Captain Rydian of the Human Galactic Unit

I walked towards work quietly. As much as I wanted to get my ship finished, I knew I needed to keep from looking anymore suspicious. And who could say how long it would take? I couldn't very well finish the ship if Alphonse and I starved on the streets.

I walked into the library and was surprised to see it full of klitons. Of all my time working there, this was the first time I'd seen so many people. I walked over to the front desk where Lillian was taking care of some Child klitons as they checked out.

I smiled, "Hey, Lillian. What's going on?"

She smiled, "Hello, Rydian." She looked over the crowd, "I'm honestly not sure. It would seem everyone is excited about reading today, I guess. It happens sometimes."

I shrugged, "If you say so." So, I went to work.

Though, it didn't go so well.

I walked by a table, picking up books that were left out, and was surprised to find they each were about space. I shrugged and put them away and was even more surprised to find nearly all the space books were gone. Even as I worked on the ladder, I could see most of the people around reading books on space. That had me a little concerned.

It was while I climbed the ladder that I heard someone say, "I'm telling you! I heard that there could really be aliens!"

They were interrupted by a crash. They turned to see me hanging from the ladder, a pile of books on the floor below, and my leg caught in the rung. I chuckled, "Oops. Ladder's slippery today." They helped me down and then continued their talk about aliens and other planets as I picked up the books. That really had me worried.

Next, I was at class with Orville, Mimi, and Lillian. I knew I was in trouble if Professor Nick saw me with Lillian, but I couldn't say no to coming with her. She seemed so excited.

Professor Nick walked in and saw me. Of course, his eyes squinted slightly, showing me his disapproval. He walked to his desk and spoke, "Hello, class. I would like to start our class off with a discussion on a common topic in town today." He smiled, "We're going to talk about whether life outside of Klicta is possible." His eyes fell on me.

I held back a mean look. I couldn't help but wonder if it was him spreading the talk around. That was before he even knew I was still hanging around Lillian. That got under my skin. But I stayed put. If I tried to leave, it would only make me suspicious.

He continued on, "Now, I personally didn't believe life could exist outside of Klicta, but I'm starting to find myself curious. What do you all think?" He smiled at me, "Rydian?"

I flinched, "Uh, yes, sir?"

He kept that smile, "What do you think? Do you believe there is life on other planets?"

I wasn't sure how I should answer that. If I said no, it could make me seem like I was trying to hide something. If I said yes, everyone would expect me to explain why, and I still didn't fully understand their progress with space knowledge.

Finally, I shrugged, "Honestly, I have no idea. It’s such a mystery that you could only know for sure if you went to other planets and found out." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Lillian smiled, "That's a very interesting answer, Rydian. I think you're right." Professor Nick didn't like that at all.

So, class kept on. I stayed and put up with any tricks the professor threw at me. Over and over, I managed to slip through his attempts to trip me up. He really wanted me to slip up, but I stayed calm. I was outsmarting a professor, so I was feeling pretty good. That is, I would have been if I didn't like the professor. He was nice before. Now, he hated me and wanted me caught. Trust me, it’s a painful feeling.

I was so relieved once class was over. Orville and I headed out while Lillian joined Mimi to go get something to eat. I didn't say a word to Professor Nick as I left the class, but I could feel his hateful glare. This wasn't over and I knew it.

I walked out of class, but ended up bumping into someone. I looked and was surprised. It was the green kliton Enforcer from the Capital. Steven, I think.

He recognized me, "Oh, hey. Sorry about that. Rydian, right?"

I nodded, "Uh, yes, I'm Rydian. You were one of the Enforcers looking for Hilary, right? What are you doing here in Tintale?"

He sighed, "Don't freak out, but my sources told me Hilary was in Tintale recently."

I gasped, "What?! Here!? Now!?"

He raised his hands to slow me down, "Relax. There's a good chance she left town already. My partner and I are keeping an eye on things, so you don't need to worry about it."

I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it either way, "If you say so."

Just then, Dr. Aggy hurried over, "Steven, you forgot your badge!" She handed him his badge and, to my surprise, kissed his cheek.

He groaned and rubbed his cheek, "Aggy, knock it off."

She smiled, "Why? Can't a big sister kiss her little brother?"

He looked annoyed, "I'm the older brother, and you know it. Stop treating me like a Child."

