Randoms by David Liss

teeth, flat and short. “Welcome aboard.” The translator made her voice sound slightly high, but confident and also strangely soothing. I knew at once that she was of middle years, confident, and probably generally cheerful. The number 43 hovering above her head told me that she had been around for a while and done some impressive things.
    Though the captain might have looked like a cross between Admiral Ackbar and Garindan, the informant in Mos Eisley who squeaks Luke’s location to the imperial forces, there was a seriousness to her that belied her strange appearance. Her eyes had a sadness in them, as though she had seen things in her travels she wished she could forget. Or, alternatively, she could have just been an alien with gigantic eyes. I had no way of knowing.
    â€œThank you for having me on your ship,” I said cautiously, not knowing if I should look at her trunk or her eyes or what. I ended up just looking away.
    She raised her trunk slightly. “This is the third time I’ve done the recruit run,” she told me. “I know some members of the Confederation can look strange to those unfamiliarwith galactic diversity. You don’t have to pretend that it’s easy or comfortable, and I promise you no one on my ship will be offended if you stare a couple of seconds too long. During this voyage, you should take advantage of the opportunity to acclimate yourself to life within the Confederation. Besides, your appearance is rather odd in my view.”
    â€œEveryone says that about me,” I ventured.
    She laughed or made a noise the translator told me was laughing. The captain then walked over to Dr. Roop and pressed her trunk to his cheek. She was kissing him!
    â€œKlhkkkloplkkkuiv,” she said softly. “Always a treat.”
    He kissed her on the cheek in return. “Yes, it is.”
    You’d think a giraffe guy flirting with a hammerheaded and betrunked alien would be gross, but there was actually something very sweet about them. It was somehow comforting to know these two liked each other.
    Dr. Roop introduced the captain to Ms. Price. He then offered to show our chaperone to her quarters.
    â€œI’ll show Mr. Reynolds to his,” the captain said.
    I followed her somewhat slow and lumbering steps out to a bland metallic corridor lit by what looked shockingly like fluorescent lights. The spaces weren’t as big and airy and bright as on the Enterprise , but they weren’t as cramped and dim as in a submarine, either. Everything was unadorned and functional without being bleak.
    â€œI presume Dr. Roop told you we are making a stop on the way to Confederation Central,” the captain said. “We’re picking up the members of the Ganari delegation.”
    â€œHe told me,” I said, though the words came out sounding mechanical. My brain simply could not process everything.
    â€œIt’s nice to have different groups of initiates on board,” the captain was saying. “You get to know each other. I prefer when I can deliver all four species, but unfortunately, the applying planets are too far apart this time.”
    â€œIt must be a pain for you to chauffeur around a bunch of primitive species,” I managed.
    â€œMaking contact with new species is exciting. The Ganari, whom we’ll be meeting in about two days, are an avian species, which is unusual in the Confederation. I’m looking forward to getting a chance to talk with them.”
    We now went through a door that led to a stairwell, and we went down two levels to emerge in a nearly identical hall. I decided I needed to stop flipping out. I was here. I had decided to go, and now I was going. I might as well enjoy it. “If the trip takes two days, would it be possible to get a tour of the ship en route?” I asked.
    She studied me with her hammerhead eyes. “Are you interested in air or water ships on your own world?”
    â€œNot really, but I am