Theo, Voli, and John ran.
They all ran towards the large wooden city walls.
They were about half a kilometer away but- but they ran nicely. And since the walls were so tall- they could easily see it even from here.
There was grass, weird-shaped plants (rectangular, triangular bark and leaves), and different types of animals around. This planet's biome had a remarkable resemblance to that of planet Aura's.
It was both awe-inspiring and suspicious. Perhaps even slightly frightening.
"They've shown themselves!" John yelled, grinning.
Behind them, were a group of roughly twenty trailing them. They weren't visible till now.
"Why are we running again?" Theo huffed. It was easy to run, and also easy to mess up.
Bird-like creatures squeaked in the air.
"Cause it's fun?" Voli ran backwards with a smile. Too easy.
'Is it?' Theo didn't bother asking. He was too busy panting and gasping for air. And all the mist gathered in his mask wasn't helping.
The two in front of him, were really having fun. So, it was pointless to ask anyway.
"HALT!" One of the guards yelled out.
They spoke English.
They were however speaking a different language amongst themselves. And Theo's translator wasn't working on this language.
But the three didn't stop. They just kept going.
"Where are we going again? Do you guys even have a plan?" Though Theo asked that, he knew for a fact John didn't. Reason being?
Best friends.
And John didn't bother answering either. He just grinned and headed straight for the wall which was actually getting closer and closer.
With a sigh and a bit of panting, Theo just followed. Even with his increased physical capabilities, he couldn't keep up with these two- yet. Besides, since they all had to wear masks, it was hard to run. The rural scent was refreshing but with that mask, they couldn't enjoy it.
RUMBLE!
A jolt of lightning crashed right in front of the three and they finally stopped.
Electricity streaked through the air around. A cloud of dust covered everything in front of the three.
'The hell is that!?' Theo almost stumbled.
Both John and Voli backstepped and prepared themselves. Their gaze, sharp.
"Do you- not understand?" A female voice rang out, her accent was a bit off.
"Understand what?" Theo said.
"You are-not meant-to enter yet." Her pauses were unnatural.
The dust cleared and in front was a woman clad in minimum blue attire, covering her privates: a spear in her hand pointing straight at Theo who had taken the courage to come forward: or rather, John and Voli had just taken steps backward. She was slightly taller than John, who in turn was 6'3", taller than both Voli and Theo.
She was a Sahalla.
Theo raised his hands. "Pardon, we'll just go back."
But now they were surrounded by thirty or so bronze-colored tall people. Almost everyone had barely any clothes and some form of jewelry going through their nose holes and ears.
There were twenty-two behind them and about eight in front.
"Turning back doesn't seem to be an option." John smiled, a hand on his phaser gun.
"Let's try to avoid clashing. Remember, this could trigger a war." Voli smiled, but also kept her hand on the gun.
Whoever strikes first-
'Is it me or were their missions-' Theo's cheeks twitched slightly as he considered the possibilities.
"Enough Gentlemen!" A familiar voice came from far.
Captain Barslain and a group of people had come out from the entrance of the walls and were headed this way.
The Sahalla put down their weapons. The woman warrior, however, glared very menacingly at the three.
'What the hell did we even go through that for?' Theo was kind of lost.
***
John, Voli, and Theo all had to extensively apologize to the Sahalla and then in secret explain why they were doing what they were doing, to captain Barslain.
Only then were they allowed to leave the premises and go to their small ships.
In John's own words, they were just assessing the physical capabilities of the Sahalla. Though to which extent it was to be believed, that was up for debate.
"Anyway," Barslain paused. "We've gotten permission to enter. The main mission is to borrow their help, fix the ship, set up a means for some diplomatic relationships and be on our way."
About eight members had descended on the planet. Four of them were explorers, two engineers, one doctor, and the captain herself. Incidentally, no R.I were allowed, meaning Sizzy was out of the equation.
"And if our mission compels us to do something that might wreck our relationships in the future?" John asked.
"Then you'd have to bear responsibility." Barslain smiled. "Meaning, you better make sure, everything happens and stays on this planet."
Basically, they had to do stuff discretely.
Theo's mission still wasn't updated, so technically he had to go around and kidnap people. 'But that's the mission I signed up for.' He couldn't get cold feet now. More like he tried his best not to.
After all, if he couldn't even accomplish this much, what was the point of coming this far?
What was the point of nearly dying?
"On that note, though gentlemen." The captain took a look at every one. "We've been invited to the palace for a welcoming party. As you'd expect the people are actually aware of aliens and such, meaning, our existence isn't a shock to them. Though I suppose even the dumbest of you are already aware why." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, please do not make a fool out of your species and even if you should get into sexual business, I'd advise using proper protection so ensure you don't contract or spread something incurable and end up creating havoc among our species."
Theo grimaced at the last bit. However, he didn't complain.
And he knew the captain wasn't speaking to him, rather just staring at John who in turn just grinned.
"The party is?" The doctor asked.
"Tomorrow."
"We're all invited?" John asked.
"Yes."
"Could it be a trap? I mean they could trap us and-" One of the explorers asked.
"They're fairly intelligent. As long as we don't pull anything stupid, they'd just let us be. After all, no one wants war over something so trivial." Barslain's words were directed at John, Voli, and Theo.
Trivial? War?
This kind of didn't sound good to Theo. He had a bad feeling about all this.
The similarity, the technology, even the language. Everything felt odd to him, very odd.
And not to mention his mission. 'But there's no turning back.'
***
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Theo was staring at the sky- the leaf filled sky.
He was alone. The rest of his comrades were either in their temporary quarters or exploring the wilderness for rare things.
It was close to midnight.
Yet, everything was still lit up, almost as though evening. This planet had two moons and they couldn't be seen because of Roudia. But, the streaking light coming through the leaves, only made it even more beautiful. Almost like pearls glistening in the sky- almost like the stars…
And the city was not losing either. Beautiful lights and pretty colors. Theo still preferred the sky.
"Yeah, it's really pretty," Emily said, from the other side. "Wish I could be there… with you." Her voice shivered ever so slightly.
This was their allotted five minutes. For once Theo didn't try to shun her. She seemed a bit down, so he was trying to cheer her up a little.
After all, at the end of the day, she was still his precious little sister.
"I mean-" Theo chuckled. "Maybe someday- we could. We're setting up diplomatic relationships. If everything goes right, we could probably come here and go sightseeing."
Emily smiled- and yet something didn't just feel right about her. Normally, she'd be way too excited to say things, way too excited to get to know more about Theo. But today, she'd been rather quiet. "I'm glad you're having fun."
"Yeah." Theo chuckled. "Oh, by the way, gems are kind of cheap here, or so I've heard, want something?"
Emily stared a tad surprised for a second but then smiled- almost chuckling. "Sure, pick something cute please." She giggled. "Though I suppose, you have no idea what's cute and what's not."
Yeah, Theo knew that, so he couldn't help but let out a defeated snicker. "Anyway, think I'll go sleep now. Got a big day tomorrow."
"Right." Emily hesitated with something, until finally- "Be careful." Her stare was very serious.
"I will."