Chapter Text
Yellow lights flashed. A sharp alarm paired with them strived to overwhelm us.
The onslaught of sound and light pierced my brain before vanishing without a trace—only to go off again not two seconds later.
Sweat crawled down my spine like a spider.
My hands were damp in my gloves.
Kidari’s presence behind me and in the back of my head was the only thing grounding me through it.
Although we crept silently around sharp corners, I knew our enemy was closing in.
Their ears flicked to and fro, trying to spot where exactly the attack was coming from. But our environment kept them from getting an accurate reading.
They stalked low, hidden by my shadow. Glinting eyes searching for even a hint of yellow light reflecting off iridescent green metal.
Claws ready to tear.
Teeth waiting eagerly to shred.
My right index finger rested firmly on the trigger.
Our adrenaline—and control over it—balanced like a knife on my finger.
The ambush was fast and brutal.
The second Charlie team’s point man rounded the next corner, they were gunned down! Luckily, I was close enough to grab their med-evac strap on the back of their armor to drag them to safety.
“CONTACT FRONT!” screamed their Sergeant over comms as we all backed away from the corner. I waited half a second for the Marine to get up, but they didn’t.
Kneeling next to the injured service member, I put my fingers to the thin strip of skin between their zipped up jumpsuit and helmet to search for a pulse.
There wasn’t one.
Glancing over their chest, I realized they had been hit with armor-piercing rounds.
Ammunition of this caliber was particularly dangerous. Not only because it could punch a hole right through us, but because it could do the same thing to the hull. If we lost pressure at this altitude, my helmet would protect me, but Kidari could suffocate.
The Invadere weren’t taking as many chances this time.
Yeah, we might be a bit fucked.
Kidari roared in warning for the other Marines behind us to back the fuck off before stepping directly over and in front of me.
I took a breath in to object—but was cut off by the sound of another round of bullets coming from behind us!
Turning on my heel, we were back to back.
One of the Marines screamed in my ear as they went down with a new hole in their leg. Luckily, our armor had built-in tourniquets, so the rest of us could focus on shooting back.
I stepped to the side to fire next to and over the remaining fighters of team Charlie. I couldn’t see how many Invadere there were before they ducked back around their own corner for cover.
We were surrounded.
“Johnson, stay here!” yelled their Sergeant at the injured Marine. “Jiminez, with me in the rear! Martin, take over point! We advance on both fronts at once!”
They all shouted confirmation. Martin posted up in front of Kidari, sending a flurry of bullets around the corner. Meanwhile, Jiminez and the Sergeant did the same on our other side.
Then there was silence.
Had they backed off already?
Suddenly, the team’s Sergeant and Jiminez started receiving fire again—and Martin was thrown to the side!
The thing that had shoulder checked him into the opposite wall was nothing but a shadowed blur. Between the lights and how fast they moved, I couldn’t keep track of where they were.
The Pteropusduo leaped around Kidari faster than I could raise my weapon. I stumbled back—their teeth gleaming off the strobes.
Something yanked them back, making their jaws snap closed inches from my face!
They were too close to shoot at without injuring one of us, a lesson I had learned when first fighting Cricket. But I needed to keep their attention on me.
I brought the buttstock of my weapon down on their head. They made a sharp noise of pain in response, but I wasn’t done. Whatever Kidari was doing was becoming more pertinent as the Pteropusduo started to turn around.
I took a step back, giving myself more room to swing my rifle like a baseball bat. It cracked them across the face, forcing them back toward me.
The shrill cry of pain that came from their now crooked jaw clenched my heart—but luckily, it left them distracted long enough that Kidari was able to tackle them to the ground.
They tried to claw at my partner, but their inflexible shoulders didn’t allow much movement. When they attempted to reach up over their head, I snatched both thin wrists, pinning them under my folded legs. I tried to avoid the sharp talons as they struggled, hissing when a few nicked my calf.
The flash of my pain in our head spurred Kidari to move faster.
Their neck twisted around into unnatural positions as they attempted to draw Kidaris blood. But Kidari was better positioned.
I didn’t hear the click because of the shrieking alarms, but I knew we had been successful when the Pteropusduo’s arms went limp under me.
I paused, breathless, and wondered why the gunfire had stopped.
I glanced around us to find blood and bodies everywhere. The two remaining Marines were propping the, thankfully unconscious, handler against the wall.
“General Maddox,” I heaved, only pausing for a moment. I wasn’t expecting a response. I knew she was listening. “The Pteropusduo and their handler have been successfully apprehended.”
