2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bazium

It was dark outside by the time Bazium was finished. He’d been forced to not only contact the mavins, the civilian law-keeping authorities on Talarian, but also the Committee for Pet Welfare. In the end, it turned out that Darra and Mani were fine. They’d been asleep, and their Talin owner refused to disturb them for something as unimportant as an inspection.

After talking with the owner at length, Bazium realized he was desperate for the humans to have offspring. The owner believed that humans liked to engage in sexual intercourse around bedtimes. That meant he was always encouraging them to sleep.

Once Bazium explained the humans were on reproductive limiters, the owner begged for them to be taken off. The original timeline called for the couple to live with the Zalk family for half a solar, then decide if they wanted it to be more permanent or return to the compound. It was a risk because Zalk wasn’t part of the small group of Talins who knew humans were as smart as a Talin.

The owner didn’t realize it was the humans who decided whether they wanted children. The complicated contract the Talin owners had to sign if they wanted to foster and potentially adopt a human was filled with protections so Bazium could bring the humans back to the compound with only “general human distress” as the reason.

A private conversation with Darra and Mani verified they were perfectly happy where they were and saw no reason to return to Bazium’s crowded accommodations.

His group's recent success in finding and rescuing hundreds of humans from slave auctions, serf-like working conditions, and other poor circumstances had been a double-edged sword. More humans were living in comfort and safety on Talarian, but they were also having trouble building enclosures and cottages fast enough.

Bazium expected short tempers and maybe even fighting to break out among the humans but only a few minor squabbles had occurred so far. Ari had explained that near death was still fresh in everyone's mind, so no one was interested in being territorial yet.

Her words had been a warning, however. Left unchecked, they might end up with unhealthy crowding and growing animosity among the humans. That worry led to the program allowing a select few Talins to adopt humans.

What he couldn’t have known was that the program would take up so much of his time. It was even worse than the initial setup of their compound had been!

Eager to be with Ari, he hurried out of the compound office and practically jogged back to their little cottage. No sooner did he enter the small home than his Ident pinged.

Bazium had to fight the urge to hurl the expensive piece of technology across the room. To his relief it was Kasium, who started speaking as soon as Baz opened communications.

“I have a list of tests I need to run on Ari to sort out her problem,” he said with an excited rumble. “I need to know when you can bring her by. It will take at least four marks.”

Four marks? That was a lot of time for him to spend at the healers with Ari. It would take much of the night to rearrange his schedule for tomorrow, but Ari was worth it. He couldn’t stand to see her as she was now, missing her customary boldness and cheer.

“We’ll be there.” It was only then that he realized the cottage was quiet and the only light on was in his office. Ari hadn’t returned here?

Worry filled him. “Thank you for your gift of time and skill.” After saying the traditional thanks, he ended the communication without letting Kasium respond. It only took a few taps of his Ident to see a map of the property. Another command, and the map sent out a location request for Ari’s collar.

All the humans his group brought to Talarian agreed to wear their collars with the understanding that the human could take it off at any time. The rest of Talin society didn’t know that, but it helped with the illusion. The trackers in the collars also helped keep humans from being stolen, which had been attempted a few times.

Even though they’d been introduced less than two solars ago, owning a human pet was the fastest growing trend among Talins. Bazium worried about the few humans who’d been found by other Talins and not his group. They weren’t given the choice to become a pet and their collars were real, but at least the Committee of Pet Welfare was there to help enforce the law surrounding human comfort and treatment. It was his experience that the Committee was ruthless about enforcing their laws. It gave him hope that abuse would be rare and swiftly dealt with when found.

Putting those serious and weighty thoughts aside, Bazium looked for Ari. His scent glands were painfully overfull, and his arms ached to hold her.

Bazium let out a short rattle of surprise when his Ident placed Ari at Zuri’s house. He tried to connect to the main communication display in the house, but it was set to blocked. He could override and force the display to activate, but he didn’t want to disturb Zuri or Ari if they’d fallen asleep.

