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Leo, Fieru, Leph and the rest meet up on the Sytis homeworld and begin to learn things. Zach and Rico talk, and Nai wakes.

Why just a picosecond ago
Clear blue skies
But now lightning's struck your last resolve
It's not an accident that no one
Hears your cries
As your last strength seems to dissolve

---

None of them ever saw what the exterior of the Rhetorician’s ship looked like. They followed him down the hall until they arrived at where the Rhetorician’s ship had clumsily interfaced with the airlock. “This way please.”
Cain grunted under Nai’s weight. He glanced at the other two, who were both deep in thought. “Hey, y’know either one of you could carry him.”
They both shushed him. He rolled his eyes. “Fine.”
The ship was very red. The corridors were bumpy, as though the paint wasn’t properly applied, or the red on the walls was one big stain. The halls themselves had no features at all. They were barren, without so much as an access port. They walked for a good twenty minutes until Nai began to stir. “Hang on a sec, he’s waking up.”
Cain crouched and let Nai slump against the wall. His eyes fluttered open and he shot up. “Hel-”
Cain clamped down on his muzzle. “Now, Nai. Don’t be rude. You’ll insult our hosts.” He put a force behind his words. Nai’s eyes went to the Rhetorician, and he nodded. The Rhetorician leaned forward. “What is he doing?”
Polos chuckled. “Oh, he’s just checking to see if he is okay.”
“I see. Is he?”
Cain let go, and Nai stood up. “Um… yes. I’m fine. Mr.…?”
“I am a Rhetorician.”
“Right…”
“Your friends can explain. I am needed elsewhere at the moment. Please follow the concierges to your work area.”
The Rhetorician quickly departed, and the concierges started to move again. Cain, Polos and Grey Fox followed them. Nai took a moment to clear the dizziness from his head. “Hey!”
He caught up. “Where the hell are we? How long was I out? Are we prisoners?”
“No, we’re not. Keep quiet.”
Nai glanced at the robots. “What are they?”
“Soldiers.” Polos said.
Grey Fox stroked his chin and looked at the backs of the robots. “I don’t know. I think they’re more than that. One moment please.”
He glared intently at the nearest concierge. The HUD implant activated and showed him a metallurgical scan of the robot. “According to this scan, I’m looking at a black hole.”
The other three were silent. Polos leaned forward to get a look at Grey Fox’s face. “What scan?”
“Forgive me. I have a small computer in my eye which includes some microscopic scanning devices. I can’t scan these concierges at all. It is strange.”
Nai sensed an opening. “Concierges! I am being held-”
Cain’s gun was under his chin. “Shut up. Listen here you little shit stain, I’ve known you for half an hour, and I can’t stand you, but you’re going to help us get home, so I can’t kill you. The only way I can is if you make trouble with these people. So please, go on.”
Cain stepped back and lowered the gun, smiling patiently. Polos and Grey Fox looked on without emotion as the concierges slowed to an expectant stop. Nai gulped. At this point, having his life threatened wasn’t a new experience. “Fine. If you put it like that, I’ll help us get out of here. Emphasis on us.”
He walked past Cain and tapped the nearest concierge. “Keep going… where are we going?”
Polos had finished filling Nai in by the time they reached the workshop. Nai stepped into the large room, his curious brain working harder than the part that told him he was in mortal danger. “Interesting! They seem to be some sort of hive mind… Drifrasa’s tits!”
The room was massive, about the size of a lo grav court. It was completely empty. “How the hell does something this big fit inside a ship?!”
Nai’s words echoed around the room. A door opened nearby, and the Rhetorician stepped through. “Will this suffice?”
Polos and Grey Fox exchanged glances. Polos shook his head. “It’s enough space, but we’ll need our equipment. Unfortunately, most of it was… lost during our test.”
“Lost? Lost how?”
Polos gestured vaguely. “Um… this transportation device we made… uses a subspace vortex, yeah. Well, it seems when we entered the vortex, most of our equipment didn’t make the trip.”
