Trasti quickly made his way back to the Captain's room and was surprised to see the door open, with Eirik standing in the doorway.

"Good, you came quickly. Don't worry Trasti, there is no trouble. Quite the contrary." He said as soon as he saw Trasti turn the corner. "Come on inside and let me explain."

Trasti made his way into the room he had left not long ago and sat down on the only chair in the room. Eirik had not moved it away from the bed and sat down opposite Trasti.

"Here are my thoughts, Trasti. I remember you telling me about your family back on the Kloxna homeworld. Is that correct?"

"It is Captain. I miss them terribly and I wish I could do something to improve their living situation. Like most Kloxna, They live in want, compared to life here on the ship."

"That is not just life on my ship, Trasti. To be honest, we live quite a spartan lifestyle here on my ship. sure, the food is plentiful and I make sure there is enough time for the crew to relax and rest, but compared to life on Terra, life on my ship is considered a humble one." Eirik looked a little embarrassed at that fact. "But I cannot improve life quality on the ship any further without sacrificing efficiency."

Trasti had a hard time believing that. Life here on Eirik's ship was already infinitely better compared to what he was used to, and the thought of this lifestyle being considered humble did not compute in his mind. He simply could not envision it.

"Why are you telling me this, Captain?" Trasti asked defensively.

"I am getting around to that. First, tell me, Does your family live in a large city or do they live in the countryside?" Eirik had his focus entirely on Trasti and it made the young Kloxna uncomfortable. Terrans might not see themselves as such, but they were predators by heart. And being the center of attention for a predator would make any Kloxna uncomfortable.

"They live in a small town out in the countryside. Only 250 inhabitants last time I was home. Might be 270 now, several families were blessed with eggs when I left to do my tour of duty." Despite his instincts screaming at him to get away from this Terran that looked slightly more unhinged than usual, Trasti answered truthfully.

"Good, that will make the idea I had much more viable." Eirik looked immensely satisfied at Trasti's words which only served to further the Young Kloxna's unease.

"What Idea?? Please, Captain, do not hurt my family" Trasti pleaded urgently.

"Why would I ever want to hurt them?? They never bothered me." Eirik was genuinely confused. "You must love them very much if that is your first reaction...."

"Then, why do you want to know where they live?" Trasti was almost in a state of panic as countless scenarios of his family being butchered by the Terrans flashed through his mind.

"Because I want to take them back to either Terra or the smuggler station my oldest brother is currently running." Eirik's response was deadly serious, as was the look he gave Trasti.

"...Why would you do that?" The disbelief Trasti felt was almost palpable in its intensity.

"To make you stop worrying so damn much all the time!" Eirik forcefully exclaimed, causing Trasti to try and scoot back in his seat. "If you always wonder what is going to happen to your family, you might be distracted at a critical moment. And I will not allow that to take place on my ship! So, the best course of action would be to relocate your family to a place where you know for certain that they will be safe and secure. And if it means raiding the Kloxna homeworld, that's just an added bonus. Imagine the fury of Tai'Tanu when she discovers that we have been on the planet."

Eirik grinned broadly at the thought. "It will be glorious. My only wish is to be a fly on the wall when she is told the news." He chuckled as he imagined the fury of Tai'Tanu.

"...Relocate them?? What if they do not wish to be relocated??" Trasti had never thought of this as a possibility, but there was a fire of hope burning in him when he was told what Eirik was planning.

"It will not be a request Trasti. They can do so willingly or be forced. But they WILL be relocated. I need you focused and without worries. They will learn to love it, just like you have learned to enjoy life on my ship."

"...But..." Trasti realized he had no argument against his family being relocated to a different place. "... But what if the Terran government won't accept them, Captain??"

"Oh, they will accept them. Just leave that to me. In case you didn't know, my grandfather is a literal war hero amongst my people. And he owes me a favor he can never hope to repay!" Eirik's voice had become dark at the mention of his grandfather and the look in his eyes caused Trasti to fear for his safety.

Closing his eyes, Eirik got his emotions under control. "Sorry about that, Trasti. My feelings for my grandfather are complicated, to put it mildly." He pulled out his datapad and navigated to a 3D picture of the Kloxna homeworld before handing it to Trasti. "Can you point out where your family is located at? Otherwise, my plan is more or less redundant, since I will not have the time to go through every town and every house."

Trasti navigated the 3D picture and finally found what he was looking for. The little village next to the large slumbering volcano. He marked the spot and gave the datapad back to the Eirik who took it with a smile.

"Thank you, Trasti. I give you my word that no harm will come to your family. I also have a second idea, though it is more of a proposition for you."

"For me?" Trasti was confused. What insane idea had the Captain cooked up now?

"Yes, for you. I wish to offer you the chance to participate in combat training alongside Las'Tai. I think some fighting skills to help you defend yourself would do wonders for your self-esteem." Eirik had gotten up and pulled a large crate out from under his bed.

"But Kloxna males are not trained to fight, Captain."

"True, but you are not on a Kloxna ship, now are you, Trasti?" Eirik winked at him before opening the box with the lid blocking Trasti's view of the contents.

Thinking it over for a moment, Trasti finally said, "Then I would like to accept your offer, Captain. Maybe it will help me not feel so useless all the time."

Eirik's smile grew wide at the answer. "That's good! Then choose your preferred weapon" With that, Eirik turned the crate around and revealed its contents.

Trasti was dumbfounded. as he stared at the many melee weapons in the box. knives, axes, spearheads, and more. He saw none of them except a blade near the bottom. A curved blade with a handguard that reached from top to bottom of the handle, with spikes protruding outwards. he reached into the box and tenderly pulled it out.

"The trench kukri. A good choice. Of course, it will have to be modified to fit your claws, but I think we can manage that without much hassle." Eirik stuck his hand out towards Trasti who looked at it, not knowing what to do.

"You shake it, Trasti. It is how Terrans seal an agreement." Trasti did as told and grabbed Eirik's hand, who shook it up and down 2 times.

"It is settled then. I will reduce your working hours to make time for combat training. Las'Tai will be your trainer. Let's go tell her!" Eirik was excited to see how Las'Tai would react. They both got up and moved towards the door, Trasti still holding the trench kukri in his claws.

"Captain?" Trasti mumbled

"Yes," Eirik answered in a happy tone.

"Are you insane?" Trasti could not believe his own courage as he asked the question.

"Only a little" Eirik said before bursting into laughter as he opened the door to his room.