Cecilia
Sounds are powerful. That goes without saying- the most severe (?) sounds you'll find your average sentient species making are soft clicks/rumbles. Most languages developed through touch, or something like sign language. The species that can make noise don't have much control over their pitch. They don't need to. Others "hear" with specialized pads, designed to pick up the slightest vibration... (Don't ever touch them, you hear?) Anyway-
You know how the human voice can literally break glass? Yeah, so do the higher-ups in any organization that knows what they're doing. In the Rhusngi's Immigration fleet, crews are chosen through a complex AI system. Applications take Jovian aeons to process- But this ain't Rhusngi Immigration.
There's no one name for what we are. A bunch of idiots, taking random jobs here and there- wait, what? No, we're not- We just do deliveries! *unintelligible alien muttering* Sure, it can be dangerous, but we're not stupid. Our crews communicate, for Dsheng's sake.
I understand your concern- Ship 7 does have a more, er, potent blend of species... they balance each other out- The two humans? Hhhhhhharmless. *xe hisses, frustrated.*
。.:*☆*: .。:*.:*☆☆*
"Aaaaaalright, Bumblebees! Another day, another dollar! Everybody, up, up, up!"
Kit's voice crackled with enthusiasm and static. It reverberated through the black-and-yellow ship, signaling the start of another shift. Most of us had been on board for "decades"- that's what Faizan says, at least. We've gotten used to each other by now, what with all of us being so... different.
It's been a few months since we picked up Kit and, erm... There have been some difficulties, sure, but yeah. It's made us closer, if anything. -Besides, now it's even. Seventh ship, seven crew members! Faizan chimes in, startling the mantis-like being. She promptly donks him upside the head with one blade-like arm.
He chuckles, then looks her in the eye- or tries to. "We just got some new cargo. Needs scanning." He holds a small device up to his mouth and speaks into it, making a series of clicks. He presses a button, adding- "Kit, you too- be at the loading deck in 5."
☆☆
Pretty soon, most of the crew joined Needih (insectoid), Faizan (human), and the new cargo. Kit (also human) was late- as per usual. But eh, she's on time when it really matters...
The cargo wasn't particularly large today, nor moving- thank God. "...And it's our turn to scan it in, got it?" Faizan lectured the younger human as he carried a box across the room. The two got to work, moving packages from the hatch as the rest of the crew chattered away.
Kit laughed when he stopped talking-
"You know you're breaking my heart..."
Faizan stopped in his tracks, a smirk on his face.
"You're shaking my confidence, daily." He replied.
--Here's a link for y'all--
He didn't know what he expected- The song was old. Really old. And Kit had never even set foot on Earth...
Kit started tapping the side of the box and stomped to a rhythm Faizan hadn't heard in forever-
"...'Celia... you're breaking my heart..."
Faizan's eyes lit up. Of course Kit sang the higher part, and of course he knew the lower one.
"You're shaking my confidence daily!"
Needih was in awe. She felt her shell shake with the vibration- it was impossible to describe. Sometimes, on her home planet, wilder sounds would align- but that was incredibly rare. Almost mythical. The crew all "heard" in different ways. We're lucky 'cause they're similar enough to communicate...
"... I'm beggin' you please to come home!"
Jaws dropped. Scrounge and Sdaer put down their drinks, eyes wide. Scrounge let out a deep rumble and tilted his ursine head. Faizan rolled his eyes and kept singing- the crew had never seen him like this...
The two humans sang like nobody else was in the room. They felt a sense of belonging, of harmony, like nothing else in the universe.
For the first time in years, Faizan dropped the package. He and Kit tapped out a beat on every available surface- the walls, the floor, even the boxes. And they laughed. It scared the hell out of the rest of the crew, who were too stunned to do anything but stare.
Goodness knows how Kit was able to sense Faizan's movements before they happened- and vice versa. Sure, they both missed a beat here and there but what did you expect? They're only human.
"Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!" He exclaimed, conveniently skipping to the good part. Kit grinned.
☆☆
"God, I haven't sang in years..." Faizan paused and looked around the room. The crew was just. In shock.
"To, skh..." Sdaer struggled with the English. "To quote you, what the fUCK was THAT?"
"That was harmony." Kit said with a smile. And the humans just? Got back to work? Kit hummed softly, and Faizan smiled (without baring his teeth, to be polite- as if he and the newbie didn't just break goodness-knows-how-many-galaxies' regulations).
"How do you know Simon & Garfunkel, anyway?" the captain asked.
Kit looked down at the box they were holding. "...Does it matter?"
"No. No, it doesn't."
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