Well, as some of you know, a while ago me and Takashi have decided together that our paths have split. He wants a different kind of life than the one he could have with me, so we’ve decided it’s better to stay friends than to let love turn into hate. It wasn’t easy, on both sides, but it was for the best.
Ever since then, Viktor was following my every step, trying to keep me smiling, doing all the small things for me and so on. I swear I didn’t even think there would be something more than a friendly care in there… Up till the moment when Vik finally took the courage to try and ask me out. I know I said many times I’m not interested in poleepkwa. I do remember that. And I still say it’s true. It’s not about the species here… it’s about Viktor. And that’s all I’m ever going to say.

From the other news: Marty and Hannah got married. Of course such marriage is not legally valid, but they’ve decided to do it nevertheless. I was a bridesmaid and I gotta say that the whole ceremony was oddly touching. Especially when I remember how scared and shy Marty was when he first got to the base.

That’s it for now.

But I just can’t hate. It’s… Hate for me is like some sort of venom in my veins, burning from the inside who I am and who I want to be. So when the time of the operation got near, I decided to try and restore contact with Hunter. If only to see, if the apologies were sincere… I’m sometimes accused of being a „model example of stockholm synrdome”. Maybe, maybe not. Yet I wanted to know. I wanted to forgive. We all realised that if we’ve had any leak during the investigation, any mistake that would hint traders what we’re up to, we’re gonna suffer heavy losses. This will sound dramatic, but if I were to die then, I didn’t want to do it harboring hate to anyone.

When I finally contacted Hunter, I learned that many things have changed since my last chat with him. He and his cult followers got in some deep shit, most of them dead and the survivors have left him. Hunter himself was crippled, saying that wound doesn’t heal. Call me stupid, but I won’t let anyone die just like that. It took me a while to argue out a rescue mission from South African ARFA. I had to use all the influence I have… but finally they agreed to track him down and send a rescue unit. Short before the trade takedown I got the information, that Hunter’s been recovered and taken to the hospital.

I didn’t have time to check up any news on him for the next few days, because of all the commotion our operation has caused. So I didn’t know a thing, until I got a message from Tanukashi’s medical complex, that Hunter’s been moved to their clinic. It struck me then, that things must be really bad… I went to NY on the first chance I’ve got.

I’ve barely stepped through the entrance, when Ace came up to me… Right, Ace. I don’t know what name has been assigned for him, everyone in the R&D complex just call him Ace. He’s one of the „elders” that work for Tanukashi and he’s been sort of my doctor ever since that nanite infection got discovered. Anyways, he was the one to meet me when I got to the lab/clinic door. He wanted to prepare me… Basically he told me that Hunter was dying. His systems were failing and not even nanites could stop that process now. Even poleepkwan regeneration has its limits, and Hunter used them all up…
Now that I think of it, Ace was one of the few people who’ve never commented about my complicated relations with Hunter.

Hunter was sleeping, when I entered his room. I knocked on the doorframe, ready to leave if he didn’t wake up. He did, looking at me surprised.
- Heh. Well, you caught me by surprise.
I leaned on the wall, keeping his distance. I guess I was still afraid of him.
- I’ve just got here… How are you doing?
- So did I. Well, if 3 days counts as “just”. – he started coughing violently – Not too good, as you can see.
He coughed something up, from the distance I didn’t see… and I didn’t really want to see what it was. I noticed a bandaged stub of his arm. It must have shown on my face, as Hunter wriggled it a bit.
- Yep. Doctor says he’s seen nothing like it. My body’s just…quitting.
I took a step closer, before the common sense stopped my urge to hug him.
- Shit… I… Sorry to hear it.
- Surprised it didn’t happen sooner, frankly. I’ve had shit like this coming to me.
I lost my speech for a moment. Hunter does… did have that effect on me.
- I don’t know what to say… As usual when it comes to you…
He gave me a very meaningful look.
- …we could make out.
I lost my speech again, unsure whether to laugh or feel outraged.
- You never give up, eh?
Hunter just laughed. I could only shake my head.
- You’re impossible, Sq’awx.
- I guess I am. Surprised you kept a straight face, though. For a second there, you looked like you’d actually do it… – his laughter turned into violent cough again. I forgot my concerns, running up to his bed.
- Should I call a doctor?
- No, no, no. I’m fine, I’m fine. – His eyes widened as he gasped for breath – …Actually… I think that’d be a good idea…
I ran out to the hall, getting the nearest nurse to call a doctor. When I got back to his side, Hunter was still coughing, until he eventually managed to spit something out.
- Fok! Tell me that’s not more of it!
- More of what? – I asked out of the reflex, pretty sure I don’t want to know.
- My lung tissue. I’ve been chucking that up since this morning. – He tried to calm his breath – It was my small intestines the first day, some muscle tissue the second day, a few nerves and lymph the day after that…
Out of the reflex, I took his hand. He looked up, into my eyes.
- I’m falling apart. These things have kept me alive for so long, and now they’re failing me.
What was I supposed to say? That I knew he’s dying? I felt a tear running down.
- Yes, I know. The doctors told me…
At that moment the door opened and some medical personell came in. I was asked to leave the room…

