Memories of Bysorrn

by MassHysteric

A series of stories/snapshots of ten year old Cadrina Ellen Shepard and her family. Stationed on the turian world of Bysorrn, Cadrina remembers this time fondly, despite some difficulties, as it was the one time she was able to be with both her parents.

7. New Kids on the Block

Memories of Bysorrn: New Kids on the Block

For years Mannikreck's enjoyed modest success serving Palturma Beach's residents and visitors. Now an unlikely new competitor has its owner trying to keep hold of a diminishing clientele while trying to do his part in welcoming humans to the galactic neighborhood...

"What do you call… this?"

Queras Mannikreck contemplated the thin string held up by the fuming salarian customer seated before him. He knew all too well what it was, having fielded similar complaints from others recently.

"… It looks like a hair, sir…"

"And who among your staff… has hair?" the customer led on.

Two humans were working at the restaurant. One was an amiable, middle-aged fellow that handily carried out his duties and occasionally made mistakes. The other, in his late teens, seemed to do nothing but complain when accosted about his work which vacillated between satisfactory and rushed.

"I mean why – why do they allow it to grow and fester on their bodies? Temperatures on this planet range from balmy to sweltering so it couldn't possibly be for warmth! It's disgusting! If you ask me, these people haven't evolved enough from simi-"

Queras cut off the tirade with "I am terribly sorry, sir; I'll get you a new plate straight away."

"… g-oooo-d…"

The salarian turned away, tapping a fist upon his table. "If they can't be bothered to shave off their hair, I see no problem with shaving off the gratuity."

Queras shuffled away towards the kitchen behind the central counter with the contaminated plate in hand, looking about him. Fortunately no other humans were within earshot but even fewer seats were filled than usual. He had assured friends and his son Kale that there was no need for worry. Secretly, however, he feared that his business would not hold out much longer. A new establishment, Maya Pizza, brought in more customers with levo and dextro versions of the popular human food. Kale was sent over to find out what made their offerings so special as to make turian patrons disregard that they were made by humans, a species they supposedly despised. It would be wrong to copy the recipe outright, Queras determined. Besides, the human teenager boasted of working for a pizzeria in a city called Chicago back on Earth and had provided a recipe for recreating this style of pizza. Samples were prepared to be tried later today. Queras hoped the youth knew what he was talking about.

He set down the plate on a countertop adjacent to the kitchen door for a second to grab a purple and black filter mask hanging on the wall, affixing it over his face before going inside. Queras was a bit more sensitive to levo-protein aromas than others of his kind. His human employees likewise with dextro-proteins but nevertheless the elder human learned how to prepare such dishes while taking the necessary precautions. Presently the restauranteur found him on his shift in the levo section clad in an apron, tight hair cover and plastic gloves; the proper attire for kitchen duty. He paused a moment to observe the dark skinned human deftly cutting and turning pieces of meat and vegetables on a fry plate, adding dashes of sauce and seasoning.

"Holland…"

Holland answered between maneuvers, "Mr. Mannikreck – what can I do for you?" He saw the plate in Queras' hand.

"Soggy?"

"Hairy," was Queras' reply.

Holland absently rubbed his hair cover. "…god-dammit, Eric…"

"What was he doing in here? I banned him from the kitchen."

The human chef found a moment and confessed "I'm really sorry, man. I needed to use the restroom real quick and I called Eric over to mind the grill for a minute. Just one minute! I tossed him a cap on my way out…"

He tended the fry plate again. "I should've made sure he put it on."

"And welded it in place to be sure," Queras added. "Listen, if you need someone to cover you, ask someone else. If they're all busy, ask me or my son. Anybody but Eric; I don't need that yigith losing me any more customers!"

"Won't happen again, sir," the cook nodded.

"Eah, don't be so hard on yourself… you're only human, after all…" Queras winked through the clear faceplate of his mask, Holland chuckling in response. The turian faced the kitchen entrance.

"… some I'm not so sure about…"

Holland could hear Queras suck in a deep breath. He quickly set down his utensils and jammed his fingers into his ears just as his supervisor bellowed:

"LY-SANNN-DERRRRRRRR!"

Moments later a tall, light skinned, slender human came in through the levo section door. He stood with a slight swagger before Queras wearing an open Hawaiian shirt, a Dutch Nelson, Galaxy Guy T-shirt underneath, khaki shorts and white sneakers. His mop-like black hair hung down around either side of his face.

"'Sup, Mr. M.?"

Queras held up the rejected plate and the strand of hair. Holland glanced disapprovingly over his shoulder.

"…dawshit…" was all Eric Lysander could manage, running his hand over his uncovered mane.

Oja arrived at Mannikreck's on this clear and hot afternoon balancing on Cadrina's repaired Skyboard, towed along at a careful pace by her best friend. The little asari's sundress billowed as she hopped off and ran up the main stairway. Cadrina folded up the board and carried it by its retracted guide strap handles, following her. Oja waited for her at the top and then took her free hand, starting for the table closest to the view of the ocean. Cadrina gently tugged, seeing that it was occupied, and directed Oja to the stools at the central counter instead.

"But we're gonna miss him!" she complained as they found and took their seats.

The human girl flashed her omni-tool. "I set an alarm. We still have some time."

