I woke up with a groan. The cot they gave me to sleep on was, by far, the most uncomfortable thing I’ve slept on in a very long time—and I live on a damn battle cruiser.

I couldn’t believe she dismissed me like that. What the hell gave her the right to dismiss me so abruptly? All I wanted was for her to be safe—couldn’t she see that?

I got up, and instantly regretted it. That damn cot.

My back was in pain, but I knew that a few good stretches would clear that up, so I put myself through a decent workout before I decided I needed food.

I grabbed a bite to eat from their cafeteria and ingested one of the most tasteless meals I’ve ever had.

Humans have no idea how to spice things. I need to teach them how to make a proper meal one of these days.

After eating, I asked around for Leena, but no one knew where she was. They knew where she could be, but not where she actually was. They said she was in the lab with Rael, they said she was in the manufacturing room, they said she was visiting with the mayor…she was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

I was worried about her. Was she blowing me off? Was she angry with me?

So be it.

Let her be angry, I didn’t care. Things were better for both of us if we didn’t get involved. Her own kind would never accept her, me, or us, so it was just better to let it go.

I needed air.

I headed back into the city, intent on getting my head cleared and my mind right. The lab was located up a hill away from most of the city, and I took advantage of that height. I looked around the town, soaking in what I saw.

Duvest was a true manufacturing town. Many of the factories were located on the outer edges of the town, with warehouses nearby. Meanwhile, all the shops and businesses were located more to the center, with people’s homes spread out everywhere.

Some people lived close to the warehouses and plants they worked at. Others lived above their shops. Then there were the neighborhoods out to the east.

If the Xathi were to attack again, they would attack the homes, drawing the people out into the open, making them easier to capture.

I hesitated. I didn’t want to go into town because I didn’t want to be around the humans—but I didn’t want to be here, either.

Stop being weak, I thought to myself as I took in a deep breath of the morning air. It was cool, clean, and had a hint of moisture in it. It was nice.

I headed down into town, trying to stay in the sector with all the shops and parks. They were still repairing and rebuilding some of the damage caused by the last Xathi attack weeks ago, but they seemed to be in good spirits—until they saw me.

Conversations stopped as I passed by. People made a point to move away from me, and even in those that didn’t move, you could see their discomfort.

I wanted to tell them I was safe. I wanted to tell them that I wasn’t there to hurt them—I was there to help protect them.

I wanted to, but I kept my mouth shut. They wouldn’t believe me. All they saw was a big man with green skin and lots of weapons.

And that scared them. Rightfully so. I could break most of these people in seconds, and they knew it.

I tried to clear my mind, stealing Vrehx’s breathing technique. As I walked around, I paid little attention to the people around me.

They were the cause of my anxiety. They let their prejudice against the unknown run them, something I couldn’t understand, not anymore. We had been a prideful race, believing ourselves better than all others.

Then the Xathi came. They devastated us, they embarrassed us, they killed us. If it wasn’t for Rouhr and the others who taught us to put aside our hatred, we’d be an extinct race.

Without realizing it, I had wandered into a small park at the center of town. There were several families there, most of them with children.

The mothers grabbed their children. The few men there stood between me and them. They looked scared. Then, as several of the men took hesitant steps forward, I felt a little hand pulling at my leg.

It was a little boy, looking up at me with wide eyes filled with wonder.

“Excoos me, mista. Why is your skin gween?”

I chuckled. I was actually happy. I knelt down next to the boy. “What’s your name, little warrior?”

“My name is Chucky. What’s your’s?”

“Hi, Chucky. My name is Axtin.”

“Astin?”

“Yes.” I smiled. This little boy was fearless. “To answer your question, my skin is green because that’s a normal skin color for my people. See,” I leaned in to whisper, “I’m what your parents call an alien. I’m not human.”

“You’re not hooman? Wow!”

The wonder on his face lit up my day. He turned towards the others, still standing there waiting to see if I was going to eat this little child or not.

“Mommy. He not hooman! He a aliem. He said his name Astin. Can I play with him?”

His mother stepped forward, slightly pushing one of the men to the side so she could get by. She had an infant strapped to her chest.

She looked at me, and I watched her visibly struggle to find her voice. “Are you here to fight those bug things?”

I nodded. “Yes, I am. They destroyed my people, and I’m trying to make sure they don’t destroy yours, either.”

“What will you do to my son?”

“Nothing.” I looked down at him and smiled. “He’s a brave little warrior, and I would be honored for him to teach me how to ‘play’.”

Another of the women spoke up. “Why are you armed?”

