Doubts had plagued me about betraying Sagua, but if this Pelsyl would tell her everything if I backed out, that left me no choice but to go through with our escapade. I would be fucked to the high starlight, and that personal betrayal could get everyone up here killed; I needed to be long gone by the time the Watchers figured out what had happened. It was important that I went back, anyway, lest the tech be passed out to one side to kill the other. I wasn’t fond of my people after the darkness I’d uncovered, yet I craved to take a mallet to their thick skulls and try to fix them.
I could do a lot of good on Teska, even for the Pelsyl: I feel like I owe them for the life I stole, just a fair warning about permadeath! The people deserve the truth about Project Oceanhop and the afterlife, and there could be a peaceful solution to our disputes. The things the aliens do could give the world a makeover, rather than idly watching.
Keensty curled his lips back. “Throw your stupid little shivs. The nanobots will make it like you never did, but I know how to put your lousy ass down for good! There’s two of us, and one of you. We can take you, then you can’t tell anyone. Give me one reason not to just kill you!”
“Because I have an associate, who stayed behind for one reason. He’ll tell the Watchers everything if I don’t come back,” the Pelsyl responded, his voice calm.
“Keensty, remember what you said I was hiding? That cannot happen!” I transmitted to my best friend via telepathy. “We have to go along with this, at least until we find a way to…not.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Fuck you, trash-sniffing rodent! Don’t you see where you’re not wanted? Why the fuck would you work with us?!” Keensty hissed, his eyes darkened with hatred.
“Simmer down. Look, we could use the help, as much as I don’t like this alliance. Let’s try to find out who he is and what he knows.” I gave my best friend a sidelong glance. “It is a weird decision to partner with two Treysyl instead of stealing our thunder. I’d like to know your motives, because I’d hate to be complicit in something truly nefarious.”
The Pelsyl scowled. “My motives are that the aliens abducted all of us! We have a common enemy, and we have to get a message home, not to mention this tech. I’m more concerned about these Watchers and how easily they control us, for all time, in the ‘afterlife,’ than I am about the loudmouthed imperialists across the sea. Fair? That’s more than you deserve to know.”
“No, I don’t think so. If we’re going to work in tandem, we need to trust each other and communicate everything. It’s a huge risk to go against the aliens, and one wrong step could fuck our entire species: Pelsyl and Treysyl. So let me ask. Why work with us, if we’re loudmouthed imperialists?”
“Because you’re the closest to figuring out how to get off of this station, and I know when to throw my lot in with the winning fucking team. I want to get out of here. What right do those grayskins have to keep us here, huh? General Hrothl’s saying you’re traitors, and if that’s true, I figured I could approach you.”
“We’re not traitors. He is, and we’d never associate with the likes of you. This blackmail is…offensive to my character!” Keensty snarled. “You Pelsyl say we have a common enemy, then you had to fuck up our escape plans. None of your lot cares about the good of Aratakind. You’re out for yourself.”
The interloper pinned his ears back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were saving everyone. I could’ve just turned your sorry asses over to them, but I thought you’d be sensible. You’re hardly my first choice, believe me. Are you going to behave?”
“That depends on you. You haven’t told us anything about you.” I eyed the Pelsyl warily. “I’m Lucren, and that’s Keensty.”
“Name’s Ralto.”
“Well, Ralto, if we have to bring you in on this, fine. But you have to make yourself useful. You need to bring value to this mission and to be worth the insane amount of risk; else, you might as well spill everything to the Watchers now. We can’t afford any dead weight or trouble, so you need to buy some trust. What can you contribute that we’d want?”
Ralto appeared to be shocked by my gall, but he grunted after a few moments. “I’m a pilot. You need one.”
“That’s wonderful, but you couldn’t have been less specifics. Flying cargo planes or helicopters won’t help with alien spaceships. What kind of pilot are you? Because escaping doesn’t mean much if we crash and burn in ten seconds.”
The Pelsyl hesitated, as if there was something he didn’t want to divulge. “I was part of a classified stealth flying program, testing out spaceplanes. The only reason I’m fucking telling you is because, shit, they’re nothing compared to what these fuckers have. It doesn’t really matter anymore.”
