My Friend is an Alien (niklas and friends)

by Niklas Edlund

  "That one, you don't need to explain." said Arion. "You got a way to get us out of this mess?"

  "Yeah, but it'll cost you." said Toben.

  "I don't — " started Arion.

  "Relax. All I want is a question answered. Where the heck have you all been?"

  Arion managed a very slight smile. "Hanging out on a planet called Earth with a Dorrian refugee and a bunch of other kids called humans."

  Toben raised an eyebrow. "That sounds — interesting."

  "That'd be one way of putting it." commented Arion. "Come on, you said you had a plan."

  "We must return to my ship. This way." The two boys exited the bar, never noticing the two beings sitting in a dark corner.

  "You saw?" said the one in a rumbling hiss. The other one merely nodded. "This could be our chance. Regain Prince Arion and get a new hyperdrive in the bargain. Let's get to the ship."

  * * *

  The hour for the boys' trial had come. They were led back to the courtroom. Pol was still there, as was the Magistrate. There was a surprise along one side of the room, however. Jahv's dome tent, now crumpled, and all of his equipment, smashed. It was a thorough mess.

  "You brought this all the way from Earth!?" yelled Jahv. "To do this to it all?! WHY!?"

  Pol grinned. "Couldn't very well leave advanced technology behind to be found by some other pathetic primitive, now could we?"

  "Screw him." snarled Keith. "He did it out of pure meanness."

  The Magistrate brought his gavel down hard upon the podium. "Jahv and Keyro — sons of Amshat, son of Lemoy, son of Dekel, son of Gershon," intoned Varek, "you stand accused of family abandonment and technological treason — you may now explain yourselves to this court."

  Jahv stepped forward. "My parents had never treated either myself or my brother with anything other than indifference. On every world we visited as traveling techno-traders, I saw families that openly cared for each other and shared their feelings for one another. In comparison, my brother and I were downright ignored by our parents."

  "If they fed, housed, educated, and when necessary, clothed you, was that not the extent of their responsibility towards you?" demanded the Magistrate.

  "As we traveled to world upon world in my parents' dealings, I saw more and more family units where that was NOT the extent of what took place." said Jahv. "I saw genuine affection between adults and children. These people didn't just live in proximity towards one another, with the adults providing only what was needed. They cared for one another and they weren't ashamed to show it! When I tried to demonstrate that towards my parents, I was rebuffed. When Keyro and I began to demonstrate it towards each other, we were treated with even greater indifference by our parents than before!"

  "The affection you cite is not part of Botaran society." said Varek. "Ours is the more efficient and practical way, and you had no right to try to contaminate your own family with alien ways! And NONE of that is germane to the fact that you subsequently abandoned your family, as did later your brother!"

  "My parents had already abandoned us!" yelled Jahv, tears forming in his immense eyes. "I don't care how efficient or practical the emotionless raising of children in Botaran society is, it's WRONG! So yes, I left, because I just couldn't stand it anymore. I figured that wherever I ended up, it had to be better. I tried to get Keyro to join me at that time, but he wouldn't. Only when he was even more poorly treated by our parents for my having run away did he finally join me!" Jahv reached over and took Keyro in a fierce hug. "This is my brother and I love him, and I'm neither ashamed to admit that or demonstrate it. As for our parents — they are no longer part of MY family. These others standing here WITH me are my family."

  The Magistrate stood, his face the personification of sheer fury. For a generally emotionless race, they certainly seemed capable of getting angry when it suited them. He brought his gavel down to the surface with a bang that would've broken any windows in the chamber if it had had any. "This disgraceful display will NOT be tolerated in this court. You have attempted to explain yourself and have only succeeded in condemning yourselves. This court will not allow this sort of conduct to be perpetrated in Botaran society!"

  "Jeez, and I thought we had it rough." remarked Davy, within earshot of Niklas and Martin, the latter of which was clutching Davy's arm so tight that Davy's arm was nearly numb.

