Hunting Wolfe

The Skybridge

The twenty or so aliens and humans that were waiting to board the shuttle have all made their way toward the skybridge. We follow, weaving through rows of vacant seats, scattered with remnants of paper, plastic, and discarded food. Amidst the chaos, an older human man clad in a blue jumpsuit furrows his brow as he sweeps, striving to corral the disorder left in the wake of the travelers. Behind us, a few latecomers rush for the boarding gate, coming to a stop behind us. Ahead of me looms the large skybridge that connects the lunar station with the awaiting shuttle, and in front of it stands another human, this one a young female with jet black hair and deep brown eyes.

"Tickets, please." She says to each individual as they approach her. The line slows as everyone digs for their boarding ticket.

"Paper tickets? Whoever heard of such?" says a female voice, from in front of me.

I look around, curious as to who is talking, and spot a pair of large squid-like creatures that walk around on four tentacles. Xerxes. There are a few different aliens in-between me and them.

"I know, right? This galaxy is so primitive." Answers another female Xerxes. This one waves a tentacle around as she talks.

"Especially that planet... what was it called?"

"Earth."

"Oh, yeah, Earth."

"Can you believe how backwards they are? I mean, did you see the condition of the oceans?"

"I know, it was horrendous. I can't wait to get back home and back to civilization. The people there couldn't tell a Smeleyon from a Snaggle if it walked up and laid down in front of them." This brings on a round of laughter from both females.

They always think they know more about aquatic life than anyone else. I may not understand either word they said but I do understand that they are making fun of humans. I ball up my fists at my side and step forward. I open up my mouth to say something smart but feel a heavy hand on my shoulder. I turn to the left and see Aceon standing beside me.

"What do you think you are doing?" he whispers.

"Well, you heard them making fun of my planet and my people." I say talking in my normal voice.

"And you were going to, what? Punch them in the face?"

"Yeah, maybe."

He sighs. "Protecting you is going to be a lot harder than I imagined." The line moves forward, and we follow.

"What do you mean?"

"You need to control your temper. You can't go around punching everyone who is mean to you, who says things that aren't nice. If you keep that up, you'll end up in a fight that I won't be able to save you from. I'm not all powerful, you know." His tone reminds me of a father talking to his wayward offspring.

"I don't plan on hitting everyone." I say annoyed. Who is he to tell me anything? His race is a warrior race, known for fighting. Just look at all those stripes, all the people he killed.

"No? Just those two? What makes them more deserving than anyone else? Is it because they were rude?"

"No, that's not... they just...I just...Ugh!!!" I growl out in frustration. A few aliens turn and look at me. "What do you want?" I snap. They quickly turn away and move forward with the line.

"What's wrong?" Aceon asks.

"I just wanted to be mad, and you ruined it."

He laughs. "If anyone understands anger, it's me. Everyone judges me and my people unfairly. They always have. Everyone thinks we are fighters only, that we aren't very smart. Prejudgment is hurtful for sure, but not a reason to go around slugging everyone who does it. Can you imagine how many people I would have hit by now?"