Memory transcription subject: Aaron Clemont, Humanity First rallier

Date [Standardized human time]: August 28th, 2148

[Day 21]

Our shuttle touched down in a nearly empty parking garage. I could tell the building was new, probably built recently to accommodate the holiday traffic. Now that the town’s little swapmeet has wrapped up, everyone’s gone home. Lucky us that means fewer witnesses.

“Vernon hit the town and see if you can find her parents. Landen, come with me, let’s get those samples somewhere cold,” I commanded to the two members I’d brought with me from Beiton.

We hit the streets, Vernon veering a separate direction off toward the residential parts of the small town, and Landen and I to a motel. Of course, the place was run by a Xeno. I tried to keep the disgust off my features as we checked into a pair of rooms. My holopad synced itself to the local news stations, and I scrolled through for a while before finally finding one on Felix.

The would-be assassin shot himself after the police surrounded him. Fucking idiot. I don’t like getting my hands dirty in the field, but given how moronic my compatriots have been, I’ve got no choice.

Landen shoved the sample container in the motel’s minifridge, we were going to need it when we found them. Speak of the devil, a ping from Vernon interrupted my news watching, “Overheard locals talking abt Silvon,” I grinned and punched back “Gather any info you can and meet back here,” I sent him the motel’s address and closed my holopad.

“Landen, we’re in business. You remember the plan?” I asked. He nodded, his mop of curly brown hair bobbing up and down. “Good. They’ve got hell to pay.”

~~~

Memory transcription subject: Jakiv, arxur scientist

Date [Standardized human time]: August 28th, 2148

[Day 21]

“What would you like, Jakiv?” the bartender asked.

“Give me a rum and Coke, Bisa,” I answered.

“Look at you making friends,” Nuri joked as she sat down next to me.

“Friends? I could never.”

“C’mon. Lone wolves don’t usually daydrink with prey,” she grinned.

“It’s amazing how almost none of that translated,” I chuckled. “And I’d hardly call what you do drinking Ms. Too-good-for-booze.”

“I am a classy lady,” the yotul replied. The waiter, Bisa, whom I’d talked to a bit while waiting for Nuri, set down my drink. “What is that?” the marsupial asked as I took a swig of the fizzy drink.

“Some kind of carbon gas-infused sugary stuff,” I answered.

“For the love of Ralchi just say ‘soda’ you nerd,” Nuri laughed.

“Of course, my dihydrogen monoxide with added carbon dioxide gas for texture, loaded with corn-derived sucrose-”

“Shut up, Jaki!” Both of us busted out laughing.

“And what would you like to drink?” Bisa asked Nuri once we calmed down.

“Give me whatever he’s having,” she replied.

“Ooh, daring today, huh?” I sneered. I took another sip, savoring the taste. “I’m not carrying you out of here if you get shitfaced.”

“Like I had to do?”

“Uh- Touché?” I hoped I used that expression correctly.

She shook her head giggling as Bisa set down the rum and Coke. She took a small sip, and her eyes lit up, “Woah! This is really good!”

“Have you… never tried soda?” I questioned.

“You have?” she retorted.

“Wriss imports plenty of sugary shit. It’s the only legal substance that keeps people happy,” I said. “But apparently this ‘Coke’ is a name brand. We don’t have those back home,” A huge grin crossed my face as the marsupial took a big swig of her drink. “Y’know, the recipe is human, but that rum is Skalgan.”

She swallowed hard, and her eyes widened. I couldn't help but laugh, “You didn’t tell me?”

“You didn’t know? You go into a Skalgan bar and expect human booze?”

“I guess when you put it like that… Well shit,” she sighed. “Too late now,” she shrugged and finished her drink. “So, you mind telling me a bit more about Wriss? You always mention it, but you never really go into detail,” Nuri asked.

“That’s because there’s not much to say,” I replied. “Wriss is, and has always been, a really shitty place to live.”

“Because of the Dominion?” She asked.

I shrugged, “Pretty much, yeah. Now that we’re under the ‘Principality of Wriss’,” I clawed air quotes for emphasis, “the government has basically just been in constant turmoil. The economy is barely existent, and I can’t go two steps outside my door without tripping on needles and bowls.”

“That’s awful,” Nuri slurred.

I laughed, “Shit, already? Prophet you are a lightweight!”

“Shut fuck up,” she raised her middle finger.

I waved Bisa over, “I’d like to pay now please,” I told her. I got out the credit chip and ran the transaction. “Okay, Nuri, let’s get you home,” I said, taking her paw and helping her up from the stool.

“I can walk- on my own,” she told me, trying to strut forward and nearly falling over.

“You are demonstrating to me that you cannot,” I told her. “I’ve got maybe 10 minutes before I’m as wiped as you, so let’s get a move on.”

We stepped outside, the marsupial mumbling something incoherent, though I heard my name a couple of times. I had her unlock the car with her thumbprint and we climbed inside. “What’s your address?” I asked.

“Oh, just hit the home button,” she pointed at the dash and giggled at nothing.

“Right,” I said, switching the car to autopilot and letting it automatically start driving away.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“So,” she began, “You cannot drive home,” Nuri slurred, “‘s like you gotta stay with me.”

“Bah, don’t make it weird,” I waved a claw. “I’m only taking you home out of the kindness of my heart.”

“So it does exist,” the drunken marsupial giggled.

“Last I checked anyway.” I could see the edges of my vision start to get fuzzy, and the dash was telescoping. “I could dump you on the curb until you sober up,” I joked.

“You wouldn’t even dare,” she yawned and leaned her head up against my arm.

“Hey, Nuri?” I called. “Nuri…” the marsupial didn’t even stir, but there was a growing wetness on my sleeve. “Augh! Gross!” I wanted to move her, but I also didn’t want to wake her. The car began to slow down in front of a little house, and I looked between it and the yotul drooling on my arm. I reached a claw out and patted her furry head.

She mumbled something again, and I yawned. Shit, I’m tired. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, and my eyelids were super heavy. I tried gently shaking her head to no avail and just ended up resting my mine on hers.

