Page 66 of Malliko
Zobran waved a hand. “I’m Thaddoinian. Technology is what we do. If you give me that thing, I’ll figure out a way to get it to work.”
Nerix reached out his hand. “No, give it to me. Humans are low tech. I should be able to figure it out.”
I scratched my cheek as my gaze darted between them. “You want to chat with human females?”
They replied at the same time as everyone else on the team except Ziba. “Yes.”
Behind me Lios came walking with the captain and it made me turn.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Ugons were known to be the wisest of the known humanoid races and so I left the decision with Lios.
“I showed them a way to communicate with humans and they all want to do it now.”
“Not me. I’m already overwhelmed by interacting with the team,” Ziba said and touched the braid that hung down to her waist. While I was her captain, I had demanded she never let it get past her shoulder for safety reasons, but apparently Lios was more lenient than me in that area.
“Women back home are impossible to get in contact with and once they hear you work on a rotation system, they aren’t interested,” Nerix said. “What’s the harm in us interacting with some friendly humans? It’s not like we’ll ever see them. We just want to play the game.”
Lios was quiet for a long moment, and I assumed he was reading their minds for information to understand what they meant by game.
“These people in the dating app are hoping to find players who will help them win. You won’t be good teammates, as playing with you will never lead to victory.”
“Maybe not, but we’ll entertain them along the way, and it will break the eternal boredom for us when we aren’t working,” Zobran pointed out.
“Does it not bother you if your entertainment comes at the expense of another’s hope and desires?” Lios asked.
No one answered in words, so I assumed they were discussing it telepathically.
“You can play the game on one condition,” Lios continued. “You will be upfront that you’re unavailable for a physical meeting.”
“Then they won’t want to match with us,” Nerix complained.
“Which should always be their choice. I don’t care what story you use as long as you make it clear that you’re only offering friendship and chatting.”
Zobran took a step forward and snatched my phone. “Thank you.”
“There’s a numeric password,” I said, which made him chuckle.
“I love that. How fun. This reminds me of a children’s toy I used to have.”
“You want the password?” I asked but he was already walking away with the phone and answered over his shoulder. “No, at least give me the challenge of finding out for myself.”
Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I rotated to see the captain next to me. She didn’t look as worried as she had when I last saw her in the meeting room. “Malliko, may I talk to you for a second?”
“Of course.”
Moving to the side, I listened as she said, “The captain of the cultural defense team informed me about what happened. I agree with Lios’s recommendation that you cease contact with the female human. At least sexually.”
There was something in the way she said it that made me angle my head.
Reading my confusion, she added, “Don’t think you’re the first researcher to be attracted to the sensuality of humans. With the subject matter that you’re studying we always knew this would be a possibility. Your background as a soldier defending protected species is one of the reasons why we chose you for the job. We trust that you’ll never force yourself upon a defenseless human.”
“Thank you. You’re right. I could never bring myself to do harm to someone as helpless as a human.”
“Good. Then that’s settled. I would offer you the opportunity to stay on board and catch up with your old teammates, but it’s better if you go back and continue your work. After all, this wasn’t a social call.”
“I understand,” I assured her with a nod. When she walked away, I called after her. “Just one last question.”
