Volunteer (Selected Book 3)

by Robin Roseau

  "Yes."

  I took a chance. "Yes, I've been tested."

  "You're bluffing."

  "The results were conclusive, but I am in a committed relationship."

  "You are clearly a bright human," she said. "But you are bluffing." I smiled and said nothing. She cocked her head. "Very well. Would you like to place a wager?"

  "I never gamble."

  "If you answered the right question, then I will owe you a future favor. But if your guess, as good as it seems, is wrong, then you owe me a future favor."

  "How big a favor?"

  "Significant, but within our abilities to fulfill without compromising our morals or loyalties."

  I glanced at each of the Catseye to see if they'd give me hints, but all of them were hiding their tentacles from me. I shouldn't have asked to have my visor screen blanked. I tried reaching over to Violet to see what her tentacles were doing, but she captured my hand with hers.

  But I decided something. A favor from me was worth a lot less than a favor from her.

  "Agreed," I said.

  "I didn't need to ask if you had been tested. I checked the records while we were talking. It is unusual you know the results."

  I waited to see if anyone would agree with her. No one else confirmed that I'd lost the wager.

  "Interesting bluff," I finally said. "Perhaps my understanding of BP is not as good as I thought. What is it you said instead?"

  "I reconfirmed my demand you come to work for me this summer."

  "I'm afraid that's right, Skye," said Azalea. "You owe the ambassador a favor."

  I inclined my head. "Very well, Ambassador. A favor. I can't imagine a favor from me carries much value, but I shall be pleased to pay my debt."

  "Very gracious, little human," she said.

  I smiled. "We're all little compared to you, Ambassador."

  "I have attended one of these basketball games upon which your species has named mine."

  "What did you think?"

  "I think the players were very fine athletes and much more ruggedly built than the members of my species."

  "You didn't care for the game?"

  "I believe such a game is easier to enjoy when one cares about the outcome. I was the guest of both teams and thus could not choose a side to promote. I was quite impressed with the ability of the players."

  "They work hard," I said. "I imagine they would be pleased to hear you recognized their accomplishments."

  "Yes, quite so," she said. "Azalea Beamer, please arrange for me to share a meal with this human prior to her coming to work for me this summer."

  "I will, Ambassador. Do you wish to meet with her alone, or would you enjoy an invitation to our home?"

  "Either would be pleasant," said Amaryllis. "Did you have more to say to me, Ms. Andrews?"

  "Not at this time. Wait. Yes. Don't let them do it themselves. Please."

  "It is not our position to decide if they may or may not decommission their own power plant," she said. "But I understand your sentiment. Thank you for your insight, Ms. Andrews." She said something else in BP, and then she clicked off.

  "Well done, Skye."

  "One of you could have let me know I guessed wrong. Aren't you on my side?"

  "Humans have a term," Azalea said.

  "Oh?"

  "You overplayed your hand."

  "She was being rude to speak a language I don't speak," I said. "Although maybe the E.T.s don't feel the same way." No one said anything, and I thought a little more. "She goes out of her way to call me 'little human' and 'this human', as if the thought I might have a name offends her. I think she's a little arrogant and dismissive of humans."

  "You're wrong," said Azalea. "She's exceedingly arrogant. And yes, she's dismissive of humans. But she is also very protective of humans, and I think she's fond of you."

  "Like a pet dog." I shrugged. "Maybe that's not entirely inappropriate."

  "The BPs were one of the five species that originally formed the federation," Azalea said. "Amaryllis herself is probably over a thousand years old."

  "You're saying I shouldn't be offended if an ancient creature from an advanced race is a little condescending to the 19-year-old human?"

  "I don't think she's being condescending, Skye. And remember, she's applying pressure to have you on her team."

  "Yeah, I don't get that, but sure. Why didn't you tell her?"

  "Let her sweat," Azalea said with a quiver of tentacles. "Enjoy your vacation, girls. And get that visor off her, Violet. If Bluebell saw her with that, she'd have words for you."

