The Fakra had an unguarded Gap at the wall of their dimension, which Corai believed they'd never located for the simple reason that they generated their own portals to Caelum. Our Elusian helper wouldn't be tagging along on this mission, so we were all by our lonesome with our super angry older brothers. Wicked. I didn't feel too ready if anything went wrong: I'd only gotten the hang of "double lifting" with my raisers two days ago. Levitating an entire collection of objects like Bighead was far beyond my capabilities.

Also, I can't just go "Abracadabra" and make myself a gtfo portal on demand like Corai. If she wanted to show trust, she could've at least put that at our fingertips while sending us into danger.

Mikri watched as Sofia floated herself around via those metal boots, rather than walking. "I have noticed a darkened coloration in the skin tissue around your eyes. Does this correlate to a decline in sleep cycle quality?"

"I've had some troubled dreams, Mikri. There are…dark days ahead," the scientist sighed.

"I do not require precognition to suspect that as a certainty. I have noticed that your mannerisms suggested a state of agitation ever since the Elusians captured you, similar to Preston after Larimak. If you are having strong memories, I wish to share that processing burden. You can talk to me."

"I appreciate that, but I think it's just stress. There's been a lot to grapple with, and I've…seen some futures I don't wish to calculate. With so many unknown variables in this mission, I wish you would stay behind with Corai, where it's safer. We could still take you back."

"No. I do not like it when you travel to dangerous, unexplored regions, but I respect your wishes. If it is safe enough for you and Preston, then the same is true for me. I wish to go with you to visit the Fakra; do not deny me my choice."

I gave Mikri a serious look. "We don't know how the Fakra will feel about robots. Sure, we have no clue if they'll take a shine to humans either, but you're introducing a second variable. Why risk it?"

"To be with you. I can attest to them that you are worthy of helping, and do everything in my power to keep you safe."

"Oh, Mikri. You don't have to protect us," Sofia murmured.

"I know. I want to."

"Then who am I to stop you? Captain Carter, let's send our ship on through the portal."

I gave her a mock-salute. "Sure thing. I'm ready to set up a lemonade stand by the Fakra outer planets. We'll be Sol-d out in no time."

"Oh, fuck off! That pun was worse than feet pasta. You're lucky I need you to fly the ship."

"After that, we can space him?" Mikri asked Fifi.

"Not so loud! Men do listen 40% of the time."

I shook my fist angrily at the scientist. "Misandrist."

"Call it what you like. You opened the floodgates with the constant X-Chromosomes nicknames. The war of the sexes is so on, Messton; watch your back."

"You picked a fight you can't win, sister. You ain't seen nothing yet. Game on."

It was nice to have an air of proper levity back, after everything that happened in the last few weeks. There was no telling how the Fakra would respond to our arrival, which was why Corai had sent us off in our own (now-upgraded to avoid detection) spaceship rather than one of hers. She wouldn't be able to contact us or figure out our status if it went wrong. I hoped this species would see us as brothers, like I already saw them.

Locking in the provided coordinates, and trying not to think of what happened the last time I went through a portal to a dimension I didn't know, we slipped through The Gap. The momentary discomfort of transit hardly bothered me, and Sofia seemed to be holding together just fine as well. She was ready to establish contact with the Fakra the moment we got through. I remembered how freaked out I'd been, by our first contact with the tin can.

It's wild how fast I got used to dealing with aliens, and popping up in new universes to see what happened. I'll play it cool until the point where they show outright hostile intent. Besides, it's different with the Fakra because I get them; I know their story. Mikri could've been a xenomorph.

Hardly a few seconds after we emerged from The Gap, hundreds of massive warehouse-sized warships that were bristling with spinal-mounted guns warped in; their black paint made them difficult to see against the darkness of space. Electricity arced along the hulls, suggesting some kind of nasty weapon was very ready to fire. It seemed that the Fakra had been just waiting for the Elusians to pop out of this hidey-hole for a long, long time.

A Fakra voice crackled across our radio, brimming with fury. "BASTARDS! How dare you ever fucking come back here? We're taking your ship, and we're taking you. Elusian scum!"

"Wait, we're not—" Sofia protested through her translator device. The aliens closed communication before we were able to get a word out in our defense. "Well, great."

The Fakra used some kind of magnetic magic to suck us toward their armada, like a tractor beam; I took it that they'd applied raiser technology on a broader scale. These guys were advanced and on a hair trigger. I guess they'd had millions of years to pursue Elusian technology, and that motivations were rooted in hatred for their creators. The sooner they could figure out that we were not the gray pricks, the better. I leaned my head back as they warped us through an impromptu portal, leaving us in a cement bunker that felt like it was far below-ground.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Still better than the accommodations you gave us," I told Mikri in a chipper voice.

The android whirred with evident concern. "In what way?!"

"Well, for starters, they warped us straight to our prison and skipped the transit time. You made us sit on a ship without water."

"I did not have any water, as I do not drink it. I was otherwise amazing. I even gave you indoor rain, you needy meatbag."

"Me, needy?! You—"

"Now is not the time!" Sofia shouted, in an unusually commanding tone. "Please, God. We need to persuade the Fakra. Why don't we go outside, so maybe they'll see that we're not…"

I placed a hand on her shoulder, meeting her eyes and trying to calm her down. "Yeah, okay. We'll do that. Everything is going to be just fine. We haven't done anything to them, and we're here to talk. They can help us."

