The rest of their walk through the woods was more peaceful than the first hour had been. Azdrei’in enjoyed exploring the area, discovering new and interesting plants that he’d never seen before and encountering more animals on occasion. Even in the small section of forest that they covered, he was impressed with the diversity. He saw small creatures with hair and bushy tails that darted up trees, long, slender things with no limbs that slithered under bushes, and even feathered animals that took off into the air when they drew near. As a predator, he was naturally curious about which ones would make good prey, but he had plenty of time to figure that out later, so he didn’t pursue any of the creatures they came across. For now, he just marveled over the beauty of the planet that his people had found and chosen to make into their new home.

When they saw the buck, he watched with interest as the massive beast loped away from them. It reminded him of a species on Ashad’te, only without the bioluminescent skin. Its sweeping antlers were imposing, but the dichotomy between predator and prey was still apparent in the way it fled from him at first sight. Apparently the creatures on the Earth could tell where he stood on the food chain even though his people weren’t part of the ecosystem yet.

He continued to walk with Artemis back to her hideout, fascinated once more by the trills of the winged animals they passed on their way there. When they arrived, he stretched his back languidly and migrated to the sofa to rest. Just as he sat down, however, his communication device chirped, signaling that he was receiving a transmission from someone else. He slipped it from his hip and attached the piece to his ear, glancing at Artemis as she left the room. “This is Azdrei’in, reporting.”

“Azdrei’in, how has your assignment been going?” the caller, Zalla, asked him.

“Smoothly so far,” he replied, kicking his feet up on the table in front of him to recline more comfortably. “The Earthling has made no attempts to escape, and I have kept her safe when I have needed to. She is very interested in our people. I do not think it will take much effort for me to convince her to come to the ship if the Om’phaers wish to speak with her… Speaking of which, has a decision been made as to what I should do with her?”

“That is why I called you,” Zalla confirmed. “I shared what you told me with General Thraczol, and he instructed me to pass word along to the Om’phaers. They are hesitant but interested in hearing more from this Earthling you found, since there is a chance that her knowledge could be useful to our people. Bring her on board as soon as you are able to, Azdrei’in. She is the first glimmer of hope we have had in many years.”

“I will make her aware of my orders right away,” he said obediently. “However, I also have a suggestion, if I may.”

“What is it?”

“Well,” he started slowly, choosing his words carefully as he posed his thoughts to her. “This Earthling is not the only one I have encountered now. There are others who seem to have survived Strizin with little to no detriment to their wellbeing. Those I have found have not been violent either. If they are potentially useful to us, I believe it could be wise for us to abstain from killing them unless they expose themselves as threats individually. I am unsure how many of them survived, but if there are not many of them left, we should not finish them off before we know if we need them or not.”

There was a pause before Zalla responded, “Perhaps. I will speak with Thraczol again on the matter. For now, focus on bringing that Earthling of yours on board our ship. You have been doing well, Azdrei’in. Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you, commander,” he said, a proud smile arching on his lip. He ended the call and reattached the device to his waistband just as Artemis returned to the room. Right away, he noticed that she had changed clothes again, and he looked up at her, his pale eyes sweeping over her dress. “Zalla told me to take you to the spaceship,” he answered her question in English, his accent slightly thicker than usual as he was distracted by the way the fabric flattered her figure. Catching himself, he shook free of the unwanted thought and stood up. “Our specialist doctors want to talk to you about the things you told me. Take what you need now. I don’t know how long we will be there, and what we have on the spaceship is not for human comfort.”