"Oh, okay." Oja studied the faces around her. "I don't see Kale. Do you?"

"He said he had to do some research for his dad…"

Eric emerged from the kitchen with a dour expression. Cadrina hid her face, looking down at the countertop.

"…uh-oh, Dork Alert..."

Oja hunched down in an exaggerated fashion, hiding her face as well. Eric did not see them as he headed to an unoccupied area of the restaurant to clean and sulk in, smarting from yet another lecture by his supervisor. Cadrina had a literal first run in with him days ago when he and two of his friends were ogling asari and human females out on the beach. One attractive human with an athletic frame and a black, two-piece swimsuit had caught Eric's fancy.

The beauty turned out to be Hannah Shepard.

She quickly gave chase after he made the mistake of coming on too strongly with a remark about her hindquarters, followed by a light spank. He sped away, constantly checking behind him to see if he had lost her in the crowds. He did not see Cadrina out in front and ended up tripping over and collapsing on her. As he quickly stood up spitting sand from his mouth – on Cadrina, Hannah gained on him, made angrier by his extreme proximity to her daughter. Without a word he was off again. Hannah quit her pursuit to make sure Cadrina was all right. Later Eric tried to make amends but she snubbed him, still feeling humiliated and offended that he did not apologize the moment he collided with her.

The kitchen doors slid open again and Queras stepped through them. After hanging up his filter mask he exhaled and surveyed the premises. Spotting the youngsters, he brushed his hands over his stocky torso, dusting off from his latest confrontation with Eric.

"Well now; if it isn't two of my favorite customers!"

Oja waved frantically. "Hi, Mister Queras!"

Cadrina smiled brightly and held up a hand. Queras walked over to Oja's seat and leaned over the counter.

"Hello, Miss Ojarali… may I see both your hands, please?"

Eyes still on him, her head dipped as she raised them up for him to inspect, spreading her fingers. He motioned for her to turn them about.

"Nothing in my hands, Mr. Queras," she complied.

"I'm running low on demeul sauce. Hate to have whatever's left go to waste."

Oja's eyes lowered as she sighed "I know: 'sauce dizzpenzers aren't toys.'"

"Thaaat's right." He rubbed her forehead lightly and flexed his mandibles into a smile to show there were no hard feelings. Oja perked up again as he spoke with Cadrina next.

"And how are you today, Cadrina? I see you've got your ride back."

"I'm doin' good. Hernzo really knows his stuff," her head bobbing as she answered. "Thanks for telling me about him."

"They say there's no hunk of metal and wires a quarian can't fix or repurpose. Glad that's really true in his case."

Cadrina inspected her folded up Skyboard before leaning it against her stool again. "First he tells me I wouldn't get it back 'til he was paid in full, which wouldn'tve been for a few months at least. I go to his shop yesterday to check how he's doing… then he hands it over saying he's already been paid!"

Her head angled at the turian. "Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Queras had a guilty gleam in his eyes. Cadrina's past bravery and resourcefulness had impressed him so much that he secretly arranged with the mechanic Hernzo to cover the cost of repairing her Skyboard before recommending his services.

"I just wanted to thank whoever it was, that's all," she shrugged.

"Does it really matter who it was? You helped the community and so the community helps you."

Cadrina gave a knowing smirk "Oh, well… I guess I'll never know…"

Queras clasped his hands. "Speaking of help, I'm glad you two agreed to help try some new items on the menu today." He hurriedly jogged over to the storage area out back for a minute and returned with one hand behind his back, the other holding a blue and white colored box.

"Customs finally cleared them – a crate of these came in two days ago."

It was a box of Oreo cookies, Cadrina's favorite snack. Her face lit up.

"Whoa! Thanks, Mr. Mannikreck!"

"To be rendered upon completion of services… and also available at the snack bar," said Queras in a mock authoritarian tone, setting the box down behind the counter. Oja seemed a little disappointed. Queras brought around his other hand.

"I didn't forget about you, nolchei..."

Oja gasped. It took some trial and error for Cadrina to discover cookies the little asari really liked. And there it was, just for her: an entire box of Nilla Wafers.

"Gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie!" Oja's arms stretched and reached for the box, her stomach pressed tight against the countertop. Cadrina gently eased her back onto her stool.

"T-t-take it easy; you'll have some when we're done!" she laughed.

Just then Queras could hear Kale call out to him as he walked up, his arms loaded with two flat, colorful square boxes and a travel satchel across his shoulders. Cadrina helped him unload his cargo while Oja greeted him and arranged it on the countertop.

"The line seemed to get longer the longer you were on it," Kale said as he set down his satchel. Queras lifted the lid of each box briefly to inspect their contents.

"I brought what you asked for, Father."

Queras regarded the convex-to–concave ends of the dextro pieces. "These aren't cut up like the pizzas in the vids … are these supposed to be little pictures on them?"

"It's their gimmick. Their pies are shaped and decorated like a calendar one of their ancient civilizations used. They're cut up into slices they call 'k'atuns.'"

"Back from enemy territory, soldier?" teased Eric as he came up on the group.

"Eric," Kale responded.

"Hey, Dork," said Oja.

Queras snorted, Kale shook his head and Cadrina rolled her eyes. The offended party glared upon the youngster.

"It's 'Eric,' you little snow cone!"

"Right – Err-ick the Dor-."

