Tarak
I burst into the vet's office with my pet's limp body in my arms. "Someone, help me with my pet!"
Chaos. Veterinarians shouting and gathering around us. One of them takes her from me and lays her on a gurney, rolling her away. Another scourge grips my elbow and guides me through different doors.
It's only when I am in the lobby, separated from my pet, that I realize I've been tricked.
"My pet!"
"Your pet needs medical treatment," says the scourge blocking the route back to my pet. "Sit down and wait."
"She needs me. What if she gets scared?" I ask, flexing my fingers. Dried flecks of her blood are on the back of my hands. More like I need her; to know she lives.
The scourge points at a vacant chair. "Do you want to help your pet? Then stay calm and wait."
Stay calm? I want to smash this scourge for such a ridiculous recommendation. If I can't see that she is well, or pet her, or scent her, then... How am I supposed to calm myself?
"Stay," says the uncompassionate scourge, leaving me in the lobby.
I huff in disdain, thrashing my tail. Fine, I'll wait, glaring at the other scourges waiting in the lobby. If anything happens to her, someone will pay.
***
Forever. That's how long these incompetents have me wait in the emergency veterinary room lobby.
A scourge bursts into the lobby, his gown covered in blood. "Commander, Tarak, come with me."
I follow down a corridor and into a room where my pet lays on a hospital bed. "We had to give her stitches," he says, as he begins to explain further details about her treatment.
My attention shifts away from the vet to my pet who looks small and pale in the hospital bed, gazing at me with her bright green eyes. I go to her, pressing my palm against her forehead. Her forehead creases and she grasps my palm and something inside me blooms. I am so honored. Even in her currently confused state, she seeks comfort from me.
"Pain medication will need to be administered to her twice a day, and her bandages will need to be periodically changed," says the veterinarian.
Bandages? I pull back the sheet covering my pet. A long pink bandage covers my pet's arm.
I need to bring my pet home. "Send a copy of those instructions to my wall unit," I say, dismissing the vet.
I reach to pick her up, but the vet's hand grips my elbow.
"I'm sorry Commander Tarak, she can't leave yet."
I clench my fists. "But I need to..."
"All pets who receive suspicious injuries must first see a behaviorist with their owner to receive clearance," says the vet.
The vet might medically treat pets, but that does not mean he understands what it is like to see one's pet hurt. He cannot stop me! I scoop her into my arms, and I growl. "Out of my way. I need to..." I rub my chin against her soft hair. I need to go home so that I can hold her, feel her soft skin against mine, run my fingers through her hair, smell her, lick her, and–
"Our treatment of pets is guided by laws. Failure to comply will mean your pet will be seized the moment you leave. Is that what you want?"
"I... I just want to hold her."
"I've already called the behaviorist. Provided you are given clearance, you will be able to go home, so wait."
The vet must have some trust that I will wait because he leaves me and my pet alone in the room.
My pet sounds muffled, muttering who knows what into my chest. I need to calm down, so I sniff her hair, and the skin along her face, neck, and shoulders. I even sniff at the bandaged spot. Slowly, between her scents and listening to the pitter-pattering of her heart, my jitteriness ebbs.
"I did not anticipate a meeting so soon," says Rigel, poking his head into the room.
I growl. Why must this appointment be with Rigel?
The corners of his lips tilt down as if he finds me lacking. "Please place her on the bed so I can do my assessment, Commander Tarak."
I lay her back on the hospital bed and step back.
I don't like Rigel, but as always, he is gentle with my pet, speaking in a soft voice. He examines her eyes and carefully lifts her arm, scrutinizing her skin.
He taps his wrist unit, projecting a hologram of a checklist for his report. This list is written in the scourge language, and I skim the list, stopping at the words next to one of the checkboxes: Assess skin for bruises.
I am a scourge who rarely has problems speaking my mind, but just the idea that he might think I would intentionally hurt my pet makes it difficult for me to breathe.
I need him to know. "I... I didn't hurt her. I would never..."
"No one said you did."
I glance back at the hologram, reading the title: Suspected Pet Abuse Checklist.
I roar at him. "Then why are you here?!"
My pet whimpers and he cups her cheek as if he is soothing her. "Commander Tarak, how often do you yell at your pet?"
Something in me snaps at the sight of him touching my pet and I shove him away from her.
Even after falling onto the floor, Rigel remains surprisingly calm. "Do I need to remind you that if this mandatory assessment doesn't go well, your pet will be taken from you?"
"I will not interfere again," I say, helping him stand and patting his wings.
Rigel's jaw visibly clenches. "Don't touch my wings."
I pull my hands away from his wings. "I did not... I would not... hurt her."
"These evaluations are done with all pets who have similar injuries. Everyone, from the vet to myself, is acting in compliance with the law and for the welfare of all pets. Abuse could lead to the injury she has, but there are other reasons. For example, some pets need extra help to adapt to life aboard the Hydra. Don't you want to find out if she needs that?"
Even though I know she has received medical care, I can still see her as she was when I brought her here, laying in the pool with the scent of blood in the air.
Dr. Rigel's offer to make her better floats between us, like a bubble that might break. Can I trust this non-scourge?
"Yes, help her..."
"Good. Let's work together then. If you could answer some questions for me, that will help me make a better assessment, and then together, we can make a plan to help her."
My pet gazes up at me from the bed and reaches for me, so I stand closer to her. Even standing in her proximity helps me feel better.
"Does your pet have any reason to be unhappy?"
"I do my best to follow the human pet care protocols. I've read them all and I even ordered most of the supplies suggested by the Halazone."
