#thurrin

Still holding her, Jeb leaned back from behind the cabinet to look at the shuttle.

Wenona glowered, but she forced herself to take a deep breath. It came as more of a gasp. Oh wow. How long had she been like this? She hadn’t noticed. She tried to take deep, slow breaths, but the best she could do was just the deep part. Her head started swimming and the corners of her vision started getting dark. She barely noticed as Jeb helped lower her to the ground, but she knew that at some point she was sitting on her legs, hands on the ground as she gasped for breath. Her body seemed to be frozen, unresponsive, focused solely on getting what seemed to be too little air. Her mind continued on separately.

‘Why can’t I get it together?’ she thought to herself exasperatedly. ‘We’re in the middle of a battle for our lives and I’m freaking out. I need to get up. I need to wrap this up so I can get up.’

It felt like forever, but her rapid breaths slowly became less desperate. She slowly recognized the soothing feeling of someone rubbing her back.

Jeb. He crouched next to her protectively, quietly.

She tried to get up again, but he stopped her.

“Wenona, you’re in no shape to fight right now.” “I can do this,” her voice sounded wavering and cracked, even to her.

“I know you can, I was there when we found you on the Montauk ship. You’re incredibly strong, and stubborn enough to survive this, but as your friend, I’m telling you to trust me. I won’t see you hurt like that again.”

Wenona looked up at Jeb’s face, half pleading.

Jeb leaned in close to her. “Do you trust me?”

Tears were forming in the corners of Wenona’s eyes and she clenched her jaws as she struggled to speak. Eventually, she nodded.

Jeb stepped out from behind the cabinet. He hated to leave Wenona in such a vulnerable state,  but she was at least physically in a safe spot. Well, as safe as she could be. She’d be safer on the shuttle, so that was his next task. The taser shield was deactivated, but the hatch hadn’t opened yet.

Simmo was the closest to him, slashing at the air as guards dodged her sharp claws, trying to step back far enough to get a good shot in.  Humans Vern and Kylee and the dog Carson were just a few paces farther, punching, kicking and in Carson’s case, biting away at their assailants. At one point, Vern picked up a tool from a workbench and hurled it at the guards. It was surprisingly well-aimed and had even more surprising force as it hit a guard in the head with a crack. The guard stumbled and fell backward to the ground. Jebannuck had seen Mike and Wenona throw things before and knew they had good aim, but he had never realized they were capable of weaponizing that ability.

As some guards were falling at the hands of his friends, they were being replaced with more guards rushing in from the hall. Jeb ran at and blocked a small group of them as they approached Simmo’s location. He grappled with a spiky yellow guard and was able to throw it off balance and into its companion, though not without a few cuts to his arms. A third guard had stayed back and was aiming a blaster directly at him.

He stepped back, but not enough to completely avoid the shot from the blaster. Pain bloomed from the side of his torso and seemed to erupt like lightning to every part of his body. He felt himself fall forward, crumple to his knees. By the stars. Was this how he went out? After everything he’d been through and done? His solar cycles of service and combat? If so, he was fine with it, he realized. Death in the defense of those that need help - or in this case, his friends- was as noble a way to go as any.

But then… he was still on his knees. He wasn’t dead. He hurt like a screaming flincher, but he was alive. ‘They’re not using deadly force,’ he realized.

He looked up and around. It was like he was seeing the fight with new eyes. There were still guards everywhere, but those that were actively fighting were doing so mostly in defense, or with hesitation in their movements. He could see it in their stances. Most were not on the offensive. They were supposed to fight, they were under orders to kill, but Jebannuck could tell that there were several of the guards still standing that weren’t giving the fight their all. And then-

“STAND DOWN!”

Jeb’s revelation was interrupted by a deep bellowing voice. He turned his head to the source. A tall, light brown-furred Tiamin with curling horns protruding from his head and long floppy ears resting on his shoulders stormed into the room. Jeb’s memory vaguely registered that the newcomer was dressed in scientist sashes and getup.

The remaining guards that were not fighting hand-to-hand or knocked-out stood at attention. Even those that were fighting and had heard, scrambled away from their opponents, pulling their companions along with them.

Jeb could see a confused and limping pair of humans to his left, a gasping Montauk nearly hunched over behind him, and beyond them, Thurrin was straining to hold up a very injured-looking Mike.

The sudden silence in the docking bay ensured that every step Jebannuck took was heard as he struggled to his feet and ran towards Mike. Images of the first time they’d met flashed in his mind. Well, maybe not met. Mike had been on the verge of death then. He wasn’t in quite that bad a state now, but that really wasn’t saying much. He looked like he was just barely holding on to consciousness now and was bleeding, but he couldn’t tell where from yet. Multiple places.

He grabbed Mike as soon as he got in arms’ length, relieving Thurrin and helped him sit down carefully.

Jeb had been so preoccupied with Mike that it took him a moment to notice the figure crouched next to him. It was the Tiamin. Jeb shifted slightly to put himself more in the way between the Burnti scientist and Mike.

“Is he okay?”

Jeb was surprised at the amount of worry he heard in the Tiamin’s voice, but he turned and snapped at him. “Does he look okay to you?”

The scientist frowned and lowered his gaze a bit. “I came as soon as I heard Rozar’s announcement. This…” he sighed, “This was not supposed to happen. This is all wrong.”

Mike groaned and shook his head in a daze. “Drin? What-?” He hissed as he tried to bend his leg under him.

Jeb grabbed his knee and gently pushed it back down and straightened the leg. “Mike, I need you to keep still for now.” “Where do you hurt the most?” Drin asked as he carefully started taking stock of the wounded leg.

“Leg. Back. Everywhere.” Mike gasped but managed a momentary weak smile at Jeb after a few breaths.

Thurrin cut in with a shaking voice, “Jeb, where’s Wenona?”

Jeb glanced warily at Drin, not really wanting him to know where she was hidden. “She’s back there. She’s okay.” That last part certainly wasn’t true, but she wasn’t bleeding, so that was something.

“The intruders…” Drin looked from the ship to Thurrin. “Please tell me you have a medic aboard that ship?”

Thurrin looked nervously between Drin and Jeb as if trying to decide how much to say. She eventually looked at Mike and nodded. “We… we do, yes.” She activated her communicator, “Demfar, we’ve got injured. Where are you at with the doors?”

Behind them, the doors of the ship clicked and hissed as if in response. Jeb could hear Demfar’s voice in Thurrin’s communicator. “I think I’ve just about got them open. What’s the situation out there?”

“We have a cease-fire, but we’re all hurt. Mike’s in really bad condition. He needs you. Now.”

“Understood. Hold on."

Drin stood back up to his full impressive height. He sighed sadly and turned back to the guards who had started shifting their weight nervously. "As soon as their ship is open, help the injured board and let them go."

