image [https://cdn-gcs.inkitt.com/story_images/big_21711a0afe5ecf619b30bc37414d5e95.png]
The Aerios and its crew took some relaxation time in warmer waters. They were parked off the edge of a nice warm coral asteroid reef. The local sun resided off to their right shining light on all the rocks and fish. Some of those fish were comfortable enough to approach the Aerios. Junne, Gem, and Quayl all sat off the end of the engineering bay ramp with some sandwiches and drinks. The water held in place allowed them a window into the vast and colorful reef just beyond. Small little koi and puimi fish swam up to them and took an interest in Junne’s feet. They nibbled and licked the rough spots of his heels with their coarse tongues for tiny bits of skin for nourishment. Despite how it looked, it was harmless, it was a symbiotic relationship. Some spas even do this as a type of therapy where they would charge a fortune. But to avoid that, it was nice knowing a good location to do it for free. Gem knew of such a location.
Quayl was finishing up a sandwich and chose to delight the fish with bits of his bread’s crust. The little fish went after it hungrily and enjoyed sucking up the sweet wet bread. The fish fought over the bits even though Quayl had plenty to share. His outstretched hand showed the scales on its backside in plain sight. His other hand resembled the same condition now as well. Moments ago, Quayl had come clean about his condition, telling the crew and letting them know of his suspicion that it might have something to do with the nummus they had been collecting.
Junne asked a question about it. “So, your hands, what do you think it’ll turn into? Like some kind of armor or maybe spike like a superhero?”
Quayl shrugged and looked at them again. “I don’t know. It doesn’t hurt, it’s flexible, and it doesn’t impede my movement in any way.” He flexed his hands, wrists, and fingers all around just to show. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Stevero is running some tests on a few samples to rule some things out.”
Speaking of which, Stevero came up from behind them as Quayl tossed another piece of bread into the wall of water. “You know that’s unhealthy for the fish, right?” He said.
Quayl chuckled. “That’s probably true, but most of them will be eaten by a bigger fish by the end of the day anyway. Why not give them something to enjoy?” Quail remembered the golden rule.
image [https://cdn-gcs.inkitt.com/story_images/big_ab75cc240529101c4ee26c5358252250.png]
The fish suddenly scattered and Rob dove over their heads and splashed into the water, clothes and all. Water was all over for a moment before it receded into the ocean, leaving everything and everyone dry again. Oily clouds rolled off of Rob’s hands and arms as he scrubbed them off for a moment before the faint ocean current whisked them away to dissipate into the cosmos. He poked his head through the wall. “Finished the oil change on the Seahawk. She’s nice and clean now.” He said.
Junne smiled. “One of these days you need to let me take it out for a spin.”
Rob shook his head. “No way, and besides, you pilot the whole ship!”
Quayl chuckled. “Maybe you should start with a kid’s bike first.” He imagined Junne furiously pedaling on a tiny aqua bike into everyone’s minds. Junne stood up and pushed Quayl into the water, but not before he could grab Junne by the sleeve and pull him as well. The rest of the sandwich was lost to the ocean now. They each surfaced and poked their heads through the wall. Rob and Junne laughed and splashed at each other.
Stevero pinched between his eyes. “Children. You’re all children.” He cleared his throat and gestured for Quayl to listen. He held up a data pad and read from it. “Quayl, the test results are back.” He said, and this got everyone’s attention. “The samples were all a hundred percent your DNA, no parasites, infection, or anything foreign. Its composition is extremely tough and dense. Nearly bullet-proof, that sort of tough. It also has a meta morphosis quality.”
Quayl asked what everyone was thinking. “Meaning what exactly?”
“Meaning it can change forms and adapt, perhaps at will. It is growing and spreading, so we’ll have to see what it becomes. I’ll run more tests as it progresses.” Quayl nodded, there wasn’t much anyone could do. “Has your stamina or strength changed at all?” He asked.
Quayl did notice one thing. “Well, I was able to easily pull Junne into the water a minute ago.”
Stevero tapped at the data pad. “That’s accurate. Your overall muscle strength and reflexes are nearly doubled. You should be careful of that. Make sure you know your new limits.”
Quayl nodded. “Thank you for doing this. I’m sure it’s-“ The ship’s proximity alert went off. Junne exited the water and stood momentarily for the water to recede, brushing it off like it was dust to make himself dry before continuing.
He took the data pad from Stevero and tapped at it, checking on the proximity alert. “Unidentified. We should be careful and make an escape plan into the reef if it is a Namina ship.” Everyone shook off the water and packed up their lunch basket.