Cadrina gripped Oja's shoulder, silencing her. Eric turned his attention to the human girl who promptly avoided his gaze to favor Queras. Then he also faced Queras and waved his hand backward.

"I've finished up over there. You said I could stop by when you tried out the pizza."

Queras quickly relented, nodding his head. Eric turned one box about and opened it.

"So what's his secret? Marty Strenowic just switches out human fixins for the stuff you guys can eat? I mean he bombed when he opened up back home."

Kale gave his report. "Someone on line with me said that they look and taste like thracma wafers, a traveler's meal from our early colonial days. Faded as we spread out into the galaxy; very few people make it now. There's also an urban legend about a lost ship that crashed on Earth centuries ago, the Maya humans mistaking the survivors for gods. Story's probably not true but get this: one of the old Mayan gods was called Quetzalcoatl, a half avian, half reptilian being."

Kale activated his omni-tool and called up a hologram of one of the Mayan carvings showcasing a creature with a serpentine body and feathered mane.

Queras ran a finger over his own head fringe. "There is a bit of a resemblance there, isn't it?"

"Oh, so it's that and the old 'like Gramma used to make' ploy, is it?" Eric deduced as Kale switched off his device. "So Marty genes up turian culture, finds that bit, a light strikes, he remakes his recipe and sells the Alliance on it since we're all supposed to be 'reach out and make nice' and all. He hooks and reels in the turians and the other alie… non-humans and the Marines stop by like 'what's with the queue out the door?'"

"Then he brings out his old levo-based pizza for them. His corny gimmick becomes a big hit," completed Cadrina. "Pretty slick! Not every pizza place can say they get military funding…"

Eric seized upon the moment, arching and furrowing his brow. "Hark, she speaks… and acknowledges my input!"

Cadrina's eyes went to the floor. Eric moved closer.

"… I said I was sorry…"

Blushing and squirming, Cadrina tried to wiggle her way out of talking to him.

"… right on top of me… in front of everybody…"

"I didn't- see- you. I was kinda running for my life, remember?"

She finally brought her eyes up to meet his. "And why was Mom chasing you, anyway?"

"And how the hell was I s'posed to know she was your mom?"

Cadrina's stare burned into Eric. "… you hit on her…"

Now he blushed, patting an imaginary backside in front of him. "Yeah, I - uh… literally -hit- on her, yeah."

"A married woman! My mother!"

"Hey, let's be honest: even when she isn't breathing fire on –my- ass, your mom's still pretty hot!"

Cadrina's hands snapped to her hips, her head pivoting like a snake about to strike. "I should've knocked you back down!"

Eric reared up. "Are you crazy? She would've killed me!"

Cadrina hopped off her stool and flung her arms wide, sticking out her chest and craning her neck up at him. "Your point?"

Queras had his fill of arguments for one day. "Alright…! Eric: shut up. Cadrina: calm down. Kale: go inside and get the sample trays. Holland will show you where they are."

"Yes, Father!" Kale quickly rounded the counter.

"Have him come back with you. Tell Nethrid to cover the levo plate for half an hour!"

His son disappeared behind the kitchen doors. Oja's arms were around Cadrina's torso, her head pressed upon the back of the human girl's neck, rocking her gently to ease her down.

"Oja… keep doing what you're doing..."

The asari moved one arm to salute the turian and then coiled it back around her friend.

Eric rolled his eyes, mumbling "… course you take her side – customer's always right-"

"That's enough, Eric," snapped his supervisor.

The adolescent straightened up as best he could manage. Cadrina pat Oja's hands to let her know she was fine and climbed back on to her stool. Oja released her and returned to her own seat facing the counter again. The awkward silence was bordering intolerable as everyone waited for Kale. Suddenly the turian boy appeared again with Holland, each with two covered, grey metal trays. Queras moved the pizza boxes aside to make room.

"First, some levo-protein items for the snack bar…"

Cadrina rolled her shoulders while Eric crossed his arms, Oja's elbows propped on the countertop as Queras uncovered the first tray. A couple of plump pieces of golden baked dough were laid out on it, twisted into odd shapes. Various attempts to nail down the traditional pretzel form. Eric stifled a laugh.

Cadrina at least tried to be more diplomatic. "They – uhhh… look really-"

"I made them," Kale blurted out.

"There was some extra dough left over and I didn't wanna toss it," Holland added. "Kale figured he could make something from it. I suggested pretzels."

"… I'm sure they taste much better than they look." Cadrina assured her friend.

"They'd better," said Eric.

"Try them out," encouraged Queras as he set out drinking glasses and went to fill a pitcher with ice water.

Oja, Cadrina, Eric and Holland each took a pretzel oddly consistent with their own physical size. Oja chewed on and tried to figure out how her small piece tasted to her, eyes darting left and right. Everyone else agreed with Cadrina's prediction, delighting in the pretzels' fluffy inner texture and mellow, pleasant flavor. Oja swallowed finally but gave no opinion.

"Do you like it, Oja?" asked Kale.

Oja squeezed her lips together a moment and then nodded her head rapidly.

"Wait'll you guys try it with tomato sauce and mozzarella!" said Eric. "What else've we got?"

Holland removed the lid from another sample tray and set it down behind the counter. There was a small pile of what appeared to be chocolate chip cookies, but their surfaces were more granular than normal.

