Extraterrestrial Moors

3

"Maha? I apologize for what happened last time. Might I come in?" Rafe asks me before entering the room. It's the first time anyone has asked my permission for anything since Rafe found me.

When I don't answer he comes in anyway and stands by my bedside. "We haven't treated you very good, have we? Is there some way we can get you to talk to us?" Rafe is starting to sound a little desperate now.

"Tell me the truth." Four words, that's all I'm willing to say to him, to any of them. I'm not looking at him but I feel him stiffening at my words.

"I have done nothing but tell you the truth," Rafe says with more than a little anger behind his words.

"You pick and choose. Never answered my question, no respect to me. None of you have given me any respect." It's not like I've ever really had any of course. Except my family, there's always a give and take with family though, something I've never gotten anywhere else.

She spoke to me. It blows me away. I'm the only person she's talked to since she came aboard. When she says that we don't give her any respect I feel my cheeks start heating up. She's right, we haven't given her respect, or privacy or even basic rights. I have never been more ashamed of my people than in that moment.

Then she said that we haven't, that I haven't answered her questions and I was confused. Of course I did, the ones that I knew the answers to at least.

"Either you don't remember or you just don't understand the question. Just who the hell are you Rafe? The other person called you Lt. But even that doesn't tell me who you are. Who your people are or how the HELL you knew my name. I've asked those questions and you do know the answers, you just chose not to give me the answers.
"So if you all are going to be so disrespectful to me, or ignore me, why shouldn't I do the same to you?" Maha stops speaking and now the heat in my cheeks is for me and my shameful behavior.

"You are of course correct Maha. Again, I owe you an apology, you have my deepest apology. I am Lt. Raphael Depak, of His Imperial Majesty's naval unit. How we knew of your name, that I would tell you if I knew, but I don't. I was given your name when I was sent down to retrieve you. I and my people are aliens to your kind, but we have been studying you for many years now. We were more than a little angry at what they've done to your world.

"You wouldn't have heard of my people, but we are Lemanz. We come, to quote one of your popular movies, from a galaxy far, far, away. We have been watching your advances in space technology with excitement. The only other race we have found with technology even remotely similar are the others and we haven't been able to actually catch or find them directly. All we find are where they've been by their destruction." I told her everything, perhaps more than I should but she's been through a lot and deserves to know the answers. The doctor's that advised against this can just go to hell, to borrow the Earth saying.

He actually told me. He avoided the answers before, but he told me this time. I couldn't believe it. I smile for the first time since I woke up on Earth all alone. Someone actually gave me a little respect. I sigh and relax finally able to fall asleep and not just drowse. 

Rafe says something more but I'm too tired to care and I'm already asleep.

I stand and watch the Earthling whiles she sleeps and marvel at the difference just me telling her and treating her with respect did for her. The smile on her face is the only one I've ever seen on a living Earthling. My people occasionally smile but it's a rare sight. I've seen pictures of Earthlings smiling, especially in their entertainment.

She looks so young and vulnerable.

I pull the covers over her shoulders and leave the room silently so as to not disturb her sleep.

The doctor's pull me into the observation room. Some are angry, but more are pleased by getting her to speak. They feel that now she won't let the depression take her into a downward spiral. I think it's far to early to make any kind of assumptions.

"You were ordered to not speak of some of those things," one of the self important doctors sneers as I face him.

"You wanted me to get her to talk. The truth is the price that had to be paid for that to happen. She doesn't have much faith or trust in any of us, but even less in you bunch. She told me that she isn't getting any respect so why should she give us any? And she's right."

I turn around and leave the observation room amidst some angry mutters and threats. But I do notice that some actually are thinking on what I said. I'll be making a report of course. All interactions with Maha requires a report afterwards. 

I'm going to make sure that they understand all the mistakes we've been making with Maha. I may be denied the right to see her again for what I'll be writing, but at least it will be written what they should do to get her cooperation.

But I'm still not convinced that they care about that. I still think that they want her to experiment on. I sneer at them and myself as I go to the gym. I feel the need to do a heavy workout. I'm still not sure that we are in the right here. Definitely not in how we've been treating Maha.

Just thinking about her delicate body trembling like it had earlier makes me angry and I take it out on the equipment set up for such punishment. But not even the heavy duty punching bag could withstand my ire, by the time I was done, both it and my hands were a mess.