Breakfast was awkward.
Well more just before breakfast was awkward. They had lots of questions for Salis but they all kept trying to ask at once and after the little facial expression thing, Ha-ya-to didn't want to ask right away.
"So how can you speak our language now?" Ryou had blurted out after the alien introduced themselves.
The alien startles a bit the rumbled in what he was 95% sure was a chuckle. They tapped their head.
"Meeran interference. Different species from my kind. They are usually diplomats. Cannot do that if you cannot speak the language at least somewhat. They created an implant that scans the brain," They tapped their head again, "Upon contact and the right intentions to activate it. It is invasive unfortunately- it is not perfect and is preferred to learn language traditionally- but sometimes it is best option. I do not wish to die here. Needed to learn quick." They ducked their head a bit. "Apologies for any fear and invasion I may have done."
"So that's what the tickling feeling was?"
"Tickling?"
"When you head butted me- also I understand, please don't do that again- my brain felt like it was being tickled." Ryou cradled the rifle in his arms favoring the left, rocking back and forth, "Was that the implant?"
"Most likely yes. The device scans for language and not personal thought, do not worry, Meeran, while curious to an absolute fault do respect boundaries."
"That's interesting."
"Yes it is. I don't happen to know much about it though. Meeran techs guard their secrets fiercely."
"They sound …polite. So um, why don't we try names again?"
Everyone tensed at that except for Ha-ya-to.
Nerds. He thought. The alien just saved their skins. And let them shoot the cool gun! The alien couldn't be all bad. They were probably just nervous due the fact they were on unknown ground. He knew he would be if he got attacked and captured on an alien planet.
Or he would be dead, he thought and dismissed that thought immediately. Focus on the positive.
"Ah. Yes. You are… Ha-ya-to?" The alien sounded out. Salis seemed to be good with learning after the fast learn thinger-ma-bob.
"Yep!" Ha-ya-to tried to resist grinning. Or showing his teeth more like it. He pointed to Ryou who still was cradling the rifle thing like it was a baby, "That's Ryou."
Salis turned to Ryou and sounded out, "Ry-ou?" Ending it with a hiccup.
"…Close enough. Next time without the hiccup."
"Hiccup?" Salis tilted their head with their tongue out and their ears twitching. He guessed that was the cat alien facial expression version of confusion. He had to resist giggling. It was BLEPPING. He liked that the big scary almost-killed-them-all alien did something as undignified as blepping.
"Don't end it like you did. Now try to say 'Hikaru'!" He explained, then pointing enthusiastically behind him at Hikaru. Hikaru tensed even more and looked at the alien like a dog caught digging through the garbage.
"Hi-karu?" They put a lot of emphasis on the first syllable. Made the first vowel sound almost like an uppercase 'I' in English. That seemed to be less of a 'messing up because I just heard it' and more of 'this is just my accent'.
"Close but next time please pronounce it like 'HE-karu'." Hikaru mumbled, slowly relaxing.
"Understood. I will work on that."
"Say Takeshi then!" Ha-ya—to pointed behind him again at the green haired grump. Takeshi looked up at the mention of his name from the gross mix they called soup. Ha-ya-to wondered if the alien had any decent tasting food on their ship thingy. Would it even be digestible by human standards? He hoped so, if he had to eat this glue-tasting monstrosity anymore he was going to scream-
-Stay on track! We need to get introductions over with then we can ask the alien about food. He forced himself to focus back on the alien.
"…Tak'shi?"
He muffled a snort.
"No- no it's Takeshi." Takeshi corrected waving around the stirring spoon.
"Tak'shi?"
No, Ta-Ke-shi."
"Tak'shi."
"No!"
Ha-ya-to broke down laughing. Ryou giggled behind a hand and even Hikaru seemed to relax a bit as Takeshi and Salis argued. Takeshi looked at them all with a look of betrayal.
"We'll work on it." Takeshi muttered, his face turning red. "I think this is almost done anyways."
