The Autobiography Of An Alien

Chapter 9 - Alliance, part 3

"I hope I do not need to stress the importance of civility," Rulshkka stressed. He did not want to get into an argument because of Kohgrash's baseless disrespect. 

"No, don't worry," Kohgrash said hastily. "I'll be nice." The human shifted uncomfortably in his seat, eyes flickering back and forth between the image on the Orb and anywhere else. "But man, his mouth is really fucking creepy." 

Rulshkka frowned, looking at Heth. His mandibles were just like any other. 

"He looks like a spider," Kohgrash looked like he wanted to cover his eyes and cower. 

There were some species that were a part of the alliance that held visceral reactions toward other species, completely involuntary, of course. The Arnoxi, for example, could not be near the magma-born Roxn for fear of evaporation. He would have never expected humans to have an instinctive reaction against anyone else. They were always so... intense. 

Rulshkka, not all that familiar with Earth fauna, knew what a spider was, vaguely. Some sort of insect pest that liked to sit on ceilings and make Internet pages. It was odd. But so was everything else on Earth.

"Oh," Rulshkka simply said, unsure of how to remedy this. "Well, you don't have to look at Heth. You can look at the Torra, instead." 

Kohgrash grunted in reply, looking a little queasy. It wouldn't be easy avoiding Heth, especially as they were the spokesperson for the Alliance. While there was no real leader of the Alliance, Heth was the next best thing. 

"Greetings, everyone," Heth clicked, mandibles moving as he spoke. Kohgrash shivered in revulsion next to him, trying to look like it didn't bother him. "I am glad to see that everyone has made it here safely. Here begins the next Alliance meeting." 

They had long since stopped counting the times the Alliance had met. It had taken millennia to agree that they would go by the Core's frame of time - there was a particularly stubborn meteor that whipped around the Kindred and did not falter in its steady pace around the black hole. Every time it passed the Core marked one cycle, and there were ten in a Core-year. Every two years they held an Alliance meeting - and by then, it had taken even longer to figure out that they wanted to host it semi-regularly. 

Rulshkka settled into his chair as he let Heth's speech wash over him. It was the same speech every time, and Rulshkka found himself guessing the next few words correctly. Kohgrash was enamored, though, even though the human kept glancing away from the Anlam every so often. 

Heth's welcoming speech came to a conclusion as he said, "Thus, I hope you are all doing well. It is wonderful to see such a full room on this glorious day. The discussion will begin now. Is there anyone who wishes to begin?" 

The room stayed quiet, as it always did when this question was asked. That was because as soon as Heth stopped speaking, the leader of the V'srk stepped forward from her podium beside the other three Founder. As she did every meeting, she dipped her head and started speaking. 

The V'srk reminded Rulshkka of Chorsl, bovine and large. However, quite unlike the docile creatures, the V'srk were the strongest race in the known reaches of the universe. Their strength was unparalleled. It was rumored that they had moved their entire planet a few inches out of orbit by sheer force of will. 

Their horns sloped out from their heads like daggers, curving up into the air. Thick, coarse fur draped across their shoulders and chests like a mane, threaded with jewels, ornaments, and other oddities that Rulshkka couldn't imagine being attached to him at all times. They had flat snouts that hosted sharp teeth. Often, they stood upright, but when traveling long distances or running, they reverted to using their forelimbs as legs.