It was amazing how much human doctors and hospitals were like venalia ones. I could feel how sterile, cold, and uncomfortable the medical shuttle was, even in the waiting room, so I sat outside on the grass instead until I was called in.

  I hadn’t objected to so many doctors being there when I agreed to be examined, but in the room with all of them it was too much. They seemed like doctors, which didn’t help, and they were still alien to me, which made it worse, especially since I was practically surrounded by them. Thankfully my faith in the humans was enough that I asked for only one doctor, and they obliged without issue.

  It didn’t take long. I knew, know, exactly where my scars are, but one of the common issues between aliens is that there are so many things that are such a part of everyday life, an obvious fact of existence, that they are not written down. While the ioe medical database had plenty of information on scars, it said nothing about how to move scales out of the way. Based on the large collection of little tools on the table I could tell the humans imagined our scales were like that of fish or reptiles, just much, much smaller. Not to say scales is the wrong translation, but I don’t think there is anything from Earth that has what we have, small, flexible, soft, moved by (mostly) autonomic responses. I touched my own arm, showing the doctor how to cause the right involuntary movement to reveal the scarred skin underneath. To my relief they didn’t try to touch me, instead taking pictures from various angles with a few different devices.

  The venalia had sabotaged themselves again, choosing spots so easy to reveal was meant to be a reminder. I spent more time than I would care to admit looking at my scars when they were fresh, but now it was evidence, clear, easy to access, impossible to refute evidence. Too careful, too clean, the placement too perfect to deny the intent.

  With that out of the way I started to worry about how I would sleep through the night, but a text from Lee stopped that. She’d moved her stuff to the Bolivar and my things into her room on the Chang’e. It didn’t feel like home of course, nowhere did, but I had my soap and pajamas and clean clothes for when I woke up and the books I normally read to fall asleep and even though the Chang’e wasn’t home it was safe.

  There was a nice surprise for me when I woke up the next morning, besides that I’d managed to sleep through the night, someone left breakfast for me outside the door. More bread and fruit which was good. As much as I wanted a hot meal I did not want to try to figure out how a human kitchen worked.

  I was partway through my breakfast, alone in Lee’s former room, when she called. The translator on the phone muted her voice to the point where I couldn’t hear her. I hated it, made me feel like I wasn’t talking to her.

  “Lerva called with an oddly specific request. They want us to go to the bunker and for you to ask for them publicly. I’ve been told to be there and look intimidating.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you know why they’re asking?”

  “No.”

  “You trust them?”

  “Yes, I do I guess. Are you considering not?”

  “No, no, I’ll do whatever they ask. I just don’t like not knowing.”

  “They don’t trust you, not you specifically, humans. But you should trust them. They want what’s best for the ioe.”

  “Fair, I wouldn’t trust us. Did you get breakfast?”

  “Yes, thanks for that, but you’ll have to show me how to use the kitchen. Can’t spend the rest of my life eating uncooked food.”

  “Soon hopefully. Interested in human food at all?”

  “I’m not opposed, but there is no rush. It’ll probably be a while before we know what is safe for me.”

  “Maybe not. I can find out, put more people on it if it’s gonna be a while.”

  “No no, I don’t mean to make work for you. It’s nothing talk, no need to worry about me.”

  “You don’t mind though? It helps to know I’ve made someone’s life better with this, not that you’re justification or anything, but, for me it makes it easier or…”

  “I don’t mind.”

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  “Thank you.”

  “Did Lerva say when they wanted us to show up?”

  “In an hour or two.”

  “Should I, when should I be at the bunker?”

  “You relax, finish breakfast, I’ll come get you in about an hour and a half.”

  “Okay.”

  I took my time eating, showering, getting dressed. It helped me feel normal, like this was any other day. I kept telling myself that living with humans on their ships was my new normal and that helped, knowing that I would be used to it eventually. I was laying on the bed reading when Lee came to get me. She had a new uniform on, and as somewhat of a surprise to me, her pistol. I couldn’t tell if that made me feel better or worse, but it did make me feel safer.

  “Ready?” She asked.

  “Yes.” I replied, and we left the Chang’e.