Junne looked to Gem and wordlessly asked what she thought of the situation. All she did was shake her head, it was a bad omen.
----------------------------------------
The crew were all at their stations. Junne took a deep breath before radioing out into the ocean to the vessel far beyond their sight. “This is the captain of the Aerios, please identify.” Only silence followed his hail. Everyone was expecting either the best of possibilities – a human ship – and a release of tension, or a Namina ship, the worst of possibilities.
Junne spoke over the radio again. “Unidentified ship, please respond.” And again it was followed by silence. Everybody shifted in their seats, and tension built all around. Junne switched modes for the Aerios and armed the weaponry. If they were to run, they would undoubtedly be pursued. They would need to show their teeth in hopes the ship wouldn’t follow them, so they could maneuver an escape.
A ship dropped out of lightspeed, and the worst of possibilities came to be. It was a Namina ship, stained rusty red with blood, and a mid-size vessel similar to the Aerios. Junne took one breath and began aiming one of the large kinetic cannons at its center.
“Wait!” Gem yelled out, and it made everyone startle. Junne indeed stopped himself from firing. In another moment, there was a burst of air off of its starboard side. It looked like a person, and they had ejected from the ship. “Someone is trying to escape!” Frantically, they swam toward the Aerios. “Can we reel them in?”
Junne replied. “Too far for the net, and the grappling claw will crush them.” They had little to work with.
“They’re not going to make it!” Quayl grabbed the fire extinguisher by the door and grabbed his bonsai from the center console. He opened the side window and jumped out into the ocean with both in hand. He pointed the extinguisher in the opposite direction and let it spray its contents to propel him towards the person. He hoped he would reach them in time, he didn’t know how long they could hold their breath, or if they even had any breath. The person was swimming towards him, then suddenly without warning, the Namina ship suffered a series of explosions. It was blown off and away, and the force pushed the person further towards Quayl. The distance closed, and the person slowed down. Bubbles erupted from their lungs and mouth. The extinguisher was out of its contents too soon, and Quayl discarded it for his swimming skills. He kicked powerfully and relied on all his strength, old and new alike, to carry him to the helpless person suspended in the water.
At last, he reached them. He put his bonsai in their cloak and hood-covered face and they coughed harshly, spewing up water and gasping desperately for air. The Namina ship hadn’t been destroyed, and the remaining intact parts of it were summoning electricity for its devastating main weapon. Undoubtedly, it was aimed at the Aerios. Junne made a delicate shot with the large kinetic cannon. An enormous bullet whizzed by Quayl and his rescuee, catching them in a swift current and spinning them around in a whirlpool. The Namina ship took the hit hard, its armor and shielding compromised by the prior internal explosions made it vulnerable to more conventional attacks Junne had used the trident gun, Quayl, and his rescuee would have been liquified by the ripping current it would leave in its wake. With widespread cavitations of fire and explosions, the Namina ship was no more. To say the least, they were still alive. Quayl calmed down and asked. “Are you ok?”
“I am.” She was a woman, or so Quayl thought. Her voice was feminine, and her body and face were covered. From what he could make out, she was some kind of alien species.
“Let’s get you back to safety and get the hell out of here.” He said, and in the small bubble of the bonsai tree, they swam back to the Aerios.
Stevero waited for Quayl and their guest or arrive at the docking bay. Through the water wall, the woman came through and collapsed to the floor. Quayl was alright as well, but out of breath. She was in Stevero’s medical hands now. He used a Puuqpu health scanner to check her over and detect her oxygen levels. The scanner adapted to her species and read as lightly traumatized but normalizing quickly. She wasn’t badly hurt. “I’m ok, really, I am.” She said again then coughed hard with a rattling in her lungs. She stood upright well enough and let the water roll off her cloak.
Stevero looked at his data pad. “Compared to surrounding undamaged tissue, she’s quite ok.”
Quayl caught his breath. “Captain, I suggest we get the hell out of here.”
----------------------------------------
The crew and their guest were talking in the mess hall. Since her arrival, they haven’t been able to get a good look at her. Still, cloaks and hoods covered her. She did notice their stares and bashfully pulled back the hood to reveal her face, at least what could be called a face.
Aside from the teal green and gold trimmed hood and cloak, it appears she was wearing a mask or helmet, at least, her face looked like one. Her head was similar to a bowl resting on top of a long narrow neck, and from beneath the back of the bowl were long locks of deep purple hair. Her face had two large round eyes with also large red irises. She had two horns on top that poked through special openings in her hood made just for them. She looked peculiar and unlike anything anyone the crew had ever seen. The Namina’s reach was unknown and she could have been from across the galaxy.
image [https://cdn-gcs.inkitt.com/story_images/big_837faed7089c651912bcefe7905876a6.png]
She sighed. “My name is Hebu. My people are the Anguilla. You are… Humans?”
