"You catch anything?" K'lorn asked. He was doing a poor job of hiding his frustration with the latest trip to Terra. It was obvious from the way his dorsal spines were fluttering and his normally green skin was brightening to a vivid aquamarine. "This sucks. Are you sure they really eat this stuff? Seems kinda gross." K'lorn was referring to the bait he was using to capture what would ultimately become pets. It was a small darkened bread disk topped with a bright red vegetable paste that was in turn covered in spoiled milk. It didn't look or smell appeasing in the least and K'lorn couldn't believe that anything would voluntarily eat the substance. He would probably stave himself to death long before he started to eat that.
His partner, older by a few cycles, closed his eyes, all four of them and drew in a deep breath. "Yes I am certain K'lorn." He ran his three fingered hands through his unruly white mane. "The humans love pizza. In fact it was once a popular saying amongst their kind that there was no such thing as bad pizza. It is for that reason we have chosen to use it as bait. It will bring them out I assure you and then we will capture many of them and return home." Jaxtan replied evenly.
K'lorn couldn't really shrug; his forelimbs were too squarely beneath his shoulders to adequately perform the action. Instead his spines all flattened against his body in obvious dissatisfaction. "Is this how they captured them in the old days? This seems so boring, and slow. And boring."
"No this is not the way that they were captured in the old times. In the old days however the humans were very plentiful. They had conquered many worlds. Between their proclivity for violence and their prodigious breeding rate they would have taken over everything had the other species of the universe not united to confront the growing threat." Jaxtan's voice was always the same constant tone. It didn't have any of the highs and lows that most sentient beings did. It could actually lull some people to sleep. "In those days a ship would be sent to a planet and massive attacks would be launched, these were humans with sufficient technology to be threats you comprehend. Nothing like the vermin we pursue here. Delay further questions. I believe I have located one.
Both of the creatures watched as something slowly emerged from the tall grass. Five and a half, maybe six units high. Judging by the breadth of it shoulders and the growth on its face it was likely a fully matured male. K'lorn's lips drew back in a gruesome imitation of a smile. Inch by inch the creature moved closer and closer to the darkened bread disc. "C'mon, C'mon." K'lorn whispered. It was his bait the human was about to take.
K'lorn's tail shifted slightly in anticipation and then it happened. The human took hold of the disc and the energy cuffs locked around his wrists. The first reaction was sheer terror. It was normal, there was no spraying of pheromones or standing hair on end to posture as a larger animal but the emotional state of the creature was obvious. It was thrashing back and forth trying to escape from the bands around its wrists and making high pitched squeals. "I can't keep it!" K'lorn shouted trying to pull the beast closer. It wasn't working; the tension scanner was off the charts. If he kept pushing. . .if he gave it any slack. . .with a frightened scream the pink skinned creature broke free and ran back into the grass with the bread disc. "Caggar Offal!" K'lorn shouted.
"That outcome is predictable and occasional. It is usually best to allow them to begin feeding before locking them in." Jaxtan droned.
"Actually the problem is that you should use live bait." Xin explained as soon as he stepped off of the teleporter. His leathery wings were wrapped tightly around his shoulders. "Would you mind if I stepped in? I think I'm a master at catching them." K'lorn and Jaxtan looked to each other and then to him before nodding. "Okay. First you should try live bait. Human beings are an unusual species and prefer their mates to be moving and present." Xin held a large box in his two lower arms and used the middle pair to open it.
Inside were a dozen human females. Each of them nude as the day they'd been cloned, which was actually only two days before. Physically they were meant to mimic peak female human sexual appeal twenty one years of age. Mentally they were given the same level of maturity which in most cases was little to none. "First you need to understand how the humans think. For the males which are most valuable that is to say they don't. They have an instinct to mate. It is easy once you learn how to pick the best bait."
Using his finger Xin started pushing the women to opposite sides of the box. It was immediately obvious that he was separating the larger from the smaller. There was also something else he was doing; most of the girls on one side had similar complexions between that of milk and that of gold. "Why are none of the darker or thicker ones included?" K'lorn asked closely observing the process.
Xin paused slightly and shrugged all six shoulders. "For reasons we do not entirely understand human beings as a rule prefer their women to be malnourished and light skinned. Given the disadvantages of both we believe it has to do with living with a disadvantage. Similar to your own species K'lorn where your spines do no good but with each generation grow larger and require a larger diet." Xin shrugged again and turned. "I should also point out that there are enough humans who like dark skinned bait, particularly those with dark skin them selves-