  “I’ve learned a little,” Lee said as we walked, “I know a chirp means yes, and a downward hum,” she tried to make the right sound, “is no, silence is, not exactly maybe, more like unsure or a request for clarification. There isn’t an easy equivalent.”

  “Pitch is way off.”

  “What?”

  I hummed the correct pitch and got Lee to match it. We tried a few times but without my help she couldn’t get close.

  “Saria, I can’t just remember it like that.”

  “Just practice. Venalia struggle with it but they can learn, if they put in the effort, and I know you will.”

  “I don’t know, being human and all. For now I’ll just assume two notes moving down means no.”

  “... It’ll be nice when we have enough time for music, art, books, whatever.”

  “Probally will at warp.”

  “Still planning to?”

  “We’ll be ready, but I don’t know what I want, what I think is best.”

  “Me too.”

  I took a deep breath before I opened the bunker door.

  “Lerva. I need to speak to you.” I managed to sound confident, demanding, although a lot of that came from knowing Lee was behind me “looking intimidating.” Lerva, by contrast, acted a little nervous, dropping the act instantly when the door closed behind her.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I assume Saria is planning to stay with you humans, so I thought it would be best if they, if we, make it seem like Saria is behind organizing the ioe.”

  “Agreed,” was my reply.

  “You know we can keep the venalia from being able to retaliate, or give you enough weapons you can do it yourself.”

  “I want peace.”

  Lee wanted to say more, but held back.

  “What I want,” Lerva explained as we sat around a table in a meeting room on some random shuttle, “is a vote, or more of a survey. Voting rights, legal protections, our own branch of government, veto power, our own justice system, it’s too many options. I don’t know what the average ioe wants, what freedom looks like for them, and if we are to negotiate with the venalia I need to know that. We need a venue for the negotiations as well.”

  “Last part is easy,” Lee replied, “the Bolivar has a theater that seats like, 800, I don’t remember the exact number, but we put the venalia on the ground level, ioe up in the balconies, and broadcast it to everyone. That should be enough people seeing it in person that everyone will know we aren’t faking anything.”

  “And,” I asked, “I take it you want me to write the survey?”

  “Yes. I don’t want to risk it sounding like me. Ideally you make a video to go with it, so they know it’s written by an ioe, and explain that the humans will abide by our decisions. I need every ioe to be forced to fill it out, anonymously of course, but the venalia are far less likely to retaliate if we had no choice in the matter.”

  “I have two conditions,” Lee said, “complete independence with military support needs to be an option, and I want to extend the offer to join our fleet to every ioe, as individuals.”

  “Fine,” Lerva replied, “but we aren’t violent, there won’t be much support for it.”

  “Doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be an option.”

  Sensing a potential argument I asked Lerva, “Do you want to review what I make at any point?”

  “No, it should be all you. Safer that way. Unrelated, we need to get out of that bunker.”

  “You are not prisoners, I thought that was clear?”

  “I know, but Admiral, you destroyed our navy in an instant, had the habitat locked down in a few minutes, and killed our Prime Minister. Everyone's seen the video.”

  That hurt Lee, scaring people she didn’t mean to, but I could only tell because I was starting to know her.

  “I want to keep a few high altitude drones, all the others can be docked. I can withdraw marines to our shuttles. The ones guarding the venalia will have to keep their spacesuits and rifles, just in case, but otherwise we can switch to casual uniforms and pistols.”

  “Can we have access to your internet on all of our computers?”

  “I thought you did?”

  “I didn’t want to presume. Thank you for accommodating. Hopefully that is enough to get everyone out and back to some semblance of normalcy.”

  “I know you said I should, and I will act like I do, but I don’t trust Lerva.” Lee said when we were alone and back on the Chang’e. I stayed silent, testing her. “”More devoted to order than to justice”, a quote from an anti-racism activist, criticizing moderates.”

  “Lerva is hardly a moderate by ioe standards.”

  “You would know better than me, but they act like it. If the venalia were okay with equal representation in government or whatever legal system Lerva is convinced will somehow end this they would’ve done it. No system will work when the venalia are determined to make it fail, it’s impossible.”

  “A few days ago violently overthrowing them was impossible.”

  “Fair point.”