Runaway to the Stars: Page 247
Posted on March 3, 2026 by Jay Eaton

Talita's fine, whatever. The real content of this page is the USB cable joke.

Transcript

Idrisah and Cheevwut sit in her cubicle organizing a pile of loose cables on the floor.

Idrisah: Cheevwut, do you know where I put that USB-G cable?

A series of increasingly loud thumping footsteps causes Idrisah look up in surprise. Talita has returned, gripping the top of the cubicle wall, eyes wild.

Idrisah: Is something wrong?

Talita glances fearfully at the entrance to the admin wing, the direction she fled from.

Talita: There’s… centaurs outside.

Cheevwut: Oh yeah, that’s your new temp crew.

Runaway to the Stars: Page 247
Posted on March 3, 2026 by Jay Eaton

Talita's fine, whatever. The real content of this page is the USB cable joke.

Transcript

Idrisah and Cheevwut sit in her cubicle organizing a pile of loose cables on the floor.

Idrisah: Cheevwut, do you know where I put that USB-G cable?

A series of increasingly loud thumping footsteps causes Idrisah look up in surprise. Talita has returned, gripping the top of the cubicle wall, eyes wild.

Idrisah: Is something wrong?

Talita glances fearfully at the entrance to the admin wing, the direction she fled from.

Talita: There’s… centaurs outside.

Cheevwut: Oh yeah, that’s your new temp crew.

179 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 247”

  1. Selkra

    “Your new temp crew.” Oh boy howdy I’m sure Talita in a leadership position won’t clash with the crew’s Matriarch in any way. Kumbaya 🙂

  2. bonescaro

    SCREAMING??!? while this is so sweet of Mel‚ it also comes across as SO horribly misguided 😭 that being said‚ it’s still good for the dirtball community‚ since homeworld centaurs are kind of isolationist‚ and spacer centaur clans are pretty damn rare.

    i wonder what Bip would think?

  3. SIGSTKFLT

    “USB-G” killed me. in real life.

    1. deathbypixelz

      SAME LMAO

  4. Knux

    There’s lots of other stuff going on, but I can’t help but be stricken by just how pretty Idrisah is in this page. Women <3

  5. Duke 1337-o

    Ok but seriously. Imagine being, like, the ONE human in a colony of space aliens, and being in Talita’s shoes (which you had to design yourself btw). You’ve been raised by aliens, you speak no earthly language and are familiar with no cultures if terrestrial origin. You struggle with managing your temp crews, so your manager is like “I got it!” And surprises you with a brand new temp crew of 15th-century winged hussars.

    1. zofifi

      Nobody expects 15th-century winged hussars.

      1. Duke 1337-o

        Nobody expects the winged hussars! And you KNOW those Johnny Corncob motherfuckers are just gonna judge you for not speaking Magyar or whatever, call you a bunch of slurs for the ethnicity you didn’t know you were, then judge you for not knowing that! And Mel? No help. At all. Time to get your friends and run away on that chatty ship you found. Perhaps even to the stars

  6. jaxpsylla

    can someone explain the USB G joke i dont get it

    1. Duke 1337-o

      Right now we have USB-A, B, and C. In the ✨ FUTURE✨ they’ll have advanced all the way to USB-G!!!

  7. Zacolyn

    Oh. My. Gods. Mel. All this time Talita thought the building was just for her, but apparently it was for a whole clan! This is gonna go over like diarrhea in a space suit.

  8. $ilverware

    MEL! OH. MY GOD! What is wrong with you!

  9. WayanayaW

    The caption on today’s page made me laugh out loud because. Yeah. The USB-G joke got me. Thank you.

  10. Solidago

    Can we see the USB G cable please please please

    1. Claire

      looks like this
      [=:=:=]

  11. Gar G

    She sure looks freaked out

  12. Ruby

    You know, when people started panicking about “this is the chapter where we see a centaur cry” and I saw the kids yesterday I was like “Oh hey, maybe when Jay shared that it was a red herring and we’ll just see one of the kids get scared or stumble over while playing and it doesn’t mean that Talita is about to have A Bad Time”. But after seeing the sheer panic in Talita’s reaction maybe she will break down after hearing that Mel just shoved into her life a whole clan of random centaurs that will at best be a really uncomfortable reminder of her work on the Runaway and at worst actively make her life hell.

    1. Teod

      “this is the chapter where we see a centaur cry”
      Wait, didn’t we see that last chapter? She cried after being bullied by Adam.

      1. Undercooked Mothman

        we saw her sit with her head in her hands, upset, but not actually crying

  13. uzhitsa

    poor, poor, poor, POOR Talita!!!!

