Extraterrestrial Moors

5

"I'd rather have your company than anyone else's Rafe. You are the only one that has been truthful with me. I just think you probably have better things to do than have to deal with me full time." I didn't like how Rafe had sounded when he said that he would have his commander find someone else.

Understanding dawns then. She feels that she is being a burden and taking up too much of my time for someone so worthless. But she doesn't understand, she isn't worthless.

"Maha, I don't see you as needing a babysitter. You are perfectly able to take care of yourself. You are valuable to us even if that ass didn't treat you right.

"Truth to tell, the reason I've been assigned to you is  to try to get you to trust us. The higher ups are furious that he bungled things so incredibly. Especially once they read my reports and they knew that he knew he was going against recommendations. I won't lie to you Maha. Never intentionally and if I do it by unintentionally call me on it and I will tell you the truth.

"My people hope that in time you will wish to join with us, at least as much as you can, and be willing to be a part of our people. I'm explaining this poorly," I color. The blush makes my cheeks burn. I've never been poor with words but for some reason I trip over them as I try to explain things to Maha.

"Why?" Her question throws me off. I don't understand what she's asking.

I look at her confused, "Why what?"

"Why would your people wish that? I am a nobody, a lone survivor, if you are to be believed, of my people. Why would your people wish for me to join you?" As she finishes there is a vulnerability to her I've never seen before. Not even when she broke down crying or found out she was the last of her people.

"Every person has value, Maha. You come from a people vibrant in imagination. You've been brought up different from us and therefor can help us to think differently as well. Things taken from a different perspective or view may make the difference on whether an answer to a problem is found or not."

"You think that I might be able to help you with the problem of the others, don't you?" Maha says challenging me.

"We hope that you may have some insight that we don't see. Like why would they kill all oxygen breathing animals but not destroy the plant life? We don't understand that. Without the insects it won't take long for many of the plants to die as well."

Maha frowns, "I can't say one way or the other,  but to me it sounds like they are preparing to do to Earth what we had talked about doing to our moon or one of the other planets in our solar system. We call it terraforming, I don't know what you'd call it, where you'd take a planet and change it to fit the needs of your people. Perhaps things are about right and they won't have to do much to fit the needs of their people, they just need a place to put their own animals."

Maha shrugs, but her words were something we'd never even considered and they make me sick. If they were willing to do that to Earth, they could also choose to do that to our planets. Just what were the others planning on doing? Did they choose Earth because...

"Rafe?" Maha calls out to me.

"I apologize, your words are already proving helpful. It is something we hadn't even thought about. If that is the case then they might have just been practicing on Earth before coming against us."

Rafe's words make my eyes go wide. His face had already gone white, it's why I had called out to him in concern. It wouldn't be good if that is true. Hopefully his people have means to deal with the others should they try to do the same thing as they did on Earth.

It didn't take long for Rafe to escort me back to my room. He made sure that I knew how to operate the door so that I could leave again if I wished. Then he hurried away to give his thoughts to his Commander.

I didn't like being alone with my own thoughts now that Rafe has pointed out the possibility of an attack against his people. He said that there was a room set aside for games and relaxation but he hadn't had time to show me. I didn't want to go wandering the ship by myself, knowing myself I'd get lost.

I finally decide to lie down on the bed again. I go over everything since I've been here. I don't know if this is a nightmare or a dream. I find myself falling asleep even as I contemplate on the differences.

"Stupid Maha, do you think your thoughts or opinions have any meaning?" The voices taunt me. The same ones that I've heard for years. The kids at school never failed to make sure that I knew my standing, and it was beneath their feet.

They were right, why should my words have any meaning? I feel bad now about wasting Rafe's time and that of his superior's with baseless suppositions. Why the others left me alive? I don't know, maybe they just didn't think I mattered enough. Or maybe they wanted to watch me die slowly.

Or maybe...

"Rafe!" Maybe they knew Rafe's people would find me and take me with them. I could be the means to their destruction. I couldn't allow for that.

Rafe comes running in. "What's wrong Maha?" He gets out even as he gets his breathing back under control.

"I think I know why I was left alive. I was bait, so you would take me to your home planet. They must be tracking me somehow. You can't take me back to your people, I'll be putting them all in danger." Even as I say the words, they become more set, like they are true.

Rafe knows it too by the pallor on his skin.