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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/CodEnvironmental4274 on 2026-02-07 07:27:16+00:00.

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The elegant spaceship made a striking contrast with the deserted corner of the Great Bazaar it docked at.

The doors slid open, and illustrious Vahiya reporter Ishaa Faranya strode out, accompanied by two Riyze bodyguards.

She looked around and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not an investigative journalist, you know. I don’t make a habit of visiting shantytowns to preach about the horrors of urban blight in my articles.” She smoothed her pristine white feathers and clucked her tongue. “Now, which one of you is—“

Her quips came to a halt as she noticed the two humans. Humans.

“Someone explain. Now. When I agreed to this meeting, I didn’t agree to meet with enemies of the state,” she spat out.

Prince Kama walked to the front of the group. “I assure you, we are free from the eyes and ears of the—“

“Prince Kama?” When she had received a message, and advance payment, from an unnamed affiliate of the Laana family, she didn’t think it was one of the gods-forsaken princes.

He smiled apologetically. “Please, allow me to explain. I promise no harm will come to you here.”

Ishaa weighed her options. On one hand, this was highly illegal and could ruin her entire life. On the other, was there a single reporter who could resist the call of the biggest break in the history of the galaxy?

“Fine. But make it quick.”

Kama clasped his hands together. “This is Ishaa Faranya, correspondent for the Capital Tribune. Ishaa, the lovely people standing behind me are Eza Invut and Aktet Haymur, former appointees to the First Contact Squadron, Agent Lombardi and Captain Hassan, representatives of humanity, and—“

“V,” the gruff Kth’sk pilot cut in.

“And V,” Kama said, unphased. “Our transportation specialist.”

V rolled her eyes.

Ishaa looked behind her to make sure her hover camera was recording all of this. “Great,” she said. “And what do you expect me to do with this footage? Minister Vasilya’s grip on the media has only tightened since the news about humanity broke yesterday. I’d prefer not to be thrown in jail for sedition,” she said drily.

“I’d prefer that as well,” the prince joked. “But would it not be an incredible opportunity to have exclusive access to the events leading to the loosening of that grip?”

Ishaa froze. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Kama replied, “that we plan to overthrow the Federation.”

The shorter human—Captain Hassan—balked. “When the hell did we agree to that?”

“What, did you think negotiations at a tea ceremony would do the trick?” The prince said incredulously.

“I think it’s worth at least trying!”

“I concur,” said Aktet. “I don’t remember—“

“Stop. As amusing as this is, you’re wasting my time,”Ishaa cut in. She circled the group, sizing them up. “I couldn’t care less if you succeed or fail. But fortunately for you, it makes an excellent story either way.”

Kama relaxed. “So…”

“So I won’t snitch. Yet.” She narrowed her eyes. “You wanted information. I’ll give it to you on one condition.”

“And what might that be?” The prince’s skin swirled with the bright colors of curiosity.

She reached into her designer clutch and pulled out a small recording device. “I want exclusive access to this story, and I want material to work with. But I’m not stupid enough to risk my own feathers for it.” She tossed the prince the gadget.

“There’s a switch on the back of that which turns it on. It’s similar to the camera floating behind me,” she explained, “and it uploads directly and securely to my system. Activate it during important moments at your own discretion. If I find that discretion insufficient, you’ll know,” she threatened. “Do we have a deal?”

The princeling brightened. “We have a deal!” Ishaa watched as his companions shifted, having not been consulted on this decision.

“Perfect.” She flashed a predatory smile. “Now, for my end of the deal,” she said, “I’ll give you the name of the woman who tipped me off to the humans’…” She paused and examined the men in question. “…unexpected behavior. But I’ll warn you, she won’t be easy to find after what she did. Her name is Hatshut Timar, a—“

“No. No, that can’t be true,” the Jikaal man blurted out. “What did she do? What happened to her?”

“I’m assuming you’re familiar with the woman? She was on board one of the ships that was present for the Sol Incident,” Ishaa explained. “A xenopolitical scientist. She landed herself in hot water after publishing a scandalous case study on the incident, radically sympathetic to humanity. She was arrested within hours, but not before providing the press with a detailed account of the event.”

