Author's Note: This is an old piece I wrote a long time ago after having a dream. I dusted it off recently when my mom was in the hospital. No promises on if/when it will be continued. You can literally tell when the crap-switch flipped and my writing went to hell. I just don't seem to have it in me anymore. I was never very good to begin with so all well. My regular readers probably won't be interested in this but I hope the extinct D9 fandom enjoys. It's been six years Christopher! We trusted you! ;)
"We are here now with the very controversial, very talked about, very beautiful, Miss. Keromang Naidoo. Who plans on becoming the sole human female resident of District 9 tomorrow. It's an extraordinary pleasure to have you here Miss. Naidoo."
"Well thank you for having me John, most stations are avoiding me like the plague but won't hesitate to run stories about my endeavors since they're considered hot news."
"We don't shy away from the truth here on channel 9 so please, tell us your history with the prawns from the beginning."
"When the Kalopeeians came and changed our understanding of the universe I was only four years old."
"Is that the politically correct term for the prawns?"
"Yes, that is what they prefer to be called." she responded to her off-screen interviewer with a forced tight lipped smile. "Just like any discriminated human minority would prefer to be addressed by their correct title rather than the derogatory terms certain members of our society slander them with." she added with a pointed look at his onyx skin tone.
He nodded in understanding but did not offer an apology, motioning with a sweep of his hand for her to continue. She cleared her throat, shifting in her seat to adjust her skirt. Looking into the camera after taking a long breath she reminded herself why she was doing this.
"I didn't fear the thing floating in the sky. I waved up at them and went back to playing in my sandbox like it was just another one of our airplanes. I knew something wasn't right when my babysitter made me come inside and stay away from the windows. I kept seeing the circle in the sky on our TV screen all day but thought nothing of it."
"I just wanted Barney to come back on." she added with a small chuckle as she glanced over to him. Her smile wavered with a painful memory before she continued. "Such is the blessing of childhood innocence."
"My mother didn't come home that night. When I asked my nanny why the next morning, she told me my mother was busy at work because of the spaceship. The TV held my attention much longer the next day. Just like it did every day during the next three months I scarcely saw my mother. I clapped and squealed when she was caught in the background for a few seconds that groundbreaking day."
She paused. Her brow furrowed like she was trying to remember every detail for the viewers.
"She was speaking into a walkie-talkie while her ID badge flapped around from the helicopter winds. I had no idea at the time but I was watching her give the order to bring them down. My mouth dropped open along with millions of others when our screens showed us the first glimpse. A brief capture before the television station was ordered to cut the feed."
"Aliens." she muttered sarcastically. "I couldn't understand why they were being called that because I'd been taught that aliens were little squishy green men. Like the one who bugged Fred Flintstone all the time." she offered in humored example.
"I begged my nanny to take me to see my mother and the bug people. That's what I called them before…" she trailed off with a soft wistful look in her eye. "After half a day of being told no and throwing tantrums I cried myself to sleep early. Which was why the automatic garage door woke me so easily late that night."
"The night your mother brought the pra- …Keelapwoe.. the.."
"Kah- lope- ians" she demonstrated slowly, exaggerating her lip movements to help. "The a at the beginning is pronounced with an h attached."
"The night she brought her work home with her." he rephrased with false good humor, not bothering to learn the correct pronunciation.
"My mother never viewed Ameerawka or Ki'ja as 'work'." she corrected with a hard look of disapproval. Effectively wiping the smile off his face with her somber tone. "In the beginning when they were weak and afraid she saw them as our charges. She believed it was our responsibility to nourish them back to health and protect them. Especially once she got wind of ulterior motives in the South African government-"
"Back up here for a moment. How did she come to the decision to bring alien life forms into her own home?"
She hesitated for a second, throwing a sharp look his way for being cut off.
"From what I understood there was no decision. She just acted. She told me she noticed a Kalopeeia with a little more spark in her eye than the others. Lifting her head to study the humans rather than moving along sluggishly like the rest. She approached my mother just off the cargo plane and offered up her youngling to her. My mother was the only human female present at the time and the Kalopeeian was trying to communicate; despite the language barrier, that she was begging my mother to take her son because she believed she was going to die."
Her eyes flickered back to him to see if he had another question to interrupt with before she went on.
