Warnings: Sex between an alien and a human in later chapters. Xenophilia and mild violence. Body horror I suppose? I think that goes with the D9 territory.
Disclaimer: I do not own District 9. All characters are property of their respective copyright holders and I am making no profit from this work of fiction.
o
Despite his nervousness, exhaustion must have overwhelmed Wikus at some point, because the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake. The green alien had returned and was leaning over him, tentacles waving and mandibles twitching as it clicked at him.
"Oh," Wikus croaked, "and here I was hoping you'd turn out to be a fever dream."
The alien trilled at him and thrust something red into his face.
His hand came up instinctively to grasp it and he winced when it squished beneath his fingers. Liquid trickled down his wrist and he had a sudden awful thought.
His eyes tracked over to where the brown alien was still sitting on the stool. It had laid its gun down and had a hunk of the red stuff between its hands, tearing off bits and gulping them down.
"Oh fok," he groaned.
The green alien trilled again and mimed putting something into its mouth.
Wikus let his head fall back to the pillow.
"No way," Wikus said, "absolutely fokking not."
.,.
Gqunu picked off a bit of exoskeleton still attached to his meal, watching Kkrokpe fuss over the creature like a parent with a new hatchling.
"What did the Leader have to say when you told him?" he asked.
"He wishes to see it for himself," Kkrokpe said, clicking in frustration as he tried and failed to make the creature eat, "We're to bring it as soon as possible."
"Did he seem concerned?"
Kkrokpe's shoulders sagged, "Somewhat, we were not aware of another sentient species capable of spaceflight. He wants to know their intentions toward us."
"That may be difficult with only one organism. However, I examined the ship a bit more while it was resting. It doesn't appear to have any weapons."
"This was probably a group of scouts or explorers," Kkrokpe sounded gloomy; "If others come looking for them they may not be so peaceful."
"No use worrying, my friend. Let's get the creature back to the Leader."
.,.
The green alien urged Wikus up from the bunk, clicking at him.
"What do you want?" he asked.
His words didn't translate, but the questioning tone must have; the alien paused for a moment before gesturing to all three of them in turn. It pantomimed walking.
Wikus' stomach clenched. They were going to take him somewhere.
"Where?" he demanded, trying to keep the quaver out of his voice.
The alien gestured again, hands forming into incomprehensible shapes.
"I don't follow," Wikus said.
It clicked in frustration and fell silent for a moment, thinking. Finally it stooped and picked up its weapon from where it had laid it against the wall, before moving to stand beside him.
Wikus tensed, but the creature didn't point the weapon at him, instead drawing a slow line back and forth in front of the two of them; a warding gesture.
A promise of protection.
The brown alien made a sharp buzzing click, but the other only looked at Wikus, waiting for his response.
Wikus swallowed hard.
"Alright then," he said, "let's go."
.,.
Kkrokpe loped slowly beside the creature, mindful of its injuries and exhaustion, doing his best to ignore Gqunu's scorching glare.
"You had no business offering protection to it," Gqunu clicked "It may be a danger to the entire Hive."
"If your suspicions are correct and it is part of a larger fleet," said Kkrokpe, trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone, "then killing it will serve no purpose other than to anger the others."
"And if it is a spy?" snapped Gqunu.
"Its ship is dead; it has no means to transmit information," clicked Kkrokpe, "At the very least, if others come, it might serve as a hostage. Would that satisfy you?"
"That is unfair; I am only trying to be practical. The Leader may still order it destroyed," Gqunu warned.
Kkrokpe's grip tightened on his gun, "I know."
.,.
They traveled for a long time, through an endless sea of waving yellow grass that rose almost to Wikus' hip. About a mile from the ship they came across another group of the giant brown pill bugs, grazing. As they skirted the herd, Wikus caught sight of something he'd only ever seen in Ross' dreamy sketches.
A massive metal creature, twice as tall as the aliens it roughly resembled, rose against the blue sky.
The green alien noticed him staring and clicked at him, pointing. He followed the creature's arm and saw more of the bugs that had attacked him, slinking through the grass at the edge of the herd.
A giant metal arm came up, and one of the bugs exploded, provoking high pitched shrieks as the others scattered.
The pill bugs continued to feed.
