[ Next morning ]

  Fred told me yesterday that he would start repairing drones himself without requiring any further input from me, so there really wasn't much to do for this newly appointed drone repairer.

  Bothering Anisa all day long wasn't an option either, so I decided to spend some time in my quarters to watch good old human TV. Surprisingly I wasn't able to find any Lantosian channels.

  Watching TV for hours was fun..at first, but knowing that this would be my life from now on, put a damper on the feeling.

  I went for a nice long walk, but that too got boring real quick.

  Despite what you might think, Lantosians don't seem to have much need for entertainment, or at least they managed to hide it well. I did find some of their music though and it reminded me of a grade schooler pying the recorder. No offense, but their concept of 'music' so far hasn't been compatible with me at all.

  At some point I decided to find something else to do. Anything would do, as long as it would give some meaning to my lonely life as a prisoner in this weird city.

  While staring outside and thinking about my lonely future, Ben contacted me.

  "Kaya..are you busy?"

  "Ah, good morning to you too, Ben! Wait...let me check my schedule. No...looks like I'm free for..say..the next 60 or 70...YEARS."

  "Good, good."

  "Eh...no, that's bad, Ben. I mean...seriously bad."

  "I know...you're bored, and you should be. And that's why I actually called. I have the perfect remedy for that. Why don't you go to General Services and help them out a bit? They have been asking for more staff, but the Lantosians want one of theirs in that position. It's something we can't refuse. And since you are equipped with the fluff and have nothing else to do...you would be perfect."

  "Aaaaaahhh.....I think I understand. Because I used to be human?"

  "Kaya....I would never say such an awful thing." His voice suggests otherwise, though. "No, you are our guest, and helping us out in return would be a nice thing to do, don't you think? I've heard they are nice people, all human, so please do me a favor and just go. Don't tell me you have given up on life already?"

  "No, of course not. But asking me to accept a job out of the blue doesn't inspire much confidence. I mean...did I miss something? What am I supposed to do exactly?"

  "Kaya, just walk there whenever you want. There's no hidden agenda, I promise, and I believe it's also healthy for you to stay busy. Even if you only help them out once a week, it will help you cope in your new environment. Just remember to py your part as a Lantosian so the furries stop compining."

  Sure...not suspicious at all."Furies....ha ha ha...okay...but what if I suck at that work?"

  "Then we'll find something else for you to do. This is a big city, Kaya. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I truly think the job's really easy for someone who has managed to survive thus far."

  " okay...whatever. I'll go, okay? But I still need time to process things."

  "And you'll have it. Just help them out...it's not a fulltime job, I promise. When you're ready, go to Building D, ground level. Easy to find and not far from your den." He's teasing me, I can hear it in his voice. But he does seem to be in a really good mood today.

  "Har dee har har. I don't particurly like my den, Ben."

  "Ooohhh...rhyming, are we? Maybe there's still hope for you, Kaya. Oh, and I'll make sure that Earth Force will somehow reward you. Maybe we could order you a happy meal?"

  "Ben! That's really cruel! I can't eat that stuff anymore!"

  "Right...my bad. But you know what I mean. You help us...we help you. Just ask me and I'll see what I can do."

  "Sounds fair. Excuse me, Ben, I need to go."

  "Do you have an appointment?" He sounded very surprised, probably because his people check my every move, including my comms' messages.

  "Yeah...Building D?"

  "Ah, I understand. That's excellent! I'll tell them that you're on your way."

  "Sure...and now that we're talking, I'd love some good old fashioned human music. Not the Lantosian crap they have here."

  "Hahaha....deal. Look forward to it."

  "Thanks, Ben. I know you're trying to help me."

  "Gd to have you with us, sport. Until next time."Ben ended the call and just like that my life changed completely.....again.

  Building D wasn't hard to find and all skyscrapers are connected by walkways. But I still decided to have a walk outside.

  The outside route took about 10 minutes, so it was really close to 'home.' I didn't need a bus or even a bike, so the location was perfect for a job. Especially when people basically begged me to start. But still, it felt like I was going to a job interview.

  Unlike my building, this one has a compact one-floor office added to the building's exterior. It's definitely not part of the main building, so they must have added it ter. I quickly spot a door, but a sign reads "emergency exit only, entrance inside building D."

