The foundation of the communication tower had been completed. Now, bar by bar, the robots built it higher into the sky. I watched the strange six-legged machines skitter around like big ugly bugs, lugging parts around, everything synchronized.

  I dug into the mollusk, famished as always. That seemed to be a quirk of this body; I was always hungry. That or blob me was hungry, which wasn’t good news for the furry dinosaur. I was doing my best not to think about it too much.

  A whistle sounded. The signal.

  I hopped up, scaring the life out of a few civilians as I hurried back to Nicole’s tent. Generally, the big makeshift collar I wore seemed to prevent too much haste. I ducked through the doorway just as she slipped something under her jacket, readjusting it.

  “The native sapients are outside,” Nicole explained. “It seems as though they have sent an envoy to make contact. They want me there to learn their language. I assume you want to come?” She added, almost hopefully.

  I nodded, puffing myself up. Of course, I was going if she was. She may have been a synthetic, but she got hurt so easily. I had sharp teeth to scare anyone off if need be.

  “Good,” she smiled. “Let’s go.”

  Sure enough, as we made our way towards the outskirts of camp, I noticed a few gray blurs in the distance among the tall grass. Had my eyes been human, I might have been able to absorb more detail. But I could tell they were big, and there were a few of them.

  Tobias stood with Commander Alcantar, who held binoculars to his eyes. Four other officers were present, all carrying rifles.

  “Good,” Tobias said, noting Nicole’s arrival. “And… you brought the cretin,” he sighed, looking at me. I glared at him, hoping my disapproval was clear.

  “As I told you–” Nicole began.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know,” he huffed, cutting her off. “What do you think, Commander?”

  “They’re in a field, not exactly an easy location to trap,” Commander Alcantar replied, frownily. “You,” he added, turning to one of the officers. “Take the high ground up there. Keep an eye on things through your scope, don’t shoot prematurely.”

  The officer saluted and hurried off through the grass towards a hill in the distance. My hill. Where my body was. My blood turned to ice. They couldn't go up there. It… It wasn’t for them. I looked up at Nicole, who was distracted by the aliens in the distance. Darn. I watched the officer slink through the grass, hoping he didn’t disturb anything.

  If he did, I would eat him or something. Gnaw on his leg, so he learned his lesson. As amusing as the image was, it was also horribly gross.

  “Right, you three come with us, but stay back a bit. Lord Barrick and I will make contact,” Commander Alcantar continued, instructing the other officers. “Are you ready, sir?” he asked Tobias.

  Tobias took the binoculars and peered through them for a moment. “Ready as can be. Nicole, get close enough that you can hear them. If they can speak, then I’m counting on you to learn the language.”

  Nicole nodded.

  I didn’t quite understand why Tobias was doing this himself. It seemed… really dangerous. Then again, being the first to make contact with an intelligent alien species was an accomplishment he would never shut up about. Maybe that was a little mean, but I felt like being a little mean.

  Staying close to Nicole, our little party began the walk towards the alien envoy. As we got closer, I was finally able to make out the details. Gray skin, four arms, but more than that. They were several feet taller than a human, not hefty, just literally big boned. They wore simple clothing made from some kind of red cloth, their bodies decorated with white paint. They were muscular with thick necks and strong jaws. All were flat-chested, though they had a strange sort of double-torso thing going on.

  I assumed they were men. But then I took a mental page from Nicole’s big book of alien biology and scratched that. Humans were mammals, but these uh… people might not be. So no breasts necessarily. I wasn’t really sure what being a mammal entailed beyond that, though I was fairly sure I remembered her mentioning something about being warm-blooded…

  Our group stopped, several meters away from the aliens. Wind billowed around us. No one moved or said anything. Finally, Tobias bravely stepped forward. “Greetings. My name is Lord Barrick of the Terran Imperium. Who might… you be? Who is in charge?”

  I frowned. Surely he didn’t expect them to understand him. I wasn’t the smartest, but even that was obvious to me. Really shouldn’t–

  The alien spoke, snapping my attention away from that thought.

  It was… it sounded like words. Not English words, but words words, a different language. Sounds that my mouth could have probably reproduced, or well… my original mouth. Hissed Ss, rolling Rs, and other sounds that made language have meaning. I had no idea what they said, but it was hauntingly… recognizable.

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  “Now what?” Tobias asked, turning back towards us. “I haven't got a clue what it said.”

  Another alien said something, holding up an ornately woven basket and stepping forward.

  “Steady,” Commander Alcantar muttered.

  “Approach,” Nicole suggested. “They are offering you something.”

  Tobias did. The alien towered over him, and Tobias was not a small man. Hesitantly, he took the basket, which seemed to be comically large in his smaller hands.

  “What is it?” Nicole asked.

  Tobias frowned, reaching in before pulling out… “Fruit,” he replied.

  “We should offer something in return,” Nicole advised. “As a sign of good faith on their terms.”

