Homestar Saga

Chapter 111: New Guy

"You need to get out more."

The Captain regarded Yvian with a serious expression. She still wasn't used to seeing him out of his armor. He wore black shorts and a black sleeveless shirt that Kilroy had referred to as a tank top. Instead of boots, he wore white socks and oddly comfortable human shoes called "sneakies." Yvian was dressed the same way, except her clothes were red, and her tank top had a picture of Space Captain on the front of it.

"Get out?" Yvian quirked an eyebrow at him. "You do know we're in space, right?"

"You know what I mean," Mims chided. "You're isolated. It's not good for you."

The cargo bay of the Random Encounter was mostly empty. A few crates of odds and ends were strapped down near one of the bulkheads. Captain Mims moseyed over to one and took a seat.

"I'm fine," Yvian assured him.

"You're lonely," said the human. "Even I can tell."

"I'm not..." Mims quirked a brow of his own. Yvian subsided. There was no point in lying. Yvian had spent most of the last several months either training or trying to learn City 43's frustratingly complex language. She'd had very little social activity, and no female companionship. The Captain might not know that she cried herself to sleep sometimes, but it didn't take a genius to see she wasn't happy. She sighed. "Alright, so I'm lonely." She picked out a crate and took a seat. "So what? It's not like I can do anything about it."

"Why not?" asked the human.

She gave him a frown. "You know why not."

"Yvian," Mims paused, searching for the words. He began again. "Look, there's a planet, a whole damned planet, full of your people. Millions of men and women, living new lives, learning to make their own way. You did that. It was your dream, and you made it happen." His brows drew together, a hint of anger slipping into his voice. "Are you telling me that means nothing? That being labeled a motherless outweighs saving your entire species?"

"It does," she told him. Her eyes watered. "It really does."

"Gribshit." His voice was firm. "There's gotta be people down there that recognize what you've done."

"The way the humans recognize what you did at Aldara?" Yvian regretted the words the moment she said them. The Captain's face flickered, his expression revealing a brief window into pain Yvian could barely imagine. "Crunch." Yvian bowed her head, placing a hand over her heart. "I have transgressed. Lend me your forgiveness, and I will-"

"No." The Captain cut her off. She flinched, thinking he was refusing her apology. He held up a hand. "No," he repeated. "It's a good analogy. No need to loan forgiveness." He grimaced. "I know there are humans who don't hate me, but not many, and trying to find them would be stupid and dangerous."

"Exactly." Yvian ran a hand through her hair. "I know no ones' going to attack me. Not with you and Kilroy there. But I... But they still hate me. They hate me the way you hate slavers and pedophiles. I can't..." She took a breath. Let it out. "I can't face it. I can't go down there."

"I know." Mims got up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault." She took another breath and squared her shoulders. "And it's not all bad. I've got you, and Lissa. Even Kilroy likes me, I think. I'm not alone."

"No. Not alone." Mims patted her shoulder again. "But you're still lonely, and you don't deserve to be."

"Deserve doesn't mean anything," Yvian reminded him. "What is it you always say? There's no justice in the verse?"