  After making my way into the building, I noticed the exact same yout as 'my' building. Same stairs, same carpet, same boring paintings.

  I quickly found the door to "Valley City General Services." Yup, I have reached my destination and a new occupation awaits.

  I knock on the door and am surprised to see it being opened immediately, almost making me knock in mid air.

  "Good morning, I already noticed you approaching. Can we help you?" A human man greeted me.

  "Um...yes, actually. I'm Kaya. Ben..eh..Ben Lee, sent me? He asked if I could help you guys out?" I know...it's not the most polite way to introduce myself, but it already happened. Besides, he doesn't know that I used to be a human, so no harm done, right?

  "By all means, please do get inside!" He motions me to step inside and seems genuinely surprised that I had managed to show up. Either that, or he expected to see someone else.

  We introduced ourselves while shaking hands, which led to more confused expressions, but they quickly repced those with smiles.

  There are more people present in the office area next door, but apparently the front office is my pce to be.

  "Coffee? Tea?" Jake Matthews, my contact here, asked.

  "Ah..sorry, I honestly would love some, but I can't drink those. Trust me, I tried."

  "Oh..anything else?"

  "No, but thank you very much. So...I hope you don't mind having a Lantosian woman working here?"

  "Not at all...but I have to admit, you are...different."

  I smiled. "Story of my life."

  "Hahaha...that's exactly what I meant. No, you are most welcome here, especially with that sense of humor. You'll fit right in. Did Ben tell you what we had in mind for you?"

  "No, not really. All he said was that you asked for more staff, but the Lantosians demanded one of theirs here. So...honestly, I have no idea."

  "I'm surprised that he didn't tell you more. But I think we'll get along just fine. Do you have any experience in office work?"

  "Absolutely, I have worked as a customer service clerk for about 2 years. Had to stop working there when they sent me here."

  "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I mean, happy you have some useful experience, but..well, you know. So you didn't come here voluntarily?"

  "Nope...no choice whatsoever." I shake my head while seeing a fshback of the pne crash in my mind's eye.

  "Wow...so cruel."

  "Yeah, it really sucks. But still, life's pretty good here. People are nice and all, but I didn't have much to do until now. Well, I'm the city's drone repairer now, but that's hardly a fulltime job. The AI does most of the work. So I might have to rush out now and then, but I think the AI can handle most situations."

  "Good to know. I'm sorry, but what we had in mind for you are mostly a few errands to run...some chores...helping out where needed. I hope it's not too...em....boring for you?"

  "Nah. At this point everything's welcome."

  "Gd to hear. So one example would be to help out at immigration. We have a new transport coming in from Lantosia every few weeks and the Landosian dies are almost always one person short. They basically assist the new arrivals and help them find their way to their quarters. Seriously, nothing to worry about.

  It's a typical example of a retively simple task, but your contribution will help others immeasurably. Anyway... I'd like to think that I'm a good judge of character and I think this line of work might not be too interesting for you. What do you think?"

  "As I said, I'd welcome any distraction. I can think on my feet and I'd love to help out. I'm not sure what else I could do in this city. It's just that I don't have much experience with Lantosian stuff."

  "Good to know. I like your attitude. Wait...you don't have experience with... the Lantosian stuff?"

  Oops...better be careful."Yup. I was raised by humans as some kind of experiment, please don't ask. All was fine until the kids at school started asking why my parents didn't have fluffy ears." I point at my now twitching ears. Really, that feels very strange when they do that. "Anyway, .....I know more about humanity than my own kind." I shrugged for emphasis, because I'm still making things up as I go.

  "I see. Well, as strange as it sounds, it expins a few things. In a good way of course. So...when can you start?"

  "Right now. As I said earlier...nothing to do. Anything in mind for me?"

  "Sure...let me check." He checks his computer, which looks nostalgic...no weird squiggly lines...just pin old English. "Yes, these tasks are still unassigned. I'll just read the priority tasks out loud and you tell me if you like to take care of them, okay? We'll take care of the others. Anything you can do to help is appreciated."

  "Yup, let's hear it."

  "Okay...transporting crates with food and vegetables from Entrance 1 to the depot. Do you perhaps have a driver's license?" He grimaced..not expecting much from me.

