Chapter 263: Bella's Paradise

Chapter 263: Bella's Paradise

"Go!!!" Charlotte bellowed at full volume, splaying her mandibles angrily.

"Hey!" a high-pitched voice chittered indignantly.

Charlotte turned and saw a rough-looking multi-legged insectoid looking up at her from the opening of a nearby dumpster.

"I won't have you speaking so badly about the Terrans!" it exclaimed. "They are the noblest, kindest, and most generous of beings in the entire galaxy! Their beacon isn't a lie! It is bright and true! What's more, they give so many opportunities and offer so much guidance that I pray to the False God every day, giving thanks for the wonderful Terrans and this paradise made manifest that they have created!"

Charlotte and the Kalesh both looked at the insectoid as if it had lost its mind.

"Wat."

"Hi," the insectoid said brightly, "My name is Belasho, but you can call me Bella!"

Bella climbed out of the garbage and scurried up.

Charlotte looked at her curiously.

With her scarred round cricket-like head, her battered antennae, and a couple of legs damaged or missing partway down, it was clear she had been through quite a lot, but her segments were glossy, and she had a cheerful demeanor about her.

Instinctively, Charlotte believed the small bug someone worth knowing.

Bella scurried up to the coffee bar, clambered up on a barstool, and leaned on the counter, drawing close to Charlotte's massive and, well... terrifying form.

"You need to take that back!" Bella chirped indignantly. "The Terrans are wonderful!" she exclaimed as she beamed at the Kalesh. "All of them!" she added as she wiggled her antennae toward him.

Bella raised her head, wiggling her mouthparts happily as she inhaled deeply.

"And this world, Terra itself, is a paradise beyond compare!" she chirped. "My days are filled with joy, and my nights are blanketed with happiness!"

"You are talking about here, right?" The Kalesh asked dubiously.

"Indeed," Charlotte rumbled. "Have you not faced hardships? You climbed out of a dumpster. Forgive my assumptions if they are incorrect, but that is not consistent with someone who has gained their (scoff) certificate."

Bella bubbled with chittering laughter.

"Me?" she chittered, "Oh no! No way I'm passing that thing anytime soon! It will take me at least eight years, probably longer!"

"Are you not discouraged?" Charlotte asked.

"No," Bella chirped, "Should I be?"

"It will take you no small measure of years."

"Years that will pass anyway," Bella chirped, "The False God controls the flow of time, not I. I can only choose whether I shall have my certificate at the end of them or not.... So, I choose to have my certificate."

"But without a certificate," Charlotte said, "You cannot gain proper employment and therefore must languish in poverty, spending every moment trying to sustain yourself with no educational guidance or support."

"Well, that's a defeatist attitude," Bella chided, "No wonder you are so grumpy."

"Do you deny the truth of my words?"

"My faith discourages profanity," Bella chirped, "but I'm going to have to make an exception in this case. In the words of my kind and noble hosts, I must call bullshit on that one."

"How so?"

"Ever since I was delivered here by the kind and gentle Jessik..."

"Wait," the Kalesh interjected, "The Vogons?"

"Vogons?" Charlotte asked.

"It's our name for those... people," the Kalesh replied, "It's a reference to a work of ancient literature."

"And not a very nice one!" Bella chittered, "It's both mean and completely inaccurate! Their ship being the one I stowed away on, was the first of the great blessings the False..."

"You stowed away on a Vogon..."

"Jessik!" Bella chirped sharply. "I will not allow you to speak ill of their kind, generous, and noble race!"

"Ok," the Kalesh said, "This I have to hear."

He turned to Charlotte.

"I know I am unwelcome," he said, "But could you give me a second steeping while I hear this."

"Certainly," Charlotte replied, "I confess interest as well. Bella, would you like something?"

"Can I get a warm tap water, please?"

"Of course," Charlotte replied. "Bella," she asked, "You are familiar with this ancient Terran literature?"

"The Hitchhiker's Guide?" Bella replied as Charlotte prepared the drinks, "Yeah! It's so funny! You should really read it! It's one of the classics of twentieth-century human literature!"

"You are certainly well-read," the Kalesh said as he waited for his tea to steep.

"Yeah," Bella chirped sheepishly, "I should have been studying, but I fell into another of those 'rabbit holes'. I do that a lot."

She carefully dipped an antenna into her water and jerked it back.

"Could I trouble you for an ice cube?" she chirped.

"Sure," Charlotte replied as she put an ice cube in Bella's drink.