  "It is the judgment of this court," said the Magistrate, seating himself and regaining some composure, "that Jahv and Keyro — sons of Amshat, son of Lemoy, son of Dekel, son of Gershon — along with their human allies and the Dorrian known as Morik, be remanded to the Procyon Youth Institute for corrective education immediately following our departure from this station! Guards, take them back to their holding cell. This court is adjourned."

  * * *

  Toben's ship hadn't looked much better than the station at which it was parked. It was huge, though, much larger than the shuttle Arion had flown to Earth in with Jahv and the others. The ship was a fairly simplistic design. Large oval central area, which Toben explained was the engineering section and cargo holds, a smaller half-oval at the front which was the bridge and Toben's quarters, which smelled like dirty socks just walking past them, and two long engine nacelles sticking out of either side. If Arion had been able to make the comparison, he probably would've said that it looked a fair bit like the Starship Defiant from Star Trek Deep Space Nine, but was in as rough shape as the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

  Toben had contacted the homeworld, bluffing his way through a bit as to why a child was using the comm stations, and explained where he was and exactly who was out here — that is, Magistrate Varek. He didn't say a word about Jahv and Keyro. Given the severity of Varek's crimes, and the coordinates and confirmations Toben supplied, the authorities were inclined to not worry about the source and be more concerned about the results.

  Toben finished the comm and then turned towards Arion. "You a good shot?"

  "I can pick off quarry at five thousand feet. Why?"

  "Good." said Toben. "Come on, we need to head to the armory."

  "But you just called the authorities!" countered Arion, following Toben into the cargo section of the ship.

  "That's right, but we still need to get Jahv, Keyro, and your other friends out of there before they show up." explained Toben, expertly working his way through corridors of stacked cargo containers. "Technically, they ARE guilty of certain social crimes on the homeworld. If we don't get them out and get gone before the authorities show up, they'll arrest EVERYbody."

  Toben pried open several containers. Within were long belts of small silver spheres. "Stun grenades. Won't kill anybody, but it'll put 'em out of commission for a few hours."

  Arion smiled slightly. "Do you know the specific directions to the holding cells from the airlock once we get on board?"

  "Yes, why?" asked Toben.

  "I watched this history program back on Earth — about how large mechanized aircraft used to make bombing runs along a preassigned route. I have an idea…"

  * * *

  Several minutes later, Arion and Toben used the ship's transmat to beam directly to the airlock of the renegade Magistrate vessel. Toben carried a backpack of equipment, which even for one of the famed Botaran backpacks was looking a little overstuffed. Arion was wearing several long belts of stun grenades. "I still don't understand how this Magistrate kept his crew after he went renegade!" exclaimed Arion.

  "Magistrate crews tend to be fiercely loyal to their commanders." remarked Toben. "Either that, or some of them might not even know. I'm really not sure." Toben walked up to the airlock door and pounded on it.

  A few seconds later, an armed guard opened the door. "What the —?!" was all he managed to say before Toben slammed him in the gut with both fists and then bashed him on the back of the head. The guard crumpled.

  "You've done that before." remarked Arion.

  Toben grinned. "This isn't my first time on Garboris. And there's worse places, too.
I believe it's your turn."

  "You'll be right behind, but not too closely, right?" asked Arion.

  "Don't want to get stunned myself, and somebody might need a little extra persuasion to stay down." replied Toben. "You've got the route memorized?"

  "Yep. Easier than navigating a mountain pass." stated Arion.

  "Then go for it!" said Toben, stepping out of the doorway as Arion went airborne and soared down the corridors of the Magistrate vessels, dropping stun grenades every few yards.

  * * *

  "We're never gonna see home again!" bawled Martin. The seven boys were once again in the holding cell.

  "I'm sorry I got you all involved in this." Jahv was close to tears himself.

  "This isn't your fault." said Davy. "It's these geeks holding us."

  "Jahv, the way this happened, this can't be legal." said Niklas.

  "Oh, I'm quite sure it's not, but that doesn't change what's going to happen to us." said Jahv grimly. "Varek is obviously working outside the law, and Pol has certainly broken the law, but if the two of them put enough of a spin on this, they come out the heroes, and we're locked up for our crimes."