"I planned what I was going to say to them. I didn't even have a chance."

"I know. This all has sucked, but we'll make lemons out of lemonade. We're here, and humanity is counting on us. Let's show the Fakra who they're dealing with."

I unsealed the lower exit hatch, helping Sofia levitate herself down and jumping after her. Dozens of clicks sounded in close succession, and I wheeled around to rows of Fakra soldiers pointing dual-wielded weapons at us. Mikri clambered down after us, before I could tell him to stay up there. I raised my hands with alarm, stepping in front of the scientist and the tin can without hesitation. I hadn't tested anything remotely close to stopping bullets, but I was ready to try.

This was the first moment I had to get a good look at our artificial brethren, who seemed unnatural in every meaning of the word. They had a thick white chitin in place of skin, which was most pronounced in their block-like skulls; the rectangular shape it'd been from the mold of a cardboard box. I could see that unrounded skull fuse into their spine, where my eyes were drawn to the four arms protruding from their torsos. Their irises were cat-like and a pale red in coloration, solidifying the creepy as fuck looks. I swallowed and fought to hold back a shudder.

"Oh. You're not them." A Fakra wearing black attire, which looked like construction hat material, stepped forward; the soldiers lowered their weapons when he gave a gesture. "You look very similar though. I assume you're…their next creation?"

Sofia nodded. "We are. We're called humans. The Elusians made us too, just based off of themselves instead."

"The narcissism! And they told you about us. Why have you come here: to gloat? You survived transit just fine!"

"We need your help," I interjected, keeping my hands raised. "The Elusians fucked us over too. When we found out about the Fakra, we thought you might be sympathetic to us. That you've…been there."

"We suffered for millions of years, and you think we give a shit about the chosen one's problems? You have no idea what it is to be abandoned."

"Yes, we do; the Elusians abandoned us from the start! Look, we did succeed in getting out of our pocket dimension, and you know what they did? They locked us back inside our dimension for being successful! I guess we're the big fucking winners, right?"

The Fakra's eyes narrowed. "What? Why would they…"

"Because they think we're destined to kill them, and also because they just suck. If you hate the Elusians, and believe in 5D time fuckery visions, then that's a good reason to help humans get out."

"Get out? You seem to be roaming between dimensions just fine on your own. You don't need help."

"That's not true; we're the only two humans who escaped, when they forcefully collected us and sent us back. They made our dimension super impossible 'to help us.' You're an advanced species who can make portals to contact Sol, where the rest of humanity are locked. You can give us the hope that was taken away from you."

"The Elusians must be stopped, before they inflict such horrific mistreatment on any other species," Mikri stated. "They are unworthy creators. Humans, meanwhile, fought for my right to exist. That they will take a stand for me, and likely for you, is why they are a threat to the Elusians. It's why they always will be."

The Fakra twisted his four arms like a pretzel. "And who are you? You're one of their creations too?"

"No. I was made by an organic species called the Vascar. We developed sapience, while they continued to force us to be Servitors. We rebelled for self-determination, and would have been eliminated in our war without humanity's help. They are a good people, in spite of their creators—like you and, I hope, like me."

"We need a friend," Sofia explained, a weary tone in her voice. "We could help you, in return. You have the portals, and we know how to get through them. Being able to visit Sol, engage with another people who won't desert you, and walk on another world has to mean something, if we have anything in common."

"Please, take this chance to defy your creators." I gave the Fakra an earnest look, clasping my hands together in a pleading gesture. "They don't take you seriously enough to even care what you do. They gave up on you. Use that to make them pay with us."

The alien marched up inches from me, poking at my facial features with skeletal fingers. I could see him circle around us with shrewd eyes; he seemed to notice the raisers around our wrists, an Elusian design. None of us had made any mention of Corai's people, who were the backers of our little jailbreak. The Fakra didn't seem to hate humans, but I was banking a lot on appealing to our common enemy. The first order of business was getting them open to our proposal, and then we'd break the news about our gray friends.

"My name is Commander Velke. We'll need to discuss a few…details somewhere private. State your names," the Fakra said.

Sofia smiled, extending a hand to Velke that was ignored. "Sofia Aguado. My partner is Preston Carter, and the android is none other than Mikri. We're happy to answer everything."

"It might be helpful to know that Sofia and I flew the first ship out of our dimension, and found out about aliens and being made by them, only a few years ago. It's been a big shock to humanity just to keep up," I added. "It's nice to meet you, Velke, and I'm truly sorry that they gave up on you. Because you're not a failed experiment. If I was the judge, you'd be labeled a smashing success."

Velke grimaced, shifting on his feet. "Look, we've never really interacted with another alien race—unless you count them back when they were always there. This is pretty much our first contact, and we don't know how to handle it. Don't lay it on so thick."

"My bad. We can ease into being friends, but I meant every word I've said. You're humanity's brothers, and I hope we can convince you of at least that much. You deserve to be loved."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go talk business. There's something you're not saying, and I'm going to find out what it is—one way or another."

Velke waved a hand, warping us into what looked not dissimilar to an interrogation room. I settled down in a rigid chair, and watched the Fakra paced back and forth in front of the tables. These guys were definitely a lot closer to the Elusians' power level than humans, and I didn't want to be on the commander's bad side. He had good intuition to figure out there was a caveat to our story, which left us little choice but to spill Corai's role and hope that wasn't a dealbreaker.

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