“Good work, Sergeant. I’ll see you on the ground.”
That’s it? griped Kidari. We just pulled off what no one has ever been able to do before, and that’s all she has to say?
Don’t worry about her bitch ass, I said in our head, shifting my weight onto the floor. I’ll reward you myself tonight. They scoffed.
I’ll hold you to that.
Still panting a bit from the struggle, we lay them both on their side in the recovery position.
Standing over the handler, I took a moment to study them. Their armor was clean, unblemished. I resisted the urge to remove their helmet. I had never seen an Invadere’s face before, even in Kidari’s memories.
I hoped General Maddox would let me see them without armor, just for my own curiosity. Maybe they really did have green skin.
I’d never been someone who reveled in others’ pain. I’d never bullied someone for my own entertainment. Torture was a means to an end (or in the General’s case, a tool to be used as a warning) not something to do for fun.
Having gone through a bit myself, I felt sympathy for those POWs who had come before me.
But this motherfucker?
I made a mental note to ask General Maddox if I could sit in on their interrogation. Maybe she’d even let me help out a little bit.
Kidari was right. I didn’t think I had it in me to hurt someone like how the Invadere had hurt them.
But I could hand her the pliers.
===
When the strobes and sirens stopped, we stayed with the Pteropusduo and handler. Sickly lemon light bathed the corridor and everyone in it.
Most of team Charlie was still alive. Johnson was in a lot of pain, but he’d live. If only with a limp for the rest of his life. Martin sat next to him against the wall. He had no visible injuries but probably had a concussion from being body slammed into the metal wall. But again, he’d live.
Their point man, Forbes, was dead. I felt a stab of pity for the poor fucker. If not for dumb luck, that would have been me. I had already dragged him around the corner myself. The team’s Sergeant gave me a nod of thanks, focusing instead on his wounded Marines.
It was the least I could do. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if one of my own had died on my first mission.
And besides, the injured shouldn’t have to stare at his body. Always keep your wounded away from your corpses; that was standard procedure for a reason. Nightmares about being hurt and helpless on the battlefield while your dead buddy next to you begged for his momma were a bitch and a half.
There was medication to take away a veteran’s depression. Drugs that would bury their anxiety so deep they’d feel nothing at all. And meds that could water down the paranoia until they didn’t care if they lived or died.
But nothing stopped nightmares. Nothing but a bullet.
The Sergeant and Jiminez posted up facing one corner, while Kidari and I guarded the other. Just because the alarms had stopped didn’t mean the entire ship had been taken. There could still be Invadere who knew they were beaten but didn’t want to go down without a fight.
Looking back, I don’t know why they hadn’t gone for me first.
I heard murmuring behind me. Glancing back, I had to do a double take when I saw that Martin and Johnson had removed their helmets already. Fucking idiots. I was about to crack open my visor so that I could yell at them to get their gear back on until we had at least landed, but Kidari’s surprise caught my attention.
Their nose twitched, telling me something was wrong before their words could.
Confusion, then terror shot through them.
“Kidari?” I asked, but they weren’t paying attention to me.
“No, no, that’s not right, that’s not possible.” I was about to demand they tell me what was going on, but instead forced myself into their head to smell for myself, making me freeze too.
There was another one.
My head whipped around, but sure enough, the Pteropusduo we had already caught was still unconscious behind us. Could I take their collar off? How did I do that? Was there even another dose of sedative in it, or did each only come with one?
Everyone in the Eclipse was still in danger until we could subdue them somehow. But I didn’t have access to those channels to warn anyone. I needed to radio the General!
“General Maddox, we have a si—”
Kidari was suddenly slammed back by a bright yellow blur made of teeth and claws.
Already they were both rolling around, limbs entangled, fur flying, snapping at each other’s necks!
Absently, I could hear the General in my ear, demanding to know what was happening.
Ignoring her completely, I rotated towards them, ready to maim. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of green iridescent armor. Turning back to our already captured prisoners, I barely had time to gasp.
An Invadere had sprinted behind me, past the warring Pteropusduo, making a beeline for the unconscious handler. Their weapon was already up, ready to execute them both.
The only one between the attacker and our prisoners was the injured Marines. Martin stood - unsteady but fast - stepping over Johnson protectively.
“NO, DON’T—” I tried to scream, but my helmet kept me from being heard. I watched, helpless, as Martin raised his rifle.
He pulled the trigger and didn’t stop pulling until the handler went down.