  14. Darth Biomech

    Oh no… Oh, NO.
    I was spoiled on the surprise Mel was preparing, but I didn’t know it ALSO would be ten times worse than I thought! Poor Talita, I’d be having a mother of all hyperventilations in that situation.

  15. halley

    when ur so spooked u develop cataracts

    1. 1d4-nadg

      I think those white eyes are actualy reflecting the light, like cats. She is so spooked her eyes are huge.

      Or you know, maybe it’s just artistic liscence and i’m reading too much into it

      1. Light_In_The_Fog

        Talita does have tapetum lucidum (confirmed both visually and in the page description on page 6) but given that she’s not in the dark and we can still see the outline of her pupil i think its just to communicate that she’s panicking

        1. halley

          yeah i figured it was artistic license! i just thought it was funny considering how much care jay puts into these drawings. not that it’s careless, but i hadn’t expected the comickiness lol. for it to be tapeta lucida it’d have to be darker in the room i think. that or from a brighter more direct light

        2. Chase Wanderstar

          @halley Counterpoint, have you ever tried to photograph a dog?

        3. halley

          @Chase Wanderstar i am simply built different and have never struggled with anything in my life ever, up to and including professional dog photography

  16. JoB

    “That’s your new temp crew.”
    (Little does Cheevwut know how temporary that setup will be …)
    Talita+Idrisah: “… you got to be shittin’ me?!?”
    Cheevwut: “… you’re not that statuesque.”

    1. AnaKaye

      Bwahahahah*gasp* *is ded*

  17. MissZena

    This is the most viscerally uncomfortable thing oh god
    also kind of actually insane how Mel would go this far to bring in a bunch of centaurs because “””it would be good for Talita””” even though that seems to be a pretty difficult task just based on all the modifications Talita has made for herself alone but couldn’t take an afternoon to properly write up and fire Adam after he was an actual safety hazard and routinely got physical with people INCLUDING Talita
    like yeah sure its SO difficult to fire a walking liability who doesn’t mind grabbing people without warning but restructuring an entire apartment block, food system, waste disposal, AND accounting for the housing of small children? That’s SO much easier

    1. halley

      mel doesn’t like solving problems, i think. they’re more into coming up with Fun New Situations which surely will not become problems

      1. A Box Of Fox

        Yeeeeah, that sounds about right.

      2. Fallingfeather

        And then getting upset when you don’t appreciate it.

  18. indylemon

    Oh Mel I don’t think this is going to go over as well as my parents inviting my biological father to my sixteenth birthday party as a surprise did, and that was awkward and uncomfortable for literally everyone.

    1. Jason Myers

      BROOO NO SHIT I WOULD’VE LITERALLY KILLED MY PARENTS FOR INVITING MY BIO-DAD TO MY PARTY HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIT (way to make it not about the kid but a performance of reconciliation and familiarity that doesn’t exist!!!!!)

  19. wingedmonkey

    I, for one, appreciated the USB joke. It was very good.

  20. Lettuce Vervain

    talita’s O_O… ME TOO GIRL. MEL WHAT HAVE YOU DONE. WITHOUT WARNING.

  21. kaittzie

    Ohhhhhh. Gosh, if this were any other genre, with any other heroine, I’d be all over watching these kids and Talita learn from and teach each other new things. but alas

    The title.

  22. Guest

    That is Exactly how my cat looked when she went in the crate to move to our new home

  23. Coldest Lew

    Melohmygod…

  24. florence

    MEL.

  25. gñfs

    oh noo

  26. 10Person

    Jay, what’s this update schedule? You’re spoiling us much too much with it.

    Plus I can’t do homework if I spend all my time reading rtts)))

    1. malmo

      R.T.T.S Releases Tuesday Thursday & Saturday

  27. bug

    in 300 years, we made it as far as G in the alphabet. incredible

    1. Hmantegazzi

      That’s a new standard every 75 years on average, which feels rather slow, but I wonder how many retro-compatible numbered versions might fit on each one of those generations…

      1. May

        The rate of new versions would be slow by modern standards, but at some point the laws of physics would say that it is impractical to make computers that grow exponentially in power. Today’s computers are more than a million times as powerful as a computer from the 70s, but as advances in technology slow down there would be a greater desire to maintain backwards compatibility with a computer made 50 years ago.

    2. 1d4-nadg

      There might be H and J and I coexisting, for all we know

      1. Solidago

        Yeah, Dirtball might be running older tech. Besides, USB A is still standard in 2026, with USB C just starting to become dominant.

