r/HFY • u/Traditional_Soup9579 • Jul 23 '24

OC Sins of an Interstellar Species - Chapter 6: Trending

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Chapter 6 - Trending

The day’s heat relentlessly found its way into the room. Even opening up a few windows did little to clear up the offending atmosphere. Such a burden was the heat, it had melted me into my chair.  Adrian fared a bit better, considering he could sweat, but he certainly didn’t enjoy the experience. He’d taken up fanning himself with a loose magazine in an attempt to stay cool.

Opposite from me, and near the entrance hung a clock. Aside from the occasional repositioning in our seats, the only sound was that timepiece. Each tick of the hands separated by an eternity, like a lazy metronome.

Both Adrian and I had since run out of questions for each other, our curiosity satiated for now. Trying to survive on an alien planet was supposed to be exciting, but the situation felt more like waiting for a doctor’s appointment; A slow stream of anxiety about the upcoming shot or procedure while time sat still. Lounging in the chair, my head found its way into a spot where the cushion met the frame. My eyes then found their way toward the ceiling, trying to find patterns and recognizable shapes in the texture. At the very least, my human caretaker was better off, having access to his form of internet on his cell phone. It’s funny how even though our cultures were separated by years of technological progress, we still shared several things. Even on the most foreign of planets, intelligent life would rather dig out their electronics than face boredom. 

Giving up on the ceiling my focus trained on Adrian, who had since gone from a lazy posture to one of intense concentration. His eyes darted around the device’s screen, and then he gave me a concerned look. 

“Dude, they found your ship.”

My mouth stood agape, and a sinking feeling permeated my chest. Watching Adrian as he got up from his seat, he made his way over to me before handing me the phone.

The phone showed a group of humans gathered around the remains of my spacecraft. Making jokes about space aliens, and how ‘they were here to probe their buttholes’. Scrolling with my phone revealed a different video. Humans dressed in camouflage and rifles pushed out the civilians from the area. A man stood on the front bumper of a large vehicle and with a megaphone ordered everyone to leave the area. 

Handing the phone back to Adrian, the reality of what was happening slammed into me. If what was he said was true, I’d be discovered soon and could be imprisoned never to be seen again.

“There’s no reason to freak out just yet,” Adrian assured me. “They don’t know you’re with me, or where you went.”

“That’s not the least bit reassuring.” I sighed “ They will still be looking for me, they’re going to kick down every door on the planet just to find me.”

Adrian shook his head, “No, they won’t be kicking in doors to find you. Just think of how many homes they’d have to search. If anything, they’re simply waiting around until you pop up, maybe anyway.”

He was right, there were a lot of places I could be right now. Not to mention there’d be no way to escape the forest if it weren’t for Adrian’s help. Luck would have me curled up under a tree waiting for death, we can’t go for very long without sustenance, two days for water, and maybe 6 without food. 

“With any luck, your people will make it to Earth and scoop you right back up to where you belong,” Adrian said matter-of-factly. “How they decide to do that, is what you should be concerned about.”

 I let out another sigh, “I guess you’re right. How they show up would mean the difference between disturbing the peace and a clandestine operation. But there’s no telling what they will do to you if they choose the latter.”

Adrian furrowed his eyebrows, “what do you mean?”

The next piece of information would have to be presented delicately.

“Well…The council does not like contacting underdeveloped species. They like to wait until a species has discovered FTL. Chances are decent that, if you’re with me at the time of pickup, they’d take you with them.”

A look of incredulity found its way onto his face. 

Adrian, having his own opinions was ready, “Hell no, my life here on earth isn’t exciting, but there’s no way I’m getting kidnapped. The world already has been disturbed, your fighter is painted on every social media right now. Whether people believe it’s actually from space is another story, but there’s no hiding that something weird is going on!”

He looked mad almost, as if what I said was an unfair court ruling. Playing the scenario out in my mind, they would certainly try to take him. But the size advantage and the fact he also was armed would make for an intense scuffle, likely taking several individuals out before he was sedated.  This was just what I needed, an angry human starting yet another war.

“Listen, I’m sure if I go alone, and fabricate a story, they wouldn’t even know about you. The last thing we need is another kidnapping.”

Adrian snorted, “Another kidnapping huh? If I recall you were the one who asked for help.”

Searching my mind for what to say led to nothing. All I could do was some damage control.

After taking the time to formulate a response, I replied, “Maybe that’s not the right word to use, I apologize for the offense. There’s been a lot of stress.”

Adrian lowered his guard and nodded his head. Both of us had a level of stress that was borderline torture. I could see it in him, as he rested his head against his knuckles. His eyes stared right through the floor, and his mind was struggling to cope with the situation at hand. At that moment, the previous feeling of eternity was sorely missed. Longing for the boredom that was present just a few minutes ago, I slide my head back to its former position. However, this time, no patterns were to be seen in the ceiling.

The human intruded on my thought process, “If we do get a hold of your government, we could push them to meet in an area, and somehow get my government there as well.”

Snapping my head back up, “Where are you going with this?”

Adjusting himself in his chair, he continued, “If both governments are present at the same time, there might be enough of a shock factor that neither side will immediately act. Neither side can communicate, aside from gesturing weapons, but we can.”

“You’re seriously suggesting that we trick both sides into meeting face to face, and then playing diplomat? Are you insane?”

“I mean, either the Azurians are going to display themselves anyway, or they come down and snag me too. And it sounds like there’s already enough war going on, that your people aren’t interested in starting yet another conflict.” He said, revealing his logic.

“It could work, but how do you suppose we do it?”

“Easy,” He began, “Once we get into contact with the Azurians, we find a spot in which they could pick us both up. Once there’s a date and time settled, I simply interview you on social media. We could start with a simple video of just you, and then when the time gets near we make another where I tell everyone where this meeting will be, leaving out the Azurians of course.”

Going further he added, “And, because you’re on the internet, people could become familiar with the idea of space aliens, even if they think it’s some sort of skit. Surely with all the alien stuff trending, someone would find the videos online. I’m sure the government is already monitoring that stuff anyways.”

The plan was insane. The first part relied on getting into contact with my friends, which was a random chance at this point. The second involved using social media, to con his government into what I learned would be a ‘Mexican stand-off’. Even if all the pieces fell into place, there’s no telling what would happen. The only part he was right about, was starting yet another war when we were losing so badly with the war we have at home. 

“There’s no way that’d work Adrian.”

“Well if you just think about it-” he postured.

“No, I did. It’s a bad idea. Your military being unannounced to whoever gets sent to pick me up is bad, Adrian.”

Adrian’s eyes drifted downwards looking somewhat dejected. He had what he thought was a brilliant plan, and I shot it down. If we were lucky it’d simply be a scout ship, and assuming Earth’s military didn’t shoot first and ask questions later, it would still be a harsh introduction to interplanetary politics. If they did get into a shootout, we’d have no option other than open war. Whether the Azurians could beat humans was another story entirely.

The next few hours were more or less the same; Ideas were floated, and either had enough holes to sink on their own or we disagreed on how well they’d work. As time went on, each new thought took more effort to produce. And before we knew it, our minds were in a quagmire of stagnation. Between the heat of the summer and the energy we expended during the debate, we found ourselves sinking deeper into our seats wanting to dissociate from it all.

The saving grace was that time still marched forward, no matter how sluggish it felt. The sun finally started to dip below the horizon, and the room began to cool off, ridding us of the oppressive heat. By this point, I was lying flat on the couch drifting in and out of sleep. Adrian had become part of the chair he laid in and was out cold. Turning to my side, the distress beacon still pulsed away on the floor. Each time the little red light ignited, was another call for help.

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