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I don't know why this one took so long, but it did.
Anyway, things go from bad to worse, Leph says a thing, and Serleah's paws are (Metaphorically) tied.

Disclaimer: This chapter might upset someone, just be careful. (I don't know, I'm probably overreacting)
For some reason, whenever I write Feldoh into a scene I picture him in that goddamn Hawaiian shirt.

Edited: Spelling/grammar/phrasing/continuity fixes

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Serleah, Rackham and Feldoh sat around the conference table, desperately trying to think of what to do. Feldoh tapped his fingers on the table. “Before long, more of those… uhh… the computer says they’re called Colitisites. Anyway, more will show up to strip the ship or blow it up or something. Who knows how they think?”
“Well, I locked the loading ramp, so they can’t get in as easily.” Serleah said.
Rackham was a man of action, and he slammed his paw on the table. “I say we just fly the ship to wherever they went, grab em and run!”
Feldoh shook his head. “We can’t fly now, I haven’t patched the ship up yet. And without Zach it’ll take twice as long. Even a short atmospheric flight will make the breach worse; besides, we don’t know where they’ve been taken.”
Feldoh thought for a moment. “Maybe we can sneak around or something? I don’t know.”
Rackham shrugged. “I’m not the plan type either. What do you think, Serleah?”
Feldoh turned to her. “Yes, you’re the acting captain now, what do we do?”
Serleah didn’t know. When she signed up for this, she knew she had to give all the commands in this exact situation, and she thought she was ready. But now she drew a blank. She turned away and faced the wall. “Huh… give me a second…”
What would Leph do? Probably crack wise and come up with a brilliant plan that would get them all killed, but pull it off in such a way that it didn’t. He was probably thinking of a way to escape now. Or he was being tortured for information… Serleah shook her head, now was not the time to let worry cloud her judgment. Feldoh looked at her curiously. “Serleah, are you alright?”
“I’m thinking! … Ok, the first order of business is to find out where they were taken and in how much danger they are. How do we do that?”
“Well… we can’t question anyone, we’d be making the cultural contamination worse. We could use the sensors, if they worked. Unless…” Feldoh said as he stroked the fur underneath his chin.
“Unless what!?” Serleah said as she leaned over the table intently.
“The escape pod, it’s basically a little shuttle, it’s got it’s own sensors and even weapons. It’s also designed to withstand reentry, so it wouldn’t have gotten damaged.”
Serleah clapped her paws together. “OK! That’s somewhere to start! Get on it, Feldoh! Rackham, you might want to explain the situation to the colonists.”
Rackham nodded as he and Feldoh stood to do their tasks. Serleah smiled to herself, she was getting a hang of this. She was about to follow Feldoh when two people entered the conference room, it was Teliko and Yar. Serleah crossed her arms. “What can I do for you kids?”
Teliko carried an air of confidence, and Yar stood behind her unsuccessfully trying to copy her surefooted stature. Teliko pointed at Serleah and declared: “We want to help!”
“Y-yeah!” Yar stammered.
Serleah didn’t have time for this. “Look, I know Leena is your friend, but I really need to concentrate, and I can’t be babysitting you.”
Yar went for the door. “Whatever you say.”
Teliko pulled him back. “We aren’t kids! We can be valuable to you. I’ve been told that I’m pretty smart, and even though Yar here is a coward and has a huge crush on you, he’s the strongest guy I know, barring Rackham, of course.”
Yar punched Teliko on the arm, then turned to Serleah. “You have to let us help…”
Serleah sighed. “Fine. But I don’t have anything for you to do.”
Teliko pumped her arm. “Yes! I’ll go help Feldoh with the sensors on the escape pod!”
She ran off, Serleah calling after her. “Wait! Do you know anything about that?!”
Teliko called back. “Nope!”
Yar watched her round a corner. “Let her go. She won’t get in the way… probably. She’s just worried about Leena… and the other two, of course.”
Serleah sat down at the table, a new respect for Leph’s job forming in her mind. “You don’t have to worry about Leena’s safety. Leph will protect her with his life, call it a virtue or a flaw.”
Yar hesitated for a moment, then sat down too. “Uhh… sorry for eavesdropping…”
Only half of Serleah was paying attention to him, the rest was developing rescue plan for if Feldoh found where Leph was. “Yeah, no problem. Maybe you can help me think of what to do.”
Yar looked surprised. “You don’t already know?”
“Hell no I don’t know! Leph usually handles this part. I didn’t sign up for this whole thing to almost get eaten by cultists, almost re start the war and crash land on an alien planet a probably get arrested for fucking up an entire culture and get my best friend, his mate and Zach killed.”
Serleah realized she was venting to someone she didn’t even know that well. She sighed. “I’m sorry, you don’t want to hear it.”
Yar tried to put on his best supportive smile, but ended up looking nervous. “N-no, it’s fine. But we should focus on… you know, saving everyone.”
They fell silent, deep in thought. Serleah looked at Yar after a while. “Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“Eyes up here.”

