The interior of Edgar’s cabin was so dark that he had to double check to ensure his eyes were actually open. He stretched, and sat up, feeling for his tablet to check the time: two in the morning. A soft groan sounded beside him, and Kelly rolled over to face him. “Can’t sleep? Nightmares?”

Edgar paused in thought, then responded. “Don’t think so, no. Just wound up waking up at a weird time.”

“Y’should go back to bed then,” Kelly mumbled. She was right; Edgar nodded, then lay back down and let sleep take him.

An insistent pounding on his door stole Edgar from his dinner. He stood, and crossed his home to the door, peering outside to see two familiar, and quite panicked faces. Whatever was wrong, it had to be urgent, Oliver and Lloyd were never really the sort to take much of anything seriously. Edgar opened the door, and the two spilled inside uninvited. 

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” he asked. 

“It’s the fucking plants,” Oliver growled. “You need to hide us here.”

Baffled, Edgar looked between the two siblings. “What the hell did you two do?” 

“It really wasn’t anything,” Oliver insisted. “We were just trying to send a message y’know? Terra will never truly be lost and all that stuff. A few cans of spray paint, some tipped over statues and stuff. The kinda thing to remind all those plants sitting pretty in their little ‘hab units’ with their ‘pets’ that Terra will rise again.”

“And you got caught,” Edgar concluded. 

“Well not only that but when that plant came by to stop us Lloyd, dumbass that he is, chucked his spray paint can straight at its head. You need to hide us, especially him, if they find him they’ll turn him into one of those things,” Oliver begged.

Lloyd shrank inward, looking at the ground and wrapping his arms around himself. “I don’t wanna be like that,” he murmured. 

Oliver softened, pulling Lloyd into a hug. “Don’t worry little bro, we won’t let them do that to you,” he turned to Edgar, “right? If they come looking for us here and you tell them we weren’t here they’ll believe you, you just keep to yourself for the most part they have no reason to mistrust you.” 

Edgar groaned, Oliver had been growing increasingly vocal about his resentment toward the affini of late, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d wound up dragging Lloyd into this. “Fine, yeah fine. Just lay low here. If they—” a gentle knock at his door interrupted Edgar. He pressed a finger to his lips, and silently bade them to hide. “Be right there!” he called. 

“Not a problem, cutie, just take your time, we’re not in any hurry,” called a muffled, androgynous voice. 

Edgar found himself standing in the open doorway. Two affini loomed before him. The closer of the two affini stooped to greet him. “Hey there, little one! My name is Perlunium Marluz they / them. Sorry to drop by unprompted. I was just hoping you could help us out with something? There’s a couple of sophonts we’re trying to find.”

Shit, shit shit shit, they really were here after Oliver and Lloyd. Part of Edgar had still doubted the severity of his friends’ claim. “Oh? Um, sure, is something wrong?”

“Oh stars no,” Perlunium waved the question away with a casual flick of a stray vine. “There were a couple of troublemakers in the neighborhood. They were causing a bit of mischief, but nothing serious. Nobody was hurt, that’s all that really matters. We’re hoping to find them, and talk with them a bit, help them understand how dangerous ideas like capitalism and terran supremacy are.” They gave Edgar a warm smile, and cocked their head. “Have you seen a couple of terrans running around? They seemed to be heading this way and then we lost them.”  For a moment, Edgar really wanted to believe them. He couldn’t risk his friends.

“I don’t think so,” he answered.  “Unless this was something around lunch time? There were a few people running around nearby then, but it sounded like they were just having some fun.”

Perlunium smiled again, then shook their head. “No, I don’t think that was it, but thank you very much for your help anyway. And I’m very sorry for disrupting your night. Have a good night, dear, and let me know if you see or hear anything.” Next thing Edgar knew, the pair had vanished.

Edgar layed two plates full of roast beef and potatoes on his dining table, then sank into his chair with a groan. Oliver wasted no time digging in, Lloyd, however, seemed more interested in pushing his food around with his fork. “Thanks, man. We really do appreciate you,” Oliver murmured between bites. Lloyd grunted along with him.

“Eh, it’s no big deal,” Edgar murmured. 

