Disclaimer : Not my characters, not for profit

K+ for mentions of suicide bombing.

Seven things that might have happened to Nerri.

Cinch your shoes

It always felt like flying when he ran away. Wind rushing past and his toes barely kissing the ground with every step. He heard her behind him and knew she would catch up soon. When he ran she followed, that was how it always was. He pushed himself harder; reached with long thin limbs and wished for the day when he could leave everything behind. The landscape changed the further he got from the residential sector. Looming factories and dark grey metal struts pierced the earth and cluttered his path.

He could still hear them, his family discussing his fate. In hushed tones that children are not supposed to understand. Crèche- the word hurt his ears, sounded like betrayal. Passed from family member to family member now they were being passed to the Establishment. His family, his own family didn't want him, didn't want his sister. He didn't know why it surprised him; his father had passed on them even before their mother was taken.

He felt his shoes loosening. Ignored it, clenched his jaws and ran wobbly legged. Defiantly he slammed his feet into the ashy earth until his laces trailed behind him and lapped against his exposed calves. He didn't slow down and he couldn't stop himself when the laces wrapped around his ankles. Twisted, limbs, body flung carelessly forward. Gravel bit into his skin and he felt his teeth shake. "Frell!" he hissed, frustrated. He didn't look back when he heard the familiar foot falls approaching; she would catch up soon.

She blew softly on the knobbly knees; her breath gently loosened dirt and ash from the shallow grazes. He remained on the ground long after falling; leaned against the wall gritting his teeth and ignored the stinging of wrists and knees. Their world was changing and he couldn't stop it; this time tomorrow they would be reassigned, maybe even split up, and he couldn't protect her. Tears pricked his eyes, more from fury than pain, but he didn't let them fall. "Thanks Chi" he whispered as he looked down at her, stroked her hair.

She turned her attention from his injuries to the cause of the fall. She met his eyes then looked down, concentrating. Her fingers worked at the intricate patterns his laces made against his shoes. She giggled, low and breathy, to make him smile. "See what the problem is?" she asked, not expecting an answer. "You have to twist this piece here then tuck under here or they will always come loose," she continued as he watched intently. He mixed that bit up all the time. Before her no one ever cared enough to teach him. She was younger than he was but they were more equal than his pride let him admit. As much as he protected her, she protected him, they leaned on each other. She grunted softly as she worked. Absently he wondered where she learned to cinch shoes.

Just say no:

"I'm going for mine tomorrow" Farquad said. Words and smoke curled smoothly out of his mouth. "And when I get off this rock, I'll find a nice pleasure planet." He paused to inhale from the tube in his hands. "You know, find a few frell buddies and," he giggled softly and spread his fingers out in front of his face in a rude gesture, "do everything that grisses off the Establishment".

Nerri laughed loudly after he took the tube from Farquad and sucked on the fumes. "You mean like smoking this dren." Nerri shook the mouth piece at Farquad.

"Exactly." Farquad said. He shook slightly in place, triumphant, his face twisted with a ridiculous grin.

The smoke was good, real good, but it didn't chase away all of the thoughts. Nerri inhaled again and tried to ignore his doubts, but he just had to ask.

"Farquad, don't you think..." Nerri squinted at his friend, Farquad was changing colour and doubling all of a sudden, "that this exit permit thing is too good to be true?"

"That's Lord Farquad to you!" Farquad bellowed, "and No I don't think too much about it." truthfully he wasn't capable of thinking too much about anything at the moment. "I...want...off...this...rock!" Farquad stabbed the floor with his finger to emphasise his words. Nerri laughed and pink smoke escaped his mouth in short bursts. Farquad reached for the tube again but his hands and eyes had stopped communicating and he only succeeded in poking Nerri's arm. "Give it," Farquad hissed.

"No," Nerri replied, grinning. "This dren isn't good for you. I'll hold onto it for you." Nerri inhaled again, feeling a good rush coming. Closing his eyes he let the euphoria wash over him. "OOoooh, nice." Nerri could practically feel his toes curling. He was barely aware of Farquad's laughter as the room shimmered before him. "So many colours," he hummed. Nerri dropped the tube and collapsed onto the cushion behind him, watching the smoke rise towards the ceiling. "Too good to be true," he murmured as the rush receded.

"Mmmrrmm" Farquad grumbled as he took a breath from the tube.

Nerri rolled onto his stomach and looked almost sadly at Farquad."I'll miss you man, but...," Nerri began.

Farquad nodded. "But you'll miss my smokes more," Farquad finished with a cackle.

"Frell yeah," Nerri grinned. The grin faded as he continued. "But really ,man, I mean, no fines to pay, no contract telling you return in five cycles, not even a travel restriction tossed into the deal." Nerri indicated each point with an extended finger. He paused and squinted, momentarily losing track of his fingers. He shook his hand and continued, "Frell! You didn't even have to pay for the routine med check. Nah man this is too neat, too free. See me and Chi are getting out the old fashioned way, hop a frelling transport. I'm telling you the Establishment must be up to something."

