Imperial Orders

♕The Revelation♕

"That's not cool," Hugo violently shook his head as he continued to trudge through the undergrowth, relying on the random pieces of scrap metal he had dropped on the ground to help him find his way back to the crash site. Tuofah followed closely behind, trailing her fingers along the rough surfaces of tree trunks and the bumpy fronds of ferns as she absorbed the history of the forest through her four limbs. 

"What isn't 'cool'?" Tuofah raised an eyebrow. "I was just thinking aloud, that's all." 

"It's not okay that your mom knew that you were living with a potentially dangerous mutation, and just never bothered to tell you. You must feel so betrayed," Hugo explained as the trees parted, giving way to a roughly circular, sunlit clearing. 

It was obvious that the compact, smoky hole seared into the middle of the large swathe of forest that surrounded and protected the Celatysian capital of Relorio was not natural. Small fires still sprung up at its edges, hungrily devouring the ground's plentiful low-lying foliage. In its center was a potato-shaped crater lined by dry, cracked earth and filled with the lumpy, metallic remains of what was once a spaceship. All greenery within two feet of the crater had been long destroyed. 

"I'm sure she had good reasons," Tuofah said quickly as her mind flashed back to a scene of her mother sitting in a worn, wooden chair placed awkwardly in the middle of their sparsely decorated living room. Her sloping shoulders were wrapped in a threadbare shawl and her chin was tilted slightly upwards, almost as if she were staring at something even though she could not physically see. It was impossible for Tuofah to picture the passive woman doing anything remotely devious. 

"I still don't think it's right," Hugo shrugged, carefully stepping around the left edge of the twenty-foot-long crater as he crouched down as close to the scorching metal of the crash site that he would dare go. "But that's just my opinion." 

Deciding not to turn the conversation into an argument, Tuofah followed in the boy's footsteps before taking a knee beside him. "So, what's the plan?" 

"There's very little left inside the ship itself," Hugo explained. "Nut and the others have probably gotten out everything usable. The real bulk of it's in the crates that fell out of Koot's storage area before the ship hit the ground. Those were relatively unharmed by the flames." He gestured to a pile of rectangular boxes that lay in unorganized piles in the area surrounding the wreck. 

Although several lids had been wrenched off, allowing dozens of plastic packets of powdered food to spill out of their containers, most of the crates, which I recognized from my midnight trip to the ship's mysterious storage room, remained surprisingly intact. Hugo rose from the ground and walked over to the closest crate that was missing its lid. Reaching downward, he started to scoop a handful of the white bags out of the crate. 

"Wait, shouldn't we try to get that open first?" Tuofah gestured to the largest of the crates. It stood propped proudly against the base of a tree, wrapped in layer after layer of black casing, the first two of which had been partially burned away. It was obvious that extra effort had gone into keeping this particular crate safe, so Tuofah presumed that its contents were especially important. 

Hugo turned his head from his work, his eyes following Tuofah's outstretched hand. He gasped at the sight of the crate she was pointing at. "No!" the leader of the Peenutz practically yelped. "Not that one!" 

It was too late. Tuofah had already bashed through the crate's unsteady exterior, already destabilized by the heat, with a large rock in her hand. She peeked into its exposed belly, gasping at the sight of what was inside. 

"Tuofah, please," Hugo begged, rushing over to the Tactile and snatching the rock out of her hand. "Leave this one to me." 

"What are you doing with a wig and a fake moustache?" Tuofah hissed, letting go of any feelings of trust she may have developed for the boy. 

"Look, it's not what it-" 

"Tell me the truth," Tuofah pulled a mop of curly, brown hair out of the crate, waving it in front of Hugo's face. "I'm a penniless girl stranded miles from home, and your situation doesn't appear to be much better. You've told enough lies. I want to know who you really are, and what you were planning to do in Relorio."

"Okay, okay, easy," Hugo put his hands protectively in front of his face. He sat down in front of Tuofah, taking in a deep breath as he wrung his hands together. He looked around, making sure that none of the younger Peenutz were within hearing distance, before he began to speak. 

"You're not going to like what I'm about to tell you, but I want you to remember that it's the truth. I'm telling you the truth, and that means I trust you. I believe that you're kind and loyal, and wouldn't use this information to hurt anyone." 

"Just get on with it," Tuofah dropped the wig, crossing her arms. 

"I'm a Djaren," Hugo stated matter-of-factly. "But I'm the only one here, and greatly outnumbered by you and the rest of the Peenutz," he quickly added at the sight of Tuofah's horrified expression. "It's a well known fact that Djareny are harmless unless we're in a pack."

"Then where are your horns, Mr. Djaren? Did Nexetra Serpis help you hide them with black magic so you could come and destabilize our empire?" Tuofah jumped to her feet, lunging to the right to grab the biggest stick she could see. She brandished it threateningly, placing its sharper end inches from Hugo's eye. 

Hugo blinked, continuing to sit straight up in an unnaturally rigid position, before a wide grin spread across his face. Tuofah frowned, confused, as the boy began to laugh. 

"Ha!" he yelled. "That's very funny, Tuo, very funny. You think Serpis helped me!? The woman hates my guts! I'm an embarrassment to her! Why do you think she sent big-scary-guy to crash my ship and kill me?"

"You're lying again," Tuofah narrowed her eyes menacingly. Hugo let out a long sigh. 

"I don't know what else to tell you, Tuo. I'm a Djaren without horns- a source of shame to my family and my race. There's only one thing I'm good for, and that's stealing. That's why I decided to leave the Djareny outpost on Khaas on a stolen ship and go to Relorio." 

"To steal from Homina's wealthiest," Tuofah nodded in understanding, slowly lowering her stick. If Hugo was only a petty thief, she had little to fear from him. 

"No," Hugo shook his head. "I wanted to do something bigger than pick pockets. I wanted to do something that would put Serpis and her jeering, tomato-throwing cronies to shame. I wanted to..." 

"You wanted to what?" 

"I wanted to masquerade as the lost prince of Homina, spend a month in the most luxurious city in the galaxy, and run away with a million marks, a hundred thousand of which I planned to give to you."