Chapter 11 #2
“The mark of an honorable individual is that they can always learn, from both accomplishments and mistakes,” Myrum said, feeling bad for Gis. “I’m sure you’ll be an excellent concierge for us.”
“Yes, exactly!” Nirot agreed. He stepped close to Myrum and spoke in a low tone.
“These shaded souls must be watched at all times. None of them can be truly trusted, but with enough incentive they can learn to at least behave correctly. If he causes any issues, contact me and I will replace him with another gift of labor.”
It took all of Myrum’s self-control to keep from reacting negatively to the Ossiso’s words. All Gis had done was give Desur a sharp answer. It hadn’t been much, but now it seemed Myrum was expected to punish Gis in some way.
Emotions swelled inside him and suddenly the walls seemed to be closing in on him.
Amina pressed herself against his side, her warm body and scent helping to ground him.
“If Gis is going to see to our needs, then you’re free to go,” Amina said. “Myrum doesn’t like to be crowded by people who aren’t his loyal staff.”
He heard Teshor make a snort-laugh at Amina’s words, but Nirot took them seriously.
“Yes, of course,” the Ossiso said, stepping back. “I completely understand. It’s always best to be served by those who know your needs.” He paused for a moment, as if thinking, then spoke in a formal tone. “Thank you for your gift of time and skill.”
Even if he could’ve spoken, Myrum didn’t get the chance to tell the Ossiso he’d spoken the wrong phrase.
It seemed he’d briefly studied Talin terms before dealing with Myrum.
The moment the words were out of his mouth, the Ossiso gave him a sharp, shallow bow then turned on his heels and strode away with the last attendant following him and leaving Gis behind.
“Nirot is probably afraid you’ll get upset with him too,” Amina whispered as they disappeared around a corner. “He really doesn’t want you to report anything bad back to Lorse.”
Gis remained in front of Myrum, head bowed and shoulders slumped. “What do you need of me?”
“Please explain why this station is empty despite being open for an entire year,” Amina asked.
Gis looked up at her then Myrum, as if making sure it was okay to converse with a human. Myrum wasn’t ready to talk yet, but he sounded an affirmative rumble to encourage Gis to speak.
This time Gis looked around as if making sure no one could overhear him before speaking.
“No shaded souls want to work here. That means there isn’t enough staff to open shops or even do many inspections.
There should be at least a thousand shaded souls, but there’re less than two hundred of us.
There are almost as many clear souls as shaded! ”
Myrum didn’t understand any of it except that there weren’t enough staff. Thankfully everyone else asked the questions he couldn’t form.
Amina spoke first. “What does it mean to be a shaded soul as opposed to a clear soul?”
“Why don’t they want to work here? Is it dangerous?” Helmen asked.
“You fell hard when Nirot pushed you down. Did you hurt your knees or anything?” Desur asked.
Teshor stepped close and pointed to the fluffy mass of fur at the bottom of Gis’s mane. “How do you keep that clean? It’s so white.” Everyone turned to look at Teshor, who must’ve realized she’d asked an odd question because her next words sounded defensive. “What? It’s really white!”
Gis was perfectly quiet for a moment then started making a hiccuping sound. Myrum remembered what that sound was—laughing!
“What’s that?” Jossulum asked.
“It means Gis is amused,” Myrum said.
“Yay, you’re back!” Amina said with a little cheer.
He sounded a questioning rumble. “I didn’t leave.”
“Maybe your body didn’t go anywhere, but your mind wasn’t entirely with us for a little while,” Amina said. “But you handled it and now you’re back. I love progress!”
Her happiness at his minor victory felt unwarranted. “You’re easily pleased.”
“She’s really not,” Teshor said.
“Amina’s almost as bad as Helmen,” Jossulum added.
Amina and Helmen made annoyed sounds at the same time, and the rest of the crew all snorted with Ugarian laughter.
Ignoring her crew’s amusement, Helmen turned to face Myrum. “Were you having difficulties just now?”
“Yes.”
She must not have expected his simple answer because it took a moment for her to speak again. “But you didn’t roar or attack anyone.”
“No, of course not,” he said. “There weren't any threats. Amina was right here, and I was surrounded by friends.”
“Aww, he thinks we’re his friends,” Jossulum said. “I guess he hasn’t realized we’ve been feeding him all the old reconsitutor packs.”
Teshor held up an information square with a credit account open on the display. “Hey, my new friend, can I borrow some credits? I promise to pay you back.”
Being treated like this was novel, and Myrum found he enjoyed it. This crew teased each other constantly, but now they were doing it to him. It made him feel included.
Gis moved a little, and the teasing stopped as everyone realized they’d had this conversation in front of a stranger.
“Can I make a humble suggestion?” Gis said, keeping his eyes on his shoes. His hands were clasped tightly in front of him, but at least his shoulders were less slumped over.
“Please speak freely,” Myrum said. “We don’t believe in the inequality of souls. You’re as worthy as me.”
Gis looked up and spoke quickly. “I wouldn’t let anyone hear all of you speaking so freely with each other.
Myrum is in an esteemed position right now because Talins are helping the Core and he’s an honored guest of Planetary Expansionist Lorse.