I’m not sure how many time passed before I could go in again. Hunter was lying there, black blood staining his bedsheets, with a listless look in his eyes. His breath was slow and heavy. He didn’t react when I took his hand. I touched his head.
- Sq’awx?
He didn’t look at me.
- Did I tell you about the stars I saw?
My throat got tight and I could hear my voice shake.
- I think you did one time… But I’ll listen.
- It’s like… it’s like Heaven. All those stars, all shapes and sizes and colors, out into… into…
I nearly whispered as my voice kept breaking.
- Into what?
He turned his head to me, suddenly looking very old and very tired.
- I’ve been a monster. I’ve been nothing to you but a sick monster. I’ve done shit that would leave you running. I’ve torn apart whole lives, whole families, for a quick buck. I’ve done horrid shit to you too.
He covered his face with the good hand. I took it, making him look at me again.
- I don’t think you’re a monster…
Surprising as it may seem, it was as true as can be. Hunter looked at me with wide eyes.
- How don’t you?! I would’ve RAPED you, child! I would’ve commited one of the most despicable things a creature can DO!
- I still dont. I’ve hated you for a moment, true. But…
- You don’t even know why, do you? You’ve been worrying on all this time, thinking I just needed a mommy to hold my hand. But the truth is, all the things I’ve done are not going to… – he broke and rested his head on the pillow, gasping for breath – to… to…
I squeezed his hand.
- To what?
- … to… help… me…
Hunter turned to me again, his eyes were wide with fear. I touched his head, trying to give him at least a bit of comfort. I could feel tears running down my face.
- Shh… calm down, Sq’awx.
He took a deep breath.
- M-Maria… I’m… Forgive me.
I took all of my willpower not to start crying loud.
- I already did, Sq’awx. I already did…
His breath was getting slower and slower. I could barely hear, when he said „Thanks”. Seconds later, his eyes closed and his motionless hand slipped off my fingers. He was dead.

A while later the door opened again. They must have gotten a signal he’s dead from all that medical equipment… Ace was with them, I felt his hand on my shoulder. I just patted it, shook my head and walked away. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk.

I just hope Sq’awx is finally happy, wherever he is…

Anyways, I gotta write now. My own point of view, as a person who’s been there from the start. I know it’s been all over the news, but there’s more to it than just a spectacular operation…

Anyways, from the start.

I got first informations about new trade when I found Marty Spark – a scared, lost poleepkwa that managed to escape from one of their „bases”. Ever since then, ARFA was running its own investigation, figuring out the locations, smuggling routes, load points ect. Last night it wasn’t only trade HQ that went down. There were many, many other operations… Of course we wouldn’t manage that on our own. Hopefully I managed to convince Tanukashi to help – technically poleepkwa are still their „property”. They had every right to ask law enforcement services to help them retrieve what’s been „stolen”. And with a bit of work, we managed to get ARFA involved alongside the police. After all, we had all the intel and experience with aliens.

Operation got sped up after Marty and Solomon got kidnapped. Security footage showed what happened. Kurt abused our trust and wasted a chance he’s been given. Somehow he managed to lure Marty out to the garage, where he got tased and locked in the truck. Solomon, being an accidental witness, got kidnapped too.

Ever since then, we’ve been working like crazy, getting whole ARFA on full alert, completing teams, even getting some people from South American, European and Russian bases as a support. I must say, law enforcement guys were pretty surprised how well organised and informed we are.

The trade HQ was located several miles outside Los Angeles. Several warehouses, one 10 floor office building… everything surrounded with a solid steel fence and some visible surveillance here and there.

I was supposed to stay behind in the command center (a big-ass truck), alongside Commander, Paul and police coordinators, and enter any combat only if absolutely necessary. My real job there was to deal with any press and bystanders that were sure to appear.
Red, Viktor and Alexander were in combat teams, Shawn, who got here from Japan merely hours before operation, managed to convince the SWAT team to take him with them. Kris offered his help in taking down the power grid (including security cameras), apparently having some good deal of saboteur knowledge.