She only giggled, "Ok, ok. I'm sorry, Steven. Good luck on your big case. And say hi to Mart for me!"

Steven sighed, clearly less upset about it than he acted, "Sure. See ya." With that, he left.

I turned to Aggy, "He's your brother?"

She smiled with a happy little nod, "Yeah. He was born years before me, but I matured to Adult while he stayed Mature. He's a little bitter about it, but we get along really well once that's put aside. I just like messing with him."

I smirked, "I see."

She walked back towards her office, "What about you? Any family?" She glanced around before adding, "Real family?"

Like Orville, Rubi, and Cleo, Aggy had gotten pretty comfortable around me while knowing the truth. I'd crossed paths with her a couple times, so the act I played in the beginning didn't stick. I was just another guy in Tintale Town to her. A very smart one it seemed. She loved to ask questions every so often about things on my planet. I couldn't help but enjoy her company.

I walked into her office with her, "Not really. An older woman who raised me, a few cadets I grew up with, but that's about it."

She looked curious, "No parents? No siblings?"

I scoffed, "Nope. My parents ditched me and there was no way they would go and have anymore." I smirked, "They don't like children too much."

She looked sympathetic, yet understanding, "That's too bad."

I was obviously used to it by now, so I grinned, "They sure changed their opinions when they saw their son on tv all over the world, being given a medal as one of Earth's heroes. Of course, I told them they were not my parents and they never would be, so I'm pretty much an orphan."

She smiled, "Well, you certainly made a name for yourself. The hero of a whole planet! Must make you super important on your planet."

I scoffed, "Not important enough, it seems."

She noticed my behavior, "Why's that?"

I figured I might as well tell her too, "They terminated me. I'm trapped on Klicta and no one is coming to get me."

She gasped, "They abandoned you? How awful! How could they do that to their great hero?"

I shrugged, "Very easily, apparently."

She tilted her head curiously, "You don't seem too upset by it."

I had to admit, she caught onto me pretty fast. We did chat a lot, but I didn't think it was that obvious, "Honestly, I'm not. Klicta isn't so bad a planet to be stuck on. Its klitons like Hilary and Professor Nick I'm worried about."

Aggy sighed, "Yeah, Steven told me about what happened in the Capital." Then she was surprised, "Wait, Professor Nick? He knows?"

I nodded, "So it seems. He's threatening me to stay away from his daughter, and I'm positive it was him who started the talk about aliens around town."

She rubbed her chin, "Him or Hilary. She was here in town from what Steven told me."

I groaned, "Yeah, don't remind me. That girl was this close to killing me that day. If Orville didn't show up, I would be dead right now."

She shivered, "That must have been terrifying. I'd be sick of a new planet after the first attempt at my life."

I shrugged it off, "I'm used to danger. My whole life had a bit of danger to it. Being a cadet was a hard, dangerous job, along with my heroic deeds, and now my new life as a Space Captain. Personally, I don't mind the danger. Though, it’s a whole new level of danger when it involves a crazy girl with a killing obsession."

Aggy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, that's Hilary. She's a serious loose cannon, yet no one will get her under control. She needs to be put in a security chamber, not in the Enforcers Station."

I chuckled, "I couldn't agree more, but I understand their feelings about her. If she wasn't so dangerous, she would make a great asset. She may have had the wrong idea about me, but she was right. I am an alien. Not an evil one who needs to be killed, but I am one."

Then there was a knock on the door. Aggy went to check and let Orville in. Orville smiled, "Hey, Doctor Aggy. Just thought I'd come see if Rydian was with you."

I was a bit curious why he was looking for me, "Why?"

He smiled, "Well, you are supposed to be building your you-know-what. I figured you'd want to get back to it, especially with the talk about aliens and the rumors that Hilary's around."

I groaned, "Good point. Alright."

Aggy looked curious, "Your you-know-what?"

I nodded, "A ship. I need to get off Klicta before things can get any worse. My only option is to build my own ship and get home on my own."

She smiled as we headed out, "That sounds like a great idea! I wish you lots of luck!" With that, Orville and I left.

Orville looked at me as we headed down the street, "So, wanna tell me what's up with you and Professor Nick? He seemed... mad about something. I've never seen him like that before."

I sighed, "You noticed, huh?"

He scoffed, "Rydian, we've all known the professor a long time. We all noticed."

I looked at the sky as we turned a street corner, "He knows the truth."

