“Sure, I’ve got pets. I’ve got one on the way right now. You know, you should really start looking into getting one too. They’re no longer reserved for those pansy corporate suits and us clanlords anymore. Hell, you can probably still afford one as a regular peasant, if you don’t mind getting some ugly mutt or pussy that is. There’s finally enough good living space across colonies between the CCH and us that animal populations are bouncing back. I tell ya, I would be a husk of a man if I didn’t have something cute to pet after long day of ruling my people. Yes, I have another tiger on the way. Her name is Stripe, and I will give her all the headpats I can give her.” – Nikandrios Ji, ex-Lesser clanlord of the Gaudium clan, 2262. Excerpt from ‘Raining Cats and Dogs – A look at the pet industry’. Ji was later noted for gifting over a hundred sphynx cats to Mikhail Olegovich when he added the Gaudium clan to the Ten-Triumphs.

  “Look, if you’re not going to save me, at least try to not waste ammo,” Elias said, noting his partner’s poor aim.

  “Hey, it’s not my fault there’s at least a hundred zombies trying to- ah!” Chel-Lin grumbled before a monster’s machete cut her down.

  It was fair to say that progress in the horror game was not going well.

  Elias and Chel-Lin both sat in the middle of his dorm room facing a large screen currently displaying a ‘YOU ARE DEAD’ message. Blue walls surrounded them as the distant spires of Urestior peeked through an open window. Elias had asked EXCAL early on to adjust the style of his room away from the hotel-esque design it had upon first arrival. It had been nice, but didn’t feel personal to Elias. Now, it felt much homier with plush carpets, a couple framed oil paintings and a small picture by his bedside of his Uncle and himself posing in a warehouse-sized garage.

  As the first checkpoint had finally crawled upon them with little time left, both scientists were shocked to find that they had successfully managed to complete all the needed data and initial results that the IGS committee would require. With only a few days left, the two of them felt they deserved at least a little leisure time before they truly got stuck into their FTL project. It was unsaid, but Elias figured that neither of them would be willing to take any significant breaks once they managed to fully dig into whatever magic they could pull from the S-Drive.

  However, their attempts to relax were going rather poorly. Though they had initially resolved to watch a movie together until it appeared that someone in the other Nucleus wings had ‘accidently’ uploaded an obscene amount of interspecies pornography onto the shared server for recreational media, causing a temporary shutdown. The fact that a similar event had happened during the Cambiar first contact was not lost on Elias, as he humoured the idea that same perpetrator had managed to sneak into the highly secure facility with the same intentions of spreading footage of the ‘human handshake’. Sadly, it was more likely just some prankster, or exhibitionist, in the IT department.

  Instead, Elias was proud to pull out his private stash of stored media that he had built over the years. After showing off his perfect taste in movies, tv shows and games, Chel-Lin had shown a taste for something interactive. The outing to Birkdale’s Gate had shown that VR headsets were not the best fit for a Tylas, so they were limited to super retro games – those produced before the big gap in media production between the rise of Paradise and Heaven’s Doctrine, and the initial settling of the first space explorers. It turned out having most of the free world focused on moving continent and then off-planets generally resulting in little desire for media consumption.

  Needless to say, though the games they could play with simple controllers and without headsets were old, they more than stood the test of time. Hell, Elias was loathe to say that more than a dozen or so pieces of media from after Titanlock got settled could compete with proto-wave material. As such, they found themselves playing a co-op horror shooter from the early 21st century, with Elias playing as some beefcake of a soldier from an anti-terrorist organisation with arms strong enough to punch boulders, and Chel-Lin playing as his new partner. She’d been somewhat quiet over the past few weeks, but Elias hoped that the game would get her to open up a bit more. Just as the two of them had gotten past the initial combat encounters of the game, with his Tylas accomplice finally getting a hang of the controls with her tentacles, she began to speak up.

  “So…” Chel-Lin said, a ripple running through her outer layer.

  “So… what?” Elias said, mimicking her tone.

  “How are you feeling? About the IGS and everything?”