The Rhetorician was silent for a moment, and Nai was afraid he had not bought the story. “Actually… our Overseers detected more of the anomaly that brought you here. There were approximately four more of these… vortexes.”
Cain tensed up. Polos frowned. “Is that so.”
The Rhetorician cocked his head. “I thought you might be more excited to hear that. Unfortunately, there is more news you will like even less. Two of the vortexes were within the Sytis system. The other two were within God’s domain. We have charted a course to the nearest. Shall we go?”
Grey Fox and Polos held a brief hushed conversation before Polos answered. “… Not yet. Give us a few minutes to talk alone.”
“As you wish. The concierges cannot hear, so I will leave you with them.”
The Rhetorician turned swiftly and returned to where he had come. Cain gulped. “Those other vortexes… those are the other ships that were in the area. Which means we may have a problem.”
Nai frowned at Cain. “There were no… vortexes.”
“I… knew that. You know what I mean.”
Polos and Grey Fox nodded in agreement. “Indeed. If we were to go after that cargo, our deception might be discovered.” Grey Fox said.
Polos raised a finger. “Before we were sucked in, I noticed cargo pods entering the rift ahead of us. It is possible the other ships escaped by lowering their mass.”
Cain nodded. “I was there. I saw only two of the ship’s cargo pods.”
Grey Fox sat down. “So, two of the four locations might be just cargo while two might be… what was the captain’s name? Leph? Yes. Good man. Too bad what happened to him.”
Polos coughed. “Priorities, Grey Fox.”
“I won’t forget what you did to my life’s work, Polos.”
Cain grabbed both their shoulders. “Shut up! I have a plan. We tell them what happened. The hijacking, everything.”
Nai broke in. “You’re crazy! We have no idea how they’ll react to that!”
“I said shut up. Listen to this…”

~~~

Leo and Fieru were shuffled through the capitol and into a large, comfortable well-decorated room. Leo couldn’t help but find the Sytis’ taste in decorations surprisingly pleasant. As they were led through the halls by Vaà, the entire brown-clay building was lined with a dazzling assortment of plants. Flowers, vines and even small trees occupied most of the wall and floor space. No other decorations were apparent, but Leo didn’t mind. He stood and approached a large plant that sat in the corner. This one seemed to be growing out of the floor. “Fieru?”
“Wa?”
“Isn’t this incredible?”
“It’s tacky. Reminds me of a crazy ex I had before the war.”
The plant had a huge bulbous head. Leo leaned in, but the plant made a growling sound and he backed off. “It growled at me!”
“Heh. Scared of a plant now?”
“No… It just startled me.”
Vaà entered the room once again, accompanied by a smaller Sytis. Leo had a hunch the new Sytis was female, but he couldn’t tell. “Hello again, Vaà.”
“Greetings. This is the ambassador. She will speak to you now.”
Leo nodded. “My name is Leo, and this is my partner Fieru.”
Fieru nodded. “How’s it going?”
The new Sytis stepped forward and spread her arms. “My name is Third Makron, and I have been assigned to you as translator and official representative.”
Fieru grinned. “Hey, you speak Atriean really well.”
Makron fixed Fieru with her gaze. “Yes. I spend my time immersing myself in spoken language, so I may more easily communicate with Evil. They use spoken language primarily, as you do.”
Makron sat on one of the large chairs and extended her claws towards the other chairs. “Please.”
Leo nodded and sat next to Fieru on one of the wider chairs. “Thank you. I was wondering what this Evil is. We’re new to this part of space.”
Vaà was still standing near the door, watching the room. Makron folded her claws politely. “Yes, Vaà told me you did not know about them. Strange. We thought the Evil was the only other species in the universe.”
Leo was about to answer when Vaà stepped forward. Makron looked up, and Leo guessed they were in telepathic communication. Makron looked down. “I believe more of your kind have arrived.”
Leo stood up. “Fieru…”
“That might be the people that attacked us, Leo.”
“Attacked you?”
