Valus was, in all honesty, nowhere near as terrified as he thought he would be right now. Each step he took felt invigorating, unlike his expectations.
The various conflicting emotions in his head didn’t help him either with the mental obstacle course he was running through in his head.
Collecting his food, his tray of plant matter felt unusually light in his manipulators.
Walking over to the ‘carnivore’ tables, his antennae picked up the sound of predators talking, laughing and joking.
“Um, excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you guys…?” Valus said nervously. He froze as dozens of eyes locked onto him, and just for a second, he felt like running. Then, without further prompt, David gave him an affirmative thumbs-up, the others agreeing with nods and smiles.
As he sat down, all but shaking with joy, he didn’t notice the multitude of slack-jawed students staring at him in shock and wonder, starting to whisper and murmur to each other.
However, Lylith noticed, asking, “Is it really that weird for herbivores to hang out with carnivores?”
“Yes, actually. More so with humans than others, sadly - for a new species, you all seem to carry a stigma which I don't really understand,” Valus explained, his mandibles clicking thoughtfully.
At this Thomas perked up, a lot more aware than he was just moments ago. “I think that can be explained by our first contact, which was with the…Lek’Gum. Those eight and a half foot tall cyan aquatic species…I am correct on that, right?” He questioned, getting nods in reply.
“Makes sense. Those guys got the best and worst first impression of us.” Thomas chuckled - the three other humans understanding.
Seeing Valus' and Javqua’s confused expressions, Thomas realized he had to elaborate. “It’s a long story. I can help you search it up lat- you know what, fuck it, I’ll start explaining from the beginning.”
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Captain Sem’Jakul stared out of the viewports into the odd swirling of fold space, the mesmerizing patterns relaxing his mind as blew air softly from his opened nostrils. Not a day prior, he had received a message from high command about unnaturally high energy fluctuations occurring on the edge of known space.
The only way to create energy fluctuations of such a magnitude was for an enormous number of ships to leave fold space simultaneously. Knowing of the lack of any ship routes or inhabited planets in that area, that only left the galactic council with one conclusion… this would most definitely be a first contact scenario.
Even the energy signature itself seemed foreign. Of course, it was still fold space, but there wasn't just one way of powering or building a fold drive.
The only thing that concerned him was the size of the energy spikes. It would have had to be made by hundreds of ships at least, meaning that he wouldn’t be encountering an exploration fleet.
That left him in his current state. Sitting on the bridge, more nervous than he had ever been before. But before he could think any further on his conundrum, a crewmate spoke up. “We’re about to enter standard space.”
“Countdown please.” Captain Sem’Jakul ordered politely, the crewmate nodding in confirmation. “Leaving fold, in 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…exiting.”
Feeling the familiar unpleasant queasy feeling of his entering standard space, Sem’Jakul excitedly looked through the nearest viewport. What he saw, he could only describe as chaos.
Large ships zipped around enormous behemoths letting off deadly payloads, only to be thwarted by thick armour and shields. In return, the monstrous constructs they were fighting would pepper them with hundreds of small gun batteries, whilst massive cannons blasted others of the same size.
Flaming wrecks filled the battlefield, gases visibly escaping their hulls. Between the large warships, his scanners picked up what seemed to be swarms of fighters, ranging in the thousands.
“What am I watching right now…?” He yelled to no one in particular. A particularly stupid crew member piped up before being cut off by shrill alarms from their speakers.
Sem’Jakul was on the brink of panic, his breaths coming in short and sharp. They were being targeted.
A row of massive cannons had turned to face them, and, unable to even stutter a command, he could only stare as the cannon began its firing sequence. As he was about to say his first and last prayers, several lances of blue energy ripped through the offending cannons, reducing them to slagged metal.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Jolting up with surprise, Sem’Jakal was in a state of awe, as tens of ships moved around his own, their red and black colouration distinguishing them from their bronze counterparts.
Looking over to the closet ship, he read what he assumed was lettering - not that he could understand it. He’d later find out that it read HMS Master Of My Fate - the flagship of the 32nd Britannian fleet, its nearly obliterated armour barely holding on after hours of bombardment. Even still, it protected their small ship, body blocking heavy railgun fire and missile barrages from what he’d later find out was the Old Earth Empire.
“What in the Jyltool islands?” An officer whispered, his voice only heard due to the complete silence in the bridge.
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“And that’s why Britannian battleships are so much better than the American ones,” Thomas finished, having gone on a tangent ten minutes ago.
“I call bullshit!” Rylan cried. “The USS Davy Crocket would absolutely obliterate the HMS Master of my Life… or whatever the fuck it’s called.”