"She saw the sheer desperation on her face and took them both. There was so much chaos it was easy for her to hide them in the back seat of her suv. The bulletproof military issue tinted windows were helpful too. Our home's garage was attached and that provided a safe way to get them into the house without being seen."
"So..she just brought them in..just like that?"
"Well no." the brunette admitted with a hint of a smirk. "She fired my babysitter as soon as she stepped in the door and made sure all the curtains were closed first."
"Then what?"
"Then she coaxed them into the house. Kind of. By the time Ameerawka made it inside the hallway she completely collapsed. My mother didn't hesitate to touch her and managed to drag her to our refrigerator. Poor Ki'ja was absolutely panicked watching this fleshy pink alien manhandle his mother but there wasn't much he could do about it; he was tiny. After seeing my mom wasn't afraid of them I crept out of my hiding spot and got a little closer while she tried to hold different types of food under Ameerawka's mouth. She didn't respond to anything until-"
"Let me guess, you guys had a cat?"
"Yes." she nodded with a slight smile. "That half empty tin of cat food seemed to yank her right back from the edge of death. It wasn't much but after it perked her up she wolfed down five pounds of raw hamburger meat and gnawed off half a package of frozen bacon."
"I was sort of peeking around the island in our kitchen and I could see the little guy at his mother's side was hungry. But he was too scared to take any of the leftover hamburger meat from the package. Every time my mom tried to scoot it near him or hand him some he'd shy away. So I squeezed past my mom. Who was probably in shock for half a second because she thought I was upstairs sleeping. And I got right into Ameerawka's lap. Or, you know, as much of a lap as they have. I grabbed up a fist full of meat, made a meatball, and shoved it under his tendrils."
"He was surprised to say the least." she chuckled.
Partly at the way her interviewer's mouth was slack with horror.
"He ate it slowly because he was a bit suspicious I think. He was small but very smart. Probably considered a nerd if his species applied social labels. I don't think he understood why they weren't with the rest of the refugees. He certainly didn't trust my mother at first. And he only allowed me to get close when I was within his mother's reach just in case."
"His mom made a sound I now know is laughter. Then she pointed back and fourth between her son and I and said "Perrru". Which means "Your friend." in Kalopeeian." she explained, moving on when her host showed no interest in the knowledge. "That's where the name for my organization originated from."
"I thought it was pretty fun feeding him by hand so I kept shoveling out handfuls of meat until it was all gone."
"Like a goat at a petting zoo?"
She gave him a flat un-amused look at his joke and briefly decided to keep to the basics. She wasn't going to share intimate memories if they were only going to be belittled. She found she couldn't help herself as she continued. It was liberating to finally be able to talk about what she viewed as some of the best moments of her life so far. And painting her time with them in an emotional light was essential if she wanted the human race to gain some empathy for their kind.
"My mother took a leave of absence for a week and a half until she was on the verge of being fired. By then Ameerawka had gained a basic understanding of how to care for a human child and took over as my nanny while my mother worked. In exchange she and her son were kept clothed, fed, and protected. Ki'ja didn't fuss over wearing a shirt with The Little Mermaid on it or playing with my pink Barbie mini cooper. His society didn't practice gender stereotypes. So he was happy to just have my toys to play with and my hand-me-downs to wear when we were little."
"Most people would call what your mother did child endangerment."
"I survived didn't I?" she argued mildly with a shrug. "I'd go as far as saying I fared better than any other child raised in a human-only household considering everything I learned from them. There's always someone who's going to have a problem with something that doesn't fit their social norms."
"Two single women raising their kids together in one home raises judgmental eyebrows even when xenophobia isn't involved in the equation." she pointed out. "Many homophobic people view that as child endangerment."
His eyebrows rose in surprise at her logical argument and he motioned for her to continue.
"We lived together happily for a little over ten years. Ki'ja ended up being influenced by the images of human males he saw on TV and by the time we were nine he started asking for boyish clothes. That was the first time my mother became concerned about our culture's influence over him, or what he saw of it on TV. She started monitoring what he watched. Especially coverage of District 9 and the growing hostility towards his species. It didn't matter to my mom if he had antennae and an exoskeleton, he was her baby boy and she wanted to shelter him from it all. She couldn't do the same for me thanks to the Johannesburg school system's policy of keeping students well informed on extra terrestrial current events."
"I worried daily. I had nightmares about MNU taking them away. I think that was my biggest childhood fear..losing them..." she admitted with forlorn look over to the camera.