  “Like what?” Tobias frowned, glancing back in her direction as he inspected the bumpy green fruit.

  “Food, perhaps some of the mollusk stew— I would strongly advise against eating that,” Nicole chirped as Tobias slid his mask up.

  “I’m not an idiot, I know the edibility test,” he scoffed. “I’m just tasting it.”

  “Thats not… fuck,” Nicole muttered as Tobias bit a small piece out of the fruit’s flesh.

  Tobias moved the piece around his mouth for a few seconds with a slight grimace. Finally, he swallowed. “It’s good, not acidic at all. It’s really fucking good,” he concluded, taking a proper bite.

  “Glad to hear it,” Nicole replied flatly.

  “Delicious,” Tobias turned back to the alien. “Where… did… you… get… this?”

  The alien said something, glancing at its friends. I wondered if they were having a strange parody of the same conversation. This whole encounter was marvellous to witness. Even Nicole smiled. Considering her doctorate, this was probably even more meaningful to her.

  Another one of the aliens spoke up, pointing at me with one of their… chest arms. I shrank back, trying to hide behind Nicole despite being longer than she was wide.

  “You want it?” Tobias asked, a grin creeping across his face. He turned to Nicole. “You heard the man, give him his gift.”

  “Sure, Tobias, let me attempt to give away a dangerous animal that had formed an attachment to me,” Nicole sighed. “What could go wrong?”

  Shit. Nicole may have been fearless, but I knew that was the wrong thing to say. Especially addressing him so casually in a place like this. I could see the anger bubbling forth. Why would she say that? She was so good at tiptoing around him! He had a gun; he could shoot us.

  Tobias cleared his throat, taking a long breath. “How dare you, I give you so…” he trailed off, clearing his throat as he thumped his chest. “I give you so much freedom. And you have the nerve–” Tobias coughed.

  “What's wrong? Having trouble breathing?” Nicole asked, though her tone was more taunting than concerned.

  “Sir?” Commander Acantar asked, hefting his rifle.

  “I’m fine, just… stuck in my throat,” Tobias reassured, before coughing again.

  He looked… really red.

  The aliens said something, taking a step back. Another picked up their spear uneasily. Everyone was on edge now. Tobias kept coughing.

  “I can’t…” he kept coughing. “I can’t breathe,” he finally managed. His lips were swollen, puffing up like balloons. “They’ve poisoned me,” he spat out. “It’s a trap! I can’t breathe, Nicole!”

  Commander Alcantar raised his rifle, and the officers followed suit. The aliens raised their spears, yelling something unintelligible.

  “Sir, get out of the way!” Commander Alcantar called.

  “Shoot them, you idiots, before they can strike,” Tobias coughed, doubling over.

  I turned to Nicole, panic filling me.

  “Stop!” she demanded.

  Looking back, I watched one of the aliens’ heads explode, a ripple shimmering through the air. The gunshot reached my ears a moment later, so loud it hurt. Blue blood burst everywhere, tissues and meat as the body crumpled to the ground. A piece of brain splattered against my fur. I screeched.

  The aliens ran as the rest of the officers opened fire. One more went down; he didn’t get back up. Another was hit in the shoulder but continued on, diving into the jungle foliage to escape.

  I hid in the grass. Ducking low and curling up as small as I could. I couldn’t bear to see any more. Something blue and jelly stained my fur. It smelled musty and metallic. I felt sick, bile rising in my stomach.

  The gunshots had stopped. I didn’t look. I didn’t want to see whatever was left. It was so quiet all of a sudden. I tried to shrink even smaller.

  Nicole whistled. She was okay. She was okay, and she was calling for me. I couldn’t stay here then. I stood shakily. Feeling numb and shaky as I peered through the grass. I could see Nicole and the others standing in the grass. No one else had run. I tried to steady my breathing as I slowly returned. Blood matted my fur. It was horrible.

  “You’re fine,” Nicole muttered, checking Tobias over. “It’s not poison. You’re having an allergic reaction.”

  “I can’t breathe,” Tobias insisted.

  “You’re speaking so clearly that’s not true,” Nicole replied, her anger somehow seeping through her utterly tranquil tone.

  “I feel dizzy and lightheaded, there's a lump in my throat I can’t swallow. I’m sweaty like crazy, and my heart is pounding,” Tobias went on. “It’s so itchy.”

  “A severe allergic reaction,” Nicole corrected herself flatly. “I have epinephrine in my tent. You… will be fine.”

  “Thank God,” Tobias praised through another coughing fit. “All strikes gone, wiped clean. You’ve saved my life,” he laughed weakly.

  “Regretably,” Nicole muttered, spinning and heading in my direction back towards camp. “Keep up, otherwise you might asphyxiate before we get there.”

  Commander Alcantar helped Tobias up. Tobias wheezed all the way behind us back to camp. The gunshot still rang in my ears. I was still covered in blue blood. That had been horrible. Nicole looked… livid. I wanted to cry.