Contrary to what most media say, the operation didn’t started at 5 AM. In fact, it was good 4 hours earlier as we were set and ready, and teams moved out at 3.30 AM. Right after Kris (I guess it was him), turned out the power and support cut the entry holes within fence. Except SWAT, who were going from the top of the office, and therefore used the helicopter.

From what I knew, teams moved in pitch black, using a night vision goggles. I was sitting with headphones on my ears, tracking team movements on the screen. Funny how the perspective changes, if someone you know is in the team. Alpha team was where Red and Alexander were, Viktor went with Delta. My heart stopped for a second each time I heard one of those over our communication lines. Yeah, I was worried as hell. One of the coordinators must have seen that, as he just pat my shoulder in an universal „it’s gonna be OK” gesture. It was nice of him, but nonetheless, minutes felt like ages. I was mostly listening. The orders were from Jake, coordinators or team commanders, I did not comment, even though I was tempted to sometimes. But I was just listening and looking at the screen… Listening to reports, to intel given between teams, to any information appearing on our lines…

The operation was going quite smooth. Apparently the traders didn’t know what hit them. The ringleader, woman known as Venue Val, was trying to make a desperate escape from the office building. Some time later I heard some triumphant yell, I recognized Shawn’s voice. He got scolded by SWAT leader instantly, but actually reports weren’t needed then. The victory cry said it all – they got her. Venue Val was captured. Several people from her security was injured or killed, three of the SWAT injured. They were going to evacuate back to the roof, getting traders and injured to the helicopter. I switched the line to Delta Team. They’ve had several injured, but all seemed well. They were moving through one of the warehouses, that was turned into a „sleeping room” for poleepkwan slaves, taking down the „security” there. I switched to Alpha. They moved through another warehouse, also used as slave quarters. From what I heard of reports, the warehouse was clear. Most of hostiles arrested, a few killed. Several of ours injured, one poleepkwa got it quite bad and got evacuated to our field hospital.

Out of the sudden I hear Red’s voice in the headphones. He cursed in Polish, I heard in his voice he’s pretty shocked. I joined the line.
- What’s going on Red?
He didn’t reply, but as he left his mic on, I’ve heard some noise and then, a bit muffled, some talking.
- C’mon kid, look at me…
I heard a faint squeal in the background and understood the reason why was he so upset. Red kept talking, his voice changed a bit, like from strain.
- Marty, look at me. Don’t… don’t struggle, it’s okay now… It’s okay…
I tried again.
- Red! Red, what is it? How is he?
This time my brother replied.
- He… he’s alive but… this doesn’t look good… I’m getting him out of here, let med guys know.
- Roger that, Red.
I’m surprised my voice didn’t shake. I switched the line, told the hospital to await a nonhuman patient and threw the headphones on the table, running out the truck.

Red was carrying Marty out of the building, escorted by Alexander and some human I didn’t know. He put him at the stretcher medical team provided. Marty was barely lucid. It really didn’t look good. He was dirty, his clothes were gone, and what was worst, in addition to new cracks and bruises, he had that empty look of cat food addict. All of his addiction recovery, all our work to get Marty safe, to help him adapt in a new enviroment… all the trust we gained – wasted. At that moment I wished I could just shoot someone. Could be Venue Val, could be Kurt… any of those who did that would suffice. Instead I just took a deep breath and walked along the stretcher, trying to calm Marty.

Some time later, the press started to come. I guess you’ve all seen the official statements from Tanukashi, ARFA and all the law enforcement services involved, as well as the footage of the cuffed trade members, being lead to the police cars. Most of you probably didn’t notice a small scene at the background, a scene that made my heart feel warm. Marty, leaned on Red’s shoulder, observing the bad guys getting arrested. Red did the best thing possible. Showing Marty (and many other abused poleepkwa) that traders will get their punishment should help him recover after all he’s been through.

That’s it I think.

Ask Red, Viktor or Shawn for combat based details. Or Alexander, if you manage to get him off the kitchen…

We’ve had quite an entry. Judith and Alexander agreed to be our bodyguards for the event, so imagine me and Jake getting out of the van, followed by those two large poleepkwa in dark uniforms. They don’t even need weapons to let everyone know they mean business…

Conference as such was quite boring, and most of time I only had to look pretty, smile at the cameras, politely nod and clap in the right moments. Tanukashi representatives referred company’s financial status (surprisingly good considering recession), plans, politics and so on… Now that I write this, it occurs to me, that a few months ago I wouldn’t understand most of it. I’ve surely come a long way…

