Siege - Sci-Fi (M/M)

5. Experiencing Earth

Jaxenayo

Earth was just like they had described to me. Well, it was like one of the descriptions. Like a miniature Secaro in a way. The plant life grew much faster on my home planet, so we often used it to create our homes and other buildings when we could. Earth couldn't really do this so it was all man-made and structured, but the way of life and atmosphere was generally the same.

My home planet was much greener and full of colour. I lived in a hollowed out, fallen tree, which may sound small, but the tree was huge and had several other houses in it. Others lived in tree-houses, grown into shape by our creative hand or small man-made structures made from leaves and branches. Our work buildings were more Earth-like, but made out of natural resources so we could keep our planet healthy.

That is one thing Earth could not do - keep the planet healthy - so it is a good thing we stepped in when we did. The damage they had done was irreversible, but we could at least slow it down by keeping them uniformed and controlled - this way, they couldn't make things any worse (we hoped).

The humans do not know why we came, or why we attacked, and it is best to keep it that way until 'it' happens. I don't exactly know when that will be, but each and every one of us Secaro are handed down the information so we know what to do when the time comes. We are strictly forbidden to give them this information, and there could be dire consequences if we do.

I have not known of any member of my race do this in my lifetime, so I have no idea what the consequences may be. We would surely not be allowed back to Earth ever again at the very least, and I dread to think what would happen to the human. They could not stay alive on Earth to pass the information on to others - that's for certain.

I head back to the place I am staying in. People are automatically housed when they arrive. I, however, have only been given a temporary place as all my time will be spent on the ship. When I am given leave, they will find somewhere else. Most Secaro prefer this type of system, as we have our own homes on the other planet. Earth is usually more temporary.

I still can't believe I have been given a job on one of these ships - and at my request. Humans are generally told what they can and can't do, and only have the choice to learn more of that chosen field if they wish. But it is more flexible back home for us. We have to do certain things but requests can be made and considered if you are unhappy or are experiencing problems. I wasn't classed as either which is why I am so happy. Cases can be made if you don't fit the criteria for a position and they need someone fast which is what happened with me.

I was on my final week of Earth and had become very fluent in the language, finally. I had made a bit of an idiot of myself at the start at the bar with that Izander Stottle, but I figured another conversation to clear things up wouldn't hurt and I was right. He was very patient with me and seemed to understand I was new which made me feel much more comfortable around him. He had a very honest presence about him so I was relieved it was him and not any other intolerant human.

There seemed to be a lot of them about. I don't blame them, they had their planet taken from their control and a lot were killed. Mostly they are polite, but you can tell they are still hurting for what happened many lifetimes ago. If only they knew - things may be different.

I am standing in an elevator when a fellow Secaro joins me. She is clearly trying to flirt with me which seems to happen a lot. I am what you would call an attractive member of my race. We are all interesting to look at, and humans often fall for our charms whether they are wanted or not, but I could be considered even more interesting to my own species.

My eyes are shades of purple, a very rare colour on my planet, and I am a smidgen smaller than most of the men, standing at around 6'7. This makes me closer to our women's height and that is something they really like. A lot of our women end up with human males because they are practically the same height as them.

I politely reject her advances as it is something I am used to by now. I have more important things to focus on currently, like preparing myself for my new job. I don't really have time to find a mate at this point in my life and I am trying not to let anyone in who could jeopardise this. As soon as I can get a position on a homebound ship, then I may change my mind.

When I got in, I opened the beer I had bought and took a sip. The food and alcohol here was pretty good - I would definately be having more beer in future. It was a bit easier to handle than the whiskey I chose at the port.

I had to ration my food and drink points from now on though as I used quite a lot up that I had been saving for this trip. I wanted to try a few different things when I got here so I spent a whole year saving everything I possibly could. I was down to about a couple more drinks worth of points, and not a lot else that I could use here. I would have plenty of time to save it all back on the ship though.

I was tempted to use more points on another beer but I thought it best to save them for a rainy day. Maybe people on the ship would like a few drinks with me when I join? I hear that is a normal thing for humans to do and would need some points for a situation like that.

As I only had a few days left, and most of my wish list had been ticked off for the month, I decided to tuck in early for the night. The beer had made me a little sleepy and I didn't want to fight it. I had been knackered out by everything I had done so far, and to be perfectly honest, I fancied a day of doing nothing tomorrow.

The rest of the week went by and it was time to head to the ship I would be working on for some time. A mix of nerves and excitement bubbled around inside me but that was all gone the minute I arrived to board. That is when my work persona took over - I was there to do my job and make an impression and I couldn't very well do that if I was nervous.

I headed over to the crew entrance and began my journey.