Leo nodded, but he did not want to alarm his hosts by drawing his weapon. That didn’t stop Fieru from extending his claws to full length. “Yes. We were involved in an attack when… we were sent here somehow.”
“Interesting… ah, they approach.”
A blue-scaled Sytis who was slightly taller than Vaà stepped through the door, followed by Leph. “Leo! Fieru! Am I glad to see you guys.”
Leo unconsciously broke out into a full grin. “Leph!”
The three Sytis stepped back and observed as the two groups met. There was just enough room for everyone, however Rico and Lenny were missing. Fieru wiggled his way over to Dez. “What happened to you guys? We got sucked into some wormhole.”
“Same with us. I guess it took us here…”
Leph turned to everyone. “Sit down, I guess. Leo, we’re supposed to meet an ambassador. Is one of them…?”
Makron stepped forward. “That would be me. Hello. Welcome to our planet. Are you a leader?”
Leph glanced around. “I guess I am.”
“Then perhaps we can exchange information? We would be very interested in learning about you.”
Teliko giggled in the background. Cyan whispered to her as Leph asked about Makron’s fluency with language. “What are you laughing about?”
“I think… Yeah! See that rigid one by the door?”
“Ok?”
“I think he and the ambassador are… mates? I don’t know what word they use. Oh, they probably don’t have a word for it…”
“You can tell stuff like that too? What’s it like?”
Teliko furrowed her brow. “It’s like… I feel the love between them… if that’s what you want to call it. But it doesn’t apply to me? I can’t understand it since I’m not either one of them… does that make sense?”
“I guess so.”
Leena tapped on Teliko’s shoulder like she was talking in class. They tuned into what was happening again. Leo had just stood. “The ambassador was about to explain that, Leph.”
“Yes. Evil is what it is called in our… spoken language. It is feared by the Sytis so much that it is a distinct… oh, how would you put it? A feeling? Yes. When the Evil arrives, it is its own feeling. They… believe they have claim to our land. They offer us no mercy in their attacks and have destroyed all but one of our worlds. Their ships are faster than ours, their weapons deadly and their numbers many. You… are new to us. Tell us about yourself.”
“Well… uh… We come from the Atriean Empire. Um…”
Leena stood up. “Let me, Leph.”
Leph smiled in relief. “Sure.”
He sat, and Leena stepped up. “So, what part of the Galaxy is this?”
The ambassador thought for a moment. Vaà spoke up. “The ambassador is not an expert in this. It is called Outer Major Spiral.”
“Do you have star charts we can look at?”
Vaà nodded and walked up to a wall. There were a few boxes in the corner, and he pulled a small device from one. He attached it to something he pulled from his belt, and in a few minutes an image was projected on the wall. “This… is our galaxy.”
Leena chewed her lip. Zach squinted at it. “That’s not the Milky Way.”
The ambassador extended a claw towards it, but she seemed distracted. “This is not… your galaxy?”
Leena shook her head. “No. This is a double spiral arm galaxy. Ours is much more complex. This is impossible…”
Vaà nodded. “It would take millions of years to reach the nearest galaxy.”
Leena sat next to Leph. “We must have been pulled into a wormhole. It couldn’t have been a coincidence we were carrying all that… weaponry. All this has to be connected somehow.”
The ambassador looked between Leph and Leena in confusion. “Weapons? Please, explain in more detail how you came here.”
Yalogalil had been sitting silently with the other less scientifically inclined members of Leph’s fleet. He looked around the room at the strange aliens as Leena, Leo and Leph explained everything they knew about their cargo, being tricked and the space station. He tuned out for a moment as he watched one of the plants in the corner attempt to bite onto Czyak’s stubby tail with its large teeth. “…that’s one of them. Yalogalil.”
He turned his head. “Yes. As you neglected to explain, I was only in quarrel with the government. I am not your enemy.”
Makron raised her claws. “Enough. This is all so strange to me. These things you describe… we do not do them. We do not trick each other, and we do not have… money.”