"So, you stowed away on a Vo... on a Jessik ship?" the Kalesh asked.

"Yeah," Bella said, "I had to get away quick, so I decided to take a chance and slip in amongst their cargo. I had hoped to hide until their next stop, but it turns out that it is nearly impossible to sneak onto one of their ships. They knew the moment I slipped aboard. That was their first great kindness."

"It was?"

"Yes," Bella replied, "They could have ejected me immediately or even called the police. But the noble Captain Whelk said that he had a schedule to keep and didn't want to waste the time it would take to turn me in, but I know that it was out of concern for me. It just isn't their way to express such things."

"I hear that even working passage on one of their barges is hellish," the Kalesh said as he took a small sip of his tea to see if it was ready. It wasn't. "They are notorious for it. I can't even imagine what being caught as a stowaway was like."

Bella chirped happily.

"Oh, they were wonderful!" she enthused. "When they caught me, they pretended to be really mean, and the captain said that I would regret being so foolish as to trespass on their vessel and to prepare myself for true misery."

She sighed happily.

"I must admit," she chirped, "He gave me quite a fright. But instead of the torturous conditions he promised, I was just sent to the galley and given to the cook. There I assisted with the preparation of vegetables, scrubbed cookware with a nice little brush, and cleaned the dining trays. For this, I was greatly rewarded. I was allowed to eat anything I wanted out of the 'slop bucket' into which I scraped the trays before washing them... as much as I wanted!"

"They didn't feed you?!?"

"That was what the slop bucket was for," she chirped in a matter-of-fact tone, "and what a feast it was! I gorged myself on so many delights! The cook was a kind soul who let me have my choice of trimmings or scraps and would always leave more than he had to on them. As time passed, he also would inquire if I had enough to eat, which I always did."

She paused, savoring her tap water, as she remembered those happy days.

"And when I had finished cleaning up the galley," she said, "I would be sent to the bosun, and he would have me attend to their sanitary facilities and even gave one of their little hoof brushes to scrub it with! After that, I would wash and polish the deck plates and was gifted one of their own socks with which to do it! Can you imagine?"

"I can," the Kalesh replied, "unfortunately..."

"Then I would return to the galley to help with the evening meal and help the cook with the cleaning again and have another feast! After that, I would go to my own private room. It was really nice with my own little bed, and it even had sanitary facilities right there... Which was convenient since they locked the door.

Then the next day, it was another feast and a day filled with activity and fellowship."

She chirped happily as she sipped her water.

"Then, we reached the next stop, and I was saddened because my time with my lovely hosts was coming to an end," she said, "But once again, they bestowed another gift of kindness. The captain said that I was 'alright for a kosh.' That's a garden pest back on their homeworld. He then said that the world we had stopped at was 'a right and proper hole'. He used another word as well," she giggled. "He said that they were on a 'fat little run' and would be stopping on a great number of worlds where they would buy and sell, enriching themselves at each stop. He then said the most curious thing."

"Did he?"

"Yes! He said that since they had failed to break me, I could remain with them! Can you imagine?"

"Actually, I can't."

"So, I did!" she exclaimed. "I could stick around as long as I wanted and pick whichever stop I pleased, so I picked here! Oh, those were such happy months," she chirped wistfully, "I almost stayed with them forever. The places we went... The things we saw... It was so much fun! But I longed for the sun on my back, real dirt under my feet, and the wind in my feelers, so when the ship arrived here on Terra, I bid a fond farewell to the kind Jessik and they gifted me with their third great blessing!"

She pulled out a food scanner attached to a lanyard she wore around her neck.

"They said I would need this. They then wished me luck and said another funny thing. They said to be careful because the Terrans were even bigger... unpleasant people... (he used another word) than they were. That's really funny because they were so nice, but then again, Terrans are just as nice, so I guess they were right!"

"We are as kind as Jessik..." the Kalesh said as his eyestalks wiggled, "high praise indeed."

"And praise I don't give lightly!" Bella chirped, "For you are truly akin to the noble Jessik!"

"And what of your arrival?" Charlotte asked. "Did you not encounter apathy and disregard?"

"Once again, to quote my noble and wonderful hosts," Bella chirped, "Could you please pass me some of whatever you are on? Nothing could be further from the truth! The nice Kalesh at the little place to go at the starport told me about shelters and where I could get food until I found my way. They also gave me a transit pass good for a whole month and the location of a testing center! Such hospitality!"