  "Does this ship have shuttles, a transmat, SOMEthing we could maybe use to get out of this mess?" said Keith, who was pacing in every conceivable direction.

  "Nothing we could make use of in time." said Jahv. "I just don't see a way out of this."

  "That's right boys!" came a new voice. It was the smirking visage of Pol. He'd come down in person to the holding cell. "I really should thank you. You've been a big help to my family."

  "Hey, Pol, why don't you take your family and — " started Keith, but he never finished his sentence. There was a sudden series of rapid BANGs, growing louder as closer. The source of these noises became evident when Arion darted into the room outside the holding cell and spotted Pol. "I oughtta make you choke on this!" he yelled, throwing the last stun grenade squarely at the startled Botaran. It went off in his face and slammed him against the far wall. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

  "ARION!" cheered most of the kids. Jahv spoke next. "Where in the world did you get stun grenades?"

  "From my new friend." replied Arion. Just now entering the room, after slamming a barely-conscious Botaran guard to the floor with a martial-arts throw, was Toben. "THAT'S for trying to shoot the blaster out of my hand, you creep! It belonged to my father!"

  "Dang, you find the most interesting people on this station." quipped Davy. Spirits were high at the prospect of a rescue. Arion was at the control console. "Curse it, the locking system is encoded. How're we supposed to get them out?"

  "I got a key right here!" said Toben, pulling his blaster out and giving Arion just enough time to dive out of the way before firing, shattering the console into splinters.

  "Novel approach." commented Jahv.

  "Where the heck did HE come from?" asked Keyro of no one in particular.

  "Jeez, greenie, I didn't think you people were that — gung-ho…" remarked Keith.

  "We're not — normally." replied Jahv. "I'm going to love to get the explanation for this one."

  "Later for that!" said Niklas. "Let's just get out of here! Arion, I could —!"

  "First one of you that hugs me joins the Botarans on the floor!" snapped Arion. Then he paused, and offered a very slight smile. "At least wait until you barbarians have some clothes on, all right?"

  "Arion, I never should've doubted that you would return." said Jahv.

  Arion raised an eyebrow. "You mean you did?" Jahv opened his mouth to respond, but Arion raised a hand. When he spoke again, his tone was surprisingly gentle. "Don't. I doubted it myself."

  "What changed your mind, feathers?" asked Keith, trying to sound bolder than he felt.

  "When you grow up as high royalty, friendship is not something that is part of your life." said Arion. "And it wasn't part of mine. At least until I met you primitives and galactic strays. It — has been a new experience for me."

  "Look, this is all very cool, but can we please get out of here?" urged Morik.

  "No need to run, friends." said Toben, pulling a huge mat with an electronic grid imprinted on it out of the backpack and spreading it on the floor. "Little something I picked up on Nitfenso 7."

  "What is it?" asked Martin.

  "It's a transmat mat." replied Toben.

  "Ouch." winced Davy. "The one time the translator fields have to be working perfectly, and we get a pun like that."

  "I hope this thing works better than what we usually deal with!" stated Keith.

  Suddenly the sound of more guards could be heard in the corridor. "You want to explore other options?" asked Jahv.

  "Under the circumstances," said Keith quickly, heading for the mat, "Let's get the hell out of here!"

  By the time the guards arrived, all they found was an empty cell, a destroyed console, an unconscious guard, and Pol, who needed to be taken to the infirmary for mild burns to his face and a concussion.

  * * *

  The group appeared on Toben's ship. "Where the heck are we now?"

  "My ship." replied Toben. "Welcome aboard. Arion tells me you're staying on a planet called Earth. If you can give me the coordinates, I'll get you right back there as quickly as possible."

  "Wait a moment." said Jahv. "Who ARE you? How did you come to be here? Your ship?"

  Toben gave a brief explanation, basically the same one that he gave Arion, with a little more detail. His mother had died when he was little more than an infant. His father had cared for and raised him on board this ship. They hadn't been to the homeworld in years. When his father passed away, Toben was abundantly trained enough to take over the vessel, and, admittedly defying Botaran custom, did so, and had done a capable job as a merchant and trader ever since.