"Yeah." Eyes rolling. "The smoke's making you paranoid, you and your conspiracy theories," Farquad said between laughs. "Next you'll tell me the Establishment wants to take over the galaxy."

Nerri was a punk rocker

"Low on the sides and high on the top," he said. "I want it to look really classy tonight. Oh and I want to borrow some of your perfume Chi". Chiana nodded as she switched the buzzer on. She had bought the buzzer and other beauty supplies earlier that week and was excited to be using them again. The first time it had been her own hair; she had shorn it into one of the short bobs high class Nebari women wore. Nerri laughed and told her it suited her - if only she could get some high class credit to match. Now, despite his laughter and eager to impress a cute Nebari refugee, Nerri wanted his own high class cut. It had been many cycles since he'd seen another Nebari and he wanted to look his best. He had even snurched a new coat for his rendezvous.

She was almost finished when the buzzer skipped in her hands. Only briefly but it was enough. "Dren," she squeaked softly. She stifled a giggle as a long lock of black hair fluttered to the ground.

"What just happened," Nerri growled, but before his hand could reach for his head she smacked it away.

"Nothing, buzzer got a little choked" she said, thankful he couldn't see her grin from his seated position. The stark whiteness of his scalp was a pleasant contrast to his dark hair and the rectangular patch behind his ear looked more and more hilarious the longer she looked at it. She sniffled helplessly and could feel tears of laughter welling in her eyes.

"Oh," he murmured, unsure. "I thought I heard something," he said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Something wasn't right, he was sure of it. "What are you sniffling at then?" his voice gruff with mistrust.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just got a little...hair in my face is all" she snerked, shaking with barely contained laughter. She didn't notice the buzzer was too close to his head, she shook until it bit another patch into his hair. "Oh frell," she puffed before the laughter came peeling out.

"HEY!" Nerri howled, rising from his seat and turning towards his sister. He grabbed for the mirror in her hand as Chiana rolled neatly to the side, evading him. He snarled loudly, his hands had found the bald spots before his eyes could. "Chiana! Frell ! I told you I wanted to look classy." Growling and snapping he leapt after her, murder in his eyes. She could outrun him, always could, but her legs moved slower when she laughed. He punched her shoulder viciously. She crumpled to her knees but never stopped laughing.

"Oww….Sorry Ners ...Wa...Was an... aa accident", she squeaked between giggles as she doubled over tears streaming down her face.

"You never take things seriously". Nerri crossed his arms and stared down at the cackling mass. "I'm not laughing, Chi," he said, eyebrows knitted. "You -" he poked her in the chest "-have to fix this." He finished, fuming and gesturing to his hair.

Later, when he ran his hands over the very short stiff hairs on the sides, he tried to think of anyone he knew who wore their hair like this. No one came to mind. And try as he might he couldn't understand the strip of hair she left long in the middle "See, short on the sides and high on the top. I think it looks really drad," Chiana had assured him "That piece sticking up makes you look interesting and dangerous." But as he assessed himself in the mirror, running his fingers through his remaining hair, he remembered an old proverb: fisherman never says his fish stinks. Chiana would never tell him the haircut looked frelled.

"Drad my eema." He scowled at his reflection and wondered how he would repay his sister. He sniffed his new coat. "Well at least the perfume smells nice and who knows maybe Koyu will like the style."

Is it really you?

"Who the frell are you?" He roared. A muscle in his neck throbbed as he glared at the captive. The Establishment had to be getting desperate to send such a poorly prepared spy.

"I told you already," the alien replied, rolling its eyes and flicking its hair...tentacles...whatever. "I'm Chiana". This was Nerri's first meeting with the alien that had snuck in two days ago claiming to be his sister.

Nerri rubbed his eyes roughly and looked across the table. "I soo do not have time for this dren," he mumbled. He sighed, time for a change in tactics. "Look I'll ask one more time," he said in softer tones, then he threw in that smile females liked, at least he thought the thing was female. He couldn't be sure; he didn't know much about Luxans. "Who are you really? Don't worry, we won't kill you, it's not our way."

The alien pouted, Nerri cringed at the sight. Maybe that looked cute on its home world he thought. With a flutter of its eyelashes the alien shifted in its seat, licked its lips and adjusted its body hugging garment. "Ners..." it crooned, leaned closer, the ornaments in its facial hair dangling near to the table.

"Don't call me that," Nerri snapped. His limited patience was spent. A gender confused Luxan in a grey dress was bad enough but using the pet name his sister had for him was just too much.

The androgynous creature tilted its head to the left and smiled. "Nerri, I'm telling you the truth. Look, how bout I tell you something only I...erm...only Chiana would know?"

"Fine," Nerri growled.

"Ok, how about..." she/he/it trailed a gloved finger along a fleshy appendage hanging from its chin. "How about...Ooo!" The Luxan squeaked as Nerri narrowed his eyes in dim recognition; that expression, the raised eyebrows and sudden squeak, was uncomfortably familiar. The alien continued, "You remember that girl on the first pleasure planet we stopped at? Kett I think the name was. The one with four loomas and how you..."

