Claire:

  Claire and Lily were practically vibrating with excitement as they went out on their first foray into Tiquil, the Chirleen town that the Hospitallers were based in. Their time working the clinic had allowed them to meet many different faces and absorb much of the local's mannerisms and cultural quirks, but what effectively amounted to being quarantined on a job post had been stifling when there was a literal whole new world just beyond the HESCO walls and cloth flaps of the tents.

  They still had some restrictions; they were only allowed out in a rotation, they were ordered to use the Buddy System, and they were forbidden from leaving the town and venturing into the surrounding forests. But that was fine for them. As interesting as such exploration would be, they were currently far more interested in exploring the town, interacting with the locals and acquiring souvenirs. The Buddy System was a no brainer for any outing regardless of reason or location. Not only was it safer, but it made the whole experience that much better having someone to share it with and talk to.

  In the days leading up to their turn for R & R they had been getting details from other groups that had already gone out, giving the girls a list of places to visit and things to do.

  With the town being positioned at a lakeside and the locals being seafarers, they had an expansive shoreline. One that the Chirleen seemingly shared humanity's recreational appreciation for. They had a wide swath of beach head used expressly for visiting and playing in. It was here that Claire and Lily started their day, enjoying the warming sun and light breeze.

  "Though we are required to stay clothed to not cause any unintentional friction. Still... BEACH DAYYYY!! Sunning on top of the ship works, but it just isn't the same."

  Claire sighed happily to herself as she and Lily lay propped on travel cushions with rolled up pants legs and sleeves, absorbing the sun's gentle warmth while they watched the young Chirleen floof balls play in the surf and chase an inflated ball back and forth. The children's parents sat chittering to each other in groups around them. The Humans in town were known and accepted at this point, but they weren't quite fully integrated. So, while they weren't given the third degree or stared at in awe or suspicion, many of the locals still preferred to keep them at arm’s reach and not fully in the social circle unless curiosity or need arose. They had helped a lot, but they were still strangers.

  Even given that state of affairs, Claire felt that the Uncanny Valley would creep in and start throwing her perceptions off if she let it. The scene was just so... Normal. If it wasn't for the fact that they were surrounded by aliens the situation wouldn't feel out of place on any human world or beach.

  She continued to muse to herself as she watched the children play, then tried to smother her laughter as one of them got their ankles tied up and faceplanted into the sand before immediately being claimed by an incoming wave before they could get back up, leaving them sputtering sand and water as the wave receded again.

  Her efforts to restrain herself ultimately failed as the chick's playmates and parents erupted into laughter at its expense, along with Lily beside her. Though the two of them at least tried to be polite and keep it quiet. From the amused and accepting glances of the adults in the area, it appeared that they had succeeded in not offending anyone.

  "Ahh Haa! They are just so Adorable!!" Lily quietly squealed in between fits of strangled giggles, holding her hands as though squishing something and leaning in to bump against Claire's shoulder as if to bring her in on the joke.

  "They really are!" Claire giggled back before pausing to look around her, "Gods, I think this place would be an amazing vacation spot for travelers if we can make those relations stick. A lot of hurdles to clear yet, but... They are so much like us."

  Lily smiled and sighed before losing herself in thought for a moment, "I know what you mean. We even have similar and safe diets. I'll be honest. If we ever get some sort of embassy or something here, I think I am going to sign up for it. I love my job here, but... Being on the frontlines like this is so exciting! Just think about it. We are literally writing Human history right now!! If I got a Comms job at an Embassy here, I would have my fingers on the pulse of everything moving humanity forward in the galaxy! That is just... GAH!"

  Claire gave her excitable friend an amused side-eye, allowing her to bask in her fantasies for a few moments more before taking a snarky needle to her inflating dreams. "Oh, come on now. We both know you just want first dibs on the juicy new drama."

  Lily just snorted and giggled some more before turning theatric, "But it would be Drama with Substance! None of that empty, celebrity hot-topic crap. A girl has to eat, you know?" She finished with giving Claire a serious and stern stare, before both of them collapsed into another giggle fit.

  Once Claire finally got control of herself again, she gently smacked her friend on the thigh to get her attention, "Speaking of a girl needing to eat, got any ideas on where you want to head for lunch?"

  "Oooh, hmmm, Good Question. As much as going to one of the actual eateries sounds good, I think I want to go to their market and do a grand tour of the food stalls first. Back home those were always the places with the best food. I'm curious if the same holds true here. It should also be cheaper and less embarrassing if we don't like something as we can just walk away, and we would be right where we need to be to do our shopping."

  "Well look at you, thinking things through! I am genuinely impressed. Keep that up and you just might get that Embassy job after all."

