The Rexian

Space, again. They were back aboard The Destiny and making their way to the planet’s surface. The descent had gotten easier since their last visit with visibility being vastly improved. The smog that once blanketed the settlement had lifted to reveal its true size. During their last visit, Lore was under the impression that they had seen most of the main city but in actuality, they had barely left the docks. Destiny set herself down further in land and closer to the signal’s origin. The docking area was quiet despite the number of ships occupying it. Destiny made her way to meet the others in the cargo bay.
“Wish we still had the clone’s helmets.” Lore tried to reach for a respirator but couldn’t.
“I don’t think it’ll matter. The Clones are associated with The Alliance now so even if we had a spare helmet or two it wouldn’t do us any good.” Char pulled down three masks and distributed them amongst the team.
“I’m synthetic. I don’t need a mask.” Destiny raised her eyebrows at Char.
“If they see someone who looks like a human not wearing a mask then they’ll only see that as proof of humanity being behind the plague. Wear the damn mask.” Lore tightened their mask around the back of their head before assisting Char with hers.
Masks on, they disembarked. Lore had thought the delay between their landing and their departure would have given the docks time to liven up but that wasn’t the case. Not a soul to be seen. The reason for this became abundantly clear as they attempted to leave the docks. Yellow and black tape stretched from one side of the alley to the other.
“How did they get there?” They had been spotted.
“Freaks trying to import more virus are you?!” Just beyond the line, a horde of angry Rexians. “You won’t get away with this!”
Realising that sneaking out wasn’t an option at this point, Lore led them towards the proper exit. Before they could reach the tape line, an officer approached. “Name and authorisation.” They spoke bluntly.
“Lore. L052Ω.” As they said it, the officer tapped away at their tablet. The officer glanced between the file photo and Lore.
“You’re clear. Stay out of trouble.” The officer lifted the tape and waved them through.
Nodding, they continued. They ducked the line and almost immediately, the gauntlet began. From the moment Lore’s toe crossed the police boundary their audience sparked into action. Spit and almost anything to hand came hurtling towards them with disgusting precision. Despite being known for their four arms, Rexians were also famous for another reason, their ability to spit objects at incredible speeds with insane accuracy. Together they ducked and dodged the majority of the attacks with only an overripe tomato like berry striking them in the end. It was evident that what Tolan had told them was more than accurate. Even in the city proper, away from the protesters at the docks, anti-alien sentiment was at an all-time high with random attacks being commonplace and wounded humans frantically hobbling towards any form of transportation that would take them. Travelling via backstreets and alleys, they made their way to The Rexian’s broadcast tower unscathed. Lore’s Breacher began to flash; Doctor Tolan emerged from its holographic emitter.
“You near where that transmission came from yet?” They were obviously nervous but tried to hide it.
“Just outside. This place is a mess.” Char leant in.
“So would Quatarr or Earth if a random disease swept through with a one hundred percent mortality rate.” Lore nodded as Tolan continued. “We’ve just received another broadcast telling us to evacuate our stations before they attack. I can’t stress this enough but if we leave, the three weeks I’ve predicted get slashed to two and that’s best case. If we’re not welcome here then the native population won’t make past the middle of next week.”
“Why not?” Lore looked to Char to make sure their question wasn’t a stupid one.
“We’ve been using Quatarrian healing techniques to try and keep the plague victims alive. In almost all cases, the energy has been able to restore the dead organs but not kill the plague. The restorative energy that the Quatarrian’s expel is able to buy us more time to work on a cure, without it there would be no hope.”
“Right, ok. Do you know anything about their leader that might help us talk him down?”
“He calls himself ‘The Rexian’ as he believes that he represents all of his people and he thinks himself a bit of a big shot. Apart from that, no. I’ve not actually been planet side yet so no time to mingle with the heathy locals.” Tolan signed off, their holographic image faded away.
Lore opened the doors to the transmission station before them. The entrance hall was empty, it’s walls were lined with framed pictures of human workers. The glass from these frames lay smashed on the floor. There was a crackle that echoed through the empty room.
“Ironic. Me using this human tower to spread my message. All dead now. Every one of those employees died. I considered them all friends before the smog claimed them.” There was emotion to his tone, his words carried the weight of the system. “It was ruled an accident. The ventilation failed and they couldn’t get to their masks in time. I held Garreth in my arms as he died, looked after his family as if they were my own and in payment, his kin killed my people. I know your history, human, your societies are built on the backs of each other, you thrive on betrayal and now you’re here to build.”
“He doesn’t half like the sound of his own voice.” Destiny whispered.
“We’re here to talk.” Lore shouted at the building.
“You’re lucky. The time for talk is nearly up.” The Rexian’s face appeared on a screen before them. “Talk quickly.”
“We brought you something you need to see.” Lore displayed the data Doctor Tolan had provided them. “If you attack the medical stations now, you’re only playing into this plague. The Quatarrians on those stations are keeping the worst affected alive for the time being.” The Rexian’s face crumpled as he focussed on the data before him. “We’ve screwed up in the past, but so has everyone. So how about giving us a second chance?” Lore held their metal arm behind their back, fingers crossed. A door opened. A four armed figure slowly approached them and took a seat at the dusty receptionists desk before them. The Ceasefire.