Junne nodded with an itchy trigger finger. “We are. Where are you from?”
“Very, very far away. A place simply called Angualileo. It’s more than just one planet, but a whole sector, hundreds of worlds.” Hebu coughed a little more, still likely salt-burned from inhaling ocean water. Junne felt better, his nerves relieved that she wasn’t Namina and seemed nonhostile.
Quayl stood and put his hand out, but Hebu wasn’t sure of it. “What’s this?”
“It’s a handshake. We do with as a formal hello, or goodbye, an agreement, or sometimes a way to say that we bear no arms against you. We take it very seriously.” She looked at his hand and then raised her own. She gripped his palm, and he gave her a quick but gentle shake.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Fascinating.” She remarked. “In my culture, we thump heads. But I don’t want to hurt you, you look kinda… squishy? Especially that one.” She pointed to Junne. “I was on that ship because I wanted to find out and tell everyone what the Namina’s plans are.”
There was a silence in the room. For someone to know would be an enormous help in every aspect of the war. Rob stepped aside to a control panel by the door. Hebu wouldn’t have known, but a holographic recording of the room had been started.
“The Namina are gathering green plants because they are an excellent source of electricity. They need a lot of it to build their ships and use their weaponry. The weapons they have are so powerful that they are world-shattering. It’s deadly.” It made sense, but how they were doing it is still unknown. “I’m sorry I don’t know everything.”
Junne rested his hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok, we don’t know everything either. We’re still trying to figure it out and find a way to make them stop.”
Rob asked the next question. “Can you help us with any information you have about their ships?”
“Well,” Hebu shrugged. “I know how to blow one up from the inside.”
----------------------------------------
Gem had shown Hebu her quarters for the time evening, but also, Gem was using her own ways of getting information about her and the Namina. She had a skill for getting people to trust her, plus the pressure from the whole crew examining her might have caused some reluctance. While Gem worked her magic, the crew got on the long-range communications ray to talk to Admiral Brinus Helios.
“This new information will prove useful to us, given it is authentic.” He said.
Junne scoffed. “As if the recordings of the encounter and the interview we had weren’t enough?”
“It’s better than nothing,” Brinus said, taking a long drag on a vape pen.
Rob had been analyzing Hebu’s rather thorough schematics of the Namina ship she had destroyed. “Admiral, I think we’ve been going about attacking their ships all wrong. Even our best weapon barely speared one of their ships’ armor and shielding. According to these specs, small amounts of energy need to seep through their shielding for them to read feedback on their weaponry. A few ships emitting a tiny microwave laser crossing at the right points can destroy their cores.”
Brinus nodded and let the vapor in his lungs go, filling the viewscreen with a white cloud before reappearing. “Like a surgical laser.” Rob nodded. “Interesting. I’ll see that we modify our tactics and systems to accommodate this strategy. Might take some clever maneuvering but we’ll manage.”
“I’m sure you will.” Junne approved.
Rob tapped the display on the communications console and sent Admiral Brinus a file. “This is what I have so far of the surgical laser specs. I hope it helps, I made it myself utilizing Puuqpu tech. Say, how do you like the quantum transmission communications?”
“It’s been vital to keep in contact with our ships at long ranges. Once again, you have been an asset to us.”
Junne chuckled. “We’re not allies, we’re friends. Remember?”
“Hm.” Brinus hummed shortly while putting his vape pen to his lip.
Stevero wanted to add. “Good to see that you stopped smoking and started a medical vape to restore your respiratory system.”
“Thanks, I hate it.” He said and cut the transmission.
“Good for him,” Stevero said.
----------------------------------------
Quayl was lying on his bed in his quarters. His coat hung on the wall, shoes on the floor, and in nothing but a pair of pajama shorts and an undershirt. He stared at the ceiling like it would form a beautiful face and speak the truth and answers to him. He sat up and went to his replicator. “One glass of cool water please.” He said to it. In a whirr and flickering of light, he had his water. “Thanks.” He sipped it and now stared at the wall. He thought about replicating a picture frame that would display a video of colorful randomly generated fish swimming along so he’d have something to look at, something to share his thoughts with. He had been thinking about Heather a lot. More so that day than ever before. He turned about around to the replicator. “Uhm, one pen and paper, and an envelope, please.” The machine whirred again with a light and produced what he had asked. “Oh, and a lap desk.” It made that too.