  "But we're just a little pressed for time, so if you'll all follow me and strap in we'll get underway." said Toben, heading for the cockpit. "I don't normally carry passengers, but there's plenty of seats on the bridge, part of the original design for taking tourists around."

  "Is there any way we can get some clothes?" asked Niklas, once they'd reached the cockpit.

  "Clothes!?" exclaimed Toben. "Oh, right. Space travel, of course. I'll see what I can do for you before we get to Earth. Right now, we need to get out of here."

  "No argument there. Those clowns might still come after us." remarked Keith.

  "Oh, they're going to have enough problems of their own." said Toben. "I just don't want to get caught in the middle of it."

  "What are you talking about?" asked Davy.

  A grin formed on Toben's face. "Heh. I'm talking about that!"

  As Toben's ship started to pull away from the station, the boys could see three huge Botaran Magistrate ships arrive. Varek's docked ship was surrounded within moments. "So much for him!" said Toben. "I'm picking up local comm traffic. We knocked out so many guards there wasn't anybody left to put up a fight. Varek's been taken into custody. Everybody on the ship has, really."

  "Couldn't happen to a nicer scumbag." said Keith.

  "Next stop, EARTH!" declared Martin. Just then the ship lurched suddenly, with what sounded like an explosion against the hull.

  "What was THAT?!" yelled Keith.

  "Apparently somebody's idea of a greeting." remarked Toben. "We're being commed. On screen."

  The faces of two Soluans appeared. "Botaran vessel! We know you have the fugitive Prince Arion on board your vessel! Surrender him or be destroyed!"

  The second Soluan suddenly looked both astonished and angry. Apparently they had a pretty good view of the entire cockpit. "It is him!" the Soluan snarled, his voice a raspy whisper. "The yellow-topped mammal who destroyed my throat!" He was looking squarely at Keith. Keith remembered spraying some disinfectant spray down into the Soluan's mouth the last time he was on board the station and the others needed a diversion. "I want that mammal as well! He cost me two months of agony in the infirmary!"

  "What the hell did you DO to him?" aske
d Arion, but Keith knew that if he opened his mouth right now, he'd burst out laughing, and they had enough trouble for the moment.

  Toben was calling the Soluans' bluff. "Get off it, Shurrg. We both know you don't have much more than docking thrusters in that ship! Nice talking with you!"

  Toben took the ship into a sudden dive and then brought it around. Jahv was in the co-pilot seat, programming the hyperwarp drive for the flight to Earth. "You ever think about settling down on a planet for a while?"

  "Aw, vketh!" swore Toben. "Somebody sold those morons a sub-light drive. They're on our tail and gaining! How long until I can take us into hyperwarp?"

  "Forty seconds." said Jahv.

  Two more blasts hit the ship. Keyro was coincidentally seated at the ship's engineering and status station, and noticed a few warning lights. "Aft shields down to seventy percent! Minimal damage to port nacelle. We're all right, but keep that side away from them!"

  Another blast and the console one over from where Morik was seated exploded. Morik was thrown back, more scared than hurt. Davy got up and helped Morik out of the way, then yelled, "We've got a fire back here!"

  "Grab an extinguisher!" said Toben.

  "What's it look like?" asked Davy urgently.

  "Blue cylinder, about a foot long. Point the white end towards the fire. It's thermally activated."

  Davy found one of the blue cylinders attached to the wall. He grabbed it and pointed the white end towards the fire. Nothing happened. He got a little closer. Suddenly a blob of green glop sprayed out and covered the small electrical fire, smothering it.

  "Jahv…" said Toben. The question didn't need to be asked.

  "Eight seconds." replied Jahv, not looking up.

  "Keyro, check the console directly behind you." instructed Toben. "It's external sensors. Scan the Soluan ship. See if they have hyperwarp capabilities."

  Keyro pivoted the chair around and scanned the attacking vessel, even as their ship was rocked again by another blast. "Negative!" he called back a few seconds later. "Just sub-light drive. No wonder they're being so persistent."