Strangetown, Season 3 - Grunt
“Hello, Miss Beaker. Remind me, how many times have you lost your job, again? I could probably pull some strings and get you in the military if you wanted.”
“Never. I like to promote peace and kindness in my life, thankyouverymuch.”
“Ha! Suit yourself.”
Buck brings Delta Land home, and quickly becomes infatuated.
“So… Delta. Would you like to go steady? Be boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Oh! Yeah! Sure!”
Delta doesn’t mention to him her kiss with Rocky. They’re not going steady or anything so it’s not like it’s really relevant, right?
Ripp doesn’t know it, since Buzz only plays when he’s at work, but his dad is constantly borrowing his guitar, and might be a better player than him!
The TV’s broken, but Ripp’s apathy knows no bounds. It’s not like there’s ever anything good on anyway.
“So the General’s insisting I gotta go to Sim State so me and Tank can stick together, even though the last thing I want is to hang around that asshole. Plus apparently he thinks LFT is too ‘alien friendly’.”
“You’re going to be an adult, though! You can’t let your Dad make all your choices for you.”
“Yeah, but I blew most of my savings on the guitar so I need his support. It’s a bummer, but I’ll manage”
“Hmmm… the red one’s in line. Go for that one.”
“You think I can make it?”
“Hey, no conferring!!”
“That isn’t a real rule, Ripp!”
“I’m still disappointed you’re not joining us at Fiesta Tech. You could have come lived with us!”
“C’mon, you really want me slobbing it up in the middle of your love nest?”
“I dunno. It might be fun!”
“Perv.”
“Hey, guys, speaking of love nests….”
“What?”
“Check out the photo booth.”
General Buzz brings home Jill from work.
“Oh, he’s so cute! What’s his name?”
“That’s Rebel. The boys practically begged me for a dog and promised to look after it, but here I am cleaning the kennel.”
“That’s kids for you. How many do you have?”
“Three. I’m expecting my eldest over for dinner tonight, and he says he’s bringing a gust.”
“Oh! Is it a girlfriend?”
“It better be!”
“So, I gotta warn you, this might be a disaster.”
“Your father won’t like me?”
“He doesn’t like aliens in general, not one bit.”
“I see.”
“That’s why I invited you, I guess. I want to prove to him he’s wrong about you guys.”
“Rebel! How you doing, boy?”
“Oh, he is just adorable!”
“It’s good to see you, Tank. And… oh. And this is..?”
“This is Stella. We met at LFT.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr Grunt.”
“Uh… right. Well, please head indoors and make yourself comfortable.”
As soon as Stella was inside and safely out of earshot, Buzz exploded.
“What are you thinking, Tank? She’s one of them, in case you haven’t noticed!”
“Of course I’ve noticed, Dad. But she isn’t like that.”
“I can’t believe my son is dating one of those, those, hybrids.”
“She’s a full alien, actually-”
“Oh, that’s so much better! She could have pollinated you, or worse-”
“And we aren’t really dating…”
“Thank God!”
“Just try to get to know her, please? She’s really nice.”
“I knew letting you go to that bloody college was a mistake…”
“So… Miss Terrano. What brings you to our planet?”
Tank winced a little at his emphasis on the word our, starting to wonder if this was a mistake.
“Actually, I’m a fugitive.”
“A fugitive? From your planet?”
“That’s correct. Unlike on Earth, we aliens do not get to choose our line of work. I was the next Birth Queen in line.”
“Birth Queen?” Tank spluttered.
“Yes. It is not so unlike the royalty some of your countries here on Earth have. But there were certain aspects of my duty that did not appeal to me, so I fled to Earth.”
“I don’t know about all this,” said Sgt. Jill. “We have no proof you’re telling the truth. How are we supposed to believe this?”
“Come on, I don’t think-”
“For all we know, she could be a spy!”
“Yes, that is true. I don’t really have any proof beyond my words.”
“Stella, wait-”
“No, it’s okay. I had better be going.”
Rebel finally grew up! And she very much grew into the sort of dog I imagine the Grunts owning, which is nice. Buck’s excited to teach her some tricks. He’s glad he’ll still have company once Ripp goes to college.
Buzz actually has as friend in the neighbourhood! Of course it’s nice, blessedly normal, Ajay Loner.
“It’s your last day of work, son, how about you take the chopper?”
“To work? Just across the road?”
“My treat. As a reward for working so hard at your job. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you over-achieving.”
“…Wow. Thanks, Dad!”
The time for Ripp to leave for Sim State Univversity had finally come. He’d been counting down the days til he left, but now that the day was finally here, he was surprised to find his eyes welling up a little.