“Miisa! Hi! Hi hi hi!”
Miisa felt very anxious standing outside a cafe called Twenty Below. They were wearing nice armour, holding several forms and a small visitors’ card twisted from a lanyard around Miisa’s neck. Approaching them was Litvir, a literal deity, but also literally a very small child, despite looking like a tall, gangly teenager Rethan.
“Hello, Litvir.”
“Hello!” Litvir bounced excitedly, but calmed down for a moment, inspecting first the watch on their wristband and their surroundings. Once they were certain the coast was clear, they turned their attention back to Miisa and smiled. “Hello! How are you?”
Miisa also glanced around. Mostly because one of the signs on the door of the cafe said “Below Twenty Legion Soldiers Only”. Underneath it though were two other signs, one for 47th Legion soldiers and one for 99th, 100th and 1000th Legion soldiers. Miisa realised there had to be a few exceptions.
“Uh… um…” Miisa hesitated, not sure what to say. They seemed sad, and Litvir quickly picked up on that. But Litvir also picked up on other things too.
“You are not happy. It did not go well.”
Miisa sniffed, then nodded. Litvir took Miisa’s hand and led them into the cafe. They sat down in the corner and, immediately, a staff member brought over two glasses of water and some menus. It was 1500 hours, most folks were working currently so the cafe was mostly empty.
“It… did not go well at all. I do not understand enough about politics, recent events and other races to have much use as an advisor, and the areas where I am strongest, General Relkir already has those roles filled. The… the only area where I was both strong and useful was in finding new information, but, again, General Relkir already has staff in those positions. So I will have to spend more time in the 800th Legion while I do higher studies, or find a job elsewhere while doing online study.”
Litvir couldn’t quite understand why Miisa was so upset. They understood the sadness, but Litvir thought higher studies sounded fun, more time being in school. Still, Litvir tried to be as understanding as possible.
“It is okay, Miisa. You can always learn new stuff then try again. Or find a similar job elsewhere. There are lots of jobs!”
“But I wanted to work here in the Kentron, in the government…”
“Maybe there are other jobs you could do?” Litvir was struggling to make Miisa feel better. They felt a little bad because Litvir’s job had been guaranteed from the start, because Litvir was a deity. They didn’t need to go into higher education because their job of patrolling the edge of the universe and killing metal meanies didn’t require it, and the reports that Litvir wrote afterwards only needed a standard school completion certificate.
“Like what?”
“Like… uh, lots of things. Maybe you could be an advisor for another Legion. You are good at computer stuff too, maybe you could do a computer job until you have experience to be an advisor!”
“I… I guess…” Miisa sighed. “I put all my eggs in one basket. I wanted a job and did not get it and now I do not know what to do…”
“Well… we will think of something, yes?”
“I guess…”
The waiter came back, clearly wondering if Litvir and Miisa were going to order anything. Litvir normally didn’t like using their telepathy but they could tell that Miisa wanted comfort food, so they ordered some diet colas and Miisa’s favourite, mashed potato with gravy. Litvir also ordered some cookies, as was standard. Glad to have an order, the waiter rushed off, brought the drinks and cookies then disappeared again.
Miisa sighed some more, then prodded the straw in their drink. They were clearly very upset and Litvir wasn’t sure how to fix that.
However, as the waiter gave Miisa and Litvir their food, Litvir noticed someone else wander into the cafe. Someone who was clearly from a Below Twenty Legion. Litvir couldn’t help but turn around and watch as General Ritlir entered the cafe and go and sit in the same corner they always sat in. And, as always, the waiter got General Ritlir the same order, a plate of chicken drumsticks.
Litvir realised they were being rude, somewhat staring at General Ritlir, and they got concerned when Ritlir got up and made their way over. Ritlir’s plating was purple and orange, but most of that couldn’t be seen past their black, scary Below Twenty armour. But there was something else about Ritlir that made Litvir uneasy. They couldn’t pick up any of Ritlir’s thoughts at all. They’d never been able to, and Litvir didn’t know why.
“Hello, little deity!” Ritlir smiled as they approached. “You have brought a friend today!”
“Hello…” Litvir stuttered, ever so slightly unnerved by the General. “This is my friend Miisa. They applied for a job here but the interview did not go well and I am trying to make Miisa feel better.”
Ritlir glanced at Miisa briefly, then turned back to Litvir, smiling even more. “You have a poten-partner already? Well done!”
“N-n-no! Not at all!” Litvir stood up. “We are just friends! Nothing more! I am a baby, I cannot do that stuff!”
“I am just joking, little one!” Ritlir continued to smile, patting Litvir on the shoulder and suggesting they sit back down. “Miisa, it is a pleasure to meet you. What job were you going for?”
“I… I wanted to be an advisor in the 99th Legion, mostly focusing on media, the olanet, online security and online trends.”
“Oh, really?” Ritlir exclaimed. “I was actually looking for someone like that for my olanet watch teams.”
“Really?”
“Yes. While my schedule is packed over the next few days, perhaps, Miisa, you could come down and do an interview at some point?”
Miisa looked up at Ritlir. “R-really? This is not a trick?”
“No, not at all. Do you have a contact card?”
Miisa immediately fished around in their satchel and found what Ritlir had asked for. They handed it to Ritlir, who grinned eagerly.
“Wonderful. I will have Captain Trismit call you when we are ready. Anyway, if you do not mind, I have lunch to eat.”
“But it is past 1500!” Litvir exclaimed.
“I like my late lunches.”
“Oh.”
Ritlir waved goodbye, then headed back to their table. Miisa and Litvir both stared at each other, not really sure what had just happened.
“They are weird.”
“Yeah. But they might get me a job.”
“True…” Litvir shrugged. “Are you feeling better now?”
Miisa thought for a moment, then smiled. “Yes, actually.”
“Good.”