Carol - shop manager

Carol was the Gift Shop manager at the 'port for several years. She had the privilege of picking which of the multitude of available objects they would sell to the tourists. Her wares were a mix of the ridiculous, the patently fake, and the occasional rare treasure.

The Harperion Prayer Staff was one of the true treasures in her collection. Kept behind the counter in a special case, she'd only agreed to sell it because the archaeologist assured her that it was locally sourced. Found on Earth, it was a beautifully carved piece that she could charge a fortune for. And yes, the archaeologist had given her a little pre-sale bonus to stock it.

Was that really so different than what other stores did all of the time? Well, she didn't know for sure about alien stores, but on Earth products paid for store placement all of the time. It wasn't that the 'port didn't pay well - they did. But a little bonus from time to time went a long way towards becoming debt free.

And all went well until the Harperion came in and started screaching about it being a sacred relic and how its very presence on Earth meant that the entire planet needed to be cleansed. Harperions can be a bit zealous.

For Carol, the encounter was traumatic. Before then, she'd seen aliens as amusing visitors, harmless. Now, suddenly, she was thrust into a galactic crisis that put the entire planet at risk. And, deep down, she knew it was her own fault.

Suffering from PTSD and a terror of guilt, she demands to leave the 'port, and exposes a serious flaw in both the employee healthcare system and in the termination arrangements.

Carol knows aliens exist, and while she'd initially be seen as insane, it might be possible for her to prove it.

Her terror and Xenophobia refuse to let her simply retire quietly.

Can the 'port just let her walk out? Will her family have her committed to a mental ward? It doesn't seem fair to let that happen to someone. But what can they do? The job has damaged her mentally and writing "negative alien encounter" on a work-comp form doesn't seem like it'll help, either.

Determined to help her, an entirely new area of medical treatment is added to the 'port.

But is this treatment humane and kind? Or is it forced kidnapping?