"You said considering everything you learned from them. What exactly did you mean by that?"
"We all taught each other many things. Reading and speaking English was a necessity for them first obviously. My mother would photo copy my school work and text books so we could tutor Ka'ji and his mom. In exchange they taught us about their world and the society they came from. They also taught us how to speak Kalopeeian. My mother was able to speak a broken version of it. The only reason I'm fluent is because I was exposed to it from such an early age."
"But above all I think the most important thing I learned from them was tolerance." she asserted with a slight condescending edge to her tone and a loaded stare directed at the lens.
"I didn't know it was physically possible for a human to speak their language. Would you mind giving a demonstration?" he requested skeptically.
She cleared her throat and turned toward the camera fully. She glanced away for a second as a bitter sweet emotion gleaned in her eyes. Her host's jaw grew slack a second time as her voice dropped into a low guttural tenor and she spoke a short alien sentence. If the camera crew didn't know any better they'd have thought one of the creatures were in the studio with them.
"That's a…well that's… that's something isn't it." he babbled as he adjusted his tie, shifting in his seat uncomfortably.
"I know, isn't it?" she beamed enthusiastically with a hint of pride as she crossed her legs. "It took me over two years to get my chirp just right. It caused a little vocal cord damage but I consider it worth it."
"What did you say?"
"Oh John you don't want to know it'd just hurt your feelings." she quipped to ease the awkward tension. "If this makes it to any Kalopeeian TVs in District 9 they'll have themselves a good laugh."
"Well I should hope not, that's considered highly illegal in the district."
"Personally I consider that highly ridiculous. Can you imagine life without TV?" she insisted in an attempt to make the situation relatable. "MNU portrays the Kalopeeia as ignorant while they simultaneously do everything within their power to keep them that way."
"Now this isn't a mud slinging platform please-"
"What happened to channel 9 not being fearful of the truth?" she demanded forcefully before continuing quickly and cutting off his chance to stutter out an answer.
"For more on that please Google the website MNU Spreads Lies dot com. It's a blog run by an unknown from inside District 9 and it sheds a lot of light on things many officials wish it wouldn't."
Her host tugged at his collar nervously and glanced toward the producer for help. A finger held to a pair of lips was his answer along with script papers being twirled at him in a circular motion to communicate that he needed to keep their guest spilling her guts. Little did they know, she was about to give humanity a newspaper smack on the nose it sorely deserved.
" Let me just say this. Analysts were correct when they deduced that the Kalopeeians we have encountered are the colony workers of the society they came from. What they didn't interpret correctly was that they were slaves fleeing to escape oppression. Or perhaps that part was conveniently kept from the media to further the illusion that they're mindless drones. Personally I think it had a lot to do with how the western world and humanitarian groups feel about the word slavery."
"Does anyone else remember the last time intelligent life forms were physically tagged and cataloged by a different title for their "host's" convenience? I'll give you a hint. Instead of a spray painted stencil on their head it was a tattoo on their forearm. Instead of white-bread English names it was numbers they were forced to identify by. Did we learn nothing from Hitler? America's days before the time of 'separate but equal'? The biblical Jewish slaves in Egypt? The native Americans in North America? The Spanish inquisition? The Salem witch trials? The apartheid that happened right here in Jo'burg until 1994? The list detailing the human race's history of violent oppression goes on so long it makes me ashamed to call myself human. When will our species wake up and learn from its past atrocities instead of repeating them over and over again?"
"The Kalopeeians are surviving in worse conditions than they were in in their home world. They have less rights. Their suicide rate is higher than ever. On their home planet they got three days of rest out of their typical ten day week. Some don't even get Sundays off here if their employers choose not to give it to them. But people like to say it's all okay because they get paid half the price to work the hazardous jobs humans refuse to do."
She practically radiated contempt and disgust by the end of her rant. Her breathing was elevated and a flush had come to her complexion while she held the full extent of her anger at bay.
"And those are some of the reasons why you are embarking on this suicide mission? Project Prawnitarian as some call it?"
"Only those who wish to diminish my efforts call it that." she tersely replied while resisting the urge to snap at his bating.