One guard wearing a different-styled sash gave a half-step forward. "Sir?" He looked to where the other humans were standing and back. "Sir, Commander Rozar-"

"Yes, I heard," Drin interrupted. Behind him, the shuttle's doors finally opened with a hiss. Demfar rushed down the ramp carrying a first aid kit and supplies.

Drin watched the medic rush to Mike’s side. He had a strange combination of emotions on his face. "Let them off this ship. They’re not safe here anymore. I know no one here really wants to see the humans killed. I will take full responsibility and deal with Rozar later.”

Jebannuck saw relief flood over many of the guards’ faces and a realization washed over him. They weren’t villains. They were defending themselves and their stations. They were doing their jobs, just as Jebannuck or those under his command would. They genuinely did not want to harm them- or at least not harm the humans. Or at least, not permanently.

That still didn’t mean their help was overly welcome. Vern and Kylee turned down assistance from a green scaly guard and instead helped each other hobble up the ramp to the shuttle. Jeb stood up and with some difficulty, made his way over to where he’d left Wenona. She’d cautiously poked her head around to see what was going on, but, to Jeb’s surprise, had followed his orders and otherwise stayed put. ‘Well,’ he thought to himself, ‘this is Wenona we’re talking about, not Mike.’

He got to her before any Burnti guards did. Thank the bright stars for that. Even though they were going against their Commander’s orders, Jeb didn’t want them getting near her - not only for her mental health but also because he doubted they’d get close without her finding a way to seriously maim them somehow.

“Jeb, what’s going on? What’s Drin doing here?”

Jeb carefully picked her up, minding her injuries as best as he could. She seemed to have calmed down a little? Maybe that was just hopeful thinking on his part. At least her breathing patterns weren’t quite so alarming anymore. “He’s letting us go.”

“Letting us- wha-? what’s he really up to? That jerk’s got to have an angle.”

Jeb paused and looked over to where Drin was hovering over Demfar as the medic bandaged up Mike. “I don’t know. Honestly at this point, whatever he’s doing, we can use it to get away. That’s what matters right now.”

Two guards shuffled nervously over to Jeb, not sure how to help but looking anxiously at the human in his arms. Jeb ignored them and walked towards the shuttle.

“Wenona!” Thurrin bounded over, “Are you okay? Jeb is she okay? Wait for me!”

Jeb slowed down as she approached. Thurrin rose up on her hind legs to try to better look up at Wenona but stumbled and fell back to all four legs. Jeb noticed she was definitely favoring her right hind leg.

To Jeb’s annoyance, Drin had followed the Booka over. Not wanting him to bother Wenona, Jeb started towards the ramp again.

“Wait, Wenona,” Drin grabbed Jeb on the shoulders to stop him. If Jeb hadn’t been carrying Wenona, he would wrench the Tiamin’s arm and throw him to the floor on instinct. He resisted though, and Drin was able to step closer.

“Wenona, I… I’m… sorry about this. About your injuries, and…” his voice dropped hesitantly. Wenona’s face was emotionless as she stared at him. “Our goal was to, in the end, form an alliance with Earth. I fear we may have ruined our chances in our incivility and brash actions.”

“You think?” Wenona shifted her weight slightly and Jeb winced as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. “You okay?”

Moving most of Wenona’s weight to his left arm, Jeb freed his right hand to brush at the scarves and cloaks Wenona was wearing. A small blade fell to the floor with a tinkling clatter. Thurrin stepped forward and picked it up to examine it. It looked like a small precision knife that would belong in a medical ward or lab.

“Oh,” Wenona sighed, “I wondered where that dumb thing went. Of course it shows up now.”

Drin leaned down to examine the blade in the Booka’s paws. He frowned and looked back up to Wenona. “You- that’s from my- what in gadring were you planning on doing with that?”

Wenona narrowed her eyes.“I don’t know. People make plenty dangerous things out of less dangerous supplies though, so I thought it might come in handy.” Wenona reached for the small blade. Thurrin passed it to her carefully. “I thought I lost this when I broke out.” She examined it briefly before raising an eyebrow at Drin. “I’m keeping this, by the way.”

Drin opened his mouth and shut it slowly, blinking confusedly for a moment before nodding. “I- uh, alright.”

“Wait,” everyone looked down to Thurrin, sitting between Jeb and Drin. “The Burnti’s plan was to make an alliance with Earth, but as soon as we get out and everyone knows what you did… Rozar was trying to bury the truth. Why are you helping us?”

Drin looked behind him to where Demfar was preparing Mike on a stretcher, to Wenona having to be carried by Jeb, and down to his hands.

“Truth rarely stays buried, especially when there are multiple mouths to leak it. Few on this ship know all the real circumstances of the humans’ presence here. In order to truly keep the secret, Rozar would only have to frame a few and have them executed.” Thurrin gasped. “That’s terrible!”

“That’s Rozar.” Drin’s expression darkened, though he kept his gaze on his hands.

“Oh, that’s what this is about,” Wenona winced in pain as she tried turning to face him better. “You’re saving your own skin.”

Drin looked up from his hands to stare blankly at Wenona. Jeb tensed. He wanted to just get Wenona onto the shuttle and get out of here. Did it matter what Drin’s reasoning was?

“Is he though?” Thurrin interjected. She looked up at Drin with confusion. “I mean, Rozar’s going to be furious with you once he knows it was you who let us go.”

“That’s true,” he admitted, “but now the whole ship knows something’s up, and I’ve alerted Burnti High Command to his actions.”

“So you reported him?” Wenona squirmed in Jeb’s grip as if she wanted to be let down, but Jeb merely frowned at her and shook his head. He wasn’t going to let her down just so she could try to pick a fight in her state - not when they were so close to getting out of here.

Realizing she wasn’t going to be let down, Wenona resigned herself to chewing Drin out from Jeb’s arms. “ And let me guess, in your report, you’re also the victim? Poor little Drin being forced to order bounties on Earth life and experiment on them? Oh and I’m sure that your stunt now, calling the guards off of Rozar’s orders will only help your story.”

For half a moment, there was a spark of anger in Drin’s eyes. Or maybe just indignation? In any case, Jeb stepped back and turned slightly to move his shoulder in between the human and the Tiamin. Instantly, the look faded from Drin and he sighed as he buried his face in his hand. He shook his head and dropped his hand, eyes lowered apologetically again. “I hope someday we can repair what we’ve done.”

Wenona glared at him. “Well, you do that then. And if you ever think you've done enough, think again. But you can fix all this,” she gestured vaguely at the docking bay and beyond, “I’m going home and I hope I never see you again.”

Jeb strode up the shuttle’s ramp. Enough was enough. It was time to go.