"They're oatmeal raisin cookies from a family recipe. I'm sure folks would want a few homemade snack alternatives."

"Fine with me as long as I can still get my Oreos," smiled Cadrina.

Queras offered the group glasses of water to clear their pallets. The humans and Oja each took a sip, not before Eric asked if they should swish and spit as in the wine tastings he had seen in vids. Queras groaned and faked a swipe at him, then waited beside Kale while the cookies were tried.

After finishing, Cadrina gave her verdict. "Hmmm… a bit sweeter than I'm used to but not bad!"

Like Oja with her pretzel, Eric chewed and pored over the taste. After swallowing he began to shudder. Holland and Queras were understandably very concerned.

"Hol… be straight with me…" Eric held up what remained of his cookie. "Did you use Haupmann's Oatmeal mix?"

"Yeah, I did," Holland replied uneasily.

Eric clasped his shoulder. "Cheers, man! I didn't think –anybody- could make that crap edible! This is a bloody miracle!"

"Raised on the stuff?"

"… let's just say I didn't have much of a choice of breakfast sometimes…" Eric remembered a certain institution he frequented that favored this particular brand.

Returning to the present, he pointed out Oja's scrunched up face.

"Looks like, uh, the blueberry's turning into a raspberry…"

Cadrina attended her. "Whatsamatter, Oja? Too sweet for you?"

The little asari's lips puckered as she shook her head in the affirmative, threatening to expel. Queras quickly handed over some napkins. Cadrina cupped one in her hand and had Oja spit out cookie bits into it. Cadrina then wiped off Oja's mouth and chin and handed her a glass of water to wash out the taste.

Holland sighed. "Guess they can't always be a hit, huh?"

"Hey, I'm sold," muffled Eric, his mouth full of another oatmeal cookie he helped himself to.

Queras had Holland and Eric cover up and take away the snack sample trays as he moved over the boxes from Maya Pizza.

"And here we are… first we'll try theirs. Then we'll see how ours-"

A rapid, high-pitched electronic beeping sounded. The turians checked their forearms, but neither of their omni-tools was responsible. It was the alarm on Cadrina's device.

"Sorry guys; just gimme two minutes - I'll be right back! C'mon, Oja!"

Queras allowed the children to scamper up to the ocean side railing, accustomed to the human girl's daily ritual; this was Oja's first time partaking in it. Cadrina curled her fingers around the warm plasteel bar, Oja situated in between her arms. Neither could see anything yet other than the occasional civilian water craft skipping by on the waves under the bright sun. Another minute passed and then Cadrina spotted the familiar silver and white arrow powering its way into view, buoyed by a frothing wake.

"I see his ship!"

Oja hopped in place. "Where? Where?"

Cadrina directed her finger towards her right. "Right over there…"

The shore patrol craft's lookouts were at their posts. Crewmembers were steadily walking across the deck carrying equipment and moving below. A lone human stood with the portside lookout who momentarily handed over his binoculars so the other could have a look. The human quickly handed it back and tapped the lookout's shoulder, pointing towards the shore. The turian then engaged his comset earpiece. Cadrina and Oja had been sighted.

Cadrina wondered what her father was up to this time as his ship came closer.

"MISTER DYL-AAANNN!"

Cadrina wrapped an arm around Oja's stomach. "Just wave to him; he can't hear you from way out there."

Cadrina and Oja each held up one hand high and shook them furiously as the craft neared the middle of its pass. Dylan stretched his arm over his head. Then a few other crewmembers, including the captain, stopped what they were doing to wave as well. Two of them had rigged a signaling banner to trace out Cadrina's name while they held up each end.

"Hey look, Oj- oh man….'Cadrina's' spelled with a 'C-ee'…"

Her lips pressed together, she held her arm still as the craft completed its pass and eventually disappeared from view, its crew and her father returning to their regular duties. Cadrina turned about with Oja to head back to the others.

"Eric!" Cadrina yawped out in surprise, her hand slapping her chest.

"I guess spellcheckers aren't covered in their budget, are they?" he said, having sneaked up behind them.

Oja wagged a finger at him. "It's not polite to spy!"

"Well it ain't much better to keep people waiting while perfectly good pizza gets cold, so let's hus-tle!" He thumbed at Queras, Kale and Holland in the background.

The three slowly ambled to the main counter but Oja was not about to let Eric have the last word.

"You better stop being naughty, Err-ick…"

"Whatta you gonna do, half pint? Yell at me 'til you're blue in the face…? Whoops, too late!"

Oja took on an impish look. "… or I'll tell Miss Hannah!"

Cadrina could not help but smile and stick out her tongue at her teenaged tormentor. Eric's lips bared teeth out of one side as he growled lightly, holding a fist before his chest. Once again he was upstaged by those younger than he.

"Zip it, Blueberry, before I stick ya in a pie!"

"Eric? Focus on pizza pies, okay?" Queras interjected.

His subordinate stopped short of the counter, saluting casually. "By your command, Mr. M…"

"Kale and I went ahead and tried the dextro slices while you were gone," said Queras as Cadrina and her young charge sat down.

"How were they?" she asked.

"I can see why Maya's so popular. The flavor, the consistency… he must have secured some top tier nutritional advisors from the Hierarchy."