  "As a matter of fact I do. I mean, as long as it's an automatic and a family car. But why don't you use drones for those?"

  "Seriously? You can drive? That's an unexpected bonus. The vans aren't too big, so you won't have any difficulties driving them. But no, we can't use drones, those are reserved for Lantosian activities. Believe it or not, it's clearly defined in the treaty we have with them. Eh. I mean your people, no offense."

  "None taken. I'm basically human, so treat me like one, okay? Just don't tell anyone else, or I'll be in trouble."

  "Hahaha..good. So are you willing to drive? Just pick up the van, which is basically a big SUV and park it somewhere else...that's all."

  "Eh..sure, I'm your girl. Just tell me where and when."

  "Okay...nice. Pick it up at Entrance 1 and park it in front of the central depot. Avoid Downtown at all costs, because they announced lots of security checks there today."

  "Gotcha. Do you have something like a roadmap or something?"

  He smiled "we have a tablet inside, it'll guide you. Couldn't be any easier."

  "Nice. So...how do I get there?"

  "Take a taxi. They are free of charge, courtesy of our Lantosian friends. Just don't expect much from the drivers, because they're drones."

  "Ahhh....yeah....maybe I should just walk there instead?"

  "Hahaha....there's no need for that, they aren't that smart, but still safe."

  "Okay...you have a deal. I assume the tablet has all the instructions? Contact person and such?"

  "Exactly. See? You're a natural."

  "Yeah...this is actually kind of a no brainer, no offense."

  "Then be happy that I didn't ask you to help out with the Christmas decorations. Seriously, we have those requests too!"

  "Ummm.....I'll take a pass on that. I definitely hope that you have a bit more challenging things for me to do next time, no offense. But even if you don't, it's much better than staring outside all day long."

  "Hahaha....understood. I updated your ID, so people know that you're authorized. And these are the keys you'll need. I'll need those back. Tell me when you're done and whether you'd like a new...challenge." He pushed the car keys towards me.

  "Will do. But a question just out of curiosity. When they have the time to load the van and bring the keys here...why not drive the van in one go?"

  "See? You are smart. It's simple, Kaya... the keys are all skeleton keys. All vans can use the same keys. The people who loaded the van parked it, waiting for someone else to pick it up. And since we're understaffed, it usually takes a while. You being able to drive just helped us out already since the goods are perishable."

  "Oh....okay. What's the pte number?"

  "Ah..good one. It's u me seeeee.....EV12."

  "Weird number...but whatever. See you ter."

  "Good luck, and thanks for helping. Sorry to cut this short, but we're having lots of issue reports today. I'll make more time soon, I promise."

  "No worries, I understand. Send me a text if that's easier for you."I waved goodbye and left the building.

  Back outside on the cold streets of this weird city, I decided to give my watch some exercise. Let's see how smart those alien things really are.

  I push the rgest button on my watch...or rather Comm as they call that thing around here, and am greeted by its basic AI, which projects a blue hologram into the air.

  "Please state your inquiry."

  "Em....I need a taxi. How does that work? Can you order one for me?"

  "Please state your destination within this city."

  Mmm.....I can't even use a taxi to leave this pce, since they restricted the destination within this city. Smart people...really smart. "Ah..eh....I need to go to Entrance 1, where a car with pte EV12 should be waiting for me."

  It shows me a map and after a few seconds a green dot starts to blink."Scanning....confirmed...EV12 is located at Entrance 1. A taxi will arrive in 3.2 minutes."

  "Great, thanks."

  The hologram changes, now showing me a slowly spinning logo with the text "TechCon, no matter how far away you are, we'll always get you to your destination. Thank you for using our taxi services." Probably the local alien telecom operator or something like that. The hologram vanishes as quickly as it had appeared. It definitely looked like an ad, but for some reason this was the first one I saw.

  And sure enough a car approached within a few minutes. Well, calling it 'car' is a bit much, it actually only offers one passenger seat. It either guessed that I didn't have any luggage, or this is the only size they have.

  I open the door and take a seat, quickly realizing that there isn't even a drone driver inside. Just one seat, nothing more, and I'm the one using it.

  "Welcome aboard taxi T-073. The door is not properly closed. Please try again."A disembodied male voice from somewhere above asked.

