Chapter Text
“We got another one!” Dorr squeaks when the light blinks on next to him. It was nearly a steady stream now of arxur fleeing the dominion threw the escape root. An escaping arxur would don a vacsuite and jump out the trash shoot with the waste when they were flying by the dossier planet. It had been common for a long time for arxur to just dump their trash there when going by. To keep the arxur on the ship in the dark, a programmed airlock opening was registered usually about an hour or two after passing the dump site, along with a note of ending their own lives from the arxur in question.
A signal was sent out as soon as the jumper was able and they would have to wait there in the black of space hoping someone would find them before their air ran out.
The dosser on their end would be ‘picking up trash’ as they always did when the arxur drove by like teenage litterbugs.
The ‘rescued’ arxur would be put in isolation for a few days at the station while humans were brought in to run some empathy tests and provide medical aid if needed. Most of them just needed food, which, thanks to the humans, were usually well stocked with on the space garbage truck.
More than one time an arxur would be unable to eat all the meat they had been provided for a single meal. Some would try and hide it for later, while others would try and force themselves to eat it, fueled by fear of punishment for being wasteful, and then be sick. Resulting in written instructions on the containment room wall to just put the leftovers on the tray and it will be refrigerated till they want to eat it.
“Oh! This one is another female! You owe me a mango Feefee!” Dorr chirps when the other enters the room to view the screen. The arxur in question was kicking off her vacsuite and observing her new soundings. The females were just about the same as the males, but the spikes on their backs were ever the littlest bit shorter.
“Greeting arxur! Welcome to hotel ‘getaway’! We will be contacting someone to speak with you soon, but it might be a few days so please be patient! Your room is fitted with a few things to keep you comfortable. Such as fresh water, bathroom facilities and a bed! If you need any medical assistance please let your meal deliverer know when they arrive. Meals will be provided twice daily, so don’t eat anyone, or you will be tossed out the airlock that is the far wall in your room! There is some reading materials on the table about what to expect outside of the dominion and how you will be expected to act. It is not as bad as it sounds I promise! The blue book is the Geneva convention list for humans handling pow’s. It is earth law and you will be treated under those laws as if you were a human. There is also a book and a writing instrument there if you wish to read from past arxurs who have stayed with us, or wish to add your own page. Also please read the instructions on the wall for more information and thank you again for choosing hotel getaway!” Feefee says happily before clicking the audio to the room off. Dorr simply rolls his eyes at his teammates actions.
The arxur explores the room cautiously as if expecting everything to be a trap. She reads the instructions on the wall a few times looking both confused and frightened. Gets a drink of water from the sink when she determines its safe, then sits on the bed seemingly unsure of what to do next.
“H-hello.” a little voice says from the door making her jump and growl.
“Please don’t do that or I can’t give you your food.” the dossier says, “please move to the back of your cell for now till I load your tray into the delivery box.” the arxur does as instructed while the small rodent struggles to move the large tray into the box opening in the wall. It clicks closed and he takes a few steps back. Each arxur was different and while some might like all sentient, some only liked humans, while others tolerated only converted races, and yet another only liked Krakotl.
“There! You can open it from your side now. It can only be opened one side at a time to prevent… accidents… anyway, while you eat I do have some questions I need to ask.” he says, grabbing his holopad and bringing up the question sheet that keeps getting longer by the day it seems.
The arxur picked up the tray and sat at the little table to eat.
“Name?”
“Kosse.” she answered after a long silence.
“Gender?”
“Female.”
“Age?”
“23.”
“Rank”
“.. grunt..” Kosse says with a grunt downing the first piece of meat and moving to the next.
“Are there any species you dislike? Or that you would prefer not to interact with?” Holl asks.
“Arxur.” she answers plainly.
“HA ha! Ahem, sorry, I meant in the federation.” Holl clarifies. They had always been a sucker for dry humor.
“Koushiens,” she said after a moment of thinking.
“Understandable. Is there anyone you are looking for outside of the dominion?” the dossier asks clicking off boxes as they go.
“No.”
“Do you have any medical issues or conditions that require medical treatment?”
The arxur stops mid bite. They open and close their mouth a few times as if trying to form an answer.
“I’m pregnant.” Kosse says at last.
Somehow the silence on the ship is louder than that of the vacuum of space.
“Oh, wow! Ummm congratulations? Will your partner be joining us on a future date?” Holl asks, switching to another page of information to start filling out.
“It was just a one night stand kinda thing. I.. was not meant to be his breeding partner… so this would be terminated if found out.” she explains with a shrug, still not making eye contact while munching down the second chunk of meat.
“I see… I will get medical to take a look at you to make sure everything is progressing as it should. In the meantime, we’ll add an extra meal to your day. And I will acquire a few more blankets and pillows for you. Do you know about when you will be ready to.. Ummm.. lay your clutch?” the little dosser asks.
Kosse pauses her eating again finally starting to feel full for the first time in forever, and whips her face with the back of her hand. Keeping her face out of his view.
“I don’t know.. Maybe a week? Give or take.”
“I understand. We will put a rush on to get you to earth so you can get settled in before that.” he says typing steadily on his holopad.
“Wh- what is your name?” Kosse asks quietly.
“My name is Holl, it's nice to meet your Kosse.” the dosser says happily.
“Thank you… Holl.”
“No problem at all.” Holl says with a polite tail swish before leaving.
Holl looks at Dorr when he enters the control room.
“Nearly every one of them.” Holl says flopping down in a chair after hitting the send button on his holopad for the information to get to its proper locations. He could see on security someone in the laundry tossing some bedding onto a trolley, while in the kitchen another is defrosting a slab of meat. Medical is also on the move with an ultrasound machine and other equipment.
At first this job seemed frightening, but now it was just heartbreaking.