The cell was cold and damp, the floor made of some sort of straw. Leph, Leena and Zach sat on the dank floor, contemplating their fate. Leph threw some straw at the wall. “When do you think they’ll interrogate us?”
Zach shrugged. “I don’t know, but it won’t be soon. This is a tactic, like you see in the movies, let you rot a bit in the dungeon then interrogate you when you’re cold and hungry.”
Leena shivered, her body was not accustomed to the cold, as her sub- species mostly evolved in the hottest parts of Atriea. “Y-you’d think t-they’d treat us m-more like guests than p-prisoners…”
Leph went over to Leena so he could share his body warmth. He looked over at Zach. “Zach, get over here. You’ll freeze to death.”
“Nah, I’m good. Thick skin is as good as any coat of fur.”
The particular dungeon they were in was silent, save the occasional snore from the cell across from them and the shuffling from a nearby guard. Time passed slowly, and after a time the snoring stopped, and someone stirred in the other cell. The someone grunted and hauled himself into a sitting position. The guard must have been given the translation device, because the three captives could understand their dungeon mate. “Uhh… Guard! I’ve… *Hic* … Sobered up. Let me out…”
The guard was trying not to stare at the strange things in his cell, and he was glad to have something to distract him. “Er… No. You need to learn your lesson!”
“Aww… come on, Jadugarr! I… By the Stars! What are those!?”
The drunk was completely sobered as he laid eyes on the aliens in the cell next to him. The guard rattled the bars with some sort of sword. “Quiet! They are simply criminals, down here that’s all they’ll be.”
Leph waved at the drunk. He waved back, then fainted.

General Nephron stood in the capitol building’s yard, often used for training by the elite soldiers in his army; as such, many straw men were set up. Beside Nephron was his closest adviser, Zirrix, ambassador Buta, three of his most trusted captains and the herald. The had all gathered around a small table, on which sat Leph’s pocket pistol, small and unimpressive for any space faring race, but strange and potentially very, very dangerous in the wrong hands. Nephron studied it, and turned to his adviser. “I’ve never seen a firearm like this before, but you have more experience than me, what do you make of it?”
Zirrix took the energy weapon gingerly, turning it over in her hands. “It looks like no gun I’ve ever seen, sir. I don’t see any magazine, breech or hammer.”
“I say we test it.” One of the captains said.
Buta tapped his foot impatiently. “Yes! Enough standing around! Shoot the damn thing already!”
Nephron took the gun, his large hands making it look pathetic. “It’s very small, my finger dwarfs the trigger!”
He pointed it at one of the dummies, making sure his finger wasn’t covering the barrel. Nephron had trouble reaching the trigger, as it was designed for the more slender fingers of an Atriean. None the less, he found a relatively comfortable position, and pulled the trigger. A pulse of energy shot at an extremely high velocity into the dummy’s head, causing it to explode into a burst of fire and straw. There was a collective gasp from the audience as everyone stepped back, looks of awe on their faces. Nephron hastily put the gun back on the table. “What… What was that?”
Even Buta remained silent as the straw smoldered on the ground. One of the captains began to pray as Nephron turned to his adviser. “Zirrix, I want the best scientists on this right away, find out how that thing works and build me more of them!”
“Yes, sir! I will see to it personally!” She took the gun and walked into the capitol building.
Buta’s temper was slightly sated for the time being, and he continued staring at where the dummy’s head used to be. “Nephron… we may have stumbled upon something that will win us this war.”
“I think you may be right.”
Nephron produced a pocket watch, and glanced at the strange markings on it. “I think it’s time we get some answers. Captain Mannick! Bring the prisoners to the interrogation chamber.”
The captain bowed sharply and walked off quickly. Buta looked Nephron in the eye. “I suppose you’ll be preforming the interrogation yourself?”
The General nodded. “Of course, it has been too long since we’ve had a good interrogation, the public will think I have gone soft.”
“I look forward to it.” Buta grinned, something that did not happen every day.