  "Yes, Mom."

  The call ended, and ten seconds later, the visor deactivated. I removed it and handed it to Violet.

  "Well, well, well," said Posey. "Our little human is quite popular."

  "Oh, do not start with the little human thing," I said, waving a finger at her.

  "Well, you are," she replied.

  "Good things come in small packages," I said.

  "I'm going to stow this," Violet said. "Please tell me the two of you don't need a referee."

  "Posey is completely outclassed by my wit," I said. "I could have her pinned to the figurative mat in seconds."

  "I do not concede that point," Posey replied. Her tentacles edged towards me. "But I can have you pinned to the literal mat even faster."

  I smiled sweetly and picked up my drink. "You wouldn't. I'd spill my drink."

  Faster than I could react, one of her tentacles clasped around my wrist, the tip also gripping the glass. Then another was there, the tip dipping into my drink. She slurped just once, but she made her point.

  "Hey!" I said. "Get your own! I only get one, and I want to enjoy it."

  "Why do you only get one? I'm sure Sam would love to make you another one."

  "Because there's alcohol in it, and I don't want more than one." I smiled at her. "I do hope alcohol isn't poisonous to Catseye."

  "It's not," she said. She took another sip of my drink, then her tentacle withdrew. Slowly she withdrew the other. But we smiled at each other. Well, I did a human smile. She did a Catseye twitching tentacles smile.

  Violet's tentacles snuffled, but she just said, "You two behave." She disappeared below decks.

  We watched after her. "Behave?" Posey said. "We're supposed to behave?"

  "We're on vacation," I said. "She's not going to ruin it with words like behave, is she?"

  * * * *

  Thirty minutes later we were anchored near a shallow reef. Gerry himself presented us with a tray of lovely snacks, all based on seafood. There was shrimp, scallops, and what he called, "My extra-special, world-famous fish cakes."

  Violet had fun slathering me in sunblock. Maybe home was Africa, but I'd been living through a Boston winter, and I was still of pale skin.

  "And I don't want cancer."

  "Stick with me, little human, and cancer isn't a concern." But a moment later she complained that while I normally taste good, sunblock tastes terrible.

  "Read the bottle. Not for internal consumption."

  "Do you really need this?"

  "Yes."

  "Do I have to put it everywhere?" Then a tentacle dipped to my crotch, but I batted it away.

  "You don't have to put it there," I assured her.

  "Because if you let me put it there, I might not mind that you taste bad."

  "Not for internal consumption," I repeated. "You can go a few hours without tasting me."

  "I'm not sure I can," she complained then snuffled dramatically. "I'll have to make up for it later." Her tentacle dipped for my crotch again, but I grabbed it then wrestled with it for a moment, finally lifting it to my lips and kissing it. She stopped fighting me and slipped it into my mouth for a minute, teasing my tongue.

  And so, we found ourselves on the rear swimming deck, plates of appetizers readily available, our drinks in hand. Sam switched me to non-alcoholic and assured me he'd have no trouble keeping me well hydrated. The deck itself was firm, but Meg had pu
t down mats and cushions. When Posey saw them, she smiled and looked at me pointedly, although she didn't try any of her sneaky Catseye wrestling moves on me.

  We finished the snack and I looked at the water. "Who is going swimming?"

  Both Posey and Violet looked back and forth, and then Violet said, "We can't swim."

  "You have that fancy, super-duper octopus tentacle thing going on, and you tell me you can't swim?"

  "We sink. Humans are neutrally buoyant. But we're slightly denser than water."

  "This is salt water."

  "Yes, we're still denser."

  "I guess it's life jackets for the two of you. Oh, wait. You could get water wings. You could wear six each."

  "What are water wings?"

  "There are these inflatable swimming devices we put on our children." I wrapped a hand around her opposite bicep. "They go here. They provide enough additional floatation the child doesn't sink. It also gives them additional confidence. I wonder if they make any sized for Catseye tentacles." I smiled sweetly. "You don't mind if I swim, do you?"

