‘Go.’
I hurried to the door as Te’rnu began to speak.
‘Arellians. Please, listen to me, I don’t have much time.’
I poked my head outside and was answered by a wave of phaser fire. I pulled myself quickly back inside, shutting the door firmly behind me.
They were at the end of the corridor already. It was a long way off, but still they would arrive before Te’rnu had a chance to explain himself.
‘My name is Te’rnu. I lived in Te’r’ok, just outside the Iyr capital, and I have dedicated my whole life to learning the truth that the Iyr have kept from us for millennia.’
A glowing light appeared in my peripheral vision. I turned to the right to see that the ends of my hair, down by my shoulders, was burning - caught by the phasers. I patted it out as quickly as I could - before any serious harm could come to myself. Unfortunately, serious harm had already come to my haircut.
This one’s gonna be hard to explain at the hairdresser’s.
‘I was exiled from my own village for seeking the truth, but now, finally-’
‘Hey, Te’rnu?’ I called out. ‘Might wanna get to the point, buddy!’
My friend turned in his chair to face me. ‘Oh! Right! Yes!’
He whizzed back around.
I looked around the room, trying to find some way of getting an advantage over the approaching Iyr. In the corner, I noticed a gun rack - holding only one rifle for the two of us.
‘The truth is: the Iyr are not some other species! They are us!’
I picked the phaser up, held it in my hands… and accidentally fired a beam into the wall.
God, I hate phasers.
Te’rnu instinctively ducked in his chair and turned again to shoot me a confused expression.
I pulled a face in response - and he moved back to the console.
‘The Mutation is not the end! It is only the beginning! Have you not wondered why the Iyr have always been so keen to help us with it? It is because it marks the beginning of us turning into them!’
I hurried for the door, and, having learned my lesson, did not peek out for a look. Instead, I held only the phaser outside, shooting beams around the corner - and almost certainly into the wall. I prayed that I didn’t hit anyone - killing someone would not go over well with my radical Terran conscience.
‘They are using us for their own personal gain! Our tributes to them are the basis for their entire economy! I implore you, all of you, please: stop giving the Iyr anything. They are doing us no favours. Arellians: stand up to them!’
Te’rnu slammed the broadcast button to end the recording and rushed over to help me.
‘Quick!’ he shouted to me, at a volume I could just about hear over the sound of phaser fire. ‘Decode the journal! I will do my best to hold them off.’
Not needing to be convinced, I shoved the phaser into Te’rnu’s hands and rushed over to the console, plugging my diary in.
Behind me, the sound of phaser fire quickly faded.
‘Err… Syl?’ Te’rnu asked. ‘I think I have done something wrong.’
I turned to look at my friend to see him pulling the trigger with no effect.
‘You’ve put the safety on! Turn it-’
But it was too late. Te’rnu backed up slowly as a crowd of Iyr entered the room, the Head of Guard at the helm.
Te’rnu and I stepped backwards, away from the Iyr, slowly and cautiously. When my Arellian friend saw that I had raised my hands into the air, he followed suit.
The group stopped a few metres in front of the door, and a silence swept over the room for a few seconds. Tens of red eyes glowed in the dim light, like something out of an old Terran horror movie.
It was the Head of Guard who spoke first, voice swimming with rage, and punctuating each word with a pause.
‘You… are… wearing… my… suit!’ they roared.
Te’rnu gulped.
‘Only one of them,’ I mumbled, under my breath. Any louder and someone might have heard me.
‘What was that?’ the Head of Guard snarled at me.
Oops. They still heard me.
‘Nothing,’ I answered.
The Head of Guard nodded. ‘I thought as much.’
At a menacingly slow pace, they approached Te’rnu and me.
‘Do you know what you have done?’
I shook my head. Te’rnu nodded.
The intimidating Iyr stopped in front of Te’rnu and held their helmeted face in front of Te’rnu’s.
‘You have doomed your own planet. Do you realise this?’
‘I…,’ Te’rnu began to murmur, ‘I haven’t doomed us. I have told the truth, that is all. We deserve to know.’
‘Why? Why on Z’h’ar do you believe that to be the case?’ the Head of Guard snapped back at him. ‘I was pre-Mutation, once, too, remember. I did my time. Every Iyr in this room did their time. And now that we are old enough to reap the spoils, you do this? You cannot possibly imagine the implications this will have.’
The Head of Guard stopped staring Te’rnu down - and moved on to me.
‘And you,’ they growled at me. ‘I knew from the moment I saw you in that bar that you were nothing but trouble. This is typical of a Terran. You have been brainwashed by your own people. You subscribe to your own sense of ethics, with no room for any other ideas to be considered.’
They chuckled a resigned laugh. I chose an ashamed grin as an appropriate response.
‘No!’ the Head of Guard continued, ‘Do not smile! Do not think you have done good here. I will not have you thinking this!’
They turned to the group of armed Iyr behind them.
‘Guards, ready your weapons.’
I put my arms out in front of me, pleading for them to back off.
‘Wait! No! You’re really going to kill a tourist?’
I didn’t wait for a response; the number of guns pointed towards my face suggested that it wasn’t going to be a good one. Instead, I grabbed at my right wrist and