"The Kalopeeians come from a hive-like caste social system. Ki'ja's father was the only higher ranking member on board and the ship's pilot. He was outcast by his sect for choosing a mate lower than himself in social status. When he died they lost their leader so by their natural instinct without leadership they live chaotically. I believe if I can gain their trust I can give them the guidance they need to better themselves. There are bad Kalopeeians just like there are bad people who make the wrong choices in life. I believe if they see the masses conforming in harmony their ingrained social behavior will kick in and help sway them to behave."
"So basically you want to become their queen?"
"No, absolutely not. I want to become their ambassador, their human ally. My only objective is to help them and help them help themselves. But as long as they have influences like the Nigerian gangsters giving them negative behavior to observe the majority of them aren't going to get any better. Where do you think they learned to commit crimes in the city to survive? Who do you think corners the District 9 market on everything from cat food to tires? Who do you think sets the prices so high they have to commit crimes or scavenge to survive? Between MNU and the Nigerians they don't stand a chance at progress and that's where I step in."
"You make it sound like a noble cause but many people think it's a naive one. They think you have a romanticized view of the aliens that's going to get you killed. Have you even been inside the district before?"
"No, I haven't. Tomorrow will be my first time. I had the opportunity when my home was delivered there yesterday. But I chose not to because I thought it was best to let them calm down before I made myself known. I also had a water tower constructed nearby and filled. So I think residents in that area were disrupted by humans more than enough for one day. If refusing to turn a blind eye to suffering is considered naïve then so be it. I've already signed the liability waivers the government has required in order for me to do this. If I die in District 9 they are in no way legally liable and I'll die doing what I believe in. I don't think that's anyone's business honestly. It's my own life I'm choosing to risk and no one else's."
"But there's human suffering you could safely ease with your organization."
"That's like telling an aide worker to stay at home and feed the homeless when they yearn to help victims in war-torn foreign countries." she countered lamely with a flat expression. "Besides, there are already hundreds of organizations focusing on humans. The Kalopeeians have no one and the UIO can only do so much from the outside with the weak regulations they've imposed on MNU to protect them."
"What is your overall plan of action for Perrru and what is your end goal?"
"My first goal is to gain the population's trust and dispense aide the best I can on my own. I expect they will be fearful and aggressive toward human intrusion at first and I don't blame them considering what our race has put them through. If I can achieve a bond my next goal is to teach them about agriculture. If they can start growing their own food and rearing their own cattle that'll help free them from their dependency on the gangs and MNU's unfair wages."
"It sounds like you won't be very popular with either faction. Are you scared?"
"That's why I'll be wearing a multidirectional body cam harness continuously that'll be transmitting the feed straight to a satellite which will archive all the footage for safe keeping. If there's any human foul play in my death the responsible parties will be held accountable. I'm not necessarily scared but I do believe I'm more likely to die by human hands rather than Kalopeeian like so many predict."
"I'll also have my cameraman with me for the first week to document my interactions with the Kalopeeians. But I doubt he'll be much help when it comes to protection." she elaborated with a sarcastic laugh. "If anything I'd be the one protecting him since I'm the one who is efficient with a firearm and licensed to carry."
"The Nigerians won't be pleased about their rackets getting cut into since I'll be handing out food for free. MNU won't be happy when I steal their workers away with better pay, health benefits, and self-serving jobs. I'm not afraid of making human enemies when furthering the greater Kalopeeian good. My ultimate goal is to make them so self sufficient MNU won't be able to profit from their cheap labor anymore."
"According to regulation 631 MNU has the right to deny your employment of the aliens. How do you plan on getting around that?"
"I'll pursue legal action against MNU. Last week I passed the South African bar exam so I am fully qualified to represent the Kalopeeia myself. I don't think that will be a problem though because as much as the government would like to believe no one cares about the Kalopeeia anymore after all this time; they know it's not true. Most of Perrru's volunteers are ages eighteen to thirty. My generation and younger ones are more tolerant when it comes to those who are different from us. At the U.N.'s last meeting there was speculation on whether or not South Africa is equipped financially to continue housing the Kalopeeia. They know parts of the world are still scrutinizing them. And that's the only reason I'm being allowed to move into District 9. To refuse someone who aims to help would not look good for their image."
"How is Perrru funded? The task you plan to undertake sounds like it will require a lot of time and even more money."