Makron did not sound displeased, despite her words. She continued. “I must depart now. The council is calling me to discuss what we have learned here.”
She stood and walked from the room without any further ceremony. Czyak remained. Teliko smiled. “Vaà is such a sweetheart.”
Everyone looked at her. Serleah smiled. “Oh?”
Teliko glanced around, somewhat embarrassed. “Oh, um… Vaà and the ambassador are mates… I think.”
Serleah laughed, and Zach stroked his chin. “Damn. I wish I could read minds.”
Serleah shot him a glance. “You’d do all sorts of horrible things with it, I’m sure.”
“Well… yeah.”
Czyak stepped forward. “It is rude of me to not offer you a place to rest. We would like you to make use of this building to sleep and eat. I can take you to some beds if you would like.”
Dez nodded. “Please. I’m dead tired.”
Czyak led them out of the room. “When you are rested you may explore our world.”
He turned his head to Teliko. “Do not worry. We have few laws. Simply do not bother our people overly. Do not go into the woods.”

Soon everyone was sorted into rooms. Czyak said they were there for any Sytis that was passing through the area to use for free. Teliko, Leena, Leph and Cyan decided to share one of the larger rooms. There were plenty of beds and chairs, and the mossy floor was so soft and fluffy you could sleep on it. Cyan fell face first onto the floor. “Ahhh… all this first contact has taken it out of me.”
Leph nodded. “Sure. Rest as much as you want, guys. I need to find something out.”
Before Leena could protest, Leph walked from the room, taking his gun with him. Leena shook his head. “I wish he wouldn’t get like that.”
“Like what, Teliko’s mom?”
“Frustrated.”
Teliko sat cross legged on the floor, not tired in the slightest. Her connection to the two dozen or so Sytis nearby was giving her a strange energy. Czyak was the strongest of them all. “I’m not tired either.”
She sprang up and walked out before Leena could react. She heaved a heavy sigh. “Like father like daughter, eh, Cyan? Cyan…?”
He was already snoring.

Yalogalil sat alone in his room, staring at the walls. He was restless. “What a place. It is better than Atriea, though.”
He left the room and walked slowly down the hall, taking in the decor. “Beautiful.”
He tensed up as he sensed someone approaching from behind. “Excuse me?”
Yalogalil glanced around. “Zach, correct? Engineer?”
Zach nodded. “Yep, that’s me. Say, I have a quick question…”
“Ask.”
“Who is Rico?”
“You seemed to know him fine.”
“I mean to you? A colleague?”
Yalogalil let out a wry chuckle. “Not as such: he was a stowaway. Cain knew him, I think. Knew and shot him.”
“A stowaway? What was he doing stowing away?”
“He seemed to have quarrel with Cain. They worked together once?”
Zach nodded, his lips a thin line. “…Yes, they did. Thank you.”
Zach walked briskly by. Yalogalil watched him for a moment, before opening a nearby door and stepping outside. “Wondrous.”
The exterior of the wide, squat building was no less decorated than the inside. Plants twice his size sat around the place in droves, some growing from pots and others straight from the ground. There were no cobblestones or other similar pathways on the ground. Yalogalil could see a thick wooded area about a kilometer away, and several other buildings between him and the tree line. It was nothing like his home. He started walking, the scenery clearing his mind. He spotted a Sytis to his left. The large, yellowish beast was sprinkling something on the ground near a group of massive flowers. The flowers were swaying happily. Yalogalil approached, letting the pungent smell of the flower wash over him. “Hello.”
The Sytis turned and made a clicking, rasping sound at Yalogalil. Yalogalil stepped back. “Sorry. Do you not have a translator?”
The Sytis activated a device on her belt. “It is active now.”
“I am visiting your world, you understand. They say you are alone in your galaxy?”
The Sytis seemed slightly awkward. “Indeed… I have been speaking to my friends about you. You interest us greatly. You are strange.”
Yalogalil chuckled. “I will, eh… take that as a compliment. Tell me… what is this flower?”
