He hadn't expected Kyò to have let him stay after hours, but maybe she felt more sympathetic toward him lately. That, or she thought he would get more work done without a certain interloper in the way.
He noticed the session still recording when he arrived. IЪel stopped caring about energy conservation, or did he REALLY not trust Thyathyrec?
Whatever. Let somebody else fish through hours of dialogue and noise for scraps of absolute tripe. Hopefully it would help delay anyone finding out about that embarrassing row with Piaròmine, too.
Yrakc perked up immediately when the exterior door creaked open and Thyathyrec entered the observation chamber. Even Ųòmel had retired for the evening, so she hadn't expected anyone, by the look on her face as she quickly pulled a blanket over herself despite sitting behind the screen.
Thyathyrec sensed something wrong and turned away. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything!"
She relaxed somewhat but in his peripheral vision, he could see that she kept a tight grip on her blanket. [I was just changing,] she explained, perhaps feeling less self-conscious since Thyathyrec had shown up instead of anyone else.
Huh. [They've let you have your clothes back?]
[I guess they wanted to know how it fits.]
[Are you decent?] he asked, after a few moments.
[I'm dressed now.]
He turned to see her wearing a complete flight suit, with the skirt thing he'd seen before wrapped about her tail. [You cover your tail?]
[Do you not cover your arms and legs?]
It hadn't occurred to him that a species would want to cover their tails. [Does it get cold? Your tail?]
[Not as much, but it DOES get dirty, and also the hole for my tail otherwise partly exposes my behind.]
Tank tops and short shorts popped into mind, exposing armpits and bikini lines. [Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. I guess we wouldn't have thought about that since we humans don't have tails. Why is your tail cover a separate piece?]
[Why are your shirts and pants separate pieces?]
Thyathyrec tilted his head in confusion.
[It makes more sense to have a separate garment for tails, since my people have different sizes of tail. So my flight suit is one size, but my tail sleeve is another size entirely. This one is for casual wear, though, not for spacewalking, since the tip is exposed. I would use a full suit for my full body if I had to leave the ship.]
This was an interesting tidbit, even if IЪel would roll his eyes at it. Not that Thyathyrec had come here to make IƁEL happy.
[Anyway,] he started, [I wanted to come back after the rush.]
She smiled at him. [Glad you're back.]
Yrakc had a curious expression for what Thyathyrec had expected. [Sorry about all of – THAT, earlier,] he apologised.
She shook her head. [What's to apologise for?]
[You being caught up in all our stupid drama.]
Yrakc shrugged. [Reminds me of my youth. Love was SUCH a big deal back then.]
He raised his eyebrows at her, surprised at her lack of reaction. [Nothing to say about why Piaròmine was specifically yelling at me?]
[I mean, I assumed something was the matter with you from the moment I first saw you. I'm sorry it's terminal, of course, but that just explains why you're so short-tempered with that angry one. I'd be mad, too, if my last days alive were spent getting told I can't do anything, or being allowed to do anything.]
He snorted. [What's worse is he's SUPPOSED to listen to ME, but he knows I can't do anything to stop him.]
[Does your boss know?]
[Our còlithyizin?] Thyathyrec made an exasperated face and threw a hand up in disappointment. [Sometimes I wonder if he even knows we're still here, or if this is some bizarre Ròlth of the Pryis experiment.]
[A what?]
[Oh, sorry. An experiment where we're set loose to do whatever, just to see what we do with no supervision. Still, I thought having a LIVE ALIEN would have interested him even a little...]
Yrakc gave a confused smirk. [So, what will you do?]
[What I can. Hopefully, see to your care as best I can.]
[That's sweet of you,] she whispered. [I'm sure you've accepted your own death, so I get the feeling you'll be fine. All I worry about is what will become of me once you're gone.]
Thyathyrec felt a knot in his throat, eyes watering. He had to free her, somehow. Even if they had nowhere to go, anywhere had to be better than this eternal prison. If only...
"I need to make a list," he whispered, to Yrakc's piqued curiosity.
"Eh?"
[I'll think of something.] He straightened his back, conspicuously coughing. [I will ensure that your life will be the best I can make it.]
Yrakc raised her eyebrows further, hopefully getting his hint. [Do you mind explaining things?] she asked, changing the subject. [I want to understand what happened.]
Thyathyrec sighed and glanced toward the camera. He didn't love the idea of his sins being recorded for posterity, or giving IЪel even more ammunition. [I wish I could tell you without everyone else knowing. It's too dangerous.]
[What danger?]
[If it only hurt me, I would gladly tell you, since it's not going to hurt me for much longer. However, it means hurting others, which it will if I tell you, since even if they don't necessarily understand word for word what we're saying off the cuff, they will eventually translate it and find out. I don't want to lose you yet.]
The whole truth was SOMEBODY would have to suspect Lyiyn's involvement in the raid, since how else would he have managed to find him in time? As it stood, they could both explain it away as Lyiyn suspecting Thyathyrec of something and following him, rather than them going together to carry out their plan. He wasn't about to give them reason to reconsider Lyiyn's loyalty.