He’s powerful, even among the clear. I’m sure everyone on this station thinks Myrum and Planetary Expansionist Lorse are going to form some kind of alliance that will bring more Talin military to help the Core defeat the Annexers.
If they think he’s here for any other reason, then they’ll extend the inspection for as long as it takes to check every aspect of his visit. ”
“Again, what does clear and shaded mean?” Amina asked.
“Before you answer that, I want to thank you for giving us this information,” Myrum said. “You didn’t need to, and you might have even won favor by telling your superior what you heard.”
Gis relaxed more. “It was clear you were appalled by how Nicot treated me and tried to defend my sharp words.” He looked at Desur.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been on duty for three cycles and I’d hoped to sleep soon, but then your ship arrived.
Everyone knows this place should be doing better, but no one wants to admit the real problem.
I find it irritating every time I have to repeat the official lie. I put my frustrations on you.”
Desur was quick to bring his ears forward. “There’s no ill will between us. While you’re with us, you can rest.”
“A short sleep would be nice,” Gis agreed, stumbling a little over his words as if he wasn’t used to speaking so freely about his needs.
Gis looked at Amina. “I’d like to answer your question.
Souls are born at a level of dirtiness. The lower the soul, the dirtier it is.
We are called the shaded. Those born with clear souls are without filth. ”
“Can your soul, um, get cleaner?” Amina asked with a little frown.
“Not in this universe,” Gis said. “But after we die, shaded souls will live through another universe and then another. If we are obedient and hard working, our souls will slowly become less and less opaque until we’re clear.
Then we get to return to our universe of origin and be born into a clear family. ”
The Ossisos weren’t the only species that believed in a multiverse model of reality, but they were the only ones who believed souls traveled across them over many lifetimes.
“That’s isher shit,” Teshor grumbled.
“It’s not our place to judge other cultures,” Helmen said, although her ears indicated she wasn’t happy about what Gis was saying either. “How do your people decide who has a shaded soul or not?”
“The family your soul is born into indicates how shaded your soul is and how you should be treated by everyone else,” Gis said.
“I don’t like that,” Amina mumbled.
Myrum agreed with her, although something similar happened among his people. If you were born to a prominent family you had access to more opportunities. Conversely, if your family was known to have someone die of Fading, others might avoid you politically and socially.
“Can I assume that the Annexers are shaded and Cores are clear?” Helmen asked.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Gis said, then shifted his gaze around as if expecting someone to jump out and drag him away.
“Annexers aren’t trying to upset the balance, but the Cores are killing us.
All we want is a chance to build up a comfortable life.
They want to make us suffer, but that’s not their decision.
Our suffering is decided by the multiverse.
If the multiverse didn’t want us to thrive, then we’d face solar storms, unstable planets, or disease. ”
“You should come with us,” Desur said. “We have one more cabin; you could stay there.”
“Desur!” Helmen’s sharp tone made Desur shrink back a little.
“What?” he asked, trying hard to stand tall in the face of Helmen’s displeasure. “He needs to be rescued, and that’s what we do.”
Myrum was very interested in what Desur meant by that. He made a note to ask Amina later.
Helmen let out an aggravated sigh. “We can’t save all shaded souls within the Ossiso civilization.”
To Myrum’s surprise, Desur didn’t back down. “We don’t need to save everyone if we can save Gis.”
“I don’t need to be saved,” Gis said, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Desur and Helmen. “I’m where I need to be.”
Helmen let out a little relieved breath then muttered, “That’s helpful.”
Desur didn’t look convinced. “Don’t you want to live a life where you’re treated as an equal and judged on what you do instead of what family you were born to?”
Gis opened his mouth, closed it, then looked around again before speaking. “I’m here for a reason. I have a purpose. I can’t say any more than that.”
The tips of Desur’s ears drooped in confusion. Amina and the rest of the crew looked intrigued.
Before anyone could try to ask him any questions, Gis spoke rapidly.
“We have next to nothing to offer here on Tik, but there’s a pleasure ship docked at the other side of the station. It’s here for repairs, and our station director agreed to give them a discount if they remain open for the station’s staff.”
“What type of pleasure ship?” Teshor asked.
“Medium sized with style-nine entertainment,” Gis answered.
“Style nine?” Myrum asked.
“Style nine means the ship has restaurants, gambling, games, and some entertainment acts,” Teshor explained. Her ears were twitching with excitement. “Do they have domie?”
“I’m not sure,” Gis said. “But their gambling section is large. If they don’t offer that game, then they’ll have something similar."
“Let’s go there!” Teshor said.
Gis looked surprised. “Uh, you don’t want to see your rooms first?”
Amina shook her head. “We want to play!” She looked over at Helmen. “It isn’t Oristia, but it’s better than old reconsitutor packs. Come on, Helmen. We all need a break.”
Myrum decided now was the time to speak up. “I’d like to buy the crew a nice meal on the pleasure ship.”
Everyone cheered, and Amina wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a quick clutch before drawing back. He didn’t even have a chance to embrace her back.
“This is the best assignment ever!” Amina said.
He had to agree.