Anyways, the moment where I was really needed, was the “5 minutes for ARFA”. Jake was officially introduced as our leader, it was reminded that I stem from this organisation and the journalists were given the opportunity to ask questions. As we sat there, half blinded by all the flashes and camera lights, I could only hope my advice were enough to prepare Jake for such a public speech.
First question was: What did you do before ARFA?
I (mentally) breathed with relief. Fortunately, the journalists seemed not to know much about ARFA, so the thing was easy to get through. Jake grinned.
- Not very much. I was a drifter until… well… you gotta read the blog.
Always a good time for some self-promotion, eh? The cameras moved a bit to me. I answered honestly.
- I was a waitress in a fast food bar. Trying to save money for college…
Yet another facet to the shining gem Tanu was making of me. I could nearly read their minds – college, so she has ambitions and plans… One of the microphones moved closer.
- How did you get into the position?
Jake earned a lot of my respect, not even blinking.
- Let’s say I was chosen to be the commander by someone with a bit more experience than me.
Cameras moved again. I smiled innocently and pointed to commander.
- It’s his fault! – Jake answered me with a wide grin – And seriously, I was just appointed to the role.
Another voice came through the crowd:
- How old are you?
Predictable. Very predictable one. Jake answered first:
- 22, almost 23 now.
I looked the asker straight in the eyes, observing his surprise when I answered.
- 19.
The question that followed was only too obvious.
- Aren’t you a bit young for your posts?
Jake looked like he was considering it, before saying “nah”. I was well prepared for that one tho, so I just laughed like I heard a best joke ever.
- This really gets old, you know? Apparently this line of work attracts young talents.
I noticed several journalists grin. Good. Play bold, play confident and they’re gonna love you. One of the camera lights focused at me, the reporter getting mic to my side.
- Where did the name and slogan of campaign came from?
I never expected that one, yet it was a pleasant surprise.
- It’s a reference to Christopher Johnson’s blog, titled “MNU Spreads Lies”. It’s quite widely known among people interested in situation of Poleepkwa.
Yet another microphone came closer.
- How is living with aliens like?
Another question we predicted. Commander smiled.
- Nothing different from living with people. I mean, they’re just my neighbors.
Apparently they were waiting until I add something.
- Just slightly bigger.
I smiled at Jake, he smiled back
- A tiny bit, yeah…
I turned back to cameras.
- And seriously, I feel weird in all human enviroment now, it became so natural.
The journalist cut in.
- How can you understand what they say?
At that moment I wished I could see faces of Alexander and Judith, they were standing behind our backs and I couldn’t turn to look at them tho. Commander shrugged.
- Learn their language.
- Just practice – I added.
- Are they really as violent as pictured? – another reporter inquired.
I recognized a logo of one of the popular boulevard newspapers… Who invited them was beyond me, and it threw me off balance enough, to let a few words slip under my breath.
- Pictured by whom…
Jake looked at me, a bit surprised, answering quickly:
- Nope.
- Nope – I repeated.
The very same “journalist” seemed not to give up.
- Is that true they don’t have parenting instinct?
Commander chortled, not bothering to hide it much. As for me, it cost me all my willpower not to curse at the moment. I just gave the scribbler my death glare, before answering:
- Lie. They’re just as caring parents as humans are.
Some other reporter finally got through.
- Are there any nonhumans in top positions in ARFA?
Jake grinned. I could have sworn we thought of just the same thing – how lucky Walt’s not there anymore.
- My second in command high enough for ya?
Some other reporters tried to ask questions, but the moderators announced that time is up and thanked the press for coming. Camera lights went off, and we sat there until our eyes adjust to normal light again.
- Well… it wasnt that bad.
Jake just sighed.
- Let’s go get some food, kays?

The rest of the even was pretty ordinary – some fancy food, a lot of sushi, walking, schmoozing… I had to introduce Jake to many people there. I’m so proud of him – he didn’t make any sarcastic remarks and even his smile seemed honest

Still, the ultimate mood lifter came out to be Alexander. I love sushi. So does Jake. Alexander hates it. His main complaint – the meat is raw. Two humans eating as much sushi as stomach holds, and a poleepkwa complaining about raw fish… I just love the irony of this scene.

1) The sparring. Well, Jake explained a bit of what happened in his blog note. From my perspective it looked like he was getting more and more distant and uncaring. I don’t really like to fight, but that was one of the last options to get any emotional response from him, so I had no other choice but to accept when he asked me to. I had to either get through to him, or get him off the leadership.
Oh, and some clarifications:

• No, I have no idea how I actually managed to even stand my ground there. Possibly has something to do with nanites.
• No, Jake didn’t really hurt me, it’s just a several bruises. I landed in medbay because of extremly low blood sugar.
• I didn’t fight against Jake, but against the mental wall he shielded himself with.

