Welcome to the 31st Century! Humans entered the galactic age over 900 years ago, and now do business with all manner of alien folk.
For more about Schlock and Howard Taylor visit http://www.schlockmercenary.com
In the meantime, here's an intro to his namesake character....
Basic Training: Sergeant Schlock
Some of the very MOST alien of those folk are the carbosilicate amorphs, like Sergeant Schlock here. He's extremely strong, reasonably intelligent, and much, much faster than he looks. He also has a penchant for violence, and couldn't be happier with his job as a mercenary. Just keep him supplied with enemies, ammo, and Genuine Imitation Ovalkwik, and he'll stay happy.
Or, you know, he could just sit in the bathtub and surf the Infomercial channel on the hypernet. There are few things he likes more than a good bathtub, or one of those epic infomercials like "Getting Your Doctorate in Engineering from Popeil University."