FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

George led Erebus into the darkened lounge, with Thomas and Barns following behind. Careful not to trip over anything, he made his way behind the bar and flipped open a rewire control box. Pressing a few buttons, he selected the lounge and routed power to the lights to turn them on. He then activated the raising mechanism the heavy steel debris shutters over the exterior of the lounge windows, which had been lowered on their approach to prevent damage from unexpected orbital debris and minimize damage if they collided with another ship. Now that they were firmly moored, though, they could raise them again.

There was a faint rumbling through the hull as the steel shutters slowly shuffled upward, letting sunlight stream into the lounge and revealing what lay beyond the window.

A planet loomed in the distance, taking up most of the window. They were in high orbit, and could see the entire surface of the side facing them. It was rather unremarkable, so far as planets went. Some green bits, some sandy bits, some watery bits. More watery bits than green bits, and more green bits than sandy bits.

Erebus inhaled sharply. "It's beautiful..." He stepped forward and pressed his hands against the glass, peering out at the great mass of rock, trees, and water that comprised Steele.

"That's what a planet looks like." George said, smiling at his friend's enthusiasm.

"Doesn't look too bad from up here." Thomas said, stepping up to stand next to Erebus and look out at the planet.

George took a moment to observe that. He'd been noticing that Thomas seemed oddly comfortable around Erebus, and vice-versa. They got along really well whenever they were together. There was a sort of odd intimacy they had going on. Not like the sexual intimacy that he and the xeno shared... well, had shared. They hadn't done anything sexual together after his breakdown and temporary rejection of the alien. It just had just seemed awkward and uncomfortable to George, so he hadn't brought the topic up at any point between then and now. The xeno hadn't suggested anything either, leading George to suspect that he felt the same way.

But that was neither here nor there at the moment. The point was that Erebus and Thomas were getting along oddly well, and it had started to get under George's skin a little, especially when the xeno and the scientist had spent all of lunch a few days ago talking to each other without even looking at him. But, after he'd excused himself to go to the bathroom and taken a few deep breaths, George had chilled out. Erebus was "young", so to speak. He was making friends and exploring the world, and he probably had a lot in common with Thomas, or so George reasoned. It made sense that the xenomorph and the researcher would become friends. It was even kind of cute. There was nothing to be jealous about.

With those happier thoughts in his head, George had returned to his friends and gotten on with the day.

And now, finally, they were here. At Steele. Where George had originally departed from barely a month before. It felt like so long ago, and at the same time not long at all. Because it hadn't been, really. And he was already back, with a lot fewer friends than he'd left with.

"What's that?" Erebus pointed at a thin grey ring surrounding the planet.

"That's an orbital ring." Barns explained. "It's basically a ring of shipyards, docking bays, factories, warehouses, and other places that goes all the way around the planet. It makes building stuff in space much easier. The ring is spinning around at the same speed at the planet, so there are elevators that can go between the surface and ring, which makes it really efficient to get stuff into orbit."

"So, we could dock our spaceship at the ring?" The xeno asked.

"Yeah."

"Why aren't we, then? Why are we way out here?"

George and Barns exchanged a glance, and Thomas looked uncomfortable.

"It's me, isn't it?" Erebus said. "I'm the reason. Whenever you all do that thing you just did, where everyone looks at each other but no one talks, it's because what's happening has something to do with me."

George sighed at the xeno's astute observation. "Yeah, it's about you. So, uh... I think you understand that you're pretty special. You're the only xenomorph to ever talk and be friends with a human. You've... attracted some attention from the revolutionary government, just for existing and being you. Almost no one outside this ship knows about you. You're a secret. And not just any secret, you're currently the biggest secret in the galaxy. We; the crew, I mean, have received orders to never mention you to anyone. That's why we're moored all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere in high orbit. That way, no one can get on or off the ship."

"Why?" The alien cocked his head in innocent curiosity.

Thomas smiled, amused.

"Well..." George began, "Uh... The government isn't sure what to do about you yet. And..." He grimaced and closed his eyes in frustration "... I have no evidence for this, but I think that they probably want to figure out if they can use you as a weapon. I mean, you're a damn effective fighter; you killed all those people on the Costaguana without breaking a sweat. They'll probably want to utilize that, if they can. And they'll probably want to study you to learn more about you either way."

"I'm not going back in a cage, George..." Erebus warned, his tone flat. "I know you wouldn't put me there. But what about those other humans?"

"I won't let them do that, Erebus. I promise. If it looks like they're going to trap you somewhere, I'll get you out and we'll run away someplace. Steele is one of the more populated planets in the outer rim, but that's not saying much. There's plenty of hidden places and tens of millions of square miles of totally empty land. See that continent down in the southern hemisphere?" He pointed at a vaguely trapezoid-shaped green landmass. "Most of that continent is empty; no humans anywhere, except for one small city on the coast. We could hide in the forests there forever and they'd never be able to find us."

"You know, technically, this counts as conspiring to desert." Barns murmured. "Not that I'd tell anymore, of course." He added.

"I won't tell anyone either. As far as I'm concerned, what you and Erebus do together is your business, not anyone else's." Thomas chimed in. "Although if you decide to hit the road, mind taking me with you? I don't really wanna spend the rest of the war in an internment camp."

George suppressed the urge to narrow his eyes at the scientist. He kept phrasing things in a way that made it almost seem like he already knew about the true intimate extent of the relationship that George and Erebus shared. Obviously, he already knew about the hand-job back on the base, but he shouldn't have any way of knowing about the rest of it all. George blinked, continuing to stare out the window. He hated keeping secrets, they made him paranoid. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate it."

"I appreciate it too." Erebus added, smiling at Thomas and Barns.

They stood in silence for a minute, looking out at the planet beyond the window.

Erebus made a curious noise, sort of like a dog that had seen something it was interested in but didn't know anything about. "What's that?" He raised a hand and pointed out the window at a dim light moving across the stary sky.

"I think that's a shuttle." George replied.

"Like the one we used to get to the Costaguana?"

"Yeah."

The light began to grow brighter as the shuttle closed on them.

"They're probably coming to pick up me and you." George reasoned. "Or to send people to check us out. Either way, they probably wouldn't be happy to find a prisoner just strolling about the ship." He looked at Tom apologetically.

The young scientist smiled good-naturally. "Yeah, yeah. Back to my cell I go. C'mon Barns, better make sure I don't make a run for it." The two men left the room, leaving George and Erebus alone.

"I'm scared." The alien said bluntly, watching the point of light as it got closer. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know." His companion replied honestly. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, though." He reached out and closed his hand around one of the xeno's, holding it tightly. "I'm here for you, always." He pulled the alien into a tight hug, which Erebus returned with a warm, happy purr. "Just stay calm and follow instructions. Don't act aggressively, or give them any reason to be afraid of you. They might shoot first and ask questions later. If they ask me to leave your side, I'll say no."