"But the shelters are overcrowded, dismal, and unsafe," Charlotte retorted. "Even I felt at unease in one. And the food lines are long, and they often run out. Besides, both are only usable for the first month of someone's arrival."

The furball squeaked happily and scurried off.

Bella returned to the coffee bar with a happy little chirp.

"We were talking about the Gj=vker," Bella said, "A large freighter arrived needing many repairs. You can sometimes get all sorts of things out of their scrap bins. I took a day off from my studies, and a group of us came to nose around. Unfortunately, there were too many nice things this time, and the ship has sold everything directly to a recycler, so it's out of bounds."

"And the local scavvers would let you?" the Kalesh asked.

"We let them come up for food," Bella chirped. "We have one of the nice entertainment districts in our area, and the restaurants are always a good haul. We have all sorts of visitors all the time! Anyhow, scavenging is how I am able to keep my days free for study. I spend my days studying and nights eating my fill and dancing the night away! I am truly blessed!"

"Dancing?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"I love dancing!" Bella replied happily, "There are these temples dedicated to dance where they play loud music and engage in ritual consumption of intoxicants under the temple's lights and holograms. It is costly and difficult to get inside and far too chaotic and crowded for my tastes anyway. But the music spills out of the temples, and the music is free for the taking and enjoying. So, I dance in the alleys!"

She wiggled her legs happily.

"Sometimes, those waiting in line or who have been turned away join me!" she chirped happily, "Sometimes we revel so mightily that we are dispersed!" she enthused happily. "But they always welcome me back again, often giving me food gifts, and one place even has a little speaker set up for me!"

She looked at Charlotte.

"Life is good here! The Terrans are wonderful! And there are so many opportunities to advance yourself that I cannot count them all!"

"But no employment," Charlotte replied.

"I turn down jobs all the time!" Bella replied. "When I'm foraging in the park or going about my endeavors, I am often approached by Terrans looking for 'good people'. I always decline because it would detract from my studies. This pleases nearly all of them, and I have been given many cards by people who have exhorted me to call upon them when I finally achieve my goal."

Bella reached into her pack, pulling out a thick stack of business cards.

"Holy shit!" the Kalesh explained, "Mikashi Fujihara?!?"

"Oh, he is a wonderful friend of mine!" Bella chirped, "and has repeatedly told me that I had better pick him or he will be very cross."

"How?!?"

"That is a rather embarrassing story," Bella chirped. "You know those really pretty fish they have outside their towering palace?"

"You didn't!"

They looked overcrowded," Bella shrugged, "and I thought they were carp which are definitely not a sacred animal... Boy, were they ever so mad! I had no idea they were so expensive and thought I would get into real trouble, but then he came out, and everyone fell silent. He asked if they were so close to failure that they could be bothered over such a pitiful sum, and they all looked down..."

Bella chittered.

"You know those little drones that hover over the koi ponds now?" she giggled, "I'm why. In my defense, I was still new here... and not a scavver yet."

"He then told me to finish eating the koi because I couldn't very well put it back, and we started to chat. We're friends now! He's a lot of fun! Anyway, he showed me their gardens around their palace and the one on top of their pretty building and showed me what I could eat. He also made me promise that if I was ever so hungry that one of their koi was overly tempting to go inside, and they would feed me. I would never do that, though. I'm not a beggar, thank you very much."

"And you keep getting offered jobs?" Charlotte asked incredulously.

"All the time!" Bella chirped, "Which is weird because one time I heard a person turn away another xeno and wasn't too nice about it either. I then invoked the secret of unlimited wealth. After I completed the ritual, he offered me a job on the spot, a nice one too! I, of course, had to decline, and he laughed and blessed me by calling me a crazy bug, the highest of human praise. He also told me to call upon him when I had completed my quest and gave me a card."

"The secret of unlimited wealth?" the Kalesh asked.

"I cannot divulge it," Bella chirped, "It is one of the secrets of the scavvers, told only to our own. I will only say that by invoking it, you will be showered with gifts of food and even gifts of money! With that single secret, I have all I desire."

Bella sighed a trill of contentment and happiness.

"I will miss this place so much."

"You're leaving?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes," Bella chirped. "For all my riches and happiness, I am alone. Oh, I have so many friends...so many... but I am the only one of my kind... or so I thought. There is another, and I have been gifted knowledge of where he could be found."

She chirped a strange little trill.

"This was my last adventure with my dear friends here. Tomorrow, I leave for my next adventure. My studies might be slowed a little, but the promises of my new foraging ground are simply too much to ignore. I have finally been tempted away from my blessed library."