“Well… that explains a lot, this… Old Earth Empire really sounds terrible.” Valus muttered, unheard as David joined the argument as well. Javqua only nodded in agreement, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
“Boys and their battleships…” Lylith snorted as she rolled her eyes. “So yeah, that's how first contact with us happened. I guess we’re especially feared thanks to the Old Earthlings. It's probably much more convoluted than that, but that’s kinda the gist of it.” She concluded.
With a soft smile, Lylith then promptly turned around and joined the argument. “Is this my fault?” Valus murmured as the argument began to get heated.
“Yup.” Answered Javqua, as she stared at the bickering humans.
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Finishing his homework, Thomas stretched, his muscles cramped and constrained from his lack of movement during his studying. Yawning, he decided to search for Javqua - her absence feeling strange after sharing a room with her for so many nights back in Kravenka.
With a quick search, Thomas found Javqua in her room, sitting comfortably on her bed, eyes closed. She appeared to be basking in the sunlight coming through her room’s parted curtains. Thomas’s breath hitched. Javqua looked gorgeous - the light making it seem as if she were glowing.
And so, Thomas, deciding not to bother her, tried to leave quietly - failing when the door to her bedroom creaked.
“Oh, hey Tom,” Javqua said, eyes opening, her irises quickly thinning under the bright light.
“Hey.” He said, walking over to her. “I was wondering if you wanted to do something,” he said, and Javqua tilted her head to one side thoughtfully.
“Between just the two of us, or with the others as well?” She asked, and Thomas shrugged.
“That’s your call.” He said.
“Well… how about just the two of us?” Javqua said, baring her teeth in a slight smile.
“Okay then.” Thomas paused to think. He hadn’t actually decided what they were going to do - until he finally remembered.
“Wanna go to a tea room? I remember hearing about them when I first got here. Apparently Magistras like tea as much as we Brits. They have all sorts. I’m sure we could find something that suits both of us.” Thomas suggested.
“A…tea room?” Javqua said, her confusion evident. “Is it…just that? A room for tea?”
Thomas nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Tea.” He said.
“Hmm…alright. Why not.” She agreed, trusting Tom's judgement.
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Thomas and Javqua arrived at the tea room, which had been a little over a five-minute walk from the school. Tea seemed to be the coffee for Xenos - low-caffeine tea, that is, which Thomas hoped wouldn’t be too weak for him.
Entering the establishment, they were hit by the glorious aroma of an uncountable number of flavours. Taking a table in one of the inner corners, they sat comfortably across from each other, a childish grin on Thomas’s face.
“Woah…” Thomas was blown away as he looked at the menu on his implant. There were hundreds of options, categorized by species, amount of caffeine, ingredients, taste, and so on.
Unable to figure out the flavours, he settled for something called Garin Delight, which was a light-red concoction garnished with small blue leaves. Since it looked nice, Thomas hoped it tasted as such.
Javqua, on the other hand, picked an otherwise normal-looking light-brown tea, made with tree sap from her homeworld.
When their orders arrived, Thomas’s mouth was watering.
“Oh, this looks so good…” He whispered, his eyes shimmering as he picked up his enormous mug, designed for someone two feet taller than him. Taking a large sip of his drink, he was totally blown away.
“This is great!” Thomas exclaimed. He wasn’t lying. While it didn’t really taste like tea, being sweet and syrupy like a soda, he realized that tea had a pretty broad definition - water and leaves.
Javqua seemed to be enjoying her order as well - and, for a few minutes, the two of them sat in silence, sipping slowly at their hot beverages.
“Does this count as a date?” Javqua asked suddenly with a grin, and Thomas paused.
“Huh, I…I guess it does. Although a date's a bit redundant at this point, considering we’ve slept together.” He said.
“What do you mean?” Javqua asked, perplexed.
Thomas blushed, his pale cheeks now matching the colour of his drink. “Humans…consider sleeping in the same bed to be an act of intimacy. But…don’t worry! I mean…I was fine with it, and you didn’t know it was.” He clarified.
“Hmm.” Javqua’s expression went blank, and for a moment, Thomas was worried she was embarrassed or upset. But then she looked up, with a sly smile.
“It’s interesting how you explain this to me after two weeks of doing so,” she teased, and Thomas scoffed jokingly.
“I was just sparing you your dignity,” He said haughtily, trying to maintain a serious composure before breaking into laughter. Javqua began laughing too, the two of them trying to muffle their laughter underneath their hands.
Finally calming down, Thomas leaned back in his chair, trying to catch his breath.
Looking around to see if they had caused a scene, it was then he saw it.
The blinking security camera aimed directly at him and Javqua.