Aeva

I looked down at the small alien. “You Terrans just love breaking the expectations that people have of you, don’t you?” I asked.

He threw his head back and cackled like a madman. “Oh Aeva, you sweet summer child, you have no idea. It’s a popular phrase on Terra to never let anyone know your next move, and us Terrans like being as unpredictable as possible.” The way that he said it made my feathers stand on end, which was a feat because they were already puffed up to begin with. I was going to say something back to Alex when I heard a rumbling noise, one that I immediately recognized as my stomach growling. As soon as it subsided, I couldn’t help but hear a smaller, softer rumbling coming from Alex. “Guess you’re as hungry as I am,” he said with a chuckle.

I chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose you are. I haven’t really had anything since this morning before the boarding, so I guess I’ll go to the mess hall and then meet up with you later?”

Alex shifted in his chair on the desk before finally standing. “Well, I haven’t really had any alien food before, so could I go with you?”

“Sure!” I said as I put my arm out for him to climb on.

He gave me a look. “What are you doing?”

I retracted my arm, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Oh, sorry, we’ve done it like this since your mech broke. I just figured that until we know that you fixed it properly, that you’d want to do it like this.”

He gave a dismissive gesture. “Hey, that’s totally alright, sorry that I sounded the way that I did. And besides, there’s no time like the present to find out if what you did was even remotely right!” And with that, he made his way to the elevator, and went down it. I watched in interest as he slowly made his way across the floor to the other elevator next to the mech. How they get anywhere quickly is a mystery to me because they move so slow!

He finally made it to the elevator and made his way up the mech, past the still gaping hole in the chest of the armor. We’ll have to fix that before it can be used in combat. That is assuming that the captain will even let him be security anymore. “So, what are your plans after all this is over?”

Alex finally made his way into the cockpit and started pressing buttons before getting sealed in the overlarge head of it. It was only a moment before the speakers on the mech crackled to life as he said, “You know, I haven’t really thought about what I’m going to be doing once we make it back to civilization, I kind of assumed that I would be court martialed for not following standard protocol and thrown into a jail.”

I was horrified. “They’d do that all because you didn’t follow exactly what they told you to do? Why?”

It was at this point that the mech, or at least it’s top half, started to move as it shrugged. This movement was muted somewhat by the fact that it was still being suspended off the ground by some thick chains. “Well, secrecy is one of the most important things that we have going for us. For the longest time, people not knowing anything about us was our biggest strength. It still is, as far as I’m concerned.” The mech shrugged again. “After all, it was the Yalayan’s lack of knowledge of our capabilities that got us that win so quickly.” He paused for a moment. “I’m getting green on everything that we fixed, so if you could help me move into the wheelchair, that would be greatly appreciated.”

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I nodded before going over to the mech and straining to pull it off the hooks it was on. Alex moved his arms to help me as best as he could. “This thing is heavier than I remember! Did you install anything other than the battery?” I complained.

Alex laughed. “It’s not my fault that you’re tired and stuff! And thank you for being willing to help me.”

“Yeah, well what are friends for, if not helping each other when we need it?” I asked, groaning under the weight. After a couple of awkward shuffles, I finally managed to deposit Alex with a metallic clang into the wheelchair that I had fabricated for him earlier today.

He looked up to me from his seated position. “Is that what we are now? Friends?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “W-well, only if you want to be. I mean, you don’t really have anyone else on the ship that you trust like this, so I feel like that counts for something.”

He nodded once more. “Yeah, I suppose that counts for something.” He looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at me. “It’s kind of funny, they train us to have minimal interactions with aliens so it’s less likely that there’d be a leak, but as it turns out that those forbidden interactions were what caused you to run to my aid when you thought my suit was breached.” He paused for a moment before reaching up to me for a Terran handshake. “I’d be honored to call you a friend.”

I waggled my crest of feathers in joy as I took his hand and shook it. “I’m glad to hear so. Now come on, let’s get some food.”

Another laugh came from Alex as he wheeled himself to the door. “Now you’re speaking my language. I can’t wait to try some alien chow!”

The door opened with a hiss and I wasn’t surprised to see a group of no less than twenty people loitering around the door. I genuinely thought that they would have given up by now, but here they were, communication devices in hand trying to get a picture of the Terran outside of the mech. They all fell silent at the sight of Alex, not really knowing what to do. Did they not watch the news? I thought that they would have at least watched the news and figure this stuff out for themselves. It was finally Alex that broke the stalemate. “Jeez, you would think that you’ve never seen a guy in a wheelchair before with how you all are acting. Now are you going to keep standing there or are you going to let me go on my way?” he asked.

A few seconds went by with no one moving. Then, someone coughed and started moving away, which prompted the rest of them to follow behind, still mumbling about missing their chance to make history and the like.

I walked with Alex as we got closer to our destination. “Are you ok?” I asked.

He gave a heavy sigh as he pushed himself along. “All my life I’ve not had very many people pay attention to me, and I liked it that way. And now that all this is going on, I’m not sure that I like all the attention that I’m getting right now.” He shrugged once again. “I suppose that’s the price you pay when you start making history.”

“I suppose so. Better to make history than to be forgotten I say,” I explained as I looked down at the gunmetal grey of the mech.

“It is what it is, and there’s nothing that we can do to change the past, so why regret it?"

We walked for a few more minutes in silence as we contemplated how our lives turned out. “You know, I was supposed to be a ship mechanic.” I finally said.

“Really?” asked Alex, turning to me as we walked into the elevator that would take us up to the mess hall.

“Yeah,” I said. “I was supposed to take after my old man, but I decided the life of a ship mechanic was too boring for me, so I took the job that would keep me on my toes.”

There was silence for a time before Alex finally responded. “Damn. I was actually supposed to join the army, like my dad, but I somehow talked him down to ship security, so here I am. Maybe it would have turned out differently if I had just done what he wanted me to.” He shrugged again. “No point in crying over spilt milk!” That must have been another Terran phrase.

The doors opened and we were greeted by the welcome sight of the mess hall, and the extremely unwelcome sight of four Yalayans waiting by the elevator. “Hey! It’s him!” one of them shouted as they caught sight of Alex.

“Aw shit!” whispered Alex. “Here comes trouble!”