  "Of course not," Violet said.

  I didn't wait for more. I stood, moved to the edge, and dived.

  The water felt great. I swam away from the boat a little distance then turned around. Both Catseye were standing at the edge, watching me. I swam back and then treaded water. "So, there's something I can do you can't. This might be the only thing."

  "Not the only thing," Violet called back. "I've never ridden a bicycle."

  "I bet Gerry can hook you guys up with some sort of flotation devices," I said. "And I wonder if he has goggles and a snorkel for me."

  It turns out Gerry anticipated our needs, as he appeared moments later. When I saw what he had, I moved onto the underwater platform and accepted the goggles, snorkel, and fins from him.

  "What about them?"

  "They can't use a snorkel, but have you ever seen an elephant swim?"

  "Oh, with their trunk held in the air." I laughed. "Of course."

  "And the salt water won't sting their eyes," he added.

  He had to help them with the life jackets, as they required custom fitting to allow the tentacles to emerge out the sides. But soon both Catseye were ready, and they moved down onto the submerged platform with me. They were both snuffling, and I realized they were nervous.

  "It's easy," I said. I moved back into the water, clasping the platform. "You can start here. You two are strong, and it's easy to hang on."

  It was Posey who joined me first, and she hung on for dear life. I realized she was scared to death.

  "Catseye don't swim," she said quietly.

  "You don't have to do this."

  "I want to," she replied. "Are you a good swimmer?"

  "Average for a human who knows how to swim," I said. "The life jacket will keep you afloat. You don't have to jump. Slide off the edge."

  And she did, but she kept both hands and all four tentacles gripping the platform.

  "Push yourself away a little bit and see how well the life jacket holds you up."

  She had to life one of her tentacles into the air for breathing, but slowly she relaxed her death grip on the platform. And, of course, she floated. So she relaxed more and more until she was holding on with just one hand.

  "All right," I said. "Try this." I lowered my face into the water, breathing through the snorkel. Directly below the boat was sand, perhaps seven meters below us, but the reef wasn't far, and visibility was outstanding.

  I looked over, and Posey had her face in the water. When I poked up, she had all four tentacles folded along her back resting on the back of the life jacket. It was pushing her body deeper into the water, but what mattered was she could breathe.

  I moved closer again and removed the snorkel. "Are you breathing okay?"

  She lifted her face. "Yes."

  "You're going to get splashed from time to time. Will that make you choke?"

  "No."

  "Okay. Will you trust me?"

  "I don't know."

  "Put your face in the water and give me your hand. Then, when you're ready, give me your other hand."

  "I don't think so."

  "Trust me."

  "I might sink."

  "You won't."

  "The life jacket might fail."

  "It won't."

  "It might."

  I sighed. "Gerry, do you know how much a Catseye with full lungs weighs under water?"

  "Not very much. Three or four kilos."

  I thought about it. "Do you have any weights?"

  "I do," he said. He disappeared for a minute then came back with two small bags. They looked kind of like bean bags. "These are two kilograms each." I moved to the edge of the platform, and he handed one to me, kneeling down to do so.

  I whispered to him, "I should be able to swim with these, right?"

  "This is how much I wear when snorkeling just so it's easier to sink."

  "If I can't make it back up and have to drop it, will you be able to retrieve it?"

  "Sure, but you'll be fine."

  "I'm going to try one first. Leave the other one here, please."

  I took the bag. It was kind of heavy, but I held it in one hand and moved away from the platform. Both Catseye were watching me. I was still swimming. "This is a little work, I said, but not that much. No one be surprised."

  Then I took a deep breath and did a surface dive, propelling myself to the sand at the bottom. I looked around for a moment, then I easily swam back to the surface.

  "I can't do that," Posey said when I broke the surface.

  I swam to the platform, grabbed the second beanbag, then repeated the maneuver. When I was done, I plopped them both back on the platform. Then I turned to Posey. "How long can you hold your breath?"

  "Several minutes, I suppose."