The Sytis turned and continued spreading the brown substance around the flower. “This is simply a velmi flower. It is a hardy plant. It is also delicious.”
Yalogalil stood next to the Sytis and sniffed the flower more. It made his head dizzy. “It is strong.”
“Indeed. My name is Blansh. I am a gardener.”
“Yalogalil… Mercenary.”
“What does that mean?”
Yalogalil shrugged. “I… have never explained it. People pay me to be a soldier, and I am.”
“Pay…?”
“Yes. I am compensated for my work. Do you not have such a system?”
Blansh grunted. “We do. We each do something worthwhile and are fed and given things. We trade for extra things we want.”
“A barter system?”
“If that is what you call it.”
Yalogalil nodded, then cast his gaze around the area. A strange feeling was rising in his chest, and he smiled at Blansh. “Would you mind overly if you showed me this place? It interests me greatly, and I would very much like to see more.”
Blansh glanced at the flower and placed the container she was holding in the ground. “As long as you tell me of your world.”
“Deal.”

Lenny sat on a chair in the building’s infirmary, napping. He had just spent the last twenty minutes trying to explain to an alien how to treat Rico’s wound. Eventually they managed to disinfect the wound and bandage it properly. Rico now lay in a comfy bed feeling no need to sleep whatsoever, while the curious red-scaled doctor observed him with some sort of medical scanner. He jumped as a sound came from the door. He whirled around, reaching out with his mind, but getting no response. “Ah… You must be… One of the visitors.”
Zach nodded. “Yeah. Is Rico alright?”
The doctor blinked slowly. “The injured one?”
“Yes.”
“He will live.”
“Good…”
“I’m awake, Zach.” Rico called.
“Oh. Okay. Excuse me, doc.”
The doctor stared at him blankly. “I am not in your way.”
“I need some privacy.”
“Really? You enjoy secrecy?”
“Yes.”
The doctor looked into his device again. “Thank you for that note. This is interesting.”
He muttered as he shambled out the door. “Zach. I thought you’d never speak to me again.”
Zach clasped his hands behind his back and approached the bed. “Me neither.”
There was a moment of silence as neither knew what to say. Rico was astounded at how much Zach had changed. He was going a little gray, and he had not bothered to shave in several weeks. “So… where’s your duck?”
“Oh, Wordy’s in a cage in my room. He’s still spooked from the ride over. He never did like reentry.”
Zach glanced at Lenny’s face. He was still fast asleep. “I talked to that pirate chick. Guy, whatever. He, ah… said you tried to stow away on their ship. And Cain shot you for it.”
Rico nodded. “Yeah. I wasn’t lying, Zach.”
“This time.”
Rico looked away and bit his lip. “I’ve changed.”
Zach sighed. “I’ve heard that before.”
“Did you come here to berate me? What do you want?”
Zach shook his head and pulled up a chair. “No… I just wanted to know why you were on board that ship.”
“I was trying to stop Cain.”
“I know, but why?”
Rico shrugged and laughed halfheartedly. “Y’know… I thought he might come after me. I did send him to prison.”
Zach narrowed his eyes. “That’s it? You should have run.”
“Yeah, I know… I did see he was up to something. You should have been there, I tracked him and eavesdropped on his schemes. He… mentioned your name.”
The mood shifted as Zach realized something. “Rico… you stowed away on that ship to save me?”
Rico nodded. “I guess I did. It was stupid.”
“No shit. I can handle myself, Rico.”
Rico did not respond. Zach took a deep breath. “Okay. I… appreciate the idea, I guess. You shouldn’t have dragged him along, though.”
Rico’s head snapped up. “Leave him out of this.”
“Fine.”
“He’s innocent, alright? He only ran with me because he was a confused kid. He did his time, and now’s he’s a better person.”
“I get it! Jeez…”
They both looked over at Lenny. He was still fast asleep. A little snot bubble had formed on his nose. “I suppose your time in jail set you right.”
“It did.”
“...I want to believe you.”
“... Really?”
