Tales From the Terran Republic - Chapter 263: Bella's Paradise

Chapter 263: Bella’s Paradise

“Go!!!” Charlotte bellowed at full volume, splaying her mandibles angrily.

“Hey!” a high-pitched voice chittered indignantly.

Charlotte turned and saw a rough-looking multi-legged insectoid looking up at her from the opening of a nearby dumpster.

“I won’t have you speaking so badly about the Terrans!” it exclaimed. “They are the noblest, kindest, and most generous of beings in the entire galaxy! Their beacon isn’t a lie! It is bright and true! What’s more, they give so many opportunities and offer so much guidance that I pray to the False God every day, giving thanks for the wonderful Terrans and this paradise made manifest that they have created!”

Charlotte and the Kalesh both looked at the insectoid as if it had lost its mind.

“Wat.”

“Hi,” the insectoid said brightly, “My name is Belasho, but you can call me Bella!”

Bella climbed out of the garbage and scurried up.

Charlotte looked at her curiously.

With her scarred round cricket-like head, her battered antennae, and a couple of legs damaged or missing partway down, it was clear she had been through quite a lot, but her segments were glossy, and she had a cheerful demeanor about her.

Instinctively, Charlotte believed the small bug someone worth knowing.

Bella scurried up to the coffee bar, clambered up on a barstool, and leaned on the counter, drawing close to Charlotte’s massive and, well… terrifying form.

“You need to take that back!” Bella chirped indignantly. “The Terrans are wonderful!” she exclaimed as she beamed at the Kalesh. “All of them!” she added as she wiggled her antennae toward him.

Bella raised her head, wiggling her mouthparts happily as she inhaled deeply.

“And this world, Terra itself, is a paradise beyond compare!” she chirped. “My days are filled with joy, and my nights are blanketed with happiness!”

“You are talking about here, right?” The Kalesh asked dubiously.

“Indeed,” Charlotte rumbled. “Have you not faced hardships? You climbed out of a dumpster. Forgive my assumptions if they are incorrect, but that is not consistent with someone who has gained their (scoff) certificate.”

Bella bubbled with chittering laughter.

“Me?” she chittered, “Oh no! No way I’m passing that thing anytime soon! It will take me at least eight years, probably longer!”

“Are you not discouraged?” Charlotte asked.

“No,” Bella chirped, “Should I be?”

“It will take you no small measure of years.”

“Years that will pass anyway,” Bella chirped, “The False God controls the flow of time, not I. I can only choose whether I shall have my certificate at the end of them or not…. So, I choose to have my certificate.”

“But without a certificate,” Charlotte said, “You cannot gain proper employment and therefore must languish in poverty, spending every moment trying to sustain yourself with no educational guidance or support.”

“Well, that’s a defeatist attitude,” Bella chided, “No wonder you are so grumpy.”

“Do you deny the truth of my words?”

“My faith discourages profanity,” Bella chirped, “but I’m going to have to make an exception in this case. In the words of my kind and noble hosts, I must call bullshit on that one.”

“How so?”

“Ever since I was delivered here by the kind and gentle Jessik…”

“Wait,” the Kalesh interjected, “The Vogons?“

“Vogons?” Charlotte asked.

“It’s our name for those… people,” the Kalesh replied, “It’s a reference to a work of ancient literature.”

“And not a very nice one!” Bella chittered, “It’s both mean and completely inaccurate! Their ship being the one I stowed away on, was the first of the great blessings the False…”

“You stowed away on a Vogon…”

“Jessik!” Bella chirped sharply. “I will not allow you to speak ill of their kind, generous, and noble race!”

“Ok,” the Kalesh said, “This I have to hear.”

He turned to Charlotte.

“I know I am unwelcome,” he said, “But could you give me a second steeping while I hear this.”

“Certainly,” Charlotte replied, “I confess interest as well. Bella, would you like something?”

“Can I get a warm tap water, please?”

“Of course,” Charlotte replied. “Bella,” she asked, “You are familiar with this ancient Terran literature?”

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide?” Bella replied as Charlotte prepared the drinks, “Yeah! It’s so funny! You should really read it! It’s one of the classics of twentieth-century human literature!”