  "That's several times longer than I can, but if something happens, Posey, I can rescue you. And Gerry is going to keep an eye on us. I bet he's a lot better swimmer than I am. Aren't you, Gerry?"

  "I'm a Red Cross certified life guard," he replied.

  I looked at Violet. She was sitting on the platform, hanging on tightly, with just her finned feet in the water. "So which of you is going to trust me first?"

  "Posey is," Violet said.

  "Chicken," I said. I moved over to Posey. She didn't have any trouble giving me one hand, but the second was hard. I swam backwards away from the boat and closer to the reef. She watched me carefully, and her tentacles were snuffling rapidly.

  "Here's what I want you to do," I said. "Put your face in the water and watch for fish. The rest of you should relax. Concentrate on your breathing. Try to do slow, steady breaths."

  "I'll try."

  Putting her face in the water wasn't as hard for her as it might be for a human novice swimmer. After all, she didn't breath through her nose and mouth. And her breathing apparatus -- her tentacles -- where high and, well, not dry, but dry enough.

  I tugged her around slowly, swimming backwards, taking slow, gentle kicks. The fins made it so much easier! And slowly her breathing grew less ragged, although she was still snuffling a little, and the tips weren't still.

  She lifted her head. "What if I want to do it myself?"

  "There's a girl!" I said. "I'll hang on. Give very gentle kicks. Try it slowly or you'll run over me."

  It took her only a minute or two, and soon she was pushing me backwards rather than me pulling her.

  I looked over to the boat. Violet and Gerry were both watching. I called out to Gerry, "If I let her go, will you keep an eye on her?"

  "That's why I'm here," he said.

  "Violet, are you ready for me to let go?"

  She tightened her hands for a moment, then she relaxed her grip.

  "Don't go much further from the boat than this. You can swim back and forth. I'll get Violet, then the three of us can swim closer to the reef. There should be lots of fish."

  She nodded.

  Violet took a little more co
nvincing, but watching Posey improved her bravery. I coaxed her into the water then pretty much repeated with her everything I'd done with Posey. Once her bravery was doing better, I told her to swim over to Violet, then I swam back to Gerry once more.

  "Suggestions?"

  "You're good with them. It can be damned hard to get some of the E.T.s into the water. Catseye aren't the worst. I'd stay to this side of the reef. If you want some real fun, you and I can use the Hookah."

  "Um. Isn't that for smoking hashish?"

  "I wouldn't know about that," he said with a laugh. "Basically it's an air hose to the surface. We can go down to fifteen meters."

  "Oh," I said. "Oh, that would be cool."

  "It is, and you don't have to do all the training you do for scuba diving. If they get braver, they'll find they can swim without the life jackets, but I've only had a few Catseye who were willing to try."

  I nodded and then rolled over and easily swam back to the Catseye. The two of them were staying close together, moving slowly, now right to left, and I swam to a point in front of them. I let them catch up to me then moved between them and took one hand in each. I turned us towards the reef, and tugging gently, I drew them closer to the reef.

  We swam for perhaps an hour. The Catseye stayed on the surface. I periodically dived deeper, but that was work, and so as I grew tired, I spent more time on the surface with them.

  We saw a lot of small and medium fish, plus of course the coral itself was pretty, waving lightly in the light current. I kept an eye on Southbar, making sure we didn't drift away, and steering us back and forth as necessary. But finally I turned us back to the yacht, pulling the sisters with me. We reached the platform and both slipped onto it, rolling over to sit in the water. I lifted the mask from my face, and then Gerry was there to take it from me. I looked over my shoulder at him. "That was amazing," I said.

  Gerry collected the gear from us. "You'll want to rinse here," he said, gesturing to the shower on the back of the boat. "We have biodegradable soap, but we don't use it this close to the reef."

  * * * *

  We lounged on the top deck, the stars brilliant above us. As we typically did, I was seated between both Catseye and was practically buried under the tentacles. We were all still, although their tentacles were pulsing lightly against me.