Salis looked at him then at the pot and their ears flattened against their head. "…May I speak honestly?"
"Go for it."
"It smells revolting."
"It is." Ha-ya-to and Ryou spoke up as one. Takeshi looked at them with a thinly veiled look of annoyance.
"If you two can come up with a way to make the crap they call rations actually taste good, tell me because I'll be all ears. Until then," He stated, jabbing at them with the spoon, "Shut your damn faces."
"…Rations? This is your society's idea of rations? This smells like Meeran Raskhan." Salis looked disgusted, "Your people give soldiers this?"
"The fuck is a Meeran Raskhan? And normally rations actually taste alright but we're kind of in a dangerous place right now and I suspect it was made for filling up and lasting forever. Not for taste." Takeshi shoved a bowl of the gunk towards Ha-ya-to then the alien, "Just eat it unless you got something better."
The alien looked at the soup and slowly dipped a finger in it. They made a face as they held the goo covered finger up. "Meeran Raskhan is foul. The filth is served as a party dish. They think it tastes fantastic, since they have no sense of taste. Count yourself lucky you have never tasted it." They Hesitantly took a sip from the bowl, then promptly turned around and gagged.
"I was mistaken. You are not lucky." They whimpered, "This tastes just as bad."
"…Well there goes my appetite." Ryou threw his spoon back in the bowl.
Ha-ya-to patted the back of the alien, holding a water bottle, "Here have some water. Wash the taste out of your mouth before it starts lingering."
"My thanks." Salis chugged the water then looked at the bowl that fell on the ground when they started gagging with a look of utter disgust.
"That is foul. I refuse to eat it." They grabbed their bag, which they had returned when introductions and grabbed a bright blue sphere and a smaller knife.
"What's that?" Hikaru asked.
"Galloki snack." They held up the sphere. "I have several as you probably know. The different colors are different flavors."
"Wait those are food?" Ryou looked like his eyes were going to pop out. "They don't smell like anything."
Salis tapped the sphere with the knife then cut it in half, "Outer shells fault. Outer part is not edible but inside is delicious." They showed then the inside of the Galloki.
"It looks like slime made from elmers glue." Ha-ya-to blurted out. It did. "Can I touch it?"
Salis looked at him as they cut it into wedges like a large orange. "Strange being you are. But yes, here is one." They handed him one of the wedges.
"It looks speckled." Takeshi observed. The wedge had faint blue teardrop shapes in a crescent shape around the edge of the shell.
"Color markings. Meant to look like it is an akallu fruit." Salis said, popping one of the slices into their mouth, "Doesn't taste like one, too sweet."
Ha-ya-to poked the inside bit. It felt like he was poking the inside of an overripe peach. It looks pretty, he thought, as he sniffed it. The actual fruit must look really cool.
He couldn't resist. He took a bite. His eyes widened. That was delicious. Like a peach and a strawberry had a baby and then someone sprinkled sugar on it.
Takeshi shrieked. Then he felt a large furry fist thump him on the back and he coughed what he hadn't swallowed.
"What the heck, man?!"
"Are you trying to killed yourself?!" Takeshi shrieked.
"Ha-ya-to do that again and I'm sticking you in the bubble gum!" Ha-ya-to jerked away from Ryou at that statement.
"Ha-ya-to that was a terrible move, what were you thinking?" Hikaru hissed.
"It was fine! The alien can eat it!" And THEN he realized why they were angry. They alien most likely can eats things that are poisonous. He regretted his actions then.
"Have you gone mad?!" Salis hissed loudly. "Do you not realize that could have killed you?! To Meeran's akallu fruit is a deadly poison, they die a few secs after swallowing, Erax can only digest it without cramps after cooking it, most species in my star system can't even eat it then without painful convulsions. The snack has its juices, so it is just as potent to most of them. Just because I can eat your food," They pointed at the 'stew' accusingly, "does NOT mean you can eat mine!"
"Well I feel fine right now." He mumbled.