And I can’t really describe the fight. Sorry, was too focus on actual sparring than on remembering precisely how I do it There are some footages from the fight, ask around (btw: since when is the “no photos/films in base” rule invalid?)

2) The trade – we’re working to figure out how big and how well organised that new thing is. Out of obvious reasons – no more details here.
Marty is adapting at the base. A chat with Olo seems to calm him down a lot. Well, at least enough to forget the little paint bucket incident ^_^

3) … I can’t find appropriate title, but there is something big going on right now. Big and dangerous enough, that Kris decided to come and say goodbye before moving out. There should be more information when the group returns.

That’s it for now. I’m getting ready for yet another crazy time…

***

Most of time Marty sat quiet  in the backseat, with hood of the grey sweatshirt he picked pulled up to cover his head and shade his face. He looked a bit like he was trying to hide in it. Focused on the driving, I didn’t speak much either, at least until in the rear view mirror I noticed him wriggling a bit.
- What is it Marty?
He curled down instantly, visibly hesitating before saying anything.
- I-I’m h-hungry…
It sounded like he was apologising for that.
- S’ok. We’ll buy something soon.
I looked at my invaluable GPS – seemed there was a gas station a bit ahead. I headed there, hoping to get some at least half decent food there.

Seems that was a fortunate choice. I left Marty in the car, forbidding him to go out, and went shopping, only to eavesdrop an information about some expensive car being stolen and the heavy police patrolling of the roads near state border. Just great, the last thing I wanted was a random papers check and a fuckload of explanation to follow. Of course, I could talk my way out easily now, being officially a Tanukashi employee and Poleepkwa being under Tanu administration, but for the sake of Marty I preferred to avoid it. He was frightened enough as he was.

I took one hot dog from the box, giving rest to Marty, and once again consulted the GPS on any detour options, to avoid the patrolled area. Unfortunately, all available would require at least several additional hours. Considering it was late afternoon and I was already a bit tired, driving late at night didn’t sound like an option. The best idea I had, was to spend the night in the car, on the roadside parking or in the forest, and then check for news and either go around or, if the police gets their suspect, go with the planned route.

***

Marty took the information about unplanned delay calmly. He seemed to agree with me it’s better to avoid trouble. I found a semi-legal parking spot at the forest clearing, far enough from the road so a dark car wasn’t too visible when lights were off. I put the car seats down, gave Marty a blanket and told him to get some sleep, then sat on the car hood with my laptop. I checked my mails, talked to people and track the news until the battery went low, then I snuck into the car, hoping to get a few hours of sleep too.
Marty either was not asleep, or I woke him up. I took the other blanket, muttered some “good night” to the poleepkwa, turned my back to him and tried to fall asleep. Marty snuggled closer… I didn’t pay much attention to that fact, until his hand touched my neck in a way that was hardly innocent. I barely managed to hold myself from pushing him back, and just stopped his hand. I turned around, front to him.
- Marty, what are you doing?
He avoided my eyes, curled down in fear again.
- I… I t-thought…
I realised what he meant. What did humans want from him so far? Shit… A small car interior, without much option for distance, is one of the most awkward places to explain such things.
- Marty, I’m not helping you for your… services.
He looked at me confused but didn’t say a thing.
- Really. I don’t want to have sex with you, hell, I’m not even interested in your species that way. You don’t have to “pay” me for anything.
- T-then w-why?
- Because you needed help. Not all humans are bad, but I know it’s hard to believe if you’ve met only the worst of our kind.
I shrugged. What else could I say. The whole situation was awkward, even more because of my still unhealed trauma towards interspecies sex… Yet, it was not his fault to react the way he’s been taught for years…
- Just try to sleep, OK? It may be a busy day tomorrow.
He nodded and laid back down, looking confused and lost in thoughts. I turned again, trying to get some comfortable position to sleep. I’ve heard Marty turning a bit, before he cuddled close again, this time in a totally innocent way.
-T-thank you.

***

Next day we’ve reached NVHQ. Marty is having medical check now, I want to make sure he’s OK, especially considering his pregnancy. I myself am writing this note, waiting for… well. I either blog that later on, or Commander will. It’s gonna be interesting anyways.

There’s a safehouse-to-be in California. A group of freshly joined people decided to organise it and requested some help, someone experienced and “higher up” to check the location. I guess that’s not a secret I don’t like to sit in one place for too long? I mean, I don’t mind living in one spot and so on, just staying for 2 weeks in the base without going out is kinda tiring… Anyways I thought it’s a great opportunity to, after all the events, finally move my backside. I’ve been given several lectures on what to check, how some things should work, got entry codes to the safehouse and moved out.