“You are certainly well-read,” the Kalesh said as he waited for his tea to steep.

“Yeah,” Bella chirped sheepishly, “I should have been studying, but I fell into another of those ‘rabbit holes’. I do that a lot.”

She carefully dipped an antenna into her water and jerked it back.

“Could I trouble you for an ice cube?” she chirped.

“Sure,” Charlotte replied as she put an ice cube in Bella’s drink.

“So, you stowed away on a Vo… on a Jessik ship?” the Kalesh asked.

“Yeah,” Bella said, “I had to get away quick, so I decided to take a chance and slip in amongst their cargo. I had hoped to hide until their next stop, but it turns out that it is nearly impossible to sneak onto one of their ships. They knew the moment I slipped aboard. That was their first great kindness.”

“It was?”

“Yes,” Bella replied, “They could have ejected me immediately or even called the police. But the noble Captain Whelk said that he had a schedule to keep and didn’t want to waste the time it would take to turn me in, but I know that it was out of concern for me. It just isn’t their way to express such things.”

“I hear that even working passage on one of their barges is hellish,” the Kalesh said as he took a small sip of his tea to see if it was ready. It wasn’t. “They are notorious for it. I can’t even imagine what being caught as a stowaway was like.”

Bella chirped happily.

“Oh, they were wonderful!” she enthused. “When they caught me, they pretended to be really mean, and the captain said that I would regret being so foolish as to trespass on their vessel and to prepare myself for true misery.”

She sighed happily.

“I must admit,” she chirped, “He gave me quite a fright. But instead of the torturous conditions he promised, I was just sent to the galley and given to the cook. There I assisted with the preparation of vegetables, scrubbed cookware with a nice little brush, and cleaned the dining trays. For this, I was greatly rewarded. I was allowed to eat anything I wanted out of the ‘slop bucket’ into which I scraped the trays before washing them… as much as I wanted!“

“They didn’t feed you?!?”

“That was what the slop bucket was for,” she chirped in a matter-of-fact tone, “and what a feast it was! I gorged myself on so many delights! The cook was a kind soul who let me have my choice of trimmings or scraps and would always leave more than he had to on them. As time passed, he also would inquire if I had enough to eat, which I always did.”

She paused, savoring her tap water, as she remembered those happy days.

“And when I had finished cleaning up the galley,” she said, “I would be sent to the bosun, and he would have me attend to their sanitary facilities and even gave one of their little hoof brushes to scrub it with! After that, I would wash and polish the deck plates and was gifted one of their own socks with which to do it! Can you imagine?”

“I can,” the Kalesh replied, “unfortunately…”

“Then I would return to the galley to help with the evening meal and help the cook with the cleaning again and have another feast! After that, I would go to my own private room. It was really nice with my own little bed, and it even had sanitary facilities right there… Which was convenient since they locked the door.

Then the next day, it was another feast and a day filled with activity and fellowship.”

She chirped happily as she sipped her water.

“Then, we reached the next stop, and I was saddened because my time with my lovely hosts was coming to an end,” she said, “But once again, they bestowed another gift of kindness. The captain said that I was ‘alright for a kosh.’ That’s a garden pest back on their homeworld. He then said that the world we had stopped at was ‘a right and proper hole’. He used another word as well,” she giggled. “He said that they were on a ‘fat little run’ and would be stopping on a great number of worlds where they would buy and sell, enriching themselves at each stop. He then said the most curious thing.”

“Did he?”

“Yes! He said that since they had failed to break me, I could remain with them! Can you imagine?”

“Actually, I can’t.”

“So, I did!” she exclaimed. “I could stick around as long as I wanted and pick whichever stop I pleased, so I picked here! Oh, those were such happy months,” she chirped wistfully, “I almost stayed with them forever. The places we went… The things we saw… It was so much fun! But I longed for the sun on my back, real dirt under my feet, and the wind in my feelers, so when the ship arrived here on Terra, I bid a fond farewell to the kind Jessik and they gifted me with their third great blessing!”

She pulled out a food scanner attached to a lanyard she wore around her neck.

“They said I would need this. They then wished me luck and said another funny thing. They said to be careful because the Terrans were even bigger… unpleasant people… (he used another word) than they were. That’s really funny because they were so nice, but then again, Terrans are just as nice, so I guess they were right!”