    3. Grant

      Possibly second time around the alphabet?…

  28. Joey

    I hope before she leaves she get’s a chance to compare and contrast her EV designs against the other centaurs. If they have some skychaser centaur standard could be interesting to her as an engineer. If Mel had them made based off hers then I feel like she should confirm the poor temps will be safe before she peaces out cause I don’t trust Mel’s know how on that.

    1. Geb

      I really do want them to be aware of just exactly how valuable she is, both for her lifelong work in centaur accessibility and modern safety gear and as a liason, regardless of the distrust and maybe even disgust they (culturally reasonably) feel for her.

  29. shield

    the g in usb-g stands for “good”

    1. S0glet

      It could even stand for… great..hehhehehehhehehehehhehehe

  30. 40

    cheev so little……

  31. MyUniverseinaBox

    USB-G……..

  32. EnchantressEmily

    I love that Talita’s first instinct in this situation was to run to a friend.

    1. JoB

      Well the surrounding landscape isn’t overly conducive to the “take to the hills” alternative …

      1. Payphone Call

        The stars on the other hand…

    2. Lilac

      I suppose the thought process was maybe somewhat like
      > was in safe and normal situation –> leaves situation to expected different normal situation-> completely blindsided by shocking totally unexpected event -> does not know how to react -> immediately returns to previous situation
      But also yeah, ’tis nice!!

  33. aron

    not the point of the page but Cheevwut looks so small and cute from this perspective. I’d I was in this universe I’d want to hug avians soooo bad but they’d definitely hate it worse than anything

    1. Effyis Biblos

      well, see Cheevwut’s view of humans in https://www.runawaytothestars.com/comic/rtts-reader-questions-21/ for how they might consider that kind of action. Although they seem to think it’s cool, so…?

      1. ttt

        i know jay has said that cheev is a normie and thinks carnalists are weird and sex obsessed, but i’d also peg cheev as a bit of a monsterfucker if the stars aligned on their spring correctly.

        being on a small rinkydink planetoid like dirtball probably doesn’t do much about expanding one’s mind tho about minorities and subcultures, tho.

  34. Vee

    I wonder what talita is going to say to the other centaurs will she show them the leather quilt?

    1. Lilac

      Maybe but I can’t really tell how that would be a good idea lol
      “Hey here’s this artifact from a clan of centaurs that are all dead now and I never knew them but just like have this for some reason don’t worry about it” shdjfjggjfjs
      I guess if she wants to know what the writings on it say? But she would probably prefer to ask bip about that, and they could probably not even know and use a whole other centaur language…
      But maybe… who knows…

    2. malmo

      I think the last thing she wants to do is draw attention to Bip or the Runaway

  35. Egg

    Okay thank god she escaped. For the time being.
    The fact that other people knew before she did. MEL. WHEN I GET YOU.

  36. Tyrone

    She´s hyperventilating……but how do you get someone with a “pass through” aka unidirectional respiratory system , breath in and out into a bag ? Should we cram all of Talita into a giant bag ?
    ….Do they even have giant bags on dirtball ?

    1. JoB

      > how do you get someone with a “pass through” aka unidirectional
      > respiratory system , breath in and out into a bag ?

      Stuff into vacuum suit, power down oxy regen.

      > cram all of Talita into a giant bag ?

      Well, yeah, that’s the gist of it …

    2. bug

      third option – paper bag for both valves! one incurrent, one excurrent (though paper bags may be expensive to import on Dirtball)

      1. Bug

        …skimming through the newer comments and got jumpscared by your name and blue avian avatar lmao

        1. JoB

          > skimming through the newer comments

          So you’re a skimmer avian? 😛
          (Same first letter in handle yields same avatar, in fact.)

    3. Aleris

      I’m picturing a ductwork tube kinda situation

    4. Skadoosh

      Tubes from incurrent nostril to excurrent nostril, one on each side?

  37. 0xabad1dea

    I think the funniest implication is that the upgrade to USB-G happened recently enough that there’s still USB-F cables lying around too – otherwise she’d just call it USB. Or maybe USB-G *is* the old one, and she already packed her best USB-H!

  38. EveryZig314

    She is being plinkoed in real time

    1. Lezzlebit

      The metaphor…………………..

  39. eden

    something tells me broken crown will be taking taltas spot in admin since they’re still nursing larvae and the entourage will be working in the field with talita

    1. bug

      Idrisah is in Admin.