"I expect it could take years to accomplish. Perrru is funded by a few large backers who wish to remain anonymous. Donations do come in from supporters too but most of those are also anonymous thanks to the stigma people get branded with when they're identified as a sympathizer. Money isn't an issue when it comes to my plan for this cause. I believe that once the government has no way to profit from the Kalopeeia they'll willingly give up their claim on them. Especially with the pressure they're getting from their citizens to have the non-humans moved. By the time I'm done it'll feel like a relief for them to hand the reigns over to me. They'll even come out on top looking like a noble nation that did all they could until their resources were exhausted. If all else fails I have a plan B."
Her interviewer's mouth was agape again and the corner of her mouth lifted smugly. She gave him a minute to compose himself while she daintily sipped from a glass of water that had been provided for her at the beginning. After processing all that she'd said he looked at her incredulously.
"But you're only twenty-five…"
"My age is irrelevant." she simply stated with a warm almost pitying smile.
His look of disbelief deepened and he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
"Why… Why are you doing this?"
"It's pretty simple really. Love. MNU tore half my family away from me and I love them very deeply. Even before my mother passed away I was working toward reconnecting with my Kalopeeian family. I know there's a high chance they might not be alive; I've seen the district footage. I've read the stories of Kalopeeeians being drug off to a supposed detention center never to be seen again. If they are alive I know the odds of finding them are against me because of the dense population. But I have to try. And if they are in fact gone I still owe it to them to help their people. The Kalopeeia feel. They think. They love. They have families. And they bleed red just like you and me. Regardless of my connection to them I'm still required to act because it's the right thing to do."
"Lets get back to that. What happened to tip off MNU? How did they find out your mother was harboring aliens after so many years?"
A darkness spread over her features as she recalled that horrible day.
"Ki'ja and I had grown very close over the years. So close our mothers wouldn't let us sleep in the same bed anymore by that time. He was my best friend and in a sense also my brother but you know how teenage curiosities mixed with hormones are-"
"Woah! Hold on, man. Did you just admit-. Are you saying? …. Do you realize you could be imprisoned for implying a breach of regulation 312?"
She rose a sharp brow at his expression of disgust and waited for him to calm down before speaking. The heat from set lights beating down on her picked the most incriminating moment to make sweat break out on her forehead.
"Our mothers were very watchful. There was no breaching, so-to-speak. And now that we're on the topic let me highlight how hypocritical it is of MNU to impose such a regulation and then turn a blind eye to the interspecies prostitution ring run by gangsters. Or how asinine the regulation is considering all the recent progress in gay rights."
"Has their plight taught us nothing about keeping our noses out of the sexual preferences of others? Conservatives call homosexual intercourse a sin against nature even though it doesn't effect them in any way; simply because it offends their own personal tastes. How is regulation 312 any different? It's not. The sex workers in the district are alive and as well as can be expected considering their profession. They've gained no mutation or disease from having sexual relations with the Kalopeeia which proves the irrelevance of the regulation."
There were revolted expressions and uncomfortable fidgets all around her now. John's upper lip had to uncurl itself before he could make his next statement.
"Many claim that regulation is in place to protect the aliens the way bestiality laws protect animals."
"Bestiality is defined as cross species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The Kalopeeians are not animals. Those laws are in place to protect animals because animals are not capable of giving consent to sexual activity. The Kalopeeians are intelligent and more than capable of giving consent. In fact, consent is a mandatory part of their mating customs. The concept of rape was not present in their culture until they came here and observed it from humans."
"Bu-"
"Furthermore regulation 318 is the most ridiculous one of all. They can't kiss their mates in public! Do you have any idea what kind of uprising there would be if they tried to impose that law on the LGBT community? Do you have any idea!?"
"But they're not human!"
She sat back in her chair and gave him a sadly disappointed look, not willing to dignify his ignorance with an answer as she slowly shook her head. She knew there was nothing she could say or do to change his view, like so many others.
"During your time in the district do you plan on breaking any regulations?" he inquired with a hint of sick curiosity.
"Absolutely. In the eyes of many Alien Affairs workers I'll be breaching regulation 714. I intend to make physical contact with the Kelopeeians whenever possible because it's an imperative part of gaining their trust. Simply brushing my hand along their arm when speaking to one of them or holding one of the hatchlings can be considered a breach. And I definitely do intend to coddle the little ones, I find them too adorable not to."
He looked let down at not getting a scandalous answer.
"To get back on track here- the only reason I said what I said was to illustrate how protective the Kalopeeians are when it comes to their potential mates. That was a large part of why Ki'ja threw rational thought aside when he exposed himself. And yes, he did naturally view me as his potential mate because I was the only female he interacted with who was of appropriate age. If he adapted to district life after we were separated and he survived. I suspect he would have found a mate of his own species."
