"Hey, don't even start," Tarvalen grumbled as I continued trying (and failing) not to laugh at him. "I still have the matter of your variant to sort out, you know. Lum, was it?"
"Oh hey, you got her name," I smiled. "Also, if you even consider eliminating her, I'll steal your ship again."
"Hey now, cool your jets." Tarvalen paused for a second. "It's true that over the course of our time together, she has shown no sign of power worth weaponizing. So there's that."
"Okay…?"
Tarvalen crossed his arms. "I was just thinking… eliminate doesn't necessarily mean kill, you know?"
"You're letting us go!?"
"Not right away! There's a way to keep your girl in one piece without breaching the contract, yes," Tarvalen told me, "but we'll need to be tactical; get you out of the frying pan without landing you in the fire."
"So you'll help us for real?"
"I'll try to help," he clarified. "We have no idea how many people are after Lum right now. But if the Lightspeed Corps caught wind of it, it's safe to assume you're near the top of at least three or four lists."
"You're fugitives?" That woman was still standing there.
"Er, no. I mean, I don't think so," I replied. "We're not fugitives, are we Tarvalen?"
"We're in Lightspeed territory, Kendel. You're supposed to plead the fifth in times like these."
"The fifth what?"
"Wrong world, never mind." Tarvalen turned back to the woman. "We'll be on our way now, miss. Please don't report us."
"Hmheh, no promises," she replied, then sauntered off.
"So… they're totally going to come for us again, aren't they," I groaned.
"W-well, I can say with confidence that the Lightspeed Corps generally aren't bad guys," Tarvalen said. "If we can convince General Moroz to take both of you along, they might actually be able to help more than I can. Or, better idea, we negotiate with a different general in the Corps. They've got like six, I'm pretty sure."
"What if we can't convince them? They don't know anything about me."
"Ehm… worst case, I bet Qelimara's got something," Tarvalen answered. "For you, she always has a plan. Just trust me on that."
For me, huh? Maybe we really were friends, I thought. Though I seriously feel like I'd remember someone like her.
I looked over at Aria – a sizable crowd had started to gather around her. I'd almost forgotten that loleli were some strange exotic bowl-headed race; of course she'd draw eyes.
That, and she was handing out ice sculptures fashioned after the residents' faces. Hm.
"Aria, come on," Tarvalen called.
"Oh!" In a flash, she appeared next to us. "Apologies. I hope you didn't need my help; I was quite distracted."
I looked back to where she was at first – the people were now staring at a full-sized Aria ice sculpture.
"Snappy. I like your newfound hustle," Tarvalen said approvingly.
"Hmhm, of course," she casually replied. I could still sense that burning energy, though. Was she holding it back on purpose? Just as well, I thought. No idea why I'm constantly expecting her to go berserk, she's super chill. "Killed by bowl headed woman" would look awful on my obituary anyway.
A few moments after we left Vaella Beilosa, the Shell appeared in front of us.
"All right, let's head back to my sky tower," Tarvalen said. "Y'all can rest or whatever, I've got some planning to do. And, ugh, cleanup."
"What if the Lightspeed Corps is waiting for us?" I asked.
"Hmm… I dunno," Tarvalen muttered, opening the Shell's door.
"Finally, friccing hells!" Qelimara jumped to her feet, looking very heated. "What took you so long, huh? I couldn't get out, couldn't go anywhere," she yelled. "Why does it even have that feature in the first place?! If you're smart, this thing will basically never get damaged!"
"It's just a failsafe," Tarvalen replied. "I mean, better safe than sorry, right?"
"If you really wanted safe, you'd install proper shields," Qelimara fussed, her eye-line flashing in several places. "Or better, weapons! You can't seriously think this thing will survive a real altercation with just reactive lockdown."
"I get it, I get it," Tarvalen sighed. "I'll… talk to a mechanic at some point. Add that to the list of stuff to deal with. I really hope the Lightspeed Corps isn't still there…"
"Mm, they shouldn't be," Qelimara said, popping open a panel in the Shell's wall. "According to your homesense unit, the energy signatures around your place disappeared shortly after we did."
"Oh. Forgot I had that," Tarvalen said, now relieved.
"That tracks… hmm?" Qelimara stopped at another blip on the homesensor's timeline. "Um, Aria. Mind doing a scan of the sky tower once we get there?"
"Is something the matter?" She wondered.
"According to these readings, another ship stopped by the sky tower," Qelimara reported, "but it left like a minute later."
"What, you think they set a trap?" Tarvalen asked. "Or maybe a spy or something?"
"It's entirely possible," Aria nodded. "Right, I'll take a look."
"Oh yeah – Kendel," Tarvalen said to me. "I recall your world mainly speaks Ordinal, right? Did you take Hulic lessons or something?"
"Eh, Lum probably knows it," I shrugged, "And I just… osmosed it from her or something. Isn't that right, baby dolly?"
"Homey moon," she replied.
"Real," I agreed. "Honestly, Tarv, it all sounds the same to me."
"Tarv?" He looked befuddled at that.
"Or, uh, do you prefer something like… Valley? It rhymes with Kelly, sort of," I suggested.
Qelimara's face lit up at that. "I like that. Let's do that," she nodded.
"No, I prefer Tarvalen actually," he stated. "And… I guess you can use Tarv, if you insist on shorthand."
"That works," I said. "Back to the talking thing, though… what was it you normally speak?"
"Me?" Tarvalen pointed at himself. "Terran Basic. No one knows what planet it originated from, but anyone who finds themselves traveling the cosmos will pick it up at some point."
"So, like, the business language of the galaxy?"
"I suppose. And Qelimara speaks Hinge, if I recall… though no one else I've seen even knows Hinge exists."
"It's my native language," she shrugged. "Not my fault it's so rare. Though, heh, it does make it easier to tease Tarvalen behind his back."
"No fair, you switched on me," Tarvalen accused.
"She did?" I asked.
"It really sounded the same to you?" Qelimara wondered.
"Y-yeah." I started to feel embarrassed, but she only laughed.
"You know what, that just makes things easier for you, right? Easier for all of us, even!" She clapped my shoulder. "I bet with your whatever-it-is, you can easily chat with anyone in the cosmos. Bridging gaps, mediating talks, playing ambassador, your options are limitless!"
"Well, let's not take it that far," I nervously replied. Then an icy breeze blew into the ship, reminding us that we were still on Echnogg.
"I know that look," Aria said. "Everyone ready, then?"
"This planet… isn't actually so bad," Tarvalen decided as the Shell's hatch closed. "Let me save the cosmographical data real quick."
"Gonna relocate?" I asked.
"Not permanently. Maybe I'll get like a winter home or something," he replied. Then he leaned forward and touched the orb. "Position home."
*