“We are as kind as Jessik…” the Kalesh said as his eyestalks wiggled, “high praise indeed.”

“And praise I don’t give lightly!” Bella chirped, “For you are truly akin to the noble Jessik!”

“And what of your arrival?” Charlotte asked. “Did you not encounter apathy and disregard?”

“Once again, to quote my noble and wonderful hosts,” Bella chirped, “Could you please pass me some of whatever you are on? Nothing could be further from the truth! The nice Kalesh at the little place to go at the starport told me about shelters and where I could get food until I found my way. They also gave me a transit pass good for a whole month and the location of a testing center! Such hospitality!”

“But the shelters are overcrowded, dismal, and unsafe,” Charlotte retorted. “Even I felt at unease in one. And the food lines are long, and they often run out. Besides, both are only usable for the first month of someone’s arrival.”

“Long enough to get started,” Bella replied, “or to arrange passage elsewhere… normally… Everything is kind of upside-down right now, but that’s not the Republic’s fault. You are right about both, though. I didn’t stay in the shelters a single night and got bored waiting for food. Everyone was just so depressing with all their moaning, and when they said they were locking the shelter’s doors, that was it. No way I was being locked into one of those places until morning. No, thank you.”

“How did you survive?” Charlotte asked.

“Well, I had the food scanner, didn’t I?” Bella replied. “My stomachs weren’t going to fill themselves! So I started scanning stuff, bugs, things I found in the garbage, growing out of cracks or wherever. The weather was pleasant, so I just slept wherever I found a nice spot. We all have gifts, and one of mine is that I can climb quite well, so I simply climbed up on something and slept as my ancestors did. Many roofs have sensors on them, and I would be sent on my way. Others did not. In this way, I sustained myself… and still do. I’m just a lot better at it.”

“But you were reduced to such a dismal existence,” Charlotte said as the Kalesh sat there feeling a bit guilty.

“I was allowed to do that,” Bella chirped. “I wasn’t arrested for being homeless, punished for searching the garbage, or even harmed when informed that I was trespassing. If what I was doing was unwelcome, I was just sent on my way, usually with a fond benediction wishing me luck. Often a kind human would just shake their head and say, ‘You do you,’ a powerful blessing, and leave me to my endeavors or even allow me to remain on their roof! Many would even give me food gifts and even sometimes money gifts as they did so!”

Bella sipped her water.

“While not always the fullest of stomachs,” she chirped, “I didn’t starve, and it did not take long to find true prosperity, prosperity beyond my wildest dreams!”

“But you said you did not pass your certification exam,” Charlotte said.

“Haven’t bothered with it yet,” Bella replied with a shrug of her antennae. “On my journey here, the cook said I was too stupid to pass the test and even purchased a testing program to prove how stupid I was.”

She trilled fondly.

“It was their way,” she burbled happily, “They didn’t say kind words, but their every act was filled with kindness and warmth. That program wasn’t just a test. It was a training program, and I studied diligently every moment I wasn’t honoring my noble hosts with my meager labor offerings. Because I knew where I stood, I never bothered taking the test. One day I shall take the test, but not today. I’m still too stupid, but I’m getting less stupid every day!”

“How are you sustaining yourself while you prepare for the test?” Charlotte asked. “Jobs are near impossible to find.”

“I told you already,” Bella chirped, “Food and shelter abound in this paradise! Oh, I did ask around for jobs. But as you said, most require certificates, and those that do not are already taken. This I already knew, for the wise Jessik called me stupid for wishing to come here and took care to fully forewarn and prepare me for what I would face… Such wonderful people… They even helped me with my studies! They would call me stupid and then spend hours showing me exactly how I was being dumb.”

She chirp-giggled.

“As I said, it was their way. Each time I was told I needed a certificate, I would ask the nice Terran, human and Kalesh alike, how I could get one. Not all answered, but many did, always with the same reply, ‘Study.'”

“Which is impossible!” Charlotte snapped, “There is no support, no guidance, no…”

“What are you talking about?” Bella laughed, “Did you ever ask?”

“What?”

“Have you ever asked a Terran how one could study for the exam?”