A pang of jealousy she didn't dare show whipped her at that acknowledgement. It stung to think of him with someone else but she pushed her selfishness aside and instead focused on the happiness he would have found with that someone.
"That day on my walk home from school I was being sexually harassed by some older boys who lived further down our street. One of them escalated it from catcalls to tackling and pinning me down on my front lawn. Ki'ja had taken to watching for me through a small crack in his curtains from his bedroom window because he already knew about previous less severe instances. What he saw happening to me; someone he immensely cared about, enraged him. Without thinking he threw back the curtain to pound on the glass and roar for him to get off me. They ran home and called MNU. The rest is history."
Her melancholy nostalgia was almost tangible to the crew as they watched a single teardrop roll down her cheek.
"You and your mother then fled to the United States, abandoning them. Correct?"
More tears escaped as she shamefully nodded her head. Her eyes squeezed shut tight as she quickly inhaled a breath of air and began wiping the wet trails off her face.
"Give me a moment please, it was many years ago but.. It's still difficult to talk about." she explained through sniffles as she struggled to compose herself.
"We had to. My mother would have been institutionalized and I would have been taken into social services. We had no choice." she offered in a weak defense that made her feel even more like a coward than she already did.
Another wave of tears made her sob, "I'm sorry, this interview is over.".
"Do you have anything to say to your ..friends.. on the off chance that they might see this when it airs?" he asked quickly before she could rise out of her seat.
Taking in another heaving breath she moved her eyes from him down to her lap. The anguished look on her face was so heartbreaking when her eyes rose to the camera some present wondered if she was acting. They couldn't fathom a human having that much emotion for prawns. Her eyes widened dolefully as she stared into the black lens and her bottom lip quivered slightly before she started speaking.
"Ameerawka. Ki'ja. If you're out there watching, I am so, so sorry. I love you both and I will find you soon."
"Aaaaand cut!"
"Mrs. Naidoo that was a brilliant ploy. I've never seen someone work that emotional angle before when advocating for prawn rights."
"Dirty fookin' prawn lover."
"Poor thing's been brainwashed by that crazy mother of hers. No wonder she's so off, growing up with the things probably messed her up for life."
"Obviously needs to be on some kind of medication."
"I think she's lying. She's probably slept with the lot of them."
Kero kept her head held high despite the comments all around her and the light grey lines running down her face. When she walked off the filming platform people backed away as she passed. Like her sympathy for the aliens was a contagious disease. She kept walking without reaction until she reached the restroom where she could mourn the memory of her family privately.
An assistant's eyes widened and her knuckles paused at the heartbroken sounds coming from behind the ladies room door. She herself had never seen a prawn in person and thought them disgusting but the pure unrestrained pain she heard made her wait. Until a yelled out call from her boss and his insistent finger pointing to his rolex forced her to knock. He wanted the station's explosive new exclusive edited and ready to headline the evening news.
"Mrs. Niadoo I need you to sign this release form please." she announced after knocking, moving back a few steps seconds later when the woman exited looking more composed and ready to accept the clipboard from her hands.
The release statement was quickly looked over before her heels started clacking along the studio floor and the meek assistant trailed after her insisting they only needed her signature before her departure. A man in an overpriced suit huffed as he watched the women approach, readying himself to lie through his teeth.
"Mr. Vwrka you agreed to hold the footage until the day after tomorrow in exchange for this exclusive interview. You also agreed to air it uncut and uncensored when we originally spoke on the phone. I see none of those agreed upon terms here. How do you expect me to believe you'll keep your word? I want it in print." she fumed, motioning with the clipboard as she made her points.
He emitted a slight chuckle and a shrug before answering.
"It's only an exclusive because no one else wants you." he started, unable to keep a straight face before laughing, "Who am I joshing. Everyone wants you."
"We're just the only ones brave enough to air you. Mrs. Niadoo considering the risk involved I must have full control over the subject matter. That doesn't mean I won't honor your wishes."
The smug purse of his lips and the state-run media's inclination to cover her actions in the most negative light possible had her cornered. She knew the risk the station was taking airing her in such an intimate way. The positive light they were shedding on her threatened to bring the government's wrath down on them. She knew ratings and public acclaim was all they were after and that many of the important issues she'd covered would be whitewashed. They didn't care about alien rights but she had no choice. This was the only way she could get her project local television exposure of any kind that didn't paint it as a joke.
