Salem watched in surprise as a yellow glow seemed to illuminate a general area near him, then moved towards the treeline, apparently displaying Rathien's approximate location, since it coincided with the beeping in his head's rapid decrease in frequency. Salem ducked as a shot from Rathien's fun little weapon lit up the sky above the glow momentarily, but it was apparently only a diversion. Which was good- no way Salem could have ducked fast enough to evade a shot traveling at the speed of light regardless.
Coughing, Salem dropped to his hands and knees again. The chemical he'd injected himself with would provide him with a short-lived boost, similar to adrenaline- though this would work on all of his body systems. His right arm was already filled with a burning sensation as the chemical fought against whatever Rathien had injected him with- he was still feeling the effects of the tranquilizer, but his own injection would allow him to move his arm regardless. He gripped the collar of his weapon and turned it, shutting it down, and clipped it back onto his belt, then reached up with his left hand and pulled the dart from his right shoulder blade. He examined it for a moment before shaking his head- he'd get nothing out of this now, with how he was feeling- and pocketing it.
He closed his eyes, trying to block out Parker and Jocun's sudden chatter around him. Something was wrong here... very wrong. Rathien had used less-than-lethal force... that was a bit unusual, for starters, but explainable. It was strange, though, how quickly Jocun and Parker had jumped to his aid. In fact... they'd both reacted before there was any real sign of danger, hadn't they? Both firing potentially-lethal weapons after no more perceivable threat than a couple of tranquilizer darts out of thin air. And without asking questions, both had been at his side, in an instant. Parker had even apparently dodged a shot from Rathien's gun... how was that possible without predictive shielding? Entroper shots traveled at the speed of light.
The thoughts raced through his head. How could they have known that Rathien was attacking as early as they did? What would have made them choose to defend Salem? Why had Rathien used nonlethal force? Come to think of it, why hadn't Rathien tried to kill him yet altogether? And why had both Jocun and Parker fired continuously at an enemy they could neither see, nor, apparently, hit?
There was no explanation that made sense... unless... Unless they'd known the attack was coming. Unless they'd been purposefully missing.
"You tipped your hand early, Yeerk," he said to Jocun, still on his hands and knees, his eyes pressed shut. He coughed again and got slowly to his feet. "You too, soldier," he said, glaring at Parker. "I don't know if both of you are in this together, but let me make one thing clear- whoever you're working for won't be getting anything out of me until he comes clean with me."
In that moment, Al arrived, and looked around at the gathered group, concerned. "Rathien?" he asked Salem.
Salem nodded, "Fill you in later," he said quietly to the android, before turning back to Parker and Jocun. "Guys, I've used that scam myself. The fake-saving-someone-to-ingratiate-oneself-with-them bit." He glared from one to the other, "You're expecting to help me back to my ship or show me hospitality on yours, and I'll just be so grateful for all your help, I'll bend to whatever proposal you lay down? Don't know what could be so great that Rathien and the two of you would go in together on it, but if that's what's going on here, I want no part in it." He sent a command to his boots, causing them to activate, and began halfheartedly skating in the direction of his ship, half-limping thanks to his hurt leg. He coughed again, then turned and continued skating backwards. He called back, "This definitely explains a lot, though. I'll talk when you guys are ready to be honest with me."
He turned again and skated, harder now, towards his ship. The pain was warring with the chemical boost in his system- he wanted simultaneously to run for miles, track down Rathien and strangle the hunter with his bare hands, and fall asleep on the spot. It was an exhausting sensation. He gritted his teeth- the combined effect of the boost, the tranquilizer, and the blood-loss from his back was starting to make him feel dizzy and nauseated, and his heart didn't seem to want to slow down...
Al raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Salem, muttering something about "endless paranoia," then turned to Parker and Jocun and smiled. "Gentlemen," he said with a slight bow to each of them. "Good Lady," he called to Keshin, with a bit of a salute. "You're welcome to join us," he called to her.
He grinned at Ewa as she arrived on the scene, "Salem got into a fight. Boys will be boys. You know how it goes." With that, he turned to trot after Salem, at a far more normal speed this time, to allow for Keshin and Ewa to easily keep up, should they so choose.