As soon as she opened the door, Cantlutloche knew she was in trouble. Again.
Jablo was nowhere to be seen. The open door to her empty room showed she was not around. Fisotrano was around, however. Arms crossed under her breasts, face stern. The usually goofy, laid-back Trano was clearly NOT happy. Gulp.
“Cantlutloche. Mal-Jabloki went to a party with some guy. Good timing, ‘cause we need to talk”. Tloche eyed her room. “Now”. Added Trano, who caught the look. They both sat in the chairs of their dining table.
“I’m listening” said Cantlutloche.
“That little session we just had with the patrollers was scary. Scary as fuck! I should not have to tell you that, Tloche. You are older than Jablo and I. Of the three of us, you’ve always been the sensible, dependable one”.
“It was no cakewalk for me, either”.
“I know. But I don’t appreciate the fact that you put me in a corner and I had to lie to the patrollers, I don’t know how I came up with the baloney I spat out, but I did. I’m terrible at lying, as you know, but thankfully even Jablo bought the bullshit we both said. She was scared out of her wits of being deported. Now we have to stick to it, because this will not be the end of it, Cantlutloche. You know as well as I that those army people the commander spoke about are going to come poke in here again. And they will be prepared, not like the joke operation these patrollers put for show to keep the politicians happy. You following me?”
During this speech Tloche had been sitting very straight, wide-eyed, very conscious of a little man between her breasts, thankfully quiescent. She nodded.
“I don’t know what you did with the little guy” as Tloche opened her mouth to speak, Trano stopped her, raising her hand. “Or rather, I don’t’ wanna know: you were right about the plausible deniability. I know why you did what you did. I respect you for that. It took steel ovaries to pull it off. It took principles. But this is not a game, Tloche. We are talking about extraterrestrials coming to Lur, in fucking spaceships! way more advanced than anything we have or will have for years, if ever, with purpose unknown. Gods, I never thought I’d be using this word in an actual, serious conversation… extraterrestrials… so weird… anyway. Paah-tshoh could be just some lost guy whose ship just crashed on our planet on the way to the land of the loose purple wenches, or maybe he was just delivering interplanetary mail. Or he could be a military man, someone doing reconnaissance. He could even be some kind of robot or probe, recording everything we say and do to him!” Tloche blushed furiously and she covered her mouth with both hands. Trano continued:
“I keep thinking he was too calm, too collected! If I was in a planet of giants, I would be shitting myself! What I’m trying to say is that WE DO NOT KNOW why they are here. But, nobody sends very expensive, advanced ships out of a whim on a pleasure cruise to a faraway planet. Trips like this cost money, they are funded by entire nations pooling their resources, just like the old trading sail-ship companies did! They are here for a reason… who knows what they are capable of? All we can say is that they want something. And the ones that have crashed like that in Bitagweh are only the ones we know about. how many others are around, orbiting Lur, watching us?” Trano reached across the table and took Tloche’s hands. “I remember the news about that woman that disappeared in the sanctuary of Tchiah last year. She was an engineer like me!! I even read her column, translated to Casibare-kem in the local newspaper. Tloche! You could be abducted!!!” Tloche bowed her head. Trano continued:
“I hope you know what you are doing. But let me tell you something, Tloche. I’ll stick to the tale I told today, but listen to me, and look me in the eye when I am telling you this” Tloche raised her chin and locked eyes with Trano. “I will not tell any more lies. I don’t want to go to jail or to be whipped across the soles of my feet with a cane. We are not wealthy, you and I, Tloche… I only want to study, graduate, get a job and hopefully find a good man that is also good at fucking me”.
“Trano!” Tloche giggled, but stopped when she saw Trano was still serious.
“I did not come here all the way from Tungi to break my back serving tables and washing dishes to pay for college to end up messing with the armed forces, being whipped and land myself in prison where some 200 pound dyke makes me her bitch or a 80 pound junkie spills my guts with a shiv…. All for covering up for a pipsqueak that might not even be human, and that for all we know might be part of a plot to end the world as we know it!! If you want to protect the little alien, you will have to do it entirely on your own. I do not want to see or hear from Paah-tshoh again. Don’t involve me or Jablo again in these affairs. Ever… because if you do… I’ll have to tell”.