He walked down the hallway with a determined glare. The scales on his turquoise skin vibrated with fury. Each step was heavier than the last. Finally he reached his destination. He placed his hand on the panel and the door opened.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled before he was even fully in the room. His lab partner was on the other side of the counter and did not even flinch upon his entrance.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing up. I will leave this project with at least a modicum of my dignity still in tact," The other alien had similarly colored scales, but was taller and thinner.

"After all this time, all of our hard work, our life's work dammit!" This time the shorter of the two refused to be ignored any longer. He tossed the box out of his partners hands and stood there anticipating his reaction.

"What else do you want to do? We have no money. The government has officially cut our funding. Outside investors are pulling out left and right. We can't finance this place on our own. It's over Kwide. It's time that we both accepted our fate," he looked deep into Kwide's eyes attempting to achieve a sort of understanding, but luck had not been on his side.

"We've come so far. All of this work can't be for nothing. I mean we've studied every known species in this part of the quadrant. " Kwide was searching in the eyes of his partner for some glimmer of hope, but there was nothing but defeat.

"That's just it Kwide, every known species. Everyone already knows about them. No one cares. They all want new, unknown, and exciting. That's something we can't offer," he walked to where the box was tossed and put everything back in, sealing it tight.

"We've gained an abundance of insight from analyzing their emotional responses, romantic bonding, their social intricacies; our species will be able to grow and incorporate our discoveries into its culture," Kwide pleaded.

"It's not enough," his partner answered back cooly.

"What if I could get us something new and exciting?" Kwide said.

His partner set the box on the table and placed his hands on his hips in annoyance.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I've been talking to one of our old contacts on the planet Zuriig," Kwide said with enthusiasm.

"Oh no! Don't tell me you've been talking to Lenek, that old drunk doesn't even know his head from his ass," he rolled his eyes and went back to packing.

"That was a long time ago. He's cleaned up since then," Kwide lied.

"Doubtful," he shook his head.

"Well you may eat your words when you hear what information he has," Kwide's smile grew.

At this, his partners interest peaked and he gave him his full attention.

"I'm listening," he said.

"You want a new species? …How about humans?" Kwide asked with delight.

"What the hell is a human?" he asked skeptically.

"Exactly. No one really knows. They were on a ship taken from an entirely unexplored part of the galaxy, over 70,000 lightyears away," Kwide continued.

"Great. A fascinating new species, but none of them would be willing to volunteer for this project," his partner, always on the pessimistic side of reality, continued to find holes in Kwide's plan.

"They wouldn't have to," Kwide answered, confident that he had all the answers.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Lenek told me about the ships need for dilithium, something we have an abundance of. We'll set a trap, on an uninhabited planet only a few lightyears from here. They'll go in for dilithium and we'll take two of their kind," he began to pace with anticipation.

"Are you insane? You know our governments policy on first contact and diplomacy. This goes against several laws. We could end up in jail," he shook his head.

"No fate is worse than failure," Kwide answered back.

At this his partner stopped. Pacing back and forth, he considered the options. After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached a decision.

"How soon could we get them here?" He asked.

Kwide smiled radiantly and beamed with joy.

"Before the end of the week," he answered.

"We would need one female and one male," the lanky alien continued to pace back and forth.

"I know,"

"And I'm not getting my hands dirty, you want to save this project so badly then you have to be the one to get the humans. If anyone find out the truth about how we acquired them, I will not take the fall for this. Is that clear?" He had stopped pacing and come very close to Kwide to stress the importance of his last sentence.

"Crystal clear. You won't regret this Clenak, I promise!"

With that Kwide left the room and grabbed his communication device. He hit a few numbers and then someone picked up on the other end.

"Lenek? It's me. The plan is a go. Set the trap for voyager. Cease communication with me and Clenak until further notice," And with that he was on his way.