Leph was quietly dozing against Leena, who tried her best to keep warm. The cell was so damp it had flattened her fur against her body, which didn’t help at all with her temperature. Even with Leph’s warm body draped over her, she couldn’t feel her toes and fingers anymore. Zach was curled up in the corner, snoring loudly despite himself, sometimes synchronizing with the drunk across from them. She shivered, hoping someone would come along soon. Leph stirred, changing position slightly. Leena looked down, and Leph’s mouth opened a small amount. “Mmm… yeah, I agree…”
“What? … Oh.”
Leena listened as Leph talked in his sleep. “… Good… There’s a high price on silver…”
His crazy ramblings made no sense, though it might have in the context of the dream he was having. “… You look really good today… Really good…”
Leena’s face flushed. Was he… dreaming about her? “…Love you…”
She smiled, if she was to die on this planet, or go to prison for a long time, she would do it happily. Leph’s mouth moved again. “… Rissa…”
She looked down abruptly, her face shocked into an expression of horror. Who the hell was Rissa? Her sharp movement caused Leph to awaken, his eyes fixing on her face. “… How long was I asleep? … What? Do I have something on my face?”
“Uh… no.”
Leph sat up slightly and noticed how cold she was. He took her paw, and for the first time since she met him, she didn’t know if she wanted him to. “Leena? Your paws are so cold, here.”
He rubbed her paws together, generating friction and adding his own heat. “You should have said something.” He huffed, “These people don’t know how to treat visitors.”
He stopped rubbing. “Hey, what’s the matter?”
She looked into his eyes. “Leph… Who’s Rissa?”
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “How do you know that name?”
“You… You talked in your sleep.”
Leph seemed worried. “What did I say?”
Leena glanced away. “Her name…” She lied.
“She’s… nobody. It’s not important.”
Leena knew she wasn’t getting the whole truth. It felt like she was getting only a shadow of the truth, in fact. “Leph…”
They were interrupted by three guards arriving and, quite loudly, slamming open the door. “You three! On your feet!”
Zach rolled over. “Five more minutes, mom…”
The guards hauled him up onto his feet. “Shut up, freak, it’s time for your interrogation.”
One of the guards hauled Zach off, and the other two seized Leph and Leena, who was in no shape to struggle. Leph, however didn’t make things easy, pulling and thrashing as they were dragged bodily off to wherever the nefarious deed was to take place. They weren’t taken very far, and soon were thrust into a room, which was suspiciously clean with three chairs in its center. General Nephron stood beside the chairs, holding a whippy tree branch, a rather thick one. The guards tied the three up, one of them handing over the translator, and with a nod from the General, they stepped outside. He cracked the branch. “Now, tell me what I want to know, and this will be easy.”
They stared him down. He began to pace the room, swishing his branch so that it whistled. “Where are you from?”
Leph glared at Nephron with fiery eyes. “We come from the Stars.”
Nephron lashed Leph’s arm, he jumped, biting his lip. “Where are you from?”
This time the General addressed Zach. “No.” He simply stated.
He received a lash. The General walked over to Leena. “Where are you from?”
Leena remained silent. Leph saw Nephron pull his arm back, and he briefly considered saying something. But he knew that if these people ever learned about the vast civilizations out there, it was impossible to tell what they’d do, be it reverse engineer their technology without first gaining an appreciation of what space was truly like, or blow themselves to oblivion. He closed his eyes as the switch made contact, the yelp he heard felt worse than when he had been hit. He opened his eyes, and the General was looking at him. “You care for this one.”
He hit her again. “I need to know where you are from.”
And again. “A place with such powerful weaponry, I must know how to get there.”
Again. “I don’t want to be doing this, but the future of my people depends on it.”
Smack. “People die every day, these rebels claim to want equality, but they really want my rule.”
Crack. “I must drive them back, and end this once and for all, and I need your power to do it.”
He held his arm back, Leena’s eyes were shut tightly, tears streaming down her face. Leph couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He didn’t know what good it would do, but he might as well try to explain it best he could while preserving their culture as much as possible. “STOP! Stop! No more…”
Zach looked at him. “Leph…”
“Shut up, Zach! I can’t listen anymore.”
Nephron pulled up a chair and sat in front of Leph. “Where are you from?”
Leph first looked over at Leena. “Peach, are you ok?”
She looked over. “I-I’ll be fine…”
Nephron used his stick push Leph’s muzzle so that he was facing him. “I won’t ask again.”
Leph took a deep breath. “First, let me explain something. If I tell you where I’m from, it will be very, very bad for your entire planet, you especially.”
Nephron poked Leph with his stick. “I’m not interested in your talk of pacifism, I’ve heard it all before.”
Leph shook his head. “You don’t understand. The slightest mistake might level an entire city, or render the planet uninhabitable. I assume you tested my pocket pistol?”
Nephron nodded. “Yes, it destroyed a dummy.”
Although Leph didn’t show it, he was shocked at this information. They must have accidentally burned out the battery in one shot. “Yes… Our ship, the… uhh… Nostalgia For Infinity,” Leph didn’t know where that came from, but it sounded more intimidating that The Frontier. “It has guns capable of much, much more destruction. But if someone like you tried to operate them, you would surely destroy yourselves in the process.”
Nephron tapped Leph on the nose. “You still haven’t answered my question, <Translation unavailable>.”
Leph didn’t know why the device didn’t translate the last word, but he got the inflection. “Well… we, uhh, Come from very high up. We live in our ship, in your sky. We crashed, much like one of your boats might dash up against some rocks. The Stars are angry with us, we aren’t supposed to share our vast knowledge yet. Please, let us go and destroy any record of our being here.”
The General stood, and faced away from Leph. “Do you know why the call me General?”
“Because you command the army…”
He turned again. “No, it is only because we are at war. Normally I am king, but these rebels have turned me into a ruthless military leader.”
He sat again. “With the power you describe, you can help us end this conflict! I’m sure the Stars would forgive you of you help the rightful ruler of all Zyzyx!”
Leph knew that no matter what he said, the General would not acquiesce. “I do not know how you could possess such power, or how this device allows us to communicate,” He held up the translator, “But rest assured, I am the right hands.”
Leph looked skyward, and opened him mouth to speak. “Look-”
A loud explosion rocked the building, followed by two more nearby explosions. Dust fell from the ceiling as Nephron ran out of the room, yelling back. “It must be the Rebel Factions! See what they do!?”
He was gone down the corridor, not waiting for an answer. Zach looked over at Leph. “Nice try, bought us some time at least.”
Another explosion caused the ground to shake. “Yeah, but it seems like we’re in even more danger, somehow.”
Leena noticed something on the ground. “Hey, look! He dropped the translator.”
Zach began scooting forward. “I might be able to burn through these ropes if I cross the wires in the… Hello…”
A female Colitisite walked into the room, followed by two males. She drew a knife. “Hey, now, slow down…” Zach said as he scooted back.
She slashed with the knife, severing Zach’s bonds. “AAAA!- oh, thanks, lady.”
She cut the rest of their bonds, and Leph picked up the translator. “Yes, thank you. Who are you?”
One of her companions glanced out the door. “Miss, we must be going.”
“Alright, you three, follow me, we must go, now.”
Leph took Leena’s arm, which was bleeding profusely. He tore off a piece of his shirt and pressed it into the wound, causing her to wince. “Hold that. Alright, we’re coming, anything is better than this place.”
They ran off down the passageways, taking a winding rout deeper and lower into the capitol building, eventually arriving at a trap door. They were whisked quickly through it, and followed the dark tunnel until they came to a ladder. The female Colitisite climbed up. “Up here, hurry!”
They emerged in the forest, surrounded by Colitisites that wore ragged clothing and held a wide array of weaponry. The female Colitisite bowed to them. “Now that we’re safe, let me introduce myself. I am Zirrix, leader of the Rebel Factions. And you are going to teach me how to use this.”
She held out Leph’s pocket pistol, the barrel charred and bent.

