Riina didn’t know why she felt so encouraged by Tim’s words as they tromped down the ramp and then began to crunch across the ice toward the small, agitated bunch of—humans. She grinned at Tim’s designation. He hadn’t quite embraced his own humanity.
The sky overhead was still dark and ominous, with flickers of light briefly appearing, then disappearing. There was an almost constant rumble underfoot, distant, but omnipresent.
Only the lights from their headgear cut decisively through the darkness. Her suit registered a serious level of cold, and she wondered how the small band was managing their long trek. Even a Garradian suit would begin to struggle over the length of time it would take them to reach human habitation once more. Did they have proper gear?
She wondered what they thought as their two points of light approached. When her light reached them, they’d formed into more of a wall of people, with one man—clearly their leader—at the center and facing them with his weapon lifted.
She held up her hands, hoping they could get close enough for the man to see that they were human, too.
Her suit could probably withstand a hit or two, but they’d still hurt. She hated getting shot.
“Don’t come any closer.”
The leader lifted his weapon warningly. Tim stopped and she did, as well, when they were side by side.
The man spoke in Arroxan Prime’s main language, but her suit was able to translate it quickly, thanks to Dr. Walker sharing his updates with them.
“I would like to speak to Dr. Walker,” Riina said. His condition would determine their next actions. If he’d been injured…well, that wouldn’t bode well for future interactions.
“He is fine.”
“Then he can tell me that himself,” Riina said, keeping her voice mild, but firm.
The man turned and gestured. The crowd shifted and Dr. Walker was shoved—not gently—into view.
“Are you well, Dr. Walker?” She spoke in Arroxan Prime. It seemed wise to try to keep tensions from spiraling out of control.
“They haven’t cut me open yet,” he said.
The group murmured and some shifted in place.
“Cut you open?” She tried to keep the surprise out of her voice. She’d seen no sign that they were cannibals.
“Haven’t you ever heard of an alien autopsy?” Dr. Walker asked.
“I have,” Tim said unexpectedly. He glanced at her. “One of Dr. Walker’s people showed me something called The X-Files.”
“We have no plans to cut you open,” the leader said angrily, “though it would be no more than you deserve for deceiving us.”
“I didn’t deceive you,” Dr. Walker protested. “That wasn’t us. Those are us. Totally different.”
“Dr. Walker is speaking the truth,” Riina said. “We are as unsettled by the arrival of the entity as you are. It is outside our experience.”
“I’m sure it will not surprise you to learn that we do not believe you,” the leader said.
“That’s Drun,” Dr. Walker said. “He’s a Fed.”
His tone said that explained everything and perhaps it did to him. For Riina? Not so much.
“Drun Marik,” Drun said huffily. “And I am not a Fed, whatever that is.”
“If you don’t know what it is, how do you know you’re not one?” Dr. Walker’s tone was reasonable, but there was definitely a hint of humor in it.
Drun spluttered for a few seconds, then said, “It does not matter. We came to the rendezvous in peace, and we were met with destruction. We do not know how widespread it is or if any of our people remain alive.”
“We observed concentrations of life signs as we entered your atmosphere,” Tim said. “We are not certain, of course, but it appears as if the entity is targeting what you call the Vorthari.”
“We don’t know what the Vorthari are, so we can hardly call it anything,” Drun said and then seemed to realize his statement wasn’t helpful. “But that is not relevant either.”
