“She didn't.”
The creature made a deep cooing sound at the egg that she felt more than heard. It wasn't loud, only so low pitched that it had a reverberating resonance in the large stone room. “Your ship is being refuelled. I will give you this story.”
“Thank you,” Alice said with a slight bow.
“You will most likely not be paid for your services, Wendy has most likely began running after the warning I sent her. Now for my gift. I am the Zarrix, long ago I was exiled, cast out by my people and denied my place among them for acceptable reasons. I did not wander long. What I had to offer your people when I arrived in your space granted me great wealth by your standards. Here I am left in peace, I have time and privacy so I can find a way back to my people, earn my seat among the tried elders. Do you understand?”
“Yes, your English is excellent,” Alice responded quietly.
“The ship is being refuelled with high grade Xetima. His systems are also requesting access to our outer hold so they can load provisions,” Lewis informed her through her cranial communicator.
“Open the outer hatch, leave the inner one sealed,” she replied mentally.
“I'll tell you when they finish.”
Zarrix cooed at the egg one more time and carefully replaced it in the stasis tube. “I was forced to learn your most common tongue. Translators don't understand our languages. I will continue. Years were spent searching for a way for me to use resources gathered here to earn my way back from exile. There was no progress for a very long time. Someone from home, a person who still holds me in high regard, did contact me some time ago.
They told me that many of your people had visited one of our host worlds. This is an act of damage.” The creature looked up at the ceiling for a moment, making a clicking sound then looked to Alice. It was hard for her to look him in the eye but she tried not to flinch or grimace, Alice was sure he could see a negative reaction even though they were in very dim lighting. “Our host worlds are places of great life we bring many, many hatchlings to before they are at the age of consciousness. We leave them there with nothing, only each other and the resources of that planet. They learn nothing of technology, of speech, of culture or society until their first armour has been torn away and the second has grown in its place. Many years pass. It takes time for our young to reach true conciousness. People like you visited one of our host worlds and stole some of our young, a large act of damage.”
“I didn't know anything about that, I'm sorry.”
“I do not smell them on you. Innocence or guilt is not in question,” he said as he brought his deadly hands together and scraped the bone segments together then slowly drew them apart. It was some kind of gesture, she decided to try and remember it. “I continue. My people were furious but did not go after them at first. They had to destroy all life on the host world so it could grow back pure. Once that had been done and the first grieving had been observed my people went in search of their lost children.
Much time had passed by your people's thinking and they had taken what is most important. The computer storage you have returned to me has all of our essence and the work they did with it inside. From us they created another kind of life, a kind dreamed about by your ancestors. Do you understand?” He asked quietly.
“They modified your essence, your DNA so it became something else?”
“Yes, you call it dee en ay. I had forgotten. I continue. These eggs are not bred by us. They are the result of human meddling. I have seen what they brought to be and I can not help but be amazed. Your race activated sleeping aspects in our people, twisted them just enough and created a new species. In your society it was a triumph for a short time, they were going to sell them. My people heard of this and went into space. They hunted them down and destroyed the laboratories. They killed everyone they found there and returned home when grief was fully satisfied. I thought the matter was done and in my lonely home I was relieved. Years passed. Your employer found a ship with these things,” he gestured to the stasis pod and the crates between them. “A group of humans managed to salvage all materials left from human meddling and their ship failed. I outbid all and demanded she come here with them. She knew it was dangerous for her ship. Your failure lies between my home and hers.”
“You mean the Eden system.” Alice pointed out. It was true, without a wormhole generator anyone who wanted to journey safely around it would have to travel much longer.
“Yes, your failure with machines. She hired you and you brought it all to me. My place among my people will be restored. There are some powerful Edxians who did not find grief satisfied. They see your people as a plague, as mere mammals for breeding and food. You have a word for this,” he looked up and made that hollow clicking again.
She didn't want to say it, the thought was appalling, terrifying. “Cattle,” Alice managed quietly.
“Yes, you are cattle to them. I understand this, your kind are soft, succulent, but also have value while living. I continue. My purpose is to present these things to my people and they will decide that grief was not satisfied completely. I will be restored after presenting this evidence and will rejoin my family. Many of my people will go to fight, either to satisfy grief or to gather cattle and return home. That story, fuel, information and food are my gifts and thanks. You have done better than I expected. Your people are often clumsy.”
“Thank you. I appreciate everything you've given me and wish you luck.”
Zarrix stared at her for a moment, opening and closing his hands with a long scraping sound. “What is luck?” It sounded more like a statement than a question.
“It's good fortune, finding or accomplishing something with very little effort.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
“I'll go back to my ship and leave as soon as I can. Thank you again,” she said clearly and politely. From the way he spoke about humans she didn't want to turn her back on him. It sounded like she could easily become part of his diet, but she did turn away and started walking towards the large double doors.
“Stop,” he said calmly.
Her heart sank and she tried not to appear terrified as she looked at him.
“You are respectful. I smell fear but see none. Of humans I've met you are one of the few who deserve what I can give,” he stated, holding one hand up and pointing a single clawed thumb at the ceiling. “If you have family near Ara Enormis you should gather them and find other stars. You must run human. People of your kind will call our need for satisfaction war. You will retaliate and more grief will be observed, satisfied.”
“Thank you, I will take your advice,” Alice said before turning and walking straight out of the mansion. The cargobot was right behind her.
A Poor Cell
Finn kept a constant watch, looking out the small porthole in the ceiling of the bunk room. He had been fishing for a fine electromagnetic adjuster in his footlocker when the ship was hijacked and was sealed in with Price and Ramirez. Sometime later their captors had taken the gruff boarder then returned him hours later with a hole in his leg. Price and Finn decided then that they couldn't wait for the Captain to save the ship.
“What do they want?” Asked Finn as Price dug through his bunk drawers for something.
“They want the Captain. Some guy named Lucius Wheeler, he knows all about him from before the Samson. The bastard made Captain watch him shoot me then just left me there lying on the bridge. It's like he forgot about me completely while he went on with his business.” Ramirez's resilience was astounding, he wasn't complaining, he was angry. It was more of an impassioned accounting of wrong doing than whining about his condition.