      1. JoB

        And I don’t think that Broken Crown is the one to move into Idrisahs cubicle, for size reasons alone …

      2. eden

        I meant idrisah my bad

  40. K

    The only way this situation can be made a teensy bit better (and I do emphasize only a smidgen) is if Mel, in all of their management wisdom, actually INFORMED the centaur clan that they would be working with a lone centaur and checked that they are “fine with it.” Which really would still not be great because they could have taken the job with the idea that Talita could be married into their worker pool and they could somehow fix her, which now that I type it out actually sounds more insulting than if they just downright ignored her for being a lone centaur.

    1. eden

      that would require knowing enough about centuar culture to ask. he’ll, bothering to look up anything g about centuars would have told mel this was a bad idea. the whole problem is that mel is making assumptions and decisions about what talita needs

      1. K

        There is a chance that Mel DID try to teach themselves about centaur culture and tried to find a group “tolerant” enough for Talita (it’s low, but improbable doesn’t mean impossible). And to your point, I agree that the main issue is that Mel is stepping over Talita’s autonomy as a person and making decisions for her.

        What I was trying to say in the previous comment is that if Mel DID try to find a clan more open to working with a lone centaur, while the situation would still be bad because of the aforementioned reasons, it would at least mean that Mel had some foresight, even if that foresight was misused and ultimately still hurt.

    2. JoB

      … I’d say that it’s much more likely we’ll be introduced to a bit of Dirtball vocabulary, and learn the idiom of “being melinformed” …
      (To be used only in spoken form, or better not at all, when the namesake’s nearby.)

    3. Bramble

      Honestly, I don’t know if Mel having the foresight to research centaur culture and handpick “compatible” culture but NOT to speak to the centaur they actually know and (should) know the personal social difficulties and insecurities of would make the situation better. This is someone who Talita considers a parental figure, they have no excuse for not knowing that the poor girl has neither had nor sought out contact with other centaurs in her adult life.

  41. un_pogaz

    Oh dear. She is absolutely terrifying.
    Mel, you’re going to get my express kick in the your ass for that. It’s final, Mel needs karmic revenge, and I won’t hesitate to make it as petty as possible, it’s too serious. If Mel doesn’t get some kind of punishment before the end of the volume, it will be very infuriating.

    1. un_pogaz

      *terrifyed (damn it)

      1. bug

        *terrified (you got this, don’t worry)

    2. Theoneandonlyvoid

      I think Talita leaving on a illegal vessel just to get away from them is enough of a punishment lol

      1. un_pogaz

        Nah, it’s not enough. Mel would emerge unscathed from this affair, without understanding how their was wrong and a bad person in it. Every time Mel will thinks back on Talita’s hasty departure, they will throught “Oh, it’s a shame that Talita left, she could be so happy to living with other Centaurs. *shrug* No worries, I’ll come up with a better idea for my friend the next time we meet.”
        No, this need a confrontation, a real punishment. That Mel have they head shoved into they own shit hard enough that it comes out the other end a second time. And [I]then[/I] she will leave, cutting all ties, and leaving them in the lurch to deal with the consequences of they actions.

    3. r

      i have hopes that they’ll be facing idrisah’s wrath for this, she’s already quit so it’s not like she has anything to lose lol

      1. HAL9000

        idk if idrisah would fully understand quite why talita’s so upset, she doesn’t realise how badly divorced from her own culture talita is. which tbf talita hasnt actually ever told her about

        1. foca

          she did talk about it with her, in this conversation back in [page 157](https://www.runawaytothestars.com/comic/rtts-page-157/) onwards. although idrisah did say she doesn’t think avoiding the issue is gonna help in the long run, i highly doubt she will be unable to see that the way mel went about this whole thing is just terrible for talita.

  42. Rose

    BIP!!! BIP COME PICK TALITA UP, SHE’S SCARED!!

    1. Ruby

      Cut to Talita trying to sneak past Mel and the clan by hiding behind an automated front loader conspicuously going through the dome

      1. JoB

        … I suspect that Talita openly “chasing” a “runaway” front loader would be less conspicuous (and give her less of an opportunity to freeze in fear somewhere en route) …

  43. moonbarking

    I wanna say this whole situation could’ve been smoothed over with the overarching lesson of having clear communication with others of the things that stress you out. But like… would Mel have listened and really understood what Talita’s feelings are towards her species? Do they know about her previous encounter? Communication like that only works if it goes both ways and I absolutely adore that our main cast are so emotional mature that they can freely share their anxieties with each other even if there’s a bit of hesitation initially.

