Without telling people I had an ancient AI helping us, how was I going to convince people to volunteer? Was I supposed to tell them I have a magic charm, shaped like a beer can? Then I thought for a moment. I could build their trust the same way Skippy would build my trust, by doing things. Escaping this makeshift prison, stealing a Ruhar Dropship and flying it undetected to a human supply base would impress a lot of people. It sure would impress me.

Something was nagging me. Supplies. "Skippy, there's a hole in your plan. We humans need to eat food. There isn't a lot of human food on this planet. And we can't take so much food with us aboard a Dodo, that people here starve."

"Oh, that. Thuranin ships have food synthesizers. I know human nutritional requirements. You only need to bring snacks with you. And coffee, if you can find it. You're grumpy in the morning."

"How do you know what I'm like in the morning?" I asked warily.

"I've been watching you, and listening to you, through your zPhone. I've been monitoring every human, hamster and lizard on or near this planet. It's the most boring reality TV show ever, by the way."

"Crap! The Kristang have been watching us, even when we're not using our phones?" That thought scared the hell out of me.

"No, that's just me, the lizards can't do all of that. I've also been filtering which communications the lizards listen to, because I didn't want them doing anything to screw with my plan. I gotta tell you, Joe, when I first heard the Kristang was bringing a grubby low-tech species here, I almost jumped for joy. This is what I've been waiting for, longer than you can imagine. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Holy shit. Was I actually thinking of doing this? For real? Just like that, he expected me sign up to his fantastical plan? "Skippy, come on, I need time to think about this."

"Really? Considering your puny brain power, you think time will help with the thinking process?"

Maybe he was right; I'd read studies that a person's first reaction is more often than not the correct one, that your subconscious brain makes decisions without you realizing it. The hamsters locked me in a warehouse, where I found a magical talking beer can who had a plan to rescue my home planet from the Kristang. Or he was just screwing with me. He was, after all, an asshole.

While I was thinking, I poked around the warehouse, looking for anything useful, while staying close enough to the door that I could get back in my cell quickly if needed. "Skippy, what is all this stuff?"

"Artifacts from the Elders, dug up by the Kristang and the Ruhar. These artifacts are the real reason this planet is worth fighting over. So far, they've only found a few trinkets they think are useful. They found me, and had no idea that I'm by far the most valuable thing in this sector of the galaxy. Dumb-ass lizards and hamsters."