Hey if I fight back it would be considered self-defence right? -- Anon Guest
"Pro tip, kid. Don't ask that kind of question when you're surrounded by ten armed adults," said Pirate Vlex. They were facing down a small, scrawny Human who the crew had been feeding and coaxing out into company like a Human might do for a stray cat. They were a wild one, wearing whatever fit their body and not caring for any conventions about what should be worn, by whom, or where.
Despite the situation, the small Human was showing their teeth. This, according to Vlex's knowledge base, was not a threat display, but an expression of happiness. They started chanting in a limited singsong. "I know something you do not, I know something you do not, I know something you do not..."
They fell silent when Vlex put the business end of their gun to the whelp's nose. "You had better pray it is enough information to save your life."
The smile continued, and the skinny Human dared look Vlex in the eye. Gaze to steady gaze, the Human kept up their hostile smile and said, "One word: Twinsies."
Vlex didn't even have time to argue that that was three words uttered. The air vent above fell open, and an identical Human burst out. They had improvised weaponry sharp enough to do important damage to Vlex's air supply. Worse, the Human before Vlex dodged out of the way and dropped the shackles they had been pretending to be trapped within.
There was a blur of sharp objects and blossoming pain as two small and scrawny Humans darted around Vlex's crew. Energy bolts spattered harmlessly against bulkheads as the Humans were far faster than the pirate's reaction times. The fact that there were two of them only confused them as they didn't know which one to aim at first.
They did a lot of damage to their livesuits. Some fatalities seemed to have happened, but that damage looked to be more accidental than by design. Worse, the Humans had vanished into the maintenance access tunnels. They could be anywhere.
There was a chance of surviving an encounter with one Human, though it was a very slim chance indeed. When there were two? Vlex called the retreat, leaving his dead where they lay.
Back on the Curious Feeler, the shackled crew waited and hoped. Frex, who had been the one most responsible for leaving the Humans food, recovered from the shock first. They had all been assuming that Humans were very, very fast and only appeared to be in two places at once. The truth was even stranger.
"Two of them," said Hyoi. "I said there were two of them. None of you believed it."
Frex squirmed over to the vent that the twins had vanished into. "Nice humans," they cooed with clear and evident optimism. "Come help? We cannot get loose."
Darkness there, and nothing more.
A completely different access hatch opened and one of the skinny little Humans ventured out. Cautious. Almost wild. They crept to a fallen Pirate and found a set of keys, then used them on Frex's shackles. They then darted back to the hatch they came from and, Frex had to note, they had acquired a weapon from the body.
"Good Human," Frex cooed, careful to make no sudden moves. "Nice Human. I am just going to release my friends, and then we can make you some warm food. Would you like warm food?"
The Human was very still, keeping the weapon trained on whomever seemed to be the biggest threat at the time. "No cage," they said. "No trap. No hurting." It was a demand more than a request.
"No cage, no trap, no hurting," agreed Frex. "Only warm food. If you like, maybe talk?"
The Human looked up the access tunnel, then their twin emerged. "Food first. Talk next," said the other, pushing the weapon down. "You are good lizards. I like you."
They would be adopted within a week, with an entire ship's worth of concerned Saurian parents.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / michaklootwijk]
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