  “I’ll be honest – this isn’t my first rodeo with being part of a big, fancy convention. All I did last time was figure out another mathematical constant regarding S-Field displacement. Nothing too special.”

  “Right. And how did it all go?”

  “Well, writing the constant gave me a bit of a wrist sprain, but that’s to be expected from it being so long.” Elias flexed his wrist in mock pain at the memory.

  Chel-Lin gave him a soft slap on the arm. “I mean the convention!”

  “Oh, that. Yeah, that was fine. A lot of people, and plenty of attention. It was everything a growing Elias needed.”

  Chel-Lin paused for a moment, nearly letting a sneak attack from some mutated villager get the drop on her character. “Wait, how old were you?”

  “Hmm, sixteen maybe?”

  “Hold on, how big a part did you play in the whole event?”

  “I had a whole big speech in front of the crowd, a little press conference, you know, all the same bullshit as normal.”

  Chel-Lin didn’t look at him, nor the screen. Instead, she just looked down slightly.

  “Chel-Lin? You good?”

  “It sounds like you’ve… always had all the attention on you.”

  “In a way I have, I suppose. Mostly because my father likes to drum up a lot of publicity for each and every little thing I do. If I do anything that might even come close to appearing in the news, he’ll blow it out of proportion with some embellished headline. Must be even worse for you though. Big daddy Daksira sounds like he’s a bit of a big deal in whatever political circle he swims in. At least mine’s just one of many big fish within GaltCorp.”

  “The Tylas see fame a bit differently to humanity, I feel. There’s definitely some pride in making one’s name well known, but it comes with all the weight of the status it brings. In a way, it’s not that different from how my kind see children in general.”

  Elias spluttered as he paused the game. “Come again?”

  “For us Tylas, having children is both one of the biggest joys of our lives but also one of our biggest burdens. The actions of our offspring are almost always going to be reflected back onto their parents, regardless of the context. Combine that with the rivalry between family members, and it’s clear to see why many Tylas choose to go without knowing the love of another, or fear the risks that their children might bring.”

  “Jesus, I know I can’t win any awards for healthy family relations, but that seems a bit fucked up. Is that a common thing?”

  Chel-Lin nodded, tucking her mantle inwards in a collapsing wave of motion. “Nowadays? Yes. Many years ago, before we reached for the stars, it was generally seen that family ties were closer, and any issues the family faced were handled together. As the ideals of Barald became more present in our society once we spread beyond our home system, many refused to entertain the idea of risking eternal salvation over excessive love or even just friendship.”

  “Huh… Well, shit. That sucks. What about you Chel-Lin? You obviously got made somehow, so why did your family put their status on the line for you?”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Chel-Lin appeared to tighten up, slinking even closer within herself. Elias considered retracting the question and just moving on, but she reaffirmed herself as she straightened her posture.

  “My parents’ relationship was not one of caring companionship. I’ve always known that. My mother made a deal with my father to provide an offspring in return for some of his political advantage as a one-time favour. That, and I think she must have had some revelation about her own legacy at some point. Not that I think she cares about that anymore.”

  Ouch.

  “Regardless, my father felt it was worth the risk and… did what he needed to do. As soon as I was born, my mother left and officially separated her ties to me through an official service. It meant she would no longer bear the burden of any issues I caused until she wished to reconnect.”

  “But that hasn’t happened yet, right?”

  “No… and…” Chel-Lin shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. She’s already made her opinion clear on me. If nothing else, though my father has been difficult overall, he does still care for me beyond what I could offer him. In some ways, he’s been rather affectionate for a Tylas.”

  “The same dude who effectively strong armed you into screwing over the IGS for his political benefit counts as a good Tylas dad? Can’t say he sounds like father of the year material. Not that I can say much. Kantor didn’t really want much to do with me in general. Still doesn’t, outside of how much attention I can drum up towards the family name.”

  Chel-Lin listened to Elias for a moment before perking up, eyes wide.

  “Wait, you had an uncle. Samson, right?”