“I freaking told you he had an angle,” Wenona’s whisper wasn’t exactly quiet, but Jebannuck didn’t think she meant it to be.

.

It was crowded in the shuttle. After one of the guards helped Demfar load Mike in on a stretcher, it was even more crowded. There was a time when Wenona would have found being in such close quarters extremely uncomfortable and stressful, but honestly, she was too busy being relieved. After Jeb helped her get strapped in, she was able to rest her head back and breathe.

“Uh, Demfar,” Thurrin, who was sitting at the controls in front called out worriedly. Immediately Wenona tensed up, but she couldn’t find it in her to lift her head back up to see what was wrong. “Demfar, Wenona’s eyes are leaking, get over here, hurry!”

“Thurrin, I’m busy. She’s fine. Humans do that sometimes. It’s different than when Bookas do that.”

Wenona felt herself blush, but again, didn’t move. She hated crying, especially in front of people, but at this point, she really didn’t care. She hadn’t even noticed she was crying until Thurrin pointed it out. Though if the amount of sniffles she heard coming from around the small shuttle was anything to go by, she wasn’t the only one.

“Thurrin, I need you to focus,” Jeb’s voice was slightly reprimanding, though it sounded more tired than anything. “Demfar, is everyone safely strapped in?” There was a pause and an affirmation. “Good. You’re going to need to put things on hold for a moment until we warp. Find somewhere to strap in until then.”

“Uhhh… where?”

The engines of the shuttle hummed to life.

“Oh, I- I don’t know. I guess just hold on tight.”

Wenona cracked her eyes open just enough to be able to see what was going on up front. The airlock doors ahead of the shuttle were opening slowly. This was it. They were really leaving. Wenona smiled weakly. Drin might have been a jerk, but he’s a self-serving jerk whose spite aligned with helping them.

If she’d had any extra energy, she would have told Jeb to fly straight to Earth. Don’t even bother stopping at the Rock Base, or some other headquarters or meeting place. Just. Straight. To. Earth. To hell with any regulations or protocols! Anyone who disagreed with her could fight her!

But she didn’t have the energy, and she knew Jeb would never do that. Or at least, not without a very good reason, a very persuasive argument, and some very sad puppy dog eyes on her part. All of which might as well have been asking her to run a marathon right now.

Instead, she kept her head rested back and wandered in and out of consciousness. At one point, Kylee, who was sharing the seat with her, fell asleep and her head had fallen onto Wenona’s shoulder. There was some part of her that must have been awake enough to realize that she didn’t really know this person and she was in her personal space. It was largely ignored because she also had a part of her that knew there was no personal space left in this over-crowded shuttle, that Kylee had risked everything to come help her, and that overall, she was just too tired to really care. She ended up resting her head on Kylee’s.

Sometime later, Wenona overheard Demfar talking to Jeb. It sounded like Demfar was asking how they got out of there. They were speaking quietly, but she vaguely caught on to bits here and there.

“...Snuck in and found a map and took an educated guess where they were keeping Mike and Wenona…”

“And that’s when you heard Rozar’s announcement?” “Well, we were still in the room, so yes.” “And - not that I’m condoning violence as a medic, but you didn’t kill him?” “No. What’s done was done, and that would have made for potentially catastrophic repercussions later on with…”

“Wait, wait, did the black and white animal have a long, bushy tail? With two white stripes down its back?” “No, no tail. Its hair was short and it’s back was completely white. I think everyone else nearly lost it when it ate the greable.” “Greable? They had a greable deathbird aboard? And you were close to it? Let me look you over. You weren’t exposed to it, were you? ...Wait. What? It ATE the greable?”

“... said it before but I’ll say it again, once we’re all done with this, I must insist on a visit to Earth. Can you imagine the medical breakthroughs we could make by studying...”

“...we can get this all cleared up, I hope you do get a chance to visit Earth…”

Earth, Wenona caught on to that in her sleepy state and smiled. Earth. She was going home.

***

“If we survive… yeah.” Thurrin’s tail drooped. The humans seemed pretty nonplussed at the idea of maybe dying. She herself knew it was a possible outcome. And on top of that, even if they did survive… “I might have to visit. Might not be welcome back on Bernor after… after we get done with this.”

“Hey, guys,” Human Vern interrupted, “we can make plans later, we’ve got movement.”

“They haven’t found us out, have they? I thought Booka Vern’s signal dampener was supposed to keep us hidden!”

Thurrin checked the readout of Booka Vern’s device. “It is! It is, it’s working, or it should be. I can’t exactly go outside and check!”

“What kind of weapons does this thing have?” Kylee stood up, ready for action.

Vern checked. “Uh, I think just a few small balinton blasters.”

“That’s it?!”

“This is a shuttle, not a battlecruiser!”

“Wait, hold on,” Demfar spoke up for the first time in a while, “I don’t think they’re coming after us, look!”

All eyes locked onto the small vessel in question. Sure enough, it was headed in their direction, but it didn’t seem to be coming straight at them. No one spoke, almost as if their silence would help keep them from being detected. It was some sort of small transporter. Or perhaps a mechanic’s hopper? What was it doing out here alone?

“We should hail it,” Vern whispered, already entering the commands to the computer to hail it.

“We should wha- are you completely out of your mind?!” Kylee whispered back.

Thurrin stared at the screen in front of her. Vern was searching for a compatible frequency that would an audio message without giving away their location. She looked out towards the oncoming ship. They were really booking it out of there. What were they doing all the way out here, so far away from their ship?

“They’re obviously not coming for us.” Vern selected a frequency and was preparing the ship’s communication commands. “I want to know what they’re doing out here.”

“Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat?’” Kylee hissed quietly.

Thurrin’s ears perked. She knew what a cat was. Mike had told her about them and Wenona had drawn a few pictures of them. She had to say, they did look a lot like Booka. She didn’t understand why Kylee was bringing them up now though. “Why would you kill a cat?”

“It’s just a figure of speech,” Kylee sighed, “Meaning being curious is going to risk us all getting found out and ruining the entire mission, Vern!”

She tried grabbing at Vern’s hands to stop him, but he pushed her arms away with one hand and continued entering the commands with the other.

“Look at it. Something’s up. We need to know what’s going on before we go in,” Vern’s hands were big, but the final command needed input from the console from two separate keys at once. Thurrin looked between the console, the ship headed towards them, and  Vern. He was right. That ship had no business being this far from the main fleet. Something was going on, and it was best if they knew as much as they could before continuing with the mission.

Vern was struggling to reach the final key while still holding down the other. Before Kylee could stop her, Thurrin reached over and hit it. The communication programs were set and the frequency went out.

“You two are going to get us all killed,” Kylee huffed.

“We’ll be fine,” Vern sighed. “We’re still shielded. If they mean us any ill, we just stay hidden and continue on our way. Maybe even with a bit of insight as to what to expect here on out.”

