Boe has a ship malfunction

A shapeshifter’s spacecraft was usually considered to be a sanctuary, a vessel that could take them almost anywhere among the stars and rest from the dangers of their assignments. 

But for one Enforcer, that sanctuary had betrayed them.

The relentless sun bore down over the arid desert, the shapeshifter sat meticulously flipping through the pages of the manual, desperately trying to make sense of the instructions to fix the malfunction that had turned their ship into not much more than a hunk of metal. 

It was a frustrating endeavour, since the Enforcer had always been more adept with a weapon than with the understanding of complex machinery. Thankfully their suit was more than enough to deal with the unbearable heat.

As the hours passed, they had narrowed down the specific part of the ship that needed repairs, but didn’t know how to fix it. The Enforcer couldn’t understand how something that has an almost invincible exterior could have such small things that would break. They turned to the manual once more, hoping to find something they missed, but had little luck.

In resignation, the Enforcer returned to the flight deck, opening an emergency component and pulling out a communication device specifically for sending distress signals. At least with this device, it was designed to be used by even the most technologically impaired.

Setting it up out on the sand, the Enforcer looked around at their harsh surroundings. Despite the rocks, the occasional dry grass and cactus, there seemed to be nothing for miles. The Enforcer didn’t mind too much, at least there weren’t any humans.

The air was getting cooler, and the sun was drifting over the horizon by the time the Enforcer heard a burst of static from the device. The signal wasn’t the best, but from what they could make out, someone had received the distress call and was on their way.

The Enforcer sighed with relief.

It was night when the Enforcer heard the low hum of engines and another spaceship landed nearby, clearly of shapeshifter design.

The newcomer was wearing a suit similar to their own, but instead of the reflective silver of the Mercury Navy Mark VI that it was imitating; the newcomer’s suit was orange, possibly copying a newer astronaut suit that the humans had come up with. The Enforcer thought the design change was stupid, why wear something that sticks out like a sore thumb?

 “Hello there!” the shapeshifter chirped. “I heard you had some trouble with your ship. What seems to be the issue?”

The Enforcer gestured towards the ship “I’ll show you.”

Navigating the ship, they stopped by the area where it had malfunctioned. The shapeshifter examined the damaged components for a few moments.

“Oh! I see what the issue is. This’ll be an easy fix.”

The Enforcer watched as their fellow shapeshifter got to work, who didn’t seem to mind being observed whilst working.

“You are an Informant, yes?”

“Mhm.”

“What’s your assigned mission here on Earth?”

The Informant didn’t pause in their repairs as they replied, “Find human secrets.”

The Enforcer paused, finding the response to be very odd. Most shapeshifters would be more than happy to go into detail about their mission.

“That’s awfully vague, don’t you think?”

“I know.”

“So what’s your name, Informant?”

The shapeshifter paused for a moment as if in thought. “My name is Jesse.”

The Enforcer frowned under their helmet. “That’s an odd name for a shapeshifter. What’s your actual name?”

The Informant, or rather Jesse, turned to face them. “My name is Jesse. That is what I would like to be called.”

The Enforcer huffed, finding the response ridiculous. Why would anyone want to be referred to with such a human-sounding name? No matter how many names a shapeshifter picks up, they should always wear their original name with pride.

“I’m not going to call you that, Informant. I demand you tell me your real name. What kind of shapeshifter are you?”

Jesse also puffed up in annoyance, ignoring the question. “Well what’s your name then, if names are somehow so important.”

The Enforcer was about to reveal their name when Jesse interrupted with an air of defiance. “Actually you know what? I don’t care. I’m going to call you Boe from now on.”

‘Boe’ was taken aback by the Informant’s audacity. “Boe? That’s not even close to my name.”

Jesse shrugged “Well I think it’s a good name. It’s short, easy to remember… And I might actually just be hungry. Did you know there’s a place called Bojangles? They make some really good fried chicken.”

“I’m not going to be named after food.”

“Well tough! If you’re not going to call me Jesse then you’ll just have to deal with it!”

Boe just stared at Jesse, who had turned back to continue repairs. They couldn’t understand how another outworlder could just be so childish? Was this their first assignment offworld?

“Fine, call me whatever you want, Informant. I’m not calling you by your weird human name.”

“Whatever, Bojangles.”

As progress was being made slowly to the ship, Boe could feel their frustration mounting,

“I don’t understand you, Informant. Throwing your name away for a human one. Are you some sort of human sympathiser?”

Jesse carefully welded some wires together as they nonchalantly answered, “Yes, I do like them.”

Boe’s voice turned bitter. “You’re a naive idiot then. Humans can’t be trusted. If they knew what you were they’d backstab you without a second thought.” 

“I don’t think all humans are like that.”

“Your foolishness will result in you being placed on a dissection table as those filthy apes try to figure out how you tick.”

“You know what?” Jesse snapped as they stood up, pulling up a mass of wires out of the hatch at a tense strain. “You’ve been nothing but mean to me, Boe. Maybe I should just start ripping out everything I've fixed so far. Do you want that?”

Boe, infuriated yet realising that the threat was real, clenched their fists and seethed in silence, choosing to swallow their pride for the sake of the ship.

Jesse crouched back down in a huff. “That’s what I thought.”

As the repairs neared completion, Boe couldn’t help but begrudgingly acknowledge that despite how irritating Jesse was, they had at least done a very neat job of fixing up the ship. Maybe the Informant should have been assigned as an engineer instead of whatever the higher ups had given them, Boe thought to themself. As Jesse closed the hatch, Boe broke the silence.

“I appreciate the help with the repairs, Informant. What do you need in exchange for your assistance?”

Jesse looked puzzled as they stood up, closing the hatch and picking up the toolbox, handing it to Boe. “What do you mean? I just wanted to help. Isn’t that what shapeshifters do?”

Boe couldn’t help but feel a sense of bewilderment at the response, especially since they had spent most of the encounter arguing with each other.

“I suppose so.”

As they got over to the flight deck, which was now lit up, Jesse skipped over and started to type on the controls before turning back to Boe. “Here, you have my ship signal. If you need help again, or just want to talk then you can just give me a call.”

“I doubt I will.”

Jesse puffed up again, wildly gesturing at the screens, “Well the option is there if you change your mind!”

With the ship operational, Boe watched as Jesse gave a wave as they crossed the sand before disappearing to their own ship, with a mechanical hum departing into the night sky.