Page 42 of Nixx
“OK, we'll have a meeting with the humans later today to define everyone's tasks in this case.”
A burst of laughter makes my head spin. It's Jaxx who is with Eva, Sarah, and her friends, laughing with them. With a nod, I indicate to my two companions that we should join my companion and her friends.
“Jaxx, anything special to report about the humans? How do they behave with my companion?”
“Nixx, I didn’t congratulate you about your union. It took me by surprise, of course, as it did many of us, but I think these humans are good people. Their auras are clear, they have good intentions. I'm happy for you. And no, the humans seem to have taken well to the fact that you’re joining one of them. Even if it doesn't seem to mean the same thing to them as it does to us.”
“Personally, I don't care what they think, but I wouldn't want them to hurt Sarah's feelings.”
Arriving in their group, I wrap an arm around my companion's waist, a gesture that has become natural for me in a few days. David tells them anecdotes about some of Sarah's culinary experiences on board their “Proud.” I learn, for example, that my companion once forgot to put an essential ingredient in a dish and that the whole crew broke their teeth on an inedible cake, but that no one dared to tell her so as not to upset her and especially for fear that she would not set foot in the kitchen again.
“What is a cake?” I ask.
“Humm, it is a sweet and delicious preparation that Sarah often prepares for us. The best ones she makes are “chocolate,” but I'm not sure if you have any here.” says Marc.
“So, I hope we have “chocolate,” especially if it's better than pizza,” says Jaxx.
As some of her friends look at her and smile, even though I intuitively feel it's about her famous cakes, I can't help but lift her chin and take her mouth again and in front of them all, so they all know what it's about.
Although she hesitates at first, she quickly succumbs, forgetting the people around us. And even though I initiated this kiss with the only purpose of clarifying things to her friends, as well as to all the people present at the first meal, I lose myself in this exchange and don't think about anything else than the velvety mouth of my companion. The remarks around me quickly bring me back to reality.
“Wow, what a pleasant grapefruit smell!” says Eva. “Where is it coming from?”
“That fresh, tangy smell?” Holly replies . . . “that's the smell of union.”
‘’What is ‘grapefruit’?’’ asks Jaxx.
“It's a fruit that we have on our planet that smells exactly the same,” Eva replies.
“What? You're telling us that in your world, you have a fruit that smells like union?’’ laughs Holly. “But that's absolutely incredible! We'll have to go and get some on your planet then!“
The exchanges around us interrupted our kiss.
“What is the union?”
Not wishing to answer immediately and especially not while all these people are listening to us, I dodge the question by handing out instructions (my favorite method).
“I want all the humans to meet with Lokk, Jaxx, Rymm, and me in a meeting room to figure out how we are going to integrate you into our lives and what accommodations we need to make to do that. We'll meet in the early afternoon.”
And without giving them the chance to ask us any more embarrassing questions, I grab Sarah and shove us out of the dining room again to get us to our room as quickly as possible.
***
Later, we all meet in a large room, with a long table and several stools. Everyone settles down there. Except for Sarah whom I keep by my side, the Erians are on one side of the table while the humans are on the other.
Without waiting, I launch myself.
“As you may have guessed, Sarah is my companion. I have gathered you here so that we can all discuss what we can do to improve your life here and to facilitate your integration with my people. I think that on your side, you can also participate in certain improvements in our community, in the respect of our traditions. I would like you to introduce yourselves each in turn to my companions, specifying your previous functions, to see what we can do with them. Marc, I'll let you start.”
“Marc, 'First Lieutenant'[7]aboard the Proud and fighter. I can train to improve my combat technique to your environment and your specificities, he says pointing to our wings. I can also, with David, train your young recruits in various ground fighting techniques.”
“David, 'Ensign First Class' aboard the Proud. I can, as Marc said earlier, participate in the training of your young people, in particular, on martial arts, a ground technique very famous in our world.”
“Eva, 'Officer Analyst' on board the Proud. I was in charge of the conception of the life models between the different worlds. The cerebral implants which allow us to understand and speak to you, were elaborated from the synthesis of the different analyses that I made on all the languages. To put it simply, I can't do much more than continue to make sure that everything works perfectly. To evolve some of the patterns and integrate them into your world, I would have had to go back on board the Proud.”
“Gregory, 'Second Engineer' on board the Proud. I'm the jack of all trades who fixes everything. I am of course specialized in the advanced technologies of the Proud, but I am sure I can help you with any mechanical problems you may have.”
“Ferdinand, ‘Ensign Operator First Class’ aboard the Proud. I'm afraid my past skills are completely useless around here. But on the other hand, I can assist the cook, especially with the recipes that Sarah is sure to suggest.”
