The Star-Man's Womb

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"What? Don't like it?" Trian asked.

[Eskal]

"These are the best eggs I've ever had."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Oh. Well, I wouldn't say they're the BEST. I mean, I didn't have a lot to work with."

[Eskal]

"They taste amazing to me," Jeremy said.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Thanks. My people have heightened senses of smell, sight, and taste. So naturally, we're some of the best chefs, musicians, artists, and critics thereof."

[Eskal]

Jeremy nodded and finished his food. He then grabbed a piece of paper and began jotting down his grocery list. "I'll be gone for a bit with the shopping, the farmer's market is about thirty minutes away. I have some other errand after that too." He looked at Kiba. "Want to go for a ride Keebs?" Kiba's head perked up and he let out an excited bark as he wagged his bushy tail.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Right. I'll start sifting through your computer parts. Hopefully, I'll find something useful." Trian stood up from the table and put his dish in the sink. He then walked off into the computer room.

[Eskal]

Jeremy quickly did the dishes before heading into town with Kiba. He returned a few hours later with several bags of groceries. Kiba was carrying a large ham bone that they had gotten from the butcher, his tail wagging fiercely and drool dripping from his mouth.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Trian was on one of Jeremy's computers and fiddling with the computer that had cast his disguise earlier.

[Eskal]

Jeremy started putting the groceries away while Kiba flopped onto the window seat with his treat and continued knawing on it.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Trian left the computer room, still focused on his device. He walked over to Jeremy. "I think I've got my human disguise ready. Tell me what you think." He pressed a button, and a hologram was he over him, and in a second he looked like a perfectly normal human. His skin was tanned, hair smooth, shiny and soft, strong jaw, perfectly toned and muscled body, and just the right amount of stubble on his face to complement his disguise's design. "So, how'd I do?" He asked, his voice different, deeper, and his lips synced to the English Jeremy was hearing.

[Eskal]

"Rather well," Jeremy said. "How long does it last? Does it need to be recharged?"

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"No, it lasts until I turn it off. And it doesn't need to charge. Standard application for anyone making any sort of venture through space, really." Trian turned off the hologram, and once more looked like his alien self. "First rule of discovering a new race: don't interact with them. Don't let them see you."

[Eskal]

"Make sense," Jeremy said.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Yeah, the only downside is that we need to get samples of what that race looks like, along with language samples. That's what I've spent the day doing so far."

[Eskal]

"Well, that explains the disguise then," Jeremy chuckled. "You looked like you should be in some sort of romance novel."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Trian laughed. "Oh, I'd love to see what counts as romance on this planet. You know, the first rule of the galactic community is not to make contact with new races. You can monitor them, sure, but they can't know you're there. The thought behind it is 'if they aren't advanced enough to voyage into space and make contact with us first, they probably aren't advanced enough to join the galactic community.' If you humans would hurry up and get off this rock, you could see what else is out here. You're missing out on a lot."

[Eskal]

"I believe it," Jeremy said. "I moved out here mostly for the night sky. There's not a lot of light pollution, so I can just sit out in the yard with Keebs and star gaze."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Looking out into the stars is incredibly satisfying." Trian agreed. "Now that my disguise is done, time to try and fix my distress signal. What sort of tools do you have?"

[Eskal]

Jeremy lead him to the shed, which was surprisingly untouched by the crash landing from the previous night. Inside was numerous tools, all for an assortment of work that would be done on a house so far from a major town.