  “Yep. I guess that’s a pretty big difference between you and I – no matter what stuff I had to go through back then, I still had my uncle to rely on. I tell you, I’ll never forget that dumb smile he always had when we saw each other after some time apart. Laughed so loud it was like a goddamn atmos-craft engine powering up next to your ear.”

  Elias sighed, reminiscing, before he focused on the screen. A flash of inspiration took him. “Hold on, watch this for a sec.”

  He unpaused the game and led Chel-Lin to a specific area as part of the means to progress the level. Standing on either side of a gorge, Elias gave some brief instructions and counted down. On zero, the two of them shot at a number of apparently miscellaneous background items outside of the game’s playable borders in a specific order. As Chel-Lin knocked the last one over, a firework erupted outside the map and an achievement popped up on screen.

  “What’s that?” Chel-Lin asked.

  “Something I’ve wanted for ages, but could never do by myself. It’s a trophy, of sorts. It was probably some special joke hidden by the developers that probably meant something a few centuries ago. Still, finally got that achievement. I’ve tried it before by using my feet on the other controller, but never got it right. But that’s not the main thing I wanted to show you.”

  Elias stood and pointed to the username next to the achievement icon before it faded away, a simple string of letters – SANCHO.

  “Sancho…?” Chel-Lin sounded the word out, clearly unfamiliar to her.

  “It’s a nickname. One that Samson gave me. Say, how many of the classics of human literature have you read, Chel-Lin?”

  Chel-Lin stiffened up. “Not much.” She looked and saw Elias clearly expecting something more. “Well, only because I believed that partaking in too much human media would corrupt my holy nature, of course.”

  “Sure, sure, very convincing coming from the alien who clearly practiced playing CrashOut before I arrived, just so you were likely to beat me. Sure.”

  “N-never mind that! But… no, I haven’t read much of your people’s works.”

  “Some it is pretty hit or miss, but there’s lots of stories out there that might resonate with you. You’ve got plenty to choose from, considering we’ve been writing for a long time, even by Tylasian standards. The favourite work of my Uncle Samson was a little piece by the name of Don Quixote. To make a long story short, he used to read it to me back when I was younger, and he eventually started giving me a nickname after the sidekick of the main character.”

  “Huh, ‘Sancho’. What is he like in the story?”

  “He’s a fat, middle aged man.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Still, he’s Quixote’s faithful companion, and I guess my uncle always saw me as a bit of reasoning to his wild madness. Every time he went out exploring the stars and tried to regale me with stories of danger and catastrophe, I would just ask him ‘Why bother going through so much trouble? To risk your life in the cold expanse of space? Surely GaltCorp is rich enough already? Is it worth it?’. No matter how much I reasoned or calculated, he would always come back to the same answer.”

  Chel-Lin tilted her head, awaiting his answer. As if Elias could feel his role model from the past being brought to life through him, he stood and did as close as an impression of his beloved father-figure as possible.

  “Why, my little Sancho? Why not! For the sake of adventure and life we strive for greatness! As my duty as a chivalrous knight, the famous Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, we gallop on and on! Until we reach the last horizon, and on some more!”

  Elias didn’t realise he had raised his voice to match the booming voice of his uncle until he found himself wanting to check no one had heard him outside the room. When Chel-Lin continued to stare at him with something between bewilderment and awe, he did a mock bow and sat back down.

  “Anyways, that’s what he always said. I don’t think he ever actually quoted the book, just said a lot of stuff that happened to sound like it could come from Cervantes.”

  “That’s… actually really nice to hear. I’m glad you had someone like Samson, Elias.”

  “Yeah, I’m glad too.”

  He picked up the controller once more and got back into the game. Elias was about to suggest possibly heading for the end of the level when Chel-Lin spotted an optional puzzle for additional resources.

  Before he could point it out, Chel-Lin put on a voice as she instructed, “Onward, little Sancho! Treasure lies ahead!”

  Oh great, he had only offered more fuel to the amount of ways that was his alien lab partner could mess with him. Fantastic. Elias didn’t put up much resistance until he reached the last segment, when all he had to do was time a level pull with Chel-Lin. Without saying a word, he pressed the button designated for partner interactions.