She watched, unmoved, as tears welled up in the young man’s eyes. “Please, you need to tell me where—“

“I don’t need to tell you anything.” She strutted back to her ship, trailed by her bodyguards. “As for the rest of you—don’t mess this up.” She didn’t spare them a second glance as she boarded her vehicle.

…

Eza watched as Aktet stood there, frozen in place.

Hatshut Timar… the name was familiar. It sounded Jikaal, and if she was a xenopolitical scientist, then…

“Your advisor?”

He broke from his rumination and composed himself. “Yes,” he answered, taking a deep breath. “She’s the one who nominated me for the position on the squadron.”

To be selected for the squadron was no small feat. It was rare for a new sapient species to be discovered, so when the time came, experts across the Federation clamored for the position. But it took skill—and connections—to get it.

K’resshk had bullied his way into the position. Eza wasn’t too familiar with Sszerian culture, but they prized intelligence, and as much as she loathed him, K’resshk was highly regarded. He had sway over his fellow academics, and he didn’t hesitate to abuse it to position himself for selection.

Uuliska was an obvious choice. She’d trained extensively as a diplomat and served as a representative of the Istiil for over a decade, and it was hard for the ministers to say no to the Istiil royal family requesting their daughter be given a spot.

Eza came along as part of that deal—she’d been a covert operative for the Federation since her early twenties, protecting high-profile officials under the guise of a run-of-the-mill bodyguard. But then she was assigned to Uuliska, and her parents were impressed enough to pull strings to ensure the two of them remained paired up.

But Aktet… Eza never asked how he’d ended up there. He was talented, but talent alone didn’t cut it. Whoever Hatshut was, she clearly had clout.

Well, maybe not anymore.

“Makes sense,” she said, unsure how to continue. He needed reassurance, but Uuliska was the only one to ever even let Eza show compassion in that way.

The Riyze hailed from a hellish planet, laden with aggressive predators and natural hazards. The Federation assumed that they had evolved to fit their home not just physically, but mentally, too. Their society certainly had—no matter how much humanity threw the X Factor hypothesis into question, there was no denying that the Riyze’s strength permitted rapid resource extraction and unification under a single warlord.

But did that mean she had to fit the stereotype of an uncaring meathead? She thought of Commander Liu and the years she spent trying to mold herself into the perfectly revolutionary. And Agent Lombardi, who was raised to be not unlike Eza, yet escaped the militaristic fate she’d considered inevitable.

Maybe it wasn’t just human to choose your own path in life.

Maybe it was human to question those who would try to force you down a given path, too.

She crouched down a good two feet, and gave Aktet a hug.

…

Aktet made a strangled noise for two reasons.

One, he was utterly shocked at Eza’s show of compassion.

Two, he was being strangled.

She released her grip, allowing him to once again draw breath.

“Eza? Why…” He ignored the ache in his ribs as he sucked in air.

She looked just as surprised as Aktet. “I, uh, thought it would help. You looked like you needed it.”

It had helped, in her defense—but whether that was because it was a heartfelt gesture, or because it was such a shock it snapped him out of his grief, he couldn’t say.

V—towering over even Eza at 10 feet tall—groaned. “Can we move on from the holo-drama nonsense? I thought we were overthrowing the government.”

“Yeah, about that,” started Captain Hassan,

“Remind me when we agreed to that plan?”

Kama shrugged with his anterior arms. “When this one gave a heartfelt speech about ‘ripping off’ the blindfold the Federation had secured on us all, I took him at his word,” he answered, pointing to Aktet.

He felt his face heat up. “Well, I may have gotten a little carried away. Typical ex-theatre cub, am I right?” He laughed awkwardly.

The captain looked more done with Aktet than a volcano-charred Riyzean steak.

…

K’resshk was awakened by the rhythmic beeping of a cardiac monitor and the buzz of overhead fluorescent lights.

When had he fallen asleep?

And why was he attached to a—

“Woah, steady. You’re hooked up to an IV; I don’t want you tearing it out.”

Commander Liu stood at K’resshk’s bedside, stopping him from bolting out of the medbay in a panic.

“I demand an explanation. Now,” he hissed.

She opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated. “You don’t remember?”

Though it hurt his head to do so, he strained to recall...

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