This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Dragondancer123 on 2025-07-02 00:21:13+00:00.
“Captain, we’ve found a stowaway.” The intercom system hissed in the command room.
Kray’el sighed and stood. “I’m on my way.”
When he arrived, he found a human, who was sitting down, seemingly not at all bothered by the fact that he’d been caught stowing away on a Yartyl ship, a ship that held extremely sensitive equipment that the crew would not hesitate to protect with their lives.
“What happened?” He asked the one who found him, who happened to be his first mate, Tersei.
“Don’t know.” She responded. “He keeps insisting he’s supposed to be here.”
“I am!” The human insisted. “I have papers and everything!” He pulled out some form of documentation and showed it off.
Kray’el looked it over. “This… isn’t for our ship.” He told the human as he handed back the papers.
“It’s… not?” The human, for the first time, seemed slightly… was that what they looked like when they were frightened?
“No.” Kray’el sighed. Given everything he’d heard about humans, having one on board for prolonged periods of time, especially without permission, was a bad idea. “Look, even if you are here by mistake, we can’t have you just running around the ship.” He turned to Tersei. “Take him downstairs for now. We have human locks, right?”
“One or two…” Tersei nodded. “Never thought we’d need to use them.”
“Well we don’t have much choice now.” Kray’el grimaced. He hoped the human would be willing to cooperate. Apparently they were capable of it, if they chose to.
“Wait, are you arresting me?” The human asked.
“Technically.” Tersei replied as she began to lead him away. "But it’s for your sake too. We just have to figure things out.
Kray’el knew, as Tersei must, that they were not going to let him out any time soon.
***
A few hours later, Kray’el went down to see how the human was doing (and to see how the verte guarding him were holding up against being around a human). He was sitting on the bed in the holding cell, swinging his legs.
“Oh hey, it’s you!” The human said. “Hey, do you have any books I can read while I’m in here? I asked the guards, but they didn’t seem to know if it was allowed. You look like you’re at least kind of in charge; is there any chance you could do something about it?”
Kray’el hesitated. “I don’t see why not.” He said.
“Awesome, thanks!” The human smiled. “I’m getting super bored down here, so a book would really help.” He looked at Kray’el for a moment, almost like he was probing him. “By the way, what’s you’re name?”
“My name?” Kray’el hesitated. But there was no reason to refuse, as far as he knew.
“Oh, sorry, is that rude?” The human asked. “I can go first. The name’s Peter. Nice to meet you.”
“Kray’el.” He replied after a moment. “It’s… nice to meet you too. We’re still trying to figure out where we’re supposed to put you, but I’ll see about your book.” He walked off, confused by the way this human was acting. Humans were supposed to be terrifying creatures. So why did this one seem so… calm?
***
A few days later, Kray’el was still struggling to figure out what to do with “Peter” when an alarm went off. He jumped up, hand already on the small pistol he kept on him at all times. The ship had many alarms due to the nature of their cargo, and this one was the most concerning: someone was invading their ship.
Kray’el’s first thought went to the human, but comms quickly calmed his worries. It was only the re’cha, a group they would probably be able to handle with few casualties. As he ran down the ships halls towards the cargo bay, only to find someone running behind, then alongside, and then in front of him.
It was the human.
The fight didn’t take too long, especially with the human there. He fought like someone who was trained, though Kray’el hadn’t spoken with him enough to know. The guards might, as apparently he chatted with them fairly readily when they were around. Kray’el looked for him after the fight to thank him, but… he wasn’t there.
“Has anyone seen the human?” Kray’el asked. No one had. Odd. He began to walk through the ship, trying to think about where Peter could have gone. As he walked, he found himself in the brig.
“Oh! Howdy!” Peter called from his cell. He was cheerfully waving, the cell door locked, a book set open on the bed.
“I… you… what?” Kray’el asked, at a loss for words.
Peter shrugged. “Can’t have the prisoner’s cell unlocked, can we?”
Kray’el took a moment to process the absurdity of that answer. “Why did you help us? We’ve been keeping you trapped down here for days.”
“Well, you keep me warm, fed, and give me books when I’m bored. I had no guarantee whoever was by all appearances invading would do the same. And besides, I enjoy being around you guys. The guards are pretty nice once they relax a bit.”
Kray’el hesitated. “You wanted to help us… because… we were ‘nice’?” This was far from the terrifying humans he’d been told of.
Peter must have seen his face. “You got told the horror stories, didn’t you?” He sighed. “Yeah, they get around a lot. But most humans are pretty chill and will befriend almost anyone. Heck, I know people who apologize to inanimate objects. Since I could help you out, I figured I might as well.”
That brought Kray’el back to reality. “Oh yeah, about that… how did you get out of the cell? It was a human lock, it should have kept you in!”
“Oh, that.” Peter shrugged. “I mean yeah, it was a lock from Earth, but I hope you didn’t pay too much for them, or you got ripped off. Those locks are notorious for being easy to mess with. I didn’t even need a lock pick.”
“So you… could have gotten out this whole time?” Kray’el laughed ruefully. “Why didn’t you?”
“Well… I didn’t really see the point. It made you feel more comfortable having me on your ship, and you were hardly being ruthless captors.” He gestured to the book still sitting open on the bed. “The only thing I’m missing is walks, but I think the fight made up for that.”
Kray’el hesitated. “Well…” He said after a while. “I suppose if the lock isn’t doing anything anyways, I might as well let you out while we try and figure out what’s going on. Just… try not to freak out the crewmates too much, alright?”
“Me?” Peter asked. “I’m not freaky.”
“Yes.” Kray’el sighed as he unlocked the cell and let Peter out. “Yes you are.”
(Edit: Formatting/phrasing errors)