"Seriously, though, will somebody tell me if he wakes?" Richard asked.

"You must rest, Richard. We will care for your friend. You have had an exhausting day." Aialo-El was leading him down a hall not far from the med-bay. Here, the doors were marked with textile hangings in roughly the same place that a door number might be in a hotel, each one a unique pattern. She paused outside one with a blue and white pattern, brushing her fingers over the textile lightly as she passed through the door. "Here."

It was a private room. There was a group of four cushioned chairs near to the door, and built into the wall were two nest-shaped bunks. It seemed like a dormitory of some kind, a place where somebody slept, dressed, and did private work.

It was far cozier at a glance than the med-bay or the other, more public parts of the ship he had seen. The ship was so white, bright, and clean that it was jarring. Here, the walls were white, but the institutional feel had been softened with decorations. There was a shelf holding painted ceramics. There were two colorful hangings on the wall, like the tapestries hung by the doors in the hall. The bunks were layered with blankets in different colors, and there was a patterned rug on the floor next to them. It was foreign, but it was homey.

"Please, seat yourself and rest," said Aialo-El. "I will arrange for something to drink."

Richard hesitated, looking back over his shoulder. His stomach turned with worry for Garth. But despite how foreign this place was, he felt safe here. "Okay. Thank you, Aialo-El."

She nodded and gestured toward the chairs, then departed.

Richard puttered around the room for a moment, uncomfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings. He looked at the bunks, at the hangings, and at the painted ceramics. He found seams along the walls like those in the med-bay; a wave of a hand caused doors to spring open and drawers to slide out. They were all empty, but he still felt like a snoop, so he closed them back up and went to sit down.

He had never sat in a more comfortable chair.

Maybe it had something to do with how tired and scared he was. When a person was ravenously hungry, any food could taste like a five star meal. In the same way, maybe the post-adrenaline rush sickness he was experiencing could make a concrete floor feel relaxing.

No more than a minute or two after he'd settled, something chirped, and the door slid open to reveal Jalala-Ko. They were carrying a tray with a pot and three beautiful little cups on it made from some kind of earthenware. They were painted, apparently by hand, with a pattern of flowers unlike any Richard had ever seen.

"Is that for me?" Richard asked, feeling stupid. "Thank you so much."

Jalala-Ko bowed their head as they set the tray on the low table between the chairs. "Ooros," they said, indicating the pot with a wave of their hand.

"Ooros?"

They offered him the same hesitant twitch of a smile he'd seen on Aialo-El's face once or twice: a human expression on a friendly alien's face, a gesture for his sake, not theirs.

Richard felt simultaneously out of place and grateful. "Thank you, honestly."

They bowed their head again. Richard expected them to sit with him, since they'd brought extra cups, but they left without another word, leaving him alone.

Nonplussed, Richard waited for a moment. Then, since he was gasping for a drink, he helped himself to a pour of the tea. The china was beautiful; he wondered where it had come from and who had decorated it. He pictured an ancient Karran with wrinkled tentacles bent over a small table, painting china, like Richard's own grandmother had.

Just as he was about to take the first piping hot sip, he hesitated.

Was this stuff safe for humans?

As if on cue, the door chirped again and Aialo-El stepped in. "Hello, Richard."

"Hello."

She stood by the door some distance away, observing him. Several seconds of silence passed.

Self-consciously, Richard settled deeper into the seat, uncertain why she was staring at him. Was she trying to make sure he was acceptably comfortable? "Ooros," he said. "That's what Jalala-Ko called this stuff, right?"

"Yes. It is a tea we enjoy."

"Is it...um..." He didn't know how to ask without offending her, but he didn't want to add an accidental poisoning to the day's list of mishaps. "...Is it safe for humans?"

"I am assured that it is not toxic to humans. You must be cautious, but Jalala-Ko is our alimentary officer and is familiar with alien diets, including that of humans. We have been successful in providing sustenance for the other human on board."

This response didn't give Richard total confidence, but his mouth was a desert and his nerves were shot; he needed a hot drink. He took the gamble and sipped the tea. It was herbal and faintly sweet. "Mm. It's good. Wait—so Garth is eating?" he asked.

"No. The other human," Aialo-El. "She will be arriving presently, and we will—"

The door chirped and whissed open, and a human walked in.

Recognition struck Richard hard, right between the eyes. He stared, blinked, and shook his head, because it couldn't be right.

But it was.

The human on Aialo-El's spaceship was Dr. Kavita Das, Director of Satellite Operations at AeroNautica.

She looked serious as she entered the room, but when she saw Richard, she smiled. She was dressed as she always had been in slacks and a blouse, as if this were another humdrum day at the office. She wore small diamond stud earrings and a simple gold watch on her left wrist.

Richard stood up as Dr. Das strode toward him. He slopped tea over his left hand as he fumbled to free his right so that he could take the hand Dr. Das extended toward him.

"Richard," she said warmly as they shook. "It's so good to see you again."

"Dr. Das," he said. "Wow, I...wow."

"You didn't expect to see me here." Her smile hadn't faded. "That's understandable. Please, sit. Aialo-El tells me you've had a bitch of a day."

With a startled laugh, Richard sat back down. Aialo-El took a seat to his right, and Dr. Das sat across from him, immediately reaching for one of the cups of tea. It was only as she helped herself that Richard realized there were enough cups for all of them; this meeting had been planned in advance.