  Lily feigned shock and grabbed at Claire's arm, "Hey! I may be a ditzy city girl, but I am no Bimbo. I can plan beyond the next shopping trip."

  Claire chuckled and pushed Lily's shoulder as she got up, "Says the girl who literally just ended her big plan with a shopping trip."

  Lily blinked slowly and her face went blank as she clearly replayed the last bits of conversation in her head before smiling sheepishly. "Oops. Sooooo... You wanna?"

  "Of course I do, ya goof. Now come on, let's get going before they sell out or we get the old stuff. They may be making things seem normal by using fresh caught and harvested stuff, but there are still supply shortages and only so much to go around."

  The two of them packed up their carry bags and waved good bye to the families nearby, getting respectful nods from the adults and enthusiastic waves and chirps from the frolicking children.

  As they made their way off the beach, Claire became aware of a background noise that was getting louder. She stopped to look around and saw that the families on the beach were doing the same, then pointing off into the distance. Claire followed their alerts and saw a dot on the horizon, growing larger by the moment.

  Lily had stopped to watch with her, shielding her eyes with her hand to see better. While they watched, the approaching ship changed course, vectoring in on their town. Lily let out a little, "Ah!" and her face lit up with recognition.

  "That must be the resupply ship we were expecting!"

  The two turned back to continue walking as Claire responded, "For us or the Chirleen?"

  "Umm, both... I think? Maybe? Their STC called a few days ago and told us the ship was in system but not what was going to happen with it. I guess it's a cargo lander? Wasn't expecting that, I thought they were going to ferry the cargo to us with a tug or shuttle."

  While they walked through town the ship came down on a landing approach to the outskirts on the opposite side of the town from their own ship. Lily frowned as she tracked it, "I guess there isn't enough room to land next to the Renatus?"

  Claire nodded, her knowledge of the local space being better due to her being out assisting the medical teams and needing to care for the dogs.

  "Yeah, that field probably wouldn't hold both ships safely, especially not with the HESCO perimeter and tents in place. But I don't know why they are touching down on the opposite side of the town when there is another field closer by. Maybe some of their cargo is going to a different location or there is some sort of regulation we aren't aware of? Do you recognize the make?"

  "Nope!" Lily replied almost too cheerfully with a skip. Claire had to laugh as she was reminded of her friend's almost complete aversion to what she vehemently considers "Boy Talk".

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Alright, Blondie. Let's go get some food!"

  Lily gave her a scowl before shrugging and skipping ahead to lead the way with a wide grin.

  ___________________________________________________________________________________

  Their time touring the food stalls was time well spent, and it got Claire's mind off the unexpected arrival of the ship. Which, given both Lily's knowledge and uncaring attitude towards it, wasn't really worth her time anyway.

  "The food, though, that was worth my focus. I had no idea some of these flavors were even possible."

  Using Galcom Credits that they'd set up an exchange for, they had started with fresh fruits, then moved to grilled fruits, mixed kebab like skewers, then found some sort of fresh baked sweet treats that reminded her of a cross between funnel cakes and fritters. Finally, they had moved on to the pure meat stalls. They first picked a fish skewer, then ended with getting a rotisserie that looked like some sort of frog analogue.

  They'd needed to stop with this stall as they had very nearly needed to have an incredibly awkward conversation after they had taken a bite and simultaneously blurted out, "Oh my Gods! It tastes like...!!" before catching themselves and looking guiltily at the stall owner before nearly dropping their food laughing. Claire had managed to play it off by telling the Owner that the food was amazing and reminded them of home, a statement the Chirleen had fluffed up his feathers in pride for. They had left right after, not wanting to risk having to explain what chicken was to a bird person.

  Their escape had led them to the other side of the market, where they went on the hunt for souvenirs and trinkets. They had only just gotten started with their search when the familiar noise of a grav drive started approaching from the direction of the new ship.

  The Chirleen made truck slide along quickly on its grav generator. It's open cab showing a Chirleen behind the wheel and a Ruulothi in the passenger seat, uncomfortably sitting with one leg in the well and the other above the dashboard, pressing on the outer edge of the windscreen and his right hand above it to keep the larger alien in place. The bed was long enough to hold three standard sized cargo containers locked into place with enough room left over on the back for the loaders to ride back and forth. In this case there were two loaders, both still wearing their loading suits with the claws clamped to the frame to hold them in place. The far loader was of a lithe looking reptilian race that Claire was unfamiliar with, the creature almost lounging in a relaxed state while waiting to arrive. The other...

  "That's... A human?!"

  Claire's brain ground to a halt at the unexpected sight, only jumpstarting again after Lily grabbed her shoulder and shook her, calling out, "Holy shit! That... That's the guy! The one from the news channel!"

