Unipsi, lovely entity
chapter 4c: room-mate
Lis had just finished changing that Idra popped behind her, making no sound and scaring the hell out of her body.
“fucking hell, could you not?”
“could I not what?”
Idra seems genuinely confused by Lis's request, she probably doesn’t understand that people don’t like to be scared or that she scared her.
“never mind, follow me again, I will show you around the ship”
“when are we going to pick up my blanket?”
“after you have apologise to Morea but before we go to sleep”
“I already told you I didn’t know she was you friend”
“I don’t care. You have been too impulsive. If you do the same during in life or death situations it will be a mess. I won’t! lose everybody for you stupidity, do you get it?”
“I guess I don’t. Never worked with someone, always alone....sort of. Changing subject can I also have some night lights?”
night lights, really? We are in the fucking space and the little princess needs some night lights, where the fuck does she think I can get them?
“I don’t think that will be possible”
“why not? Is there a power supply problem?”
Lis was confused, why should a pair of night lights cause a power problem.
“eeeh, no, we just don’t have night lights on a spaceship full of adult soldier and scientist. Only kids are scared of the dark”
Idra took the bait perfectly, she is too proud to admit to be scared of the darkness. Or maybe she had some other problem or quirk.
“I’m not scared of the darkness at all, I just like to have lights hanging in my cabin so I can think of them as distant stars. I thought everybody had them.”
“well we don’t”
The two continued walking, Lis proceeding toward the canteen and Idra following her. Every time they pass someone in the corridors they stared at the alien figure but they were to scared to say something. Idra was quiet. Not the usually I’m thinking of something quietness but she was immersed in a sad silence. I guess she didn’t like the lack of night lights. Well al least she is not speaking, maybe I should disappoint her more often so she doesn’t speak and make some mess.
In a 500m ship, a small walk can take a couple of minute, especially if you have to change multiple floor, so after 7 minutes they reached the canteen. Lis’s plan was to feed her, make her apologise, take the blanket and then finally sleep.
“here is where you get you food. You don’t have to pay for it. Just take a dish and silverware from the dispenser and then move on to the food stall to choose and pick your food”
“I don’t get it. How do you choose your food? You can’t redefine what nutrient your body is lacking simply become you want others nutrients.”
“now I’m the one who isn’t understanding. You just go to the stall and pick the food you want to eat. If you want meat you take meat, if you want vegetable you take them instead. What is this thing about nutrients?”
“in my spaceship I just have a robot, I go in front of it, it scans me and gives me some mush with all the things my body needs to stay alive. I don’t choose, I just eat”
I thought a life of repressed emotion was sad, but this is on another level of sadness.
“well you will find out about the joy of eating real food, made by real people with real ingredient, just mimic what I do.”
As Lis said so she moved toward the dish dispenser, took a dish, her silverware and moved to the food stall. The stall was a large box with different sealed containers for different food. Gravity distortion field generator were common and amazing technology but when there is now power you get no gravity force. Also they don’t stop the effect of acceleration apparent forces so if you don’t want to make a mess every time you accelerate, it’s better to use sealed containers. Lis, as most Leans, loves to eat meat, they don’t care about the type of meat, if they can eat it they will. Today was the day of Lilboom steak, a common animal from the Lean domain. Lis filled up her dish with it and added some Nulu and Bulbuna, other common Leans plant, on the side. Then she looked back to see what Idra was doing.
The little, compared to a Lean, girl was cursing in her language, she was capable to reach one of the Lilboom steak but in doing so, she dropped her silverware. She was just to short to reach for the steak without climbing a little in the stall. After than she decide to dispose of the silverware but the hole in the machine for cleaning them was to high as well. She was about to jump with her dish in hand that would have made a disaster on the floor when Lis grabbed her.
“what the hell, you were going to make a mess of the floor”
“it’s not my fault if everything is out of reach”
“you can ask for help, I would have helped you. Give me you dish, I will fill it for you”
“the contract impose me to not damage your ship, otherwise I would have been able to reach it”
However the disappointed Idra, gave her plate to Lis that proceed to fill it too before giving it back.
“Here, see it was not that hard”
“it’s not hard for you and your 230cm of height. It’s for me and my small stature. But thanks, I guess.” Idra was no longer so aggressive. A thanks, that’s new, but why is she no longer aggressive. I don’t think she calmed down so what is her problem now?
“why the long face. So is there a problem with your food?”