It was good to be on the road. Well, would be better if it wasn’t raining that much. Out of all summer days I had to pick the rainy period for interstate trips. Blessed be the inventor of GPS, seriously. I’d be lost several times without that device. It was getting dark and the road was empty, so I sped up a bit, hoping to reach my destination before night. A while later I had to rapidly brake, when some gray thing got out of the woods right onto the road. Car skidded a bit on wet road and despite my efforts I couldn’t avoid hitting the creature. I backed away, pulled over and got out to check what was that, and possibly call the forest service or any proper authorities…

In this case – I was the proper authority. Imagine my surprise when I saw a knocked-out Poleepkwa lying on the road. He was dirty as hell and wearing some rags. I knelt down to check whether the collision harmed him, but it seemed I only knocked him out. He had some scars and cracks in the shell, none of them seemed fresh tho… I pulled the Poleepkwa to the car, placed him at the back seat and rushed to the safehouse, hoping that one: the “safe” part is true; two: darkened windows will be enough to hide my “passenger”; and three: no random police patrol takes interests in my car.

Fortunately I managed to reach the destination. Safehouse was in the industrial quarter of X (sorry, classified) and looked like an inconspicuous warehouse. Once I got inside tho I noticed it was modified to accomodate Poleepkwa. Front part served as a parking lot and storage place and the back of the building was adapted into something that resembled a two-store dormitory – several rooms, large kitchen and two bathrooms on each floor. Locals put a lot of time and effort into this one it seemed. The building was empty, so I just texted the local group I’m there.

Some of the furniture was not assembled yet, so I just used one of the matresses and several blankets to make a place to lay my passenger. He was still unconscious when I dragged him (sorry, no way on earth I could carry him) to the nearest room. I laid him down and decided to wait a bit, until he wakes up. It took about an hour.

Poleepkwa squealed a bit, waking up on his makeshift bed. He looked around with panic in his eyes. When he spotted me, he crawled backwards until his back touched the wall. At this moment I regretted being alone. He seemed scared out of his wits, that might mean trouble and not that long ago I had a painful reminder what are my chances against poleepkwa. He didn’t seem agressive tho. He curled down when I approached him.
- Hey, it’s OK – I tried to use the most calming tone – I’m not going to hurt you.
The only response I got was supressed cry. I preferred not to think of reasons why is he so scared of humans. He winced when I took another step towards him. I figured just talking is not going to work here and backed away.
Locals really did think about many things, including food supply. Canned meat might not be the most exquisite cuisine, but I doubted my guest would be picky. His eyes brightened a bit when I returned with a full plate, hunger trying to win with fear. I went about halfway of the room, putting the plate on the ground.
- Here. You can come and eat, I’m not gonna harm you.
I went back to the door. Poleepkwa swayed a bit, front and back, before finally deciding to carefully approach the plate. He looked a bit like a scary animal, ready to pounce away with the slightest threat. He ate like an animal too, trying to swallow everything in quickest way possible. I stayed silent, trying not to move until he finished.
- Was that enough?
Sound of my voice startled him again, making him jump back and fall over on the floor.
- I’m sorry! Are you all right?
He blinked at me, as if trying to understand what I just said.
- Y-yes.
- I’m really not going to harm you. My name is Maria and I belong to an organisation that helps… nonhumans.
I hesitated for a moment there, as I’ve met many Poleepkwa who didn’t know their species name at first. He kept staring at me in some sort of disbelief. I smiled.
- You have any name?
His mandibles waved… Ah yes, the common issue – Poleepkwa are at best able to pronounce a very disfigured version of human names that were assigned to them. I took the notepad out of my pocket.
- Can you write?
He nodded. I came up to him, trying not to make any sudden movements. He curled down nevertheless, his hand was shaking when he took the notepad and pencil. He wrote like a child, or someone who never had a chance to use the script. He handed me the notepad back, with the name “Marty Spark” scribbled on it.
- Marty, right?
He nodded. Up close I noticed one of his antennae was damaged, less mobile than the other and a bit drooped.
- OK, Marty, was the food enough? Or you want more?
- E-enough…
- Do you want to get cleaned? And some better clothes?
He looked at me surprised.
- C-cleaned?
- Yeah, you’re all covered with dirt, soil and so on… C’mon, I’ll show you.
I expected some resistance, yet he got up and followed me to the bathroom, obediently took his rags off and sat in the bath, only the twitch of his antennae showed how much is he scared. He relaxed soon, when he found out shower is harmless and warm water is not gonna hurt him. Guys at the safehouse REALLY did think about everything, as there were even some brushes in the bathroom closet, perfect for cleaning out poleepkwan shell. Still, it took some time to get the dirt off Marty… his plating is actually brownish-yellow, not grey, you know? Warm, soapy water relaxed him enough to stop getting tense each time I touched him, so I could actually help him get cleaned. And talk with him a bit.
- I’m sorry I hit you with the car.
He nodded, uncertain how he should respond to that one.
- What were you doing in the forest?
- H-hiding?
- Hiding from what?
I’ve noticed his antennae shaking in stress. For a moment I thought he’s not gonna answer – yet he did. Stammering and breaking up from crying, he started to tell his story. To make long story short – Marty is an escaped, pregnant ex-callprawn and breeder-to-be.
Yes. Trade. Again.
He’s sleeping now. I already notified Commander, I’ll get Marty to Nevada as soon as possible.