I stood up, smiling at Chucky as I did. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the crowd. I didn’t fight him.

“I was warned that some of your people might not be very welcoming to me, and I’m making sure that if the Xathi—the bugs—attack, I can fight back and protect you.”

My non-threatening demeanor and the fact that Chucky was holding my hand seemed to loosen their tongues. The questions began pouring in.

Where did I come from? What was I? What are the Xathi?

Why are they here? Why are they attacking? What do they want from us?

How do we stop them? When are you leaving? How do we fight them?

I spent maybe three hours answering their questions as Chucky showed me how to play.

It made me feel like there might be a chance for me to be accepted, for me and Leena to be accepted.

As the families began to leave to go about their days, I said goodbye to Chucky, who tried to hold on to my hand for dear life. I smiled at him and told him I’d see him again. Only then did he let me go.

I actually missed the little warrior. I started walking around the city again, feeling good about myself and the potential for good relations with the humans.

I was in a jovial mood. Would that it would have lasted. The city was busy, there were people walking the same direction as me, there were people getting out of my way and flashing me dark looks, but I wasn’t letting it bother me.

I just thought about Chucky and his little smile, and things were fine.

Except for the human following me. I probably wouldn’t have noticed them if they had just kept on walking whenever I looked back. But whenever I looked back to see what was behind me, I kept noticing one person that was trying to duck out of sight.

Fine, so I was being followed. Let them follow me.

I wasn’t hiding anything. I wasn’t threatening anyone. I wasn’t even trying to look menacing.

I bought some food using some of the local currency that Leena had given me. I smiled, said thank you, and went about my way. It tasted better than breakfast. Significantly better than breakfast.

What did they call it? Currywurst? I loved the spices, the taste. And the meat that was used was fantastic. Very tasty. Maybe these humans did know how to cook.

I was still being followed as I enjoyed my meal. I wanted to turn around, find my stalker, and confront them, but I thought better of it. I didn’t want to cause a scene around all these other humans.

I made a turn down another street where the foot traffic was light, almost non-existent. The few people that were on the street looked at me in wonder but kept walking, leaving me be.

I shrugged. Not everyone was going to be nice like Chucky.

As I passed by an alley, I heard something. I stepped back, looked, and my blood instantly boiled.

Two men were assaulting a woman, trying to take advantage of her. Yelling to get their attention, I rushed down the alleyway, scaring them off. I spent a few seconds making sure they were gone, then turned back toward the woman.

She looked a lot like Leena—short and blonde—and she looked terrified.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you,” I said. “And I won’t let them hurt you, either. My name’s Axtin. Is there somewhere I can help you get to?” I tried to dial up a soothing, calming voice.

But she pulled back from me, called me a monster. I stood up straight and shook my head.

“Really? I’m the monster? I wasn’t the one trying to hurt you, but I’m the monster”. I shook my head. “Do you need help or not, female?”

It was her sudden smile that told me I was in trouble. “No. You’ve helped me enough.”

She pointed something at me and pushed a button. Some sort of liquid sprayed out, and srell did it burn!

Then I heard the attack. Someone jumped on my back. I felt a pipe strike my left thigh, another pipe hit me in the arm, all while the person on my back pounded on my head.

I had no choice. I had to fight back. I wasn’t going to let myself be killed or hurt by these idiots.

So, I fought back. I reached back and grabbed the one on my back and flipped them off of me. There was a nasty crunching noise and a high-pitched scream of pain.

I could barely see, but I could see enough. The shadow to my left swung their pipe again. I got my arm up in time to block, then back-handed them away.

I turned my attention to the other one with a pipe and was hit on the back of the head with a glass bottle. I let the rage go. I didn’t hold it back anymore.

When I came back to my senses, I watched as my attackers ran away, dragging and carrying their partners with them. I had enough. I was bleeding, I was bruised, I was uncomfortable.

Okay, fine, I was in pain. I started heading back to the lab. No one bothered me, no one came up to me. I just walked.

I was maybe a block away from the lab when I noticed the sounds of footsteps behind me. Lots of footsteps. I stopped, turned around, and saw a few dozen people headed my way.

When they saw me turn to look at them, they began yelling, cursing, and chanting at me. They called me a murderer, a beast, a monster, said it was my fault.

I knew I couldn’t deal with them, so I turned back around and continued to the lab. They were still behind me when I got to the steps leading up to the doors of the facility, only now they numbered over a hundred, some of them armed.

Just as I was starting to approve of these humans, these srell destroyed it.

Where were the Xathi when you needed them?