"It's all right… if you prefer vegetables," commented Kale, trying to boost his father's confidence. "But I'll take your vaal steaks anytime. It's a shame you can't try any, Cadrina. It's Father's signature dish!"

"What about your pizza; did that come out okay?" wondered the human girl.

Holland rubbed the back of his neck. "Needs a little more work. It's hard to know if what you're cookin's good if you can't taste it yourself. Kale helped out best he could."

"At least it doesn't look or taste exactly like Maya's," the turian boy chimed in. "Eric's 'Chicago-Style' crust also helps set it apart."

"Damn straight it does, so nobody has to worry about lawsuits or anything. Could we pleeease try the pizza now?" Eric begged.

Kale and Holland moved up the levo tray and boxes while Queras cleared away the rest.

"Okay – just like before. The Maya pieces first…" the turian restauranteur instructed.

Cadrina regarded her "k'atun's" pictogram. "Mine's looking at me funny."

"I dunno if I wanna bite into a frog butt first," said Eric about his piece "Anybody wanna trade?"

Holland grabbed a k'atun for himself "Just eat, Eric – alright?"

"I'll eat the frawgh" Oja volunteered, presenting her slice to the human teen. "You can have mine, Err-ick. There's nothing on it."

Eric's brow cocked upward at Oja's unusually kind offer as they exchanged pieces. She bit into hers while he scrutinized his to verify that he was not about to be played for a fool again. Confident his slice was safe, Eric indulged. Soft, delighted moans and grunts were heard briefly from the humans before they caught and silenced themselves; this food was from the competition, after all. Queras understood and tolerated their honest reaction. The bar was set pretty high by Maya Pizza. If he could not be better than them, he could still strive to be different and regain some lost ground.

"Now let's try Holland's," said Cadrina.

Oja suddenly snatched her glass of water and gulped it down, which only exacerbated the burning sensation. She rapidly waved her hands in front of her tongue trying to cool it down.

"Haaaaaah-haaaaaaaah-haaaaaaaah!"

Cadrina asked Queras if he had any milk. The turian chef promptly poured and passed her a glass of a light green, creamy liquid as she cupped Oja's jaw.

"You all right, Oja?" she asked after the asari had a few sips.

"Too spicy for you, huh?" chided Eric "From blueberry to raspberry and now jalapeno - kid's gonna turn into the whole produce section before this is over!"

Oja relaxed, the milk having cooled her tongue and throat. And then a strange look came over her. Cadrina had gotten to know her little friend enough to know why.

"… you want another bite, dontcha?"

"Yes, please!" said Oja brightly.

"Oja? I'm glad you like it but I'd reeeeally like to know… what you think of ours," persuaded Queras, who lay in front of her a small, thick piece of baked dough topped with a comparatively thin layer of tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.

Taking a cue from him, the humans each took a piece. Oja stretched her mouth wide but could not accommodate the slice. Cadrina used the bottom of her own piece to help mash down Oja's to where she could bite into it with no trouble, drawing a gentle smirk from Holland and an exasperated look from Eric. Queras rubbed his hands together while Kale rested a hand on his shoulder. The moment of truth had come.

Eric was the first to speak up. "You changed the tomato sauce, didn't you, Hol?"

"The sauce you wanted was a bit on the bland side," Holland defended. "I had a slightly better one in stock."

The teenager gave a thumbs-up sign "Good move."

"Great pizza, Holland!" concurred Cadrina.

Oja gave her approval. "Mmmm - I wish I had a bigger mouth!"

Both children started clapping, Holland taking a small bow and offering to shake Queras' hand. The stocky turian, in a haze of delight and hasty mental calculations for a full rollout, shook his head and returned Holland's gesture. Queras figured if he could sell his pizza at a somewhat lower price than Maya - and keep Eric's hair out of everything else - all signs pointed to a slow and steady comeback.

Queras reached down behind the counter and brought up Cadrina and Oja's cookie boxes. Oja snatched and tore open hers, audibly cramming and munching on her first two cookies. Queras' open hand was still held out.

"… thank you…" she mumbled.

The turian's hand then moved to pour and set down another glass of milk. "You're very welcome, nolchei."

"Don't I get a cookie?" asked Eric "It was my idea."

"Which is one of the things I want to talk to you about; be sure to see me before you leave today. Now give Holland and me a hand with this…"

Eric groaned as he helped clear the countertop before heading out back, Holland and Queras returning to the kitchen. Kale, thanking Cadrina and Oja for helping out his father, sat down next to the human girl and got in a bit of small talk. As Oja sat listening and eating, she noticed something odd. All of the pizza was taken away yet she thought she could still smell some. Sniffing about, she slowly lifted up the flap of Kale's satchel. Tucked inside was another Maya Pizza box.

Kale quickly pulled his satchel away.

"I thought it wasn't polite to spy, Oja!" Cadrina scolded before seeing the suspect item for herself. She then cast an eye on her turian friend, Oja ashamed for exposing Kale's secret.

"I'm sorry. Kale's bag smelled funny. I thought Err-ick was playing a trick."

"Uh-huh… or maybe you just wanted more pizza from Maya's!"

"I do not! Mister Queras' peet-za is yummy-licious! Even if I have to smush it-"

"Please!" Kale interrupted, closing up the flap. "… I-I don't want my father to know."

