01-11-2011, 01:41 AM
Days pass. Treatment is not harsh, but is somewhat alien. Water is oversupplied, food is somewhat undersupplied.
No attempt is made by the invaders to communicate (even in body language), until one day (the sixth), the door opens into the cell, and a single invader steps in, hands raised in good faith.
A small device is placed on the ground, roughly the size and shape of a tape cassette. It is activated. It translates the alien's speech for Juno, Boomstick, and Rex.
The alien speaks, slowly, calmly.
"We are at war, your people and our people. It is a historical accident; a cosmic contingency. We must expand our territory, and the planets in this area are fertile and promising. We are not here to murder soldiers and ravage women; we just need more land, and water, and resources. This is a story unfamiliar to you? Warfare? The need for expansion?
We are poised to win; your Militia knows it and we know it. A quicker end to the conflict would save our lives and your lives. Thus, we keep our stocks open. You are invited to join us. Tentative, of course, and with a degree of suspicion (as you could not yet be trusted thoroughly). But we nevertheless extend the invitation. Rest assured, you would not be the only one. You are medics, yes? We have need of such persons as well.
You would, of course, be well-rewarded.
What say you?"
No attempt is made by the invaders to communicate (even in body language), until one day (the sixth), the door opens into the cell, and a single invader steps in, hands raised in good faith.
A small device is placed on the ground, roughly the size and shape of a tape cassette. It is activated. It translates the alien's speech for Juno, Boomstick, and Rex.
The alien speaks, slowly, calmly.
"We are at war, your people and our people. It is a historical accident; a cosmic contingency. We must expand our territory, and the planets in this area are fertile and promising. We are not here to murder soldiers and ravage women; we just need more land, and water, and resources. This is a story unfamiliar to you? Warfare? The need for expansion?
We are poised to win; your Militia knows it and we know it. A quicker end to the conflict would save our lives and your lives. Thus, we keep our stocks open. You are invited to join us. Tentative, of course, and with a degree of suspicion (as you could not yet be trusted thoroughly). But we nevertheless extend the invitation. Rest assured, you would not be the only one. You are medics, yes? We have need of such persons as well.
You would, of course, be well-rewarded.
What say you?"