Clipping his Ident back to his belt, he left their little home and made his way across the compound. He knew Ari understood that everything he did was to safeguard her fellow humans. But it didn’t make his neglect any more acceptable and guilt tightened his chest.

The construction bots were still working, and he could see Goleenun and Valcinan inspecting an area. He didn’t want to bother them while they were working hard to finish within the fifteen-rotation timeline. Skirting around the active areas, Bazium jogged to Zuri’s front door then paused, unsure what to do. If they were asleep, a request for entrance would wake them up. Forcing the door open with his universal unlock code might cause them distress if they didn’t recognize him right away.

He stood there for several submarks, paralyzed with indecision, before the door slid open in front of him to reveal Ari and Zuri. The two women were leaning against each other and swaying slightly.

“Knock, knock!” Ari said.

“Who’s there?” Zuri asked before Bazium could ask Ari to clarify her words.

“Woo.” Now the two women were grinning widely at each other.

“Woo who?” Zuri responded, her eyes twinkling with laughter.

“I’m glad you're excited too!” The moment the words were out of Ari’s mouth, both humans dissolved into laughter. Their shared humor caused them to lose their collective balance. It wasn’t optimal, but fear of them tumbling to the hard floor forced Bazium to sweep them up in his arms, squishing the two women together.

Now that he was holding them close, the unmistakable fumes of alcohol filled his nose slits. “What have you been drinking?”

“Only tea!” Ari said. Her eyes were unnaturally wide, and she was forcing her mouth to stop smiling. It was an over exaggeration of the expression she wore when trying to convey honesty.

Zuri snorted. “Tea that could power something!”

The smell of alcohol, lack of coordination, and nonsensical dialogue could only mean one thing: these humans were intoxicated.

A mix of emotions swamped him as he lifted both humans a little higher and carried them to the center of the room.

“We’re flying!” Zuri giggled.

At the same time Ari yelled, “Zoooooom!”

There was no single piece of furniture large enough to set them both on, so he settled for the floor.

As he knelt down, Ari looked at Zuri. “We’re coming in for a landing!”

“Is it Sorn Station?” Zuri asked, barely able to stifle her giggles. “I’ve always wanted to visit there.”

“Sorn!” Ari repeated, the word slightly slurred. “Sounds like porn.”

The women laughed uproariously at that. Focused on setting them down gently, Bazium ignored their nonsense. Once the humans were on the ground, he released them incrementally to allow them plenty of time to adjust to a lack of support.

Zuri slumped sideways, putting an elbow on a nearby puff and supporting her head with her hand. “The room is spinning.”

Bazium sounded a negative rattle. “It’s perfectly stationary, I assure you.”

“Frowny sound!” Ari declared, pointing a finger at him. Her features weren’t cheerful any longer; now her mouth was turned down and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I hate that rattle.”

Unprepared for her sudden switch from gaiety to melancholy, Bazium frantically started up a soothing rumble.

“I’ll never rattle like that again!” he swore. “I’ll have my backplates removed and never rattle again. Only please don’t shed water from your eyes.”

Ari sniffed, dropping her accusing finger into her lap. “Don’t do that.” Her shoulders slumped a little and she stared at the floor. “You’re always unhappy. Every day. Unhappy with the Apogee Assembly, unhappy with other Talins, unhappy with the laws; you’re even unhappy with me.”

“No, never!” he denied, trying to draw her into his arms.

She pulled away, going from sitting on her legs to half falling backward and sitting on her backside. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she looked up at him. A single tear slid down her face.

“If you’re not unhappy with me, why are you always making frowny sounds at me?”

Her question nearly broke him. He’d been working so hard to build a future for her and the other humans that he’d neglected the present.

“No more frowny sounds,” he promised. He didn’t try to wrap his arms around her. Instead he moved closer and opened up his arms in an invitation. She stared at him in silence for several submarks before uncurling and falling into his arms. He adjusted her until she was snuggled up against his body, head on his shoulder and most of her weight supported by his arms under her butt.

