I had never been a praying man, but this seemed like a good a time as any to find some sort, any sort, of religion. I offered up a quick prayer, to anything and anyone that was willing to listen. Keeping my rifle pointed down, I and the Thelpot stood, eyes locked on each other, neither moving a muscle. It was a good old-fashioned standoff, like from grandpa's westerns, and in my adrenaline-fueled state I barely repressed the urge to scream yeehaw. I wanted to giggle hysterically. I wanted to puke.
Thelpots are ugly sons of bitches. There really is no other way to put it. They are short and squat, owing mostly to the fact that their planets gravitational pull is nearly three times that of earth. Vaguely humanoid, with two arms and legs, they have a vestigial tail which often measures around one foot in length. There skin is often a dusky yellow but can range from piss yellow to a light tan. They rarely stand taller than four feet, but they are some of the densest beings in the universe. At 3'10 they can weigh 375 pounds and it is all muscle. A Thelpot has comparable strength to a scout in his or her suit, though they are still no match for MI suits. They are surprisingly quick and agile for their weight and are by no means a race to be taken lightly. The Thelpots coal black eyes roamed over and around me, obviously attempting to see if I had backup. Its gaze slowly settled on my rifle and it used the hand not holding a blaster to Kate's head to indicate to me I should lay my weapon on the ground. I started to shake my head but as I did so I saw the blaster move ever so slightly closer towards Kate's head. In all honesty it probably wasn't even intentional, but for a moment my heart stopped beating and every other thought fled my mind as I thought only of protecting Kate. I slowly began to lower myself down to place my rifle on the ground and as I did so, glanced at Kate, hoping to see some sign of why she was unconscious. Had she been injured. I saw no blood.
Suddenly I felt it, tickling the back of my brain. Wa… was that amusement! I peered closer at Kate and slowly her eye opened, winked at me and closed again. She was faking it. I went from relief to rage and back to relief in an instant, and then remembered an alien had its weapon pointed at my Neo and I was supposed to be in the act of surrendering my weapon. Suddenly an idea came to mind, whether mine or Kate's I still don't know. As I moved as if to place my rifle down, I suddenly instead hurled it directly at the unaware Thelpot. His moments distraction and confusion was all Kate needed. She executed a perfect leap from her prone position, catching the Thelpot's weapon in her jaws and ripping it from his grasp. He turned, obviously in surprise and so never truly had time to register the shock web I aimed at his chest. As soon as it struck he seized up and fell to the ground. Not that I saw any of this.
"BAD DOG" I screamed as I marched towards Kate. "YOU BAD STUPID STUPID DOG. What the hell were you thinking"!
Then I was on the ground cradling her as she attempted to curl her large mass into my arms. I started bawling like a baby and was grateful for the suit and helmet when the MI showed up minutes later.
"Scout, what the hell is going on here" the patrol unit sergeant asked me. I stood up, setting Kate down and collecting myself before I answered. I felt I did an excellent job keeping the quaver out of my voice, but I'm also biased.
"Great question Sir, I believe we should start by asking him" I said as I pointed to the still seizing Thelpot which had been obscured by me and my suit.
Though his face was masked, I could practically see his eyes bug out. "Shit" was the only reply he could really muster. We both knew what it meant to find a Thelpot on the ground here. The Bugs were coming.