“no, my scanner says that it’s edible. How do you suppose what my mood is? You can’t see my face”
“just my looking at your usual super aggressive way of doing things. So what is the problem?”
“nothing. I was just thinking about the past. It happens some time.”
So it was nothing important. Just some old memories.
They both sat down on one table. Everybody around was peeking to see what would happen, no one had ever seen an Esterian without the helmet. When Idra started to eat she cut all her food in small pieces using the silverware. Then she skewer the food on the knife and moved it closer to her helmet. The front part moved creating an opening big enough to let the food in. The open helmet revealed her reddish almost perfectly symmetrical lips and a not so pale pink skin. Her skin was in fact of a bit darker beige like light tanned skin. Feeling the glares she stopped and looked around. Then in a different tone of voice, higher and clearer then the one used until now and with an extremely heavy accent. She said.
“what!? never seen someone eating in you life? Get a hold on yourself I know I’m beautiful but those lips aren’t for you”
Guess she is back to normal mode.
Then she proceed eating, her lips opening the bare minimum so her teeth weren't visible. Well that confirmed her humanity or at least her mouth is human shaped.
“you don’t have to worry about them, they are just curious. You know Esterians don’t really like to show what is under their armour so they took the opportunity.”
“were you curious too?”
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“can’t deny it. Does it matter?”
“not really. I… just wanted to know.”
“what happened, your voice is different and now you have an accent”
“this is my voice, before I was using Natrix to translate. Can’t use it when the suit is open for obvious reasons.”
“who is Natrix? By the way this new not deep and low voice suit you, I like it.”
“thanks, I guess. Can’t really change it so you get what you get. Natrix is my support AI.”
that’s new as well. So they use AI even to change their own voice so they don’t have to speak in other languages.
“I see your eating fast. Are you liking the food?”
“yes, it’s totally different from my mush.”
“I will take that as a compliment to my crew”
Idra stopped responding to other small question or phrases. Food with a taste must have hit the right spot. Well I should probably let her eat in peace and then restart the ship short guide. I want to sleep so bad.
After eating it was time to go see Morea. Lis plan was to force Idra to apologise somehow, but she didn’t aspect the Esterian purely logical behaviour. When they reach Morea’s room at the medical bay, Lis entered first followed by Idra.
“How are you doing my fiend?” Morea wasn’t dying, the armour saved her life but didn’t stop her to be bedridden. She had to stay in there for at least 10 days.
“I can go on, but why did you bring that thing with you?” Morea said pointing at Idra.
“I’m here to make her apologise” said Scilla and before Morea could reply, Idra stepped in.
“I won’t apologise. It won’t change my judgement error. So Morea, tell me what will make us even.” Lis was taken aback by Idra’s rational behaviour. So she let them go on to see where it was going.
“I want to hit you in the face once I’m no longer under treatment.”
“I think it is a reasonable request. However I can’t exit the suit. Would you be satisfied if you hit me while inside my suit?”
“you hit me while I was in armour so it’s fine”
“ok. I will remember our promise. Now I would like to take responsibility for my action. In order to honour my contract would you let me treat your injury.”
“don’t even think about it”
Wait a second. She is offering to cure her. Esterians are known for their advanced biological knowledge. Maybe it will really help Morea out, but I won’t impose on her choices.
“let me finish please. I don’t have a lot of specific medication that works on Leans with me. They are on my ship. However I have some light omni-cure with me. For most female Esterians it is a painkiller for menstrual pains, for other just a helping hand when they are sick. I won’t cure you in instant but it will speed up your recovery process.”
“I don’t trust your medicine nor you. What is this omni-cure that you love so much?”
“Basically some nano-bots made of organic matter so they dissolve in you blood after a couple of hours. While they are working they increase your natural regenerative capability”
“I still don’t trust you. So..” without much thinking Idra opened her helmet to reveal her mouth. Took out of one of the many armour pockets a small tube filled with pills. She then took one and drank some water from a nearby water tap.
“I will stay here for 2 hours with my helmet open. You can see if it has side effect on my body”
Never seen her so determinate. This “I don’t want to break a promise, and I will always keep my word and take my responsibilities” works wonders
After 2 hours, while Lis kept on talking to Morea, Idra moved closer to the bed.
“see, I’m fine. Now do you want a pill?”
“fuck it, give me one. If I die avenge me commander Lis” as she said so she took one of the Esterian strange pill.