    1. Muse

      To be fair she did try to talk to Mel when she was literally manhandled and they cared more about the inconvenience of doing anything about it than at least comforting her when she was clearly upset, regardless of how warranted they thought her feelings were. When you know someone like that, you know clear communication about one’s feelings is just not an option, because whatever you say will be dismissed, downplayed, or possibly even mocked. And if that person raised you, you come to apply it to everyone; you don’t bother reaching out or sharing your feelings because you by default assume they’ll be minimized anyway, which means no one knows who you really are or what you want. So when Mel (someone who Should, Theoretically, be close to Talita and Surely knows what she wants) says “let’s surprise her with this, she’ll love it!” no one has any reason to doubt them, because they’ve got nothing else to go by.
      Which is to say, gouugghh,,,, the writing,,,,,,, delicious,,,,,,,

    2. TeethBurglar

      Like Calcery said, “As attentive as they act, I’m not sure Mel is ever actually listening”.

      I would imagine even if Talita expressed all her emotions towards it I’m not sure if Mel would listen. You know like how Talita told Mel that one of her coworkers PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED HER and they seemed pretty comfortable to ignore her feelings/down play the situation. Mel doesn’t want to listen nor to help, they want to feel like a good person. Mel needs to go to therapy or smth.

      1. moonbarking

        Augh you’re right. Mel presents themselves as the cool boss who totally wants to be there for their employee, “I’m here to help everybody be a team!” but wont actually do anything when push comes to shove.
        Kinda unsurprising now why their children haven’t voluntarily spoken to them.

        1. Vinemaple

          Oh, yeah, Mel has actually done something like this before, when Talita was in college, it’s in one of the early AMAs. They actually made Talita’s problem worse by trying to fix it. That’s why Talita never said anything until Adam grabbed her.

    3. Bramble

      I don’t think Mel has ever been able to see Talita as a fully realized adult sophont with her own history and preferences and not as An Opportunity To Show What A Caring Mentor Mel Is. They seem to have a lot of their personal identity tied up in being the compassionate and sympathetic adult who takes care of everyone else’s needs, without the social awareness to recognize what those needs are or respect the autonomy of other adults. Which is annoying in someone working with young adults in a collegiate environment, and outright toxic in a management position over fully mature employees at an isolated work site.

  44. Jason Myers

    Talita’s muppet-ass face just on the EDGES of that crashout

  45. LeBonk

    Well at least that means Adam and the Collaborators are gone

    1. moonbarking

      I wonder what Adam’s reaction to more centaurs will be. I’m pretty certain that they wont be as willing to take harassment (not saying Talita is a pushover but there’s no way they’d take what he’s been saying laying down.)

    2. foca

      not yet, jay said in a comment on a previous page that the temps will be leaving in the same ship as idrisah and gillie will.

  46. TeethBurglar

    This happened really makes me wonder what Mel did to Cal… Maybe not something this bad but still bad enough Cal quit. Also I hope Talita doesn’t blame herself for having a reaction to Mel’s wack shit. And I wonder if Mel is gonna guilt trip Talita for not appreciating the “surprise” they spent so long getting ready for her. I need Talita to chew out Mel soooooooooo bad.

    1. Green Heron

      i think Jay’s said in the past that they’re going to leave it ambiguous but it wouldn’t surprise me if Mel tried to get Calcery an avatar without asking him.

      1. TeethBurglar

        Oh my God you are so right, I hadn’t thought of that. It would also kinda fit Mel’s MO of gifting things that they think would help someone socially. Like the reason Mel got the centaur temps was they thought it would be easier for Talita to socialize with them (the previous temps were not shy about how Talita being a centaur made them not want to interact with them like a person). This is of course ignoring the fact that having home planet centaur interacting with a solo centaur who uses human pronouns and body language would also be difficult. In fact it’s kinda speciesist? Besides the point Mel trying to give Cal an avatar because it’s “easier to socialize/conect to someone with a face” I could definitely see. And by that undermining how Cal wants to interact with people and forcing them to fit a mold of how organics would prefer.

      2. Vinemaple

        Wow, yes, that’s going up there right alongside my own theory of Calcery having tried to talk Mel out of this “surprise,” yours actually fits better with the fact that Cal quit over it.

        1. JoB

          Por qué no los dos …

          One explains why Calcery quit, and the other why they were so certain that Talita would do the same.