~~~

“Jaki?”

“Jaki, wake up!”

I roused, sitting upright in the car’s seat. It was dark outside, despite it being around noon when we were at the bar. My head hurt bad, but I felt well-rested for once. “What’s up, Nuri?” I turned to the yotul who was trying to dry her drool-soaked fur.

“You slobbered all over me you big oaf!” she exclaimed.

“Apologies,” I mumbled, taking a handful of napkins to use on my snout. “You got completely destroyed,” I laughed.

“What? Aw shit,” she groaned and rubbed her forehead. “What time is it?”

“Uh,” I checked the dashboard, “8 pm.”

“Damn it! Aw, man. My sleep schedule is so fucked,” Nuri cried.

“Welcome to the club.”

“I don’t want to be in the club.”

“Membership is mandatory.”

“Your face is mandatory.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“I don’t even know. You want to go inside?” she invited.

“Oh yeah, sure thing,” I answered.

We both got out of the car, which locked behind us with a click, and she unlocked her front door. The house itself was pretty small, with a combined kitchen, dining, and living room, and two doors for the bathroom and bedroom. The dining table was covered in papers scattered around. Newspaper clippings, printed reports, photographs, all of it looked right out of a movie.

“So uh, that over there’s the bathroom, here’s the couch,” Nuri gestured over a lengthened chair like she was trying to sell it to me, “and those papers over there are the nightmare I call work.”

“Neat, it’s like I can feel the stimulant dependency,” the smell of coffee in the house was almost overbearing.

“You were drunk by noon,” she retorted.

“You were too!”

The marsupial waved a paw and sat down on the couch. She clicked on a TV, which was tuned to some action movie loosely based on the war.

“They’re already making movies about this?” I questioned, sitting down to watch a red-haired human giving a long speech about why humanity is worth saving to a gojid.

“It feels like it’s in pretty poor taste, huh?” Nuri questioned.

“I can’t wait to see how they portray the Dominion,” I said sarcastically.

“Roooar!” the marsupial exclaimed, holding her paws forward and waving them toward me, “I’m gonna eat you!”

“Oh, that’s a good impression. I definitely remember saying that to every meal I’ve ever had.”

She roared again, ‘scratching’ at my arm with her blunt painted nails. “Tremble in fear, prey!”