The alien looked at him like he grew a second head, then shook its head, "Have a death wish, you do, Craxeri…"
"Craxeri? What's that?" He squinted, "Or do I not want to know…"
"Insult. I will explain never, or when I get sick and cannot think straight."
"Well that's not fair!"
"I am not the one who ate a potentially poisonous fruit." The alien tapped his nose with the tip of sharp claw. "We will wait a day. If you can digest it with no issues or stomach cramps I will let you have another. Until then, you will stay off my food and eat that filth you call rations."
"And what if I don't?" He challenged.
The alien looked at him with a calculating look. He got a bad feeling.
"…I believe your friend had a good idea. I can leave some of the foam explosive up and stick you in it." They grinned showing all their teeth. He shrank back, so that was why that was an intimidation tactic, "That 'gum' as you call it does not come out well, without the removal tool. It also stains hair and skin horribly if exposure is too long. I would consider wisely, if you wish your complexion to stay the same. We are clear now," they rumbled, "Yes?"
He squeaked, "Crystal clear."
"So," Ryou piped up, "There's a removal tool?"
"Yes. Was in bag, but might be elsewhere if you did not put it back when you went through it."
"Excuse us for being worried that you might kill us upon waking up." Takeshi snarked.
"Understandable your reaction was. Still technically, you attacked me first. I merely retaliated in kind to escape." Salis's ears drooped and they hung their head a bit and mutter something in a low rumbling, then shook their head, "If tool is still in the bag I can free the machines. Promise not to shoot me upon freedom first."
"I think you could murder us all before we could even reach the Mechs…" Hikaru muttered. Takeshi waved the spoon he had been stirring the slop with at him with a grumbly "What he said."
"I think that translates to 'deal then'." Ryou said.
"Well then… one moment" Salis muttered as they dug though the bag letting out a "aha!" when they pulled out the gun handle thing that he had been waving around last night.
"Wait that's what that's for?! Removing demon bubble gum?!" He had it! Last night! In his hand!
Salis turned to him and cocked their head, "What did you think it was for? Chew toy?"
Ha-ya-to made a face, thinking about one of the techs who chewed on her necklace constantly. Gross, he didn't want to touch anything that had been slobbered on, accidentally or not. "I don't know, ammo?" He said.
"Wrong. Now lets us get your 'bubble gum' issue solved." Salis grinned, showing the pointy tips of their teeth, then rising up to their full height and walking towards the Hybrid tank.
"Wait up, I wanna see!" Ryou took off after the alien, almost falling over since he still wouldn't put down the gun.
Ha-ya-to decided to follow too. Last time he checked explosive reactions like that couldn't be reversed.
Or maybe they could?
Huh. He thought. Maybe I should've studied harder in Chemistry.
Whatever, regret later, learn how to reverse it now.
The alien spent a bit looking for something in the goo, before eventually groaning. "After taking care of goo, we will need to find the container or it might explode again."
"Again?! You mean those things can be used more than once?" Ha-ya-to yelped.
Salis nodded, "Can be used up to seven times last time I checked instructions."
"What happens if you use it seven times then?"
"Hardens to a rock. Strong rock but if you hit it at the right angle it shatters like melted sand after hardening."
"I want one." Ryou and Ha-ya-to said together. That was cool. Multiple use explosive bubble gum.
"We can discuss that later. For now, watch." Salis grinned, then jabbed the end of the reversal tool into the gum and pulled the trigger like thing on it.
Ha-ya-to heard what sounded like a circuit blowing in one of the mechs and ripples flow through the gum. The color darkened, then the goo moved back- WHAT THE FRICKLE FRACKLE? - The gum moved. As in literally moved like water flowing over rocks but in reverse towards the top of the rear wheel then disappeared.
Salis chuckled, snapping them from their trance. "Your faces are funny. Ready to find the container?"
"Whoa. Just- Whoa." Ryou choked out. "One second."
