5. An Alien in Disguise Among Humans

Location: Domed City 17, Veneuron

Aliens: Rivan, Human

“They’re gonna know,” Runa whispered.

“Hush,” Mila said. “They won’t know unless you fail. And if you fail, you might as well stay among them,” she said. Their ship was docking at Domed City 17 on Veneuron as they spoke in hurried whispers. They checked that the coast was clear. Mila produced a blunt silver tool from her pocket. She touched it to the circlet on Runa’s head. With a series of soft clicks, the circlet expanded and fell about her neck.

Runa had to grab on to Mila as a thundering wave of thoughts and feelings swept in to fill the void left by the inhibitor. She felt the nerves of the human passenger three compartments down. The frustration of the engineer below decks as they tried to fix every sprung leak. Mila shushed Runa and pressed their foreheads together. The raging tide subsided as a gentle breeze pushed against the waves and they evened out. It had been at least a year since Runa had been uninhibited.

“Now, try your disguise,” Mila whispered, checking they were still alone.

Runa closed her eyes and took steadying breaths. She pictured herself standing in front of a mirror that hung in black, empty space. She saw herself as she had every morning in the mirror, the light green skin growing dark under her eyes, which were a pale amber. Runa touched the mirror and it rippled, distorting her image. When it settled again, Runa’s skin was now a light brown. Bright blonde hair cascaded from her head and her eyes became white, a ring of blue around a black spot. She smiled at herself. Truly hideous.

When she opened her eyes Mila smiled back at her. “Excellent work,” she said. Runa looked down to see her body had not changed, but Mila said she had done it. Runa blinked and a human had swapped places with Mila, red hair and green eyes looking back at her.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Runa said quietly. “I think this is wrong,” she said, trying to make sense of her feelings that were still muddied by those near them.

“That’s not for you to decide,” Mila said curtly. “You have your orders.” Runa bowed her head in deference. She wasn’t ready. She knew she wasn’t ready. Runa forced herself to ignore the panic gripping her. She tried to think and couldn’t remember her cover story. “Don’t worry,” Mila said, touching Runa’s forehead. “It will come to you when you need it.”

The ship rocked gently as it set down on the surface of the planet. A landing corridor led from their ship through the edge of the dome. Outside the dome, two suns beat down, the atmosphere controls of the ship struggling to keep the corridor from becoming a solar oven.

As they stepped into the dome, its exterior grew dark. “Night cycle has begun,” a voice whispered from buildings everywhere. Runa marveled at how much they had fit into this single dome. Buildings stretched up into the artificially created dark sky.

“Hey good lookin’,” a scruffy looking human said from the corner of a nearby building. He held something that smelled like fire and burning wood. Runa marveled as smoke left his mouth in a small stream, rolling up from his smile. She had no idea humans breathed smoke.

“In your dreams,” Mila said, rolling her eyes. She dragged Runa along to their destination. Loud music broke free and spilled out into the night as a tall woman opened the door for them. She looked like she could lift Runa over her head. Flashing lights illuminated a wide open space in the next room. There were a few people throwing their bodies around, attempting to not spill their drinks, but failing miserably.

“Ralph!” Mila shouted at a man who was sitting on a second floor that overlooked the first. He smiled down at them broadly. Runa didn’t try to read him, afraid he might sense her disguise. Nevertheless, he felt a dark scheming swirling around in his mind. “Ralph, this is my friend Rachel I was telling you about,” Mila said.

“Hi,” Runa said sheepishly. Ralph extended his hand. Runa looked at it for a moment. She could feel Mila’s eyes on her. With a jolt she remembered the human greeting. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it softly. “Sorry, the music has me-” Runa said, bringing her hands up to where her human ears would be.

“Let’s go to my office,” Ralph said. He stood and led them down to a room below the dancefloor. Runa could still feel the vibrations of the music, but it was considerably quieter. Ralph’s office was fairly large, full of furniture.

“You sure it’s safe to talk here?” Mila asked suspiciously, looking over her shoulder at the shut door.

“Positive. Had three different robos scan the place for bugs,” he said. Mila seemed satisfied by this. “So, Rachel,” Ralph said, sitting at his desk and opening his arms wide. “I hear you want in on our operation.”

“That’s right,” Rachel said.

“Mila’s vouched for you, so I don’t want to make this too big of a deal,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “But it ain’t pretty. I need to know why you’re here.”

Runa took a deep breath. “My family. My mother and brother. Were…they were,” Runa said, searching the desk for the answer to appear to her. She began to quiver. How could she not remember her line? They had been over it so many times. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the effort of keeping her disguise. Ralph continued to stare at her, waiting for her to continue.

“It’s okay,” Mila said, reaching out and rubbing Runa’s back. “I know it’s hard to talk about the attack.” Runa looked to Mila, who was playing concerned very well. Probably because she was concerned. Concerned with how much Runa was absolutely failing at her task.

“The attack,” Runa said. “They attacked our settlement,” she said. “Sorry,” she said, bringing a hand to her face. She remembered the training videos of human reactions. She pulled her lips down into a frown and willed the image of a tear to form in her eye. “Those Hegemony assholes. My family has worked that mine for generations. All we wanted was more food. They never sent enough,” she said. Runa had found the lost thread of her narrative and was now tugging it smoothly. “So one night when we were all asleep they showed up…and-and burned it all down.” Runa hid her face and sobbed loudly.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ralph said quietly. He offered her a piece of paper.

“Wipe your eyes, sweetie,” Mila said, taking the paper and handing it to Runa. She hesitantly took it and did so. “Her family was on Delphi,” Mila offered.

“Oh my God,” Ralph said. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Runa was mildly confused, unsure of what Delphi meant. How elaborate of a web had they weaved? Nevertheless, she nodded and thanked Ralph for his kindness. “I’d say that’s as good a reason as any,” he said. “We’ll see you at this week’s meeting,” Ralph said, standing. “I hate to cut this short but the evening rush is about to start. Feel free to some drinks, I’ll tell the bartender they’re on me.” Ralph walked around his desk. He took both of Runa’s hands in his. He gazed into her eyes and smiled weakly. “Again. I’m sorry,” he said.

Runa held it together until they left the building. A line of humans had formed at the door, the tall woman looking them over and making them wait before entering. Mila looped one of her arms through Runa’s and led her to a ground transport. Runa felt like she was going to be sick. Every window had a mind behind it and they all pressed in on her. Her confidence in who she was, Runa or Rachel, both and neither, was fading fast. Mila got Runa into a building and up several floors. They fell through the door to a room with two beds. Runa almost wept with the relief of letting her human disguise down.

“You did alright,” Mila said, rubbing Runa’s back. “Do you want your inhibitor back? It’ll help you sleep,” she said.

“No. No, I’m alright,” Runa said, crawling up onto one of the beds. Mila left to find them some food. While she was gone, Runa found a portable display. She searched for Delphi. Dozens of stories filled the screen. They were calling it a massacre. One of the largest single losses of human life in the galaxy. There were grainy images of Hegemony troops firing lasers into wooden structures, humans scattered like broken dolls on the ground.

At the bottom of the screen, Runa saw The Hegemony Labor Bureau had posted a litany of vacant jobs on Delphi. “Recent unforeseen circumstances have led to a lack of labor,” the post said. “Join The Hegemony family today!”