He sat on his bed with the lap desk and set the paper out to write. With the pen hovering above the page, he was willing the pen to move with the words in his mind but the hand was unyielding. He sighed a deep breath and began to write his feelings, thoughts, and shared how the days were. He shared the tough moments and the funny times with Junne and Rob and even described how lovely Gem is. He didn’t realize how much he wanted to write, but the words kept coming once the seal on his voice had been broken. New papers kept being replicated. Then, there was a moment when he realized he had written enough. He had run out of things to say, and experiences to share, so he folded the letters and put them into the envelope. On the envelope, he wrote, “To Heather.”
He quietly left his quarters into the dimmed halls of the Aerios set to night mode. He was sneaking out to ask the captain if they could swing by Lobora tomorrow. They were near that area again and could take an extra hour or two to make the trip over to the gravesite. He looked at the letter in his hand and slowly it glowed. The intensity grew as it sparkled and transformed into a special divine letter with its golden filigree and ornate designs. It choked him up. He now knew that Heather would get his letter and that he was doing the right thing. He wanted to connect with her across the planes of existence and get to know each other. Maybe one day they could be together.
The captain’s quarters were nearest to the bridge. Quayl rounded the corner to find Stevero waiting outside the door. He, too, had a divine letter in his hand. Lobora was his home, and he probably had family and friends there.
Stevero noticed Quayl and tiptoed over to him. “You wrote a letter too?”
Quayl nodded. “I was going to ask the captain to stop by Lobora tomorrow.”
“Let’s ask him in the morning.” He said and turned Quayl away. “Let’s use some discretion, shall we? I think Gem is with him tonight.”
----------------------------------------
The morning was quiet. Junne was asked at breakfast in private by Stevero and Quayl if they could go to the Lobora gravesite. He agreed to make the stop. Rob saw the heading with half a bagel stuffed in his mouth and gestured to Gem to take notice. She nodded and knew not to say anything about it. She simply sat at the back of the bridge with Hebu to observe.
In a little over an hour, they dropped out of lightspeed off of what used to be the shoulder of Lobora. It hadn’t changed aside from a long smear of dirt and mud trailing in its shattered orbit around its sun.
Stevero presented his letter to Quayl. “Here, take it. I know you’ll find where to place it.” He nodded and took the letter and placed it in his satchel with his own.
Quayl replied. “I’ll take the Seahawk down to a solid patch holding air. I won’t stay long, but I’ll make sure your loved ones get the message.”
Hebu stood up and shyly came forward. “I would like to pay my respects as well. My people deeply grieve for all life lost. It would mean a lot to me, and I hope it would be a show of good faith.” Quayl looked to Junne, who looked to Gem. She gave a smiling nod, and if Gem trusted her, so did Junne.
Quayl agreed. “You can come, but remember, we shook hands that we would trust each other.”
“I remember.” She said.
----------------------------------------
The Seahawk was a smooth purr through an eerie scene of rocks and chunks of what used to be a grand and beautiful city. They took it slow and kept the shielding on high to avoid rocks hitting them in the face. It was draining on the battery to use it not at lightspeed since it wasn’t being restored by the alternator, For now though, it was plenty to protect them from debris. Not far into the field of shattered ground, the pieces became larger and sections of buildings were noticeable. They went in as far as feasible since metalwork and poles became more dense as well. The shielding wouldn’t protect them from a straight rod coming at them.
“I think this is as far as we can go,” Quayl announced and started looking for a place to land, he soon found a large piece of road and structure that held a bubble of air. It was big enough for them to comfortably land and complete their task.
After setting the Seahawk down, Quayl gave a moment of silence for the lost. The road beneath him could have been any road on the planet, but for the moment, he felt in his heart that it could have been the road just outside the post office where he had met Heather. Hebu stood off to the side of him. For his peace of mind, he had the key to the Seahawk on him. Hebu knelt next to the crumbled wall structure, put her forehead to the ground, and performed her ritual. Quayl performed his own. From his satchel, he pulled out a vase, a bottle of water, and some frostflowers given to them by the penguins of Arktoca. He poured the water into the vase and then placed the flowers inside. The flowers reacted immediately with the water and spread their petals open wide. The penguins told them that in liquid water, and with enough sunlight, they could live for years. He thought there would be no better place for them than to rest in the quiet graveyard that Lobora had become.
Quayl took Stevero’s letter and leaned it up against the vase. He stood back and could see Stevero’s entire family come forth. An elder woman opened the letter and read it, then showed it to the father, the brother and sister, and even his nieces and nephews. Stevero had lost far more than he led on. He simply never talked about it, nor would anyone expect him to.