Oh, and safehouse is free to start. I checked most of things, not to mention unplanned practical test…

I just saw the “premiere” airing of the first spot from my campaign. Gotta admit I was nervous as hell… I had to force myself to keep the eyes open, because I wanted to shut them tight and hide somewhere in the corner. The fact that rec room became a makeshift theatre only made stress worse…

To focus on something else, I tried to watch the commercial as if I saw it the very first time. You know, to forget that’s the thing I know by heart and designed by me from scratch, just to see it as any other person would.

Opening – kinda copied from MNU’s spots, sound of alarm… words “residents of District 10 are viol…” gets jammed in static. After a second the music starts. For some: Pachebell’s Canon in D, for most – “some nice classical piece”. Then the images… It’s weird to see all those Poleepkwa in the TV. Gabriel bent over the desk in lab, working at some piece of electronic, barely even noticing the camera. Olo swaying to the beat behind a DJ table, along with his two human friends. Some mixed crowd dancing at Olo’s rave. Solomon playing a game with his child. Panoramic shots of Poleepkwa and Humans working along on some construction site (to this day I wonder how I managed to make Jake agree to let me film rebuilding of HQ). Scenes from the tunnels… All with the clear message: we can coexist, we can be friends and allies… White screen, with simple message: “No more lies”. Beneath the words – quick blink of two logos, first the one of Tanukashi, then ARFA’s. Music goes silent, all fades to black…

Not only music got quiet. People in the rec room too. There were several seconds of absolute silence, before the absolute chaos beginned with Olo’s ecstatic squeak.

I’ve been hugged, patted, lifted to the air and got my hair tousled more times than I can count now. Not to mentions my textbox is currently overflowing and I’ve missed like 50 phonecalls.

Wow. Just wow.

And one more thing.
There’s gonna be an official announcement about it later on, but I was told to write it here too: from this day on, full administration of District 10 is passed to Tanukashi. In other words: the takeover was completed.

I’ve been assigned here after I returned from South Africa. Tanukashi doesn’t have much problem with me working remotely and Jake prefers to have me at hand. I’m sharing the main office with him and Walt – his 2nd in command. I predict some troubles as for some reasons unknown to me, Walt seems to dislike me… I’m trying to be nice to him and so on but that doesn’t really help much. The only option left for me now is polite professionalism I guess. No point making someone like me if he doesn’t want to… Especially if I can’t really get straight answers as to what is wrong.

I also predict some other troubles, because Jake is acting a bit odd recently. Like he stopped caring about people and things. I’m not sure what’s that about, trying to get that figured… Doesn’t seem serious now, but might be just a silence before the storm.

From more private matters – we’ve got a “family” apartament here, Me, Takashi and baby Linka… Guess that kinda settles the thing of our little family

Vorobyovs came to Nevada with me, Viktor still needs medical help and there’s a brand new hospital ward in the base. And Red stays in NVHQ too, he’s part of the security service now.

PS: My arm is fully healed by now. According to x-ray – it was never broken. Ribs still heal tho. Seems the nanites fix human body as well as poleepkwan. I just can’t stop wondering what is the price for that… Lab guys gave me a sensor to wear, it collects some readings that may help to figure what exactly those things do inside my system. In other words – I’m a guinea pig again.

I was in South Africa to film the last parts for my campaign. All went perfectly until the very last damn day.

