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"What do you mean, 'we have a job?'" Jacoby asked in a tone that made it clear he had no plans in going along with it.

Alex didn't answer. He watched Tristan sulk off, then argue with someone who wasn't there. Hadn't he said it was his dead father? Alex winced as Tristan kicked the wall and then proceeded to bring it all down.

He'd hoped that knowing they had a job would have settled him, let him focus on what he had to do, not set him off like that. Still, it had to happen, as unstable as Tristan was.

"Alex."

"Yes, we have a job." He turned to Jacoby, who didn't look like he believed him.

"Really? And who exactly hired us?"

"The priestess," Alex said, even if it was something of a stretch. He'd told her the corporation would send more people, he'd explained they needed to prepare for that, her reaction had been to say that things would happen as they would.

"And how much are we getting paid?"

"Enough."

"Alex, this is me here, not Te--Tristan. You don't need to play games. How much money can they have here? Is it even going to be honored by SpaceGov? Are you taking trade? What are you--"

"What does it matter?" Alex snapped. "Look at him. We're going to be here a while, so we might as well do something productive."

"That's because of you. If--"

"Really? You think that letting him go off would have helped him?"

"I think letting him get whatever's eating him out of his system would help a lot more than telling him building a wall is going to be some magical solution to his problems."

"How long until you can have the hover operational?"

"Huh?"

"It's a simple question, Jacoby."

"A few hours, I should clean everything before I put them back in, and make sure it's all calibrated properly."

"But you can have it flying even without doing that?"

"Sure, every part's functional."

"Do it."

"Why?"

"Because I told you so."

"Alex, I'm, not--"

"You know what? Why don't you leave? Take the hover and go back to your home. We can manage without you. We'll find our own way back when Tristan is better." He put emphasis on that to make it clear that was all he cared about.

Jacoby stiffened. "I'm not abandoning either of you."

"Then stop arguing. I took the job, and I need you to get the hover flight worthy. Don't worry, you're going to have plenty of time to get back to tuning it." He turned and headed toward the town.

"That's what I'm worried about," Jacoby called after him.

He could kill him. Tristan wouldn't care, and what else did that man bring to this? He argued, that was basically it. Well, he had helped out taking down the marauders. Alex couldn't argue that when it came down to it Jacoby was willing to take part in the fight, and he was going to need all the help he could get for this.

The first thing he needed to do was find someone who could translate for him. The priestess wouldn't want to help she'd made that clear. Hopefully there was someone else who'd understand him here. If no one did, this would be even more complicated.

"Hi," He told the first Samalian he encountered in the town, a woman, he did his best not to glance below her chest. "Is there anyone here who understand me?"

The blank expression told him she didn't understand him.

He indicated the town. "Is there anyone here who can understand me?"

She said something, and someone inside the building answered. A man, or should it be male? He was so used to thinking of Tristan as just a man, stepped out of the door. They conversed for a minute then he pointed deeper into the town, saying something that sounded like a name, Rag-rik.

She walked away and Alex followed her. Since she didn't object, he figured that what the right thing to do. They walked through part of the close together buildings until she banged her fist on a wooden door.

A male opened it. He was definitely male, Alex thought, swallowing hard. He was taller than Tristan, broader and his blond and copper fur was crisscrossed with scars.

They exchanged a few words, then he looked at him his eyes were coppery brown and had an intensity that made something deep inside Alex respond to it. He clamped down on whatever that feeling was before he could think about it.

"Need help?" his voice was higher, lighter than he'd expected, taking away some of the impressions of danger coming off him.

"I need to talk to everyone, so I need you to gather them and translate for me."

He narrowed his eyes. "Not help." He said, turning back into the house.

"Wait!"

"You wait," the reply came from inside. Alex heard a soft conversation, then, "come inside."

Alex entered the large room. To his left was a wooden table, with five chairs, one of which was occupied by an old Samalian. His, or her, fur was mostly white, with patches of washed out brown. She had broad shoulders, but her skin, and fur seemed to hang loose off them.

"You need help?"