"Just don't cut it to make me look like a sexual deviant." she growled while scribbling her signature on the bottom line.
"I wouldn't dream of it." he assured her, pointing towards his assistant when she tried to hand him the paperwork.
With a disbelieving glare she handed it to the nearby woman.
"Pawk yu-tu." she growled at him before turning on her heel.
She left while the Kalopeeian equivalent of "fuck you" made his eyes bulge behind her. The news station couldn't shrink from her rear view mirror fast enough for her liking. The public relations portion of her endeavor was the most taxing yet. Or so she thought.
As she pulled into GÜNTER'S drive through line on the way to her motel she unwound her hair from its professional bun and scratched her nails along her scalp with one hand while answering her ringing phone with the other.
"Hello Spencer."
"It's going to be butchered and doctored to hell no doubt."
"Keep the online campaign going and release the promotional video for the documentary now. Call me back in a couple minutes with a hit count for the teaser."
"And Spence, get your head in the game. After today you won't just be looking at them through editing software. You need to make sure you're ready for this."
While she inched her way forward and more cars filed in behind her she unbuttoned her suit-jacket and struggled to shrug it off. She started thinking about tomorrow's events while she moved up another car-length. Her entire life since the age of fourteen had been geared toward what was going to happen. She was briefly trying to picture what her old friend may look like as a full grown Kalopeeia when a racket two cars behind her caught her attention.
"Fook off ya stupid bug-eyed bastard!" came through her rental's open windows and made her turn.
An empty Pepsi bottle was thrown at an alien who was covered in dirty rags. She winced and watched as the plastic made the being flinch and move up to the next car with a piece of cardboard clutched between its long fingers. The driver of the vehicle behind her blatantly ignored the beggar, instead honking for her to move up in line. She closed the gap and watched while the alien approached the passenger side of her car. The cardboard sign had "Food" painted on it in rough English and the tatters that served for clothing were barely covering the female.
When Kero unlocked her doors and communicated for the alien-in-need to get in she cocked her head and swished her antennae suspiciously, croaking out "What say?" in a voice that wasn't meant to speak human words.
Kero's eyebrows lifted in surprise and she repeated in English "Get in." as she leaned over her console to better view the first Kalopeeian she'd seen in person in a decade. The alien looked around in panic while raising her feelers peacefully and backing away, sure that any human who wanted her to breach regulation and get in a vehicle must be crazy or intending her harm. When Kero realized how her gesture must have looked to the creature she quickly pulled out some money, waiving it out as far as she could reach. The alien cautiously came back, crouching down to see the human better and look for danger.
"Wait!" she called out when the money was snatched and she started to run away again.
A white tee shirt with Perrru's logo on the front was waved out next. When the alien came back she used the few precious seconds it took for the clothing to be grabbed to make her a proposition.
"Go wait over there and I'll bring you some food too." she promised, pointing toward the adjacent parking lot.
The alien gave no answer but put on the shirt while hopping away to a wooded area at the back of the restaurant's property. With another horn blaring behind her Kero turned away, pulling up to the speaker box with four additional plain beef patties added to her order. She wasn't paying attention where she was going when she turned into the parking lot with her food on the seat beside her. Instead she was looking for any sign of the hungry alien. A small patch of white peeking through the bushes made her smile and park in a spot instead of heading back to her motel. She grabbed the grease spotted paper bag and climbed out of her car, holding it up in the air for the Kalopeeian to see from her hiding place. She'd hobbled over to the passenger side of the car and was leaning against it to take off her heels one-handedly when the alien decided to skittishly scuttle across the lot to receive her food bribe.
When the bag was swiped at she held it back behind her out of reach, giving a strict "Ugh-uh.".
"Pahleese" was quietly chirped at her in the rough form of human manners, confusing her.
The alien was crouched down, almost folding itself in half as it wrung its hands together. Its inhalation holes opened greedily as it smelled the hot contents of the bag.
"Come sit and eat with me, young lady." she instructed firmly while walking to the front of her car and moving to sit on the parking block in front of her bumper.
Nervous clicking she knew well sounded out before the alien complied and perched at the very end of the cement block. Kero gave her the first patty and scooted closer while it was practically inhaled.
