I am xeno King Arthur II
1030 Words
After I had as many as I thought was reasonable I looked back up at Manthlel. He was gaping at me, mouth open significantly wider than I thought his jaw should have been able to go. In fact, I think he had disconnected it like a snakes, and it was quite a horrifying site. I swore and backed away from him, but he just continued to stare. I looked around at the other aliens in our cubicle. I don't think they had noticed me until now, but they were staring at me with similar expressions as Manthlel. I looked and saw that most of them were holding partially dissembled spheres, except not a one held more than three. "What, I'm hungry!" I protested, "Just because I'm fat doesn't mean I'm not beautiful."
Oblivious to how rude their fat shaming was, they continued to stare. I pointedly ignored them and sat down to enjoy my quite literally tasteless meal. I had been very accurate with my guess and felt contentedly full when I had finished off the last of my spheres. I looked up, and sure enough, each and every one of the men - some might have been women - were watching at me, even more shocked than before if that was possible. It seemed like a couple aliens from adjacent cubicles had come to stop and stare as well.
I decided to just ignore the haters, and moved back to the wall where I thought I recognized a tap similar to the one that had been in my cargo bay all that time ago when I had thought I was going to stay there for longer than about an hour. I remembered how Dink had worked it - dang I hoped the kid was alright - and was rewarded by a steam of water running into a trough in the wall next to the sphere depository. The moment my lips touched the water I realized how thirsty I was and drank for nearly two minutes, taking just enough time between drinks to breath and make sure I didn't puke. They were still staring when I got up and wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve. "Don't you guys have anything better to do?!"
It seemed they did, because no sooner had I spoken than an electric buzzer sounded throughout the ship, pausing everyone in their movements. It was eerie. Everyone in the entire ship, it seemed, stood still a moment as the buzzer sounded. Then a collective deep breath ran through the entire ship, as though it was time to face the inevitable. When everyone started moving again, it was with a new sense of purpose, of things to do that could be put off no longer. All the soldiers in my cubicle, or squad I guessed, took out guns from storage bins in their bunks, checking over them with a practiced and efficient ease, although I'm pretty sure I'd seen most of them checking the same weapons only a few minutes before. Combat-harnesses were being donned, and I had the distinct feeling that I was missing out on some serious preparation. The purpose with which everyone was moving did nothing to assuage the fear that was slowly rising in my chest.
Manthlel, quickly got on his gear, then motioned for me to follow him. We walked a short distance to a small booth in the middle of the hall between all of the cubicles. He punched a few keys on a console and a mechanism within the booth clanked and ground as it responded to Manthlel's request. A gun and a combat-harness were presented by two mechanical arms which came out of the booth. Manthlel grabbed the gun and harness and handed them to me. I knew how to put on the harness, but I think the ray gun was broken. It was all bent up as though for storage, and it didn't look as though it was supposed to be able to be reconfigured. When I had grabbed the handle and nothing had happened, Manthlel also seemed confused. I looked up when someone else approached the booth, getting out of the way. This new arrival just needed a gun, and when his new weapon was presented to him, similarly bent as mine, he confidently grasped it about the handle and walked away content. I could see why. The moment his hand grasped the thing it seemed to melt and fold upon itself, reconfiguring itself until it seemed to have been custom built for that particular alien.
"Ah." I said, understanding. "The computer doesn't know what kind of creature I am, so it doesn't know how to change to my physiology, and I doubt it'd even let me fire it if it did." Manthlel seemed to have reached the same conclusion, but he looked a little more put out than I did about it. I tried to reassure him. "Don't worry about it man, I don't need a gun anyway. It'd just cramp up my style. All I need is the lava scimitar I got back at my bunk and I'll be good." Manthlel didn't seem convinced. Ok, he just hadn't understood a word I had said, but even if he had I doubt he would have been convinced. There was nothing we could do, though, so we walked back to our cubicle where I slung the lava scimitar's sheath over my back, where it fit surprisingly well. I was lucky I still had the sheath, or else I wouldn't have had a way to turn the thing on or off since it wasn't genetically sequenced to me like the last one had. Too bad d**k wasn't here to do that for me. Did I just wish d**k was here? Must have been my imagination.
After everyone in the squad had had time to check their gear and suit up, one of the members, who was perhaps the most fit blue-giraffe I had ever seen, stood up and started delivering a speech or a pep-talk to the group. I hope it was really inspiring, because I missed every word. Guess I'll never know what was said.
- Writer