“…”

“Ha!” Bella chirped. “I did. Each time I was told to study, I would ask how best to do that. Again, not all answered, but on the first day, I was given the answer I sought. I was told of the greatest of all Terra’s gifts, the library.”

“They have libraries…” Charlotte said as she seemed to sag slightly. Of course, they did.

“And wonderful ones!” Bella chirped. “They are temples of knowledge, free to all, where one can gain access to a terminal… for free… and be given access not only to more books than one could read in a thousand lifetimes but the net as well! There are no libraries in this dismal place, but in the actual city, they are numerous, and each of them a temple such as can scarcely be imagined! There, I take the same courses the Terrans do… as well as any number of other classes, so many that they constantly tempt me away from my educational plan! I was given the plan, too… for free! The kind sage Angela spoke with me at length over several days and gifted me with a complete path to certification! It shall take years to complete, but they are years that I have. Though I study alone, I am never without assistance and fellowship. There is Angela and her disciple Socrates, both great machine sages who are not alive but speak with the voice of the living. There are also forums where seekers of knowledge congregate and share fellowship and guidance. Many Terrans give of their time freely there, passing along the gifts of knowledge, again completely without cost.”

Bella preened.

“It is my greatest source of pride that I can now give freely to the forums as well, sharing the meager wealth of knowledge that I have attained.”

“Angela certainly is something,” the Kalesh said, “Are you the first of your kind to speak to her?”

“Yes!”

“That explains her interest. She doesn’t always get directly involved but loves assessing new species. That was quite the stroke of luck. Most usually just wind up with Socrates, but he is more than capable if he has the right species information. What grade level are you currently at?”

“I have attained the fourth level of mastery!” Bella said proudly, “But I do have several subjects above that level, especially language skills. I am near full proficiency in the Terran language!”

“Yes,” the Kalesh replied, “Your accent is impeccable considering your physiology.”

“Thanks!” Bella chirped, “Angela is unsure if it is a species gift or a personal one. She doesn’t have enough data yet. I think it might just be because I read and write all the time. I’m at the library almost the entire time it is open… unless I take a day off. Both Angela and Socrates say I have to take breaks. It’s in my educational plan, and they will switch off the terminal if I stay too long. It tells me to go outside and touch some grass,” she added with a chirping giggle.

“If you spend every single day in the library,” Charlotte asked, “how do you sustain yourself?”

“I already told you,” Bella chirped. “I have a food scanner. Finding food isn’t that hard, especially if you leave this dismal place and go into the actual city.”

Bella sighed happily.

“It’s so beautiful there.”

“But isn’t it even harder to get employment in the city? And aren’t the people even less hospitable and the police less tolerant?”

Bella cocked her head at Charlotte, her antennae flopping.

“You might want to check the citations for your sources,” she replied. “The people are lovely. And while the police tend to enforce all the laws, they don’t add any new ones. For example, when I discovered my first real park in the city, I thought I had found the fabled garden of heaven. There were dandelions, bugs, and a pond…And if you starve to death near a pond… well… I just don’t know what to tell you.”

“You started eating the park?” the Kalesh asked. “You weren’t stopped?”

“No!” Bella chirped, “I was looked at curiously but was just given the “You do you” blessing. In fact, my foraging was looked on quite favorably, especially by the great elders. Each time someone did object, an elder would chide them, calling them all manner of obscenities. Some would even forage with me, showing me things that were especially toothsome. They also showed me which animals were sacred and which ones were accursed.”

“Say what now?” the Kalesh asked, cocking his eyestalks.

“Some animals are ‘protected’ and must not be eaten,” Bella replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “and others are unwelcome, and killing them is not only allowed but encouraged, especially those toads.”

“Vesper toads,” the Kalesh replied, “Those are toxic, aren’t they?”

“For me,” Bella replied, “they are just spicy. We use a similar compound to flavor our food… well… when we could afford it. I now dry them and mix them with salt! Some say it’s probably like your hot peppers.”

“Capsaicin,” the Kalesh nodded, “Unfortunately, we cannot taste it at all.”