We, that is me, Red and Ann, were going to another part of the tunnels, through the D10, to meet with Eric and get to filming spot. I gotta admit those three bastards that appeared, do have a knack to dramatic entries… Meh, I’m messing up again. Anyways – out of the sudden the nearby lightbulbs went off and we heard some movement in the dark. Red told me and Ann to stay on the spot and went to check that out…
A while later he got carried back, unconscious, by one of the largest Poleepkwa I’ve happened to see. I heard enough stories to recognize who that was – Alexander Pro Forma. He tossed unconscious Red under my feet. I was going to check my brother’s injuries, yet Alexander didn’t give me a chance to do it, walking towards me and Ann. I grabbed a gun and fired. Bullet hit Alexander’s arm, slowing him down only slightly, seconds later his hits knocked the gun off my hand and send me good few meters away with terrible pain in the chest. I could barely breath, let alone stand back up. I managed to rise my head to check what happened with Ann – she stood there, apparently stopped in mid-move, staring at yet another figure that emerged from the shadows. I heard the newcomer say:
- Well that’s interesting… I was hoping to catch Ann, and possibly Maria… But this is quite unexpected.
Yeah, great, as if Alexander wasn’t enough that Treyladorian lunatic just had to appear on the spot too. Out of reflex I tried to back away, only to gain the certainty my ribs are broken. Sharp pain made me miss some events, when I managed to focus my eyes again Alexander and Trey were already in the middle of the fight. I didn’t follow it too closely, more concerned about Red and Ann. Red was still unconscious and Ann was standing there staring in shock at the events. I wanted to shout at her to go and get help, but it’s hard to do when every breath hurts. I was desperately seeking some way out of the situation when some movement on the side caught my attention. If I knew what I was going to see, I’d never look…
Seeing Hunter coming my way was like a nightmare coming true. I couldn’t help but stare at him, unable to move or even speak. Hunter’s eyes narrowed when he noticed me, his quiet electronic laughter brought back worst memories…
- Hello babe, missed me?
He crouched next to me. I shut my eyes tight, expecting the worst. He just touched my cheek in almost affectionate way, then got up to join the fight. Apparently he had some unfinished business with both Trey and Alexander…
Adrenaline after the scare Hunter gave me dulled the pain, so I managed to more or less walk (more crawl than walk) towards unconscious Red. He had a bump on the back of his head, a bit of blood too. He groaned a bit when I touched him and opened his eyes.
- Wha… – he blinked, then looked at the three poleeps fighting nearby – Oh fuck… Can you get help?
I shook my head.
- Broken ribs, can barely move…
On the corner of my eye I saw Hunter backing away, looking wounded…
- Gun?
- Lost.
- Try to find it. Mine too. Can you?
Trey scurried away. Alexander dropped to his knees, breathing heavilly. Red looked at me, waiting.
- Can you?
I nodded. He took his knife out.
- I’ll get his attention. Go.
I clenched my teeth and crawled towards where, as I remember, my gun should be. Focusing on breathing and not loosing consciousness took all my willpower, so I didn’t really observe the fight. I still say my brother of choice is crazy to go against poleepkwa with a knife only… After what seemed ages for me I found my glock laying in dust… Seconds later I heard Red shouting
- Ann, behind…
His voice suddenly broke, then there were gun shots. Another adrenaline rush made me temporary forgot my injuries and run back with gun ready. Red was nowhere to be seen. I saw Ann holding her gun, firing towards Alexander. Bit behind her laid Trey. Or… more like Trey’s corpse. I mean nothing can live with such a hole in it’s head… Gun in Ann’s hands uttered several empty clicks, she looked at it surprised, like she had no idea what to do with it now.
- Go get help! – I shouted, regretting it instantly as another sharp pain nearly sent me down. Alexander looked at me, then at Ann, hissing when he realised she’s already far away. He moved in my direction. I kept firing, yet that didn’t slow him down. By the time he reached me, the clip was empty. He snapped my arm like a twig, pushing me to the ground again. He fell heavilly on his knees, yet managed to pull the nearby lightpole and raise it above his head.
- There will be no one to save you now – he hissed.
Seconds later a hit in the side of the head send him on the ground, unconscious. Red stood over, holding his rifle.
- Damn thing jammed – he looked at my arm – Oh fuck. I’ll take care of that in a while, sis.
He knelt down, binding Alexander’s hands behind his back with a nylon strap.
- And I didn’t believe when guys said those things are useful.

Later on Eric and several people from the tunnels appeared. We were given first aid, packed up to my jet (including Alexander, who is now considered ARFA’s POW) and sent back to New York.
Or in my case: sent straight to Tanukashi medlab.

Summary:
Me: 7 broken ribs, broken right forearm, I don’t even count bruises
Red: mild concussion + being more or less black and blue
Ann: Unscatched (lucky girl…)

Trey: dead.
Alexander: cuts, bullet wounds, blood loss… he’ll live tho
Hunter: unknown (and I’m not sure if I want to know)

Hell, this might be the longest note I’ve ever written on this blog… Anyways, I’m recovering now, trying to work on editing the footage and putting it together. And that’s about that.