Kylee grunted and sat back down, arms folded tightly across her chest. “Maybe next time we could vote on it before you go making stupid decisions.”

“Maybe next time.”

For a while, no one spoke. No one even moved. The ship got closer After what felt like a small eternity, a voice hesitantly peeped from the speakers.

“Uh, hello?” a wheezy voice broke the silence.

“What are you doing?” Hissed another voice quietly. It sounded like the speaker was standing away from the microphone. “We are running for our lives and you answer the weird signal?

“It’s not a Burnti signal,” the first voice said back. “You’re not Burnti, are you?” A pause. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Vern looked around at the group before answering, “Hello, yes we’re here. You probably can’t see us, we’re cloaked, but we’re from the Galacti-”

“Hello? Hey, sorry,” the first voice interrupted, “I can’t hear you very well, could you speak up?”

Looking down at the console, Thurrin found a tuning dial. She carefully moved it a notch and leaned into the mic. “Yes, sorry, we can hear you just fine. We’re honing the signal, it should be better now, but there may still be interference between our operating systems. Uh… can you hear me now?”

There was a bit of inarticulate grumbling noises from the speaker for a moment. “Yes, we can hear you. Did you say ‘we’? Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“We- well, we are from the Galactic Confederation.” Which was true, even if this little trip of theirs wasn’t sanctioned by the Galactic Confederation.

“By all things bright and shining! This is Mahben Glaykur of the ESS Sicatna. My companion and I were prisoners on the Burnti ship, Arum Bloom. There was a breakout or a glitch or something in the cell doors where we were being held in and we escaped and stole this hopper.”

Everyone on both ships let out a deep sigh which turned into relieved laughter. 

“We can’t tell you how happy we are to hear you!” Mahben Glaykur continued, “Where are you? Are you the scouting party? Are there more ships coming?”

Thurrin looked over to Human Vern who stared back, his mouth straightened to form a straight line.

Thurrin paused. Her stomach tied itself in knots. The Burnti had prisoners besides the humans. How did she tell them that they weren’t here for them? How did you tell someone they’d been left behind? “There aren’t any other ships coming. It’s just us. For now. A, uh, covert mission of sorts.”

Behind her, Kylee made a short exhaling sound. “A very covert mission,” she mumbled under her breath.

There was a long silence from the other ship. They were almost close enough to see the markings on the side of the vessel. It was a small cargo ship, probably one that would carry specialized equipment and electronics. She wasn’t sure if it would have a warp drive aboard or not.

Once the silence was starting to become unbearable, Thurrin activated the comm device again. “Mahben Glaykur, how many escaped with you?” There was no response. “How many from the Galactic Confederation are still aboard the Arum Bloom?” She tried again.

The speakers clicked as if the other ship had activated their comms, but it took another quarter of a moortik before they heard the Mahben finally respond. “Unknown. I’m sorry, I… I know there are others. I don’t know if they made it out. It’s… it’s just the two of us here. There was a third, but he stayed behind to find his companions, the two humans.”

Thurrin’s tail twitched. Someone else was trying to save Mike and Wenona? Her brain tried to process what she’d heard.

“Mahben Glaykur, do you know who that was? Who was it that stayed?” Thurrin felt Demfar rest a tentacle on her shoulder. She looked up at his large eyes. As a medic, he was all too well aware of those who had been lost during the Battle of the Blockade. They both turned to look eagerly at the speaker for the answer.

“He was a sefra. Jebannuck Sefra. We tried to tell him it was a suicide mission, but he said he was pack-bonded with the humans. I’m sorry, we had to leave him, there wasn’t time. I wish we could have helped him, or found others to bring with us, but we barely made just ourselves.”

Thurrin wasn’t really listening anymore. She felt her fur ripple across her body. It felt both freezing cold and blazing hot at the same time. Her mind was about in the same state. She suddenly felt exhausted and hyperactive all at once. She wanted to cry and laugh. And she did. A bit of steam actually rose from the tears that fell into her fur.

Jebannuck was alive!

Demfar sighed deeply, which turned into a chuckle and grew to a full laugh. Squifra aren’t very loud creatures in pretty much anything they do, laughter being no exception, but the broken exhales and low clacking noises were the most Thurrin thought she’d ever heard one laugh before.

It would take a while to calm down - for either of them. And they still had a mission to do. Thurrin rose to her hind feet, having to balance herself for a moment before jumping down to let Kylee take her spot. They could figure out the specifics of their next step - getting aboard the Arum Bloom.

Where Jebannuck was. Where Mike was. Where Wenona was. All safe. All still alive!

Well, she paused, her giddy high dropped like a claw to the gut, she hoped they were all still alive. The humans might be safe for now, but he certainly wasn’t. Jebannuck should have just come with these two escapees. He should have. But she understood the reason why he didn’t. It was the same reason she was here now.

She took a moment to try to calm herself. She was here, and here was a dangerous situation. Jebannuck’s presence changed things, for good or bad - well that was easy, it was good. Oh, it was so good! It was more a matter of would this make things harder or easier?

 Humans Vern and Kylee were trying to get as much information from Mahben Glaykur as they could. It turned out that the other escapee aboard the ship was a relegated Burnti officer who had insights that would help them immensely. Their little hopper of a ship didn’t have a warp drive, but it did have some hyperspeed capabilities. They could probably make it out of the system alright. They could make it to secured Confederation space within half a partec if they were careful and didn’t get caught first.

It was helping with that last part that pulled Thurrin back into full-on mission-mode. The escapees had made it pretty far from the Burnti command ship, but there would be other ships scrambled to intercept them if there hadn’t been already. Stopping to talk with Thurrin and crew certainly put a damper on the lead they had going. Their hyperdrive was still coming online. They wouldn’t be able to get to hyperspeed before the Burnti arrived. 

Not unless some other small, mysterious ship just happened to disengage their signal dampener, and seemingly pop into existence to provide a distraction long enough for them to get away.

Thurrin’s tail twitched back and forth nervously. Their ship only had the balinton blasters. Not enough to fight off multiple enemy ships for long. But they wouldn’t be doing that. One, that would be death. Two, Human Vern and Kylee planned on getting captured. If they surrendered after what looked like a sufficient-enough struggle, they would be delivered right to the Arum Bloom.

Thurrin didn’t really like the plan. It was crazy. It was dangerous. All of this was. But it was the humans’ plan, and from the stories she’d heard and Thurrin’s own experience, those usually seemed to be the ones that got the best results. Thurrin looked around at her group. Demfar and the humans. She could think of no better group to help her get her friends back.

