Residency

A month has passed since Xuilana has brought me onboard a planetary defense station orbiting the planet Nibius Prime, and I spent most of my time studying the language of the elves, which is the name of the alien race that Xuilana belongs to, and as I finish writing down my thoughts in the elven language, Xuilana who is laying on my bed calls out to me.

"Brian let's go eat something."

I respond as I put down the pen.

"alright what do you have in mind?"

she stands up and as she casually hooks her arm to mine, she asks smiling.

"how about some roasted Grallion?"

I shrug.

"yeah sure, whatever you want."

as we exit my room, she asks curiously.

"so how much longer can our partner stay frozen in that cryo stasis thing?"

I answer.

"not much longer, but I can't take her out of it, since my ship is not meant thaw frozen individuals, and I don't have the necessary medical equipment to keep her alive if I unfreeze her."

she looks down to her feet and replies.

"sorry I asked, I didn't know how bad it was."

I respond.

"it's fine, I'm just hoping your scientists can figure out the tech of my ship, so they can save her."

she then asks.

"is there any way to return to your galaxy, or go to the galaxy that your people went to?"

I answer.

"no, unfortunately our colony ship was the only space vessel capable of traveling to other galaxies."

I pause and continue.

"and besides, if I try to return back to my galaxy, I'll only go back, right into the hands of the rogue artificial intelligence that almost wiped out humankind and meet certain death."

we walk into the cafeteria, where soldiers and pilots stationed here greet me, Xuilana makes a comment.

"you have become quite popular around here, haven't you."

I reply.

"only because I'm an alien that came from another galaxy, but they wouldn't think that, once they really get to know me."

she asks.

"and what makes you say that?"

I answer.

"because I'm just some pilot, who had the duty to buy enough time for our colony ship to escape the galaxy safely."

she replies.

"well that sounds exciting to me, and I'll bet that those soldiers and pilots stationed here, would love to hear your war stories."

as I suppress old memories from coming back to me I respond, despondently.

"I doubt they want to hear, the death of billions of innocent lives being wiped out in mere seconds."

her usual cheerful attitude completely changed and she replies.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I didn't think about it that way."

I respond with and emotionless and blank stare, that I used to have when I survived my first space battle.

"it's fine, it doesn't bother me anymore."

she gets in front of me so that she can look straight into my empty eyes and once she notices the look on my face and as squeezes my hand, she says with her voice breaking.

"please don't lose yourself because if you let it, you will lose apathy for others."

what she said, resonated deep inside me, as I remember my sister Maria, saying those exact words, my eyes began to water, as I respond to Xuilana.

"you're right Maria, I can't lose myself again."

instead of correcting me for calling her by my sister's name, Xuilana gives me a comforting hug and says with a soft voice.

"it's no good to hold in the tears Brian, it's okay to let it out."

I didn't outright cry, but I did a sob for a couple of minutes, while Xuilana just stood there, allowing me to do so, just like how my older used to, I then pull away and ask curiously.

"thank you, but why did you that for me?"

she answers in a genuine way.

"because my brother used to be a pilot during our war against the Cochlea Galactic Authority and after returning home after his first battle, he had the exact same look you had right now."

I ask curious.

"so you comforted him like you did for me?"

she looks down and replies with a somber tone.

"no, we just thought he was just dealing with it, in his own way, until one day he committed suicide."

I also remember wanting to do that after witnessing a colony planet get bombarded by millions of nuclear missiles launched from space by the rogue artificial intelligence, dreadnaught super carriers, she sighs and continues.

"anyways seeing you like that, reminded me of him and how I failed to support him when he needed help from those close to him."

I once again said to her.

"I really mean it when I say thank you."

she smiles and says.

"now let's go and eat some roasted Grallion."

after grabbing some pieces of Grallion is an animal that looks like a mix between a rabbit and squirrel and it is the most commonly found wild animal in the planet Nibius Prime, and as we sit down on our own table, Xuilana asks.

"so is Maria your lover from home?"

I answer.

"oh no, she is my older sister."

she follows up with another.

"is she still alive?"

I reply as I take a bite.

"yes, she and my niece Ruby, were on the colony ship."

she replies.

"that's good at least you know that your family is still alive somewhere out there."

as we finish eating one of the soldiers shouts.

"officer on deck.

everyone in the cafeteria stands at attention, including myself, well except for Xuilana who is still sitting down.

General Nadezhad replies by shouting.

"at ease!"

he approaches me and asks.

"you are not an active member of our military, so there is no need for you to stand at attention."

I respond.

"sorry sir, it was just my instincts."

he then says.

"oh the president wants to speak to you, and also some of our scientists that have just arrived from our capital planet."

I nod.

"alright then, let's get it over with."

Xuilana replies.

"yup, let's go and get the boring stuff over with."

General Nadezhad leads us into a conference room where President Shataluv is accompanied by other elves, after seeing us come in, he says.

"oh Brian, you may want to sit down for the good news that I'm about to give you."

I ask.

"and what is this good news, if I may ask."

he answers.

"well after having a long group conversation with the President of the our capital planet and the Presidents of our the other colonies, we came to a decision to make you an official resident of the Great Elf Empire."

I then ask.

"so what does that mean?"

he answers.

"it means you are legally allowed to live at any of our colonies and work regular jobs, except for the capital, you need to have full citizenship, to even step foot on that planet."