A shrill scream cut through the air as Martin clutched at his chest. But it wasn't his cry of agony.
The yellow Pteropusduo let out another strangled cry as they fell to the floor. Kidari, already below them, pitched themselves forward to catch their head before it hit the floor.
But I was too far away to catch Martin.
His knees gave out, body crumpling to the ground. I heard the heavy THUNK of his skull hitting metal for the second time—but now without a helmet on.
I fell next to him, cradling his bleeding head.
It was over in seconds. A last ditch effort by the Invadere to keep us from taking one of their handlers alive.
I couldn't tell if General Maddox was going to be furious, or ecstatic.
===
The Eclipse vessel had touched down in the middle of Italy's largest airport. Luckily we were far enough down the runway no civilians could see us. We weren't even twenty miles from the very center of Rome, the very city the Invadere had been trying to decimate.
The moment the door out of the Eclipse had unsealed, Kidari clutched at my waist on reflex. Our bond flooded with nerves, but I didn’t realize why for a few seconds. Once again their senses beat mine today.
We were standing furthest from the ramp, but that didn't stop the smell of civilization from hitting us like a truck.
It was muffled through my filtration system. As soon as Kidari tensed, I cracked open my visor so that I could take it all in through my own nose. I knew I could get in trouble, but at that moment I couldn’t care less.
I hadn't breathed fresh air in months—let alone been outside. And Kidari hadn’t for more years than they could have kept track of. It was something I never really thought about during my normal life. When ninety percent of my time was spent one or two walls away from the outside world, it was easy to take advantage of something as simple as unfiltered air.
The onslaught of stimuli was so overwhelming I felt Kidari's eyes start to burn. Whether the tears were from happiness or because it was all too much, I don’t think either of us knew.
The scent hit us first—Kidari harder than me.
Petrichor.
The humidity was high and the weather damp. There were thick gray clouds overhead, a light drizzle falling from them. Rain and car fumes, wet cement and moist earth.
I didn't realize how much I had missed it. Craved it. Needed it.
A minuscule degree of tension that had been set in my shoulders since I woke up on the space station drained out of me.
Sounds from the airport across the tarmac drifted over to us. I was surprised by how much I had missed the sound of traffic, the hum of people in the distance.
Just normal people. Doing normal things.
Well, okay, not normal things. Italy hadn’t had time to evacuate the city, so most people were probably out celebrating the fact that they were still alive.
It was beautiful.
Kidari's ears twitched every which way as they shrank back a bit.
I placed my hand over theirs around my waist to ground them to me.
“Hey, it's okay,” I whispered, even though no one else could probably hear me with my visor only cracked. I knew Kidari was listening. “I’m here. We don’t have to leave yet. We can go as slow as you want.” That was a lie, but it seemed to help calm their anxiety.
Finally, the ramp touched the ground.
The medics rushed out first with litter teams carrying injured Marines down to waiting stretchers. Our two Pteropusduo, Martin, and the handler among them. At first, I was startled to see the second Pteropusduo’s fur turn from yellow to pure white, only to realize their false color was just because of the Eclipse lights. Even their tail puff was colorless.
That was probably for the best. The poor guy had looked like a god damn Pikachu.
Then came the walking wounded being helped down by the remaining element.
I had never seen this part of the operation before. Navy blue and black Space Force uniforms bustled about, getting accountability and assessing damage to armor and equipment.
Platoon Sergeants and Commanders looked over their Marines with drawn eyebrows, unwilling to let go of their arms and shoulders even after establishing that they were alright.
After our first mission together, we had been transferred from the Eclipse straight to another ship that had brought us directly into the hangar. I guess the General finally trusted us not to make a run for it this time.
Not that I hadn’t at least considered it. We wouldn’t have gotten far anyway. There was no place to hide.
On that note, I impulsively decided to take advantage of our limited time under the sun.
I showed Kidari in our head what I wanted to do. They jolted, turning to face me in shock before their nose scrunched in a toothy smile.
We definitely didn’t make it through the crowd unnoticed—Kidari was an over seven foot tall alien, after all. But luckily everyone else seemed to be caught up in their own tasks; they didn’t have time to stick their nose into our business. Especially because they were all specifically instructed not to speak to us.
The moment Kidari’s bare feet hit the wet cement, they gasped at how cold it was. But I kept dragging them by their fingers back behind the ramp. We ducked under the Eclipse’s wide hull, its shadows covering us. Not stopping until we made it out the other side.