The alien took a long, shaky breath. His room-temperature chitinous head slid against George's cheek, and the human rubbed the side of his face against it fondly. "I trust you, George. Please protect me."

"I will. No matter what happens. I'll be there for you." The human's finger clutched at the xeno's exoskeleton protectively, keeping them pressed together. He didn't know how long it would be before they'd have the privacy to do this again. Finally relaxing his grip and letting the xeno slip away, he looked up at the tall creature with a warm smile. "C'mon, let's go back to our room and wait for 'em. We'll know what they want soon enough."

He went back to the rewire box and closed the shutters and turned off the lights. Then he and the xeno walked back to their room through the quiet halls of the ship. They wasn't exactly much to do but wait, so they both sat down on the edge of the bed and waited.

The minutes ticked by. George and Erebus idly chatted about shuttle-design, since the xeno was curious and it took their minds off whatever was going to come next.

But soon enough there was a knock at the door. Taking a deep breath, George stood and walked over to it, hyper-aware of everything around him. His muffled footsteps on the carpeted flooring seemed very loud to him. Taking a hold of the door handle, he pulled it open.

Of all the things he had expected to see in the hall, he was surprised to find a uniformed lieutenant of the Republican Guard, in the distinctive white dress uniform with black boots, black waist belt, and black shoulder belt.

Corporal Meyers was standing in the hall behind her, wearing his dress uniform. He'd apparently gotten some sleep and had cleaned up nicely, making himself presentable.

The guardswoman looked George up and down appraisingly, then looked past him into his room; George stepping out of her way to let her enter. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the xeno, still sitting calmly on the bed and looking back at her intently.

"Hello." Erebus said simply. He didn't wave or move, which made the single word sort of creepy as it slipped from between his lips, hanging in the air uncomfortably as he continued to stare at the woman.

"Hello." The guardswoman replied, a little awkwardly, in the tone of someone who had never before considered that they might have to exchange pleasantries with a xenomorph. Turning to George, she said. "The president wishes to see you. Both of you. You are to dress presentably and then join us on the shuttle to be taken to the central administration building."

"The president?" George asked disbelievingly.

"The president?" Erebus asked curiously.

The guardswoman's eyes flicked back to the alien, clearly a little freaked out by him. "Yes, the president, private. In person. Make yourself presentable and then join us in the shuttle as soon as possible." She nodded curtly at him, then walked back out of the room and away down the corridor.

Meyers gave the two a meaningful look and then strode away after her.

George quickly shut the door and practically sprinted over to his wardrobe. Tearing open the door, he pulled his dress uniform off the rack and laid it out over his bed, pulling the hanger out and making sure the cloth was smooth and spotless. He was breathing heavily, almost in a panic.

"What's the matter?" There was concern in Erebus's voice, along with a note of fear.

"The president wants to speak to us." George said breathlessly. His gaze flicked up to meet the xeno's, and he managed a smile. "That's really unusual." It was an enormous understatement and oversimplification, but the marine wasn't really thinking on a very complex level at the moment.

"What is a president?"

"Uh... " George stopped tending to his uniform and looked up at Erebus apprehensively, leaning down with his hands on the bed, trying to figure out the best way to explain it. "So... imagine the queen of your hive. Now take away all the reproductive responsibilities and stuff. Now imagine that the queen was a social position, and anyone could be queen. Male or female. And to choose a queen, all the other xenomorphs would vote on who they wanted to be queen, and whoever gets the most votes gets to be queen. That's basically what a president is; the person in charge of a human government."

"So, the president tells other people what to do?"

"Yes... no... kinda. It's really complicated. Like, really, really complicated. I'm sorry, I don't have time to explain it right now. But basically, yes, the president is in charge of everyone else. I'll explain more about it later."

"Who is the president? That's a title, right, not their name?"

"Yes, it's a title, not a name. The president since the beginning of the revolution has been a woman, actually, which is pretty uncommon. Her name..." He paused for a second, almost theatrically. It felt so important to say, even though Erebus wouldn't understand the significance. "... Is Alexandra Kerensky."

Of course, Erebus didn't get it. "... Is that important?"

"Yeah. It's really fucking important. Here, I need to wash my face." George strode into the bathroom and turned on the water, splashing it on his face and rubbing it around his eyes, over his forehead, and over his ears.

"Why is it important?"

"Because..." He grabbed the towel and rubbed his face dry, appraising himself in the mirror while turning his head from side to side. He'd shaved the day before, but he was still worried about stubble on his face. There didn't seem to be any, but it still made him nervous when he ran his hand over his chin and found it less than perfectly smooth.

"Because...?" Erebus prompted.

"Because she's a direct descendant of Alexander Kerensky. So, on Earth, the planet that humans come from, there was a country called Russia. They were ruled by a king; a male version of a queen, but also without the reproductive stuff. The Russian king was called the Tsar, and- come on." He jogged back into the bedroom and started stripping out of his clothing. "About three hundred years ago, the then-Tsar of Russia, Nicholas the Second, was overthrown in a revolution called the February Revolution. Alexandra's ancestor, Alexander Kerensky, then became president of the newly-declared Russian Republic. But he himself was later overthrown by the Bolsheviks, a group of communists and socialists, in what's called the October Revolution. Kerensky had to escape to a different country, far away, and died in exile, never seeing his home again. But he had children, and they had children, and on and on. And now there's Alexandra Kerensky."

He finished disrobing by stripping off his underwear, then opened up a drawer and pulled a new pair out. He'd only put on the other pair just this morning, but he wasn't taking any chances. He pulled the new pair on, then slipped into his dress-shirt and started buttoning it up.

"So why is that important? It all happened a long time ago." Erebus asked.

"It's important because it kinda feels like we're living through those times again. A revolution has overthrown an unpopular government, and who should currently be leading that revolution but Alexandra Kerensky, the distant descendant of ole' Alexander himself." He paused for a moment and craned his neck to give the xeno a meaningful look. "And she's aware of it, too. She knows just how poetic this all is. And she is dead-set on not letting it turn out like it did last time. She's smart and she's determined. But she's a good person, at heart. At least so far as I can tell. If we're going to talk to her, I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"Then why are you being so frantic?"

"Because she's really important, and I'm really... not important. I'm the lowest rank in the military; private, and she's the highest; commander in chief. I need to look like I respect her. And humans do that by dressing up nice." He finished buttoning up his shirt and gestured at the uniform on the bed.

"So, what is that?" Erebus looked down at the uniform curiously.

