Only Human

Chapter 5: The Small Print

Daniel approached what he believed was the bridge. He knocked on the solid steel door and waited for the reply.

“Come in,” Tyler called. Daniel pressed a button and the door slid open. Tyler turned away from the holo-table that was cluttered with holo-charts. “Oh, hello Daniel.”

“Hi,” Daniel responded hesitantly.

“What can I do for you?”

“I just...” Daniel realised that what Tyler was planning on doing wasn’t really any of his business. Too late to turn back now though. “I guess I wanted to find out a bit more about your... travels. You do have quite the collection of people.” Tyler laughed.

“That I do.”

“Do you pay them as much as you offered me?”

“No,” Tyler answered. He had that look about him people always got just before they were going to launch into a long explanation. “Most of them have something they want from our expedition.” He sighed and started again. “I set out to get Brathen’s right hand man, and his gang.”

“Right hand man?” Daniel questioned. “But I thought all of his gang were killed.”

“All of his human gang. He was racist, but not dumb. His organisation lived on in places the Authority never suspected. I – we set out to eradicate these remnants. It started out with just me, but I slowly gained more and more people who had a bone to pick with Brathen and his cronies. Valek has a sister that was taken by him a long time ago; she may still be alive and imprisoned. Valek would see her set free. Jeff’s mind was transformed in an experiment, and he hopes to find some way to regain the memories he lost. Yaris’s mother was killed by Brathen himself, and she wants to make him and anyone in coalition with him hurt for it. A large sum of money was stolen from Karen by Brathen, and he wants compensation. Janet wants to catalogue different species of flora and fauna that we see on the planets we stop on. And Bill... Bill just wants to have a good time.” Daniel let the information sink in, then realised that Tyler had left one person out.

“Why did you want to get him?” Tyler looked away. Daniel honestly thought he was going to start crying.

“I... he’s responsible for the deaths of my parents. Not my real ones, but... I was adopted by a human couple and they-they raised me. But because of Brathen...” Daniel understood. He placed a hand on Tyler’s shoulder supportively. Tyler smiled gratefully. “What-what about you?” he asked. What about me? Daniel asked himself again in his head.

“Same as you, He was responsible for the deaths of my parents.” Daniel by now had grown to realise that people lied a lot to get their own way. He also realised, consequentially, that the Authority officer could possibly have been lying to him, and Gareth and Mark could have been his real parents. He didn’t know, but he realised now that they had treated him like a son, so it didn’t matter if they shared the same blood, they were the best, and only, parents Daniel would ever have. Daniel then politely thanked Tyler for the conversation and excused himself from the room. Daniel pressed the button to close the door behind him and almost crashed into Valek again as he turned around. He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. Just in case.

“Hello,” Valek grunted.

“H-hi,” Daniel stuttered. Valek blinked at him.

“Are you afraid of me human?” Daniel straightened up and moved his hands out of his pockets to behind his back.

“No,” he assured her. He couldn’t even convince himself with a voice as shaky as that. Valek grimaced.

“I am sorry if I have seemed... hostile.” Valek seemed to consider her next words carefully, gazing into the distance. “Sorry to bother you,” she finished meekly, then wandered off, still looking thoughtful. What’s gotten into her? Daniel wondered. He shrugged to himself and made off in the general direction of his quarters.

Daniel passed by the mess hall, then backpedalled; he hadn’t had anything to eat yet. He pushed open the door and was surprised to see Valek there, chatting with Yaris. When they spotted him, they stopped. Daniel made his way over to them.

“What can I do for you today luv?” Yaris asked. Valek seemed to shrink back in her seat slightly, as if trying not to be seen.

“Ah, breakfast?” Daniel replied hopefully, deciding to leave Valek alone for the time being.

“Of course hun, I’ll be with ya in a sec.” Daniel wondered if she was like this to everyone, or if she was being especially nice so as to make him feel more welcome. The pet names were new to him. Yaris returned with a plate filled with toast and some kind of green leaves. “Try it, you’ll love it.” Daniel couldn’t help but grin at the cat girl’s attitude. He took the plate and found a seat. He dug into the meal. Yaris was right; he did love it. It was strangely minty, but not unpleasantly so. Soon Daniel had finished the whole plate and returned the empty dish to Yaris, noticing a lack of Valek as he did. “I take it you liked it,” Yaris commented as she saw the lack of even a crumb.

“You could be making some good money in the London markets with meals like that,” Daniel agreed. Yaris smiled.

“Why thank you, hun. Glad to have people like you around. The lads I used to feed were ungrateful sods, didn’t know how to flatter a girl like you do.” Daniel blushed slightly and said his goodbyes before he made an idiot of himself. As he exited, he was grabbed from behind and shoved against the wall. He found himself staring straight into Valek’s blazing eyes.

“Were you flirting with her?” She demanded.

“N-no! What? Why? What’s it to you?” Daniel cried, both afraid for his life and annoyed at what Valek was asking. Valek released him gently, and grabbed him tightly by the shoulders instead.

“Daniel,” she said, there was a question in her voice. “Do you trust me?”

“I-I don’t know! What’s gotten into you? You’re acting really weird!” Valek whirled around and scampered away. Not very gracefully either, as her injury affected her left leg and wing, as well as part of her back. Daniel decided to move faster lest she come back.