  “Sheva, come on!” Elias’ muscled character said in a dramatic tone, calling out for his fellow zombie-killing partner’s name.

  “Yeah, I’m waiting for you to-“ Chel-Lin said before being cut off.

  “Come on, Sheva! Hurry!” the character said again.

  Chel-Lin’s character tried to a lever on her side of a gap, but needed some help from the other side. Help that Elias clearly wasn’t offering. He turned to lock eyes with Chel-Lin as he calmly pressed the button again.

  “Sheva, move!”

  And again.

  “Come o- Sheva!

  And again.

  Co- Let’s go! Come o- I need he-“ the character shouted, overlapping his own voice lines.

  After a barrage of the cacophony for a good few seconds, Chel-Lin gave him a deadly stare. He made a clear motion of holding the controller with one hand and slowly moving a finger closer to the offending button with the other.

  “Don’t,” Chel-Lin gravely intoned, the message clear.

  Millimetres away, Elias motioned to pull his finger away before firmly slamming it down.

  “SHEVA, I NEED HELP!” the character yelled.

  Elias barely had a moment to laugh before Chel-Lin was on him, pushing him to the carpet and blocking the light from above. Her initial weak flailing dissipated as they came to rest on the floor, the smell of the newly used carpet cleaner lingering in the air around them. With her outer cape spread wide, like a manta ray above its prey, her face was close to his. Laughter trailing off, Elias saw that she wasn’t moving away, instead incrementing closer with breath he took. The world lapsed into silence around the pair as Chel-Lin, with her body fully closing in around him, gently moved downwards.

  No, what the hell was this? This wasn’t like some stupid scene in a dumb rom-com movie, was it? Of course not, that was an idiotic trope that never happened in real life, especially not with his silly, alien lab partner, right? Wait, what was he doing thinking about rom-coms?! There was nothing romantic here. Just him, Chel-Lin, and all the choice in the world. The very idea he could draw affection towards her, the woman he grown far too close to in a short period of time, was a preposterous notion! She was an, annoying, egotistical, floating, rude, smart, intelligent, quirky, delicate, soft, open, beauti-

  Oh hell. Well, that was an outcome Elias had not foreseen in his hypothesis when he had first come to Kral-Thul.

  Could he do this? Did he want this? If he didn’t, why did he feel his breathing hitch as her glowing eyes appraised his every facial expression carefully. Damnit, damnit! Why was this happening? Why was she happening? Why did he feel as though all the stresses and concerns of the IGS were a billion light years away, but that the one person who he could connect to in a way unlike any before made him feel sick with nerves?

  Just as he felt the impossibility of the moment begin to conclude in only one logical outcome, a waveform collapsing as the box was opened, he knew he wanted. Then, the room was filled with a horrifying scream.

  Jolting back, Chel-Lin let light pour down onto Elias once more they turned towards the source of the distress. On-screen, the female character was being chomped down on by a zombie as a familiar ‘YOU ARE DEAD’ screen popped up once more.

  Sighing, the two sat up, now the air awkward and heavy.

  “So…” Chel-Lin said before her mantle began to shudder frantically. “Wait, when did we last save?”

  Elias leaned back with a groan, trying to hide the reason why he felt such twisted feeling at that moment, as they reloaded the previous save slot all the way at the start of the mission. If only he could chalk it up to lost progress in a video game. Elias was built for many problems in life, whether those were the prodding of the media or overcoming insurmountable odds when faced with scientific impossibility, but the stress of confronting his own burgeoning intrusive thoughts was not one of them.

  At that moment all Elias hoped for was that the IGS could please, please collapse and fall apart at that very second so that the butterflies in his stomach would not need to be resolved. Like Schr?dinger’s cat, maybe it was best to let the lid stay unopened.

  That was, unless, if maybe Chel-Lin could take the first move to get within kissing distance again, a reaction he hoped would summon some animalistic urge within him.

  That might be nice – taking his brain out of the equation, for once, and letting his body deal with the results.