"It's a dress uniform. Soldiers wear it when we need to look nice, as opposed to our combat uniforms, which we wear when we're about to beat the shit out of somebody." George looped a black tie around his neck and began to tie it. It wouldn't be visible under the high collar of his uniform, but they were expected to wear it anyway. And he very much didn't want to get caught disregarding proper grooming etiquette in front of the commander-in-chief herself. With that done, he gingerly picked up the coat of his uniform and pulled it on, buttoning it up before reaching down to pull on the pants. Fastening them in place with the belt, he looped the shoulder belt over his right shoulder and fastened it too, before sitting down on the bed to pull on his socks and lace up the dress-shoes. Lastly, he picked up the uniform's cap; white peak with black visor and gold braid, and set it on his head. There was no cockade on it; there wasn't yet an actual symbol for the revolutionary marine corps.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked into the bathroom, checking himself out in the mirror. His buzz-cut was getting a bit long, but that was ok; there was nothing he could do about it. He ran his palms down over the front of his uniform, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles. He couldn't help but admire himself a little. He looked so handsome, almost regal in his uniform. Dark blue coat, gold buttons, gold piping, a slightly lighter shade of dark blue pants, with a gold stripe down the sides of them.

Two years ago he'd never imagined that he'd ever even join the marines. But so much had happened since then. So much... He took another deep breath, calming his nerves. He could see Erebus looking at him in the mirror, and he smiled as he turned around. "How do I look?"

"... Conspicuous."

George broke out into a grin, amused. "Yeah, that's kinda the point." He picked up the last bit of the uniform; two white satin gloves, and slipped them onto his hands. Looking up at Erebus meaningfully, he teased him a little "Thinking dirty thoughts?"

"Not really. That kind of glove doesn't really... do anything."

"Same for me, really. Latex is basically the only kind that get any kind of reaction from me; the rest are just normal." He finished slipping on the gloves. "Well, I guess we go now."

"... Do I get anything to wear?"

George looked at his friend apologetically. "Sorry. I don't think so."

Erebus shrugged, shooting his friend a crystalline smile. "I might as well've asked. You might've surprised me." He stuck his tongue out playfully, and George did the same.

Both now in a suitably good mood, George went and held the door for his friend, then followed him out into the halls of the ship.

---

The shuttle was a lot like the drop-ship that George and his comrades had rode on their descent down to the research base. He couldn't even remember the name of the planet anymore; it had been one of the details he's just sort of glossed over in the briefing; unimportant. In hindsight it seemed stupid; a name could tell you a lot about a place. But he hadn't exactly been considering that at the time. It only seemed important now because basically his whole combat section was dead.

He pushed the thought out of his mind; it was too late for it anyway.

He and Erebus were sitting next to each other on a row of seats along one bulkhead. The human was strapped in, but the xeno's dorsal lobes prevented him from actually leaning back far enough to allow the safety straps of his seat to cross over his chest. So they had settled for just crossing two of the straps over his waist and then just having him lean forward and hold onto the metal handles on either side of the seat as tightly as he could when they hit turbulence.

Meyers was sitting on Erebus's other side, just a single seat away from the xeno. He'd taken his seat there rather pointedly while they were boarding, and at first George had wondered why. It hit him a few minutes later that it was a sort of vote in confidence in George's story and Erebus's trustworthiness. By putting himself so close to the xenomorph, he would be in immediate danger if he became hostile. So he was obviously fairly confident that the alien would remain friendly and docile.

Across from them sat seven republican guards; six with assault rifles with the seventh being the female officer who had originally showed up at their room. They were the only other people on the shuttle aside from the pilot and co-pilot, and it was obvious that they really didn't want to be there. Being within ten feet of a xenomorph while restrained in a stationary position had probably been the subject of nightmares at least once for each of them. And it certainly didn't help that Erebus was just silently staring at them. He'd said "Hello" when they'd first come aboard, and that had helped a little. But from the way that the guards continuously stared back at the xenomorph, barely blinking and never letting their fingers wander too far from the triggers of their weapons, it was clear that they were still terrified of him.

Which was understandable, but concerning nonetheless. It made George appreciate Meyers's vote of confidence even more.

There were no windows, so the only tip off they got that they were entering the atmosphere was an announcement from the cockpit, followed shortly by the whole craft shaking as it slammed into the mesosphere.

Erebus finally started moving as he looked around curiously, holding onto the hand-grips as the shaking intensified before dropping off after a couple more minutes. "That was fun." He said nonchalantly, turning his head to look down at George. "What happened?"

"It's called re-entry. We just entered the atmosphere of the planet, where all the air we breathe is. We were going really fast, so it was rough going in."

"Oh. Cool."

Erebus went back to staring at the guards, and George settled for staring uncomfortably at the floor.

The rest of the journey passed in silence like that; a long, uncomfortable silence. It finally reached its end half an unbearable hour later as the whine of the atmospheric engines began to die down and the shuttle touched down somewhere. Where exactly wasn't apparent until the rear ramp of the craft began to descend, at which point their location became immediately obvious, even in the post-sunset twilight.

Plain white walls with plain square windows surrounded the courtyard where their shuttle had touched down. The building that encompassed them was four stories tall, and was just really incredibly plain. Not ugly, per say, just plain. It was instantly recognizable as the old colonial administrative headquarters; a sprawling complex that covered well over a dozen acres of floor space and contained thousands of offices, meeting rooms, and its own artificial intelligence core that ran the whole place; directing calls, turning lights on and off, the whole works.

The building had been besieged by a massive, riotous mob at the beginning of the revolution, and had since been declared the headquarters of the new revolutionary government. This was where the official government of the entire revolution convened; hundreds of representatives from different planets and major space stations. And it was also where the president's office and living quarters were.

The fresh air that rushed in through the opened ramp was cool and moist against George's skin, and he was struck with the sudden urge to unbuckle himself and go run around in the courtyard. But that wouldn't do. Instead he calmly undid his buckles, then helped Erebus with his. When they were both standing, they were motioned outside into the large, greenery-filled, but currently deserted courtyard. Erebus, for his part, coiled his tail around his arm and then hung it from it, rather like a butler holding a coat. George didn't ask, but if he had to guess, the xeno was probably trying to prevent people from stepping on it.

Forming ranks; four guards behind them and two in front, with the female officer leading them all, George, Erebus, and Meyers were led away from the concrete landing pad and down a gravel path. It crossed over a serene little ornamental creek on a cute Japanese bridge, then continued on to a doorway into one of the buildings. The doorway was flanked by two more republican guards; hell, every entrance to the various buildings were guarded. Which made sense; these were the government chambers of a revolution. Not exactly the most stable place, and it was important to protect their leadership.

The guards saluted and stood at attention as the officer passed, but still stared very openly at the xenomorph that was being led past them.

The air inside the building was warmer, although that was just about the only pleasant detail about the while place. Just like the exterior, the interior of the structure was all white walls, white ceiling panels, and white linoleum floors. Combined with the distinctly unpleasant glare of fluorescent lights. It had always been a stark and utilitarian place; at first because it was a corporate-government headquarters building, where cheap construction was desirable, and now because there was a war to fight and painting one's office seemed much less important by comparison.

The steady clomp-clomp-clomp of the guards' boots against the floor echoed down the long hallways, carrying much farther than it really seemed like they should've. The hallways were almost entirely deserted, but occasionally eyes would peer out at them through the slitted blinds of office windows.

