Chapter 8: Endangered Species

I flopped back into the captain's chair and sighed. It really took a lot of energy to deal with people some days.

"Mei Xing?" said Jun Li hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"They are attempting to communicate with us again," he said slowly as if he would be in trouble for the fact that they didn't understand that we didn't want to talk to them.

"Do you want to answer?" I asked. As far as I was concerned, this was a symbiotic relationship. We were both getting something out of our deal. I was the face and he was the brawn. I couldn't survive out on my own in this vast space and he couldn't survive without me since his kind were killed on sight.

"Stargazer seems to be rather insistent," he said quietly.

"That didn't answer my question. Did YOU want to answer the call? Not that I would make you speak if you didn't want to, but you have to understand that you have as much say in this as I do."

"I think we need to answer," confirmed Jun Li sounding much more confident.

"Then we answer," I replied as I sat up once again in my chair and put on an expressionless face. But after all this, I was going to take a nap.

---

"You called?" I said as soon as we responded to the incoming hail.

"There are a few things that you need to know if you are going to be living in this Galaxy," said Pippa Flynn, her arms crossed against her chest. The cheerfulness that once dominated her features was nowhere to be seen, and instead, she looked like a pissed-off Chihuahua.

"I wouldn't be living in this Galaxy if you had given me a way home," I pointed out as I slowly leaned back in the oversized chair. I would have to add coffee to the list of supplies I was getting from Earth. This chair screamed coffee.

"Well, since that is not an option, listen up," she snapped. Awe, look at the fluff ball getting a backbone. Where was this attitude five minutes ago?

"By all means," I said with a smile as I flipped my wrist so my palm was up as I swiped it in front of me. "The floor is all yours."

"First, you need to be registered under the Alliance as an endangered species. It keeps us all safe so you will be required to do it as well. I am also the Human Representative in this Galaxy so we won't be 'strangers'. You will be listening to me and doing as I say."

I really couldn't help myself as I let out a bark of laughter. "There are so many things wrong with that statement," I began as I bent forward in my seat and rested my elbows on my crossed legs. "First, how are we registered as an endangered species?"

"There were only ten of us from Earth, now 11. That makes us qualified as an endangered species," she said with a huff as she flicked her hair over one of her shoulders.

"So, everyone knows that humans are from Earth?" I asked as I suppressed another bought of laughter.

"Of course," she answered, her eyes narrowing on me.

"So, you deleted all the coordinates for Earth, but you left 11 people with the knowledge of that planet AND listed us as endangered species?"

There was silence on the other end as she continued to glare at me.

"Do you know what happens on Earth when a species is listed as endangered?" I asked, praying to whatever God could hear me that stupidity wasn't contagious.

"They are protected by the government," she replied with an eye-roll.

"They are," I agreed. "And they are also hunted down even more because their rarity makes them even more desired. Let me spell this out for the slower students in the class. There is a planet of 8 billion people out there, and you decided to put a target on 11 of us… yourself included because you wanted to protect 8 billion strangers?"

I shook my head. It was amazing how little people thought things through to the end. At first glance, it would seem virtuous to delete the coordinates back home to save people from being kidnapped and tortured. But that was not what happened. Instead of making Earth and humans out to be undesirable creatures, she has now essentially put a target on all of us out here without protection.

And don't even get me started on the status of endangered species. The galaxy is so much bigger than a single planet and the local governments couldn't even protect the endangered species in their own backyard, let alone 20 planets down the road.

"Well…" Pippa started before I cut her off.

"You are a child playing in a much bigger sandbox, and that is fine. But if you think I am going to leave my life in your hands, you are very much mistaken. To clarify, I will not be putting my name on any endangered species list and I will not be listening to you or doing what you say. Besides, it's not like I voted for you."

"I am not a child!" she yelled at me, her cheeks turning bright red with her anger.

"You are 19, by your own admission. You are not old enough to drink or rent a car, and I would also question your ability to rent your own place and pay your own bills. You are in way over your head and I refuse to drown because you can't float on your own."

"Bitch," she snarled. Ah, gotta love the go-to response of a pissed-off person. I tried to think if I was ever that young, but considering at 19 years old I was already a tenured professor at University A and a consultant with law enforcement, I was going to go with no. Well, maybe when I was 5. But by the time I was 10, I was already the youngest person in my high school so I think I was relatively mature.

"It's good that you understand that now. This way you won't make the same mistake in the future."

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Devilbesideyou666

I would like to point out that this is not a problem in Canada. Here, you can legally drink in every province at 19 years old... and in Quebec, it's 18.

:) Just saying...

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