"You're still here?"
Thyathyrec jumped, calming down only when he realised it was Mylikò. "I figured I would lay low for a bit. Why are YOU still here?"
She shrugged. "Similar idea. Also, I wanted to let Yrakc change, but I didn't get to see her before Ųòmel-cy retired and kicked everyone out."
He nodded in appreciation. "Thank you for that."
"Ooo!" Mylikò looked at Yrakc's fresh clothing change, trying to see her tail cover in particular. "So that other bit is for her tail? Neat!"
"Did you get the samples you wanted?"
"No," she protested, pouting and shaking her fists violently. "Even after all that earlier, she suddenly stopped cooperating with us. When we tried to draw blood or give her a sedative to administer the tomography without risking anyone else's safety, she skittered away and wouldn't let anyone touch her."
"You can't force her down?"
She threw her hands at her sides in bewilderment. "She does this parkour thing and jumps off the walls over us, or climbs up where we can't reach her."
Thyathyrec raised an eyebrow, turning to Yrakc. He half wished he could have seen her moves. [Why won't you cooperate with the others? Earlier, you agreed.]
[I don't see why I should,] Yrakc protested. [Just more poking and prodding, and I don't benefit at all.]
"Eh?" Thyathyrec raised an eyebrow at her, not having expecting this response.
"What?" Mylikò demanded, "Tell me what she said!"
"She doesn't have a reason to help us." Before Mylikò could lodge a complaint, he continued, "I don't blame her, actually. She's just going to die in captivity, because the colony isn't going to trust her enough to let her go free, and we aren't doing much to make captive life all that enticing."
She considered this, tapping her foot and thinking. "What does she want, OTHER than to go free?"
Thyathyrec turned back to Yrakc expectantly.
[I've tried an experiment, if you will.]
Interesting. [Go on.]
[The first person who spoke with me after you left, I asked what I could do to help—if there was something that I could do to contribute to your society.]
[And?]
[He said that based on the data you lot have gotten from me and my ship so far, he didn't think there was anything I could do specifically, that your current goal was to study me and that's it. I asked the same thing of the second person who came along later.]
[What happened with that one?]
[He stared at me for a while and played with his funny hat, not quite sure what I was saying. I even tried drawing some pictures to illustrate my point, but nothing.]
[Who was this? I thought most of our staff was up to speed on your language, at least enough to get a general idea.]
She thought for a moment. "...Ahfiamiďiec-xu."
Thyathyrec laughed. [He isn't a scholar. I bet the higher-ups were just checking on our progress.] He crossed his arms, glowering. [Figured he would FINALLY show up when I wouldn't get to see him.]
[That hat was ridiculous,] she noted, smirking.
[Yeah, well.] Thyathyrec shook his head in amusement. [Anything to distract from his balding spot, I guess.]
Yrakc thought for a moment. [In any event, the next person, the one with the hat man, that one just shook his head, like he didn't believe me.]
[Who was that?]
[IЪe-ku. The angry one.]
This time he scowled. [Unfortunately, I don't think IЪel wants us to have anything to do with you or your race.]
[What did I do to him?]
[You disproved a lot of his beliefs about the universe, I think.]
She pouted. [That's not my fault.]
[I know, but sometimes people don't want to believe that it's not.] Thyathyrec pondered on this. [He also might be mad that HE doesn't have you all to himself, that others of us are making more progress.]
Yrakc scowled. [How could he? All he does is come by sometimes and yell at you.]
Sigh. [He's taking over my job, which is to manage everyone else.]
[Why? It's YOUR job.]
[He thinks he should have it. To be fair, he IS doing a good job, other than yelling at me. I'm in no position to go walking around to every station and monitoring their progress. So I let him do it, but he likes to overstep and try to tell me what to do. Nobody can really stop him, either. I can't—he just takes one step away, and he's out of my reach.]
[Bully!]
Thyathyrec shook his head. [At any rate, it reflects on us if you don't cooperate, I hate to say, especially if it was IЪel who showed up with Ahfiamiďiec and not me. Then again, if it means Ahfiamiďiec will finally hand the reins over to IЪel instead—]
Thyathyrec froze as he realised what that would mean.
[—then I would lose any access to you at ALL, because IЪel would be in charge, not me.]
They both looked at each other in dismay at the implications. If he was going to do anything, it needed to happen SOON.
"Well?" Mylikò asked, expectant.
"She says she asked others how she could help, and the others didn't give her good answers, so she's hesitant."
"Hey, I'll gladly take her help! Screw those other guys!"
"We're still not giving her anything back. Food and shelter isn't much compared to what we're taking from her."
"I mean, what else CAN we give her?"
Thyathyrec blushed a bit. "...me?" he mumbled.
Mylikò blinked at him for a moment, then started giggling. "Should I leave the two of you alone, then?" she teased.
He wondered how much Mylikò had understood, of both his conversation with Yrakc and of his feelings. "I can't stop you if you want to stay," Thyathyrec admitted.