After a bit of walking, they went up a couple flights of stairs, down a corridor, down another corridor, and then stopped in front of a pair of doors a the end of said corridor. They had the rather innocuous label "Conference room X-13" in black letters painted above the door-frame.

Stepping forward, the officer knocked firmly on one of the doors. A moment later, the knob turned and the door swing inward, followed suit immediately after by the other one. Taking a deep breath, George stepped forward into the room.

---

So far, Erebus had been less than impressed by his tour of this strange human... hive... place. It was quite labyrinthine to be sure, but he'd quickly picked up on a sort of logic to the arrangement of the rooms and passageways. They were laid out in regular rows, which ran straight and narrow to the sides of the construct, where they formed halls that ran along the inside edge of it. The only reason that this place felt as labyrinthine as it did was because of its massive size, not because of any factor of randomization that had gone into the construction.

He didn't like that. It made him feel exposed. His hive had been built almost entirely randomly; from a couple underground storage rooms and ventilation ducts it had grown into a sprawling labyrinth in the depths of the base. It was just about impossible for humans to navigate, but xenomorphs could get around quite easily, both from instinct and from scent markings. In their hive they were safe from bumbling humans who it seemed couldn't so much as figure out which way was up and which was down while they were inside it.

Not to mention that the whole building was white, a color that the xenomorph hated with an instinctual passion.

Erebus tilted his head back a little so he could see through the rear of his dome at the soldiers following him. Every single one of them was staring at him quietly, almost completely ignoring George and Meyers. He understood why, and felt unfazed. This treatment felt quite normal by now, although he did feel a bit of annoyance; if he was going to hurt someone he would've done it already.

When he passed by a window into a room, and saw eyes peering out through the blinds, he switched his vision to thermal and looked right back in at them, seeing human shapes moving skittishly behind the blinds. He waved at them, trying to smile in a friendly manner, before moving completely out of sight of the window. With any luck, the humans within would realize he was friendly.

When they reached their destination and the doors swung open, Erebus stepped into the room right alongside George, not letting himself be intimidated by the space he was entering.

The room was not particularly taller than the space they had just left, although the walls and ceiling were nicer. It was lined with paneled wood and had a nice white carpet floor. The room was longer than it was wide, and a large table spanned the length of it. There were guards in the room already; two next to the doors, who had pulled them open, and six more with assault rifles standing at attention against the walls; three on either side of the table at regular intervals.

Along the table were seated several people. Erebus had no idea who they were, but they all looked important. Their posture was straight, and they were all wearing black, grey, or dark blue clothes, or in a couple of cases, uniforms that were vaguely like George's. And they were males. All except for one, who was an exception on all counts.

The lone woman in the room (aside of course from the Republican Guard officer who was escorting them) was sitting at the head of the table opposite the door. She was wearing a stark white and very long coat with two rows of white buttons, along with a white shirt underneath. The coat went down to just above her knees; although her legs were concealed by white pants. She had a blunt, square face and was wearing a neutral expression. She had curly brown hair that went down past her ears, almost to her shoulders. Two deep brown eyes regarded him thoughtfully as he stepped into the room; the woman leaning forward in her chair intently. There were two bright yellow... things on the shoulders of her coat, but Erebus had no idea what they were, although they reminded him of the little strips of cloth on the shoulders of Georg's dress uniform.

From her prominent position (and being the only female) Erebus immediately guessed that this was the President, Alexandra Kerensky.

The doors were closed behind them after they entered; the guards who had been escorting them leaving to stand outside. George, Meyers, and the female Republican Guard member snapped their right hands up to their foreheads and stood tall and rigid as soon as they stopped walking. George in particular seemed nervous.

Erebus didn't emulate the gesture, or the stance. Even though he could see perfectly fine out of the side of his dome, he still turned his head so that the front of his dome was looking directly down at George; making it obvious that he was staring at him. He refrained from saying anything though.

"At ease." One of the uniformed men said, and the humans settled down into a slightly more relaxed stance, with their feet slightly apart and their hands clasped behind their backs. "You are dismissed from the room, Lieutenant Musa."

The guardswoman nodded curtly and then departed.

There was silence in the room, and Erebus once again experienced the familiar sensation of everyone's eyes settling on him. It had stopped making him feel uncomfortable now, and he was actually starting to enjoy it. It meant that he was the most important thing in the room, and everyone was acknowledging it.

"Corporal Meyers, this the xenomorph you described in your dispatches?" The man was old; his face pockmarked and somewhat saggy, and he had some bulk to his body. His rigid posture relaxed and settled back into his chair as he swiveled it towards Erebus, looking him up and down. His voice was rough and hoarse.

"Yes, sir." The corporal confirmed.

"... Well, it's certianly remarkable in that it hasn't attacked us. Yet."

Erebus turned his head to face the man, fixing him with an intense, silent stare.

"... What is it doing, Corporal?"

Erebus noted that George wasn't correcting the man's "it"s with "him"s, which he always did whenever someone called him "it".

"I don't know, sir. Private Canner has spent by far the most time around the xenomorph."

"So you said." The man turned to George. "Do you know what he's doing, private?"

"He's looking at you, sir."

The man looked unimpressed. "I can see that, private. Do you know what he's thinking, is what I mean."

"I do not sir. But I can ask him."

"Ah, yes, the most interesting part of all this: Your xenomorph can talk." He looked up at Erebus. "Well, what are you thinking?"

Erebus was thinking that this man was an asshole. He didn't like how blunt he was, or how he kept misgendering him, or how he kept referring to his friend by an impersonal title rather than his name. "I'm wondering if you're always this blunt when you're in the same room as a xenomorph."

The entire room was silent for a moment, before the old man burst out in wheezing laughter, slapping a hand against his knee. "Of all the replies, I have to admit I wasn't expecting that one!"

"What were you expecting?" Erebus cocked his head. The rest of the room was staring at him openly, although the president was still regarding him with composed curiosity.

"Not what I got, to be sure. Something more along the lines of 'me hungry; you look tasty'."

"You do not look tasty." Erebus said, openly looking the man up and down, returning the examination he'd been given.

"I suppose I deserve that..." The man was amused.

The xeno looked up and fixed his gaze on the president. "You're Alexandra Kerensky, the president, yes?"

"Yes." Her voice was a lot like other women, albeit a bit deeper. She shifted slightly in her seat, tilting her head just a little. "Do you have a name?"

"I'm glad you asked. Some people don't know that it's polite to ask about people's names and to not refer to them as 'it'." Erebus punctuated this by turning his head to look at the older man in uniform, who chuckled, then turning back to the president. "My name is Erebus."

"God of the dark. Very appropriate." She smiled slightly.

"Thank you. George helped me choose it. He suggested names, and I picked one that I liked."

"As good a method as any. So, you seem quite aware of what's going on around you. Do you know where you are?"

