Geh!kin followed Zaa!nu's progress as she ran through darkened passageways, heading for the next awake crew member. The map of the ship did not vanish when the power went out, nor did Petra fall quiet, for which he was extremely grateful. The cameras in the ship were not working, but Petra still had control of the suit cameras, so he could see the young woman's perspective.

Zaa!nu rounded a corner and all but collided with the ambulatory alien. She fired her rifle into the deck. "Stop!" she ordered in Kthufu. Geh!kin had Petra translate. "Down on the ground!" The alien dropped to their knees, arms out to the sides. They were wearing some sort of breathing apparatus to protect them from the sleep gas.

"Take off the mask!" That took a couple of tries with Petra before the translation came through, but apparently Zaa!nu had pantomimed well enough that the alien understood. Understood, and refused, shaking their head fervently.

"Tell him he can go to sleep or he can die. Those are his two options."

The alien asked a question, and Petra translated. "Are you just going to kill me after I go to sleep?"

Geh!kin offered a reply: "Not right now. I will kill you right now if you don't take off that mask. Five. Four. Three. Two. One—"

The alien interrupted with a shout, holding its hands up higher. Then slowly, he removed the mask. They both stayed there, motionless, as the fuak!a waited for the invader to give up and stop holding his breath. Finally, the alien gasped and took a deep breath. It started trying to say something else, but stopped. It took a surprisingly long time before they keeled over.

"Do you think he's faking?" Geh!kin asked.

"No. He smashed his face pretty hard there. Probably broke his...air bump. Like Nik!eh has," Zaa!nu tried.

"His nose, Nik!eh calls it."

"Right, that. If he was faking, he would have at least turned his head a little." Zaa!nu sighed. "Explain to me why I'm not just killing the murderous alien again?"

"He might be useful?" Geh!kin suggested. Zaa!nu grunted in dissatisfaction. "He might object to his leader's behavior but was unable to stop it? He might be a bargaining chip?" More grunts. "You don't want to become a monster?" he tried.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Does it make me a monster to kill a monster?"

"Are you sure enough that that specific alien is a monster that you'll bet your spirit on it?"

Zaa!nu gave no reply.

"You can think about the best way to kill him if you haven't already done it?"

"All right, I can live with that one." Zaa!nu sighed. "Where's the next big red rodent?"

"We've lost the cameras, but its last known position was one level down and farther in the direction you were just heading. There was a ladder behind you on your right. I'm going to check on Nik!eh. He said something about dealing with the other four. Good hunting. Be careful."

"I will."

Geh!kin switched his focus and listened in on a surprising conversation:

"Petra?"

"Yes, Nick? How may I be of service?" There was a pause.

"Did you suddenly get better at English, Petra?"

"Yes, Nick. As I gained control of the Kalash-Quovo, I gained more English knowledge. I have been analyzing it. My proficiency is up to an estimated 88%."

"That's fantastic! Wait...why do these aliens know English?"

"I do not know their reasons."

"I mean...Never mind. First things first." Geh!kin thought that was a silly way to put it, but the meaning was clear enough. He could hear Nik!eh's breathing for a moment. "Can I talk to the people in Engine Room?"

"Yes, Nick."

"Geh!kin, may I talk of give and get for fuak!as?"

"'Negotiate', Geh!kin supplied the Kthufu word. "Nik!eh, I don't think we're interested in giving these bastards anything."

"I understand. That's exactly why I should negotiate for you."

Geh!kin took a deep breath, and then another, before he had his thoughts under control. "I see your point."

"On the other hand, if I find out that the reason these guys know English is because they destroyed the Earth, I'm not going to be interested in negotiating either."

"Understood. Do your best for us, Nik!eh. And...it will be good to have a real conversation with you, if we both survive this."

"Definitely. Looking forward to it."

"Good luck."

A burst of gunfire alerted him to the need to check on Zaa!nu. He switched cameras and saw Zaa!nu taking lots of shots from a difficult-to-see crewman. She grunted and held her fire, apparently until she felt she was ready. Then she fired a single shot, and the enemy gun fell silent.

"Damned weird thing to be good at," Zaa!nu muttered. She marched over to the downed alien and shot it a couple more times to make sure, then bent down and picked up its weapon. "Got this one," she reported tiredly. "What next?"

"Head for the center of the ship. The engine room is there. Nik!eh is going to try to negotiate with the crew who turned off the lights."

"What's to negotiate? We're going to kill all of them, aren't we?"

There was a pause. "If we have to," Geh!kin agreed conditionally.

This is a young girl thrust in the deep water, and she's casually talking about killing hundreds. Perhaps Nik!eh is correct. He doesn't seem to be especially bright, but there is wisdom in that man, Geh!kin mused.

I think perhaps we are fortunate that we didn't get a hoonan with more cleverness and less sense.

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