Transmission Lost by Stefan Mazzara

crossed his legs. “I was wondering how you learned to speak English. There aren't many humans who can speak Ailian, and I never bothered to try to learn when I was in the service. Not more than a few words I picked up here and there, anyway. But you speak English really well.”
    “Oh...” Aria shrugged, and she rubbed the back of her neck. For the first time since he'd met her, she looked a little embarrassed. “Thank you. I not very good, really...”
    “No, I'm serious, you speak it a lot better than I would have expected.”
    “Thank you,” she said again. Aria took a final bite from her can, then she set it down. If she had any more of the foul mixture, she might be sick. “Well...Sometimes when Ascendancy raids human colony, take prisoners. Force prisoners to teach us language.” She rubbed the back of her neck again. “Need to know language to understand human radio signals. Threaten death if they refuse. Not many say no, yes?”
    “...I guess they wouldn't.” The small amount of friendliness that Jack had been starting to feel quickly evaporated. “You Ailians seem to have a talent for threatening to kill someone if they don't do what you want.”
    Aria bristled at that, and Jack was taken aback by how vehemently she responded to his words. “And humans have talent for taking what not theirs!”
    “What do you mean?” Jack asked. He clenched his hands. “If you're referring to our colonial expansion, we had no idea that any of the planets we colonized were in Ailian space. We didn't even know that there was any other life out there!” He pointed a finger accusingly at Aria. “And your people attacked us without any warning at all.”
    “Attack was warning!” Aria shot back. “Humans should have left. Instead you keep expanding, keep fighting. We have to take war to next level to protect what is ours!”
    “And we had to keep fighting to save our colonists' lives!”
    “Pah! Ka'la se te nai!” Aria stood up, striding quickly past Jack. “Stupid. Is like arguing with child.”
    “And where are you going?” Jack called, looking over his shoulder.
    “Sleep.” Aria knelt in front of the tent, unzipping the flap. “I stay awake much longer, I do something stupid. Humans make me angry.” She crawled inside and zipped the tent back up, but not before tossing out Jack's sleeping roll. Obviously, she meant for Jack to sleep outside again. As long as that meant Jack wasn't going to have sleep next to an angry tigress, that was just fine with him.
    Shaking his head, Jack turned back towards the fire, watching the flames dance as the burning wood crackled. He reached for the pile of firewood and tossed a few more sticks into it. He stared at the conflagration until his eyes started to water, and then he leaned back, tipping over until he was lying on the ground. Jack looked up at the sky through the treetops, where stars were twinkling peacefully.
    His thoughts turned to the war, and for the first time in eight years he found himself wondering what his life would have been like if he'd stayed in the Navy. Certainly he wouldn't be in the situation he was in now. Jack smiled as he remembered what life had been like, traveling with his squadron in their escort carrier. The life had been fun, in it's own way. They'd travel from planet to planet, usually along with a transport convoy or some passenger ship carrying minor dignitaries. He'd never had to be in what one would call a dangerous war zone. That hadn't been such a bad time, had it?
    The night life for a fighter pilot had been pretty special, too. Every time he walked into a bar in uniform, people had turned to look at him and his fellow pilots, like they were celebrities or something. That was something that hadn't changed since the first human took to the skies in a theater of war. Those who flew craft into combat were seen as daredevils, and like all daredevils their bravery impressed the masses. None of the women who Jack had ever gone home