Kylee kicked at a crate that peeked out from under the workbench. It was empty and her kick sent it rolling under the tables and into another crew’s repair station. It was stopped by a Spotted Helzu. They held it out to try to return it, but no one took it, so they sat it down and continued listening to the conversation. There seemed to be quite a crowd listening in actually, Thurrin noticed. It made sense. This was pretty big news. 

The Galactic Confederation’s alliance with Earth was only a few standard solar cycles old, but it had led to a lot of changes - a lot of good changes and improvements throughout the Confederation. Between trade with Earth for various goods and supplies as well as having been granted mining permissions in their solar system’s meteor belt, there’d been a huge economic boom. Humans had also become an integral part of Galactic Confederation crews, science and engineering teams, and had been integral components to various rescue and relief efforts in emergency situations. To lose them now would be like losing an arm when they had just started getting used to that arm.

The conversation went on. "So basically, what you're saying is that those two are going to be left to the Burnti?"

Ricardo tilted his head from side to side. "I… I'd like to think no, but…"

Thurrin looked between the two of them sadly. The group around them was silent, with a few murmurs on the edges. Her ears picked up bits of hushed questions -  they seemed to wonder if humans would really leave their own behind.

Kylee must have picked up on the questions too and she wasn't having it. "If they won't do their job, then we will." She grabbed her tools off the workbench and a knapsack of sorts from underneath. She unzippered the bag and started shoving in whatever could be useful.

“Um, what?” Ricardo slowly got to his feet. The murmurs and whispers of the surrounding groups intensified.

“You heard me.” She swung the bag onto her back and started walking towards the exit. “We’re going to rescue them.”

Thurrin’s fur flickered with apprehension, but also a bit of excitement. Was she serious? Could they do that? Could they actually do that? Oh, if they tried, they could- and probably would get in so much trouble! But if it was possible, it was worth it, right? Of course, it was!

“I’m coming too!” Her voice seemed higher than normal in her excitement. Tiny flames were rising off her fur everywhere now. She hadn’t felt this pumped since she’d first found out she’d been accepted to the Gladius crew.

Both humans and many of the surrounding group looked at her. Before anyone could object, she fluffed her fur into the most distinguished shape she could manage on the spot. “Mike and Wenona are my best friends. I’m coming too and nothing you say or do is going to stop me.”

No one spoke. They just looked at the two standing humans, waiting for their response. Kylee nodded.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Thurrim.” “Thurrin,” Ricardo corrected.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” She tilted her head as she turned around and started for the exit to the bay. “Let’s go. We’re gonna need help if we’re gonna pull this off.”

It took some gathering. And some figuring. And some sneaking. A lot of sneaking. What they were going to do was likely going to end up getting them all dishonorably discharged- at best. That was if this whole ordeal didn’t get them all killed or captured.

Kylee and Ricardo had reached out for help from the rest of the humans from the Maywing, and a few others they trusted to keep shut about what they were going to do. They’d gathered supplies, found transport, and were supposedly now, working on making sure they could get said shuttle and supplies off of the Rock Base and warp jump away in the right direction before anyone could stop them.

Them. The humans and herself.

Thurrin’s fur flickered and sparked without stop. What was she thinking? This was a bad idea, this was a bad idea! This was against orders from way, WAY above her. She could die, she could get captured, she could start a galactic incident. She could die! This could end in so many terrible ways. She fretted and paced just outside the small shuttle they were going to be… taking.

Oh by all things bright and shining! What was she doing? All the work to get where she was now, her time in the academy, late nights studying and reviewing protocols, her acceptance into the Confederation Fleet, the work she’d put into her position - was she really going to risk it all? It was madness! What was she thinking?!

But the idea of not acting felt so wrong. Mike and Wenona deserved more than to be abandoned by the Galactic Confederation. She understood their reasoning, or at least, part of her did. This whole situation was like walking on fine Karchreer glass. But another part, the louder part of her was indignant and honestly outraged that the Confederation would leave two humans - two beings who are part of the race they had just made quite possibly one of the most important alliances of the century with - in the clutches of their enemies. And what’s more, Earth seemed to be okay with it, or at least the pushback against the decision wasn’t strong enough to overthrow it. Humans were supposed to be such great pack-bonders. She’d heard so many stories of humans never leaving others behind. She was so confused. Why would that suddenly change at their governmental level? They were still humans. How could this happen?

“Hey Thurrin,” Human Vern came around the corner and nearly startled the fur off of her, “I just heard from the rest of the team. We’re about ready to go. We, uh, we need to get going before someone notices. Kylee and Ricardo drew straws, Ricardo’s staying behind to help cover as long as he can. So it’s just going to be the three of us.”

Thurrin nodded and smiled. At least humans at an individual level were what humans were supposed to be. Whatever hell they were all about to get themselves into, she felt a little better knowing she was doing it with them and for the right reasons.

Looking to make sure no one was looking, she followed Human Vern around to the shuttle's entrance. There was a camera that hung high on the wall a few docking stalls down, but they wouldn't be front and center on the security screens. It was one of the reasons this particular shuttle had been chosen. Besides, by the time anyone noticed what they were up to from there, everyone else would have figured it out when they started an unscheduled launch. Even then, the others were going to help by stalling any resistance for as long as was needed to get away. Again Thurrin's fur flickered as she fought to keep her nerve.

The coast seemed clear. Human Vern had already snuck aboard to start take-off sequences. By the time Thurrin and Kylee snuck aboard - they were trying to stagger their entrances to help avoid detection - they should be ready to take off immediately. Thurrin took a deep breath and started up the ramp.

“Hey! Guys, wait up!” 

Oh frewan. They were caught. That’s it. That’s it! It’s all over. They hadn’t even gotten the engines started and they’ve already failed.

But when Thurrin turned around, it wasn’t a security officer coming towards them, but Booka Vern, running at them on all fours.

“Vern, keep it down!” Kylee hissed. 

Vern’s ears dropped back apologetically as he approached a little slower, rising up to his hind legs. “Sorry, I hope I didn’t just blow your cover.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kylee waved her hand dismissively. “As far as anyone cares, we’re over here making repairs or whatever. The trick is, you gotta look like you’re where you should be, doing what you should be doing. You fake that confidently enough, no one’s going to question it.”

Thurrin came back down the ramp. Her heart was still trying to slow down to a normal rate. She probably should just get on the shuttle. She really should, she kept telling herself. But what if they failed and this was the last time she’d ever see another Booka. Or what if they succeeded and this was the last time another Booka would see her without her having been dishonorably discharged from the Galactic Confederation Fleet? What if this was the last time she’d be on equal standing with someone in her society? The last fleeting moment to spend time with someone that she kind of… well, it didn’t matter, did it? She wasn’t going to have a chance with him after she fell into disgrace after all this. Or died.

“We’re about ready to go save those humans from the Gladius crew, right?” Vern pulled off the small pack strapped around his shoulders. “I’ve got a few things that will definitely come in handy!”

