Memory transcription subject: Daniel Stat, human virologist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 30th, 2148
[Day 23]
The meat sizzled invitingly in the pan making my mouth water from the pleasant aroma. I haven’t eaten anything besides plants since before I was on Skalga. Silvon and Tinasi thankfully didn’t mind what I was cooking up, and I’m almost certain Tinasi has tried meat before. I had another pan simmering next to the meat with some local veggies. Both smelled incredible.
I scooped the sautéed veggies onto a plate and lightly drizzled a homemade fruity dressing on top. The red of the dressing looked nice with the orange leaves. Then I dished up the meat and took only a small portion of the salad as a side.
“Hey, Silvon!” I called, “Food’s ready!” I set the plates on the table and filled a couple of glasses with wine. “Silvvy?” there was no response. Worry rose in my chest as I walked from the table to the guest bedroom door. I gently knocked. “Silvvy, are you in there?”
There was no answer. I tried again, “Silvon?” I pressed my ear up to the door, hoping to hear her voice. “Okay, I’m coming in, hon,” I turned the knob and stepped into the room. The only light illuminating her features was from the holopad in her shaky paws. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, and she was curled up in blankets. We made eye contact, and she broke into sobs.
“Danny-” she cried. I ran to her in an instant.
“Hey, what happened?” I asked. She held out the holopad, and another round of sobs escaped her.
Dr. Silvon, we regret to inform you that your parents Nulon and Lew lost their lives last night. The suspect in question is still at large, but we have reason to believe it is you and Dr. Stat that he’s looking for. For your own safety, you have both been disallowed travel off of Leirn until the case is resolved. Funeral arrangements for the deceased will be conducted digitally.
-MFPD
I was stunned. I closed the holopad and wordlessly set it on the nightstand. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around the poor venlil, “I’m so, so sorry.”
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Jakiv, arxur scientist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 30th, 2148
[Day 23]
“And you’ve been eating?” Nuri pried as I buckled myself up in the passenger seat.
“Prophet, you sound just like Vilvit!” I remarked.
“C’mon, Jaki, answer the question,” the marsupial urged.
“Yes, I’ve been eating. I had ‘steak’ last night for dinner.”
My words lit up her face, the look she gave me was warm and inviting. I felt good saying it. “Oh I’m so glad,” Nuri grinned. “So, how was work?”
“It was fine,” I shuffled, disguising my awkwardness by adjusting my tail in the seat.
“Define fine,” Nuri set the car to autopilot and turned to face me.
“I mean fine,” I concluded.
“Jaki, I know you well enough to know ‘fine’ is how you dodge questions. What happened?”
“Nothing bad, I can assure you. I have a lot of reports to write on some new discoveries, and a few hours of microscope footage to look over.”
“Now that doesn’t just sound ‘fine’. Are you guys onto something?” she questioned.
I leaned in, whispering “Something big,” and grinned. I could see her itching for more details. The reporter couldn’t stand not knowing anything and everything about whatever interests her, and it was clear ever since the dinner party with the doctors that my lab work was very intriguing.
“Could you tell me about it?” she urged.
“Only if you can agree not to release any details. It’s all top secret.”
The marsupial held out her paw, with one of her fingers outstretched toward me, “I pinkie promise,” she stated.
“You what?”
“Just reach out your finger,” Nuri giggled. I extended one of my thumbs, the closest I had to a ‘pinkie’, and she wrapped hers around it.
“Is this another human thing?” I asked.
“Yup. It’s like an unbreakable promise,” she informed me.
“Is it ceremonial?”
“Uh, maybe? I’ve never bothered to ask any humans where their gestures come from.”
“Knowing humans, I doubt even they know,” I chuckled. The car began slowing down in front of Nuri’s house. “Hey, I thought you were taking me home?”
“Yeah, I am. You to my home,” she unbuckled and skipped out of the vehicle. I picked up a folder I set on the floor and clambered out.
The house was still messy, and the papers on the table seemed to have multiplied ten-fold since I was last here. “What are you even writing about, Nuri?” I questioned as she put all the papers into one stack to make room for my folder.
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“Boring stuff. Extremism on Skalga, that whole situation in Ransu City, stuff the news is already going on about. Lucky me though, I’ve got an inside source with far more information than anyone else!” she rubbed her paws deviously. “But enough about me, what’ve you got?”
“Alright,” I set down the folder and threw it open. The first report was on the spliced venlil cells, with printed photographs of the microscope slide. “The preyshit insane yotul, no offense…”
“None taken.”
“... decided to splice human and venlil immune cells, which I couldn’t even fathom being possible, let alone yield any results,” I dug my holopad from my coat pocket and opened it to a video of the cells fighting off the rhinovirus. “But look here, the cultured cells are actually working! We’ve had weeks of zero progress, only for this sudden off-the-wall idea to just-” I gesticulated, unable to contain my excitement, “It’s revolutionary!”
“Has it been tested on people yet?” Nuri asked.
I shook my head, “No, but it will be soon. We’ve just barely gotten Governor Maulo’s permission to inject the venlil in the lab’s infirmary.”