The wide open sky was beautiful, even if it was gray instead of blue. Kidari was in awe, but also a bit terrified. They couldn’t take their eyes off it.
They had grown up barely seeing the open sky. But on the flat field facing away from the Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport, there were no trees or buildings for a half-mile in any direction.
Is most of Earth like this? they asked in disbelief. Kidari knew about our planet's mountains and rolling hills, but this looked very different from anything I had shown them about where I grew up.
No, I replied. Most of it has buildings like what I’ve shown you. Or trees like on your home world. But airports have to be on flat ground so that planes can take off.
They flinched when a heavy drop of water fell onto their eye. Kidari rubbed at it, only for another to hit their nose. They let out a heavy sneeze, head shaking and ears flapping. I chuckled at their reactions.
Their tail gave my thigh a light thwack before twirling around my heavy boot. I wrapped my arms around Kidari’s hips, putting my gloved hands in their back pockets. Hot damn, their butt was bony.
I can’t wait to see your trees. Even if they aren’t big enough to build a proper house in, they said. I popped open my visor halfway, showing off my grin. Their eyes locked onto my lips, ignoring the sky for a moment.
I think if we had two large trees, we could build a house between them. Their eyebrows drew together in confusion before I showed them what I meant. The light bulb behind their eyes went off when they saw my idea.
Ah yes, your square houses. A bit odd, but I can live with it. I rolled my eyes at their faux compromise.
You wouldn’t mind living in a square house with me? Eating at a square table? Sleeping in a square nest forever? I teased, drawing them closer.
I’ll sleep wherever you do. Even in an odd square nest. We both smiled. I felt giddy out here, almost free. Close enough to it that we could pretend. If only for a moment.
I stood up on my tiptoes, and Kidari leaned down so that I could give them a small kiss on their soft, cold nose.
===
“Why didn’t they attack at the same time?” the General demanded. “If both Pteropusduos had gone after you in the same wave, we would have been fucked! Why wait?”
The three of us stood together in the drizzle that was making Kidari’s fur start to flatten. When we had decided not to push our luck and head back, it had been just in time to meet with General Maddox.
The other military personnel skittered around us. If anyone noticed how we had disappeared and come back, they didn't say anything. So what if we had avoided giving report so that we could go make out behind the alien death ship? If they didn't like it they could kick rocks. I couldn’t bring myself to care about what they thought. Or even notice their reactions really.
I was trying to explain to her what had happened, but Kidari was distracting me. It wasn’t their fault—they didn’t mean to.
“And what’s wrong with Kidari? Have they never seen clouds before? What the hell is happening?” she asked, indicating to them. I didn’t need to turn around to know that they were not paying attention at all and instead were still staring up at the sky, fully flabbergasted.
“Honestly, sir, I’m not entirely sure. But they haven’t been outside in… actually, I have no idea how long it’s been. And I don’t think we’ll ever find out, because they have no clue how old they are.”
Kidari’s age was… weird. The Pteropusduo culture didn’t put much importance on exact age. So while they had been captured, it hadn’t even occurred to them to attempt to keep track of such a thing. After we had sex for the first time, I had a horrible realization that I knew nothing about their species and had possibly just fucked a child.
Luckily, that hypothesis hadn’t held water for long. If they were mature enough to kill people for the government, they were old enough to decide who they had sex with.
But a small part of me was still afraid, and constantly nagging at me. For all my jokes about Kidari being so fluffy and dog like—what if they aged faster than us? What if one year for us was six for them? What would I do if Kidari died of old age before my military contract even ended?
Every time this fear clawed at me, I did my best to shove it deep down inside my head.
I didn’t have time to worry about that bullshit.
“Anyways, I also have no idea why they didn’t attack us at once, sir. We know that the Invadere aren’t very tactful. They probably only had the second Pteropusduo on board as a fail-safe in case we took the first one hostage.”
“Well, next time they’ll have probably learned their lesson. Your focus until the next Eclipse arrives is to get Perez and Cricket ready to assist you.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
As much as I hated putting my Marine in danger before she was ready, the General was right. If both of the Pteropusduo had attacked at the same time, we would have been fucked. And Rome would be gone.
Kind of ironic to think it would have fallen in a day—or seconds, rather.
I needed her help. And we really needed the two additional Pteropusduo to recover quickly.
The last thing I wanted was to show up on the next Eclipse only to be facing three, or even more of them, all at once. I definitely wouldn’t be lucky enough to make it out of that one alive.