On My First Day of Work… I’ll Sleep With You — The Poor Alien Mother Begged a Human for a Job! HFY

The marketplace on epsilon station buzzed with the usual chaos of a hundred different species bartering, arguing, and conducting business. Marcus Webb pushed through the crowd, his worn briefcase tucked under one arm as he made his way toward his newly acquired trading stall. 6 months ago, he’d been just another corporate drone on Earth.

Now, he was trying to build something of his own out here on the frontier. He’d barely begun setting up his display of earth goods, coffee, chocolate, basic tools, when he noticed her. She stood at the edge of his stall, partially hidden behind a support pillar, a Verdanteian woman, her skin the pale green of new leaves, with large dark eyes that seemed to hold both intelligence and desperation.

What caught his attention most, however, was the infant bundled against her chest in a makeshift sling. The baby’s tiny green fingers clutched at the fabric, and Marcus could see it was far too thin. The woman noticed him looking and quickly turned to leave. “Wait,” Marcus called out. Something in her defeated posture made him speak up.

“Do you need something?” She stopped, her shoulders tensing. For a long moment, she didn’t turn around. When she finally did, Marcus saw tears tracking down her cheeks, leaving darker trails on her green skin. I, she started, her voice barely above a whisper. She spoke in broken standard, heavily accented.

I need work. Any work, please. Marcus glanced around a small stall. He planned to run this operation solo, at least at first. Money was tight and hiring help wasn’t in the budget. I’m sorry. I’m just starting out myself. I can’t really afford. Please. The word came out sharper, more desperate. She stepped closer, her free hand gripping the edge of his display table. I do anything.

Anything you want. I I clean. I organize. I carry. I don’t eat much. I don’t ask questions. Her voice dropped lower and shame colored her features. I on first day of work. I sleep with you. Whatever you want. Just please, please give me job. My baby is hungry. The offer hit Marcus like a physical blow. The absolute degradation in her voice, the way she couldn’t meet his eyes as she made the proposition, it made his stomach turn, not with desire, but with horror at what circumstances had driven her to this point. “No,” he said firmly,

and watched her face crumble. “No, that’s not Wait, let me finish. That’s not happening ever. But sit down, please. You look like you’re about to collapse. He pulled out the folding chair he brought for himself and guided her into it. The baby in her arms let out a small whimper, and Marcus got his first good look at the infant.

“It couldn’t have been more than a few months old, its skin duller than its mothers, its eyes sunken. “When did you last eat?” Marcus asked, digging into his pack. He pulled out the sandwich he’d brought for lunch and handed it to her without waiting for an answer. She stared at the food as if it might disappear. Two days, she whispered.

But baby needs more than me. I give her what I can, but she needs special food. Verdant and infants need supplements, minerals. I have no credits for it. Marcus watched as she tore into the sandwich with trembling hands, trying to maintain some dignity, but clearly starving. His mind raced through calculations he couldn’t afford to make and decisions that probably weren’t smart business-wise.

“What’s her name?” he asked. She swallowed hard. “La, my baby is called Sila.” “La, I’m Marcus. I’m going to ask you some questions, and I need honest answers. Can you do that? She nodded, still chewing. Do you have any skills? Experience with trade, inventory, languages, anything. I was teacher, LRA said quietly.

On Verdansa before the colony failed. I speak five languages. I can read and write in seven. I am good with numbers with records. I taught linguistics and history. Marcus felt something slot into place in his chest. A teacher and you’re out here starving in a marketplace making offers like that. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

My husband died when colony collapsed. We lost everything. I came here thinking I could find work, but no one wants to hire Verdantian. They say we are weak, that we bring bad luck. I went to 23 places. 23. Some laughed. Some made worse offers than I made to you. I have nothing left. Nothing but my baby, and she is dying because I cannot feed her properly.

The baby chose that moment to let out a weak cry. And Lra immediately began rocking her, humming something soft and melodic. Marcus could see the love there, fierce and primal. A mother trying to comfort a child when she had nothing else to give. He made his decision. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” Marcus said, standing up and rummaging through his supplies.

“First, we’re going to the medical sector and getting proper supplements for Sila. Then, we’re going to the food hall and you’re going to have a real meal. After that, you’re coming back here and you’re going to help me set up this stall properly. LRA looked up at him with confusion and fear. I told you I have no credits to pay you.

You’re not paying me. I’m employing you. Marcus pulled out his tablet and began making notes. You said you’re good with languages and records. I need someone who can help me navigate this station’s trading regulations, communicate with different species, keep my inventory organized. I’m good with people and negotiations, but the administrative side makes my head spin.

We’ll start with a trial period, one week. Room and board included, because I’m not having my employee and her baby sleeping in some corner of the station. There’s a small apartment above this doll space that came with the lease. It’s not much, but it’s clean and safe. But but the offer I made is never to be mentioned again,” Marcus said firmly, looking her directly in the eyes.

“And if anyone else ever asks that of you, you tell them no and you tell me about it.” Understood? You’re worth more than that. Your daughter deserves a mother who doesn’t have to debase herself just to survive. Lra stared at him for a long moment, and Marcus could see the internal struggle playing out across her face.

Suspicion wared with hope, pride with desperation, disbelief with the small, fragile possibility that maybe, just maybe, someone was offering help without strings attached. “Why?” she finally whispered. Why would you do this? Marcus thought about his own mother, who’d raised him alone after his father left. He remembered watching her work three jobs.

Remembered the nights she’d gone without so he could eat. Remembered the look in her eyes when she thought he wasn’t watching. The same desperate determination he now saw in Lra. Because someone gave my mother a chance once, when no one else would, he said simply. And because in this big complicated universe, sometimes we need to remember to be human in the best sense of the word.

Now come on, let’s get your daughter what she needs. As they walked through the marketplace together toward the medical sector, Marcus could feel the stairs and hear the whispers. Let them talk. He’d come to the frontier to build something better than what he’d left behind on Earth. He just decided what that something would be.

Behind them, little Sila let out a sound that might have been the beginning of a laugh. And LRA smiled for the first time since Marcus had met her. It was a good