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“Yeah, it was the main body of the ship that exploded. We got into the escape pod and were able to clear the detonation before it happened. We thought you were dead. What happened to you? We tried to make contact with you. Almost lost the application to register the planet because we couldn’t get a voice recognition from you. Steve had to…” Kurt lowers his voice. “You know.”
I do know. He did what plenty of unscrupulous people have done over the years. He faked the paperwork.
“The Survivorbox burned down,” I explain. “The beasts on the planet looked after me, and then I was abducted by an angry alien who considers this planet sacred. You guys have fucked up.”
“We’ve become billionaires, actually.”
“Okay, yes, but are you going to be able to spend any of that money dead? The alien who took me is an advanced version of the wild ones that live here. He has a destroyer in orbit. We need to get everybody into a bunker if you have one. He’s going to launch an attack and wipe all this construction out. He does not like concrete. Loathes it.”
Kurt and Steve look at one another. I can already tell they’re not going to take me seriously.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, at that moment, Volt takes a pot shot at the planet. Outside, the parking lot they’ve been building explodes into its composite parts, forcing them to fling themselves around the place with great and destructive exuberance.
“Evacuate!” Kurt gives the order. Nobody fucks about. Concrete is usually the most stable and boring thing in the universe. That’s why humans put it in places they need to keep stable and boring. If you don’t want things jiggling around about the place, sinking or rising, or generally being unpredictable, you use concrete. Volt has turned all their expectations of the stuff on its head. He knows how to make a point.
Kurt, Steve, and the construction crews all disappear into the underground survivor bunker. The Vulpari could see it on their scans. It is supposed to provide protection from unexpected weather and war events on far-flung planets. It’s basically a very big version of the survival shelter I inhabited until it burned down.
“We finally see you again and the world explodes,” Kurt says ruefully. “Typical Penny. I knew you’d be somewhere. I knew you wouldn’t let any real harm come to you.”
“I didn’t have much choice in any of that,” I reply. Sitting here with Kurt and Steve makes me feel as though I have been thrown backwards in time. I feel like the person I was all the way back then, but only superficially and temporarily. Thoughts of Volt keep invading my mind, stopping me from slipping into an easy calm relationship with my old crew.
“How is Bilbo?” Steve asks the question with no small amount of trepidation.
“He’s well. He’s in the alien’s custody.”
“So you’ve been abducted by someone who lets you out for walks?”
“I was abducted by someone who sent me down here…” I agree, trailing off. I don’t want to tell them why I am here, that I am bound to betray them because my alien master has commanded me to do so. “You have to give this planet up. He’s going to exterminate you for what’s being done here.”
Kurt waves my objections away. “We have paperwork stating this planet is ours. We have development permits. Don’t worry, we’ll allow five percent of the planet for heritage preservation, as is tradition.”
“You don’t understand. The Vulpari don’t care about our human permits. They hate us. He will destroy everything you’ve done here and he’ll kill you both.”
Steve and Kurt look at one another for a second, as if they’re maybe considering listening to me.
“We’re going to sit tight and wait for the military forces we sent for to engage. The aliens won’t be able to get us in this bunker. It is rated to withstand an actual supernova. They’d have to deploy enough energy to destroy the planet in order to make a scratch in this thing.”
Kurt looks so smug and satisfied. He has no idea that I’ve been sent in here to open the door, to betray them from the inside.
My loyalties have never been so tested, or so torn. On the one hand, I guess I want to escape Vulpari captivity. I want to return to the world of humans. On the other hand, Kurt and Steve will legitimately destroy every wild one on this planet. They will never survive on five percent of their environment. I know that if I don’t make the humans leave, there will be a takeaway chain selling hamburgers within a month.
“You need to go,” I hiss. “The Vulpari know how to open the doors to these things. As soon as they gain entrance, they’ll slaughter you all.”