Ha-ya-to climbed on wheel and quickly found the can nestled between the edge of the wheel and the connection to the rear of the tank. He grabbed and yelled, "Found it!"
"Good job." Salis commented.
"Next one will require climbing. I doubt hover craft would be able to hold us all without dropping one of you." Salis started climbing toward the Chameleon hunter. Ha-ya-to and Ryou scrambled after, much more slowly.
When they finally pulled themselves up on the branch near Salis, Salis let out a pleases rumble and tapped at a grey spot on the gum. "Found container. I can show you proper way to reverse expansion now."
Ha-ya-to looked at the grey spot. It was the container, having opened into little triangular panels with a pink hexagon in the center. Salis pressed the tool to the hexagon and pulled the trigger again. The panels crackled with a purple light, and the ripple and circuit short noise happened then the gum flowed back towards the container which closed when the goo had let go of the Mech. Salis caught the can as it fell towards the ground.
"Two more to go."
Salis promptly leapt off the branch and headed for the Assault Tiger. Yelping out an indignant "Wait for us, dangit!" They scrambled down and chased after. A chuckle and a "Run faster!" answered, but they slowed down a bit and waited for them at the base of the Assault Tiger.
"I want to do the next one." Ryou got out after catching his breath. You think running around the jungle and this pilot business would've gotten them in shape enough not to deal with losing their breath chasing after this thing for a bit.
"I wanna do the last one then!" Ha-ya-to piped up.
Salis looked at him. "Have you not had enough of dealing with alien substances?"
"I'll have enough when I'm dead!"
Ryou and Salis both looked at him. "Famous last words." Ryou commented, raising an eyebrow.
"Whatever, just get done already, I'm waiting!"
"If possible we should find the container first. Will make it easier if it does not fall and explode on the ground." Salis instructed, looking around the leg.
After a few minutes of looking at the goo- God it smelled awful- Ha-ya-to heard a triumphant "Found it!" from Ryou.
He and Salis got closer and looked where he was pointing. He could sort of see a gray blob half hidden by the goo where he was.
"How're we going to reach that?" It looked like it was just out of Salis's reach and they were more than a foot shorter than the alien. "Climbing?"
That question was promptly answered when Salis shoved the remover tool in Ryou hands and lifted him about their head with a "Think different."
Ryou looked a little stunned from that. Why, he'd already been manhandled by the thing twice, getting lifted in the air by a fluff ball with little effort shouldn't be that surprising. The alien gave him a slight shake, "Hurry please I would like to get the other one done soon."
Ryou nodded and jabbed the can with the tool and watched as the goo flowed back into the can. He still thought that was awesome, watching the good flow and collapse into a container the size of a soda can.
Ha-ya-to's can of course, had to be difficult to reach. Salis ended up picking him up like a large toddler and climbing up the assault tiger's arm, close enough to reach the open container near the weapons, while being a little too close to the gun for his comfort. Salis grabbed ahold of the gun barrel and held him as close as they could to the gray blob as they could.
Reaching out he just managed to hit the pink hexagon without stretching. He reached out and almost slipped out of Salis's grasp when the can closed after the goo flowed back into it.
"Good job." Salis grunted as they jumped down onto the branch.
"Okay we need to go tell the other two that the Mechs can run now- "Ryou's statement was cut off by a shriek as Salis picked them both up by the waist and jumped down onto the ground.
"Your machines are freed." Salis commented dryly when they reached the fire and put Ryou and Ha-ya-to down.
Takeshi and Hikaru looked ready to scream.
Ha-ya-to looked at them and then at the alien.
"I vote we keep the space alien." He declared.
I love Ha-ya-to, I do but we all must admit he doesn't plan well. Also the thing isn't poisonous, so no freaking out, they just don't know yet.
Also I don't know if reactions like that can be reversed, but this is science fiction, if Doc Brown can travel through time with bogus science and flux capacitor I can bullshit the laws of chemistry.
This chapter was hard to write for whatever reason. I finally got it to cooperate. Working on the next one now.