✅ Project SETI 3: Eve's Advent

Part XXIV: Satyrs

Temet woke up about an hour after she was stabilized, during which time Gabriel had gone over her chest with a mending laser to fix her fractured ribs and minimize her pain and discomfort upon waking. When she had her wits about her, the chip was thrown into the engine room and incinerated the next time she fired them up. Meanwhile, Gabriel attempted to contact his friend on the surface via highly encrypted text transmissions that were commonly used by criminals and high government types alike.

[782-Ea-7380-9526] Hey man. It's Red—I'm in deep shit and I need your help.

[109-Sb-9835-2167] Red?? Is this a joke? She's dead. Who is this?

[782-Ea-7380-9526] It's really me. I'll holo with you if I need to. I'm in high orbit around Satyrs right now.

[109-Sb-9835-2167] No. Holographs are easy to fake and easy to track. If you're really Red, give me the identification signature of your ship and I'll come to you.

[782-Ea-7380-9526] Okay, just give me a minute... it's a Daxut vessel, so it's probably some weird symbols or some shit.

"Yeah... seems like he's willing to indulge us," Gabriel said. "He wants the ID sig so he can come to us. Doesn't believe I'm not dead and I can't say I blame him."

"Pass it here," Temet replied. She brought up a code on the holographic projector near the pilot's chair, then scanned it and sent it. "It's sent."

"Who is this guy anyway?" Julia asked. "You sure we can trust him?"

"His name's Rey. He was with me when my... I mean, when I killed those gang members. He was one of the only people that tried to stick up for me and get the truth of the incident out, but... nobody really cared. Damage done and all that," Gabriel sighed as he continued to correspond with him. "I haven't seen him since before I faked my death, but... the fact that he's willing to come out here is promising..."

"... it really doesn't seem like we have much of a choice," Nova said with resignation.

"Yeah... unfortunately," Gabriel continued to tap away on his phone. "Alright—he says he'll be here in about fifteen minutes."

The group anxiously waited for Rey to arrive. He was slightly early—about ten minutes later, the ship received a request to tether and to open the entry hatch so he could board. The entry room was promptly sealed so the ramp could be opened, and Gabriel moved over to the hatch so he could greet him as soon as it was safe to do so. A few minutes later, the red touch-panel near the door turned green, and the metal door unlocked when he pressed his finger against it. Beyond, standing on the now-closed ramp, was a tall human figure in a navy blue spacesuit. He was armed with a large plasma handgun mounted on his hip, and he cautiously held his hand over it when the door opened.

"... Beth?" Rey called out questioningly while he took off his helmet. His accent was difficult to place; it sounded like he'd once resided in Old English territory on Earth, but it had since morphed into something all its own once he settled on Satyrs. He had long grey hair that was tied into a low ponytail at his neck, and a darker grey goatee adorned his sharp angular face. "Is that—really you?"

Gabriel smiled shyly and averted his gaze. He hadn't heard his deadname in a very long time, and even though he knew there was no malice behind it, it still stung in his ears. "Yeah... my name is Gabe now—Gabriel Everett Dejarlais. I transitioned when I went into hiding."

"Let me get a good look at you," Rey closed the distance between them and looked pointedly into Gabriel's eyes. The distinct brown and green colour that he remembered remained, and while the shape of his face had changed, he still looked enough like the butch lady in his memories to convince him. "Well shit. It really is you after all! What's a guy like you doing out here again? After you went to so much trouble to make yourself dead... and on a Daxut ship to boot."