Orville gasped, "As in..."

I nodded, "So it seems. He came by my house yesterday and threatened me to stay away from Lillian."

Orville was silent for a moment, no doubt processing that the kliton he'd admired so much would ever act that way, especially to someone he himself saw as a friend, "That's... awful. I can't believe he would..." He shook it off and looked at me, "What about you? What are you going to do?" Leave it to a nice guy like Orville to put me first even in something like this.

I really was grateful for a friend like him, "Easy. I'm going to hurry up and finish my ship, before he decides to get a backbone and tell everyone himself."

Orville looked confused, "A back bone?"

I sighed, "Forget it. Let's go. The sooner I finish the ship, the sooner I can get out of here. Before anything else can happen." With that, we continued on.

So, that's how it was. Over the next couple days, it was the same thing. I would go to work, go to class, and go home to work on my ship. Everyone continued to talk about aliens, but I pretended it wasn't important. I was just grateful that most of them were only doing it out of curiosity rather than actually trying to find a real alien.

As for class, Professor Nick continued to call me out and question me in front of everyone. I always managed to answer calmly and carefully. No one seemed to suspect me at all, even with Professor Nick's odd behavior. They all knew something was up, but no one asked anything.

I even continued to work with Lillian and hang out with her. I wasn't throwing away one of the only good things I had on Klicta for someone who didn't even try to understand. After all, I never hurt anyone. Never even tried. What right did he have to judge me like that?

After some time, I was beginning to realise how deep my trouble was. Now Professor Nick wasn't bothering to hide his dislike for me. He purposely gave me a hard time every chance he'd get. Some of the students were even trying to tell me it wasn't my fault. That maybe something was up with him.

Luckily, Lillian wasn't coming to class with me anymore. No doubt her father's doing. I had asked her about it at work and she told me her father thought it would be better if she came to earlier classes. After all, she was one of the only students who went in for the earlier classes. No surprise.

Though, one day, things really got difficult.

I sat in class, as usual, but now I sat at the very back. I wanted as much space from the professor as possible. The trio even sat in front of me, keeping me mostly out of Professor Nick's sights. Like the rest of class, they didn't care for how he was treating me. After all, I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I was an ace student until that little confrontation at my house.

Once class finished, I started heading out with everyone else. As I was about to leave, I was stopped, "Stay, Rydian." I groaned quietly, but stopped. The others looked both worried and sympathetic as they left. I could tell Orville wanted to stay, but we both knew that wouldn't look too good for him. I didn't want Professor Nick to find out that he knew my secret too. He had a future here on Klicta, I didn't.

I watched as the doors were closed, leaving the professor and I alone in the room. Professor Nick watched me from his desk, "Come here, Rydian." I sighed and walked down to his desk.

I stood before his desk, silent. We both were. We only looked each other in the eye. I felt like those guys who had to face the bitter future father-in-law in movies I used to watch with a couple cadets I was close to.

He spoke, "Seems I didn't make myself clear before."

I spoke back, just as coldly, "When? When you barged into my house and started interrogating me like some criminal?"

His voice was level as he spoke, "All I asked was for you to stay away from my daughter. That's all."

I rolled my eyes, "Or else what? You'll tell everyone the truth?"

He stood up, "If I must to protect my daughter!"

I slammed my hands down on the desk, "And you'll be the idiot who started war across the galaxy! You have no idea what you're threatening to do! Maybe if you would actually listen to me, you'd have a better understanding!"

He scoffed, "Listen to you? And hear more lies? I think not!"

I threw up my arms, "Why not? I only lied to protect myself and my planet! That's what Space Captains do! I never hurt anyone! Why do you treat me like I'm some monster? One minute I'm you're best student, next you threaten not only my secret, but my very life! You realize what they'll do to me when they find out?"

He looked away, "Then leave."

I was about to tell him I couldn't, but I stopped myself. I couldn't trust something like that to him. Especially not now. I glared at him, "You really don't know anything. For a professor, you certainly are hard-headed!"

He leaned in close to my face, "Stay away from my daughter."

I glared at him, "This coming from the kliton who still owes me his life! Hilary would have sliced you in two that day, but I didn't let her! I easily could have and still save my secret! The Enforcers were right around the corner! If I let her waste a couple seconds killing you, I would have been home-free, but I didn't! I not only risked my identity, but also my life when she nearly killed me!"