Even with the voice, he couldn't place the gender. Alex reminded himself he had time. It would be weeks before the corporation sent anyone else.

He indicated the chair opposite. "Can I sit?"

The Samalian ears flicked in a way he'd observed among their community, but didn't react otherwise. Another reminded that Tristan's body language was mostly human, even when he wasn't wearing a mask.

"I'm sorry, is that a yes, or a no?"

"It means yes. Don't you live with one of us?"

"Tristan doesn't behave as a Samalian all that much," Alex replied as he sat. "I didn't get to learn a lot of the minor ways in which you'd behave. He nods and shakes his head the way we humans do."

The ears flicked again. "He's one of the spacefarers?"

"He is. Before we continue, can I ask if it's considered polite to ask which gender you are? With anyone standing I can easily tell, but you're sitting down."

She smiled, the tightening of the lips a muzzle allowed, but without the show of teeth Tristan tended to go for. "I am what your people call female."

"Do you prefer being referred to as a woman?"

"Wouldn't that be a human female?"

It was Alex's turn to smile, he shrugged. "I've been in space so much I tend to call any species man or woman. I've never thought about making a difference between if they were human or not if I can determine the gender."

Another flick of the ears that demarked an agreement. "You can call me whichever you prefer. But I prefer being called Sartas. It is my name."

He nodded. "Alright, Sartas, where did you learn my language? You have an accent, but you're more fluent than most I've encountered."

"I was a translator to the humans who visited us. I helped them learn about us. Many scientists came to see us. I helped many of them. Then the corporations came. I translated for them, but then realized they wanted me to help them convince Samalians to abandon their homes, move to areas where humans wouldn't have to interact with them. I came back home. I taught Rig'Irik, but he never applied himself."

"No humans here," Rig'Irik replied flatly.

She indicated Alex and the man's ears did something that made Alex think of annoyance. The tone when he spoke in Samalian conveyed the same. She replied in a tone that Alex remembered from his own mother. 'Don't talk to me that way,' it said.

"You need help with something. What is it?"

"Did you hear about the attack on the herd yesterday?"

"No."

"A hover with five marauders, humans, fired at the animals. No Samalian were hurt. Me and my associate--"

"The other human."

"Yes, Jacoby. We took them down and sent them away."

"Kill them," Rig'Irik said.

Alex watched Sartas' face for any kind of reaction.

"I do not care. If they attacked us, then I thank you for getting rid of them."

Alex nodded. "The thing is, this isn't over. I've tried to explain things to Haelas--"

"Hea'Las," she corrected. "There is a pause between both syllable. It's a thing the folks from Arter'val do." Alex glanced at Rig'Irik, and she smiled. "His father was from there. He insisted our son would have a proper Valian name."

Rig'Irik stood straighter and said something that came across as snarky to Alex. She waved it aside with a replied that angered him.

"Hea'Las," Alex said, being careful with the pronunciation, "doesn't understand they weren't acting on their own, or she doesn't care. But the corporation will send more."

"I believe you, but how can I help you with that?"

Alex took a breath. "I need your help explaining it to everyone here. They need to organize and get ready to take part in the fighting when the other group comes."

"Can you not deal with them yourself? You already did so."

"I'm not going to stay. Once Tristan is done, we're leaving. But the corporation is going to keep sending them. I'd like to use the time I'm here to teach you how to fight them off."

"Is that needed? My understanding is they do little damage."

"They did this time because we stopped them, how much the previous times? How much more of the herd can you lose before you have trouble feeding yourselves?"

"We can fight," Rig'Irik said. "Plenty warriors."

Alex caught his first response and swallowed it. Insulting anyone who could fight wasn't a good idea, even ignoring the fight that was bound to ensue. He needed him as an ally, not an enemy.

"How many of you are there who can fight them? Fight people armed with hunting rifles? Were you able to kill any of them in the previous fights?"

He didn't reply, his face and ears unmoving.

"The town has nine warriors. They mostly keep the forest beasts from wandering too close to the town and the herd."