The alien urged them on.
.,.
The sun was high in the sky when they came to a wide river snaking its way across the plain. Wikus was concerned they might have to ford it, he wasn't a very strong swimmer, but the aliens only followed the rushing water as it flowed downstream.
On the far bank several large brown lumps were sunning themselves on the sand. As he watched, one stretched luxuriously, twitching modified front legs tipped with massive pincers.
Wikus moved a little closer to the green alien.
As they followed the river, the ground began to gradually slope, opening up into a large canyon. Red rocks loomed on either side, casting long shadows.
The two aliens moved easily over the rough terrain, but Wikus had to scramble, boots slipping on wet stone where the rapids left dark splashes. One leg finally slid from under him and he sprawled on the rocks, cursing.
"Can't you wait a fokking minute?" he shouted over the roar of the water, trying to get his feet under him.
Green fingers caught his and he was hoisted to his feet. He started to withdraw, muttering brusque thanks, but the alien hung on, hand arranging itself into a more comfortable grip. It clicked at him and tugged him along.
Wikus' mind rebelled at the thought of touching the creature, but after nearly slipping several times only to be yanked back easily, a keen example of their massive strength, he submitted in the name of sparing himself any more bruises. The alien's palm was surprisingly warm and soft, even if the thick, too few fingers sent shivers of wrongness up his spine.
Exhaustion was beginning to catch up to him and he concentrated on finding steady footholds. Just when he thought he would keel over, the alien stopped, clicking at him.
Wikus looked up.
A massive red cliff loomed over them, honeycombed with openings. Bipedal aliens swarmed over the cliff face and small floating ships hovered in the slice of sky visible between the ruddy canyon walls.
He was looking at an alien city.
"How lovely," breathed Tania "Wikus, this is incredible."
Wikus couldn't speak.
o
The climb to the summit of the cliff proved just as arduous as the descent into the canyon and Wikus' new shirt was soaked with sweat by the time they made it to the top. His arm was aching and he wanted nothing more than to collapse on the hard stone and sleep.
Or perhaps toss himself over the edge into the river; he was dying of thirst.
The curious stares of the aliens made his skin prickle. They were everywhere, multicolored shells and many sizes, antennae waving as they watched him.
The green alien must have noticed him falter because it clicked to its companion and guided them off into a cave, gently pushing Wikus to sit in a carved stone nook. The dim light in the dwelling was blinding after the bright sun and Wikus' head dropped into his hands, fingers pressing on his temples as he fought the pounding headache of dehydration.
A hand laid itself on his head and he looked up. The green alien offered him a shallow metal bowl of liquid.
His vision hadn't returned enough to tell what it was, but he was too thirsty to care and took a mouthful.
It was water, but with a sharp mineral bite that was shocking after the non-flavor of the distilled water kept on board ship. He gulped it down too quickly and fought his empty stomach's urge to throw it up.
When he had rested a few minutes, the alien took back the bowl, setting it aside, and pulled him to his feet, back into the sunlight.
A crowd had gathered and the air was filled with soft clicks and trills, like a chorus of crickets. Wikus' stomach knotted up, uncomfortable under the intent gazes.
The alien's hand gently squeezed his and he looked up at the creature in surprise. It continued walking as if unaware, but a thick finger ran lightly along the back of his hand, soothing.
Wikus lifted his head and kept on walking.
They passed through an archway, roughly carved with abstract insectoid shapes, and into a central room. Sunlight filtered down through high windows bored in the cliff face. Numerous aliens were milling about; attending to things he couldn't see.
The green alien let out a buzzing trill. Activity ceased for a moment and another alien stepped forward.
It loomed several inches taller than the others, and its exoskeleton was pure black. Grossly enlarged mandibles, bright red and barbed on the internal faces, twitched as it looked at him.
It gave a sharp click and the green alien released his hand, gently pushing him forward.
The creature stalked forward and bent down to examine him. Mandibles clicked together and he couldn't suppress a flinch.
It made several clicking sounds and behind him he heard the green alien respond. The brown alien chimed in, buzzing and clicking. The black alien cocked its head, looking at him.
Should he say something?