“Oh, I certainly am. I am very scared. But instead of roaring, try a low growl,” I snickered. She attempted to growl, but I knew full well her throat didn’t allow it. “Prophet you sound like a dying krakotl.”

“Do not! I am the ferocious Chief Hunter Nuri!”

“Whatever you say,” I laughed. She clawed at my arm again, but this time stopped. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, noticing her silence.

“Jaki, are you okay?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Before I could stop her, she grabbed the sleeve and yanked it up my arm. The arm beneath was horribly emaciated, with the bones clearly jutting out in places.

“Oh goodness…”

I tried to roll the sleeve back down, “It’s- that’s fine-” I stammered, but she halted my attempts.

She rubbed a paw on my elbow where the bones were most prominent. “Have you even eaten anything since you got here?”

“Yeah- yeah I have-”

“Anything substantial? No meat substitutes.”

“I… I had a few snacks,” I hung my head. She’s disgusted by you. She pulled out her holopad hastily and began punching in some websites. “What are you doing?” I dared.

“I’m ordering you some food. I’m not going to let you starve yourself,” Nuri stated firmly.

“What? But isn’t meat illegal on prey planets?”

“It’s illegal on Skalga. There are far fewer restrictions here because Leirn has a very high human population,” she tapped on an icon with some red cuts of meat and began placing an order.

“I- I can’t just-” I fumbled for an excuse, a reason not to accept it. My stomach growled loudly as I thought about the food. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Yes, I do, Jaki. You’re my friend.”

“You shouldn’t care so much about-”

“About you? Give me one reason why not, and you better not say it’s ‘cause you’re an arxur!” the marsupial snapped. I clasped my claws together, my leg bounced nervously in place.

“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice breaking.

Her tone softened and her ears lowered, “What? No, you don’t have to be.” Look at yourself. You’re vile. She’s lying, she hates you. You deserve to be hated. I hung my head, I couldn’t even bear to look her in the eyes. “Hey, hey,” she cooed as I retreated into myself. She put her arms around me, “I’m not mad. Please, Jaki, you’re my friend,” she whispered.

I tried to speak, but all that came out were sobs I’d pent up for way too long. I let my own arms wrap around her and sniffled over her shoulder. The marsupial’s paws patted my back tenderly, “You can’t do anything to get rid of me,” she told me.

The meat arrived only a half hour later, but we were still hugging and talking. She broke away to answer the door, and I clutched my arms to my chest where her warmth still lingered. Nuri brought back a couple of plastic bags, and the aroma of the meat inside hit my nose and my stomach.

“I want to make sure you eat this,” she said sternly, withdrawing one of the cuts and using a claw to open the packaging.

“Okay,” I said, feeling hollow from crying.

She handed me the meat, and I eyed it for a while. There was just a little bit of blood that pooled where my claws sunk in. It brought back awful memories. I brought the food to my mouth and bit into it, swallowing without tasting and devouring the morsel ravenously. Nuri smiled at me, opening another package and handing it to me. She dug into the bag pulled out some greenery, and sat down next to me on the couch. “I figured you’d feel better if you weren’t eating alone,” the yotul stated.

“I do,” I smiled. “Thank you, Nuri.”

“It’s what friends are for, Jaki.”

That’s what friends are for. I took a smaller bite, this time savoring the taste. There were still tears in my eyes, but they were joyous.

~~~

Memory transcription subject: Aaron Clemont, Humanity First rallier

Date [Standardized human time]: August 29th, 2148

[Day 22]

The dome-shaped house was so cozy looking. The lights inside were off, and the blinds were shuttered. The inhabitants of the home were fast asleep. Landen held the cooler in one hand, and a crowbar in the other. He handed the tool to Vernon, and I gave him a nod and thumbs up.

He jammed the crowbar in the door where the lock was. Venlil homes were comically easy to break into. With just a little elbow grease… The door swung open. I stopped it with my foot before it hit the wall and made any noise.

“Stay close,” I whispered, beckoning my partners to walk with me inside. Vernon carefully closed the door behind us. I unholstered the gun at my waist and held it forward, peering into an empty guest bedroom and keeping track of which doors went where. Finally, through a cracked entrance, there was a bed occupied by two soundly sleeping venlil.

We crept inside, and I finally made myself known with a loud, “Good morning!”