  I smmed the door shut this time, thus making sure it would be closed."There...is that better?"

  "Confirmed. Please make yourself comfortable. This trip will take 12 minutes."

  "Wow, that long?"

  "Checking...yes...it's 3 miles from this location."

  When it started driving towards my destination, I understood why it would take 12 minutes....it was slow...very slow, not more than 20 mph. Perhaps even less.

  Well, it's warm inside, so that's nice, right?

  After give or take 10 minutes, I finally arrived at my destination and the taxi departed without even saying goodbye.

  I check my watch to confirm my location and despite the desote appearance of this area, I really am where I am supposed to be.

  In front of me, only a hundred feet away, I see a rather tall concrete wall, something I haven't noticed before. That confirms that I'm really stuck inside this city. A road seems to lead outside the city, but the sturdy looking gates and armed guards probably will keep me inside. Ah..and there are tanks as well...those with big gun turrets. Yeah...better not go there. And trust me...those guards did notice me, following my every move.

  I decided to focus on my job and started looking for the car, which I had assumed to be parked in visual range. Then I remembered that my watch could find the car, so maybe I could get instructions?

  Since I don't know what to call it, I decided to address my watch as 'computer' and it seems to work. "Computer, please give me instructions to find the car with pte number EV12. Audio only."

  "Confirmed. Scanning...found. Please start walking."

  I shrug and simply walk towards the closest building.

  "Turn around....east. A path between two buildings."

  "Sheesh...you could have told me sooner!" But it didn't reply. I gnce at the soldiers, but they don't seem to mind my rather unusual behavior. I keep my watch near my ears, so I hope they understand that I'm only following instructions.

  After following the narrow path between two buildings, I arrived at an interesting location. A huge Air Force helicopter, one with two rotors, is parked on an elevated ptform. Two human soldiers and one Lantosian man are obviously having a heated debate, so I definitely want to avoid getting near them.

  Ahhhh, there you are! EV12, a white van is waiting for me. It's neatly parked near a warehouse and I start walking towards it.

  "Hey!" Someone shouted into my direction. And when I turn around, I see one of the human soldiers waving at me. They seem to be guarding the helicopter.

  Great....now what?

  I walk towards the soldier while taking a few deep breaths. Never argue with people holding a gun. Memories of dad's warnings keep haunting me until I approach them.

  "Good morning. You were yelling?" I can't suppress a sarcastic remark, but still smile.

  "Eh....yes, ma'am. So you can speak English?"

  "Well, duh! Sorry...bad mood, please don't ask."

  "I see. Well, I noticed that you were approaching that car. Are you with General Services?"

  "Yup. Only started this morning. I'm supposed to drive that thing to...I dunno...a warehouse or something. Instructions are supposed to be inside the car."

  "Oh, okay. We sent a request for a transtor. Sorry, I thought it was you."

  "A transtor? But don't you guys have a device for that?"

  "Sure we do, but the damn thing won't work for some reason. Since you're here, could you please help us out?"

  "Um...sure. I mean, if it won't take too long. The van has perishables as cargo, so I need to bring them a.s.a.p."

  "Of course, I understand. This won't take more than a few minutes, I promise." The soldier seems to be a nice guy, so I have no reason to refuse his request.

  The Lantosian dude however seems absolutely pissed. So much that I don't even want to look into his eyes.

  "Why are you speaking their nguage? You're supposed to be on my side! At least have the courtesy to talk to me first!" The Lantosian said while gesturing something I determined to be rude.

  Okay, I've already had it with this guy. And no, I'm a human. So let's use some human sng to totally drive you insane. It's the least I can do to repay you for showing your bad manners.

  My ears focused on something behind me for a moment, and I could actually hear the soldiers speak to themselves. It took a moment to refocus my ears on this rude guy.

  "Hey, chill dude." The guy looked surprised when I said this. "This is an alien pnet..things work differently here. What's up?"

  "Did you just say that to me? Seriously? How rude! Tell him to move that piece of junk, I have a shuttle incoming. This area is supposed to be reserved for us! Now they are waiting in orbit for them to move!"

  I turned back to the human soldier. "Sir, this guy is pissed because you parked in his spot."

