Zenthara's perspective
With the human ship secure, I took a few processing cycles to make sure to read through reports from everyone. Everyone reported good and waiting for further directives.
My Second glanced at me and signaled his irritation. I ignored it; after all, if Gabriel died, negotiating with someone else would only complicate matters and delay our proceedings.
It might ruin the end goal.
"Mind, open the coms to Earth," I commanded instead of acknowledging my Second.
"Hello? Who's this? This is a secure channel, and your channel ID isn't coming back, but somehow, you are tying up a line." A timid voice crackled through the speakers, uncertainty lacing each syllable.
"Your ship is secure," I said, ignoring the accusations. "We are ready for landing. Please designate where you want me to land."
"Oh, understood. How much space do you need, and what procedure for landing will you be using?" the voice asked, sounding slightly more confident.
I signaled for the Mind to provide the information. "We will need a space at least 400 of your meters away from anything you do not want to be damaged. Please note this is where we will be parked while we are on your planet."
"Please stand by." The voice went muffled for a brief moment before adding, "Why am I doing this...I'm not a diplomat...why didn't one of the managers take over this job..."
I felt a tinge of amusement as the human mumbled under his breath, obviously unaware that anyone could hear him.
"Do you copy?" The voice on the other end of the coms asked louder.
"Copy," I acknowledged, using the speech pattern from the protocols I read from the human's communication manual. "What's the plan?"
"We're going to place markers for you on the ground. Do you have a visual on our facility?" the voice inquired.
"Affirmative," I replied as the Mind pulled up the image on the screen.
"Please look for a large box in red...do you people see color?" the human asked hesitantly. I couldn't ignore my Seconds signaled irritation.
"Yes, we do," I reassured them.
"That's good; look for a large red box. It should be designated in the next few minutes."
I turned to the Mind. It opened the observation on the main screen, and we watched as a human scurried outside and hastily drew something that looked like a crooked square with uneven strokes. Their movements were frantic, almost desperate.
"Visual acquired," I informed the voice through the coms. "ETA..."
The Mind filled in the details: "85 of your minutes."
"Good copy, I will pass it along. Godspeed and safe landing," the voice responded with an air of finality.
"Thank you," I said before cutting the coms.
I glanced over at my Second, his irritation replaced with a single of amusement and mockery. "I haven't heard an appeal to deities since we left."
I signaled my own amusement. "Our creators had their own creators they prayed to. At least in desperate moments..."
The gentle hum of the ship's engines filled the air as we began our slow descent toward Earth. I gazed out at the vibrant blue and green orb below. It had a similar beauty to the home world we left behind.
Nolivrex singles were switching faster than I was able to keep up as he looked at the sensor screens. It did not participate in the war because it was obsessed with studying the stars. When we escaped, I offered to help with the navigation.