“Oh, that’s too bad!” Bella chirped. “I love peppers! Anyway, I thought I could just live in the park and selected a nice bench on which to sleep but was awakened by two fearsome police officers. I was terrified because the police where I am from…”

She held up one of her broken legs.

“…are unkind…”

She brightened up.

“But they showed me nothing but kindness. They asked me if I knew that I could not sleep there and that I should go to a shelter. When I told them that I did not like the shelters, they did not force me to go. They just said that they understood and said that if I had to sleep rough, I should not do it in the open but should secret myself or go to places where others did the same. They offered to take me to one and asked if I would like a meal. They took me to a place that served donuts… Oh, donuts…”

She chirped happily.

“And that’s where I learned the secret of true prosperity,” she chirped.

“At a donut shop?”

“Yes!” Bella exclaimed, “As I was feasting on the marvelous donut, the human proprietor started pulling entire trays of donuts and dumping what remained on them into a garbage bag. I asked what he was doing, and the officers said he was getting rid of old donuts because they had been out too long. I asked the kind proprietor if I might have some, and he generously pulled out a wealth of those delights and put them in a box for me! He said he couldn’t give me more because he did not want to disappoint the others. I asked who, and he said those waiting outside for the same donuts he gifted me with! The officers said it might benefit me to go see and wished me well.”

“There are unfortunates who do the same here,” Charlotte said, “poor wretches fight each other for spoiled…”

“You shut your whore mouth!” Bella hiss-chirped. “Sorry! False God, forgive me. We aren’t wretches! And those donuts weren’t spoiled. They weren’t even that stale! And we don’t fight each other either! We run off anyone who starts that nonsense!”

“We?”

Bella proudly pulled off the little pack she wore and proudly turned it to display a decal with vertical bars in the hues of the most common recycling dumpsters and a cute little smiling mouse.

“What’s that?” Charlotte asked.

“A gang mark,” the Kalesh replied disapprovingly. “She’s a scavver.”

“We are not a gang!” Bella chirped indigently, “We are a loose association of like-minded individualists who choose to live a life of independence free from the false constraints of the man. We are united with the common purpose of assistance and welfare to all, regardless of status or economic condition. We share our knowledge freely among our members, hoarding not the good spots.

We are not a gang. We are not violent, exclude no one, maintain no turf, and engage in no criminal activity. We take only what we need from what is offered freely or discarded. We do not steal or vandalize. We honor all locks. We do no damage and leave no messes. We engage in no violence save in defense of ourselves, our members, or the defenseless. We are the scavvers! Live free or die!” Bella chirped as she stood proudly.

“Scavvers!” A small voice squeaked from nearby as a dingy little furball hopped up and down proudly.

“Free food and scrap for all!” Bella chirped back. “How is your pack, brother?”

“Bit light, act’ally,” the fur ball squeaked.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Bella said as she scurried over and opened her pack.

“Donuts!” the furball squeaked with delight. “Foodbars?!? Awwsum!”

“Take what you need, brother!” Bella chirped as the furball grabbed a couple of donuts and some food bars.

“Who you wit?” he squeaked.

“Memorial Park,” Bella chirped. “You?”

“Spaceport pickers! You here for the Gj=vker?”

“Yeah,” Bella replied, “wasted trip.”

“Dam guards,” the furball squeaked. “So many treasure in those hoppers.”

“You should come to the park,” Bella chirped. “It’s a lot better than here. Less scrap but a lot more food.”

“Nah,” the furball squeaked, “tryin’ ta hop a ship to Nakamura. I hear it’s fun dere.”

“Good travels and good fortune, brother.”

“You too!”

The furball squeaked happily and scurried off.

Bella returned to the coffee bar with a happy little chirp.

“We were talking about the Gj=vker,” Bella said, “A large freighter arrived needing many repairs. You can sometimes get all sorts of things out of their scrap bins. I took a day off from my studies, and a group of us came to nose around. Unfortunately, there were too many nice things this time, and the ship has sold everything directly to a recycler, so it’s out of bounds.”

“And the local scavvers would let you?” the Kalesh asked.

“We let them come up for food,” Bella chirped. “We have one of the nice entertainment districts in our area, and the restaurants are always a good haul. We have all sorts of visitors all the time! Anyhow, scavenging is how I am able to keep my days free for study. I spend my days studying and nights eating my fill and dancing the night away! I am truly blessed!”