"Love this stuff," she murmured, closing her eyes as she inhaled the scent. The steam from the cup fogged her glasses. She still wore red frames.

"I judged it most efficient to bring all of us together to discuss why my people are here and what we need to ensure our safety," said Aialo-El. "Dr. Das joined us soon after we landed to help us strategize our return to space and coordinate our departure."

Richard stared at Aialo-El and then at Dr. Das. Then he stared at Aialo-El again, unable to put his question into intelligent words. "...Why?" he asked.

Dr. Das laughed, settling back into her chair. "This wasn't supposed to happen, you know. Garth threw a wrench in things when he decided to get handsy with Aialo-El. They stun him, you get scared—and, of course you do—and they leave you a communicator. One thing leads to another..."

"They?" Richard echoed. He tracked back in his mind, but he only remembered Aialo-El from the night of the break-in. There hadn't been anyone else. "She got into our house and stole our work, but..."

"Oh. Yes." Dr. Das glanced at Aialo-El. "Do you—?"

"It is of little importance," she said.

"It would be to us, but it's your decision."

"Perhaps it is best to address the matter so as to avoid confusion in the future," said Aialo-El. She turned her attention to Richard. "I am familiar with the sexual binary among humans and other species: male and female. The assignment of sex and the associated gender identity is performed at birth based on an individual's reproductive organs."

Well, this was a hairpin turn in the conversation. Richard's body flooded with embarrassment until he could feel the heat pounding in his neck and cheeks. He stole half a glance at Dr. Das, catching a smile on her face that was ever-so-slightly amused. He could see where things were going now, but it didn't make him feel any less awkward.

"Oh," he stammered. "Yeah. I mean—it's a lot more complicated than that, I think. I'm no expert, but I get it. There are people who're sort of...in the middle. And...people who aren't on the line at all."

"This binary is irrelevant among the Karra. We do not reproduce sexually, and our language does not contain gendered pronouns for people or for objects."

"Objects," Richard echoed.

"As in your French language, or your Spanish language, or your—"

"Oh, yeah. Okay. No, that's pretty complicated. I can relate. Trying to memorize the gender of school supplies in French class...That was a challenge."

"As is your gendering of people." Aialo-El now seemed amused. "I have become familiar with your concept of gender, but your gendered pronouns simply do not translate into our mother tongue. It is ultimately most accurate to use the gender-neutral 'they' when referring to me or any of my kind. We are—" a pause— "...We are not on the line at all."

Richard nodded. "Oh. Okay. Perfect."

Aialo-El looked at Dr. Das, her—their—tentacles lifting inquisitively. "We have addressed the matter and may proceed with other topics of conversation."

"Excellent." Dr. Das turned her attention back to Richard. "So, anyway, we didn't expect any of this to happen. I realize it's a lot to take in, Richard, and I'm sincerely sorry that you and Garth were hurt. It was our intent to shield you from all of this."

"How did you expect to do that if you were going to be stealing our solar cell plans?" Richard asked.

"We hoped to get in and get out, of course." Dr. Das nodded toward Aialo-El. "They've got a certain set of skills, so there wouldn't have been any broken glass or anything—you never would have known. Our timing could have been better, that's all."

"But just wait a second. You're...this is criminal. You stole from us. How can you sit in front of me right now and talk so casually about sneaking in and taking my life's work? Garth and I, we're building our business around this. This is our life you're talking about."

"You don't have much reason to trust me, but I'll tell you the truth in the hopes that you do: we have no interest in stealing your technology or marketing your cells or anything like that. The Karra need to get off of Earth, and we're going to use solar to do it."

Give it up for our many new non-binary friends. 👏 And yay, Kavita, for stepping in to affirm their proper pronouns. 

As a disclaimer, there is no nefarious subtext here about enbies being secret aliens! I am an anxious writer always eager to do better and represent people appropriately, so I honestly deliberated a looot about whether introducing the Karra as a truly nonbinary group of people would seem strange. 

"Why do the enbies gotta be aliens, though? What are you trying to say? Rude."

I have two motivations: first, if the beautiful world of human gender is so rich and multifaceted, certainly aliens and other creatures in fiction should be represented with a variety of gender identities, too! The Karra are a nonbinary people, but all around the sci fi universe, there are probably species with a huge variety of genders, gender identities, gender expressions, etc.

And, second: reading books with nonbinary characters has helped me get more familiar with gender-neutral, singular "they/them" pronouns, having grown up being taught that it was grammatically incorrect. I'm training myself back into using "they/them" as a default and I hope that someday I'll be brave and comfortable with offering my pronouns and asking for others' to ensure that the space around me is an inclusive environment. I have friends who use these pronouns, but they are not super close friends I speak to or about a lot. I saw this as an opportunity to write about a lot of nonbinary characters so I could get plentiful practice using the singular "they/them"—and so I could offer readers the opportunity too. ❤️

If you are looking for a great series with some "they/them" rep, I have to recommend The Tensorate series of novellas by author Neon Yang (formerly J.Y. Yang, they/them). In this series, people use "they/them" pronouns as children until they're ready to affirm their genders, and some of them continue using "they/them" into adulthood. 

Got some other recs? Drop 'em in the comments, I love to hear 'em!