When is it appropriate to kill? And when is it appropriate to allow yourself to die? These are questions roiling through the head of the young adult who is on their first job as a ship's human, protecting these kind scientists who were treating him as if he was their own family. -- Anon Guest
Human Zan's first log entry on the first day of his first job as Ship's Human was, Sweet Powers, it's full of nerds.
It was a science vessel crewed almost entirely by cute, fluffy scientists and the impulse to just pick them up and snoodle them was very strong. Zan resisted, mostly because following protocol was funnier.
A Human must announce their presence in a non-threatening way, said the rule book. So Zan did so by sing-songing, "It's Zan, Zan, the Ship's Hu-man." Whether or not there was a following, "Aaaayyyyy..." was up to his mood at the time.
A Human must be prepared to kill or die for the crew, was more than a little problematic. Zan was vegan, within limits[1], and didn't approve of murder. He didn't approve of dying, either.
But these nerds were so gosh-darn cute, he couldn't let them perish for his beliefs, either.
The first angry Megabeast he killed was... traumatic.
"There was no time to think," he kept repeating. "I tried to discourage it and it just... it just died."
Of all the things the scientists were prepared for, having a tender-hearted Deathworlder wasn't even on their list. Humans were bold, Humans were brave. Humans were basically nice. They didn't expect a Human to feel guilty for doing their job.
The scientists conferred, as they took turns on the Teddy Bear rota. They consulted the ever-changing Human Manual[2]. They came up with a solution.
They helped Human Zan hold a funeral for the fallen beast. Including apologies, grave goods, and a eulogy resolving any blame. It worked for the purpose.
Zan privately logged that he was increasingly willing to die for his "fluffy nerds" but only if he was certain they'd all get safe thanks to his sacrifice.
[1] Because just about everything made for food involves the effort of some kind of animal.
[2] How to Care For Humans, the shared document and group problem-solving community.
[Photo by Geran de Klerk on Unsplash]
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