'Are we there yet?
We froze in our wheezing, which was caused by our bulky exoskeleton breathing apparatus failing to keep up with our rate of air intake. The vast majority of my platoon was suffering the same complaint, yet I felt a deep sense of achievement in not succumbing to exhaustion.
The Skalid, a gruesome alien being, had no qualms in dropping us down into a dark, damp, subterranean cavern in order to recruit us into their ranks, sensing that we would have no problem joining so long as we were free of the hindrance of limitations imposed on us by our relatively advanced anatomy.
Curled up in the corner with my platoon, we were only a few feet away from the entrance, but both of us were finding it hard to make out more than a pair of mired, blue and yellow knee-high boots that stood a little too far off in the darkness.
I tugged at the glinting gold chain around the Skalid's neck. So, what do you want us to do?
The alien opened his mouth to speak, but was cut short by a loud whirring noise coming from outside. It sounded like the air-drum that most of the alien races relied on for propulsion, but I had a feeling that it was a jet.
'You want us to go out there? I asked.
'No, you're coming with me, the alien muttered, leading the way out into the light.
The rest of us pitifully followed suit, with the two of us at the front, the rest of the platoon scooting along behind us.
The others made dimmer silhouettes, but we could make out the quivering antennae of their breathing apparatus, which the alien seemed to have built into the entirety of his head.
We emerged into a much brighter chamber, one that was adorned with the remnants of what appeared to be a religious structure of some kind. The walls were adorned with intricate carvings and paintings of the things that were most sacred to the Skalid's race.
I myself was no expert, but I spent some time in the library when I had free time and for the time that I had spent there, I was given plenty of time to pay attention to and recall things that I would have deemed useless. I only hoped that such a consistent habit would pay off now.
I walked along the wall and cocked my head, gazing at the soulful eyes, the towering upper torso, the feather-like garments, the bulging arms and the heavy-hanging lower body of what appeared to be an ancient prophet.
'Sorry, I said. 'Is this what you're trying to manipulate us into doing?
'Yes, the alien replied. 'You are to be put to use as part of my colonization of this system. And from what I can tell, you will be the ones carrying on our tradition.
I hobbled onwards, making the occasional noise of thanks as I thought about this. I was more than just fascinated by the prospect of being a galactic evangelist of the Skalid race, but also about how I could achieve this feat.
And so I mulled over the options as we walked through the pod-like interior of the body of the ancient prophet. The alien followed us, gleaming blue emerald-like eyes coming from under his very tall and cumbersome breathing apparatus.
The prospect of a worldwide evangelist of the Skalid wasn't bad in itself, but I missedpoke myself a little as I kept on pestering my interrogator. I thought about how omnipotent the alien had to be in other systems to retroactively catch up with what had been going on for centuries.
The alien shuffled a little closer to me but I remained mum and carried on. I cast my gaze back at the carving of the prophet, something that I believed was supposed to be a representation of the author of the ZC's holy book.
There was something peculiar about the prophet's pupils, as though they'd been expanded and flattened.
Off in the distance, a second drone was retreating back into the cavern. I kept my silence and continued scouring the area.
'Thanks for telling us, said the alien, once we'd made it back to camp, but it would be best if you didn't talk about your latest discoveries.
He stopped talking and the others shuffled closer to him.
'I'm the one who's supposed to be the leader of the platoon. Why am I being made to listen to you, instead of talking to my own people?' asked the human female.
The alien looked up at her from the top of his breathing apparatus, but said nothing, preferring to walk away.
'You know, continued the female, we weren't supposed to be told any of that.
'Tell me, I said, shrugging my shoulders, who was it that told you all of what actually happens to the human race once we join up with you?
'It doesn't matter, said the female. We're special. That's what you told us.
'Special?' I said. Let me guess. You like to have a nap before dawn, eat only when you're hungry and you hate to wet your bed.
'What are you talking about? said the female.
With a growing sense of unease, I started to think about the alien's peculiar and all-too-hinted speech, which was starting to get on my nerves.
'Don't you have a tendency to keep us all awake from the moment we wake up, until we fall asleep? I said.
'I don't know what you're on about. Those are just the things we're supposed to do.
I stared at her for a moment, wondering whether anything that I was thinking about was the equivalent of a bug in my ears.
'Some of us actually have faith, said the alien. You're going to do whatever I say, so I'd appreciate it if you left.
'What if we wanted to stay? said the female.
The alien cocked an eyebrow and looked at the rest of us.
'Well?
We hesitantly put on the same expression, one that conveyed that we wanted to stay and would do whatever he said.
'Good, he replied, commanding the female to go.
She blinked and left the alien alone, who had expected that we'd go along with his plan. I, on the other hand, had thought that they were all mad.
'So why don't we go and find out what's on this planet, said another human male.
'They're scared to stay, so I'll have to make them.
'What are you talking about? said the human female.
'We've been told that the only way to get landed on this planet was for the aliens to get themselves sprung up with this planet, which is exactly what we're going to do.
'Why? I asked.
'I'm not one of the strongest members of the human race,' said the alien. And that's not all. There aren't many of us left either. If the Skalid want to make it to this planet, then I'm the only way to get them out here.
'What are you saying? I said. Don't you know that the Skalid were supposed to have given us our religion?
'That's just what we've been made to think. In reality, they're only here because they're after this,' said the alien. He pointed up at the ceiling, one that was made up of a concoction of rock, soil and algae.
Are you really sure about this? I said. 'All we have to do is hop across the floor, have the Skalid become what we want them to be and then, bam, we're part of their race.
'I'm not going along with this.
'Please, Bethany. I need your support. Without you, nothing's going to happen. The Skalid will be turned away and will be sent on their merry way back to where they came from.
'It would only take a couple of moments, said one of the aliens.
Of course it would, said the alien. They didn't get down here by walking across their home planet.