"I'm on a planet named Steele. You're the president. I think the humans here are your praetorians" he looked up at the guards with rifles, then back at the president "and the people who help you rule." He looked at the various humans seated at the table. "I know a lot about what's going on. George has told me about the war that you're fighting, and why you're fighting it. He's told me about Weyland-Yutani and the corporations. He told me that you, all of you, would be interested in me. Either to study, or use as a weapon. Or maybe both. Is that true?"

"It is true." The president said simply, making a slight shrug with her soldiers. "It would be a very blatant and unconvincing lie if any of us tried to claim otherwise. You are a unique xenomorph, which you certainly already know, and that warrants study. Rest assured, though, we mean you no harm, and have no intention of hurting you."

Erebus was less than assured. "So what are you going to do with me?"

At that, a man halfway down the table sat up attentively.

"This is Minister Alexander Bell, of the Ministry of Science and Public Research." The president introduced him neutrally.

Erebus didn't like this. Any of it. All of these humans were so... bland. With the exception of the military officer, they were all acting in ways that made them very stiff and emotionally subdued. The alien found it creepy.

Minister Bell spoke, "There's a research facility a few miles outside the city. Before the war it was set up as a chemical laboratory that dealt with various rare or toxic gasses, so it has excellent security measures. I'd like to move you there as soon as possible. You'll have no need to fear threats from outside there."

"Will I be allowed to leave when I want to?"

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. "Uh..." Bell seemed to realize what the alien was driving at. "I'm sorry, I understand. I should've kept in mind that you have just escaped from a research facility. I promise, this will be nothing like that."

"You didn't answer my question." The xenomorph said flatly. From out of the corner of his vision, he could see both George and Meyers shifting uncomfortably. He was still new to interacting with more than a few people at a time, but he knew well enough when the atmosphere of a room had grown tense.

The president was giving Bell a look that made it clear she was becoming just as impatient with him as Erebus was.

Catching her eye, the minister folded. "... No. You won't be allowed to leave for a while. I'm sure you understand, Erebus, the vast majority of people don't know that you exist. If you just walked out onto the street you'd cause a mass panic. It'll have to wait until the war is over, and then we'll try to arrange something."

"And what if you lose the war? What will happen to me?"

The was more uncomfortable silence.

Then it was replaced by even more uncomfortable sound as Erebus began to speak in his deranged, sing-song way. "Minister Alexander Bell. I just escaped from a cage. Do you know what they did to me in there? They beat me, and shocked me, and gassed me, and sprayed me with water, and cut me open, and filled my cage with sound so I couldn't sleep for days and days and days and days...." His head slowly tilted to one side. "Minister Alexander Bell. Why should I go back into a cage? Tell me why, Minister Alexander Bell."

If the room had been tense before, it was nothing compared to right now. The guards were on-edge, fingers on the triggers of their weapons as they eyed the alien nervously.

Bell was looking up at the alien with a forced neutral expression, his fingers splayed out on the tabletop as he nervously stared at the xenomorph.

It was Kerensky who answered: "Because we need you to, Erebus. We need you to do what we ask you to so that we can win this war. We can use you as propaganda to make our enemies look like monsters, we can study you humanely to make advances in medicine and bio-technology and perhaps even weaponize that research. We can keep you safe. Weyland-Yutani will want their 'property' back, or at the very least, evidence of their wrong-doing erased. We can prevent that, but only if you do as we ask you to. You won't be kept in a cage. You'll have an apartment with a bed and a bathroom and all amenities that people enjoy. I'll even come see you personally from time to time to time, and you can voice any complaints you have directly to me. Does that sound reasonable?"

Erebus appreciated her honestly. It made him trust her, even if he wasn't sure if he liked her yet. "It's very reasonable, but I still say no. I don't want safety. If I wanted safety, I would've stayed in my hive. I came with George to see the universe. I want to be free, not safe. I don't want to go to your facility, even if I do believe you mean well."

The president frowned. "Noble, and a nice speech. But this just isn't the time for it. I really must insist that you do as we ask."

"I don't want to." Erebus was tense and anxious, now.

Another man at the table spoke up. "Look, what do you want us to do? We understand that you don't like what we're asking, but there really isn't another option."

"If I may..." George spoke up, and Erebus immediately relaxed. He could count on his friend to vouch for him. "Erebus really is quite docile and friendly. He doesn't pose any threat at all, that much I can assure you. I'm sure we all agree that he's a person, yes? Doesn't that grant him rights under the provisional constitution?"

"That's abs-" The man started, before cutting himself off and looking up at the alien nervously. It seemed that, for a moment, he'd forgotten that he was referring to a xenomorph that was very much within striking distance.

"I don't think that anyone here disputes that he's a person, private." The old military man spoke this time. "But whether the constitution applies to a xenomorph is rather... up in the air, let's say."

"The constitute doesn't refer to humans, it refers to 'persons'." George pressed. "I'm not suggesting that Erebus just walk out into the streets, of course, but I think he at the very least has the right to decline to do things that you don't have the authority to make him do. Technically only the Assembly has the power to make laws regarding who can do what, and, Madam President, you have not been granted any emergency powers by them. It is in the right of this cabinet to make requests of private individuals, but not demands of them."

The officer and the president exchanged a look. "The assembly would almost certainly agree with us." The president replied. "They don't know about Erebus yet, we wanted to see him for ourselves first. Once we tell them, they'll pass a law that gives us authority in this matter. Look, I don't want to force you to do anything, Erebus. But there comes a point where I really must insist-"

"Perhaps the Committee would have an opinion on this?" George interrupted.

The room went totally silent again.

Minister Bell was the first to break it: "The First Committee is not a legally recognized institution, they have no right or authority to dictate government affairs."

To Erebus's delight, for the first time since he'd been told that they were meeting the president a little spark was present in George's voice as he spoke. His posture changed, shifting into one that was more confident, almost as if he had some kind of authority over the other people in the room. "The committee would probably be very interested to hear that opinion, Minister Bell. They would also probably be interested to hear that this cabinet has been keeping secrets from them and from the legislative branch."

The minister breathed in, and breathed out, but didn't speak again.

Erebus had no idea what this "committee" was, but he already liked it.

"There's no need to involve the committee in this." The president said.

"I think there is, Madam President. They give this cabinet plenty of leeway and authority in military affairs, but there is an expectation that you will keep them aware of the situation as it develops and respect their authority on the matter of individual rights and freedoms. They will be very upset if the marine corps representative stands up and informs them that this cabinet has been keeping secrets from them and has derided their authority."

"Well, the cat's already out of that bag." The officer spoke again. "No matter what we do now, if the committee finds out they'll be upset."

"Not necessarily. I can meet with the marine corps representative tonight and we can arrange to inform the committee tomorrow. I'll say that you simply wanted to make sure that Erebus was real and like the reports indicated before you informed them; no need to get them worked up over a potential false report. Now that we're here and Erebus is most definitely real and sapient, it's appropriate to inform them."

The officer seemed to weigh the option in his head. "That would work."

