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Just when she thought the Race had accounted for every act of depravity the Tosevites were capable of, they trotted out...this. A civilization - she was being very generous to label this particular Tosevite group a "civilization" - who pitted non-citizens in fights to the death, as entertainment. Barbarians, the lot of them!
Kassquit, of course, was horrified. She didn't have a tail-stump like a proper member of the Race to quiver in rage - she could, however, stiffen and draw herself up to her full Big Ugly height. It didn't seem to impress the wild Big Uglies as much as she hoped.
The alarming part was the level of technology. She didn't understand how she was here. One minute she had been safely in her cramped quarters back on the starship, then she was here, lights popping and flashing in her face as she recoiled back with a hiss of dismay. The air that hit her wasn't the too-hot temperatures back home; compared to that, this was a blast of much colder air, her skin raising in strange bumps as she was herded - yes, that was the word - herded away to be poked and prodded.
They hadn't liked her hair. She could understand that much as they kept running their hands through it and tugging at it and jabbering away.
From what she could gather, it wasn't because she had hair at all - the Race researchers found body hair disgusting, especially the new growth on her head she decided to let go unshaven - but because it didn't look the way they wanted. They tugged at the tangles, Kassquit unable to help the instinctive liquid forming from her eyes.
"Stop that!" She found her voice. Kassquit put as much authority into it as her status as Junior Researcher permitted and perhaps a little bit more. "Enough! You will return me to the nearest Race embassy!"
She even tacked an extremely emphatic cough, loud and imperious and far more demanding than she would've dared with the Race. The female Big Ugly had looked at her with a baring of teeth she knew was a Tosevite smile, and then treated her as if she was ill. It only got worse from there once Kassquit was made to understand what she was here for. The videos they showed were downright disgusting. If she had developed the facial ability to curl her lip in horror, she would have. Kassquit's face remained frozen as she watched Big Uglies fight and kill each other - were ranked! - and then given the typical gaudy Tosevite celebrations.
She had to get out of here. Kassquit wasn't quite sure how, yet. First thing was finding out where she was, then reporting this place. (It was almost one of those places she thought deserved an explosive-metal bomb). Maybe they were related to the Deutsche: their practices seemed to have some similarities, thinking back to what she saw of the Race's horrified reports about that particular not-empire.
As soon as she was free to mingle with the other Big Uglies who had been "chosen", Kassquit immediately strode to the closest one: a shorter male, with much darker skin than the Yeagers and very little hair to speak of. If it wasn't for the slight stubble, he would have almost been respectably bald.
"You there." She came right at him with the usual directness of the Race. "I must talk with you now."
She didn't bother calling him "superior sir" or even thinking it, like she did with the Race. This Big Ugly (Small Ugly?) had no rank body paint to speak of. From what she gathered, most Tosevites didn't. It did make propriety difficult. She peered down at him, taking in his mobile face (compared to normal people - people being the Race) and the fact he seemed more comfortable with the Tosevite body-wrappings than she felt. Kassquit couldn't quite place it on a fingerclaw, but somehow this Small Ugly gave off the impression of being almost as good at skittering places as the Race.
Kassquit, of course, was horrified. She didn't have a tail-stump like a proper member of the Race to quiver in rage - she could, however, stiffen and draw herself up to her full Big Ugly height. It didn't seem to impress the wild Big Uglies as much as she hoped.
The alarming part was the level of technology. She didn't understand how she was here. One minute she had been safely in her cramped quarters back on the starship, then she was here, lights popping and flashing in her face as she recoiled back with a hiss of dismay. The air that hit her wasn't the too-hot temperatures back home; compared to that, this was a blast of much colder air, her skin raising in strange bumps as she was herded - yes, that was the word - herded away to be poked and prodded.
They hadn't liked her hair. She could understand that much as they kept running their hands through it and tugging at it and jabbering away.
From what she could gather, it wasn't because she had hair at all - the Race researchers found body hair disgusting, especially the new growth on her head she decided to let go unshaven - but because it didn't look the way they wanted. They tugged at the tangles, Kassquit unable to help the instinctive liquid forming from her eyes.
"Stop that!" She found her voice. Kassquit put as much authority into it as her status as Junior Researcher permitted and perhaps a little bit more. "Enough! You will return me to the nearest Race embassy!"
She even tacked an extremely emphatic cough, loud and imperious and far more demanding than she would've dared with the Race. The female Big Ugly had looked at her with a baring of teeth she knew was a Tosevite smile, and then treated her as if she was ill. It only got worse from there once Kassquit was made to understand what she was here for. The videos they showed were downright disgusting. If she had developed the facial ability to curl her lip in horror, she would have. Kassquit's face remained frozen as she watched Big Uglies fight and kill each other - were ranked! - and then given the typical gaudy Tosevite celebrations.
She had to get out of here. Kassquit wasn't quite sure how, yet. First thing was finding out where she was, then reporting this place. (It was almost one of those places she thought deserved an explosive-metal bomb). Maybe they were related to the Deutsche: their practices seemed to have some similarities, thinking back to what she saw of the Race's horrified reports about that particular not-empire.
As soon as she was free to mingle with the other Big Uglies who had been "chosen", Kassquit immediately strode to the closest one: a shorter male, with much darker skin than the Yeagers and very little hair to speak of. If it wasn't for the slight stubble, he would have almost been respectably bald.
"You there." She came right at him with the usual directness of the Race. "I must talk with you now."
She didn't bother calling him "superior sir" or even thinking it, like she did with the Race. This Big Ugly (Small Ugly?) had no rank body paint to speak of. From what she gathered, most Tosevites didn't. It did make propriety difficult. She peered down at him, taking in his mobile face (compared to normal people - people being the Race) and the fact he seemed more comfortable with the Tosevite body-wrappings than she felt. Kassquit couldn't quite place it on a fingerclaw, but somehow this Small Ugly gave off the impression of being almost as good at skittering places as the Race.
