Patriots Chapter 8

Date: Three Days later

It was a beautiful day in the park as Perdy sat waiting for her friend. Although to her it may have just been a deep gloomy day from the darkest depths of planetary winter. Even the sight of Richard walking over couldn’t make her tail wag, or her ears move upright.

“Hey there Perdy, ready for some frisbee?” The human asked as he walked up to the park bench, she was on. However, his happiness quickly turned to concern as her dour mood was clearly obvious.

“Hi Richard…I um…I don’t think there’s going to be any Frisbee today.”

The human reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder as she sat there. “Perdy, is everything okay?”

“Um…yeah it’s um…well you know I’m here only as part of a business delegation, right?”

“Yeah, you said you were doing security.”

“Well…the delegation is going to be heading back to Dlamias soon. And I’ll be needed badly for the next few days. I’m…I’m only ducking out long enough to say goodbye.”

The human nodded. “Ah…yeah, I figured this day would come. Still, I had hoped that it’d have taken a while longer to get here.” He sat down next to her and then with a moment’s hesitation he reached out and gave her a hug. The sudden touch surprised the huge Dlamisan as her eyes went wide, although finally her tail did wag some as she enjoyed the contact.

When Richard finally let go, he smiled, his eyes a little damp. “Ahem..well I’ll miss you Perdy. It’s been a lot of fun having you around. Especially seeing your wonder at some of the food you’ve tried here.” After a moment he opened his pack and pulled out a small notebook and a pen, jotted something down and then tore off a page and handed it to Perdy.

“Here, my address and the visitor code to my apartment. If you’re ever back this way during my lifetime, look me up, okay? We’ll go out for burritos again.”

Perdy took the paper and swallowed a bit while tucking it away in a pocket of her own. “T-that’s a long time, what if you move?”

That got a small chuckle out of the human. “Perdy, I’m a blue-collar IT worker in the capitol city of Earth. Unless it’s time for me move to an assisted living facility I’m not likely to be able to afford anything better. Trust me, I’ll be there.”

He reached out and gave her another gentle hug and smiled. “For now, though, you take care of yourself, okay? And this isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later.”

“Y-yeah see you later.”

Richard stood up with a little sniff, grabbed his pack, and turned to head back to the office. Stopping long enough to wave at Perdy once more before finally getting out of sight. Only once he was gone did the large Dlamisan let out the soft and low whine she’d been holding back.

She sat there for several more minutes, wishing that it’d all turn out to be a mistake. Unfortunately, the universe wasn’t that accommodating and she eventually stood up and began her walk back to the hotel. Perdy was so lost in thought that another voice took her completely by surprise.

“Hey are you okay?”

Startled she turned to see a dark furred Dlamisan male looking at her, and panic gripped her as she realized it was one of the Walker’s security team. *“SHIT!!!!”*

“Oh, sorry I’m fine really!” Being trained in espionage she kept the sudden panic from her voice even though she felt her hearts trying to pound their way out of her ribcage.

Her response didn’t seem to fool the military male as he just cocked his head at her. “Are you sure? You look like someone who just lost their human.” The male was clearly concerned as he looked up at her. “On Earth you rarely see a Dlamisan who’s ears and tail are drooping as much as yours are.”

*“My human?* *What’s he talking about?”*

“Well, I have a human friend yes, but unfortunately my employer is heading back to Dlamias soon. So I’m not going to be on world much longer. Duty to Dlamias first and all that right?” The male looked at her suspiciously but nodded. “I suppose so. If you’re sure you’re okay?”

He paused and held a hand up to one of his ears, a sure sign that a radio call was coming. “I have to go, if you’ll excuse me.”

Before he could go Perdy’s curiosity got the better of her. <”Wait…can I ask you a question first Mr…sorry I didn’t get your name?”>

The other’s ears went up as he turned back to her. <”Genghis and yours? And sure you can ask.”> Genghis tilted his head in curiosity as he looked up at the large female. Cognizant of the change to Enkanti and the implied privacy from passing humans as he switched back to their native tongue.

Perdy fidgeted a bit as she worked to frame the question. <”I’m called Perdy. And well, I’ve heard it a few times now. But…how do you know when you have a human?”> The question made Genghis’ eyes widen and he took a deep breath pondering where to begin.

“That’s…that’s not a question that Enkanti can answer.” He said switching back to English, the sudden change confusing Perdy even more. “How do you know you have a human? Well…they teach you things, words specifically.”

“Words…I-I’m not sure I understand. I mean sure I’ve learned a lot of vocabulary but…” Her voice trailed off as her confusion only grew as Genghis shook his head. A gesture picked up from the humans on the planet.

“Well not basic vocabulary, any translator can do that. With these words come concepts. Concepts like family, happiness, love…” He looked back over his shoulder towards wherever he was being called. “Humans fill a hole in you, one that many of us never knew we had. And then they teach you the words for what it is they’re filling you with…and it’s good.”

He paused a bit. “I have to go but look around Perdy. You’ll not see any Dlamisan using Enkanti on this planet. Not just because it’d be rude, but because English the human language, gives us something that we never knew we were missing. A way to express ourselves to our humans and each other.” He turned to leave but not before looking over his shoulder at her. “One last thing to consider, there are those on our home world who truly believe that being happy is an unacceptable risk to our way of life. Being here teaches you that happiness isn’t a crime.”

And with that Genghis left to rejoin whatever group he was working with on that day. His departure only leaving with Perdy more food for thought as she continued back to the hotel. When she finally reached the room Oliver was there waiting for her.

<”Is it done?”>

He asked, a certain level of smug superiority in his tone.

<”Yes it is done. I’ve parted ways with the human.”>

Perdy sat down on the bed and sighed as she tried to relax. Only to stiffen as Oliver continued.

<”Good, now you can focus on the mission. The authorization to proceed came in while you were out.”>