"Human, you don't need to sleep every night outside of my door. This station is quite safe."
The human, looking upon the galactic while they sat upright in a chair, their lifesuit programmed to hold them in that position even if they fell fast asleep. "Two weeks ago my mother and I were dying dereggers. You saved us, I will protect you." -- Anon Guest
Humans, among many other qualities, are illogical. Those rescued from Deregger space have the worst logic. It's not their fault, they were never taught logical thinking to begin with. What they're used to is an overwhelming conglomerate where profit is the only motive and the individual doesn't matter unless that individual also has billions of dollars.
Human Jef and hir mother had been trying to sneak out in the air vents of Transiteer Gorx's shipping vessel. When Gorx found them, they had been setting off the hold alerts because safety protocols insisted that there were air-breathing lifeforms of sufficient mass in the hold. They had been starving, sick, weak, and terrified of the Havenworlder who found them. Their livesuits barely living up to the name.
Gorx had done what any decent cogniscent would have done. Ze took them into the habitable zone, amped up the life support, sent out a low-urgency distress call, and done what ze could to help their general health until more supplies could arrive by special courier. Both Human Jef and Human Bea had been so astonished by simple things like essential nutrition and free medical care that they swore fealty to Gorx thereafter.
Human Bea did all the cooking and cleaning without being asked. Human Jef insisted on being a guardian, watching over Gorx while ze slept. This meant cat-napping either outside Gorx's sleep niche, or outside hir habitat door. This caused some trouble with traffic flow, but not enough to be a hazard.
The biggest problem was convincing Human Jef that hir protection was not necessary.
"Friend Human," Gorx began, "I must first commend you to your dedication to keep me safe."
"Naturally," said Jef. "I swore a solemn vow t' keep you safe 'n' sound. I aim to uphold that vow for my lifetime. Every day o' my life is a gift from you, so keepin' your days plentiful seems 'bout fair."
"Yes. That is a more than fair exchange. Your diligence is commendable..." how to word this diplomatically? There were reasons why Gorx was a transiteer, and this was just one of them. "In fact, in some areas, your diligence is... somewhat in excess."
Instant alarm. "I'm doing a bad job?"
"No, no. You're doing an excellent job. It's just... sometimes, it's the job you don't need to do. When I'm at home, I'm already in a larger area where the security is already in place. We can take a tour for you to inspect all the safety measures, so you can see for yourself."
"I'm... getting downsized?"
"No. Your job as Ship's Human is not at risk. You are still paid for your time. In fact, I am showing you how you can have paid time off."
Three small words, and so little understanding. Jef repeated them in order, trying to sift meaning out of them by the atom. "Paid. Time. Off."
"Yes."
"I get time to myself," said Jef.
"Yes. Free time. You can spend it however you like."
"And I get money."
"Yes. It is paid time off."
"You pay me to laze around and do nothing."
"If that's how you want to spend your time, yes."
"And you pay me for that."
"You still need to eat, wear clothes, and have nice things."
"I don't need to have nice things," argued Human Jef. This was Deregger philosophy talking.
"I can show you studies that say that it's necessary for good mental health," countered Transiteer Gorx. "You're my employee and it's my duty to see to your well-being."
"And m' Ma, too?"
"Yes. She also gets paid time off. You could take her out somewhere and show her a good time. See a performance or visit a museum... have a nice dinner... anything you like." Gorx had a brilliant idea. "Your Ma works very hard, and she deserves a rest."
Fierce loyalty to hir mother won. "I'll try it, but I can't say I'll like it."
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / silencefoto]
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