Foster took another glance at the frightened people before them. “They look human.”
Pierce moved closer to them with his EAD, and they leaped backward, yelping and trembling in fear. Foster put her pistol and EAD away and approached them slowly with her hands forward for them to see she was unarmed and meant no harm. “Hey now, it’s just a scan, he ain’t gonna bite ya.”
They weren’t buying it.
Foster pulled out one of her protein bars and removed its silver-colored wrapping. She displayed it to them, broke a piece off and ate it. They watched her consume it as she broke off another piece and then offered it to them. The male hooded local slowly reached out to grab a piece of her bar, his hands trembling in the process. He ate it and his tone of voice changed as he spoke to his traveling companion. Foster offered the rest of the bar to the two, which they took and devoured.
They must have been starving, she thought.
Foster tried to communicate her name to them in the classic sense of pointing toward herself and slowly saying her name. “Rebecca.” She pointed at Pierce. “Travis.” The two robed figures looked puzzled and unsure of how to respond to Foster’s attempt at first contact. “Rebecca. Travis,” she said again. Her index finger moved toward the rest. “Sylvester. Mathilda.” She stopped at Kingston grimacing. “Sorry, I never did get your name,” she said to him.
Kingston rolled his eyes. “I’m feeling the love, Captain.”
They responded slowly, mimicking Foster’s actions. “Eisila,” the female said, pointing to herself.
The male stepped forward, pointing to himself. “Mavron.”
“Eisila and Mavron, nice to meet you.”
Mavron began to walk away after bowing respectfully toward them. Eisila stopped and looked at Foster and the rest, no doubt debating her next actions. She called out to Mavron and exchanged several words back and forth in their language, then faced Foster and her team once again and gestured with rapid hand movement for them to follow.
“I guess they want us to follow,” Foster said to the group.
“Is this part of first contact protocol?” Chevallier asked.
Foster laughed. “We done tossed that book in the garbage with what happen at Sirius B. This is about survival, and the locals could help us out in that department.”
LOCAL CITY
SA-115, Sirius A system
May 19, 2050, 22:29 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Foster looked at the time reported on her EAD, then looked up at the skies as the star of Sirius still shined brightly. Yep, long ass days here.
Mavron and Eisila led the five out of the forest and into a city. The buildings within the city were made of stone and wood. Wood burning ovens cooked their meals, rope bridges connected some of the larger buildings together, while armored people wearing chain armor that reflected white light from above patrolled, armed with primitive looking bows and arrows.
Much like their guides, all the inhabitants of the city looked like humans and wore hoods and robes with a similar design. Everyone that was outdoor had their eyes covered, Foster figured it was due to the bright light from the sun. They all spoke a strange language and stared in awe as the five humans donning EVA suits or combat armor walked the streets.
Three armored patrolling figures approached Mavron and Eisila and pulled them aside, leaving the five humans to explore the city themselves. Foster looked back and winced as Mavron and Eisila exchanged heated words with the armored guards and hoped that their presence didn’t get Mavron and Eisila in major trouble.
“Thoughts everyone?” Foster asked.
“They look human, or perhaps Linl?” Pierce said.
“I wanna say Linl; they were buildin’ ships before they joined Radiance. Maybe this is a forgotten colony?”
“Can’t you just scan them?” Chevallier said.
“These aren’t medical scanners, the only data we’re getting back is what’s on the outside,” Pierce said.
They arrived at what appeared to be a marketplace. Merchants yelled, trying to attract the attention of curious shoppers down toward their carts full of logs, hides, vegetables, and tools. Foster felt as though they had travelled back in time to an ancient Earth city as they moved their way deeper into the market. One particular merchant took interest in the five, as the five took equal interest in him for he wasn’t of the same species as the residents of the city.
The merchant in question was short, around five feet in height. He had two ratlike tails that grew out from the top of his upper back, its skin was beige and furry, while a thin mane of hair encircled his head like a lion. The creature’s head looked up at them with intrigue, it began to speak to them in a squeaky voice, and like the rest of the locals around them Foster didn’t understand a word it spoke.
The merchant reached out and touched Foster’s hand, she felt a warm wave of energy transfer from his hand onto her, then travel up into her head. Before she could react and let go that same energy force travelled back down her arm and back into its hand.
“Ah much better,” the creature said . . . in English!
Foster asked wide-eyed, “You speak our language?”
“I got the basis of it now, English you call it, yes, yes?”
She crossed her arms. “Now that’s what I call a quick study.”
The creature began to circle around the five, examining them closely from head to toe, stroking the material of their equipment. “I scanned your nervous system and absorbed your language into my mind. It’s an advanced form of a skill your people refer to as psionics.”
Psionics, proof that it didn’t originate from Radiance gods, they gonna be mighty pissed once we report this. “Where are we?” she asked next.
The creature faced the bustling marketplace with its arms wide open. “This is Togi-toki, central trade and travel hub on this world. You are not from around here I presume, yes, yes?”
A snickering sound left Foster’s mouth. “What gave that away?”
“Excellent!” The creature yelled and began to rub its hands together as if some sort of lucrative deal was about to me made. “I will be your guide here then, yes, yes?”
Foster shrugged and scratched her head. “Uh thanks, mister?”
“Norauk,” he replied. “Remember that name whenever you have a need to purchase something.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
“Come, come, let’s exchange stories,” Norauk said, grabbing hold of Foster’s arm as he led her toward a large multistory building. “Perhaps we can exchange business, yes, yes?”
Foster walked along with him, the rest of her team followed behind. “Business, huh?”
“That is the reason you travelled here? To sell and purchase? And I assure you I have the finest bargains in the city.”
Norauk lead the group into a three-story building which he described as a place where travelers and wanderers stayed as they conducted business. Basically, an inn. The main floor was elaborately decorated with crystalline sculptures of lizard-like creatures asleep and plants from the outside alien world. Further in, they arrived at a small dinner table. It was so small all of them would have to sit on the floor in order to utilize it.
Norauk insisted they all gathered around the table and sit as he walked out of sight into a back room for several minutes. Foster and her entourage exchanged odd looks with one another as they sat at the tiny table, the Hammerhead folks especially. If Foster didn’t know any better, it would appear they had become guests of honor at some kind of dinner. Guests that were still wearing combat armor or EVA suits.
Norauk returned with a large plate of cooked meats and fresh vegetables in his furry hands. At least that’s what it looked and smelt like. Alongside him were nine other people. Some were of his race, others were of the humanoid-looking people that made up most of the population of the city. The humanoid folks wore robes similar in design to the two they met in the forest.