“Vern,” Kylee started, but the large Booka had already opened his pack to show the two of them what he’d brought.

“I figured they’re probably expecting us to do something, so I’ve got some signal dampeners for the shuttle, a few mobile ones for scrambling our comm lines, and a few that I fitted with a tiny emp generator. It’s one of my old designs I pulled out and finished just for the occasion. It works by sending out a tiny burst-”

“Vern, I’m sorry,” Kylee interrupted, “I’m really sorry, but you can’t come. We discussed this with the rest of the group.”

Thurrin felt her stomach drop at the look Vern gave them.

Kylee sighed. She rubbed her eyes and looked around again to make sure they were still not attracting any attention. “The more people we take with us, the less likely we’ll A- get out of here, and B- get in and out of Burnti space safely and C- less people getting in trouble for having ignored the GC and USE’s decision. Plus we need the extra room on the way back for Mike and Wenona. The shuttle’s not very big.”

“But Human Vern’s going!” Booka Vern protested in a strained whisper.

“Human Vern has experience as a pilot. I’m going as the tech person.” “You’re a mechanic. I’m the tech person!” Vern slipped the signal dampeners back into his bag.

“Vern, I know what I’m doing. Besides, can you fight off the soldiers and guards - if it came to a physical fight?” “I…” Vern paused. Thurrin sighed inwardly. She’d kind of hoped Vern could come too. But Kylee had a point. It was crucial to keep their crew as small as possible and make sure everyone coming could each take on several jobs. Generalization of multiple skills was more important than specialization of one skill for this particular mission. And fighting was likely going to be one of the very important skills needed. Humans were very good at what they call “wearing multiple hats.” Kylee was also going to be much more helpful in a fight than the now very dejected Booka.

Vern looked up and over to Thurrin. A few flickers rose from his fur. “And what about you?”

“Thurrin’s from the Gladius crew,” Kylee explained, “she’s friends with Mike and Wenona.”

“I’m a navigation and docking specialist on the Gladius bridge,” Thurrin sheepishly explained. No, wait. She shook her head slightly. What was she doing? She shouldn’t feel bad about going just because Vern has to stay behind. That was part of the plan! These were her humans they were rescuing! She tried to stand a little straighter as she readjusted the pack she was carrying. No matter how cute or sad or upset Vern looked, she wasn’t going anywhere! Or well, she was going somewhere. She was going to Burnti-controlled space.

“Listen Vern,” Kylee put her hand on his shoulder, “we all really want you to come, and we wish you could, but the smaller the crew on this mission, the more likely chance we have of succeeding, the less we have getting in serious trouble, and the safer we can return back to Rock Base.”

Vern’s fur had been growing more and more dark. It was almost red. After a tense moment of silence, it started lightening up into a rich orange. He picked up his pack and made sure all the pockets were closed and handed it over to Kylee. “Here then. You’ll still be needing these, after all. There’s more than just the signal dampeners in there too. A few standard-issue tools. And some non-standard issue ones that I modified. Top pocket on the left has a hand-held AV splicer, good for hacking into security feeds and whatnot. Uhh… Make sure I get that back in one piece though, I kind of… uh, borrowed it from Taygie.”

Kylee smiled and bent down to kiss Vern between his ears. “Will do, Vern.” She looped the bag over her right shoulder and nodded to Thurrin to head back up the ramp. “Ricardo and the others are going to buy us time, think you could lend them a paw?”

“Ah, consider yourselves gone.” Vern turned and started back the way he had come before he paused and looked back. “Good luck.”

The shuttle made a low humming sound. It was time to go. Thurrin scampered up the ramp. Kylee followed behind, trying to walk slowly to be inconspicuous. Human Vern was at the control, scanning all the readouts as they came up. He turned to look at Thurrin briefly as she came up behind him. “Good, you’re here. I’m going to be starting up the engines as soon as we close the door. Can you handle the atmospheric differentiator and anything that comes up on that panel over there?”

Thurrin nodded and jumped up into the seat next to Human Vern.

“Ready to go!” Kylee sat down in one of the seats behind them and strapped herself in.

Thurrin flashed a smile at her before going back to work. The shuttle was much, much smaller than the Gladius, so the atmospheric alterations were minimal. It would be more of a pressing issue when they reached the Arun Bloom where her friends were being held. She wasn’t quite so nervous anymore, she noted to herself. Here at the controls, she was in her element, at work. This was happening, this was really happening! They were really going to do this!

“And just where do you miscreants think you’re going?”

Thurrin’s whole body froze. Except for her stomach. That felt like it had fallen through the floor. She wasn’t the only one. Neither of the humans moved. After what felt like partecs, Vern turned around to see who had found them out. Thurrin followed suit.

“Demfar?”

“Thurrin.” The medic nodded to the shocked Booka, and then again to the two humans. “Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you. More humans! I do love meeting new humans. You know, since we’ve been here, I’ve really been able to advance my own studies on-”

“Demfar, what are you doing here?” Thurrin interrupted. Her poor heart was really getting some cardio today. She fluffed her fur up to try to look more soft and innocent. She hoped that that, combined with Demfar’s love of humans, would be enough to get Demfar to let them go and maybe not snitch on them.

“Oh, yes, sorry. I’m here on orders.” Thurrin tilted her head, waiting for more explanation. 

“You’re going to rescue Humans Mike and Wenona, correct? That is your plan?” was all the further explanation Demfar gave.

Thurrin, Vern and Kylee exchanged glances. “How do you know?” Kylee questioned.

“Whose orders?” Thurrin asked almost in unison with Kylee’s inquiry.

Demfar looked between the two of them, “Um, well to answer both of you, Captain Salora.” He shifted his weight. Thurrin finally noticed that Demfar was carrying several large bags in his tentacles. Each one had medical symbols on the front of them. He turned to look directly at Thurrin.

“The Captain told me you’d probably try something foolish like this. She said that, and I quote her words here not mine, ‘if those foolhardy glug-heads are going to do what I think they’re going to do, they’re going to need a medic.’” He shifted his weight as he settled the bags on the ground next to him. “So here I am. Where shall I put this stuff? I assume we’re leaving now. The quicker the better, really.”

“Demfar,” Kylee got his attention, “I’m sorry, we- I just went through this with Booka Vern from my crew, but we don’t have room. We need the extra space for bringing back Mike and Wenona. Besides, this is going to be dangerous. You could get hurt.”

“Precisely why I’m here. You all could get hurt. You all could get seriously hurt, and if that happens, you’re going to be needing me and my supplies here. Unless of course, any of you have any medical training? No Thurrin, put your paw down. Helping to bandage cuts doesn’t count. No? Either of you two?” Both Human Vern and Kylee looked down and shook their heads. “Exactly. So I suggest we all become quick friends now because we are going to be quite cozy on our way back. Speaking of which, I do believe we really should get going.”

