The Joy Thief

Five - Fifth

Humans were baffling but fascinating creatures. 

The offer I made would likely ensure her survival. I'd already thought of a way to sneak her off Nexpernon and send her back to Earth, yet she had decided that she wanted to risk her own life for that of her sister's. The boy, this person who stood by her side, calling himself by the term 'friend' that humans liked to use so much, was equally mystifying to me. This term friendship didn't exist among my kind, at least not like it did among the humans. This was a risky and fool-hardy venture. One that took me by surprise on all accounts. My experiences with humans had left me believing them to be either emotionless and totally manipulatable due to their loss of essence, or total cowards who would grovel for their own lives and try to bargain to assure survival. Willa and Isaiah were a different kind of human, though. They were brave, they were determined, and above all else, they were steadfast in their resolve to complete the mission they'd set out to accomplish. This side of them made me respect them more than I thought possible. They weren't much different from my own kind; both humans and Nexspheni possessed a certain level of tenacity and bravery, both our species were exceptional in many ways. Maybe this was the way of the humans of Earth. Perhaps they were molded into being resilient thanks to all they'd endured.

After explaining the plan to the two of them, I stepped outside of the old human colony building to retrieve some of the typical slave garments for the two of them to wear. They were wearing clothes native to their homeorb, Earth, and sneaking them into the storage chamber would be nigh impossible if we passed any other legionnaires. The best chance at success, without arousing suspicion, was for me to pass them off as part of a cleaning crew.

In no time at all after my return they donned their new garments, and Isaiah was practicing wielding the blade I'd given him. He took a few swings, and his knife brandishing skills impressed me more than expected.

"Have you had any training on your homeorb?" I asked Isaiah. "You seem comfortable with the blade. Were you enlisted in your legionnaire group at a young age?"

"The military?" Isaiah smiled. "No. You learn a thing or two on the streets. Chicago's a tough city for kids like me."

Cocking my head to the side, I inspected him.

"After my parents abandoned me with my Grandmother to move to a colony, I had to be strong for the both of us. Between you and me, I've never used one of these before on a person, but I have a general idea of what I am doing."

Fascinating.

"Only legionnaires are allowed to wield weapons here. Them and the Queen. The punishment for being caught with one is death," I said. These humans continued to surprise me with each passing moment.

The sun had begun to set, and the three moons of Nexpernon were all that illuminated the human work camp. Off in the murky star-clustered distance, Jupiter wasn't but the size of our smallest moon. Most of the workers would be cordoned off and sent back to their quarters for the night, and the only ones left on the street were required to be accompanied by one of us. I reached onto my belt and unclipped a pair of shackles, motioning towards the two young humans to allow me to bind them.

"These will be merely for show. I will not lock them, so be careful not to let them come loose and fall to the ground should we be stopped by any passing legionnaires."

Willa and Isaiah raised their hands, and I bound them accordingly.

"It's a long walk to the center of the colony. Let us make haste."

Setting off, as prepared as we were going to get, we began our journey towards the entrance of the Crypt. I sensed the sadness coming from the humans as they observed the atrocious living conditions their kind was forced to live in as we worked our way through the city. The humans here were treated like beasts, most of them forced into their old colony buildings to sleep, while the remaining ones were corralled into fenced enclosures outside to sleep in the dirt. At least, for their sakes, the tent-like domes overhead kept the synthetic air that kept them alive inside and we'd adapted to it completely.