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Earthers stationed at the Lunar installation of the HSPB, Caroline had never seen a living animal for herself. 
    Notably, she was the only agent who made it past the early stages of the application process.  (Another thirty had been dropped almost immediately, all non-Earthers.)  Her fine record in the Bureau and accomplishment in reaching G7 (grade seven) meant that she might be the best test case for allowing greater benefits to trickle down to the non-Earth born agents of the HSPB.  No non-Earther had ever gotten to G6, never mind G7. 
    Caroline Dahl was very special.
    And now, a mere two months after receiving the bird (which she'd named Roland), Caroline stood over its lifeless body, her face contorted in an attempt to smother grief.  The rest of her well-furnished rooms – complete with fronial-lined, crystal lighting fixtures, Double-Spot deep-back chairs, sofas and Lunar-crafted wall hangings meant nothing in comparison to Roland.  She may have done well for a non-Earther, but somebody was determined to not let her forget who she really was beneath it all.
    Caroline caught sight of herself in a mirror on the wall across the room from Roland’s perch.  She didn’t realize she’d been crying.  The sight of an agent, decked out in uniform of deep green top and dark blue pants, tears cutting a path down her cheek, was problematic.  Bureau personnel were supposed to be hard enough to resist emotion – regardless of the circumstances.
    Caroline’s success in the Bureau hadn't come easily.  She was initially viewed as too diminutive for real potential as an agent.  She had clear, pleasingly proportioned features and soft green eyes, but it was her size that struck most as completely uncharacteristic of a member of the HSPB.  (Agents did, from time to time, have to use physical force.)  And, even if one could get beyond her petite frame, there was Caroline's hair to consider – or, lack of hair, to be more specific.  She was nearly bald, with a very short fringe of absolutely white hair covering her scalp.
    Even with an exempl ary HSPB record, skepticism remained when it came to the young woman from Mars.  Many of the Earth-born agents she served alongside found her "objectionable".  Was it because she wasn't one of them, or that she was very effective in discharging her duties?  Caroline had yet to figure that out.
    There was a long-standing, derogatory term referring to humans living in U-Space:  spetcher .  The word had originated generations before Caroline was born.  For years, the word was used frequently by a majority of citizens in C-Space (whether they were of Earth or not).
    The term lost its appeal for non-Earthers, however, as the makeup of HSPB personnel changed.  There simply weren't enough natives of the home planet interested in becoming a part of the Bureau to sustain a viable force.  The powers-that-be had no choice:  citizens from the full expanse of C-Space would be considered for entry into the HSPB Academy.  The "mixing" caused resentment and led to a new way of referring to the C-Space non-Earthers:  half-spetcher.
    Almost immediately, no self-respecting non-Earther anywhere in C-Space would use any derivation of the word spetcher.  Even those inclined to be distrustful of U-Space and contemptuous of its populace (as they had been taught to do) would not use the word.
    Caroline Dahl was a half-spetcher and, in the minds of some who were aware of her ownership of an Earth animal, therein laid the problem.
     
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    Caroline recognized the tresanium spike piercing Roland's head as an implement from the kitchen.  It was most commonly used in an offering that came up once or twice a week for which she had developed an affinity:  kabobs; seasoned meat and vegetables that were unlike anything Caroline had been privileged to experience on Mars.  She reasoned it was part of her reward for