Cadrina giggled. "Kale, it's not like you're working for them… are you?"

"No, but… heh… I've always said that anything Father made was the best. That's true most of the time. But there are some things I like better but I keep that to myself. My mother… he was so disappointed that he couldn't be a soldier like my grandfather. 'Not built for it.' But he was, and is, a good cook. She told him that maybe he was meant to serve in a different way. 'A well-fed army is a victorious army,' she would say. So he got set up here, serving freighter and transport crews, making enough credits to expand his operation from a shack into this… it's his whole life now and he loves it… I know Mother would have loved it, too."

Oja slid down from her stool, walked up behind Kale and rested her head against his hip. Kale smirked, placing a hand upon her head.

Cadrina lightly took his shoulder. "Kale, I know you're trying to do right by him, but I don't think he'd take it too personally if he knew you liked Maya's stuff-"

"You don't know that! Running a restaurant is the only way he feels he's worth something. He doesn't hate Mr. Strenowic for taking away customers… and Martin doesn't seem like such a bad person. He looked pretty amazed at all the attention he's getting now. But Father needs my support. I start military service next year. He's expecting me to take up the business once I've finished… and I don't know if I can even be half as good as he is with this place. I don't think I want to run a restaurant. Maybe -I'm- meant for something else, too."

"I know what you mean. Mom teases me about signing up with the navy when I'm 18. But I like working with computers, helping people. I don't wanna go to war."

Kale's brow crooked as he used her last sentence to segue to a less troubling subject. "Are you sure? I've watched you play your games; you can be pretty merciless sometimes!"

"Yeah, she can beat anybody!" said Oja to back up his claim. "Once she even made her friend Steevin cry!"

Cadrina tried to play down the adulation. "They're just games, guys-"

"And you're good at them, especially that virtual archery game. You've got steady hands and sharp eyes."

"… I like Robin Hood." Her cheeks reddened as she looked down.

"This human, Robin Hood; he taught you how to shoot?"

"No, I learned archery at camp. Robin of Loxley's a vid program I watch. He lived centuries ago and helped the poor by stealing from the rich."

"He sounds like a criminal."

"Thing is that the rich people he steals from are the real criminals. They got rich by overtaxing and exploiting the poor. The poor see him as their hero."

Kale shook his head. "So he breaks the law and threatens the social order in order to address injustice? I don't know if I can call that kind of person a hero."

"It's also action and adventure stuff. You'd like it!"

The weekly vid had found a new fan in Oja. "Yeah, Robin Hood always beats that Sheruff of Naughty-Ham!" She stepped away and shouted "'CURSE YOU, ROBIN HOOOOOOD!'" shaking fists on either side of her face, imitating the villain's famous refrain.

Kale chuckled. "Okay, maybe I'll watch… one time."

"At my place or yours?" Cadrina suggested.

"You can watch at my house, Kale," said Oja "Lotsa room for everybody!"

"If our parents say it's all right," the turian indicated.

Oja huffed and looked at Cadrina in a way that implied that his statement covered her as well. Cadrina nodded and panned her head about.

"Whoever's house is available, then…?"

Kale smiled in acceptance of the terms, his transgression against his father forgotten.

The sun was about to sink behind the horizon line. Cadrina and Oja walked back past Mannikreck's after a visit to another of the human girl's friends at her house. The last of the customers were leaving for home or other destinations as the staff closed up for the night. The children made their way further up the hill, stopping suddenly as their names were called out, punctuated by honking noises. Holland drove by on a scooter and wished them both good night and a safe trip home, looking a bit like a comical bug with his goggles and safety helmet on, his dreadlocks hanging down from underneath his helmet as he disappeared over the top of the hill. Standing in place, Cadrina looked back down on the restaurant. Queras and Kale came down the steps along with Eric. Eric then stood at the base of the steps as Kale climbed into a parked aerocar near them. Queras pointed and shook a finger at the teenager, saying something. Eric remained in place even after the turian chef climbed into the aerocar and accelerated away in the direction opposite the hill. Once the vehicle was out of sight, Eric walked a bit before sitting down at a short and solid curbside wall and pulled out something from his knapsack to look at.

Cadrina ordered Oja to follow her closely and quietly as she headed down towards the stairway, taking care not to be spotted. Eric was too absorbed to notice a human and asari child take up position behind one of the stairway's support pillars.

"Now you're gonna spy, Cady?" Oja whispered harshly.

"Blame Eric; he started it. Besides, I wanna find something out. Nobody can be a Dork all the time."

"Maybe -he- is."

Cadrina found an angle and engaged some buttons on her omni-tool. "Well, I won't know 'til I find out…"

A small screen popped up, using alternating mass effect fields to manipulate the air, tracking and bringing her target into clear focus. This unique feature was only available on adult, military grade omni-tools at present. Cadrina's mother cautioned her about using advanced features openly to avoid jealous and authoritative reprisals.

"Hey, omitools can't do that!"

"Shhh – this one can. It was my mom's."