  47. 1d4-nadg

    IDRISAH SAVE HER

  48. HAL9000

    okay i KNOW talita is in shock and everything but from the perspective of the matriarch this looks so bad 😭 girl looked up and saw a stranger centaur see their visible facial difference and immediately Freak out and run away. i would immediately assume talita was being a dick. i mean idk if its different in centaur cultures but running away when you see someone new is generally rude in many places even if it is out of geniune shock

    1. blythe

      omg youre right…lady probably has it bad enough already with such a visible disability

      talita getting a poor track record with disabled people first gillie now verengt 😭 (i believe thats the matriarchs name according to the tumblr tags)

      tbh though i really dont like her behavior here…she acting just as bad toward her own species as non-centaurs have toward her, like at least try to be professional and maybe see them as people first and not just…a trigger? like girlie im sure theyre there just to work not be your personal hell

      1. the Inmara

        People usually have to be taught how and why to be considerate to others and “professional” like that even when under duress. The kind of stress that Talita is experiencing makes it hard to even think about. For most people, when hit with a nasty surprise, panic. It takes training not to.
        Talita’s behavior reflects on her parenting and job training.
        Oh, gee. No who’s fault could that be?

        1. Fevvy

          Mayhaps the matriarch could’ve also potentially just taken it as Talita being a) shy (or even slightly perhaps respectful in a way rather than staring) and giving her space to have her conversation with Mel and Tom or b) just a “whatever” thing, like “oh there’s that lone centaur I’ve been told about” since at the distance it showed them being between each other it could be reasonably assumed that Talita could’ve been surprised to see her at all rather than rudely bolting at the sight of her injury. That’s my take anyway.

      2. Eggs

        I wouldn’t say she’s acting “just as bad.”She has had literally no preparation for this, to be fair. Mel is not a good manager. And she’s now finding out she’s expected to manage these people who will absolutely cast judgement on her and misinterpret her body language. She’s not purposefully panicking.

    2. Vinemaple

      Oh, shoot, yeah… that would absolutely be the logical thing for the matriarch to think! The only upside of this is that Mel, who likely couldn’t have made Talita out from so far away, is going to find themself in an offended-Centaur sandwich, quite unexpectedly!

  49. Redacted

    To give Cheev and the other employees the benefit of the doubt, I’m not surprised that the others wouldn’t really know the details of Talita’s insecurities with her own species. Idrisah and Gillie are the ones Talita is closest with and they only found out about it relatively recently, plus Talita is established to hate talking about herself. I wouldn’t be shocked if the other employees just didn’t think to question Mel when they asked them to keep it a secret, they’ve known Talita the longest so from an outsider’s perspective they wouldn’t necessarily have reason to suspect that Mel doesn’t actually know what’s best for Talita. Idk maybe I’m being overly gracious?

    1. Heather

      No actually, this is a great point. From what we’ve seen, Talita doesn’t interact with any of the other managers much outside of work–why would they have any reason to doubt her former guardian’s insistence that this would be a nice surprise for her?

      1. Rose

        It’s All Mel ™

    2. Enai

      No, I for one agree with you. Why would Cheevwut or for that matter Tod have cause to doubt Mel when they say something to the effect of “Oh, a Centaur clan applied for temp work? That’ll be great for Talita, she wanted more contact with her original planet’s cultures anyway”? I would believe them, I mean they fostered her! Of course they know her preferences, dont they? Don’t they???

    3. Muse

      Yeah no you’re right, and it’s such a distressingly realistic situation. She doesn’t reach out or open up to anyone, so no one knows her or what she wants and all they can go by is what Mel says.
      It’s so well-written, as someone who does basically the same thing. Gnawing on my hands over this whole ordeal (endearing)

    4. apprenticeNerd

      We also don’t know when Cheev found out! Mel could have told them just this morning or something. You’re right, too, I bet Cheev has no idea Talita’s got so many hangups about her own species (and other members of it) for them to be dropping the news so casually…

      1. Peter Jensen

        Cheev’s been involved in the process for a while:
        https://www.runawaytothestars.com/comic/rtts-page-41-and-42/
        Though probably a little later than that day, given what happens on the next page.

        1. TheSovereignGrave

          Oh damn, I just realized the reveal was pretty much RIGHT THERE. Mel talking about all the infrastructure changes they’d need (new water filtration loop, remodeling, expanded invertebrate farm) pretty much spells it out in hindsight, but at the time I thought they were just, like, expanding the workforce or something.

        2. OceanBlue

          That’s Ohwitiil, not Cheev. Cheev’s the one curled up in beb.

        3. Peter Jensen

          Yes, that was just for context, presumably they still got Cheev involved on a day they’d *not* throw the phone at the wall for being interrupted on their day off.

  50. Bug

    Welp!

  51. Lilac

    I can like audibly hear the second panel in my head dhfhfs also it’s interesting to see Idrisah didn’t know or wasn’t told although if she did she definitely probably would have told talita or like tried to talk Mel out of it
    Also I’m excited but scared. Both. Both things are true. Sorry Talita

    1. Lilac

      Like I mean I am excited for the Story and the Drama but Scared for Talita and the Character’s Emotions

  52. Trees

    You just know there is at least one SCART cable in that mess. Nobody remembers where it is from but it never got thrown out ‘just in case’.