"I take it nine isn't enough so you can keep en eye on the herders. None of those looking after the herd stayed and fight."

"No warriors."

"Right, and they did the right thing in running off, but if they were trained, they could have fought them off, especially if they were armed."

"Weapons are not easy to acquire," Sartas said.

"I can provide that. Not for everyone in town, but enough you can build a decent fighting force. You could easily arm a few of the herders. I can help teach them how to fight."

"Know fighting."

"Then we can both teach them, all the warriors can help. But you need to start training them. Hea'Las said the corporation wants this place, they won't stop until they have it. Unless you intend to leave, you are going to have to fight, eventually. Wouldn't it be better to learn now when you have the time, when you have me, and Jacoby to help? When we all have the time to figure out what will work best for everyone involved, instead of waiting until each mistake costs you lives?"

Sartas raised a hand to keep Rig'Irik from speaking. "Why do you want to do this? What do you gain from this? Are you looking for payment?"

"I don't like the idea of the corporations forcing their way over you."

She made a face he couldn't read. "I don't believe you. You're a mercenary. You do nothing for free."

"You're right, and normally I wouldn't bother with this, but I'm going to be here for a while. Probably a long while, and I'm realizing that I don't deal well with having nothing to do. This is going to keep me busy while I wait for Tristan to be done."

"Done building a wall." Her tone sounded skeptical.

"Yes, a wall he kicked down in anger earlier today. He's... not exactly stable right now, and I don't expect him to be better until he's done."

Her ears flicked her agreement. "He's looking for help. The Defender?"

"I--we..." Alex paused. "I don't know what's expected when it comes to your traditions, but I'm not interested in discussing the details. I've explained things to Hea'Las."

Another yes from her ears. "You don't have to explain. It's between you and he Defender."

"Thank you. Will you help me? Get everyone together, translate what I say for me?"

"That won't be needed. I agree that this will help us. I will speak to them on your behalf. I will explain what you want to do, and will do what I can to convince them it is worth doing. Rig'Irik will do the same. I will send someone to let you know of the decision."

Alex nodded and stood. He was outside when he felt Rig'Irik behind him. He had a hand on the pummel of the knife before he could stop himself. He waited, letting the other man make the first move.

"Guns," he said. "You get guns?"

Alex turned, removing his hand. "Yes, I can get guns. And you'll be able to keep the ones from the marauders."

"So, more guns."

"Yes, each time they attack, there will be more guns."

Rig'Irik nodded, mimicking the way Alex had nodded. "You get guns. I make others say yes."

Alex nodded. This was as much confirmation as he'd get.

By the time he reached the hover, he had something of a training plan in place. The details would depend on which weapons he could get, which meant he had to contact Jofdelbiro, see what he had in stock, could get in the few days it would take Jacoby to reach him.

Alex looked at Tristan when he came into view. It looked like he was trying a different approach, building the wall to its full height before moving along.

"You look happy." Jacoby said.

Was he? "Things are progressing."

The plates were still off the front of the hover, but the number of components on the tarps was down to a dozen. "And that's always a good thing, right? The plan coming to fruition, the fighting, the bloodshed."

"I'm not starting this. I'm reacting to it."

"Right, if that's what you need to tell yourself."

"You really don't care if they get killed by the corporation?"

"They aren't the job." Jacoby pointed at Tristan. "He's the job. What happens when he finishes his wall and the corporation isn't done with them? Because you know the corporation isn't going to just walk away from something they want. They'll come back over and over, with ever larger forces, until there's no one left here. Are you going to stick around until then? Are you going to force Tech to stick around too?"

"His name is Tristan! Will you fucking get that through that thick skull of yours? When he's done we're out of here, that's how things are."

"And what about this job you took from them?"

Alex just glared back at him.

"Right, there is no job. This is just you looking to fight something."

"Finish fixing the hover, you're going on a weapons run after that. I'll have the list for you before you're done." He entered the hover and went to the controls. Now that he had a reason to do so, he was going to set up a secure and untraceable connection to the network.

It would beat dealing with anyone for the time being.