Oja moaned softly with concern, now the keeper of two secrets about her older friends. Cadrina manipulated some controls and zoomed in. Eric held the folded object between his parted knees, his elbows resting on them. The object was a well-worn, old fashioned paperback book with a squid-like face on the cover. Whatever he was reading seem to placate Eric's former concerns. A sly smirk crept across his lips. Adjusting the focus further, she was able to read the book's title:

THE CALL OF CTHULU AND OTHER TALES OF TERROR

BY

H.P. LOVECRAFT

Oja tried to insert herself between Cadrina and her omni-tool. "What's he looking at?"

"He's reading about scary monsters…"

A small, drab, grey utility truck – Alliance-issued- pulled up on the curb. An equally small, drab man in his late fifties with a thinning head of dark hair and a blue jumpsuit with a grey jacket over it climbed out and approached Eric. Cadrina allowed Oja to crouch in front of her and share in her impromptu spy mission, tapping out new commands on her device. Oja contained her surprise, finding that she and her friend could now hear as well as see the conversation taking place several yards away.

Eric put away his book. "Ay, Uncle Ray…"

Ray folded his arms and leaned against the hood of the truck. "… What happened, Eric? You've got that look again…"

"… I…"

"Got fired?"

"No… not exactly. He gave me a week off to think it over. Said when I came back I should either take my job seriously or take my kit out of my locker."

Ray unfolded his arms to support himself further on the hood. "Jesus, Eric! Can you even –try- to stay outta trouble?"

"I'm tryin'! It's just…"

"Just what?"

"… I dunno… anything from Mom?"

"Not yet. But your father had plenty to say."

"I'll bet."

"He still thinks it was stupid of you to run."

Eric stretched out an open hand. "I didn't –start- that fire! Me and Boss Gene were fighting, yeah, but I'm no psycho to burn down his factory with him in it! Somebody had it worse for him and wanted the cops to think it was me. You think they would've listened to me? With the history I have…? I had to run."

"It's your own damn fault, Eric. Your little buddy Serge's got you into plenty of trouble-"

"Some trouble I got myself into, Uncle Ray. Besides if you really took Dad's side, you wouldn'tve taken me with you."

"… it's 'cause I wanted to help you… and I thought I could give you a new lease along with me. But now it looks like you wanna cock this up, too!"

"It's not easy, alright?"

"Like it's a walk in the park for me. But you, with those damn nightmare books you love reading and all those space games and comics you had around the house… I swear to God, Eric, you're the only kid I know who actually –loved- the fact that we were being attacked by aliens! And look…"

Ray gesticulated around him. "We're working with them now! So where's the mile-wide smile, huh? The 'Take Me to Your Leader' shit?"

"…it doesn't feel right…"

"Oh, so now you've rejoined the human race?"

"It's not that-"

"Then what is it?" Ray threw his arms out in exasperation.

Eric leaned in to drive home his case. "We're supposed to be with 'aliens,' Uncle Ray! Super scientific, intelligent… and look…"

He indicated Mannikreck's. "A restaurant? Lifeguards? Winos…? Cops…! They got cops and crooks, bullies and bitches just like back home… I… I thought it'd be something special…"

"No, nothing special… we're only on another friggin' planet, Eric!"

"Sure! And instead of being Captain Kirk, I'm Pimples McBraceface at the greasy spoon and you're… oh c'mon, you thought it was gonna be great, too, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," Ray nodded "But lucky for us, it isn't."

"Wait a minute - you actually like your dock job?"

"I do now… after I found out I didn't have to have any weird alien voodoo done to me! No eating gloop, no weird implants, no learning a new language - a little –removable- earpiece handles that… no learning curve. Just dive right in and carry on like normal despite the natives. Any problems, you talk to the humans with the guns. Let them handle diplomacy. Besides, you'll see plenty enough weird shit at the docks, believe me! The stuff they bring in from other places… I didn't think smells like that were possible!"

Eric laughed at his uncle's unique perspective on humanity's first joint venture with alien species. Ray placed his hands in his pockets, exhaled and went on.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to these turian guys. Sumpin' bout their voices just give my ears a bad buzz. Never mind they look like armored cockatoos!"

Eric gently explained "Their planet gets more UV rays than ours. That metal skin protects 'em."

Ray threw his arms up again. "Sunblock, for Chrissake…!"

He then paused in thought and began snickering "Could-could you imagine walkin by some parked car late at night, hearing two of 'em go at it…? It… must… sound like cast-a-n-nets…!"

Eric folded his own arms in disbelief at his uncle's segue into turian sexuality. "… you're a sick man, Uncle Ray…"

"And you with your blue chicks who really can sleep with anybody," Ray fired back. "Seriously, Honey - pick a species and gender and maybe we'll talk!"

Ray paused again and made a face, a "you know I'm right" face, waiting for his nephew's composure to fail completely which it did in no time. Then he joined in the laughter. At times it looked like the two humans would collapse on the ground. But they kept their equilibrium and soon enough were quiet again.

"C'mon," Ray waved Eric into the truck "Since you've got some free time now, you can do more constructive things like cleanin' up your room and making our little tinfoil condo a bit more livable."

Eric climbed into the passenger side. "But doesn't it remind you of your wonderful job at the docks?"

