Negotiations Underway

Chapter 7: Truth be Told

Approximated Earth Date: 3. May. 2235

Teresh couldn't believe what he was hearing. This human, this Mikael, could speak kooli. Not through a translator, but the actual language of his people. Perhaps it was that revelation or the fact that he was truly seeing a human in the flesh for the first time that caused him to feel lightheaded and woozy. At first he thought it was his own nerves, but the flashes in his eyes told him otherwise. His vision started to blur, and his legs felt wobbly. He started to list from side to side. Teresh saw Tom reach out to him as the edges of his vision grew darker. Then, everything went black.

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"Don't worry kid. I've got you, I've got you," he heard a familiar voice speaking to him. His eyes blinked open and he found himself caught in the grasp of Tom. 

He could feel one hand supporting his back, and another holding up his head by the back of his neck. Both seemingly belonged to Tom, who was looking down at him through the darkened glass of his spacesuit.

Looking to the side, he saw Mikael standing before the two of them. Stood in the center of the room while they were still near the door. Slowly but surely, his vision was returning to normal, along with the feeling in his limbs. 

Leaning down, he explained, "My apologies. The oxygen density is much higher here than what you're used to. If I had known I would have prepared more accordingly." 

"But... I was fine on the ship," Teresh replied, speaking slowly. He put a taloned hand to his head as if to steady himself. 

"The air here is highly purified due to advanced life support systems. Won't find anything like it on your typical ship, especially an old cargo ship," Mikael answered.

Tom let out a growl, almost frightening Teresh with how aggressive it sounded. The black glass turned to the side, his voice speaking through the static of his helmet, "Why the hell are you so calm about all this? What the hell is going on!?"

"Calm down, captain. I'm going to explain everything, but I can't do that if you let your emotions get the best of you. A phantom like yourself should know better," Mikael replied coldly. 

It was at this time that Teresh had another revelation. These conversations weren't taking place through his own translator, but a strikingly similar device that hung around the human's neck. He was certain it wasn't present when he arrived. Had he donned it when he nearly blacked out?

"W-Wait... that there. Do you have a translator?" Teresh asked, his voice seamlessly translated through the device. 

The device itself was very similar to his in many ways. Circular in shape, primarily black and silver in color. Resembling a silver ring surrounded by a dark shell. With the black sections having the sheen of a hard plastic, and the silver being a metal of some kind. There were several buttons around the edges that assumedly tuned the device like his own. In function, whenever words were spoken, the silver ring would elicit a gentle blue glow from unseen lights within. Signifying that every sound and syllable was being translated in real time.  

"Why yes, I do. I also can speak a limited amount of kooli, and have brushed up on some common valaxi," the man replied, taking a step forward. 

"Hey!" Tom barked, "I don't know if we have any microbes or diseases that could get Teresh sick. Don't step closer."

"At ease, soldier. Currently there are no recorded examples of human or kooli diseases jumping species," Mikael explained, taking another few steps forward. 

"You have data on kooli?" Teresh asked weakly.

"Again, we have quite a lot to talk about," he began, kneeling down to be eye level with Teresh. "Stay with us kulo, nothing bad is going to happen while I'm here. Tom, tend to him while I summon my personal ship. This should help."