"That's a lot of help. You must of had as much luck getting information out of this lot as we have. This guy here," she said, jabbing a spoon towards the soldier, "hasn't said a word." Kirrik winced at her cavalier attitude towards an armed and possibly hostile woman.
"Ah, let's forget it then," Aeryis said. "I'm lying down." He left the room heading for the sleeping quarters. Kirrik watched him leave, then shrugged and sat down at the table.
"Any more food?" Arrachachak pushed a half full bowl of soup over to him. Kirrik finished it, then sat back, looking around. The guard stood near the doorway they had entered from. Marchero was eating a chunk of what appeared to be a bread of some kind, and not paying much attention to anyone else. Arrachachak was in turn watching Kirrik. Although attempting to read alien body language was a pointless exercise for someone not very familiar with the species, he may have been curious as to what Kirrik was thinking. The doctor was busy tending Garath, who in turn was more concerned with his state than anything else.
Arrachachak caught Kirrik's thoughtful look at the medic. "He's no more interesting than the soldier," he told Kirrik. "Only says what he needs to say to do his job."
"Hey, doctor!" Kirrik called out.
The doctor stopped working to answer him. "Do you need medical attention?"
"A bit. They didn't do a great job of patching me up earlier. I'm Kirrik, by the way."
"I'll attend to you when I finish with this man." He returned to Garath.
"See," Marchero snickered.
"Here's an idea," Arrachachak said. "Can you irritate the doctor into saying something as much as you do with Kirrik?" Kirrik shook his head slightly, but Marchero chuckled.
"What did you find out?" Arrachachak asked him.
A shrug, then "Suspicion, of us. Understandable, I suppose. The person we saw mentioned some treaty and a race or group called the Schriy."
"Who did you see?"
"Might have been the base commander. He, or she for all I know, or it, didn't say anything about themselves."
"Not human, then?" Marchero said.
"No. Why bother asking, as if you only expect your lot here? A bit arrogant, aren't you?"
Marchero threw a piece of bread at Kirrik. "Calm down," Arrachachak told them. "We've only seen humans here so far, that's why she asked. What's the problem with you two, anyway?"
"Oh, his lot rub my nerves raw. Running around the galaxy expecting everyone to do their bidding to help fulfil their high and mighty goals," Marchero sneered. "They've been treating me like a slave, really."
Kirrik replied with short shake of his head and a "Hah."
"Why join them then?" Arrachachak asked her.
"You think I had any choice? Dragged out of the frying pan and into the fire."
"I think you're irritating personality predates your meeting with Williams and Jalsa," Kirrik stated.
"What do you know about me? You spend all your time ordering me around and ignoring what I say."
"And you spend most of yours trying to wind me up. It's infantile."
"It keeps me from thinking too much about the mess we're in," Marchero muttered.
Kirrik opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped in surprise at her revelation.
"I still can't stand you, though," Marchero added.
"How nice, we're all, well, slightly less hostile, at any rate," Arrachachak announced.
The doctor had finished tending Garath, and broke up their exchange by occupying Kirrik with questions about the nature of his injuries and what had been done to treat them. Marchero returned to her food, and Arrachachak dug around in a cupboard until he found a pack of cards, and tried to persuade Garath to have a game.
When the door opened it wasn't a pirate or another soldier entering the room, but the being Kirrik and Aeyris had spoken to earlier.
"Well?" Kirrik asked.
"All very strange. So there is a ship on the way to take you back to base."
Garath looked up from his cards. "I'll fetch Aeyris," he announced, and disappeared out of the room.
"He's loosing," Arrachachak grinned.
Aeyris strode in a short while later, with several members of his crew loitering around behind him. "Are we under arrest?" he asked.
"In a manner of speaking. After all, you have trespassed on military territory. For the time being I accept your explanation and ignorance of this fact."
"Thanks," Aeyris muttered.
"What are your intentions regarding this ship?" Kirrik put in.
"It will be examined by our engineers."
"I'm not sure I can allow that," Kirrik stated sharply.
"I am not sure you can prevent that. Anyhow. If we are eventually satisfied you are here in innocence you will be provided with a replacement vessel and will be free to go your own way. If not you will be imprisoned."
"Back the way we came?"
"That is not up to me to decide. The device which brought you here will be studied. You might be permitted to use it." The alien departed without waiting for a response, but this time all the guards went with him.
"Can we force our way out?" someone asked, after peering through the doorway to see if any of the post's soldiers remained.
"No chance," Aeyris stated. "We'll have them all over us as soon as we power up."
"You just want to wait?" Marchero replied scornfully.
"It's all we can do."
Four two days waiting was all they did. Food was supplied to the Constrictor, but not enough for more than a day. It was agreed that they would ration themselves and try to build up a store, although they were unable to accumulate much. Technicians from the post repaired some key life support facilities such as the water recycler, and whilst the main door was open the post's systems provided fresh air and heat. Some of the crew voiced the opinion that the technicians were secretly trying to probe for information about the ship, but only Kirrik was slightly concerned by the idea.
The waiting was not broken by the arrival of the ship that was supposed to be coming for them. Late in the nominal night Tikapora was awake and standing idly near the ship's door, watching the soldiers that still stood around the landing bay. Suddenly a brief look of discomfort passed over their leader's face, as if he had just received disturbing news on the headset he wore. Tikapora tensed slightly, before quickly heading back into the ship.
The insect-like creature woke Aeyris and Kirrik, and they retired into the mess room.
Aeyris rubbed a bleary eye. "Something's up?" he assumed.
Tikapora spoke a strange collection of sounds that would have been very difficult for the human larynx and mouth to even approximate. When he finished the translator he always carried interpreted.
"I saw something upset the soldiers. And I heard faint alarms, probably too faint for you to hear."
Aeyris nodded, but Kirrik stood up. "Wait a minute," he told them.
When he returned, Kirrik confirmed Tikapora's brief story. "The soldiers are standing there the same as ever, but I can also hear a faint alarm."
"You've good ears to match Tik," Aeyris noted.
"Yes."
Aeyris tapped his fingers on the table. "I think we should keep this to ourselves," he said finally.
"Why not tell the others?" Tikapora queried.
"Sorry, I meant all of us, and not let our captors know. It might give us an opportunity if they don't know we know we may have one."
"Er, yes," Kirrik decided after a couple of seconds. "Let's rouse the others."
Most of them were crowded into the mess room, eating whatever they could scrape together for an early breakfast, when they were interrupted by the leader from the landing bay guard.
"You're free to go," he announced.
The room erupted as everyone started asking questions at the same time.