I ask curiously.

"well what does it take to become a citizen?"

he answers.

"for residents, they need to serve in the military for six years and take history classes of our Great Empire and pass the test fo it."

I then think to myself.

"I don't want to interfere with the politics of

an alien society, so I'll just stick to being a resident."

I then ask.

"so is that it, can I go and start living life there?"

he replies.

"not yet, our scientists still have some questions for you, and once you answer them, then you are free to go."

I nod and say to all of them.

"okay then ask away."

a female scientist asks.

"so tell me Brian, what kind of relationships did humankind have?"

I reply.

"we fall in love with a partner we have feelings for, which eventually leads into marriage, and then starting a family together, well in some cases the order of things happen at different times."

she writes down my answer, and then another female scientist asks blushing.

"do all human males carry around such a dangerous size package like yourself?"

I think to myself.

"Five inches is considered a dangerous size?"

I respond unsure.

"I was too busy fighting for humanity's survival, that I didn't have time to worry about the size that human males carry."

she insists, while Xuilana giggles gleefully.

"how about an educated guess?"

I ask while I roll my eyes.

"does it really matter?"

she nods as she waits for my answer, while Xuilana goaded me on, being cheeky.

"come on Brian, this is important stuff."

I sigh and answer.

"I don't know maybe between three to five inches."

a male scientist asks.

"are you sure there were no elves, In your galaxy."

I answer.

"yes I'm sure, our early explorers, we're hoping to find intelligent life, but there was no evidence of other intelligent life existing in our galaxy."

he mumbles to himself as he writes it down what I said, and then another male scientist asks.

"if we were to take apart your ship, would you be able to fix it, or explain the inner workings?"

I respond.

"I can fix any external damage easily, but if any component that gets fried or damaged on the inside in any way, then I'm just as clueless as you guys."

I then add on.

"but you guys aren't going to tear my ship apart, because you will doom my partner to her death if you do."

another scientist asks.

"can the rogue A.I, be reasoned with?"

I answer.

"I don't believe so."

he asks.

"how do you know, have you tried."

I then ask with a unemotional voice.

"you tell me, would you try to reason with something that caused the death of trillions, and with the end goal of destroying all sentient life in the galaxy?"

they all stare at me silently and uncomfortably, as they are unable to comprehend the number of deaths that I just said, and then another scientist asks.

"are they capable of traveling to other galaxies?"

I answer.

"for the sake of all living beings that reside in other galaxies, I hope they don't ever figure out, how to do that."

after that they seemed to have been satisfied with the answers I gave them, Xuilana asks.

"aren't you glad that, it's finally over."

I answer annoyed.

"they could have just read the reports that previous scientists from Nibius Prime wrote."

she laughs.

"I know, I was just waiting for one them to ask you the question, about the size of your pen-."

I interrupt her.

"I swear if you finish that word, you and me can no longer be friends."

she chuckles playfully.

"come on, you don't have to be a prude about it, if anything, you should take pride that, you'll become instantly popular with female elves, with that."

I roll my eyes, and reply.

"whatever, let's just talk to the president, so that I can get out of this defense station."

as the scientists leave the room, I take a seat right next to the President Shataluv and ask.

"so what now?"

he answers.

"well the doctor, has informed me, that he already gave you all the necessary vaccinations and a clean bill of health."

he gives me a piece of paper and says.

"sign this, and then you'll become an official resident in the Great Elf Empire."

I grab it and read it, to see if they are trying to take advantage of me, but Xuilana says.

"it's fine, this document says that you will be protected by our laws and that you are now an official resident."

as I sigh and sign it, I say to President Shataluv.

"please make sure that they don't destroy my ship."

as he gives me a card, he replies.

"don't worry, we also want to save your friend if we can and we also don't want to destroy, the technology your ship."

I take a look of the card he gave me and my full name, the name of my species and a picture of me, on the left corner, Xuilana says smiling.

"congratulations, you are now a resident."

President Shataluv gives me a bag and says

"in there you will find one thousand credits, it should cover your expenses for a whole year, while you find a steady job."

I ask.

"do you think they will hire me?"

he responds confidently.

"yes."

I ask.

"why?"

he answers.

"because the news of you existence has already spread throughout the Empire, and since they believe that you are the missing link in our evolution, the public already sees you as a long lost relative of the elves."

I then ask unsure.

"do you really mean it, when you say everyone knows."

he answers smiling.

"yes, you will no doubt be asked for interviews from popular television channels, like talk show hosts, and news outlets."

Xuilana replies excited.

"this is awesome Brian, you're new to this galaxy and you already reached celebrity status quick."

I sigh and think to myself.

"well there goes my plan of working while laying low."

President Shataluv then says as he shakes my hand.

"well Mister Brian, the transport ship to Nibius Prime will be leaving, so I would like to thank you once again, and to wish you good luck."

I respond still shaking his hand.

no thank you, just please let me know when your scientists make a breakthrough on the tech of my ship."

he replies.

"don't worry, I have faith that our brightest scientist will figure it out."

Xuilana hooks her arm on mine, and says as she pulls on me.

"let's go Brian, there are so many places that I want to show you."

we make our way to the hangar bay and get on the transport ship, bound to the surface of Nibius Prime, as we take a seat and strap ourselves in, I look out the window and think to myself.

"please hold on a little longer Emilia."