The three of them looked at each other again. Demfar was right. They would likely need a medic. The shuttle came stocked with a first aid kit, and that’s about as far as medical care had been planned. The fact that Captain Salora had sent him - well, actually the fact that Captain Salora knew about what they were up to and was not only allowing it, but actively helping them was a huge comfort to Thurrin’s warring conscious.

Thurrin pointed at the bins along the wall behind her chair, “You can stow your bags in there if they’ll fit.”

As Demfar loaded up the supplies, Vern turned back to the controls and started entering the final commands. The ramp retracted. The doors shut and sealed. Thurring checked the atmosphere in the shuttle’s cabin and systems - all seemed normal. Vern pulled on the steering levers and the shuttle rose off it’s docking mount. The first set of gates to the airlock were already opening up for them. Ricardo and the rest of the team seemed to be on top of things.

“Well,” he sighed before he pushed the levers forward, moving the shuttle quickly toward the exit, “No going back now. Mike and Wenona, here we come!”

“Hey Vern, finally show up now that the work’s done, huh? Typica… oh,” the human finally got a better look at her. “Oh, you’re not Vern.” The other three in the group turned around to get a look at who their friend was talking to.

Not the least bit shy, Thurrin jumped up on a nearby step stool and leaned back on her haunches. “Uh, no. My name’s Thurrin. I’m sorry to bother you, I was just admiring your work.” That earned her three wide, toothy grins in the style that humans do, and one pair of shuttered optics from the Kloxan. “I’ve never seen so many humans in one place before, well, actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many humans… ever!”

“Well, it’s our pleasure to meet you Thurrin. This is is Kylee, over there’s Ricardo, and that handsome bot over there is Clout.”

The first human, the female he had pointed to, Kylee was tall and had yellowish hair with streaks of purple in it that was pulled back tight in what Thurrin thought was called a ‘ponytail.’ Ricardo was quite a bit shorter with dark eyes and skin that reminded Thurrin of Wenona. They each nodded and gave a little wave as their names were said. Clout placed his two left hands on his chassis and gave a subtle bow, as was the formal greeting custom of kloxans. Or at least, she supposed it was.

“And I am Vern, a pleasure to meet you.” Vern gave a deep, exaggerated bow. He had, by far, the darkest skin of all the humans that Thurrin now knew. How exciting, she thought. I wonder how many colors humans come in? But what an interesting name-

“Vern?” She cocked her head to the side.

“His name’s actually Vernon,” clarified Clout, “but he hates it. So we only call him that when he’s being annoying.”

“Which is often,” smirked Kylee. That earned her a shove from Vern. Thurrin watched, amused, but still puzzled.

“Yeah, no. It’s Vern, thank you. Or Human Vern. We have a booka on the crew named Vern. Apparently, it’s a pretty common name for booka?” Thurrin nodded. It was. She grew up with three Verns back home when she was just a kit. “ Yeah, well, it can get confusing, so sometimes we have to do the formal greeting thing with the species in the name, ya know, Human Vern, Booka Vern.”

Ricardo shrugged his shoulders, “Doesn’t help that you two are almost always together.”

“Yeah,” Human Vern nodded and picked up a nearby rag to wipe his hands that were still coated in the oils and fluids from the ship’s engine. “So I thought you were him. He wandered off over half an hour ago and hasn’t been back since, the little stink bomb.”

With his hand now mostly clean, Human Vern reached it out to Thurrin and held it tilted to the side, palm up. Mike did that when they first met. It must be some sort of greeting thing all humans did. She patted his outstretched hand and looked over the rest of the group.

“Are all of you on the same crew? Which ship did you arrive on?”

Kylee turned and pointed across the docking bay towards a large light gray and orange ship that was currently having several large crates unloaded and hauled to various work stations.

“That one over there. The Maywing. She was on her maiden voyage when Captain Fenz got the transmission that we needed to load up with as many tools, spare parts, and rations as we could carry and come here.”

“What about you? Thurrin, right?” Vern turned back to her. She nodded. “Which ship is yours?”

The conversation settled into comparisons of their ships, what their individual duties were, how long they’d each been part of the Galactic Confederation fleet, how they got along with the rest of their crew, etc. Thurrin smiled to herself as she listened to the humans interact and joke as they recounted their stories. The kloxan was a little more reserved, but she could tell they all enjoyed each other’s companionship.

It was, in a way, bittersweet. She was really starting to like these humans. She wondered if Mike and Wenona would like them too. Probably. Vern and Kylee reminded her a lot of Mike. Wenona was actually a little more like Clout, reserved and watchful, but she’d probably be happy to see other humans.

The sound of clattering metal and scurrying paws drew the group’s attention. Another booka was sprinting on all fours towards them, knocking over whatever happened to be in his way as he skidded around corners.

He was big, Thurrin noticed. At least, big for a booka, who were on the shorter side of average height in the Galactic lineup. She remembered Wenona once said that she and the other booka aboard the Gladius were about the size of a bobcat, which was a creature back on Earth. She didn’t really know if that was a good comparison or not at the time. She did look it up later and agreed they were pretty close. Though the poor creatures had no long, gorgeous tail! How sad!

The yellow flames of the approaching booka’s long fur were currently yellow-orange. It looked soft. He must groom it very well, Thurrin thought.

“Vern!” Human Vern yelled out, “Where the heck have you been?”

Booka Vern slid to a stop and rose to stand on his back legs, panting as he tried to catch his breath. “Sorry for… being gone so long… I passed by… I passed and… I saw…”

“Okay, Vern,” Kylee interrupted, “just breathe. Catch your breath first, then talk.”

While Vern gasped in air, Thurrin took the opportunity to look him over. Not only was he big in size, but he was also looking a little big around the middle. Probably the reason he was so out of breath now. His ears were large and wide set. The tips of fur on top of his head had curly flames flickering up. The tufts of fur around his neck were so thick, it almost looked like a mane. Some bookas did grow out their fur like that. Thurrin wasn't too big a fan of the look but on him… well, she had to admit he seemed to make it work. It was a little old-fashioned, but...

Oh, who was she kidding? He made it look super classy. Vern was flarging handsome!

“You doing alright there, buddy?” Ricardo leaned down slightly to get a better look at his crewmate.

“I… I passed by the rec room on level… level three and they had a bunch of monitors going. There were tons of people there, so I wanted to see what was going on. They’re all displaying the same thing, I think it’s an open stream. Everyone and I mean everyone is watching it. Not just here. Everywhere!”

“Vern,” Clout vented air through his systems in a sigh, “do you mean to tell us you sloughed work so you could watch some show someone probably hacked into the broadcast for?”