Nerri's eyes widened and he could feel the blue heat spreading across his face. "Whoo! No! no" he said, too loudly, before the alien... 'Chiana' could continue. His sister had promised never to speak of that incident. He glanced nervously at his second officer stationed by the door and cleared his throat "No, that's not necessary" he concluded, regaining his composure.

"You Sure? It's a really fun story" she placed knowing emphasis on the word fun and giggled. Nerri grinned suddenly.

"Well frell me," Nerri laughed, he knew that giggle anywhere, "It is you".

There are no prisons here

That he is a criminal he has never denied, it is the truth and he has paid dues in prisons all over the galaxy. Some stays longer than others, most ending in escape. He understands prison but there are none here and definitely no escape. There are no prisons here. Only caverns deep and secret in the radiated earth; where they keep him, plant him like a seed in the ashes and burn away his sins. Burn away all that he was, all that they say was wrong. The process they say is a symbolic repetition of a racial memory, replaying a time when his species was almost annihilated by fire and radiation. The fire burns away the evil, purges pain and he, like his home planet before him, will be cleansed.

Cycle after cycle and still he wishes for prison. Prison he understands, in prison his bonds were physical and his pain began outside and wormed its way in. Outer pain he can resist that a little, hold onto himself and hope for escape. Here there is no hope. They pry with golden fingers into the deepest recesses and rearrange. Carefully reordering what cycles of nature and experience have built. Pain flourishing from the inside pushes out, rending synapses and building new government sanctioned connections. One hundred cycles of ripping shredding rebuilding and all the while they leave him aware. Aware of losing himself, until he relishes it and every ripping shredding technician begins to look like his saviour. Then it's too late and he knows that what he was has died and that makes him happy.

Need:

She looks at me with those hungry eyes, only briefly, then her attention returns to her morsel. Small, dry, it's the first food we've had in days. Well, she's had. My hand absently strays onto my stomach and I close my eyes, breathing in time to the undulations of my abdomen. Letting the pangs wash over me, willing them beyond my consciousness.

She looks at me again, her tongue greedily plucking crumbs from around her mouth. It's gone and she's asking me for more. Not in so many words but in the set of her shoulders, the crumpling of her body, the bones jutting at odd angles beneath her skin and those hungry eyes. Black and empty eyes consuming the food before she touches it. Her lips quiver, devoid of crumbs. She has eaten them, plucked them from her clothes and the floor. A small pink tongue ventures out again, hopeful that it's missed something. It hasn't.

Want more, her eyes scream and I cringe, what more? I think furious. We converse in a language of shifting postures. If I had more she would be eating it. The anger is swift and I lash out at the world, at myself, but my fist only finds her. My hand rebounds and hovers in the air, quivering amongst my instant regrets, she doesn't hit back this time. Before my anger would be met with fierce shouting, now she sobs quietly, chewing on her hand smearing tears and saliva over the hurt. I wrap my arms around her and whisper. "Sorry."

"I'm sorry," the words are soft and I want to say them over and over. "Oh sis...I'm so sorry,"

I brought her here and she trusts me to get us through. "Us against the world," I said. "Bigger, better opportunities," I said. The dreams had died long ago; we only traded familiar slums for strange and more hostile ones.

"I understand," she whispers into my chest. I feel the anger pushing tears from my eyes. I don't need her understanding, I need her rage. I need to fight as we did before, before she pitied me.

Nebari terrorism:

He was no leader he thought to himself for the hundredth time. The others looked at him now, looking for guidance and it made his nose itch. He allowed his hand to scratch, slowly. He doesn't touch his abdomen, the burning there reminds him of promises he's made. He still didn't know why his group was chosen but then it didn't really matter, any of the resistance cells would gladly do it.

He closed his eyes; the others looked on dedication, painted on their faces. "Why do we do this?" he screamed into the darkness.

"For the Greater Good!" came the screamed responses. They screamed together and smiled. Nerri smiled too and remembered when they had prayed together in the meeting room, when they had looked around with righteous eyes and decided to die for the Greater Good.

It was the same determined smile he wore arns earlier when they were injected with the explosives. Explosive microbes that curled beneath his skin, burrowed into necks and hid in flesh and blood far away from detection. They burned just around his life disk. The life disk still pulsed with his sister's heart beat. He didn't want to think of how much she would hurt when the pulsing stopped. "We will see each other again," he had promised. He had promised too much.

"Why do we do this?" he screamed again to the waiting group. This time the room was electric, humming with their excitement.

"For the Greater Good!" eager voices replied.

"Yes, yes!" he shouted, nodding as he looked around the room at his group. "Yes!" He punched the air frantic and victorious, every face split into desperate grins, exhilaration before the end. They would be taken into custody, deep into interrogation rooms and hidden Establishment strongholds and when they were all in position.....Ka...Frelling...Boom! Mind cleanse that, fekkiks.

He smiled at the enforcer just before the end. Just before the explosives burst out of their fleshy hiding places and burning shards ripped into the Establishment's greedy hands.