Oliver waved away the justification. “You’re sticking your neck out for us. Given us a place to stay for what, like, a week? Letting us use this place to lay low and talk shop with our… friends isn’t nothing. You’re taking risks, you’re complicit now, y’know? Aiding and abetting and all that.” He paused for a moment, chewing a particularly large bit of meat, then seemed to notice the look on Edgars face, and rushed to continue. “Not to scare you or anything. Like, I’m just saying, you’re a good friend, a true Terran and all that.”

Suddenly Edgar couldn’t look anywhere but the floor, his stomach tightening. “Tell that to your friend,” he mumbled. “He seems to think I’m some ‘filthy plantfucking commie.’”

“Who, Donovan? Was he trying to scare you with stories from his Cosmic Navy days?” When the only response Edgar gave was a silent nod, Oliver guffawed. “Let me guess: bombing commie uprisings on the outer colonies, spacing planfuckers during the war? Did he show you the videos?”

An involuntary shudder ran down his spine; Edgar hadn’t been able to get them out of his head since. “He did.” Edgar bit his tongue, trying to leave it at that. He couldn’t. “Guy’s a sick fuck.” 

Oliver just shrugged. “He’s blowin’ smoke up your ass, trying to get you to crack. He wouldn’t set foot in this house if he actually thought you were a traitor. He might give you a hard time ‘cause the plants like you, but he knows that actually makes you an asset.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Edgar growled. “He’s fucking remorseless, man.” He clenched his fist, and stood, pacing toward the living room to blow off steam. Just as he turned, Edgar felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. 

“You two talking ‘bout me?” Donovan asked. Oliver looked up from the documents he was pouring over, then nodded.

“Was just telling Ed about our next move. But with you back there’s more pressing matters. Tell me you’ve got good news.” 

Donovan scowled, and bit his lip hard enough to bleed. “He’s—man... Your brother didn’t go missing, he turned plantfucker. He’s one of them now.”

“Lloyd wouldn’t do that. They must have fucked with his head,” Oliver insisted. 

A cruel sneer crossed Donovan’s face as he cast a look Edgar’s way. “Maybe our friend here can ask that plant he likes so much about this. I’m sure ‘Miss Matilija’ can tell him all about how Lloyd is a fucking commie.” 

“Lay off him,” Oliver snapped. “This isn’t the time for that shit, we can’t just sit around. We need to rescue my brother.”

Scoffing, Donovan shook his head, then clapped Edgar on the back. “Oh come on, Ed here knows I’m just teasing him. Besides, there’s no rescuing him. Whether he was a commie all along or not it doesn’t matter, by now they’ve got their vines rooting around inside his brain, making him say and do whatever they want him to. There’s only one thing left we can do.”

A glimmer of hope flashed in Oliver’s eye. “What’s your idea?”

A sadistic grin crossed Donovan’s face. “Revenge. We’ve got what, ten guys at this point? The plants aren’t expecting anything too, they think they’ve won. It will be easy.”

Like that, the hope was gone, replaced by something new: cold, callous acceptance. “How?” Edgar had never in his life heard Oliver take a tone like that. That was hate, real hate.

“Give me time,” Donovan answered. “You know how hard it is to build even improvised weapons, but give me time. We’ll store whatever contraband we scrounge here, the plants won’t suspect shit from such a ‘dear little Terran’ like Ed. They’ll suffer for what they did to your brother, for what they did to Terra, and once we show humanity the plants can be hurt, more will rise along with us: for Free Terra.” With that, he was gone.

Free to speak his mind, Edgar leaned in. “I don’t like this. I mean your little meetings and vandalism and stuff, that was one thing, this is different though.”

Oliver turned to Edgar, fixing him with a withering gaze. “They took my brother, Edgar, your friend. You’re seriously gonna back out now? It’s his blood on your hands if you do. Besides, it’s too late for you, man. You really think the plants will forgive you for helping a terrorists like me? Like Donovon? You called him a murderer and a sick fuck, but you let him into your house, knowing what he’s done, what he wants to do. And now he’s going to, Whatever blood we shed is on your hands too. The plants will see that, and they won’t forgive you. You’ll wind up just like Lloyd: a vegetable. You’re stuck with us, we’re the only people you’ve got.”

“They’re not vegetables,” Edgar murmured, staring at his shoes. 