Now it was the president's turn to ask something: "And where would Erebus stay in the meantime, if not at the laboratory?"

"There are apartments here in the administration complex, right? Erebus and I could stay there. Wherever he goes, I go."

"Of course, it was never our intention to separate you two. Corporal Meyers made a point of the fact that you were inseparable. Perhaps it would've have been more constructive to mention that earlier." Her gaze never shifted from Erebus and George, but there was a particular tone in her voice that made it clear she was a bit pissed at Minister Bell. "There are apartments here. We'll have one of them made ready for you two. I'm sure you'll understand if we have guards in the hallways outside?"

Erebus nodded. "I understand. I know what I am. It's reasonable to be concerned."

After that, the meeting wrapped up quickly. With an order from the president, Erebus and George were led out of the room, with Meyers staying behind to finish recounting his official report. They passed through the deserted corridors; the workers having all gone home for the night, until they were led into a separate hall with various "suites" on either side. A door was opened for them, they were ushered through, and then it was closed again, leaving them along.

The xeno looked around this new space curiously. It was a lot bigger than the room he had shared with George on the Hermes. There was a small kitchen, with a counter and a bar, and a little living area with a couch and a short little table. Stepping further into the room to look around, he saw another two room adjoining it, a bathroom and a bedroom.

"Well, that went about as well as could be expected." George sighed, shrugging heavily and walking over to the couch. He flopped down on the couch and looked up at the xeno expectantly, like he was waiting for the larger male to come and join him.

He didn't. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now we wait for the marine corps representative to show up, and we explain the situation to him. The Committee will want to hear all about you, and since they're mostly civilians, they'll find your plight sympathetic. Probably. And then they'll tell the government to stop bothering you, and then you'll be free. Something along those lines, at least."

"Oh." The xeno relaxed a bit. "... Is it really that simple?"

"More or less, yeah. The government basically had to do what the Committee asks them to."

Erebus cocked his head curiously. "Why? Isn't the government supposed to be in charge? Back there they said that the First Committee wasn't part of the government, so what is it?"

George leaned back on the sofa and sighed. "Ok, so, this is gonna be a little history lesson on what this whole revolution thing is about. You should probably sit down for this."

Erebus did so, plopping himself down on the couch next to the human and leaning against him affectionately.

George smiled, and put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Ok, so, when the revolution first broke out, it started out as a strike of shipbuilders on the orbital ring, who were demanding better conditions and pay."

"Pay?"

Sighing, but with a small smile on his nonetheless, George quickly explained how the modern economy worked on money being exchanged for labor, and then money was exchanged for goods and shelter. When he was done, he continued with his original story. "So, the revolution started as a strike of shipbuilders, but the strike quickly spread to most of the industries on the orbital ring, and then it spread down here, on Steele. That was when the first iteration of the First Committee formed. Worker's representatives from a bunch of different unions and workplaces met up in an abandoned movie theater, and within a few days they had representatives from a vast majority of the planet's workplaces there. They called themselves the First Committee, and organized strikes, walkouts, protests, food banks, all kinds of stuff.

"Eventually the police were ordered to to break up the protests, and they started using live ammunition after teargas and rubber bullets failed." George sighed, and looked down at the ground. He licked his lips, and his expression was solid and neutral. "I was there. I was in the crowd when they started shooting at us. I was terrified, I think everyone was. But there was just this rage that we all felt. We'd all be mistreated and abused for so long, and now we were being killed for daring to stand up. There were over fifty thousand people on the streets at first, and we ran away when the shooting started. But we didn't disperse. More people came to join us, and we started taking cars and trucks and charging them at the police. A lot of people had guns, and we started shooting back. I had a piece of rebar that I'd found on the ground in an alley. I never actually got the chance to use it on anyone. The battle didn't last very long; there were a lot more of us than of them. We broke into this building that we're in right now, and detained most of the corporate leaders who were here. They were the ones really giving the orders. A few of them were murdered, but most were just detained."

Erebus wasn't sure what George's emotional state was. He seemed to be going through a number of them at once. "From that day on, the First Committee was basically the government. They coordinated relief efforts, got the injured to the hospitals, organized militias, and basically started running the planet themselves." He smiled, and something like a sob escaped from his mouth. "It was beautiful, Erebus. It was so beautiful. We were free. Finally." His expression soured. "It didn't last long. Then a bunch of lawyers and professors and professional activists came out of the woodwork and declared themselves to be the provisional government. After we had already gone to the trouble of clearing out the actual government so that these people wouldn't be arrested when they started saying that they were in charge, but, you know, whatever." He sounded quite bitter about it, and it occurred to Erebus that he might be getting a biased version of events, since George clearly didn't like the provisional government.

"After that, officially the First Committee bowed to the will of the provisional government, since at the time it hadn't really sunk in that this was really going to be a proper revolution. We were more thinking along the lines of 'no taxation without representation', but, yeah. Now that the war has actually gotten underway and more radical ideas have taken hold, the First Committee has refused to cede any more power or authority to the provisional government. So, the way things work now is basically that the provisional government decides they want something to happen, and then they very politely ask the Committee to make it happen, and if the Committee says yes, then the thing happens and the provisional government announces that they've done a thing. But they always need the Committee's permission, even if they'd never admit it, because all the people who actually do things around here take orders from the Committee, where they have representation and which they respect."

"Ok..." Erebus understood a bit more about the Committee, bit he'd been left with far more questions than answers, which he plied George with for hours afterwards, until they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Ok, here we go again." George smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm sure you must be getting tired of meeting people and have them react to you."

Erebus made an amused huff. "No, actually, it's pretty fun. I don't know why, but the looks people give me... I think they're funny."

George's smile shed its sheepishness, and he stood to go open the door. Outside was another man in a military uniform, althought there was a length of red cloth tied around his right forearm. Erebus watched as they shook hands and exchanged greetings, noting that George didn't salute him, but instead greeted the man as an equal. "Hello, comrade councilor. You're here to meet Erebus and I, right?"

The man nodded, and George stepped aside for him. He stepped into the room, and his eyes fell on Erebus. They widened, he took a long, deep breath. "I know that I was told he was here... but seeing a xenomorph... like this is still so strange." The man's curiosity apparently overcoming his fear, he stepped closer to Erebus, looking him up and down curiously. And then he smiled. "Never thought I'd get to see one like this; all lit up. He looks really cool." His eyes focused on the front of the xeno's dome. "Can you understand me?"

"I can." Erebus replied.

The councilor let out a giddy laugh. "Shit! A talking xenomorph! That's fucking awesome! Do you have a name?"

Erebus found himself smiling at the man. "My name is Erebus."

"Sounds cool." The man said. He apparently didn't know the meaning behind it, but his enthusiasm still amused the alien. Taking a moment to regather his composure, he turned back to George. "Well, the Committee is definitely going to be interested in this."

