Nashini’s tail twitched incredulously as she looked over the data Huhui had sent her. “You paid actual credits for this? It’s completely inhospitable!”
Huhui’s ear flicked sideways in an irritated gesture. “It could be sold to the humans as a colony planet for practically quadruple what we paid for it.”
“It’s near frozen half of it’s orbit!” Nashini scrolled down the pad and tapped the temperature readings with a claw. “Down to four degrees in the cold season! And it’s a class five gravity. Useless.” She couldn’t help a disappointed hiss.
Huhui stared directly at her eyes for a long moment and Nashini had to fight the urge to drop her gaze. Were they challenging her? But then Huhui pulled the pad towards themselves and tapped at it for a second before pushing it back.
Nashini’s whiskers twitched as she stared at the video playing. It looked to be human cubs playing in… snow? One of the tiny humans picked up a ball of frozen water and threw it at another and they all shrieked in laughter. Her ears flattened. “Oh.” Of course humans would let their young play in freezing conditions, that would have to be native to their home world. Of course they could survive freezing weather patterns. Why not?
“Yes. Earth is a class five gravity, and parts of it can reach negative one hundred twenty. This planet, while completely useless to our society for either habitation or resources, is very valuable to humans.” Huhui sat back on her hinder legs and folded both sets of arms in a decidedly human gesture of satisfaction.
Captain Nashini looked over the map again. It was also perfectly situated in between several societies’ system borders so it wouldn’t be seen as an invasion if the humans did use it as a colony. Useless to everybody, ignored, and unclaimed by any being except herself. She rippled her spine fur in polite remorse. “You… did well.”
Huhui’s whiskers twitched forward in pleasure. “Thank you, Captain. Crew Jayne has suggestions on how to approach the humans with the sale.”
Nashini flicked her ear sideways. “I’ll trust the two of you to deal with it.” The last thing she wanted was to have to deal with a whole room of humans. Jayne’s litter mate and their adopted family were enough to have her pulling her fur out on their sparse visits. The pair of fledglings had somehow managed to sneak into the bridge and Nashini had spent several terrified moments standing perfectly still as the pair had climbed all over her, petrified that she might accidentally hurt them and invoke Michael’s legendary wrath.
Huhui had rescued her, sweeping the pair into her hinder arms and complimenting them on their stalking skills as she had bustled them back to their parents. Nashini was hoping to retire before the pair of flight capable beings raised by humans as well as a predator species reached adulthood.
And if this sale went as Huhui predicted…. she might very well get to retire. Maybe even in time to have a litter or two. That would be nice. She could even make Jayne the honorary aunt since the humans was so fond of other being’s younglings.
Her eyes widened and her ears flattened in horror. A passing crew member paused and approached hesitantly.
“Is everything alright, Captain?”
Nashini lashed her tail. “I’ve caught the pack bonding!”
Full story here
