They have rescued thousands of Dereggers over their lifetime. And they are at home with their family bragging. Puffing up their feathers, they are so proud of themselves. They do it, not for money, not for fame, not for recognition, but because they care for the people they've rescued. But that doesn't mean they can't have a proud moment knowing of all those people who now get a new chance at life. -- Anon Guest
Tia Rruku had a wall of portraits in her room. Pictures, large and small, of Human families. Rubbery faces showing their teeth, and often holding little bundles that featured grumpy little faces.
They filled the wall from floor to ceiling, and it was a very big wall.
The first time Mev saw it, they had to wonder, "Who are they?" They were all strangers to Mev. They could put no names to the humans inside the frames.
Tia Rruku, recovering from a lengthy illness, sat up a little in her bed. "Ah, those are my Rescues. The ones who got back to me, anyway. Many ran the instant I told them they were free, and never looked back. Their choice. It's always their choice. These are the ones who found me again and told me how their lives went."
There were stories, but after about three of them, Mev found the pattern. Once upon a time, there was a Deregger world where Rruku was just passing through. She could have made a profit on her trades, or saved a life. Every time, she chose the latter.
She made just enough to keep them alive until the next trading stop. Rruku never went through the process of claiming the CRC's bounty on freeing Dereggers, but they found her anyway.
She was never in it for the money. She was never doing it for vainglory. She did it for the Humans who were in chains, where their only worth was the price they fetched at auction. Those who spent their first weeks in abject terror of what she might do to them.
Tia Rruku bought them, took them to Alliance space, introduced them to Therapists, and otherwise made sure they had a good start.
Too many fled for the Edge, and far away from their point of origin, never to be heard from again. But, evidently, more than enough decided to show her how far they had come.
"They're all smiling," said Tia Rruku. "Showing how happy they are. They found homes, family, a new lease on life. They found their place, and I am glad."
There was a litany of names, places, and circumstances. Rruku kept a logbook of her travels, who she found and where. How their journey to civilisation was[1]. Where and under what circumstances she dropped them off.
Mev collated the list, the dates and times and so on, and asked the CRC if they had any records of the Humans who had not sent Rruku any updates. The response took a long time, because it was a very long list.
The result was at least three tomes[2] worth of data. Life stories. People who had been trying to find Tia Rruku with dim or unreliable memories. People who had given up on the search. People who were using ineffective methods to search. People who feared trying to find her.
...and one crew of documentarians who came to interview Tia Rruku in her garden...
Rruku, gently weeding, listened to the abbreviated stories of each Human she rescued. Of each one who was grateful. Saw the pictures they could now send her.
"I'm going to need a bigger wall," she said.
[1] When people say "journey to civilisation," they often mean a journey to a better civilisation, which is always a relative comparison.
[2] An unofficial unit of measurement, a Tome is a document of at least eight hundred A4 pages of densely-packed information.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / edharcanstock]
If you like my stories, please Check out my blog and Follow me. Or share them with your friends!
Send me a prompt [48 remaining prompts!]