"Pet care protocols include the best practices, but all pets don't necessarily respond the same way, especially new pets who are sometimes more sensitive. According to her injuries and the doctor's report, it looks like her wound was self-inflicted. So, I would like you to think about how she has responded to life on Hydra from the moment you brought her aboard until now. Does she ever get upset? Agitated? Withdrawn?"
I slowly run my fingers through her hair, and she closes her eyes and curls against me. I reflect on everything my pet and I have gone through, and I think back to the beginning. Since she invoked Thoth, she came willingly to Hydra. Besides, by claiming her as my own and taking her aboard the Hydra, I probably saved her life, so that can't be why she is upset. There had been that ruckus in the park when she bit that horrible scourge Loviatar, but Rigel saw her shortly after and did not bring any problems to my attention. There was the incident when she had squeezed my atums in the bath, and I had to prevent her from touching them. She refused to sleep in the bed afterward, preferring the floor and her ratty blanket to the soft, warm bed with me. Some might call that withdrawn.
"Commander Tarak, can you think of any reason she might be upset? Anything over the past few days, perhaps, when she suddenly became scared or unhappy...? That information would help and then you and your pet can go home."
I would rather die a thousand deaths than tell this non-scourge about the incident with my atums, but together, we can help her.
"I was bathing my pet, just like the protocol dictates," I say, spreading my fingers over the back of her collar, even though I think she is now asleep. "She tried to touch me, though, so I had to..." I inhale the scent of her hair. "I had to subdue her, and I think that might be why she..." Got upset. Withdrew. Did this to herself.
"Can you demonstrate how you subdued her?"
What? I can't do it to her again, especially if I caused her distress. I know better now; humans are sensitive, and I should not do that to them.
I gaze at Rigel. He may be a bird, but he is big like me and he has a neck, so... "Can I do it to you?"
Rigel's eyes get wide and the feathers at the tip of his wings quiver. So, even he doesn't trust me.
"Project a life-size hologram of a human," he tells his wrist unit and a human hologram appears in front of us. "Go ahead and use this."
I lay my pet back down on the bed and I go to the hologram. I hold my fingers near the hologram model's neck and when I try to apply pressure, the hologram disappears.
"You pinned her by the neck?!" says Rigel, his voice rising.
"What? No! I... subdued her, temporarily." My tail thrashes. This sounds like a lie even to my ears.
"Would you place your hands around the neck of one of your crew?!"
"No. That maneuver is forbidden."
His wings widen as if he might fly or launch at me and I back away. "That's right, as it should be for all life forms aboard this ship. You could risk blocking their airway."
"But I only lightly applied pressure, I would not... I did not–"
"Does she know that?"
"No," I say, hanging my head.
"You implied it, though."
"But she touched my atum and... That might lead to me touching her."
She whimpers in her sleep. My poor human: even in her sleep, she's lost.
"You are dominant, are you not, Commander Tarak?"
What kind of question is this? I bare my fangs.
"For clarity, I need you to say yes or no."
I growl. "Yes."
"Did she initiate touch or did you?"
"She did."
"And you, a big scourge, felt threatened by touch?"
This winged alien is like a child. Does he not know what touching a scourge's atums could do?
"I like to touch my pet and I like when she touches me, but she touched my atums, which can cause arousal. Our atums also have minds of their own and that means... with so many of them... I... I might lose control."
Rigel looks at me as if I have three heads. "Why would you not first try to communicate with her? For example, might you teach her what the word no means?"
"Pets are primitive and not capable of speech like you and me."
He rolls his eyes at me. "Didn't you take her from a spaceship? Space flight must require language and communication."
"Humans do not yet belong among the stars. When we boarded their ship, they all looked sickly and were incapable of defending themselves." I go back to her sleeping form in the bed and run my fingers over her collar. Taking her was the one thing I did right.
"Are you suggesting that they are only capable of communicating if they are engaging in battle? Commander Tarak, there are civilizations throughout the galaxy that have made monuments or music or great pieces of art, but they do not storm ships or engage in warfare."
Rigel with his skin unmarred by any battles and unnatural, too perfectly arranged hair and feathers would believe such myths. "You do not understand."
"Commander Tarak, are we communicating right now?"
"Yes."
"What if I told you that my kind, the Archae Bennuidae, studies math and music? My species are also known for being peaceful and secluded, so I doubt you would meet us in a starship battle. Yet right now, I am speaking to you in your language, so we are communicating, are we not?"
Study math and music? No warfare? This confirms what I previously thought of him: he is from a race of weak birds.
Rigel sighs. "I will report that there was an accident while you were at work, but no underlying reason has been identified as to why she hurt herself."
Now I'm confused. Does he or does he not believe my actions led to her hospitalization?
"Am I free to go?" I ask, anxious to take her home.
"Yes, but..."
Why must things be so complicated with this bird?
"I am going to modify her pet rehabilitation plan; you need to actively try to communicate with her. If I may recommend, start by teaching her about the scourges and what it means to touch their atums."
Now it's my turn to look at Rigel as if he has lost his mind. She is a pet, innocent, and incapable of understanding such things. I want to get her away from the hospital and Rigel, so I pick her up in my arms. She awakens with the movement and mumbles.
Soon pet, I will take you home. I can't help myself and tighten my grip.
"Commander Tarak, I need you to state that you will try to communicate with her. Only then can I amend the behavioral plan for you and your pet."
I look down at her and her eyes have opened. She still gazes at me with trust. I will agree to anything to get her out of this place so I can tend to her.
"Her release is contingent on an amended behavioral plan," adds Rigel.
"Yes, I will communicate," I snarl at him, and I leave the hospital, carrying the most precious bundle in my arms, my human.