Ray slammed his door shut prompting Eric to do likewise. "Eric: never bring your work home with you. I deal with crates all day long…"

He energized and revved the truck's drive core. "Coming home to sleep in one… that's more irony than I'm willing to take…"

The noise from the drive made it difficult for Cadrina to discern any more of their conversation. Adjusting settings became a moot point as the truck drove away. She switched off her omni-tool and stood up with Oja, having second thoughts about learning a bit more about Eric than she bargained for. He gravitated towards trouble, enough to even be accused of murder. Most likely he would end up in a life of crime or a short-lived one; definitely not someone to associate closely with. She did not care for his attitude towards Queras or his wisecracks, either, yet she felt compelled to want to know him better, to even risk getting in trouble herself. As if there was something in him that was waiting for her to discover, something he did not know he had or was trying to deny. It was an unusual new feeling inside her that she could not quite place…

"So Err-ick's here because people think he made a fire to kill people? And what were they saying about tury-ens? And blue 'chiks?' Did that man mean people like me?"

"It was adult stuff they were talking about, Oja" said Cadrina, trying to quickly dissuade further questioning. "Stuff you shouldn't hear 'til you're older."

"But we did hear it 'cause we were SPY-ING!"

Cadrina's index finger crossed her lips. "Shhh! I know, I know… I'm sorry…"

"Well… is Err-ick a Dork all the time? The man sounded like he doesn't like tury-ens or asari… maybe Eric doesn't like me, either. But the man said Err-ick likes aley-ens…"

Cadrina thought a few seconds.

"I dunno about the man… but I think Eric's… just a little… disappointed. I don't think he really hates you or Mr. Mannikreck. Why work for him if he did…? It's weird; some humans really wanted turians, asari and other non-humans to be way different from us and some didn't. And they are… and they're not…"

"How are we different… or not different?"

"I think…" Cadrina grasped her left wrist "It's like my omni-tool and all the stuff it can do that most others can't. It's amazing to you, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, it's not really for me because I'm used to having it and knowing what it can do. I thought it was cool at first, Mom trusting me and giving me her old omni-tool that she used as a code-tech specialist. But I got used to it."

"Soooo Err-ick really doesn't like that tury-ens and non-hue-mans don't think they're special, like Err-ick does?"

"Yeah… something like that…"

"But Err-ick called me all those names-"

"That was just light teasing. We were teasing him, too, remember? You called him a Dork instead of by his name!"

"Because you called him a Dork first for trying to squash you!"

"… yeah, I did, didn't I?" Cadrina knelt down again to face Oja. "It really was all my fault… I started it…"

Oja cradled Cadrina's head. "I forgive you, Cady. I'll ask the Godiss to forgive you, too."

Cadrina pat the asari child's back. "Thanks, Oja," The fading daylight made her check her omni-tool's chronometer.

"Whoa, we better get home before Mom and Dad do!"

The children ran up to the top of hill and past, stopping when Oja suddenly had the idea of towing Cadrina along home on the Skyboard. Cadrina agreed on the condition that they would stop before they hit a downward slope, about a minute's walk from where they were. Cadrina unfolded her Skyboard and slipped her feet into its sockets, bending down and extending a guide strap for Oja to hold. She hoped their little misadventure in eavesdropping wouldn't adversely affect Oja's attitude towards humans. And though she had a better grasp on the banter between Eric and his uncle, Cadrina was also in no hurry to grow up. Time enough for adulthood and its concerns when it came. For now, she was happy being a child.

"Okay… mush!" Cadrina commanded as the Skyboard let out a hiss and levitated. Oja immediately squatted down and folded herself into a ball.

"I meant pull me forward, Oja."

"So say 'pull me forward!'" Oja blurted as she popped upright. "Why tell me to 'mush?'"

"That's what dog sled drivers shout when they want their dogs to run."

Oja put her arms akimbo. "I'm not a dawg, Cady!"

"… just joking, Oja," Cadrina sighed. "I know you're not a dog."

"And you're not tee-zing me?"

"… no…"

"Okay," Oja tightened her hold on the guide strap and spun about. Cadrina steadied herself upon her Skyboard and thrust an index finger outward.

"All right… fore-warrrd!"

"Mush-innnng!" Oja jogged at a light clip, pulling her friend along.

END

Author's Thoughts and Notes:

- Michael Chiklis (The Shield, Vegas) was the basis for Queras Mannikreck. Queras is a touch heftier than your standard turian. I know, I know: turians don't get fat. But he's about as portly as turians will ever get. Asari, quarians, and batarians on the other hand… salarian weight problems of course are almost unheard of due to their accelerated metabolisms.

- Dante Basco (Hook, Avatar: The Last Airbender – voice of Prince Zuko) was the basis for Kale Mannikreck. He has a more normal, slender build for a fourteen year old turian male.

- Dean Stockwell (Quantum Leap, Galactica) was the basis for Eric's uncle Ray.

- Dutch Nelson: Galaxy Guy is a CGI cartoon parody of a science fiction movie preview you can find on YouTube. In Memories of Bysorrn, it exists as a cult TV show.

- Yigith (YEE-GITH): turian word for "dope" or "knucklehead"

- Nolchei (NULL-SHAY): turian equivalent of "sweetheart"

- David Anderson's bio says that he was born and raised in London, yet when he is heard speaking he has no English accent to reflect this. In coming up with Eric Lysander, I thought it would be funny to play with this. Eric grew up in the Chicago megalopolis and had never set foot outside the North American Territories, yet his speech tends to reflect British slang due to his mother's influence even though he also doesn't have an accent.