When George spoke next his tone was quieter, and he subtly leaned in towards the other man, like he was concerned that someone would be listening. "Do you think we can count on the Committee to side with us if it comes to some sort of legal battle over his status?"

The man looked at Erebus, then looked back at George. "I think it's a safe bet. It's fairly obvious that he isn't an animal; and in any case we'll take any opportunity we can get to stick it to the provisionals. I'll inform the Committee of his existence tomorrow morning, first thing. Then I'll introduce a motion to have him summoned before the Committee so they can all see and hear him for themselves. A truck will probably be here for both of you around mid-day. Once Erebus has spoken and answered questions before the Committee, and hopefully gotten their sympathy, I'll introduce another two motions; first to 'petition'" he made quotations with his fingers "the Provisional Government to grant him citizenship, and secondly, to move him to Greencreek Barracks, in the Hawthorne district."

George nodded, grinning. "I trained there. Even back then, Commander Stephenson was never very subtle about his political sympathies."

The councilor nodded in return. "The district is a lock for the Committee. We've got eyes and ears everywhere there; even the fucking police chief is sympathetic. If the provisionals try any shit, we'll know."

"Thank you for doing this." George sighed. "I've been worrying about it for the better part of two weeks."

"It's my job. It's my pleasure to help bring about a better world any way I can. Even if it means giving citizenship to a xenomorph."

Both men chuckled, and George bid the other man farewell as he left.

Erebus had a very strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Putting aside that he found the councilor to be charming, he was rather unnerved by how conspiratorial he and George had sounded while discussing what was going to happen. He had a very nasty feeling that he had just stepped into something much more complicated than anything he'd experienced before, and that the only way forward now was to be embroiled ever deeper.

---

It was an old armored bank truck from before the revolution. It had a boxy look to it, and the places where the original logos had been were now painted over with a hue that didn't quite match the original color. On the hood and the doors was painted a simple symbol; a solid red gear, with a white C painted inside of it, standing, of course, for the "Committee".

George watched as the councilor from the day before climbed out of the passenger's seat, while two militia members hopped down from the back and walked up to greet him. He smiled and shook their hands, feeling relieved to be in the "custody" of his comrades. He was still wearing his dress uniform, as he hadn't been able to bring a change of clothes with him when he and Erebus were summoned from the Hermes.

They were in a garage in the headquarters complex; aside from the Committee personal there were three Republican Guards tasked with escorting George and Erebus to the garage for the hand-off. There wasn't any animosity between the militias and the guards; the disagreements were between their leaders, not them personally. Respectful nods and a few words were exchanged, and then George and Erebus were led around to the back of the truck and climbed inside. The militia members followed, the councilor climbed back into the passenger's seat, and they were off.

Erebus had been oddly quiet the entire night after the councilor's visit, and it was starting to unnerve George. He hadn't asked about it last night since he'd just assumed that the xeno was tired, or that he was doing that thing he did where he became very quiet when he was processing new information. But he hadn't gone back to normal this morning. He would respond when directly engaged, but usually ended conversations as soon as he was able to.

So there the human sat, across from his companion in the back of an armored truck, wondering if something was wrong but not wanting to ask in front of the two armed guards.

The various militias had formed in the direct aftermath of the first riots, and after the rise of the Committee, had mostly come together under their leadership. They didn't have a standard uniform, just standard "colors"; a green or red shirt with bluejeans, and a length of red cloth tied around their right forearms. They were effectively the police now, as well as being the Committee's private army. The ones currently with them were armed with confiscated police weapons, but in general he knew that they often used non-standard weapons; whatever they had on hand, often commercial pistols and hunting rifles.

George did not know the two members in the back of the truck with them, but intrinsically trusted them.

There were no windows in the truck, so the only signifier of its movement was the muffled roar of its engine and the way it swayed as it went around corners.

Erebus sat very still, almost completely unmoving, except to sway with the truck. He didn't seem to respond when their guards stared at him, or when they cast him nervous and eventually curious glances.

The marine mentally traced the rout they were taking from the provisional government's complex to the old theater, but lost track of their location at about half way, by his reckoning.

Eventually the vehicle bumped twice as it mounted a curb and rolled to a stop. There was a muffled rattling as another garage door was closed behind them, and then the doors of the truck swung open again.

They dismounted, the militia members going first, George hopping down behind them, and then Erebus hopping down after him, imitating the way George had done it, which made the human smile. The xeno smiled back.

They followed their guards and the councilor out of the garage and through the back halls of the building, until being ushered through a door into what George recognized as a backstage area. Above them were racks filled with lights and catwalks, and in front of them was a stage, around which was drapped a curtain. They were currently well out of sight of the audience, although someone could be heard up on the stage speaking into a microphone about "the pressing matter of union democracy". There were also more guards here, about a dozen standing around at strategic locations, armed with shotguns. George had a rather uncomfortable suspicion that they weren't normally present.

The councilor turned to address the marine and the xenomorph both. "Alright, what's going to happen is that I'm going to go up on stage and introduce you to the Committee. When I motion to you, both of you walk onto stage and stand with me by the microphone."

"Understood."

"Understood." Erebus said, echoing George but not imitating his voice.

The councilor nodded and then led them over to the side of the stage, where they could see up onto it around the curtain. The Latina woman who was speaking about unions was just finishing up her speech, and she glanced over at them as they moved into her line of sight. She hesitated for a moment, licking her lips nervously, before once again addressing the audience. "The Committee member representing the marine corps has returned, with the two people in question. I cede the floor to them."

She proceeded to leave the stage, and their councilor took her place. "In accordance with the motion passed earlier today, Private George Canner and the xenomorph by the name of Erebus have been brought here to appear before the First Committee. With the permission of the bailiff, I shall summon them onto the stage." He looked to the opposite end of the platform, where a militiaman with a red cap was standing.

The militiaman replied with "Permission is granted", and the councilor looked back to George and Erebus.

"Here we go..." The human murmured. "Follow me." He walked onto the stage, hearing the xeno following behind him with heavy footsteps, his tail rasping as it was dragged along the floor. As they stepped into view, a cascade of murmurs swept across the theater.

It was fairly large, as theaters go, with a spacious ground floor as well as a balcony up above to seat even more people. At the front was a table, at which sat four people. Two of them were important representatives, the third was a secretary sitting in front of a typewriter, ready to record the goings on in the Committee, and the fourth was the elected chairman, who called meetings to order and read out announcements and such. The theater was just about fully packed with representatives and councilors, although there were some seats in the rear that were empty. Hundreds of pairs of curious, excited eyes stared at them.

George had the feeling that history was being made. The galaxy would never be the same again after this moment, that much was certain. And yet there was an odd lack of any significant feeling to the event which bordered on surreal. It actually felt more like the punchline of a joke. He already knew that Erebus was intelligent and important and real, and these people were just now seeing it themselves for the first time.

They joined the councilor in front of the microphone, and he once again introduced them by name, before opening the floor to the Committee as a whole to pose questions to the alien-marine pair.

