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The second was Commander Khoth Voor, a Thaf’ell, who was Jace’s second on the Osiris. Unlike Jace, he did not smile. His expression seemed neutral, perhaps a little cool as he surveyed all of them from his very tall form. He had the stance of a warrior. She wondered if he approved of so many civilians aboard.

And their pigs.

She bit back a snort. But her amusement was quickly replaced by awe as she stared at the Thaf’ell. He was not human. He was humanoid, but quite a bit bigger than them. He was graceful and sleek, reminding her of a big cat in some ways. As different as he looked from them with his blue skin and pointed ears, she felt a kinship, too. The Thaf’ell, like humanity, was one of the Seeded Species of the Altaeth.

We are not cousins exactly, but we are somewhere on the same tree.

The final person though had her drawing up a bit short. It was the Terminator. From the film. The steel chassis. The glowing red eyes. The seeming grinning skull demeanor. She had no idea what this was about, but she was sure there was a story here.

“Hi, everyone!” the Terminator said in a chirpy feminine voice.

She was glad she wasn’t the only one staring.

At that moment, a section of the floor separated and a rectangular cabinet rose up. It was glass and steel. Inside were what looked like futuristic syringes in glittering metal. The glass lid retracted so that the syringes could be accessed.

“Good morning, everyone. My name is Jace Parker as you may recall and I am the Pilot,” Jace said, bringing his hands together. He repeated that phrase in a dozen languages so that everyone understood. He would continue this for the next few lines he spoke. “Before we begin, I must ask that you submit to an injection of a universal translator chip… well, it’s really not a chip, but… needless to say it will ensure that we can all understand one another a lot better and communicate with other people. Dr. Isa?”

Jace’s eyes were upon her. She stood up straighter and smiled uncertainly at him.

“You’re our first physician on the crew to arrive. I’m hoping that you will take the shot first and assist us in giving it to the others,” Jace asked.

Matias lifted his expressive eyebrows. “A doctor, Chili. Daraja is a doctor. We will be in good hands, I think.”

“I would be happy to,” Daraja said. “Perhaps Matias can assist me? He is a veterinarian. He’s given a few shots before, I would think.”

“Of course. Oh, and there’s Chili!” Jace’s eyes lit up at the sight of the carrier. “Can I hold her? Does she like being held? Petted?”

“Oh, ho, ho!” Matias grinned as he carried the pig’s carrier in front of them almost like a battering ram to get them through the crush of people to Jace. “Chili loves both. I can tell we are going to get along famously, Pilot.”

They made it to the front where Jace, Khoth and the Terminator stood. The Terminator loomed over the pig carrier.

“I’ve never seen a pig before! Well, I’ve seen them in videos, but--oh, my goodness, she’s so cute!” Seeing a Terminator squee like a teen girl was something Daraja would never forget.

Matias held her with one hand under her pink belly. The fine white hair on her body didn’t disguise her delicate skin. Her little hooves moved back and forth as if she were walking through the air to Jace’s hands. Jace cuddled the pig, who oinked excitedly, especially when he kissed her head.

“This is a pig?” Khoth asked in English as he observed Jace’s affection for the little animal. “You use these for food, yes?”

“Not Chili!” Matias cried.

“Not all of them, Khoth, but yes, they do make some yummy food. But Chili is a pet,” Jace said.

“A boon companion!” Matias corrected.

“A boon companion.” Jace flashed one of those winning smiles of his. “You never had a pet?”

Khoth shook his head. His long hair slid across his broad shoulders. He grimaced for some reason and lifted one hand towards his head, but then stopped himself.

“Here, why don’t you hold Chili while I demonstrate how to use the syringes,” Jace said as he handed over the delicate pink animal into Khoth’s large hands.

The Thaf’ell’s large hands cradled Chili tenderly. She oinked, snorted and then cuddled right down and fell asleep. Matias’ eyes widened.

“I have never seen Chili take to someone so quickly. Maybe you are a pig whisperer,” Matias suggested.

Matias playfully slapped Khoth’s arm without any thought that a Thaf’ell might not welcome that kind of touch. Yet Daraja was impressed by how easily Matias accepted someone so very different from him. The Thaf’ell merely lifted an eyebrow.

“Maybe I’ll add pig whisperer to your official title.” Jace’s eyes sparked with mischievousness.

“No, you will not,” Khoth said coolly, but there was a twitch of a smile.