Aeva
It was supposed to be another boring day. Another boring day of guarding this long-haul space freighter that could possibly be at risk to pirate attacks. We were in the middle of charted space, with nothing around us as we slowly made our way to a colony world to drop off supplies and materials for the things that they couldn’t make themselves.
I was chatting with one of the newest member of the crew, a Terran named Alex. The Terrans were new in the galactic scene, only being known for about a year or two. What they lacked in sophistication of technology, they more than made up for that in paranoia and armor technologies.
I suppose that brings me to the first thing that was noticeable about the Terrans. Their suits. Looking at one made you think that they had to spend their entire existence in fierce battle with the amount of armor that they wore. It was also a bit strange that no one has ever seen a Terran outside of their armor before. When they came onto the galactic stage, they claimed that they breathed an entirely different element than the rest of the galaxy (I think it was methane, instead of the oxygen that the rest of the galaxy breaths). Our leaders, of course were skeptical, because that explanation didn’t justify the sheer amount of armor that they wore. They then explained that they would rather not risk a potential breach, because they know how dangerous pure methane is when exposed to electrical wiring. That explanation seemed to go over a little better.
“So, wait,” I said waving my clawed hands through the air, “So you’re telling me that Terrans DON’T have a home world!? You must have come from a planet at some point!”
The armored Terran just moved its shoulders up and down in a gesture that I recognized as their “shrugging” indicating both confusion and an unwillingness to probe deeper into the subject at hand. “Well, of course we came from a planet at one point or another, but we’ve been a fleet-based species for so long that not even our oldest records have anything to say about a home planet.”
“I suppose that makes some sense. After all, there are plenty of fleet-based species out there in the universe, but all of them that we know about at least had a record of what happened to their original planets. And why don’t you guys find a nice planet to terraform? I’m sure that it wouldn’t be too hard considering how long you all have been spacefaring.”
He fiddled with his hands a bit as he considered his next words. “It’s just never been a priority to command, I guess.”
“And while I’m thinking about it, we can easily get you some methane aired quarters on the ship if you didn’t want to stay in that suit all the time!”
He continued to fiddle with his hands, looking at the floor. “Well, if you were to do that, then I would have to spend quite some time in an airlock because everyone else on this ship breaths oxygen and stuff.” He lifted a finger in another Terran gesture. “And that’s a waste of everyone’s time! And I can take off the suit, you know that right? I have a methane mask in my cabin that I use whenever I want to get out of the suit. I just don’t get out of it very often.”
“And why’s that? You don’t want anyone to see you without the suit on?”
“Yeah, there’s that. I’m a very shy and private person to begin with, but that’s only part of it.” He fiddled with his hands some more before finally speaking again. “There was one time that I was doing a spacewalk with a basic suit, one without any armor, and I got hit with some space debris.” He paused again, seemingly to collect his thoughts. “It, uh, it ruptured the suit, and I almost died that day.” He looked back up to me, the faceplate of his helmet completely unreadable. “After that, I always wear the armored versions, especially when in environments that could easily kill me if I have another suit rupture.”
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I nodded my head in a distinctly Terran gesture that I had learned from Alex. “That makes sense. I’m sorry that I pried so much, I didn’t know that there was some history with that.”
It looked like he was about to respond again when the ship suddenly and violently lurched, causing me to fall, only to be caught by Alex. I thanked him as he helped me back up. The green emergency lights suddenly turned on as we heard the captain over the loudspeaker say, “Attention all crew, we have been ripped out of hyperspace, and are currently being boarded by pirates. All noncombat personnel report to your evacuation areas, and all combat personnel report to your stations. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.” Alex and I looked at each other before we both pulled out our respective weapons, a plasma gun for me, and a kinetic rifle for Alex.
They’re a fleet-based species, so why do they use something that can easily puncture and rupture ship hulls? Come to think of it, a lot of what Alex has told me doesn’t really add up. I’ll have to ask him about it after we repel these boarders.
The engagement was a standard one, with the only things of note happening was that Alex used that kinetic rifle of his to great effect when he saw an enemy in cover that we couldn’t get to with our plasma-based weapons. There must have been some kind of targeting computer in that suit of his, because he made shots so quickly and accurately that it seemed like he was more machine than man. We had managed to push back the pirates until they were at their own airlocks. They were clearly in a panic, because they didn’t aim as they fired wildly at us, most of the shots not even coming within a meter of us.
Alex, due to the sheer amount of armor that he was wearing took the lead of the counter boarding operation, but just as he crossed into the airlock, an explosion rocked the hallway, and he went sailing through the air before finally landing in a heap of metal at the end of the corridor. Air started to be sucked out of the hallway and into the void as the umbilical was severed by the explosion. It didn’t take long for the blast doors to seal shut and the room to be filled with oxygen again.
I sat there breathing for a minute, just trying to process everything that had happened. Then I remembered. “ALEX!” I sprinted over to where the Terran was lying immobile. My hands shook as I looked at the damage. There was a massive hole in the stomach area of the armor. “HIS SUIT’S BREACHED! GET THE EMERGENCY METHANE TANK! QUICKLY!” I shouted to another member of the security team as I investigated the hole to see if there was any damage besides the torn suit, only to find mechanical parts where a body should be. What’s going on?
I was so panicked that I barely heard Alex say, “Hey, hey, look at me.”
“I don’t even know what I’m looking at to begin with! Where’s your body?”
“Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine. Nothing critical except for the battery was hit. I’m going to be fine.”
I was on the verge of tears. “W-what are you even talking about? You’ve got a massive suit breach, and you’re saying that you’re fine?”
He sighed. His voice was calm despite the danger that he had just been in. “Listen, I know that you have a lot of questions right now and I can’t answer them, but I will soon. I promise.” A grunt of frustration came before he started speaking again. “I can’t move, so I’m going to try a few things, alright? Just promise me that you won’t freak out.”
I choked out a sob. “Ok, just hang on, help is on the way.”
Suddenly, a sharp hiss was heard from Alex, or to be more specific, his head region. The faceplate that originally seemed to be nothing but a solid piece of metal folded and retracted. It did this a few more times until finally it opened to reveal something that I was never expecting. Nestled in the middle of this metallic head was a tiny chair, and sitting on that tiny chair was a hairless bipedal thing with roughly the same dimensions as Alex, just scaled down by five or six times. It was wearing a jumpsuit in a garish orange color with strange markings all over it.
I sat there in stunned silence as the person that I had tasked with grabbing the emergency methane tank rushed into view and was about to set the tank down when they stopped in their tracks at the sight of the tiny hairless alien sitting there in what should have been head of Alex.
The hairless thing opened its mouth baring its teeth, and with the voice of Alex said, “I suppose you have a lot of questions. Considering the circumstances, that’s understandable.”