A companion deeply loves their ship's human. When the human retires due to old age, the companion doesn't know if they can handle it -- Anon Guest
"This has to be my last trip," announced Human Set as she eased herself down into the launch chair. "I'm getting too creaky for everyone's good."
That sudden stab into Companion Elik's heart had to be psychosomatic. "You're... leaving us?" Ze could not keep the anxiety out of hir voice.
"I'm not cut out for running after you and the other dinosaurs on the ship[1]. I just can't do it any more. You need someone younger. More athletic. My knees are going, and my back is going out more often than I do."
This was a Human "old age" joke. Humans seemed built with a multitude of points of failure. That, and Set's injuries were ganging up on her. "You could take up more relaxed duties on board," Elik offered. "Until the new Ships' Human is used to us?"
"You're not getting rid of me that quick. Of course I'll help y'all get a new friend. And I'm not ready to get sucked down a gravity well or come down with cats[2] just yet. You'll see. I'll hang around like a bad fart."
Humans and their outmoded sayings... Elik knew to laugh out of respect for their Human, and not necessarily because the joke was funny.
Nevertheless... this was the beginning of an end.
Deathworlders don't often last long. When they do, they usually rely on an enormous volume of assistance to do so. Some live their lives as if the pause button is a sin. Some treat the universe around them as if it's trying to kill them - and they're right. Some live in fear of harm, and in so doing, do more harm to themselves than the universe ever could. But come what may, a Human just... wears out.
Just how Human Set found and adopted Human Jor was a mystery to the rest of the Reaching Claw, but evidently Set was proud to introduce the crew to her new child. Jor started out grubby, sticky, frightened, and nonverbal. Ze had a way of twitching at every sudden noise for the first Standard Month[3].
After that, Jor started coming out of hir shell. It was the way that the Saurians tried to warm up hir shivers by nesting on hir that did it. It also launched Jor's first word on board.
"Kitties."
True, the Saurians were fluffy, and they did purr... but the physical similarity between them and the Skitties on board was otherwise distant. The plumage wasn't even the same colour.
From there, Jor came out of hir shell, and began the serious business of pack-bonding with everything that moved.
That was good. It had to be good.
Yet, Companion Elik kept wanting Set with hir whenever they went planetside.
[1] Of all the varied species types in the alliance, Saurian is most common, followed closely by insectoid, avian, and reptilian. None of these species has been running the Earth in disguise as Humans.
[2] Sir Terrance Pratchett(GNU) has noted that there's a certain stage in Human Insanity wherein the Human adopts a huge amount of cats. This is a sign of certain loneliness and must be remedied by regular conversation and companionship.
[3] The Galactic Standard Calendar is divided into ten-day weeks, four-week months, and ten-month years. None of these have names, which is why Humans find it confusing.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / AndriiOliinyk]
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