  53. FuzzySpiderPawz

    Why tf did they not tell the woman who is actually in charge of the temp crew about the temp crew?!?!!?!!!??
    Que that image of Talita saying “I’m going to have a panic attack”

  54. Vinemaple

    AUUWUUURGGHHHH! I made the same scream I make when I accidentally hurt myself, disturbing the people I live with. You actually did it, Mel. You actually went ahead and #!%?ing did it, you put Talita in the worst possible situation you can put her in. Mel, Ohwitiil, I hope you are left with nobody to do the station’s primary job, and with Ixion breathing down your necks, preferably in the person of someone actually competent enough to see who is at the center of all the instability and interruptions at Shikaviil Port. AND that they, or your resulting situation, causes you to actually take a ?@!&ing look at who you’ve been as a person, and start to make some changes.

  55. Heather

    So in order to execute this surprise, Mel put in the effort to find a centaur clan to work as temps, got an entire apartment building remodelled to suit them, had the centaur food supply and waste treatment systems on Dirtball expanded, and looped in most of the other managers to cooperate on the project AND keep it a secret from Talita.

    But when Talita made a direct request, Mel wouldn’t deal with the productivity loss that MIGHT have resulted from transferring Adam ONE WEEK before his contract expired–a guy who, let’s remember, habitually harasses his boss and coworkers, disobeys orders, and violates safety protocols.

    This is, genuinely, amazing writing. Mel will work hard and deal with inefficiency, but only if they think it will make them look good. What an incredible portrait of a character who nominally values compassion, but ultimately prioritizes their own ego above others’ wellbeing.

    1. Vinemaple

      THANK YOU for this comment. These are the terrible bosses who can slide by for years and get themselves defended by most of their workers, who just see someone “nice.”

      Just like the parents, and “friends,” for whom the ability to tell themselves that they’re good people is more important than actually BEING good people.

      I really, really, really want to find out what Mel did to Calcery, now.

      1. Heather

        Exactly!!! Perfectly put!!!
        CALCERY SPILL THE TEA

        1. Enai

          Yeah. Where was that “submit your questions” google form? I’mma ask Calcery for the story. It’s got to be good (bad. But a good story, youknowwhatImean). I mean, what can a squishy even do to an AI whose job it is to run the fleet of automated vehicles? Gotta almost get inventive, or be very, very incompetent in the interpersonal skills department.
          .
          I’ll bet Mel is the second. I believe they think of themself as pretty good with people, while being, well, not.

        2. HAL9000

          CAL’s big thing was he didn’t like having a “body”, avatar or rc unit or anything like that. he preferred to interact as just a voice/text, and seemed to have a pretty strong sense of personal identity & self-respect. i bet Mel’s idea was something like “suprising” him with an android body or something like that, maybe custom avatars, something that cost a lot of money that CAL never asked for and didnt want and is now socially obliged to be happy about because “it was expensive!” or whatever. unlike poor Talita, CALCERY had enough confidence to argue back about it and leave (although talita has eventually finally hit her breaking point too)

        3. JoB

          > Where was that “submit your questions” google form?

          Over here.

        4. Enai

          JoB for the win with the right link, as always! Thank you.

  56. Vee

    GAHHH PLEASE I NEED MORE

  57. Ellindsey

    USB-G? Thanks, I hate it.

    Also, that face on Talita. My god. That poor girl is traumatized.

  58. PhasmaFelis

    “Dammit, I’ve got like five of these useless USB-F cables, why can’t they just settle on a standard”

    1. Heather

      It’s all been downhill since USB-E tbh.

  59. Adrienne

    Cheev hitting Talita with the five-word horror story

    1. Vinemaple

      Worst POSSIBLE scenario, and yes, HORROR story, because thanks to Jay’s narration and pacing, we’ve all seen this coming, and been unable to look away!

  60. foca

    my reaction to that line was “sigh… USB-G?”. i definitely appreciate that joke.

    1. Teod

      To be honest, merely moving through five more versions over the next three centuries almost seems like the best case scenario. Although the fact that she specified G means that multiple versions are in use simultaneously. But the extras might be just compatibility options to connect to alien tech.

      1. exameter

        Either that or they’re on like USB-H by now and she’s asking for the equivalent of mini-USB.

    2. pelya

      https://www.datapro.net/news/usb-type-d-connector-unveiled.html
      Iterate on this design three more times.

