Ppnlak walked into his pod and immediately went to plop onto his bed face down. Isiuta hopped up onto his back, ruffling its feathers. Ppnlak told the creature, We have a deal.

Ppnlak didn’t get anything back from the creature, but he wasn’t expecting to. If the topic wasn’t about food, Isiuta wasn’t interested. Ppnlak rolled around on the bed, his tentacles wiggling behind him. His excitement and happiness over what had transpired couldn’t be contained. Isiuta flew away as its perch was being unruly. 

Ppnlak said, I'm going to get off this planet!

A sudden thought cut through his good mood. Where would he go? The Architeuthis was out of the question, and Ppnlak didn’t know where his home planet was. A pale green illuminated the room. His home, Svkstir, was a perplexing place and a perplexing memory. One would think that being kidnapped by pirates and forced to work for them would be a harrowing situation, but Ppnlak didn’t view it as such. He found true friendship and belonging on the ship. Feelings that evaded him when he was with his people, so it was hard to look back on his younger years with anything more than regret.

A second thought ballooned his already declining mood. What would the ICC do with him when he returned? He was an uncodified species from an unexplored solar system. While Eyuy may be fine, there was a reason why the coalition had so many enemies across the universe. It was either comply or die with them. Ppnlak didn’t want to do either one, so he was in a bit of a conundrum. Hopefully, Eyuy's word would persuade them to treat him better than the ones in the horror stories he had been told. 

Ppnlak's tentacles were a limp mass on top of him. He lifted one hand, feeling the cracking flesh. He would need to put another layer of poultice on them. Unlike his primary arms, his tentacles had dull sensory input. He could feel when they touched something, but that was about it. It was a blessing as he imagined his drying flesh hurt a lot. 

A clearing of a throat from the front of his pod caught Ppnlak's attention. He lifted his head from the bed, turning it towards the entrance of his pod. Eyuy stood there in the doorway. His tail curled tightly around his waist. He said stiffly, "I have come to discuss my mission with you."

Come on in. Eyuy walked forward and stood in the middle of the room. He looked around at the interior. Ppnlak opened their channel, so he could send Eyuy his amusement. You can sit down.

"I will stand."

Ppnlak shrugged, If that's what you want.

"It is." Eyuy continued, "My mission is to find a space-faring species on this planet or evidence that they were once here."

A lengthy mission. Have you found anything?

Eyuy's displeasure floated through their link. He sighed, "I thought I did, but it was just you. Now, I'm back to square one. Have you found anything?"

Ppnlak thought back to everything he had seen for the last six months. After the initial exploration, Ppnlak didn’t venture outside of the needed areas. The planet was too hostile for that level of curiosity. He raked his brain, sure that there was something he knew. Whatever it was, it wasn’t coming to mind. Ppnlak replied, I know where to go get food for Isiuta and where to get a drink. 

Eyuy's tail uncoiled from his waist and started to flick behind him. Irritation flooded through the mental channel. Ppnlak made a note of that movement. If he was going to work with Eyuy for an extended period, he would need to know everything about his body language as a mental link is not always appropriate. Eyuy asked, "You've been here for six months, and you haven't found anything? How much distance have you covered?"

I've covered the distance it takes to get to Isiuta's food and to the ocean. It's too risky to explore more than that.

"No wonder you needed my help," Eyuy snapped, "You were just going to let yourself die out here."

Ppnlak bristled at that. The fact that I'm still alive after six months tells you that I wasn't going to roll over and die. I've survived. If I piss off a monster, I can't just escape to a spaceship and fly away like you. I'm stuck here. How many ways do I need to say that? I can't leave, so, yes, I do need your help.

Eyuy's remorse drifted to Ppnlak, making him feel better. The alien should feel remorseful. All he had been was aggressive toward Ppnlak since they had met. Eyuy apologized, "My deepest regrets. I've been feeling antsy, and I've been taking it out on you. The code of conduct states that officers should act with more decorum. I've been painting the ICC and her officers in a bad light."

His spirits restored, Ppnlak waved away Eyuy's apology. I understand. At least, you won't try to kill me when you're annoyed.

"Of course not," was Eyuy's horrified response. 

Then, we're all good.

Another sigh escaped Eyuy, "I just need something to guide me. You haven't seen any buildings, tools, trash, or aliens that aren't us?"

No, I haven— Ppnlak stopped himself as an image suddenly came to his mind. It was the second week into his unexpected stay on the planet, and he had been surveying his surroundings. It was that outing that convinced Ppnlak he shouldn’t wander more than what was necessary. He remembered he had come across a large structure. He didn’t know what it was for, but when he went to look inside, an automaton blocked him. Luckily, his immediate exit stopped the machine from pursuing him.

"You haven't?" Ppnlak didn’t need to be inside his head to hear the disappointment in his voice.

I have! I remember it now.

"What did you see?" Eyuy rushed to where Ppnlak sat, taking a hold of his shoulder. "Explain to me exactly what you saw."

The white glow from Ppnlak made Eyuy's scales gleam, the dirty brown shifting to a muddy yellow. Ppnlak said, Why should I explain when I can take you to it?