“When is the first test?” she asked.
“Tomorrow. We’ve already got the needles prepped and ready. Hope to prophet it works.”
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Aaron Clemont, Humanity First rallier
Date [Standardized human time]: August 30th, 2148
[Day 23]
Our shuttle touched down on Leirn. Landen, Vernon, and I walked through the same terminal where the photo on Nulon’s holopad was taken. I was giddy, half because I knew this was gonna end with me behind bars, or worse, and half because I was so damn excited to finally put the Xenos in their place.
New Litsen itself was as average as a yotul town could be. Boring, primitive building styles reminiscent of remote villages on Earth. I damn near twisted an ankle on the rough cobblestone streets outside the spaceport. “Let’s check into a hotel and lie low. We’re probably wanted men by now,” I informed my cohort.
Here’s hoping anyone around here accepts physical credits. My account is probably flagged, and the cops would be able to track me through my finances. We slipped into a shitty little hotel, with a peppy receptionist who greeted us as we entered.
“We’d like a room, please,” I said.
“Of course,” she replied, digging under the counter for a key. I pulled a handful of physical credits from my pocket and set them down with a clank. She looked surprised to see them, and retrieved a separate machine to authenticate the credits.
I groaned as she took them one at a time and scanned them through the device. Finally, at last, everything was in order. “Thank you for your patience,” she chirped, handing me the room key.
We located our room and threw our luggage inside.
“Right then, let’s get looking for any leads,” I said. “Stat is almost certainly working at a lab around here. I figure if we’re doing this, let’s do it big.”
“Okay,” Vernon mumbled, scanning a map on his holopad, “There’s a place on the other side of town called Jatsen Labs. It’s the only laboratory in the city, and it’s massive.”
“The size of the place won’t be a problem, I’ve already contacted a few friends who can hook us up with some good firepower,” I smiled. “So here’s the plan boys. We’re gonna go in guns blazing, take out anyone that even thinks of trying to stop us. Locate wherever the virus research is being done, and I will handle Stat. We’ll grab as many samples of the virus as we can and start running. We’ll get it to those friends here I mentioned, and then it’s mission complete. Got it?” Both nodded.
“Good. I’m gonna go grab a drink, and get those weapons.”
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Jakiv, arxur scientist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 30th, 2148
[Day 23]
I furiously scribbled the report, it was thousands of words long, with as much detail as I could cram into it. Nuri was reading over my shoulder, occasionally commenting and helping me word things better. We made a pretty great team.
“So, when all’s said and done, what are you going to do with yourself, Jaki?” the marsupial asked as I took a break from the report.
“I’m not really sure,” I said. “I’m not exactly a citizen here. I might just go back to Wriss.” The yotul seemed to waver a little. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, forcing a smile that I stupidly believed.
“Though I’ll admit, it was a nice little vacation here,” I chuckled. “I’m gonna miss the booze.”
“Are you gonna miss me?” she asked. I stopped, making eye contact with the marsupial.
“Well, of course,” I said. “I’ll call you and stuff.”
“Yeah?” her voice was full of longing.
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” she mumbled as I poured myself a cup of coffee.
“Right then, back to work,” I said cheerily.
~~~
The report was long finished while we sat on the couch watching a movie. We were snuggled up under a blanket, watching a mushy yotul film about a pair of lovers separated during the uplift, and individually rebelling against the feds, only to come together again in the end.
Nuri has been closer to me since I finished my work. It’s not like I minded, but it was a bit abnormal. “So, how accurate is this film?” I asked to break the silence.
“No clue, I was born after the uplift. But it does get how shitty fed life was,” she answered. I nodded, turning my attention back to the TV, idly reading the credits as they slowly rolled past.
“Are you really leaving?” Nuri asked suddenly.
I didn’t know how to answer. “I- yeah, I’ve got to. You know I’m not welcome here,” I shrugged.
“Of course you are,” her voice broke.
I hastily checked my holopad, 10 pm. “Uh- look at the time, Nuri,” I tried to change the subject and threw off the blanket. “I’ve got work tomorrow, y’know. I’ve really got to get a move on-”
She wrapped her arms around me and dug her face into my hoodie, “Please, Jaki, please don’t go,” I stood frozen unsure of what to even do. I awkwardly patted her head and felt her grip tighten.
“Why do you care so much?” I asked, more to myself than to her.
She pulled her face from my chest and locked tear-stricken eyes with me. “You’re my best friend. I can’t let you go back to living in misery and starving yourself,” Nuri stated. “But more than anything, I love having you around. I love talking to you…” I reciprocated the hug, feeling myself starting to choke up.
“I love you too, Nuri,” I replied.
“Please, stay with me, Jaki,” she begged. “Please.”
I thought about returning to Wriss, though I knew I’d hate it. I was finding Leirn more and more appealing by the second, and if I had my friend with me, I knew I’d be fine. Yeah. “I’ll stay. I’ll stay, Nuri,” I promised. I extended a thumb, and the marsupial’s tears were interrupted by giggles.
“It’s an unbreakable promise,” she stated, taking my thumb with her finger.
“Indeed,” I smiled.