"Where are you going,"

"The road..."

Charlotte made a strange rumbling from deep within her and walked around the bar to face Bella.

She bowed low.

"I recognize you, trail layer," she said, splaying her mandibles and touching them to the ground. "I taste your trail and shall follow it if you allow me... Could... could you take me to this park and to this library? Could you allow me to taste your fellow scavvers so that I might learn their ways?... I have... I have been unfit... and I beg you to show me the ways of this strange hunting ground so that my swarm can be properly led?"

"Sure!" Bella chirped. "I guess I can wait a day or two. Let's go! I bet you will just love the maglev tracks! There is some great foraging along them and some lovely trails! Let's go!"

"I need to get someone to tend the bar," Charlotte replied.

"Cool."

She turned to the Kalesh.

"If you accompany us," she said, "I will be willing to discuss my test if you are willing to discuss what resources I can obtain for my swarm."

"Would it be safe to park a bookmobile here?"

"I can personally assure it," Charlotte purr-growled.

***

Epilogue:

Bella anxiously crouched next to her traveler's chest at a recharging station somewhere in central North America.

She looked at her broken legs and groomed at her battered antennae, her normal confidence gone.

She was no longer pretty. She never was especially beautiful, but now...

She thought about fleeing, about returning to her library and the embrace of her old friends but only sighed. If she were to run now, she would never be happy there again.

She had to see this through.

One of the giant road locomotives, not dissimilar from the one she rode to this place, pulled in and started recharging.

Trying not to tremble, she nervously approached.

The door to the truck's cab opened...

And a handsome GggGgg (Don't even try to pronounce it.) appeared.

Her breath caught. He was gorgeous! His glossy carapace shone in the light as he effortlessly jumped to the ground on his strong legs, the chitin barely containing the rippling muscles coiling within.

Barely prevailing over the urge to flee, to hide her scars, she held fast as he rushed to her.

"Greetings!" the handsome man chirped, "I am called Kallo."

"I greet you, Kallo," she replied formally, "I am called Belasho."

"I greet you, Belasho," Kallo said, drawing close and touching his head to hers.

"I greet you, Kallo."

She looked away.

"I am sorry that I am no longer pleasing to the eyes," she chirped sadly.

"I am captivated by the being who has corresponded with me, with the beauty of her being," Kallo replied, "The False and True Gods have answered all of my prayers by bringing you to me..."

Kallo chuckle-chirped.

"And I suspect Zip had a hand in it as well," he smiled.

He touched her antennae with his, sending an electric thrill through her whole being.

"Come, Bellasho," he trilled, "I have so many wonderful things to show you. Our adventure begins."

***

Author's note: It is a closely held secret of the scavvers, but you simply have to know, so I'll share it with you, the secret of unlimited wealth.

There is one task that all Terrans have to do, and almost all of them dislike, sorting and taking out the trash. It has to be sorted and disposed of properly. It is also one that most places do not have machinery for. It's still done the same way it's done now, except there are even more categories, and it is not optional.

The scavvers simply present themselves, usually at the end of a shift, and offer to handle this tedious chore, much like people offer to mow lawns and shovel sidewalks. The scavvers have an excellent reputation and can be trusted to handle this properly. They will do this very cheaply, usually for a few credits, a meal, or sometimes just first crack at the "treasures" (if it's the right place). Even if the owner or management would be disinclined, the workers are quite often all too happy to have someone take out the trash, especially at the end of a long shift.

While the proper upper-class Kalesh looks at the scavvers with suspicion, a LOT of business owners and workers don't. They are a very valuable part of the urban "ecosystem". They also tend to suppress/displace troublemakers or more messy or objectionable vagrants. Since they don't "beg" they don't hassle customers or passers-by. Some scavvers are musicians, artists, or make handicrafts as well but usually don't make a disturbance and will peacefully depart if requested. That doesn't happen too often, though.

The police also don't hassle scavvers overmuch. They are well-behaved and "tidy," and areas where they operate are usually much quieter.

Real criminal gangs do NOT cross the scavvers! Nope! It's a really bad idea. The scavvers see all and know all. Mess with them, and the police get a detailed email. Attacking them is a bad idea. The GggGgg are pacifists. There are human, Threen, and Juon scavvers and feral OG's as well! You will have Bella with a camera on one block, an OG with a sniper rifle on the next, and a couple of Juon with baseball bats in the next alley. No... Just... No. Besides, scavvers don't have much worth taking unless you are into expired convenience store sandwiches or stale donuts.