Human, you've been working non-stop for 8 of your hours straight.
Don't worry, I'm almost done.
When do you rest?
Usually after about a 12 hour day or so.
What?? -- Fighting Fit
"I said, usually after--"
"I heard you," Companion Yrin interrupted. "I am attempting to comprehend. You work for four shifts[1] in a row? Without a break?"
Human Nik looked up, but did not stop tweaking the mechanism under his hands. "It's called a work ethic. Where I'm from, you ask for a break and the boss picks a limb[2]." His attention returned to a particularly fiddly bit. "And you still had to work with the hands you had left or get penalties for stealing money from the corp."
Once again, Yrin was reminded that Nik was a Rescue Human. "That sort of work ethic is illegal here. You are..." what was the Deregger phrase? "Entitled to compensation."
That earned a laugh. Nik finished his work on the part. "I'm not trying to get you into trouble. I'm... proving how useful I am."
Ah yes. The horrible chain of consequence from Nik's origin point. If you don't work, you don't eat; and if you don't eat, you die. The people in charge didn't care about any other living thing than their own immediate family. And that, even barely. Human Nik's life before abduction was the reason why the entire crew was campaigning to bring Humans into the Alliance.
Once Humans were a part of the Galactic Alliance, they would also be subject to the Alliance's laws and standards. It could even use Humans to enforce those rules on other Humans.
"You have proven yourself a dozen times or more," insisted Yrin. "You have worked two shifts. You need to rest. You need to eat. Let us care for you?"
His hands actually shook when he stepped away from his work. He started glancing over his shoulder for any incoming hostility. A lifetime of survival habits crept out of the shadows of his past.
Yrin put his hand in the Human's, helping him stay in the here and now. "Let us go to the mess hall. I believe you are owed a treat."
Nik was still shaking, but at least he was present. "You know this just makes me want to work harder. My ROI tables need readjusting."
"That takes a long time," soothed Yrin. "I am here to help." He began to lead his friend away from working himself to death.
[1] Though the Galactic Standard Clock is twenty-four hours long, it's broken up in three-hour blocks, or shifts. Fair work laws of the Alliance
[2] Whenever teenaged me said, "I need a break," the instant reply was "Left or right?" from my primary parental. I never dared test that.
[Photo by Kotagauni Srinivas on Unsplash]
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