“Oh, is this about that girl you like? ‘Miss Matilija’s’ pet?” A smirk, cruel in so many familiar ways, spread across Oliver’s face. “I promise you, whoever ‘Kelly’ used to be, she’s nothing but a puppet now, mindlessly saying and doing whatever her ‘owner’ wants her to, all to convince gullible pushovers like you that they want what’s best for us. Now are you gonna help save the human race? Or kneel down and let those plants grow their vines into your skull?” He raised an eyebrow, awaiting Edgar’s reply. Of course, in the end that was unnecessary, Oliver already knew how his accomplice would respond.

Tension had packed itself tight into the cool evening air. Something was wrong. Oliver was supposed to be back by now. On cue, a heavy pounding on his door sent Edgar rocketing to his feet, he rushed to the front door and threw it open. Oliver and Donovan stumbled inside, out of breath. “We’ve been had. I don’t know if there was a rat or if we just got outmaneuvered but the plants are onto us.” He cast a frantic look over his shoulder, then turned back to face Edgar. “Listen, we need you to buy us time, they don’t have any reason to suspect you. As far as they know you’ve been keeping your hands clean. So just one last time, cover for me.” 

A sinking feeling was pooling in Edgar’s gut, he looked around for some way out of this, only to catch Donovan’s eyes, he grinned. “You should listen to him, boy. You wouldn’t want to make an enemy of us when we have nothing left to lose, now would you?” He leaned against the wall, and raised his eyebrows.

“I—no, no I wouldn’t,” Edgar stammered. 

A menacing growl scraped his throat. “Good, looks like we made the right call trusting you. You know how to talk to those plants, so buy us time, and we’ll be sure to come back for you once the revolution starts. Come on now Ollie, we’ve got shit to pack.” At that, the pair dashed past Edgar, Donovan took care to ‘accidentally’ shoulder past him, catching Edgar off balance and knocking him to the floor. Edgar landed on his hands and knees, and caught his breath. He calmed himself, then sat back; Edgar was alone. A rustling noise sounded behind him. He stood, and whirled around, peering into the darkness outside his hab. An affini stepped from the darkness, his porch light shining off their glowing eyes, Edgar yelped, and whirled around, only to run face first into the vines of another. 

She scooped him off the ground, and pulled him close. “Shhh, little one, calm down,” she cooed. Edgars whimpers caught in his throat. “That’s it dear. They’re gone. Sleep for me now, okay?” He felt a pinch in his arm, and he fell into slumber.

The feeling of a hand gently shaking him roused Edgar. He groaned, rolled onto his back, and opened his eyes. Kelly staring down at him with an amused smirk on her face.

“Morning,” she said. “You slept right through the alarm, plan on sleeping through the ceremony, too?” 

With that, Edgar was wide awake. He bolted upright, and looked frantically around the room for his dress uniform, only for Kelly to lay a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, hey, slow down a bit. You didn’t sleep that long. You still have time to clean yourself up.” She fell silent for a moment, giving Edgar a long, contemplative look. Her brow creased, and eyes narrowed. “Are you feeling alright, by the way? You were a bit restless last night, seemed like you might have been having bad dreams again.”

Edgar chewed his lip for a moment in thought, then shook his head. “No bad dreams as far as I can recall. Honestly? I actually feel pretty great. Guess Dr. Fields’ meds finally started to work.” 

Kelly smiled, visibly relaxing, brightening the room with her cheer. “Glad to hear it! Then get your ass up and ready for the day. Being a hero doesn’t mean you suddenly get to be lazy, march soldier!” She shooed him out of bed, giving his ass a playful slap as he stumbled toward the shower. Edgar just rolled his eyes and laughed, before starting his morning routine. Admittedly, he did feel a little strange, perhaps a bit foggy? The water helped, though. It grounded him, woke up his anticipation. Today was going to be a good day. Today was the day he’d be recognized as a hero, the space ace who led the charge to victory against the affini compact. 

He cleaned himself, shut off the water, and stumbled out of the shower and into clothes. Kelly was waiting for him outside, flashing a friendly smile. “You alright? Seem a little frazzled.”

A shrug, and a wave of the hand, Edgar felt fine, right? “I think so? Must be nerves.”

“Makes sense,” Kelly chirped. That voice could take away all his worries. “Not every day someone gets recognized by the president, but it’ll go fine. I’m sure nothing weird will happen”