“You’ve flown in space before?” I asked, brightening. “Okay, we’re getting somewhere. How many successful flights do you have under your belt?”
Ralto’s pupils darted away, and his frills puffed out with embarrassment. “Um…let’s just say I died testing the prototype. Not the point; I know how. I’m sure theirs have been tested aplenty.”
“That’s Pelsyl engineering for you,” Keensty scoffed. “They’re a lot better at blowing up planes than building them. They don’t have two brain cells to rub together to make a single good idea. I bet he’s strapped himself to a bomb vest under that fucking burlap sack cowl he’s got on.”
“Keensty, lay off. It’s not like you have any experience flying anything. That’s the closest to being qualified to take those birds off the ground as we’re gonna get up here,” I grunted.
Ralto’s gaze simmered, and his arm twitched under the cowl, like he had half a mind to impale Keensty. “Your friend has knowledge I need, but he’s making a good case for why we should cut him out of the picture. His personal vendettas are taking precedence over the clear logic of it all. Perhaps you should use your connection to that Watcher to get him isolated like a wild beast, Lucren.”
“That’s not going to happen, Ralto; he’s just trying to rile you up. You can ignore his mouth, if you’re fucking logical. We were doing pretty good sifting through their stuff before, so why would you want him off the team? Your own personal vendettas?”
“More that Keensty won’t cooperate or see past his own snout for ten seconds. His personality’s uglier than those fucking scribble-stripes between his eyes.”
I raised a hand to push Keensty back, while Ralto gave him a look that was goading him on. “I agree with hitting the Watchers from both sides of the station! We need to work together if we’re going to do this, and we’ll have to get more from you than maybe figuring out how to fly the ship at the end.”
“Funny how you think you’re in charge.”
“I think that without me using my connection to Watcher Sagua, she’s going to be on you in no time. Who else can just fucking ask the aliens for information, or maybe hope for their favor if this goes wrong?”
“Right. You need to keep that up. That’s the best way to figure out their shit: to have them tell you outright. To have an idea what we’re up against and how we can take them down. We need to stop their kidnappings. I mean, what a fucking violation of our autonomy. No one even knows we’re here!”
“We would be dead without them, but I agree that people on Teska deserve the truth. I don’t know why they don’t just tell us they’re out there. We could understand, and…things would be different. Look, Ralto, you’re clearly sneaky yourself. What we need is counterintelligence, which you have every reason to do for yourself. You hate Hrothl and don’t want him getting his hands in this, right?”
“Obviously.”
“Good. I’m sure Hrothl’s sniffing around our business too, and I promise, he won’t use the technology for anything less than world domination. We need you to throw him off the scent. We’ve got to make it out of here before he does.”
Ralto mulled it over, then straightened. “I can do that, happily. Fuck that guy. I’d shank that prick in his sleep, except it'd make the Watchers crack down on our little escape hatch. We don’t need tightened security. Leaving this place is far more important.”
“That’s what we all want. Going home and ditching these aliens.” We needed someone to work against Hrothl. This alliance might be a good thing, and I guess if I’m trying not to hate the Pelsyl, I could honor it. We both want to escape. I…I know she probably hates me, but shit, I don’t really want to “ditch” Sagua. “Oh, one more thing. You can’t bring the Pelsyl in on this. I hope you haven’t already.”
“What the fuck does that mean?!”
“It means everyone and their mother wants to get off of the station! The less people that know what we’re up to, the better. Someone’s bound to be a leaky spout and tell the Watchers, if they find out it’s not going to be their butt in a seat!”
“Yeah, you’ve got a point. I see which one of you is the brains of this outfit. Don’t worry, I run a tight ship. I haven’t brought anyone in that I don’t have to.”
“We know what we need to do. Share everything you learn with us, it could be crucial. Do we have a deal, Ralto?”
“Deal.” The Pelsyl trudged toward the door, glancing back at Keensty with a warning growl. “Don’t even think about going back on your word. I’ll give you up to the Watchers so fast, you won’t have time to pick your whiskers off of the floor.”
