‘You are criminals. You do realise this, am I correct?’
‘Yes, but-,’ I started to argue.
‘Perhaps I am not correct. Perhaps you think yourselves heroes. This is why your planet has a reputation such as it has, Terran; you believe that your moral compass, your ethics, are absolute. You do not consider, even for a moment, that there might be space for different ways of life out here across the galaxy.
‘And so, you, safe in the knowledge that nothing you do could be considered evil, head to our planet. You feel free to meddle in things that are none of your business. You destroy our way of life, and you justify it to yourself as being the “right thing”. Allow me to be the first to tell you this: telling the Arellians the truth about their situation was an evil act.’
‘How? What “evil” things have I done?’
The Head of Guard raised their voice in response. ‘You have destroyed a whole planet’s economy! You have doomed countless Iyr to poverty! You have destroyed centuries-old traditions! You have-’
‘A good act is still a good act, even if it has some negative consequences!’ I argued. ‘What evil thing have I done?’
‘Let us see… thievery of Iyr hardware, impersonation of a council official, assault of a senior official, fleeing from justice… have I missed anything?’
‘Bringing an Arellian into the capital?’ another Iyr chimed in.
‘Yes! Bringing an Arellian into the capital! That too. Do they really let such crimes go unpunished on Terra?’
‘…We believe in rehabilitation,’ I replied.
The Head of Guard sighed. ‘Of course you do.’ They shook their head and then turned to the squad.
‘If you’re so sure about all this, why are you bothering to debate me? You must know, deep down, that this isn’t right?’
‘No!’ they cried back at me. ‘You must pay for this!’
‘Why?’
They paused again for a moment, and then continued, voice beginning to crack.
‘Because… you must! You- you must! You…’
They trailed off, before shaking their head and riling themselves back up again.
‘Guards! Ready your weapons!’
Te’rnu closed his eyes, screwed his face up. I looked to him, squeezed his hand, and then turned my attention back to the Iyr.
But it was the contents of the security screens behind them caught my attention.
‘Stop!’ I shouted, hands outstretched to signal for the Iyr to halt. ‘Look at the displays! Look what’s happening!’
One of the Iyr turned to look, and then, captivated by what they had seen, nudged their neighbour to look too. One by one, the Iyr all looked over to watch the security screens.
Thousands upon thousands of Arellians marched on the capital, headed for the main gates.
‘Sir, we…,’ one of the Iyr guards started. ‘I think we will be unable to stop them all.’
‘Guards!’ the Iyr group’s red-helmeted leader shouted. ‘Back to your post! Raise your weapons!’
‘But, sir…,’ another piped up. ‘Look.’
Another member of the squad started tapping frantically at the security terminal. ‘Sir! It’s not just here… it’s the whole planet.’
‘Raise your weapons!’ the Head of Guard repeated, voice beginning to falter. The Iyr didn’t move, still transfixed by the marching Arellians on the monitors.
‘Come on, mate, don’t you see?’ I asked. ‘It’s over.’
‘You don’t need to do this,’ Te’rnu offered. ‘Z’h’ar is changing. It is happening before our very eyes. Whatever world we had yesterday will be gone by tomorrow. Whatever rules you think you have to follow… they’ll be gone too.’
‘He’s a smart one, really, isn’t he? Don’t you think it’s time to let it go?’
Our foe sighed - and remained still for a moment before reaching their arm up to their helmet.
‘No, don’t!’ I called out, wincing in anticipation of the weapon feature that I believed was to come.
But instead of pressing one of their helmet’s buttons, they began to remove it. Beneath it was an Arellian, but unlike I had ever seen before. This one had more striking features, a slimmer face, and bright green beautiful eyes.
‘Perhaps… you are right,’ they mumbled.
One of the Iyr guards noticed that their leader had removed their helmet, and followed suit. And after a few seconds, more Iyr noticed, and more. Soon, all the Iyr in the room had revealed their true face, and then those outside the room followed suit.
The Head of Guard turned to me and forced a reluctant smile.
‘I guess, perhaps, it is time.’
All of us - the Iyr, the Terran, and young Te’rnu - spent a few moments standing in silence as we watched the Arellian horde filter in through the main gates and spill out into the streets. There was a certain sense of beauty to it; being here as an entire population grew into themselves, as a whole world changed.
When the sheer awe began to wear off, the Head of Guard silently gestured for the Iyr to follow them. Soon, it was only Te’rnu and I left alone in the shuttle bay, the changing Z’h’ar displayed on the security screens around us.
The hums of the building’s generators and the slight buzzes from the displays filled my ears. They seemed to grow louder with every moment that I spent in this room, perhaps even on this planet.
‘Te’rnu, I… I think it’s time for me to go,’ I whispered, nodding to the doorway. ‘In case they change their minds.’
‘You don’t want to see how this all turns out?’ he asked.
I shook my head. ‘I know how it goes. The exploited people rise up against their exploiters. They demand reform. The exploiters give it to them - because they’re outnumbered. Things… get better. It takes time, but overall… eventually… it gets better.’
‘This happened on Terra?’
‘More times than I can count.’
We fell into silence. I ambled over to the shuttle terminal, glancing at the door to check that no Iyr were watching me, that none were ready to change their minds, pounce, arrest me for my supposed crimes.
‘Where will you go?’ my friend asked.
‘First thing I’ll do is go see Mel. Make sure she got out OK. But then, after that, I’ll go wherever they
