her head and lets out a sigh. “But we were talking about jobs. Are there other skills you already have besides Davix being a scout and tracker? Would you have interest in becoming soldiers like us?” shegestures to herself and the surrounding humans. “Or would you prefer to find jobs out in Azuris?”
“Would being a soldier mean we could stay in the base and be closer to you?” I ask.
“Um, yes,” Corrina says hesitantly. “Though fraternization, being too friendly, isn’t encouraged between a commander and his or her soldiers.”
“This is exhausting,” Davix signs. “How can humans value relationships so much and then have so many rules to prevent them?”
“I do not know,” Zann says honestly to him. “What is the option that allows us to be friends and spend time together and still stay here?”
“There’s really not an option to live on base unless you have a family member who is enlisted. But you could certainly live and work in Azuris somewhere close to the base so we could still see each other.”
“That is acceptable,” I say, glancing to Zann and Davix for confirmation. “How do we find jobs and a place to live?”
