The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (best novels in english .txt) 📕

‘I take it it wasn’t, for you,’ Ouloo said.

‘No.’ Pei tied one last knot. ‘I admire the cause,’ she said. ‘But I like being my own boss.’ She stepped back to look at her work. The canopy held fast.

Along the path, on the flip side of the hedges, the other guests approached.

‘You must be Captain Tem,’ Roveg said, bowing his thorax in greeting. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you properly.’

‘Likewise,’ the Aeluon said. He found himself soothed by her presence, stranger though she was. Speaker’s list of questions had sparked a nagging worry that perhaps this situation wasn’t as controlled as he’d like, but here was this fit, confident captain, who seemed ready for anything. Her scent conveyed that she was at ease, and this meshed with the blueish silver of her cheeks, an easy-to-spot sign of Aeluon calm. If she wasn’t worried, then he saw little reason to be so himself. ‘Ouloo, this looks delightful,’ he said, picking up a plate. ‘Thank you so much for your hospitality.’

‘Oh, goodness, it’s the least we can do,’ Ouloo said. ‘I’m just so sorry this has happened. Whatever we can do to make this less stressful for you, please, please let us know.’ With this, she looked at Speaker, her gaze meaningful. ‘We’re here for you.’

Something passed between Speaker and Ouloo, and while Roveg wasn’t entirely sure what it was, he hazarded a guess that an apology had been made. Speaker responded graciously, as she seemed to do with everything. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I appreciate that.’ Apology accepted, it seemed.

A puff of warm air hit several of Roveg’s toe joints, making him jump with surprise. As he looked down, he realised it wasn’t just air, but breath. The little Laru was under the table, trying to get a good look at his legs. ‘Well, hello!’ Roveg said, laughing.

‘Tupo, what have I said about hiding when there are guests around?’ Ouloo sighed. ‘Can you come out from there, please?’

Tupo did not.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said to Roveg, hushing her voice in a manner the child could undoubtedly still hear. ‘We don’t get many Quelin. I think xe’s being a bit shy.’

‘Am not,’ Tupo complained. Xe remained under the table.

‘That’s quite all right,’ Roveg said, looking at Ouloo, but intending his words for smaller ears. ‘I was fully an adult when I met my first other-specied friends, and they made me want to hide under the table, too.’ He lowered himself down to look at the child. Tupo stared back, smelling of excitement and concern. ‘I hope you’ll come out soon,’ Roveg said. ‘I could use some support if these bipeds start to bully me.’

The joke flew over the child and landed somewhere in the hedges beyond. ‘Why would they—’

‘He’s teasing, Tupo,’ said Ouloo with exasperation. ‘Stars.’ She shook out her fur and turned her attention to the adults. ‘Well, there’s no reason for all of you to be shy, too. Please, make yourselves at home!’

Speaker had spent her entire adult life learning how to navigate interactions with other species. Her people operated by insularity, and even when they did make their homes in mixed settlements, they kept largely to themselves (for reasons no Akarak needed reminding of). Speaker had honed her natural talents of linguistic quickness and what Tracker called ‘social sponging’ in order to enter the multicultural melee, to gain entry to places her peers typically could not. Her skills in this regard were malleable by necessity, as you never knew what sort of sapient you’d need to talk to. She prided herself for her flexibility in that regard. With the exception of a small collection of trusted market stops and reliable contacts, she rarely found herself in the same place twice, and part of what made her and her sister good at their work was her ability to adapt to whatever the scenario called for.

But as she stood at the edge of the garden, faced with food and flowers and small talk, a realisation dawned on her. Varied as the places she visited were, they all shared one element: practicality. She frequented fuel depots, tech swaps, hydroponic suppliers, medical clinics, libraries, bustling markets, water stations, government bureaus, shuttledocks, and other such functional locations. She knew how to trade and enquire and haggle and win over, and had done all of these with alien species of every shape and size.

Not one of them had ever invited her to hang out with them.

Easy as this scenario should have been, Speaker found herself facing a tremendous challenge. She had to maintain the air of confidence she knew was so crucial to appeasing other species, while navigating a situation she’d never been in and was unexpectedly nervous about, while also keeping the part of herself that was desperate to talk to Tracker shut away for the duration of the gathering.

She took a breath, and marched her mech suit forward.

Fortunately, she did not have to be the one to launch a conversation. Roveg was keenly chatting to Captain Tem as he heaped his plate with snacks, the frills around his thorax flexing with excitement. ‘I have to say, Captain,’ he said in his stormy accent, ‘that is a beautiful shuttle you have. Caught my eye immediately as I flew in.’

‘Ah, thanks,’ Captain Tem said, nibbling at something from her own (more modestly filled) plate. Speaker did not grasp cheek colours as well as she wanted to yet, but the Aeluon looked pleased, and said nothing further on the matter. Captain Tem didn’t boast or brag, but neither did she demur. She acknowledged that her shuttle was a nice one, and left it there. Speaker noted that.

Roveg leaned toward Captain Tem just a touch. ‘I would assume from the, ah, robustness of your ship that you’re joining us from more dangerous territories,’ he said. His voice took on the sort of well-intentioned yet clueless empathy of someone who knew nothing of real violence