Zach shrugged. “I guess. I didn’t forget all the fun we had in college. Before you ran off and became a drug dealer.”
“It was wild. You’re still the best boyfriend I ever had.”
“Shush.”
Rico chuckled. “You can’t censor the truth!”
Zach let out a little chuckle, despite his best efforts to be in a bad mood. “… heh. You weren’t half bad yourself.”
His smile died. “Look, it looks like we’ll be stuck in this galaxy for a while. If my feelings about you change, maybe we can be friends again.”
Rico grinned. “How very mature of you.
Zach tapped his fingers on his pants. “So, uh… What was the first thing you did when you got out of prison?”
“I went to a bar and got shitfaced.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Hey, that’s how we met, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Did the same thing happen at this bar? Meet anyone?”
“Not on Atriea.”
“Ah, I suppose not.”
Rico’s mouth turned up in a strange smile. Zach shook his head. “No, Rico. I know that look.”
“What? I didn’t say anything!”
“You’re about to flirt with me. Don’t bother.”
“Come on! Don’t tell me you have a girlfriend!”
“How do you know I don’t have a boyfriend?”
“If you still fly Atriean space, then- hey…”
They both looked over at Lenny. His face was screwed up. “Lenny? Hey, bud. Wake up. You’re having a nightmare or something.”
Lenny’s eyes opened. “Oh. I guess I was.”
Zach and Rico stared at him for a moment. He sat up and gave a little, halfhearted yawn. “… So, you’re Zach, right? Rico’s old friend?”
“Yeah. We met before, on Alpha 2.”
Lenny nodded. “I remember now.”
Rico glanced between the two. “Zach was just thanking me for saving him.”
“More or less.”
Lenny nodded. “Alright. I’ll leave you two alone.”
He stood and walked out. “Yo Lenny! You don’t need to go!”
“I’ll be back later! I want to check this place out first.”
“Alright!”
He disappeared around the door. “So… what did you guys do after I tried smuggling drugs on your ship?”
“You really want to know? Just read the articles about us.”
Rico shrugged. “No Wi-Fi.”
“Fine. After that, we…”

Teliko had no trouble finding Czyak. She simply followed his emotions until she found him reading some type of book under a tree. “Czyak!”
He was excited to see her. She was once again filled with his curiosity. “Yes?”
“I have a weird question.”
“Yes?”
“What’s your job?”
Czyak was not particularly interested in such trivial matters, but he understood why Teliko wanted to know. Teliko could actually feel him remind himself that she was an alien, and that his world must seem as strange to her as she was to him. It made her smile. “I am a collector of energy. I harvest pure matter from the starstream.”
“Oh! You’re very proud of your job, I can tell. What a simple farmer doing in a first contact situation?”
Czyak once again became confused. “You have made a joke. Yet it is also an insult.”
“Yeah. I guess our humor is different.”
Czyak stood. “I would like to teach you some things.”
“Yes, you would.”
Czyak smiled. “First. Sytis never say what they are speaking out loud. There is no need for additional communication. You use words to tell others how you are in your mind. We do not. We do not even have words for it.”
“Okay, I get it.”
“Second. We do not say aloud what others are speaking. It is rude.”
“Even if you can all already tell?”
“Yes… Tell me something.”
“Hm?”
“We know that your kind say their… emotions out loud. How are you able to communicate them? They are too nuanced for verbal language.”
Teliko thought about that one for a while. She sat on the grass, and Czyak did as well. He still towered over her by several feet. “Well… I suppose we really can’t. We have words for emotions. Anger, sadness, happiness. But I suppose those mean nothing to you.”
“They do not.”
“Yeah… I guess the best way is through describing the emotions. With metaphor or symbolism. Do you guys have poetry?”
“Yes.”
“I… write poetry sometimes. I can show you some of the more emotional ones if you want, to give you an example of how it’s conveyed.”
“I would like that.”
