The Childrens Rebellion

Oink Oink, Bitch

Phil came to visit him four hours later after he'd checked in with Bad, gotten a new uniform from an irked Purpled, received a new datapad with Lani and Drista from a Feline engineer named Vurb, and had received a set of follow-up hyposprays from Niki.

You know, just in case.

"So," Phil said. "You have a pet now."

Tommy watched as Mellohi licked at her paw from the pillow that was her temporary bed. "It wasn't my choice."

Phil rubbed his forehead. "At least this is less paperwork than when you two broke onto an Arachnid starship," he muttered, black wings rustling. Tommy coughed to cover up a laugh. "What's her name? Mellow?"

"Mellohi," he corrected absently, and the dhi'sk looked up at the mention of her name. "Huh. You already answer to it." He could have sworn she rolled her eyes before going back to cleaning her fur.

"That's better than cat," Phil grumbled.

"Purpled would rage if he heard you say that," Tommy said, grinning slightly. "Ca'jat. It's Merlish for—"

"I know what it means," the Elytrian interrupted. "I am a captain of a ship, after all. The prerequisite is five languages." His eyes twinkled as he held up his fingers. "Common, Elytrian, Merlish, Blazian—that was a difficult one; almost as hard as Enderian—and Piglish."

Tommy frowned. "Piglish is taught on Terra?"

"No," Phil said. "Actually, it wasn't considered an official Galactic language until a few years ago." He tilted his head. "People think that Piglins aren't as smart as the rest of the races—and yeah, they're not as advanced as Terra or anything, but that doesn't make them any less smart."

Tommy shrugged. "I never got to really meet the Piglins on the H.M.S Fran," he said truthfully. "Dad kept them away. Not because he thought they were dangerous—he kept everyone away. Wasn't Techno on that ship?"

"Yes," Phil said. "Yes, he was." The Elytrian looked troubled slightly. "I think he was—eh, sixteen at the time?" That would make him twenty-three now. "I was in my last year of graduation."

"Old," Tommy teased lightly. "You're just so old."

"Shut up, child," Phil grumbled, standing up.

"Your knees are about to break."

"I'm literally only thirty-two."

"Yeah, and you're like twice my age."

"You need to go back to school because—"

"TOMMY!"

He stood up suddenly, hand reaching for the pink knife that Purpled had given him for his birthday, what seemed like so long ago, safely in his pocket. Tommy let out a small breath when he realized it was just Drista.

"Oh, hi, Philza," she said, starting a little and looking a bit like a dhi'sk caught in headlights. "Uh, I was just here to grab Tommy. You know, since you sent our withdrawal papers in and we're waiting for the next mission details?"

"I am the captain; yes, I was aware of all of that," the Elytrian said with a fond smile. "But please, don't let me stop you two kids from playing."

"I'm not a fuckin'—"

"BYE, PHIL!" Drista shouted, grabbing the crook of his elbow and dragging him out of the room with a yelp.

"Phil, HELP!" he said. "I'm being kidnapped!"

Phil just did not care at all, as he raised an eyebrow, laughing slightly. Neither did Mellohi. They were shit people. Horrible people. Actually, Mellohi wasn't a person. Animal.