He turned away, "I won't listen to another word. Leave. And stay away from Lillian."

I groaned loudly, then stepped in front of him so I could poke a finger in his chest, "You said if I had any respect for you, I was to leave Lillian alone." I glared at him, "Well, let it be known now, I did have respect for you. I really did. Then you turned on me. Lillian is a good friend and I'm not tossing her aside for you. Not for someone who would throw me away just as easily for a fact so insignificant." My voice was cold, "I'm not like you."

I turned and stormed out, "I'm done with this. Don't expect me tomorrow." I glared back at him, "Or ever again."

I yelled over the noise of my blowtorch, "That jerk! After everything!" I tossed my blowtorch aside and slid out from under what I had of my ship so far. So far, I had half of the frame built. I climbed off the rolling board I used to roll under the frame, "I even saved his life, and this is how I'm repaid?"

Vanessa watched me from the screen where she had a blueprint of the ship I was trying to build next to her. She looked sad for me. So did Alphonse, who stood aside. He offered to help, but I told him I would prefer to work alone for the moment. Working usually helped me calm down. Usually it was my superiors who would make me so mad, so I was usually working when I got that way. After a while, it became my thing for calming down.

I stormed across the room to get something from one of the open boxes, "The nerve! I can't believe I liked that guy!" I sat the little gadget on the table and started taking it apart as I mimicked what was said before, "He's like a father to his students."

I scoffed as I took the piece I needed from the gadget, "Well, if that's what dad's are like, then I'm glad I don't have one!"

I went back under the frame and started working again, but groaned loudly, "Stupid piece of junk! Nothing is working!" I rolled out furiously, "I am literally taking everything I have apart for the pieces I need for this thing, and I still don't have everything I need!" I pounded the floor angrily and got to my feet. I went searching in another box, tossing stuff I didn't need aside.

I won't lie about it; I was an emotional mess.

I turned to go back under the frame, but stepped on a stray screw and fell on my butt. Alphonse and Vanessa gasped, worried about me. Alphonse walked over as I sat up, "Are you alright, sir?"

I sighed, actually feeling miserable, "No, Alphonse, I'm not." I laid on my back on the floor, "Who am I kidding? I can't do this."

He looked thoughtful, "Build the ship, sir?"

I sighed, "The ship, my life here, my job as a Space Captain, all of it. I can't do it. I'll never be able to build this ship, my life here is quickly becoming a nightmare, and it’s only my first mission as a Space Captain. And my last, seeing as I was terminated." I stared at the ceiling, "I'm never getting off this planet, meaning I'm going to be discovered, then I'll be either made into a science project or killed."

I looked at Alphonse, "And worse, that means you'll be stuck there with me." Alphonse sighed sadly.

I looked at Vanessa, "And who knows what will happen to you!" She was thoughtful as she watched me.

I closed my eyes, "There really are no more options for us."

"Don't talk like that, Rydian."

My eyes flew open and I sat up fast. I turned and felt my heart stop. There stood Lillian. In the basement. With me, Alphonse, Vanessa, and my obviously alien tech. And let's not forget the fact that I wasn't in disguise. Yeah, I was petrified.

I stumbled over my words, "L-L-Lillian! You.. what are... I mean, you... but I...."

She walked over, her face solemn as I got to my feet. She stood in front of me and looked into my green eyes. I couldn't help but look silently into her grey ones. She spoke softly, "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. If you want to do something, you just do it. You've managed this far, haven't you?"

I could only manage a few little words, "But... you... I'm..."

She sighed, stepping back and looking at the floor, "I'm sorry for coming in without permission. I heard you had dropped out of class and I just had to come make sure everything was ok."

I sighed, "Lillian..."

She looked at me, "I don't know what you are, but I know that you're Rydian. You're my friend." She looked away, "I still wish you'd have told me though. Friends shouldn't need to keep secrets. Maybe I could have helped. Maybe..." I stopped her by, to everyone's surprise, hugging her.

She blinked in surprise, blushing slightly, "Rydian..."

I let go, "Sorry. I'm just..." I smiled, "I'm glad I have such a good friend."

She smiled, "Of course I'm your friend. That won't change unless you want it to."

I smiled, taking her hands, "And I don't want it to. It’s the reason I dropped out."

She tilted her head softly,"It is? How so?"

I sighed, "I think it's time I told you everything. From the beginning."