  The soldier grinned, but only for a moment. "Yeah, we know. Can you tell him that we're not going anywhere? The aft rotor is damaged. We made a precautionary nding 2 hours ago. Trust me, it won't go anywhere. I already asked for a tow, but I can't do miracles."

  "Okay...understood. Let me call General Services." I waited for him to nod and contacted my new coworker, or supervisor....still no idea what he is to me.

  "Ah, Kaya, problems?"

  "Hi Jake, Yeah, we have a problem near Entrance 1? A helicopter needs to be towed away. It prevents a Lantosian shuttle from nding on that spot. And since the transtor won't work....well...let's say that emotions are running high here, so we need an urgent fix. Can you help?"

  "Of course. Thank you for taking over that task, it was still unassigned. Okay...I will take care of it. Tell them that the helicopter will be moved, but the Lantosian shuttle will get new nding coordinates in a few minutes."

  "Understood. Thanks and see you ter. Kaya...out."

  Both the humans and the Lantosian appreciated my efforts after I told them that things were being fixed. I shook hands with the human, just to annoy the Lantosian guy and then finally left them, heading towards the car with a smug smile on my face. And my twitching ears must have conveyed my feelings pretty well.

  The car keys worked like a charm and I took a seat inside the van. It isn't much rger than an SUV, but still....it's kinda big. So I needed a few moments to adjust the mirrors and such, just to feel safe. My ears surprisingly got in the way, brushing against the roof. I was able to fold them backwards a bit, thus fixing the problem.

  The onboard tablet was unlike any I had ever seen before, but it was extremely easy to use.

  After reaching my destination and parking the car neatly, I left the thing behind. According to the orders I didn't even have to tell anyone that it was here, because some kind of signal would take care of that.

  But just before I could order another taxi, another human soldier approached me.

  "Good morning, ma'am."

  Okay, let's be polite."Good morning, sir. How may I help you?"

  "You speak English? That sure makes life easier without a working transtor. Did you drive that car?"

  "Yes, I did. From Entrance 1 to this pce. Perishable goods, nothing suspicious." Oops...I made it sound suspicious.

  "Then you won't mind showing me your cargo?"

  "By all means, I work for General Services and only drove it here. What's in the back is not my problem. Follow me."

  I return to the car, silently cursing for being detained while I could have returned home already. Home...that reminds me, I need to call Ben. I want to call my parents!

  I open the rear doors and let the officer do his thing. He scanned my ID to check whether I was authorized and didn't find any problems.

  "Alright, everything seems to be in order. Thank you for cooperating."

  "Sure, anytime. Can I go now? I'm hungry." Oops...didn't want to say that st part.

  "Almost. May I see your driver's license?"

  "You've got to be kidding me?"

  "Not at all. I have to admit, you're the first Lantosian driving one of our cars. So I assume you have the paperwork?"

  "Well, I DO have a license, just... not with me. Can I call Special Agent Lee from BETA for a moment? He put me on this job, so that makes this his problem now."

  "Ah...okay, allow me to call him for you."

  "Sure, be my guest." My stomach rumbled pretty loudly. "Hehehe...sorry."

  "Don't worry, ma'am. You have been most cooperative. This shouldn't take more than a few minutes." He used what appeared to be an ordinary cell phone, searched through the contacts and then called Ben.

  "Special Agent Lee? I'm sorry to bother you, sir. I'm with Road Safety and spotted a Lantosian woman driving a car, but she can't show me her driver's license. She cims she works for you? Yes...exactly. Oh....okay, that....yes, I will. Thank you for your time."

  Judging by the sound of that, Ben had fixed the mess already.

  "Ma'am, you're good to go. It seems that the driver's license will be issued to you shortly. Please have it with you while driving once you receive it."

  "Of course, officer. Have a nice day."

  I wanted to check if the van's doors were closed properly, but I already noticed someone starting to unload the stuff. And guess where the officer went next? Exactly, bothering those poor people. Well, not my problem, so I took a taxi and left this pce as quickly as I could.

  While driving ever so slowly to my quarters in a taxi, I remembered that I still had to return the car keys, so I changed our destination.

  I told Jake that the tasks had been completed and returned the car keys. He asked if I was interested in helping with another task, but I said that I would only be avaible early in the morning the next day. Thankfully he didn't mind, because the job wasn't supposed to be full time in the first pce.