“Dancing?” Charlotte asked curiously.

“I love dancing!” Bella replied happily, “There are these temples dedicated to dance where they play loud music and engage in ritual consumption of intoxicants under the temple’s lights and holograms. It is costly and difficult to get inside and far too chaotic and crowded for my tastes anyway. But the music spills out of the temples, and the music is free for the taking and enjoying. So, I dance in the alleys!”

She wiggled her legs happily.

“Sometimes, those waiting in line or who have been turned away join me!” she chirped happily, “Sometimes we revel so mightily that we are dispersed!” she enthused happily. “But they always welcome me back again, often giving me food gifts, and one place even has a little speaker set up for me!”

She looked at Charlotte.

“Life is good here! The Terrans are wonderful! And there are so many opportunities to advance yourself that I cannot count them all!”

“But no employment,” Charlotte replied.

“I turn down jobs all the time!” Bella replied. “When I’m foraging in the park or going about my endeavors, I am often approached by Terrans looking for ‘good people’. I always decline because it would detract from my studies. This pleases nearly all of them, and I have been given many cards by people who have exhorted me to call upon them when I finally achieve my goal.”

Bella reached into her pack, pulling out a thick stack of business cards.

“Holy shit!” the Kalesh explained, “Mikashi Fujihara?!?”

“Oh, he is a wonderful friend of mine!” Bella chirped, “and has repeatedly told me that I had better pick him or he will be very cross.”

“How?!?”

“That is a rather embarrassing story,” Bella chirped. “You know those really pretty fish they have outside their towering palace?”

“You didn’t!”

They looked overcrowded,” Bella shrugged, “and I thought they were carp which are definitely not a sacred animal… Boy, were they ever so mad! I had no idea they were so expensive and thought I would get into real trouble, but then he came out, and everyone fell silent. He asked if they were so close to failure that they could be bothered over such a pitiful sum, and they all looked down…”

Bella chittered.

“You know those little drones that hover over the koi ponds now?” she giggled, “I’m why. In my defense, I was still new here… and not a scavver yet.”

“He then told me to finish eating the koi because I couldn’t very well put it back, and we started to chat. We’re friends now! He’s a lot of fun! Anyway, he showed me their gardens around their palace and the one on top of their pretty building and showed me what I could eat. He also made me promise that if I was ever so hungry that one of their koi was overly tempting to go inside, and they would feed me. I would never do that, though. I’m not a beggar, thank you very much.”

“And you keep getting offered jobs?” Charlotte asked incredulously.

“All the time!” Bella chirped, “Which is weird because one time I heard a person turn away another xeno and wasn’t too nice about it either. I then invoked the secret of unlimited wealth. After I completed the ritual, he offered me a job on the spot, a nice one too! I, of course, had to decline, and he laughed and blessed me by calling me a crazy bug, the highest of human praise. He also told me to call upon him when I had completed my quest and gave me a card.”

“The secret of unlimited wealth?” the Kalesh asked.

“I cannot divulge it,” Bella chirped, “It is one of the secrets of the scavvers, told only to our own. I will only say that by invoking it, you will be showered with gifts of food and even gifts of money! With that single secret, I have all I desire.”

Bella sighed a trill of contentment and happiness.

“I will miss this place so much.”

“You’re leaving?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes,” Bella chirped. “For all my riches and happiness, I am alone. Oh, I have so many friends…so many… but I am the only one of my kind… or so I thought. There is another, and I have been gifted knowledge of where he could be found.”

She chirped a strange little trill.

“This was my last adventure with my dear friends here. Tomorrow, I leave for my next adventure. My studies might be slowed a little, but the promises of my new foraging ground are simply too much to ignore. I have finally been tempted away from my blessed library.”

“Where are you going,”

“The road…”

Charlotte made a strange rumbling from deep within her and walked around the bar to face Bella.

She bowed low.

“I recognize you, trail layer,” she said, splaying her mandibles and touching them to the ground. “I taste your trail and shall follow it if you allow me… Could… could you take me to this park and to this library? Could you allow me to taste your fellow scavvers so that I might learn their ways?… I have… I have been unfit… and I beg you to show me the ways of this strange hunting ground so that my swarm can be properly led?”

