I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel.
These people are the first humans I've seen who aren't captives like us. Even though they are - they're trapped on this planet like we are - they're not pushing rocks or on a useless field trip and getting zapped every day for failing to speak the language.
I feel a twinge of envy, and a larger pang of anxiety. These people could be the ones who set me free.
Or, just as easily, they could get me killed.
It's not like I wasn't already plotting escape, ineffectual as it may have been, but I've seen enough tragic operas about the French Revolution to know that rebellions like these...
They aren't exactly safe and cozy.
They don't even necessarily win. Not every revolution is successful, and even the successful ones usually end with a bunch of people getting their heads cut off. That's just the way things go.
I'm sitting on the ground, surrounded by a bunch of people who all seem much calmer and less concerned with the potential decapitation than I am, and they've been doing this longer.
...I'm not even.
Doing anything. At present.
But that's beside the point. I have the option of trying to help now. If I wanted to. If they let me.
If they trust me enough. If there's anything I can do with my abilities.
Which...
...Is not a given.
Mia would definitely have more ability to help here. She'd probably be leading the negotiations with the man in front of us, too. Eric usually steps back and lets her be the leader of us when she's present, after all, and she's much more outgoing.
But for some reason, I'm the one here instead.
Maybe it's just a timing thing. I'm not sure.
But Eric is sitting beside me, his face serious. He's not saying anything, and the silence stretches on as I stare at him, and the leader continues to examine us both. He's not looking away, and his gaze is intense.
Finally, Eric sighs.
"So. You didn't just bring us out here to stare at us."
The leader chuckles and shakes his head, but his expression hardens quickly. "I need to make sure I can trust you before we talk about our plans and what we're going to do." He explains.
"Look, we're on the same side, here. Both of us got kidnapped. We both hate those damn things. We both want to get off this planet. I don't know how you expect me to prove that more."
The man shakes his head, crossing his arms. "How long have you been here?"
Eric clicks his tongue. "A few months. Haven't been keeping much track due to the circumstances."
The man nods, there's a knowing look to his eyes, and I. don't know why.
"Those who stay here too long lose track of who they are, forget any time before they were servants to these masters. They let slip details that could get us all killed or worse." The man says, voice deep and gravelly. It sends chills down my spine. "...Do you understand, then? The danger?"
Eric frowns. "...Yeah, I think I do."
The man nods and stands. "Come inside. It will become quite cold here soon."
He gestures toward the large tent behind him.
We follow him in, and it's like walking into an old western. There are several men and women seated around the campfire inside, and all of them have guns. They must be pilfered or rebuilt from the guards' guns. Or something.
The man leads us over to the fire and sits down. "Sit."
We both take seats next to him.
"So... what's the plan here?" Eric asks.
"Right now, our primary concern is quietly collecting enough of a force to be effective. People inside the camp and people who are willing to get 'lost' in outings like this." He nods at us.
"We need to build a base of operations where the aliens can't easily track or find us. Somewhere defensible and hidden away. And a means of long distance communication. We have a rudimentary network of radios but we're limited to short range."
Eric crosses his arms and nods slowly. "Can't just take the aliens' communicators?"
The man shakes his head. "If it's possible to disconnect it from their network, none of us know."
Eric sighs and leans forward. "I get the feeling you haven't had much success in gathering more people or materials."
The man snorts and rubs his chin. "...Well. You're not wrong. We can only risk making contact like this when they take their slaves out of the compound."
"...Slaves..." I don't mean to speak up, it just.
They've never really specified why we're captive but.
It fits.
I shudder. And I'm not the only one to do so.
Eric's face tightens and he closes his eyes. "...That's..."
"Yes." The man nods at him, solemnly.
"I don't know much about what happens after you leave, but I do know that if you're processed, you'll eventually be sent off in groups. Sometimes individually. There used to be a market, I'm told, but an earlier iteration of people like us almost escaped in the constant chaos of it."
I gulp, but the man's eyes are focused on Eric. "...What happened to them...? The people from before."
The man shakes his head. "Maybe some got away. It's not clear. The person I talked to escaped back into the wilds, but...these things don't react kindly to their prey trying to use their things to escape."
He shakes his head again and gestures at Eric and I, "That's why we have to be careful to approach only when they can't possibly tell. And only talk to the ones who haven't become sympathetic to those beasts."
Sympathetic?
...Do people become like that? Sympathize with them? They're monsters, but.
Mia doesn't hate them. I think she even likes them, to an extent. Is that the kind of sympathy he's worried about?
It couldn't be that.
She's kind, she's an optimist, she sees the best in everyone.
But she hates these aliens, too. She hates being here, even if she puts on a good smile.
...Maybe he means like that older woman who was translating for the alien earlier today. The woman who seems...
Like she barely remembers her home and has long stopped caring.
I swallow.
"And why did you approach us?" Eric squints at him. "If we disappear in the night it'll be obvious what happened. Can't be good for your cause."
"Unfortunately, you're right. There would be a time in your upcoming test we could sneak you away if you want but..."
He leans forward, hands steepling in his lap. "If you're open to it, I have a proposition for you that only you two can do."