“Oooh, was it the Olympics?” Kylee’s eyes lit up. “Are we finally getting the signal for them? I’ve been waiting forever for them to be approved to run in the Galactic AV Stream!”

“No, no, it’s not that - it’s the Burnti Empire! They’ve hacked into the stream, every channel. They’re sending a message to the entire galaxy!”

***

This wasn’t good.

This could be a serious blow to the Galactic Confederation.

Thurrin sat back on the cushion she’d been sitting on. The original stream had come through a solar cycle ago. She’d watched the entire interview seven times now. She… she wasn’t quite sure what to think.

On one paw, she was happy to see that Mike was okay. He was alive! Oh she wanted to jump around and shout, “He’s alive! He’s alive!” She wasn’t on the screen, but if Mike was alive and well, maybe Wenona was too? Or what if Mike was the only one on the screen because he was the only survivor! No, hopes were too high now to think that - if Mike made it, then so did Wenona! Thurrin refused to believe anything else.

Oh, they were alive!

Then her brain started coming up with questions.

Were they alright? What were they doing with the Burnti? Had the Burnti hurt them? Did Mike and Wenona fight back? Where were they right now? How was she going to get them back?

Then she had started really listening to the interview.

Her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest and squeezed tightly. What was he saying? He blamed the Galactic Confederation for his and Wenona’s abduction. That… no. What? That’s not what had… Had the events before her crew rescued them frazzled their memories somehow? Maybe he wasn’t remembering things, right?

No. That was a stupid idea.

Maybe Mike had been brainwashed by the Burnti. That would make a little more sense. But was that even possible to do? It was very unlikely, but did anything else make sense? What else could get Mike- her Mike- her friend Mike to say what she was now hearing come across on the stream?

She wasn’t the only one having a hard time understanding what was going on. All around the room, conversations broke out, some less hushed than others. Some less civil than others. One such group included the humans she had just been talking happily with from before.

“Do you mean to tell me he’s sending a secret message while also being interviewed?” One of the Rock Base crew- a long-necked speckled daydam- ranted, “I know you humans are supposed to be these great multi-taskers, but that’s outlandish even for you. He’s just blinking because he can’t see. He’s under a lot of lights, I’m sure. There are very few species that can see properly under those conditions.

“Humans can!” Retorted Kylee. “We do it all the time. He’s not just blinking because it’s too bright, he’s blinking a code!”

This had been going on for a while until their “conversation” had erupted into an all-out shouting match. One by one, other groups around them quieted down to watch and listen in. They soon had the attention of everyone in the room.

“What’s all this? What’s going on?” Captain Salora stepped into the conversation. The yelling daydam dipped his head respectfully at her arrival.

“Captain Salora Akeno, we were discussing the recording from the Burnti Empire. You’ve seen it, I presume?”

“Of course I have,” she waved her claws, a bit irritated. “Everyone has. You were doing a bit more than merely ‘discussing’ it. Care to share your conversation?”

“Hey,” hummed one of the daydam’s alien’s companions, “Wasn’t that human one that you had on your ship? What is all this? Do you have any idea what he could ruin? This could lead to all-out war! I can’t believe you and your crew-”

He was cut short by a dangerous glare from Captain Salora. His companion elbowed him to stand down.

“Apologies, Captain Salora Akeno,” the first daydam muttered. Its short fur was standing on edge in several places, making it look very ruffled and disheveled. “These humans claim that your human… Mike… is sending some sort of code during the interview. It’s preposterous! The reasons they’re giving are unfounded and farfetched.”

“No, it’s true, just look at him!” Kylee interrupted and pointed at the closest display screen where a close up of Mike was answering questions about the great times he had been having aboard the Arum Bloom. Captain Salora had to admit, he did seem to be blinking a lot. It was very strange.

“I’m telling you, that’s normal for many species under bright lights. You’re just trying to find an excuse for this betrayal because he’s also human! We all know how humans pack bond with each other.”

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” Kylee was shouting again. “Does it physically hurt you to be that stupid?” Ricardo and Human Vern each put a hand on her shoulders, but she brushed them off and stepped up so that she was nearly face to neck with the Rock Base Crewmember. “I don’t know this guy from Adam! But if he’s doing what I think he’s doing, he’s more a hero than you could ever hope to be in your entire life!”

“And what, exactly,” interrupted Salora before the two broke out into an all-out brawl, “do you think he’s doing? You said he’s using some sort of code?”

“Morse code, Ma’am,” interjected Ricardo. “It’s a type of binary code from Earth. We think the patterns he’s blinking are in Morse code.”

The long-necked alien snorted. “Again, all while also holding a conversation with the urma interviewing him?”

“It’s called multi-tasking,” Kylee growled, “We’re great at it. For instance, while we’ve been talking, I’ve been tolerating your special brand of idiocy, watching this Mike possibly risk his life on the screen, and calculating how many vats of fermented gent entrails I’ll need to fill up your personal quarters once we’re done here!”

Thurrin watched as Captain Salora sighed deeply and rubbed her temples with the blunt of her claws. As an akeno, the captain was very patient. It was a very famous quality many of akenos had, but even she had a limit.

Thurrin padded closer to the group. “The Morse code he’s blinking,” she began. All eyes looked down to her, “do you… does anyone know what he’s saying?”

Everyone turned back to the display. It was at a wide shot now, but it soon went back to switching between close-ups of Urma Kalabretti Esh and Mike, who continued blinking strangely. Could it really be code? If so, what message could he be so intent on sending to the entire galaxy?

“Hmmm… Vern took a closer look. “I’m not sure. I don’t really know Morse code. Ricardo?”

Ricardo’s dark brown eyes studied Mike closely. “Not really, but… there! That was an S. And, oh, that’s an O! Uh…” he kept watching but shook his head. “Those are really the only letters I know. Everyone knows SOS in Morse code.”

“Captain Salora,” the second long-necked alien complained, “Don’t tell me you believe any of this nonsense!”

She ignored him and instead turned her focus back on the three humans. “Which ship are you from? Who is your captain?”

“Captain Fenz, Ma’am, of the ESS Maywing,” said Ricardo.

Captain Salora nodded thoughtfully. “I know Captain Fenz. I believe he’d be alright if I borrowed you for a bit Human…” she paused.

“Ricardo.”

“Human Ricardo,” she repeated. She turned to the other two. “If you would, let Captain Fenz know I am taking Ricardo from his duties for a few moortiks.” Kylee and Vern nodded. “Right. You’re excused then. Human Ricardo, if you would follow me please.”

As she and Ricardo started for the door, Captain Salora nodded at Thurrin. “Thurrin, you might as well come too. I know you will anyway.”

Thurrin’s fur blushed a slight shade of red. She bounded after her captain and new human friend on all fours, trying to keep up with their brisk pace.