This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/MarlynnOfMany on 2025-11-10 16:23:20+00:00.

{Shared early on Patreon}

I caught up with Zhee outside the crew lounge, where he was heading back to his quarters for some downtime. His mantis pincher arms clutched packages of snacks, along with a bundle of straps and electronics that I recognized as his species’ equivalent of headphones. Probably off to listen to music that he didn’t want the rest of us to share opinions on.

“Hey Zhee,” I said, oh-so-casually. “Before you get settled…”

He stopped walking and tilted his head with an aggrieved tilt to his antennae. “Yesss?” The hissing was even more unnecessary than when Trrili did it. Clear suspicion for what was pretty clearly a coworker asking for a favor.

“Would it be a big imposition to swap deliveries? This one’s short and shouldn’t be any kind of problem, but it’s raining *and* windy. Warm, though!” I tried to make it sound positive.

Zhee looked at me with his compound eyes. “Why is that enough to want to trade? If the region is warm, then surely the windchill won’t be an issue. You’re not coldblooded.”

I sighed. “Yeah, but wet clothes are terrible.”

“Hm. Unfortunate,” said the bug alien with an exoskeleton who’d never worn a shirt in his life. “I was under the impression that you could trade them for dry ones once back on the ship.”

“Yes, I can do that, but that doesn’t make it less terrible while I’m out there getting rained on,” I told him. “Plus I’d have to wash and dry the clothes, not to mention my hair, and all told it would be a much bigger hassle than any toweling off you’d have to do.”

The angle of his antennae looked amused now. “I’d just use a gravity wand to remove the moisture.”

“See? Much easier,” I agreed.

“Why not just wear an exo suit if it’s that big a deal?”

I shook my head. I *had* thought of that. “It makes the customers suspicious. I tried it last time — remember the food crates we took down during a storm? The person accepting the delivery almost refused it on suspicion that there was some sort of contamination hazard.”

Zhee tapped a foot in irritation. “Well that’s just foolish.”

“Yep,” I said. “People are foolish sometimes. But the rain water will just make your glorious exoskeleton all the more shiny and eye-catching.”

“You don’t say,” he said drily.

*“And,”* I went on, “You’re next up on the rotation for a delivery to that place with the high-up walkways. The one with the good views but the narrow space to pass?”

“Hm. I do remember that. It was exceptionally awkward to maneuver past other pedestrians.” He tilted his head again, no doubt taking in my narrow human frame that could slip through small spaces. “All right, fine. I’ll trade you for that one.”

“Hooray, thank you!” I waggled my fingers in excited jazz hands. “I’ll let the captain know. We’re landing as soon as there’s clearance because of the wind.”

“That will give me time to put away my things,” Zhee said, lifting the snacks and earphones.

“Right. You can listen to the shuwog song later,” I couldn’t help saying with a grin. The fact that he liked the song he’d complained so much about was still funny.

“I will not be listening to the shuwog song,” he said with dignity. “This is a different album entirely.”

I laughed. “Of course.” I headed off toward the cockpit, loudly humming the melody of the song about the absurd terminology that his species used to describe their wrist-hinges.

He called after me, “Just wait until someone writes a song about human body parts!”

“Oh, they already have!” I called back, then launched into a full-throated rendition of the timeless classic “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes.”

Big news! Volume One of the collected series is now available in paperback and ebook form! (Everywhere except Amazon. Check your local store, or this handy link hub. Exciting stuff!)

Shared early on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/MarlynnOfMany)

Cross-posted to [Tumblr](https://marlynnofmany.tumblr.com/post/799845111085268992/convenient-for-you) and [HumansAreSpaceOrcs](https://www.reddit.com/r/humansarespaceorcs/comments/1oti7h2/the_token_human_convenient_for_you/) (masterlist [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/wiki/authors/marlynnofmany/))

The book that takes place after the short stories is [here](https://books2read.com/b/bOnEWJ)

The sequel is in progress (and will include characters from the stories)