His abuela looked at Quayl. “Now you listen to me close young postboy; hit my Steverito with a wooden spoon muy fuerte and tell him to find a nice lady already.” Quayl smiled and nodded, his lips quivering in sorrow for his friend.
“I will.” He said. Like something had called them, the kids ran off, followed by Stevero’s sister and brother. His father left, and the grandmother smiled and offered a nummus. Quayl took it with honor and promise.
He sighed then pulled out his letter to Heather from his satchel and sat it next to the one from Stevero. He waited for a moment, and Heather didn’t come.
Hebu calmly walked up to Quayl. “I don’t think she’s ready yet. Some souls need more time.”
Quayl sighed. “As long as she gets it.”
“She will,” Hebu said. “You two loved each other, didn’t you?”
“We knew each other for five minutes. I think it was meant to be. It was… cut very short.” He sighed.
Hebu lowered her head. “I shouldn’t be here.”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
Hebu looked up, and there were tears in her large round eyes. “You should leave me here.”
“Yes, I should,” Quayl said sternly and turned to her.
She asked him. “When did you figure it out?”
“The schematics you gave were far too detailed for any prisoner or passenger to have known. It was really obvious that you were Namina.” Quayl clenched his fists and could feel the scales on his knuckles grow and harden. “Was it all lies? The things you told us?”
“No, It’s all true. We are the Anguilla. We do grieve greatly for lost life, we do need plant life to power our weapons. But me and those like me are called Namina. I hate that word so much!” Hebu started to pace around and express displeasure and unease. “Guess what it means?” She spat angrily. “It means IDIOT! We mean nothing to our leaders and elites. We’re drones! We’re like bees, we’re all female workers and once we sting, we’re dead! Our species evolved from the electric eel and once we’re out of electricity, we’re useless and nearly die! I started hating what I was when I saw Lobora obliterated before my very eyes. Sure, the plants power the weapons, but HOW is the worst part! They found out that when we eat green plants, our body’s natural electricity is amplified, and then with that, they put us in a chamber and sacrifice us for that energy! …I can still hear the screams. Three of us were put in the chamber of a gun to be bullets. They were proud and ecstatic to be chosen from the crew to be fired at Lobora, but when the machine turned them into plasma, even without mouths they screamed. Then their very souls were fired through a gun into Lobora and it only took one shot to end the lives of millions. I was sick to my stomach in horror. I didn’t want to eat a single bite more of green food after that. I wanted peace. I wanted to escape. Then we detected your ship and I was chosen to be fired through the gun at you. I didn’t want to die, I didn’t want hell’s fire to smith me into a bullet to be shot at an innocent trawler. So I defected, I sabotaged what I could and swam towards you with little hope of making it. I’m glad you destroyed that ship, that ship destroyed THIS world and its people. So yes, I agree, you should leave me here to suffer alone and wither away with the pain I’ve caused.” Hebu was sobbing with disgust and hatred with herself. She sat down on the road beneath her and huddled in on herself. Uncontrollably, she wept.
Quayl stood, waited, and wondered. “Your secret is safe with me.” He said.
Hebu looked up. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“You are not a Namina. You’re better than that. You saw the wrong in what your kind was doing. You’ve greatly helped our people already to stop the violence and the war with the information you provided.” Quayl bent down and offered his hand. “You have saved us from an attack from that ship you were on. It probably would have damaged us greatly, might have even destroyed us. We’re not meant for hard combat.” Hebu took his hand and he helped her stand up. “These are extraordinary times when extraordinary people come forward and shine. I believe you are one of those people.” Quayl stood up straight. “I’ll take it up with the crew for you to stay with us, but keep this all a very tight secret. Stevero lost his entire family here, Rob is filled with rage, Junne will shoot first and ask questions never, and Gem is so much wiser than us all, you can’t fool her. So this secret is between you, me, and Lobora.” Quayl extended his hand for a handshake. “Handshakes also mean respect, honor, and promise. Don’t shake my hand unless you mean it.” Hebu brushed her robes off of dust, and without hesitation, she shook his hand. “Good.” He said.
“Our head thump means the same.” She said.
“It would honor me to head thump with you.” Despite if it hurt, Quayl wanted to cement this agreement in place with as much sincerity as he could.
“Ok.” She said. They brought their heads together and thumped. Surprisingly, it wasn’t so bad for Quayl. Hebu, on the other hand, didn’t like it. “Ooowww, that was like hitting a solid steel wall, you’re not squishy at all!”
----------------------------------------
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Admiral Fisher for the use of his character BRINUS HELIOS.