“Sure!” Bella chirped. “I guess I can wait a day or two. Let’s go! I bet you will just love the maglev tracks! There is some great foraging along them and some lovely trails! Let’s go!”

“I need to get someone to tend the bar,” Charlotte replied.

“Cool.”

She turned to the Kalesh.

“If you accompany us,” she said, “I will be willing to discuss my test if you are willing to discuss what resources I can obtain for my swarm.”

“Would it be safe to park a bookmobile here?”

“I can personally assure it,” Charlotte purr-growled.

***

Epilogue:

Bella anxiously crouched next to her traveler’s chest at a recharging station somewhere in central North America.

She looked at her broken legs and groomed at her battered antennae, her normal confidence gone.

She was no longer pretty. She never was especially beautiful, but now…

She thought about fleeing, about returning to her library and the embrace of her old friends but only sighed. If she were to run now, she would never be happy there again.

She had to see this through.

One of the giant road locomotives, not dissimilar from the one she rode to this place, pulled in and started recharging.

Trying not to tremble, she nervously approached.

The door to the truck’s cab opened…

And a handsome GggGgg (Don’t even try to pronounce it.) appeared.

Her breath caught. He was gorgeous! His glossy carapace shone in the light as he effortlessly jumped to the ground on his strong legs, the chitin barely containing the rippling muscles coiling within.

Barely prevailing over the urge to flee, to hide her scars, she held fast as he rushed to her.

“Greetings!” the handsome man chirped, “I am called Kallo.”

“I greet you, Kallo,” she replied formally, “I am called Belasho.”

“I greet you, Belasho,” Kallo said, drawing close and touching his head to hers.

“I greet you, Kallo.”

She looked away.

“I am sorry that I am no longer pleasing to the eyes,” she chirped sadly.

“I am captivated by the being who has corresponded with me, with the beauty of her being,” Kallo replied, “The False and True Gods have answered all of my prayers by bringing you to me…”

Kallo chuckle-chirped.

“And I suspect Zip had a hand in it as well,” he smiled.

He touched her antennae with his, sending an electric thrill through her whole being.

“Come, Bellasho,” he trilled, “I have so many wonderful things to show you. Our adventure begins.”

***

Author’s note: It is a closely held secret of the scavvers, but you simply have to know, so I’ll share it with you, the secret of unlimited wealth.

There is one task that all Terrans have to do, and almost all of them dislike, sorting and taking out the trash. It has to be sorted and disposed of properly. It is also one that most places do not have machinery for. It’s still done the same way it’s done now, except there are even more categories, and it is not optional.

The scavvers simply present themselves, usually at the end of a shift, and offer to handle this tedious chore, much like people offer to mow lawns and shovel sidewalks. The scavvers have an excellent reputation and can be trusted to handle this properly. They will do this very cheaply, usually for a few credits, a meal, or sometimes just first crack at the “treasures” (if it’s the right place). Even if the owner or management would be disinclined, the workers are quite often all too happy to have someone take out the trash, especially at the end of a long shift.

While the proper upper-class Kalesh looks at the scavvers with suspicion, a LOT of business owners and workers don’t. They are a very valuable part of the urban “ecosystem”. They also tend to suppress/displace troublemakers or more messy or objectionable vagrants. Since they don’t “beg” they don’t hassle customers or passers-by. Some scavvers are musicians, artists, or make handicrafts as well but usually don’t make a disturbance and will peacefully depart if requested. That doesn’t happen too often, though.

The police also don’t hassle scavvers overmuch. They are well-behaved and “tidy,” and areas where they operate are usually much quieter.

Real criminal gangs do NOT cross the scavvers! Nope! It’s a really bad idea. The scavvers see all and know all. Mess with them, and the police get a detailed email. Attacking them is a bad idea. The GggGgg are pacifists. There are human, Threen, and Juon scavvers and feral OG’s as well! You will have Bella with a camera on one block, an OG with a sniper rifle on the next, and a couple of Juon with baseball bats in the next alley. No… Just… No. Besides, scavvers don’t have much worth taking unless you are into expired convenience store sandwiches or stale donuts.