[KrocodileKrew]

The scrapings of his beard had never stood on end so much as when Twofor's smile dropped gradually off his face. So it wasn't a joke. A mistake, in all likelihood -- the extractor beam targeted the youngest person in the building and he had assumed the mature Earthen woman was alone; this male was younger, evidently. He had definitely passed the age of maturity -- the navcomputer had confirmed that when he'd been taken aboard -- but now that he had him, he could hardly let him go. "Er, look Earthen, I'd like to," he said, cautiously. "I really would, you have to believe me, but... it's not up to me. I'm just a novice. I can't put so much as a toe out of line or they'll cut it off. Believe me, I'm not exactly a willing volunteer for all this myself, but..."

All he knew was that he couldn't tell the superiors about this. If he told the drill master that he'd nabbed a young Earthen male on the late end of the maturity scale, he'd likely be kept as a trophy or stock of a higher-ranking warrior. His only chance was to claim the young man here and now. At least then he could see to his fair treatment and maybe give him some nice sons in the process. "Well, the thing is," he finally said, "I really can't tell them you came aboard the ship." This was going to be awkward.