  As Claire began taking in details again, she came to agree with the statement. A Human male, running around with Ruulothi, and wearing Warrior's Sash? It had to be, even his appearance matched what could be seen in the news video. The Ruulothi wasn't the same, but that didn't mean anything if they were on a Ruulothi ship, as it had been rumored by the News.

  The man showed a sharp awareness as he seemed to hear Lily's comment and sit up at attention out of his conversation with his compatriot. His head whipped around to find what had caught his attention, finally resting on Claire and Lily as the oddities and source of the voice he had heard.

  The women both got a bit of amusement out of his surprised expression, his reaction being a clear mirror to Claire’s own. Their smiles only got wider when Lily’s arm shot up and waved at him, only to get a hesitant half-wave combined with an expression that could only be described as, “What the fuck?”

  He recovered quickly and re-started his conversation with the other loader, though his head continued to track the pair until the truck passed through the market and rounded the corner.

  Claire shook herself and turned to Lily, “Huh. Well, that was something.”

  “Yup! I was right too. He is cute. Let’s go talk to him.”

  Lily put thought into motion and began following the truck until she was suddenly stopped dead by Claire’s hand grabbing her shoulder.

  “Ow, geeze. Easy there Grav-girl. What gives?”

  “We aren’t going to go and harass him. He has a job to do and will probably get in trouble if we go and distract him and the others. Remember that the Ruulothi are strict with their rules. Is that how you want to be remembered by all of them? The girl who kept getting in the way and stopping them from working cause she had a case of the hornies?”

  Lily recoiled and made a face at her, “A case of the hornies? Really? I just want to bump elbows with someone famous and important. He must have some amazing stories. From his ship being attacked, to bringing a Ruulothi Battlemaster home to visiting the Ruulothi homeworld! I mean, Come On!! He is a treasure trove of information. And he. Is. Right. There!”

  Claire kept her hold on Lily and turned her back to the market, where the locals were watching them. Some with open amusement, while others were trying not to be as obvious and respect personal boundaries as much as they could.

  “Uh huh, you’re wanting to bump something alright. The fact that he is cute doesn’t have anything to do with it at all, does it?”

  Lily sulked as she let herself be led back to their shopping trip, muttering under her breath about ungrateful, draconian, stupid fraternization rules and far too logical friends. Claire just giggled and pulled her into a hug.

  “Oh, you will be ok. Besides, there really isn’t going to be time for anything more than a passing conversation…” Claire paused and looked up, seeing something that could change the entire scenario.

  “Buuuutt… Maybe we could ask them if they think they could swing an interview with him and his mentor? You won’t be alone, but you can still get your fill of… ‘information’. You little drama queen.”

  Across the market, Holden and Finley from the CNBN team were just wandering into view. Finley had taken a subtle approach to recording while in town, choosing to use a low profile, shoulder mounted camera that was linked to a sensor in his glasses and followed where he looked. Holden appeared to be enjoying a trip out on the town, but her positioning was too perfect, always being in frame while she “showed” Finley around like she was a local.

  Lily took a second to find them and realize what Claire was talking about, then immediately came out of her funk and grabbed Claire’s hand, dragging her through the market to reach the News duo at breakneck speeds.

  Claire couldn’t help but laugh at the turnaround as she struggled to keep up. “For all her complaints about my grip, she can give and G-worlder a run for their money.”

  It didn’t take long for Lily to convince the reporters to try for an interview, as both became extremely excited at getting an exclusive scoop before any other network could even dream of getting involved. For them, this was the kind of thing that made a career for someone.

  On their way out of the market, Claire noticed a spreading nervousness among the locals. Some were on personal communicators, most of Galactic design, but a small few of Chirleen make. Small clusters of shoppers and stall owners were coming together like clusters of little old ladies back home sharing the latest worrying gossip.

  The marked change of behavior set off some alarm bells in Claire’s head, but she couldn’t find a source and figured that it was a local issue. “Maybe someone had gotten hurt or passed away? Gods know I have seen enough of that given our work with the local doctors.”

  It took them a few minutes to get to the outskirts of town where the Ruulothi ship was, and in that time they heard the truck come and go again at least once. So they were going to have to wait to get their Golden Interview, if they even could to begin with. But this also gave them time to work their way in and speak to the right people to facilitate it.

  The landing zone was an interesting sight. It was dominated by the Ruulothi ship, as was expected. The ship itself wasn’t quite as large as the Crucius Renatus. Then again, it was purpose built and not refitted like the Hospitaller ship, so that was also to be expected. The area around it was set up with emergency fencing to mark an outer boundary that contained a number of cargo containers resting just outside of the closed cargo bay. The boundary was enforced by several armed, patrolling security guards who had noticed the human group and were keeping an eye on them. Claire noticed that one of the guards looked suspiciously like the Ruulothi that the human had been with in the news broadcast.