Teliko smiled. “Cool. Your turn to answer something. I know you use emotion to speak with one another, and use spoken language for things that can’t be said in your mind. But… I saw that ambassador and her mate hold a conversation of speech… but I’m sure they would have had to use some words in that conversation. How did they know without using language?”
Czyak laughed. It was a peculiar sensation. Teliko felt her chest tingling like she was laughing, but she didn’t know exactly why. Czyak’s expression had not changed, and he was not making any other sounds. “It is simple. Sytis that are joined or that are good friends have an understanding. They share common experiences. All they need do is recall an object both Sytis understand and the different speech associated with it. An understanding is achieved.”
“Gotcha… interesting. Sounds… intimate. Anything else you want to know?”
“I would request one thing.”
“Yes?”
“Could you teach me your words for your speech?”
“Sure! … I’m not sure how.”
Czyak blinked, and it made an audible sound. “I will recall an experience. Then you will tell me what the word is for that experience in your language.”
Teliko smiled. “Okay. I will. Which one do you want to know first?”
“Let me see…”
Teliko grabbed her chest as Czyak began searching through his memory. She caught scraps of emotion, all as strong as the day they were experienced. The medley she could feel was calm and pleasant, with the occasional moment of fear and panic. He settled on an emotion. Teliko gulped. “Ah… I suppose the closest word for that is… Acceptance? A feeling of acceptance.”
“A feeling… of acceptance.”
“What was the memory?”
“When I was accepted into a good pilot’s academy. I did not know that acceptance means the same in speech as it does in spoken language.”
“I guess it does.”
“Let me recall another.”
Teliko felt a rush. “Wow, that’s powerful… wow…”
“Are you alright?”
“Sorry, I’ve never felt this one quite so strongly before… It’s love.”
“Love?”
“Yeah, but not romantic.”
“Not romantic? What does that mean?”
“Well, Czyak, it’s simple. Romantic love is… well, why don’t I speak it to you?”
“You are learning our ways quickly. Recall a moment you… romantic love.”
“You need to work on your grammar. Alright, let me see… My first celebrity crush. I suppose I’ll start there.”
She recalled the guy’s face. Czyak was confused. “That is not very focused. I do not understand your speech.”
Teliko laughed. “Sorry, I guess I just never was really in love before. Not really.”
She frowned. Czyak perked up. “Yes. That is it. I understand now.”
“What? I didn’t think of anything.”
“No. You spoke it.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
Czyak smiled. “Your mind is mixed like a child’s. You lack focus. But there are moments of clarity within you. You have… romantic love.”
“This is news to me.” Teliko avoided Czyak’s gaze.
“It must be buried. This can happen. I now understand the word love. In your speech it means both an attachment to one you wish to join with as well as one you are close to?”
“I guess. Yes. Yes, that’s exactly right.”
It too Teliko a moment to explore what Czyak was really saying, but once she did, she knew he understood. “Say, let me try again.”
“Hm?”
“To… focus my speech. Let me focus on something…”
She chose an emotion she could easily focus on: anger. She recalled the time a couple months back when Leph wouldn’t let her get a beginner’s pilot’s license even though she was old enough. “Can you understand this?
Czyak’s chest began to burn. He bent over slightly. “Yes… what… what is this?! What is happening?! AHHHHRGG!”
Teliko sprang back as Czyak roared and took a swing at the tree. He rent the bark off in one swipe and then tackled it, the guttural scream ripping through the peaceful field. “Czyak?! Wh-what’s wrong?! I-I… it’s just petty anger! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Splinters showered her, and she curled up in a ball, completely terrified. Czyak stopped, gasping for air. “Why…”
He turned to Teliko. “Do not be scared… huff…”
Teliko peeked at Czyak. He was back to normal. “What happened Czyak?!”
“I… I do not know. It came from within you.”
“My anger? I was just thinking of some frustrating thing my dad did once…”
Czyak looked at his claws. He was bleeding. “I… have only experience this once before. Outside your ship. It… is anger?”
Teliko stood and walked up to Czyak. “You… You mean to tell me Sytis don’t feel anger?!”