      1. JoB

        Can you say “connector’s now thinner than the cable it terminates”?

  61. AnormalADN

    great surprise Mel 🙂 she sure is so surprised

  62. Hubert

    Cheev can’t keep a secret to save their life, ahaha

  63. Arcstone

    “Bip, come pick me up and get me out of here, now!

    IT’S AN EMERGENCY!”

  64. ilvos01

    You’re absolutely right, I audibly laughed. USB-G. Fuck’s sake.
    More to the point, it bothers me that no-one who knew about this “surprise” understood how this might be stressful for Talita. Especially Mel. It’s like they don’t know her at all.

    1. Enai

      Having a group of workers to oversee from a different culture that you know nothing about ought to stress out anyone. If it were me, I’d like to at least have a heads up so I can read up on at least the bare basics of their culture: dress and behavioural norms, eating habits, some essential words, the most important holidays, that sort of thing. Talita knows nothing and she’s supposed to lead them??? She’s been set up to fail worse than anything I can imagine.

  65. notableanonymity

    The worse part is that no one really knows about Talita’s situation and feelings towards other centaurs. Idrisah was surprised when Talita said she had never been to the centaur home world.

    The person who knows the most is unfortunately Mel who probably told everyone how this surprise would be so good for her and so they all went along with it.

    1. Vinemaple

      I realize this is one reason we’re all focused on Mel and not Ohwitiil or Cheev. Because we KNOW the Avians DGAF, we expect them not to care, it’s one of the most obvious culture clashes between Tiiliitan and Jovian society. But Mel is Jovian, and Human, and therefore we expect them to uphold the same standards of behavior, empathy, and compassion that we do.

      1. Enai

        Okay, I don’t understand what you mean by “the Avians DGAF”. Can you explain what you mean? I did read the setting/worldbuilding pages and, of course, the comic, but I don’t get the sense they would just make a person who does not even speak the language of the new workers the point of contact. The local Avian managers all speak Jovian English, for one.

      2. notableanonymity

        Also we’re not really calling Mel out embecause they’re human. Tod knew in advance and actively told Talita that she’d find out later in a comic page. The problem is that Mel is the most familiar with Talita’s circumstances as a cross species foster because they fostered her. Mel should know Talita’s thoughts and feelings on this subject but has been dismissive of it in the past.

  66. edenmachine5457

    .UUUAAUAUAAUAUAAUUAAUAAGGAHAAGGHGFHHGGGFHFG <- crying

    1. malmo

      You mean that’s not a list of all the USB cables in Idrisah’s drawers?

      1. edenmachine5457

        .this is the funniest possible response i could have gotten oh my god thank you

      2. JoB

        No, that’s the one multi-standard adapter that fills that crate over there by its lonesome. 😛

  67. Entguarde

    EVERYBODY BUT THE WOMAN IN CHARGE OF THE TEMP CREW WAS IN ON IT?!!!?
    oh my godddd even Cheev knew. Oh my godddddddd

  68. Stamp owl

    Why did nobody tell her :,) love the expressions on this page !

    1. Muse

      I can only guess they would have assumed that given how “close” they “are”, Mel would’ve told Talita at some point or another? That or a chain of “I thought x told you?” “i thought y told z?”

      1. buam

        There’s also the inherent power dynamic of Mel being their boss. Losing this job means losing their housing and moving, so it’s an especially unbalanced dynamic.

  69. hurgaburga

    can’t wait for Idrisah’s crashout at the fact that everyone important was made aware of the identities of the new temps EXCEPT FOR the one in charge of all of them, AND the fact that they’re “ACTUAL” CENTAURS which Talita has some… feelings about

  70. Frankie

    fast forwarding the timeline to see what usb-z looks like

  71. izimb

    how can hecking everyone be in on it except the person it concerns most?!?!

    1. notableanonymity

      To be fair, Cheevwut is in charge of payroll so they would know as part of hiring.

      1. PhasmaFelis

        And to be fair to Cheevwut, it is absolutely not their job to keep people informed about personnel changes. They may not even know about the “surprise.”

    2. NotOkapi

      Because practically these are all people who needed to know about this “surprise” to pull it off, and Talita has been purposely kept out of the loop. Unfortunately while administration and other managers needed to know about hiring new temps/internal construction, as the manger for temps going outside all they had to tell Talita was that she was getting “new temps” and leave it at that.

  72. Some rider

    Ohh hold on, Talita

  73. Mitta

    the stance your cat makes when you put a cat-shaped item near it

    1. buam

      I laughed. That’s exactly the expression my cats make when they see another cat in the yard.

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