the embroidered stitching on the left chest of my battle suit. Duane shook his head and began to chuckle.
I returned to my seat by Wallie and spoke. "Hmm. Yeah, I suppose that is my name. I didn't realize it was on there. OK, just disregard that threat back there."
Wallie thought and then replied, "Was that an attempt at humor, Don Grange? My people do have an understanding of humor, although yours seems strange."
One of the other aliens then spoke to the one seated next to him. "Just disregard that threat back there."
His voice was an exact match for mine.
Wallie spoke. "Gelford, please do not mimic the alien before he has an understanding of our cultural norms."
I looked over at the alien and spoke with my most sarcastic-sounding tone. "Gelford? What kind of a name is that?"
Gelford looked confused as the alien sitting next to him began to snicker with a wheezing giggle.
Wallie spoke. "That is enough!"
Duane placed his hand on my shoulder. "Looks like you are in for a fun ride, Mr. Grange."
As it turned out, the Tribuk were not all that different from Humans in their intellect and reasoning. They showed cultural traits similar to our own, including fear, loathing, and humor. They also showed a level of curiosity that was as inquisitive as ours. They liked to be informed and had many questions for us regarding Humans.
Once the questioning began to break down into normal conversation, the thought crossed my mind that we had an ore transport full of materials and I was unsure of what those were.
Wallie pulled up the cargo manifest on a monitor for us to review. "We have iron, manganese, aluminum, tungsten, gold, silver, and copper, as well as sixteen other minerals."
I pointed to a cargo hold that displayed in red. "What is in there?"
Wallie replied, "We don’t know. The Colossuns load and unload that section in private. We are not allowed in there during transport."
I turned my eyes from Wallie to the screen as I spoke. "I’m sure you are just as curious as I am. Let’s go have a look. Duane! The bridge is yours for a few minutes. We are going to go check out some of the cargo."
Duane nodded in acceptance.
As we walked along the corridors, Wallie gave me the guided tour. "The environmental scrubbers are in there, and the mech lab is there."
I cut in, "The mech lab?"
Wallie replied, "Yes, the mechanical room: tools, repair equipment, the normal gear required for maintenance on a ship this size."
Wallie continued, "I noticed you eating something from your pack back there. Where do you get your food? Not really where, but what is your food? I ask that as we pass our sustenance lab. Our diet is high in shellfish and sea grasses."
I replied, "We have some of that too, also, meats from herd animals, poultry from birds, fish, and a wide assortment of plants, nuts, berries, and such. Really just about anything we can put salt on."
Wallie replied, "Yes, salt, the spice of life, we call it. I find our similarities quite interesting, Mr. Grange. Perhaps our peoples would get along well."
We stopped when we came to the door to the Colossun cargo hold.
I spoke. "We as a species can get along with just about anyone. But make no mistake; we still have those who pursue avenues of wealth and power. Those who will step on whoever they can to get what they want."
Wallie replied, "Yes, unfortunately those seem to be universal traits."
The door to the Colossun cargo hold was locked. We stepped away to a near corner. I set my blaster for an adequate power level, and the door was soon blown from its hinges. I turned to see Wallie curled up on the floor holding his ears.
I spoke. "Aw, crap! Sorry about that. This suit and helmet take care of most of the noise and concussion from those blasts. I’ve gotten used to pulling the trigger and then storming in. I’ll give you a minute to recover."
Wallie rose to his feet and motioned towards the door. "Please go in, Mr. Grange. I will be fine, but I may have trouble hearing
I returned to my seat by Wallie and spoke. "Hmm. Yeah, I suppose that is my name. I didn't realize it was on there. OK, just disregard that threat back there."
Wallie thought and then replied, "Was that an attempt at humor, Don Grange? My people do have an understanding of humor, although yours seems strange."
One of the other aliens then spoke to the one seated next to him. "Just disregard that threat back there."
His voice was an exact match for mine.
Wallie spoke. "Gelford, please do not mimic the alien before he has an understanding of our cultural norms."
I looked over at the alien and spoke with my most sarcastic-sounding tone. "Gelford? What kind of a name is that?"
Gelford looked confused as the alien sitting next to him began to snicker with a wheezing giggle.
Wallie spoke. "That is enough!"
Duane placed his hand on my shoulder. "Looks like you are in for a fun ride, Mr. Grange."
As it turned out, the Tribuk were not all that different from Humans in their intellect and reasoning. They showed cultural traits similar to our own, including fear, loathing, and humor. They also showed a level of curiosity that was as inquisitive as ours. They liked to be informed and had many questions for us regarding Humans.
Once the questioning began to break down into normal conversation, the thought crossed my mind that we had an ore transport full of materials and I was unsure of what those were.
Wallie pulled up the cargo manifest on a monitor for us to review. "We have iron, manganese, aluminum, tungsten, gold, silver, and copper, as well as sixteen other minerals."
I pointed to a cargo hold that displayed in red. "What is in there?"
Wallie replied, "We don’t know. The Colossuns load and unload that section in private. We are not allowed in there during transport."
I turned my eyes from Wallie to the screen as I spoke. "I’m sure you are just as curious as I am. Let’s go have a look. Duane! The bridge is yours for a few minutes. We are going to go check out some of the cargo."
Duane nodded in acceptance.
As we walked along the corridors, Wallie gave me the guided tour. "The environmental scrubbers are in there, and the mech lab is there."
I cut in, "The mech lab?"
Wallie replied, "Yes, the mechanical room: tools, repair equipment, the normal gear required for maintenance on a ship this size."
Wallie continued, "I noticed you eating something from your pack back there. Where do you get your food? Not really where, but what is your food? I ask that as we pass our sustenance lab. Our diet is high in shellfish and sea grasses."
I replied, "We have some of that too, also, meats from herd animals, poultry from birds, fish, and a wide assortment of plants, nuts, berries, and such. Really just about anything we can put salt on."
Wallie replied, "Yes, salt, the spice of life, we call it. I find our similarities quite interesting, Mr. Grange. Perhaps our peoples would get along well."
We stopped when we came to the door to the Colossun cargo hold.
I spoke. "We as a species can get along with just about anyone. But make no mistake; we still have those who pursue avenues of wealth and power. Those who will step on whoever they can to get what they want."
Wallie replied, "Yes, unfortunately those seem to be universal traits."
The door to the Colossun cargo hold was locked. We stepped away to a near corner. I set my blaster for an adequate power level, and the door was soon blown from its hinges. I turned to see Wallie curled up on the floor holding his ears.
I spoke. "Aw, crap! Sorry about that. This suit and helmet take care of most of the noise and concussion from those blasts. I’ve gotten used to pulling the trigger and then storming in. I’ll give you a minute to recover."
Wallie rose to his feet and motioned towards the door. "Please go in, Mr. Grange. I will be fine, but I may have trouble hearing
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