Free Forging Zero by Sara King

words would get her to stop.
    Eventually,
Commander Tril noticed.  “Silence that recruit, Zero.”   The Ooreiki
strode over to their table and hovered over him, anticipation in his sticky
brown eyes.
    Joe
stiffened.  The bastard had followed him to the cafeteria and was looking for reasons to punish him.  Joe felt like tossing Maggie’s bowl of scum into
the alien’s face.  But that wouldn’t be fair to Maggie.  “I’m working on it,”
Joe said, as evenly as he could.
    Tril
hit him, a soft blow compared to what Joe had already endured, but it almost
knocked him off the bench nonetheless.  The alien actually looked pleased as he
said, “You will address me as Commander Tril or sir, Takki scum.”  
    Sir
Takki Scum.  Got it.
    In
Joe’s arms, Maggie began to cry louder.  Commander Tril drew back to hit her,
too, but Joe pulled her out of the way, putting his body between her and the
alien.  He stood up so he could stare down at his aggressor.  “Leave her
alone—she’s just hungry.”
    Tril
glanced at the uneaten bowl of food, then at Maggie.  “She’s not eating?”
    Seeing
the eager look on Tril’s face, Joe felt a lump of dread pool in his gut. 
“She’ll eat it,” he said quickly, not trusting his tone.
    “See
that she does,” Commander Tril said.   “If she
doesn’t, she will be force-fed.”   The bastard would probably enjoy it,
too.  Joe’s heart began to pound as he wondered how he would get Maggie to eat.
    Giving Maggie
a last, parting look, the alien left them for another victim across the
cafeteria.
    Joe
swiveled and tugged Maggie against his chest, patting her back as he watched
the alien leave.  After Tril was out of sight, Joe held Maggie out in front of
him.  “Mag.  Listen to me.  You’ve got to eat.”
    “I
don’t want to eat!” Maggie cried.  “I want my Mooooommmmm! ”  She
was hyperventilating, tears streaming down her face in force.
    “That
alien’s looking at us again,” Scott whispered.
    Immediately,
Joe switched tactics.  “So you had a dog, Maggie?  Was it yours?”
    “It’s
my brotheeeeeerrrr’s!” she wailed.
    “You
said you had a fishbowl.  You have fish?”
    She
perked up a little.  Sniffling, she said, “I’ve got guppies.”
    “Oooh! 
Guppies!” Joe cried.  “They’re pretty, aren’t they?”
    Maggie’s
teary gray eyes widened and she nodded.  “Jabber’s got spots.”
    “I
always wanted guppies,” Joe said.  “What about you, Scott?  Did you ever have
guppies?”
    Scott
shot a glance at Commander Tril and shook his head.
    “See? 
Not even Scott had guppies,” Joe cried.  “How many guppies did you have,
Mag?”
    “Five!”
she said immediately, obviously having been drilled by her parents.
    “Five,
wow,” Joe said.  “Did you feed them?”
    Maggie
grinned, nodding.  “One pinch.”  She put her tiny thumb and forefinger together
and held it up to his face.
    “Good,”
Joe said, grinning.  “When I get guppies, I’ll make sure to give them a pinch. 
I’ve got some food I keep at home, just for when I get guppies.  You know what
fish food tastes like, Mag?”
    Maggie
shook her head, enthralled.
    “Sure
you do.  It’s really good.”
    “Ew—”
Elf began.  Joe shot him a glare and he shut his mouth with a snap.
    “Mom
didn’t let me eat the fish food,” Maggie bemoaned.
    “She
didn’t?!  Well, that’s too bad.  You mind if I eat your fish food, Mag?”
    Maggie
frowned.  “I don’t have any fish food anymore.”
    “Then
what’s that right there?”  Joe pointed to the uneaten glop in her bowl.
    Maggie
followed his gaze and her frown deepened.  “That’s yuck.”
    “No,
that’s fish food.  They dry it out so it can fit in the canisters better. 
Sometimes they even dye it different colors so the guppies will have prettier
spots.”
    Maggie’s
eyes widened and she looked back at the slop in her bowl.  Monk rolled her eyes
and Scott elbowed her in the side.
    “But,”
Joe