LF Friends, Will Travel

Collateral damage - Part 9

Spot chased after the ball, bounding over the surface of the moon on all fours as he ran after his target, an instinctual joy and exhilaration filling his mind. Sure the uplift might be a trained doctor and one of the leading authorities in biogenetic engineering, in the end, he was still the same puppy that had been born all those years ago in Texas. No matter how many genetic treatments Spot had gone through to change him from a non-sapient to a sapient, some things didn't change; including the simple joy of chasing a bright yellow ball.

It was also something he couldn't do much of anymore. As much as he liked the Hatil and Scythen on his research team, there was one thing that Terrans, humans in particular, could do that nobody else could. Humans weren't the smartest of species, they weren't the strongest or fastest. Even their persistence wasn't the "best". No humans overall weren't special apart from one skill: The ability to throw things very hard and very accurately. Most could do one or the other, only a Terran Human could do both.

Throwing the item in the far lower gravity of the moon and bounding around after the tennis ball was, while slightly embarrassing, very enjoyable. Spot however did pick the ball up with his paws and start making his way back to Amander bipedally, attempting to retain at least a little bit of dignity.

"So what's gone and got you up in a hissy?"

The voice of Amander crackled through the headset of the spacesuit, causing the uplift to pause for a moment in response.

"I'm really not sure what you mean" Spot responded carefully.

"I haven't seen ya for three years and you're avoiding me like I'm covered in pig shit."

That had been true. The truth was Spot was rather annoyed with Amander: the first time he had seen his friend in three years, and it was yet another case of the human throwing herself into danger. However it really wasn't the time to bring things up considering the circumstances surrounding Fluur's treatment, so instead the uplift had decided to do the mature thing and avoid the confrontation entirely over the last three days.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

Amander took that moment to snatch the ball out of the canine's paws, putting her hands on her hips and looking sternly down at Spot. Or at least as sternly as you can do through the visor of a spacesuit.

"I ain't throwin' this again until you tell me what's wrong!"

This caused the uplift to give a sigh. He knew that at this point the human wouldn't give up on her quest to get him to talk, it would be far faster to just come out with it.

"I haven't seen you in three years and the first time I do is because you've once again put yourself in danger. Once again you're trying to solve it yourself instead of doing the smart thing and going through the proper channels."

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Go to the government!" The exasperation was clear in Spot's voice as he responded. "The organisation with guns and diplomats and everything you need when you kill an Estorian prince!"

"So they can take the easy way out?" Amander responded with her own fire, an anger born of experience, of betrayal. "So they can hand me an' Fluur off to the Raha? So they can tell me again 'When we said just followin' orders ain't a defence, that don't apply to our orders'!"

Spot knew what event she was talking about. Amander had been on the T.C Odin. The planet cracker, the destroyer of the Hatil colony Tavairis, the moment when Terrans everywhere knew they'd gone too far. Going to war against someone who had aggressed on you first was one thing, destroying an entire planet against an enemy who had no realistic way to fight back was another. The only reason the war was still going at that point was simply because the Hatil didn't realise that surrender was an option.