"Um," Wikus began; the black alien's head came up at the sound of his voice. He spread his hands and extended them in what he hoped was a universal gesture of 'no weapons', frantically groping for something to say. He'd always scorned old sci-fi movie actors for their cheesy dialogue, but now, faced with seven foot tall insect people, he suddenly couldn't think of anything eloquent, "I…come in peace?"
The black alien stared at him.
For a moment Wikus thought he'd made a huge mistake, but then the black alien was moving forward. It placed its hands palm down on top of his and made several authoritative clicks.
There was a buzzing chorus from the other aliens. The black alien stepped back and clicked to the two behind him. The green alien stepped forward and began speaking rapidly, gesturing with its free hand as it clicked. The black alien grunted and made several more clicks.
The green alien made a peculiar gesture and turned back to Wikus, motioning for him to follow.
.,.
Wikus followed the creature out of the room and they began to descend the cliff, following paths worn smooth by passage of many feet. Several levels down the alien turned off into a large flat area hewn into the rock. The red rock face was pocked with holes.
They must be dwellings, Wikus realized, watching a tall yellow alien emerge from one of the holes, carrying a metal pot. Groups of little aliens were playing in the dust, trilling and clicking as they chased and wrestled with each other.
The green alien entered one of the openings and Wikus hurried after it. The stone walls, lit by sunlight from the doorway, glowed orange.
The green alien gave a chirp and the light scratch of feet on stone answered. A small alien scampered into the room, chirping frantically.
The green alien hung its weapon in a set of metal hooks near the door before reaching down and scooping up the smaller creature. The little alien chirped and trilled and the parent gave a rumbling purr in response, a sound that Wikus, to his embarrassment, recognized as the one the alien had directed at him when they'd first found him.
Awkward, he lingered in the doorway, watching parent and child reacquaint. Not wishing to be surprised by another adult lurking around a corner, he threw a surreptitious glance about, searching for the other parent.
A trilling chirp brought his attention back to the pair, and he glanced down at the small alien. The creature stood only a little higher than his knee. It chirped at him, tilting its head in an inquisitive manner.
Trying to be polite, he crouched down to put himself on level with the child, offering his hands as he might to a strange dog. Small antennae waved as the child reached out and touched his hands, clicking and trilling as it examined the lines of dirt in his palm, small pointed fingers lightly scratching against his skin. Wikus tried not to squirm at the tickling sensation.
The green alien clicked several times and the child withdrew. The alien motioned to a metal table set with several stools. Wikus sank gratefully onto one and the child scrambled to sit next to him, crawling up onto a stool which stood nearly as high as it was.
The alien disappeared for a moment through another doorway and returned carrying a stack of three bowls. It set one each in front of Wikus and the child, who chirped and started eating. Wikus steeled himself and looked into his own bowl.
More raw meat.
An inquisitive click from the green alien made him look up. It gestured toward the bowl and clicked again. Wikus bit back a groan.
"Look," he said "I really don't want to be rude, but don't you have any way of cooking this?"
The alien cocked its head and looked puzzled.
"Cook? You know, fire?" Wikus waved his hands in a fruitless attempt to illustrate his point. The alien only stared at him. Frustrated, he rolled up his sleeve, reached over, took one of its hands and laid it on his bare arm, "Heat. Understand?"
The alien thought for a moment and rose from the table. It returned a few moments later carrying a squat metal box with dials on the front. It placed the box on the floor near Wikus and fiddled with some of the dials. After a minute or so it began radiating heat.
Not exactly what he'd had in mind, but beggars can't be choosers. Wikus placed the bowl on top of the box and crouched near it, waiting as the metal slowly conducted the heat. Eventually the meat began to sizzle and a delicious scent filled the room. Both aliens crouched beside him to watch.
Lacking utensils, Wikus burnt his fingers a few times as he tried to turn the meat. At last it was done, a little rarer than he usually liked, but at least it appeared edible. He pulled his sleeves over his hands and scooped the bowl up, transferring it quickly to the table. The green alien watched him blow on the meat to cool it. Politely, he tore off a small piece and offered it.
The alien accepted the meat and turned it over for a moment before sticking it in its mouth.
It paused, considering, before leaning over and spitting it back out into the child's empty bowl.
"Now you know how I felt." Wikus mumbled, biting into his meal.
The alien just clicked at him before returning to its bowl.