Feldoh gave the pod’s power box one last kick, and Teliko yelled excitedly. “Yes! That’s it! I can see everything! It worked!”
Feldoh nudged her out of the way. “Good, the signal was boosted, nice work!”
“Thanks~”
Feldoh input Atriean and Human life signs as he watched the screen intently. “Alright, let’s see… I think that’s them.”
He pointed to an orange-yellow colour change on the topographical map the overclocked computer was generating. “It’s not that far away, a short flight. But… why would they be in the forest?”
Teliko shrugged. “Maybe they got away?”
Feldoh fed in Colitisite life sign data from the computer memory, the area they were in changed to gray. “Looks like they’re surrounded, we can’t go get them.”
Teliko made a frustrated sound. “Grrr! Damn these space laws! We should just fly in there and snatch them up!”
Feldoh shook his head. “That wouldn’t be a good idea, the computer says they should have relatively sophisticated weaponry by now, AA guns are possible.”
Teliko jumped up. “Well, I’ll go tell Serleah, maybe she’s thought something up.”
Serleah and Yar were still sitting in the conference room. They had come up with a couple of plans that were very risky, and neither of them thought it was worth it. Teliko pranced into the room. “Guys~ Feldoh found them!”
Serleah stood. “Where?!”
“In the middle of the jungle, surrounded by aliens.”
She smote the table. “Fuck!”
Yar flinched. She took a deep breath. “This is so frustrating! We try and save them? Screw up an entire world! Don’t save them? Who knows!?”
Yar looked up. “Uh… It seems to me like we’ve already screwed up this place. How much more damage could we do?”
“A lot more, trust me.”
She stood for a long time, then she finally sat down. “There is only one option. Teliko, watch the sensors on the pod. Feldoh, start fixing the breach.”
Teliko’s eyes grew wide. “We aren’t going to leave them here, are we?”
“No, at least, not right away. If they aren’t back in two days, we have to leave. Let’s hope I think of something else, or they get out of it themselves.”