“I will come every day with the commander to bring you a new pill and the necessary extra food to rebuilt your body. Have a good night and rest well Morea.”
after that Idra left the room and waited for Lis to come so they could go on with the ship tour and get her blanket.
Lis showed her the gym, the internal plant farm to always have some food, a relax zone and so on, but Idra wasn’t interested.
“can you bring me to the hangar and the storage?”
“that is what a spy would say, a really bad and stupid spy”
“oh, you think I need to spy your inferior technology? I’m no toy maker I have no need for you space knowledge”
“then you have no need to see the hangar nor our storage”
“wait! We can talk about this.”
“I think not. Why do you want to go in?”
“I, I don’t want to tell you”
“then you won’t go in. End of the discussion you highness” Lis phrase was full of sarcasm, I guess she won’t get this joke.
“Esterian have no nobility ra…(ranks) ooh I get it, sarcasm you were teasing me”
“I’m so proud of you. Those days kids grow so fast, one day savaging around the other learning sarcasm”
“i’m not a kid, I’m twenty.... Fuck! sarcasm again!. Now that you teased me can I gone in?”
“it is still a no. I can’t trust you, not after just one day”
“so if you trust me you would let me in the hangar right”
“I suppose so..”
“ok, I’ll be good so one day you will trust me. Speaking of something else do you perhaps have books I can read?”
“I will get you a restricted data pad, now walk faster, we are going to take you blanket and then to sleep”
“sure”
The strange duo moved to the storage where Idra could finally have her blanket. They had mostly thermal blanket but also a couple of normal one. Idra chose the uglier that look strait out of a hospital bed. Even her taste in things is fucked up but at this point I should stop event bothering about it. Lis also got her a data pad with only non restricted books on it and then proceed to go back to her room.
“finally, time to sleep” Lis couldn't wait longer, she wanted to sleep and probably wake up realizing it was all a bad dream, but she knew it was not. Well at least an Esterian cooperation contract is way better than a space fight with an Esterian, and an escalation that could lead to a new war after only 12 years of peace.
“well, use the toilet, don’t worry there are no cameras, I don’t spy on myself. Then go to your bed and sleep”
both of them prepared to go to bed, and as predictable Idra didn’t take off her suit. Lis waited for Idra to be in bed and then turned off the light. Just a couple of minute later
“Scilla, are you sleeping?” what the fuck does she want now.
“if you can’t sleep I won’t sing you a lullaby”
“it’s not that. Can you say good night to me?”
“another of you quirks? Why do I have to? Can’t you ask Natrix? I suppose it was the one saying you good night on your ship”
“you are right about Natrix. But it’s not the same without its body if I can call it a body. So if you say me good night and also promise me a contract change, I will tell you a bit about me or my people. I know that Esterian information are useful to you” fuck she is right and at the same time I don’t really want to interact with her, it feels like a trap. All her peers that I met were emotionless unless they where actively manipulate someone, if she is behaving like this it’s probably to trick me.
“speak, what is the change that you want”
“absolute honesty from now on. I won’t betray you, but I don’t want to be betrayed either. So if you are dissatisfied with what I do, say so upfront.”
“will you do the same with me?”
“I already do. Just before I didn’t want to tell why I wanted to go in the hanger so I didn’t. I don’t care about feelings”
“doesn’t sound to unreasonable. And the other request was good night. Every night I suppose.”
“yes, after all kind of conversations are over and I’m the one who will say it first, then you reply”
“ok, so where are my informations?”
“long ago, I was on a far away planet. I did my usual job, but someone saw me. It was a little humanoid creature with fur all over it’s body. I never knew what it was, I just applied my laws. I followed the creature to its town. Apparently their city was in a medieval like era. The kid ran in and I stopped outside. Soon after the city was on fire, people dying at every corner. The smell of the burning flesh and their sweet agonizing screams. Someone tried to run away. I had a lot of fun that day. I wonder how their society had reacted to such event.”
Wait a moment, she just admitted to have killed an entire city of people just because she was seen. What does she mean by “their sweet screams” is she some sort of sadist? She is not going to do the same to us right?
“why did you set the city on fire?”
“good night Scilla”
“wait I have questions”
“I don’t care. Respect our contract”
fuck she played me!
“good night Idra”
soon tiredness kicked in and Lis start to sleep dreaming of finally reaching home but also of the disturbed scene narrated by Idra. Idra was dreaming to, but she dreamt of massacres. Her body and mind were craving for blood, pain and suffering as the monster she is should be.