Page 4 of Fionn
Kelon shot me a panicked look. "You want a mate too, don't you? I can help you. If we find the coordinates, I will send a ship there. You can come along."
I hesitated. Kelon had broken into the Archives, which meant he was now a criminal. I should hand him over to my superiors, maybe get a reward for doing so. Yet what he was saying... That ache deep inside my chest painfully flared to life. It had sat there ever since the Matriarchal Panel had spoken their judgement. A mate. I could have a mate. If I arrested Kelon, that possibility was lost forever. Even if I went searching for myself and found the coordinates of that planet, I had no means to get there. Kelon was rich, filthy rich. He could make the impossible possible.
"Can I trust you?" I asked hurriedly, aware my commander was waiting.
Kelon grabbed the greenskin beneath his left arm and bit on it hard. I squirmed a little, knowing just how sensitive the greenskin was in that place. "I vow that I will not betray your trust," the finman said solemnly, showing me his hand now stained with turquoise blood.
I grasped his hand. "A vow made cannot be broken without losing your honour."
He nodded. "Now tell the officer that you didn't find anyone. Then we can continue our search together."
I did so, my mouth tasting bitter as I spoke the lie.
"The sensors must have been malfunctioning," Commander Myke replied, clearly unperturbed and trusting my report. "Now return to your post outside the Archives."
"Yes, sir. Right away."
Kelon walked over to the portal, leaving a trail of tiny blood splatters on the floor. "There's nothing in this room. Let's continue our search outside."
I followed him through the airlock portal. In the water-filled corridor, the catfish was waiting impatiently.
"What's that thing doing here?" Kelon asked, pointing at the fish.
"It's been following me. It's harmless." I didn't see any reason to lie.
The catfish bumped against my hip and purred. I gave it a quick scratch on his scaled head, then turned to Kelon. "Where do we search next? I don't have much time before I have to be back at my post." The catfish nibbled on my greenskin. I pushed it away in annoyance. "Unless you can show us the records we're looking for, go away."
The fish cocked its head, purring louder than ever.
"It almost looks like it's listening," Kelon observed. I couldn't help but agree. The catfish's eyes shimmered with intelligence. I’d assumed for a while that it understood more than everyone assumed about catfish. Maybe it was worth a try.
I turned to it, feeling more than a little silly. "We are looking for records that mention a planet which harbours females that are compatible with us. I don't suppose - no, this is stupid. You can't understand me, and even if you did, why would you know anything about what's hidden in the Archives?" I shook my head. I'd embarrassed myself in front of Kelon.
The catfish swirled around in a circle as if it wanted to catch its own tail. Yeah, this was just a fish. I was an idiot.
Suddenly, it took off, swimming fast while continuing to purr. I exchanged a look with Kelon.
He shrugged. "I have no idea where to look next. We might as well follow it."
We swam along corridors, then up a tunnel to the third floor, before turning to the west wing. The catfish was waiting for us in front of a shelf holding record chips. Above it was a sign. Animal Studies.
I groaned. This was not what we needed.
I was already turning back when the catfish bumped against a record tin above me, pushing it off the shelf. It slowly sank down and I grabbed it before it could hit my shoulder. A faded label read Fin and Ma’vel, A Story of Peritus.
"What do you have there?" Kelon asked.
"Do you have a record scanner with you?"
He nodded and pulled a tablet with an attached scanner port from his satchel. Kelon had come prepared. I pulled the record chip from the tin and handed it to Kelon. When he pushed it into the scanner, I realised I was holding my breath. Beside me, the catfish was purring with satisfaction. If this ended up helping us, I'd feed it treats until the end of its days.
A document opened filled with tiny, yet beautiful writing interspersed with images. I increased the size of the first image, barely trusting my eyes. I blinked as if to dispel any illusion. This couldn't be.
A finman about my age grinned into the camera, holding a catfish with a stark resemblance to the one swimming at my hip. And next to him, an arm around his waist, was a female, gazing at him with pure love. Her skin was pale, lacking scales and greenskin, her features softer than that of a finwoman. She was an alien. She was hope.
"We have found it!" Kelon whispered. "We will have mates."
A mate. For me. I wanted to kiss the universe.