"I'm sorry the shirt doesn't fit well, all I have on hand are the ones styled for human wear. The ones made to fit Kalopeeians are packed up for delivery."
The female startled a little at the human being closer than she'd originally wanted. But she didn't care much once another burger was being extended her way in a tanned five fingered hand. The third was withheld while many questions were asked and answered. Once Kero learned that the alien beside her was a ninth generation offspring with no knowledge of her race, their home world or their native language, she understood their earlier interaction better.
"You see these symbols here?" she asked, pointing to the Kalopeeian characters that matched the human letters spelling "Perrru" on her companion's shirt.
When she got a nod in return she continued.
"Those stand for the words "Your Friend" in your specie's language. Try to say it with me, it's almost like a purr."
"Very good!" she praised the alien when she pronounced it correctly on her third try.
By the time she bit into her own burger and handed her dinner guest her third people had gathered to watch and take pictures. It wasn't every day in Jo'burg that you saw a bare-footed woman dressed in business attire sitting on the ground eating with a prawn. One man was even brave enough to step in front of them to take a photo head-on before retreating back to the growing crowd.
Seemingly all at once a shout of "Prawn-whore" from within the crowd, the ringing of her cell phone inside the car, and the manager of Gunter's shouting for them to get out of there were heard. With a sad sigh she nodded to her new friend, handing her the remaining food in the bag while keeping her own half eaten patty.
"We're leaving. You can all go back to your business." she shouted to everyone in general while her eyes followed the white-shirted figure loping away in the distance.
She threw herself into the car ans answered her phone as the fatigue of the ending day weighed on her equally as heavy as humanity's cruelty.
"What's up Spence, how many hits did we get?" she asked before taking another bite.
"The donation lines are ringing off the hooks at HQ but it's not from the docu-teaser. Somebody uploaded a video of you with one of them and it's gone viral." her tech assistant animatedly told her. "Hold on, I'll text you one of the pictures CNN just posted an article with. I thought you said you don't eat fast food?"
Kero looked down at the half eaten Gunter-burger with a guilty expression and sarcastically retorted "I don't." with a half full mouth. "I'll be back at the room in five minutes. Do you want anything for here if they'll still serve me?"
"Good because I think I just got MNU called on me." she answered as she eyes flickered over to the worker who was quickly speaking into his phone and gesturing towards her.
Her phone dinged while she navigated the sweltering afternoon streets and she ignored it until she was safely parked in front of the door with a gold number eleven on it. She unlocked her screen to find a picture of herself and the poor nameless soul she'd shared a meal with. Her bitten into burger was held in front of her slightly unbuttoned white blouse. She thanked the grace of god her pencil skirt hadn't ridden up anymore than it already had. Her pantyhose had a small run in them extending upward from her big toe that she wasn't even aware of. Kero paused in scrutinizing the picture to look down at her leg and check. It was there. Looking back to the photo she took in the green speckled plates that poked out around the edge of the alien's Perrru shirt. It looked like a cheap PR stunt and that thought made her frown until her eyes moved up to their faces. She hadn't been looking at the camera. She was looking at the Kalopeeian's happy face and upturned tendrils as they leaned against her bumper and laughed together with the setting sun highlighting them. The individuals who didn't condone her cause would say it was all staged. But she didn't care. She set the photo as her wallpaper and made her way towards the room knowing she'd made a difference in one of their lives that day. That was all that mattered to her.
The butcher's line seemed to be moving slower than usual. The work-weary individual paid no attention as the rap music was turned down and one of the dark humans made the television louder. He didn't care what was on the screen that made many others of his kind leave their place in line and gather around the tv. He'd lost interest in it long ago. Now it only served as a reminder of a life he'd never have again and an informant of the latest lie MNU spread about his people.
He chirped in delighted surprise when the rest of the line dispersed toward the crowd and he was able to walk right up to the table. He ordered his usual amount of cow meat, hardly enough to feed his son and himself for three days. The sound of outrage he made when he was told of another price increase got a machete waved in his face before he begrudgingly paid the outrageous amount and collected his chunk. He began his journey home with the sound of collective alien laughter following him. He wondered what could be on human television that would cause so many of his kind to make that lighthearted sound. The fleeting thought left his mind as he tucked the meat closer to himself and hurriedly navigated the emptiest corridors and alleyways so he wouldn't have to fight off thieves.