She nuzzled the strip of exposed skin at his neck, sending shivers of sensation tingling down his spine.

“I’ll try hard not to cry,” she whispered, her breath hot against his skin, “when you break your promise.”

Her words were almost like a physical blow.

Before he could react, Kasium strode in through the front door, sounding a surprised rattle. “I didn’t expect to see either of you here.”

Then he sampled the air through his nose slits and sounded a rumble of disgust. Rounding on Bazium, he sounded an aggressive rattle. “Why would you give them alcohol? They’re sensitive and it can easily become toxic for them.”

Bazium kept up his soothing rumble as he looked up at the looming and angry healer. “They were like this when I arrived.”

Kasium sounded a frustrated rattle. “Someone among the humans is making it, and I can’t figure out who.”

As much as Bazium didn’t like it, he had to set Kasium straight. “We don’t own these humans, remember? Prohibiting alcohol is something the humans would need to decide as a group.”

Kasium sank to his knees next to Zuri. That’s when Bazium realized she was sound asleep with her head still propped up on her hand. He was both impressed and a little concerned that none of their rattling had woken her up.

“Is she well?” he asked as Kasium leaned in close.

“She’ll feel ill tomorrow,” Kasium predicted. “But I’ll be here to see that she recovers quickly. This isn’t the first time my clever little bootlegger has indulged like this.”

“Bootlegger?” Bazium questioned, struggling a little with the unfamiliar human word.

“It’s an Old Earth name for someone clever,” Kasium explained. “The other humans gave her the nickname. Do you know she’s set up a complicated system in the other room to make a thick sweetener the humans enjoy adding to certain drinks? It’s all very complicated and impressive.”

“Our humans are very talented,” Bazium agreed.

Kasium sat on the floor and pulled Zuri into his lap. He and Bazium were facing each other now and the way Ari’s body was relaxed told him she was asleep also.

“Before I depart, can you advise me on how to help Ari when she wakes?”

“You need to encourage her to drink fluids. I also have several vials of medication you should take with you,” Kasium said. It was his way of apologizing for accusing Bazium earlier. “And later tomorrow I’ll have a few more delivered. It will help her body recover rapidly.”

“Thank you for your gift of time and skill,” Bazium said.

“I also have those additional tests to do on Ari,” he added. “I promise we will find the cause of her ailment.”

Bazium barely kept himself from sounding a negative rattle. Perhaps Ari was correct and he was using that rattle far too much.

“I believe I know why Ari is displaying behavioral changes,” he said. “The alcohol she consumed caused her to be painfully candid with me. She’s feeling neglected because I’m forced to spend so much of my time on administrative tasks.”

“She must understand that you’re not doing it to deliberately hurt her,” Kasium said. “Humans are prone to being illogical, but not to that degree.”

“Is it illogical to wish for more time with your scent-bonded partner?” Bazium asked.

“Humans don’t scent-bond,” Kasium scoffed.

“No, but they love, and it’s the same thing,” Bazium stated with an edge to his voice. He didn’t want to wake the women with any loud rattles, but Kasium’s willful denial was annoying. “I know you’ll argue that scent-bonding is biological and love is an ephemeral human construct, but are they really so different? Ari is withering away from my lack of attention and care, just as I would die if separated from her for too long. Her emotions are causing physical symptoms. If that isn’t akin to our biological scent-bonding, then I think we need to revisit the science.”

Kasium was quiet for a few submarks, his eyes firmly fixed on Zuri. “It seems you’re not the only one to receive a revelation tonight,” he murmured. Without meeting Bazium’s gaze, Kasium nodded his head to a small, metal case sitting on a table near the door. “Take two of the vials in there. If you can, have her drink one tonight and the other in the morning.”

The healer’s sudden coldness was an obvious signal that Bazium had upset the male. “Kasium, I–”

Kasium cut him off without looking at him. “Have a fruitful rotation.”

It was a clear dismissal. Standing up with Ari in his arms, Bazium repeated the traditional farewell, collected the vials, and left.