What followed was to be expected, with George and Erebus delivering a long and detailed explanation of the circumstances of their meeting, budding friendship, exploits aboard the Costaguana, and then return to Steele, naturally omitting the parts about their sexual encounters. When Erebus first spoke there were surprised gasps from the audience, many of whom it seemed had not fully believed that a xenomorph could speak, or be fully intelligent like a human. They passed the microphone between them, after George briefly explained to the xeno how it worked, answering questions as they were posed to them.

When the questions finally ceased, after over an hour of standing on stage at the center of attention, George took the opportunity. "Members and observers of the First Committee, I raised this matter with the councilor who stands her beside me both because I believed it was my duty to inform the Committee of goings on in the military, and because I have concerns about the intentions of the provisional government on this matter. I am concerned that they will attempt to study and weaponize Erebus against his will, and keep him in captivity against his will. I, as a citizen and toiler of our young federation, wish to formally petition the Committee to appeal to the provisional government to grant Erebus full citizenship, with all the rights and privileges that that entails, which shall legally protect him from overreach by the provisional government."

Like clockwork, George stepped away from the microphone stand and the councilor stepped back in front of it. "As the official representative of the marine corps, I formally adopt Private Canner's petition. The importance of this matter should be obvious to all. To the Chairman of the First Committee, I propose that a vote immediately be held on whether or not to appeal to the provisional government on the matter of citizenship for the xenomorph known as Erebus. I also secondarily propose to the Chairman that a vote be held on a motion to move Erebus, with his permission, to Greencreek Barracks for his own security and the prevention of public panic by any sudden revelation of his existence." He turned to Erebus. "Erebus, do you accept on your own volition being moved to Greencreek Barracks?"

"Yes." The xenomorph replied, simply.

The councilor turned back to the audience. "Then I forward my proposal to move Erebus to Greencreek Barracks without any reservations. I cede the floor to the chairman to make his decision."

The chairman stood up from the table and picked up his own microphone, turning to face the assembly. "I accept both proposed votes. Due to the likelihood I perceive of both of these votes being very one-sided, I move that they be conducted by the raising of hands instead of by paper ballot. Are there any me members or observers who wish to object have the Committee use paper ballots?"

There were several long seconds of silence while the chairman very patiently waited for anyone to make their voice heard who wanted to. No one did.

"Hand-raising it is."

The secretary typed something out on his typewriter, probably noting down the method of voting and lack of opposition to it for the permanent record.

"The first vote shall be held on the issue of whether or not to appeal to the provisional government to grant citizenship to the xenomorph known as Erebus. All those in favor of appealing, please raise your hands."

The vast majority of hands in the hall were promptly raised.

"Thank you, please lower your hands. All those opposed to appealing, please raise your hands."

There were a few, but not many. Less than twenty, against hundreds of votes in favor.

"Thank you, please your your hands. The Committee shall appeal the provisional government to grant Erebus citizenship. Now we will vote on whether or not to move Erebus to Greencreek Barracks."

The same song and dance was gone through again, although this time only a single person voted against the motion.

The results were recorded and made official, the marine councilor addressed the Committee one last time, and then it was over. George and Erebus were ushered off the stage, and another speaker took it in their place.

"Well, that went rather well, I think." George murmured to his friend as they were escorted back to the truck.

"I have no idea what just happened." The xeno replied. He sounded amused though, which the marine took as a good sign.

They climbed back into the truck, now sans their councilor, and were off.

"So, we're going to Greencreek Barracks?"

George nodded.

"What's a Barracks?"

"It's a place where soldiers live. Although, in this case it's really more of a fully fledged military base. Since the war started, at least."

"Are we going to live there?"

"Yep."

"For how long?"

The marine took a deep breath in, and then let it out. "I don't know." He turned to look at Erebus. "You're free now. Well, you will be, soon, once the announcement of your existence goes out and people learn that you're real. Really, after that, how long you stay at the military base is your choice."

"Just me?" Erebus turned his dome to look at his companion quizzically. "What about you? Aren't you going to stay with me?"

George bit his lip. "I want to go back to the front. I want to keep fighting." He looked at the xenomorph, his close friend, with a forlorn expression. "I know that we both want to stay together, and I promise that after the war I'll come back and we can live together. But I have to go fight this war, I can't just stop now."

"Not even for me?" Erebus sounded hurt; like he didn't even realize that what he'd just said was selfish.

The human stared down at the floor of the truck, leaning back against the wall with a heavy thump. "I'll miss you while I'm gone. We'll be in touch the whole time, I promise. You'll be well taken care of and protected here, the commander of the barracks is a great guy."

"But why are you doing this? Why would you go back to the fighting when you have an excuse to let others do it for you? You can do good right here, George. Remember the propaganda you told me about?"

"You can't understand yet." Came the almost inaudible murmur. George knew it would probably hurt to hear, but there wasn't any other way to say it. "You will in time, I think. But I have to do this, Erebus. I have to do this."

"Why?" The alien demanded, indeed sounding hurt.

Another deep sigh. "Because... for most of my life, I've been working towards this moment in time, when it's finally time to take action and overthrow the oppressive systems that grind millions of lives into nothing for a few bucks. And not just me; hundreds of years and millions of lives have passed before me. All working towards this goal." He looked up at Erebus, something akin to pain shining in his eyes. "I can feel the weight of that on me all the time. So many people have fought and died for this moment. And so many more have died because of the system I'm trying to overthrow. I can't stop, Erebus. Those people who I have never met and will never know are driving me onward. I can't stop now. Not when we're so close to the endgame."

"What if you die? Or lose the war? Or both?" The alien challenged.

George closed his eyes. "Then I will have done my part, and done it as best as I could."

"... But what about me? We're friends, aren't we? Now that we're finally free, why are you so eager to leave? I don't understand-"

Erebus was cut off suddenly as George pushed into his side and wrapped his arms around the alien in a tight hug. "I told you you wouldn't. But you will, Erebus. You're so smart, and you care so much for the people you love. You'll understand soon; you'll figure it out." George looked up at his friend; his eyes were burning with barely suppressed tears now. "Erebus, I can't stop because this just isn't about me. It's about so many people, and it's so much bigger just me. I'm in a position to help, and there's an opportunity to act. We only get opportunities like this once every hundred years or so. I have to keep going."

He took a deep breath. "But I'm not leaving you just yet. I'm gonna be here with you for the next few days, and help you get used to life on Steele, and introduce you to some people. Then you won't be lonely when I leave."

A long, lanky arm wrapped around George's shoulder. "I will be lonely anyway when you leave. But I won't stop you, and I won't ask you not to go, if the war really is so important to you."

"Thank you, Erebus."

"Thank you, George. For saving me. For... creating me."

The marine felt the truck go over the tell-tale pair of twin speedbumps that marked the entrance to the Greencreek Barracks compound, but he didn't care. He was deep in an intimate moment with Erebus, and that was all he could bring himself to think of.