"My father would get so angry with me, Six. He'd say it under his breath, but I heard. He'd call me useless. I say that about myself."
"How can you think of yourself as useless? You're the most powerful Ultra ever created. Everybody knows that."
With a twitch of his fingers, Pietas dismissed the praise. "It is not how I feel. If I were telepathic, I could have found my people by now. If I were telepathic, I wouldn't have gotten us marooned on an alien world. No, my father was right. When it comes to telepathy, I am useless."
"Wow." Six tossed part of a small branch onto the fire, sending sparks spiraling upward. "Biggest pity party I've ever been to."
Pietas leaned on one hand to face Six. "What is a pity party?"
"When you feel sorry for yourself and expect others to do the same thing 'Poor me. Look how I'm suffering.' That's a pity party."
"Excuse me for sharing how I felt."
"You were doing fine, until you said you were useless. I don't care who told you that. It's a pure out-and-out lie and you know it. To let anybody else's opinion of you keep you from being your best..." Six threw down the stick. "Look, Ultra. That's not you, okay? Listen to me. I sat with you while you were nothing but two big blue eyes, and blackened skin stretched over bones. You couldn't lift your head, you were so weak. You tried not to show how much pain you were in, but I could see it. I could hear it in the way you panted, trying to breathe. The way you hobbled about as if all your bones were broken. But you fought like a caged animal to get your strength back. I will never accept any lie about you being useless. You're one of-- No, you are the strongest person I've ever known."
The pride at those words from so dear a friend--a human friend--brought tears to his eyes. Pietas turned his head, and blinked them away.