  She brought this up to the others, which seemed to give the reporters a renewed flame. Holden and Finley openly approached the fence and waved to get that particular Ruulothi’s attention when he made his way around the perimeter. He stepped out of the perimeter and motioned for them to approach. They had a short conversation, which appeared in part to include some comm traffic on the Ruulothi’s part. The Ruulothi then stepped back into the perimeter and returned to his patrol, while the reporters returned with a pep in their steps and a grin on their faces.

  “We got it!!” Holden squealed when she came back, completely unable to hold her excitement in. “Ha Haaa! They are going to let us have a short interview when the deliveries are done! The ship is called the Wind Runner, and we are going to be able to talk to the boy, Conrad, his mentor Ruufarrl and the ship’s second in command, Voorkar. We should be able to get the skinny on both the Bloodclaw incident and potential, while at the same time getting a look into Ruulothi politics, operations and opinions on things. You two will be joining us, right?”

  “You think we are going to miss it?” Lily said, jumping to answer, her excitement just as visible as Holden’s.

  Claire shook her head at Lily and Holden and sighed. She looked at Finley with a forlorn smile, “Guess we have to be the responsible ones, right?”

  Finley snorted and smirked, “Oh, you have no idea.” Earning himself a side-eyed glare from his counterpart.

  “Conrad, huh? Looks like we already have one up on the rest of Humanity. Doubt many people actually know his name and what he is doing right now.”

  For all her ribbing of Lily, Claire really was just as interested in what was going on. She just chose to be more in control of herself. In a way, she knew that Lily knew that too. It was one of the reasons why they got along so well.

  The group stayed to the side, holding polite conversation and observing the Ruulothi crew’s actions. In the case of Finley, observing and recording as he had gotten limited permission for it, so long as he didn’t try and get inside the ship.

  Suddenly, Claire noticed a ripple shoot through the guards, each one reacting to something that she could neither see nor hear.

  “Comm traffic. What the heck just happened?”

  Claire turned to tell the others and saw that Finley had also caught on and had grabbed Holden’s arm in warning.

  Before anyone else could do or say anything, the ship’s engines started spooling up and the security detail began to scatter, clearing the area and getting to the buildings nearby for cover.

  Claire grabbed Lily in the same way as Finley had grabbed Holden and ran for the nearest building as the guards had done.

  “What the hell is going on!” She yelled over the roaring engines. The ship starting to take off now and heading out over the lake, leaving its people behind.

  “We would need to ask one of them! We haven’t..!” Finley started, then a new noise joined the fray in the wake of the receding ship.

  Beeeerrrrnnnn Beeeerrrrnnnn Beeeerrrrnnnn

  Alarms and an impossibly loud intercom sounded from the other end of the town at the same time as each human’s wrist terminal buzzed a message.

  Beeeerrrrnnnn Beeeerrrrnnnn Beeeerrrrnnnn

  “Attention all Crew. Attention all Crew.

  Emergency recall and lockdown initiated. Emergency recall and lockdown initiated.

  All Crew return to ship. All crew return to ship.

  We are Code Omega. Repeat. We are Code Omega.

  All Crew return to ship. All crew return to ship.

  We are Code Omega. Repeat. We are code Omega.”

  Lily’s face went ghost white, her voice wavering and almost tiny in her terror, “Oh… Fuck.”

  Unidentifiable loud bursts of sound were coming from the direction of the lake, and Finley leaned out from behind the corner of the building to see what was going on. Claire, though, was confused.

  “What is Code Omega? Shouldn’t we be running back?”

  Holden looked at her in confusion, then nodded to herself, “Right, you were only able to go through the crash course. Code Omega is a code unique to the Hospitallers. It means that the shit has hit the goddamned fan. They are up the creek without a paddle in a warzone and have no backup or protection coming.” She gave Claire a dire look.

  “It means that the ship and crew have gone weapons free.”

  Holden looked suddenly at Finley as a deep explosion rang out. Finley came back from the corner and shook his head. “Don’t recognize the ships, I am assuming they are the Qazirxel they told us about. They just shot down the Wind Runner, but it looks like it should be able to crash land on or next to the shore. Ahh Shit, they're headed this way.”

  He stopped and looked at Holden, who gave him a knowing nod, and the shaking Lily and overwhelmed Claire, “You girls get going. Run, as fast as you can. If you can’t make it to the ship before they begin attacking, then at least take cover in a building or something. Holden and I have a job to do. RUN. NOW!”

  Claire’s instincts and backwoods, untamed world training kicked in. You didn’t argue when someone more experienced than you said to get out of dodge before the storm rolled in.

  She grabbed Lily and started running.