"Well, I could use the practice, but as curious as I am, I'm also wiped out." She stretched, doing some twists and arm reaches. "Don't have too much fun without me! I'll be watching your records for juicy stuff!"
He smirked. "We'll be sure to say lots of nice things about you, and lots of naughty things about IЪel!"
Mylikò cackled in utter delight. "I look forward to it!" With that, she stepped out, and Thyathyrec and Yrakc were finally alone again.
Despite his joy, he needed to focus on the immediate issue. [What did Ahfiamiďiec say to IЪel? Anything?]
Yrakc thought on this. [His tone sounded like the equivalent of patting IЪel on the head, I think. He sounded vaguely interested but not impressed. Maybe he thought I was a fake?]
Hmm. [It's possible he's interested, but it's like showing off a new pet. Since you're effectively a civilian without a working craft, you can't give us anything more than general information. After a while with nothing to show for it, even the most excited of us would get bored of you.]
[Not you, though?]
Thyathyrec found himself staring into her suggestive, warm eyes, mesmerised despite everything. "Er, ah..."
Yrakc smirked with mischief.
[Well, I like talking with you,] he admitted. [I feel comfortable around you in ways that are no longer true of my fellow humans. Still, we might not have a lot of time left, especially if you remain uncooperative and IЪel takes charge.]
She sat with her knees bent and rested her crossed arms on them, curling her tail around her as she lay her head on her arms. [What do you want to do?]
[I mean, I'd LIKE to do a lot of things, but...] Here, he cringed and gestured generally toward his leg.
She rolled her eyes. [What do you want to TALK about, then?]
He thought on this. [It feels like we've exhausted any surface level discussion. How about you tell me about your life before coming here?]
Yrakc started to tear up.
[Ah, if it's not too painful?]
[It's fine,] she muttered. [I was just feeling nostalgic. It also helps feeling like I actually had a life before this, rather than my whole world being a test experiment for you lot.]
Thyathyrec smiled. [If it comforts you, then.]
She sighed in what must have been love, but then her face quickly fell. [I did experience a war back in my homeland, when I was barely a teen. There were civil riots due to the government mishandling something or other—I don't know the exact details since I was so young. My – family friend Cenni and I escaped, but my family did not. My father was even blamed for causing the war, but Cenni maintains that he was innocent. Unfortunately, nothing I could tell you about our war would help with yours. I heard the angry one talking about the next grid over.]
Grid? Maybe she meant the opposing province raiding the colony for resources. [That's fine. I, at least, didn't expect you to need to help us.]
[It would be nice to help, though. I don't like that we went through war for no good reason.]
[There usually isn't a good reason for war.]
[Anyway, Cenni and I were refugees, and we escaped to Cenni's sister's hometown. Sdhòlmi provided us with a house, where we lived until I joined the space program and came here.]
[What did you do between arriving at your new home and joining the space program?]
[I was still very young, so I went to school. There, I met the father of my children and my husband.]
Thyathyrec thought back to her earlier comment. [Those are two different people?]
Yrakc smiled weakly. [You were paying attention, huh.]
[I don't want to pry.]
[It's fine. As I said, we were young. Things were so complicated then. Even your problems seem like nothing compared to what we went through, and I'm not exaggerating.]
Thyathyrec found that hard to believe, considering what HE went through, but he didn't want to argue. [So, I have to assume your children's father – passed on?]
Yrakc was quiet for a curiously long moment. [I want to believe he hasn't, but...]
[But how wouldn't he have? What happened?]
She looked away. [As I said, it's complicated. The stupid part is my stupid belief led me to enlisting in the space program to – look for him.]
Thyathyrec blinked. "What?"
[I...] She scrunched up her face. [I said it was stupid. There's no logical reason he would be out HERE, but I came here anyway. To space, and—accidentally—to another planet I didn't even know existed.]
He thought on this for some time. [You really loved him THAT much, huh?]
She nodded, on the verge of tears.
[What did your husband think?]
[Kòdhylò? He absolutely married me for companionship. Both of us loved him, and both of us knew what he had gone through, so Kò wanted to be with me to help me with my loss – and my children.]
[Yet your love was so strong, you abandoned your family on the fleeting hope your true love was out here, somewhere.] It really did sound complicated.
[I'm such a horrible mother, leaving my young children behind,] she moped. [Why did I leave...]
Thyathyrec felt his heart shatter in ways he had never expected. He wanted anything to alleviate her sorrow, but he had too much of his own, besides the literal barrier between them.
"What am I missing?" Mylikò asked, a little impatiently. "I didn't understand half of that."
Thyathyrec jumped. "I thought you left!"
"I lied. I wanted to see what you'd get up to in here."
More than Thyathyrec expected, or wanted. "She's sad because she took this mission on a wild juc chase to find her presumed deceased lover, abandoning the family she had."
"What!" Mylikò cried. "Why would you do that, Yrakc?"
It didn't help. Yrakc turned and raced back behind the screen, squawking quietly again.
"Thanks for that," Thyathyrec muttered, sighing. That did it, he had to start setting up his plan.