Keensty and I stared in a listless stupor for several seconds, as Ralto dipped out into the hallway and vanished. The last thing I’d expected was for the Pelsyl to find out about us, rather than all-seeing Sagua; I supposed of the two, the enemy test pilot was less hostile to the idea of us leaving this place. My mind was racing, left to consider everything he’d said and how our escape plans had changed in light of his inclusion. I was committed to seeing this scheme through to its end, despite my growing guilt at manipulating the Watcher’s kindness.
Sagua deserved better from an Arata than me, since I’ve been nothing but pathetic and a pain in her snout. She welcomed me into her home, gave me the unfiltered truth no matter what, and is trying to save our entire species. She’s not our enemy…
“I don’t like this one bit, Lucren!” Keensty ranted telepathically, worried that Ralto could’ve lingered to eavesdrop on any spoken conversation. “I’ll put up with it as long as I have to, since he’s got us by the balls, but just you wait. The second we get off of this station and lock in the coordinates for Teska, I’m gonna gut that smug bastard and string up his corpse. Fuck the Pelsyl.”
My eyes widened in alarm. “Keensty, calm down. You don’t have to kill him!”
“Oh, you really trust that fuck? He wants to give this tech to the Pelsyl to give it to their Hrothl! He probably is their Hrothl. You think he isn’t going to stab us in the back, as soon as we’ve served our purpose?”
“Ralto said we have a common enemy! Hrothl, the aliens; if he holds up his end of the bargain, maybe we could afford to have a unified front. Not have just one side getting the tech! This is about the truth, Keensty, and the truth is that the Pelsyl didn’t do the shit we accused them of. I’m done fighting for their fucking hate and LIES! We have to give Ralto a chance. We need him. He’s the only pilot!”
“I don’t care! One look at that guy tells you he’s as slimy as can be. I’m not taking chances with the Pelsyl getting everything they need to win the fucking war, just because you’re too soft to take one life. Choices have to be made for our survival. You can’t throw your loyalty out in the span of a few days, c’mon! Those are our people. It’s us or them. Who do you like more: Ralto, or me?”
“You, of course…it’s not like I like Ralto, Keensty. It’s…”
“Then don’t fight to save Ralto. That’s all I ask: pick me over him! You don’t have to get your hands dirty or anything. We’re in this together. Just distract him, like you distract Sagua—minus the sexual tension. Okay?”
“Fine, but you can’t make waves. Let me make this clear that I’m agreeing under protest.”
“I know, buddy. You’ll thank me later; that guy invited himself, unwanted, only to fuck us over. You can’t fall into the trap of sympathizing with them, whatever Sagua says. She lives in a different world, man. She doesn’t get it. She wasn’t scarred by it, y’know?”
“Sagua wants to understand. I tried explaining it to her, but that’s why she found out about the Mainbeam. She’s had her own struggles, even if they look different. Her kindness doesn’t deserve to be exploited.”
“All I asked is for you to make nice with a non-Arata who you’ve known a handful of days. She’s the warden standing in our path with crazy capabilities. That doesn’t leave us any choice, unless you want to stay here forever.”
“Of course not. I don’t belong here with all this crazy shit, and I never will. Now, I think I’d like to get some sleep, if I’m supposed to face her tomorrow.”
“That’s a good idea. We need to be sharper than ever with a Pelsyl in our midst. Good night, Lucren.”
“Good night.”
I groaned and fell back on the levitation bed, letting exhaustion wash over me the second Keensty was out the door. The punches wouldn’t stop coming during my time here, and I’d just agreed to turn a blind eye to a cold-blooded murder; plus, any options to back off of our escape machinations had been ripped away from me. The thought of facing Sagua tomorrow with this knowledge burdening my conscience burned me, but there was nothing to be done about it.
All I could hope for now was that the Pelsyl pilot would be the last puzzle piece we needed to pull this escape off.
A/N - 12! The Pelsyl pilot joins the team by necessity, which leaves Keensty quite unhappy and Lucren with an uneasy task facing Sagua with duplicity in his heart. Will Ralto help pull off the escape, or will the Treysyls be looking for any excuse to get rid of him? Will Sagua catch on to the plan before it’s too late?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!