"Whatever you're going to do, stop it right now," she said and held up a blaster.
He raised his hands. "I am here to help you. I kept you from crashing."
"A fact I do appreciate, but you still are my people's enemy. I must be cautious." She scooted forward, the blaster still up. He noticed her grip wasn't right on the blaster. He wasn't sure why, but her fingers looked strange.
Her hooded head moved up and down like she was taking him in. "Good grief, you're huge," she muttered.
Well, that answered his question if she could see through the fabric. He, however, could not make out her facial features.
"Perhaps you are just tiny," he said. Because she looked lost in the volumes of fabrics she wore.
The wind swirled more. Her red cloaks flew all around her, and it made her seem even more like a child playing in her mother's clothing.
"Oh, that's so awful," she winced. "Is this whole planet so windy?"
"There is very little to break the wind here. We are in a desert."
She glanced around. "I'd wanted to land in the mountains."
"That would have been advantageous," he said and gestured around them. "Because there was very little nearby in the way of shelter or protection from the elements."
"So what do you want?" she asked, her blaster still raised.
"To get you to the safety of Sol-3 and your quarters. Those are my orders."
She considered him before she nodded and put the blaster back inside her robes. "Okay, so let's go."
Master System hit him with a data feed.
Heads up information started to report in his helmet. A lot of information.
Like the eclipse was coming.
And more starships. Terran Fighters, from the telemetry he was receiving. Among other things.
It was an invasion with so many ships coming in. How were they getting past the shielding? The Rhimodian defensive shields protected Sol, the gas giant that their moons orbited, as well as the moons. It didn't cover the entire solar system, but it was enough to protect where they lived. They did not open them for anyone. Yet, they had to adjust them to let the Terrans through. Had they found a way to keep it open or open it more?
The Terran ambassador climbed out of the escape pod, pulling and tugging at her clothing. She got her footing and looked over at him. He still couldn't see her face, but her posture said enough. She knew that something was going on. "What? What is it?"
"We have to move," he said.
She visually scanned the sky. "Why? What's going on? I don't see anything."
"There are ships incoming."
"Incoming what?" She turned and started digging inside the pod. "Your people or my people? And why should we be scared? At least one of us is aligned with whoever is coming."
He shook his head. "Enemy fighters on their way."
She had pulled a bag out and threw the strap over her shoulder. "Your enemy is my friend."
"Your enemy tried to kill you and the rest of your party up there. Now they're on their way to finish the job." The Terran ships were going after the escape pods just as much as they were fighting the Rhimodians. It was like they wanted to kill their own people.
Which made no sense, considering they were here because they wanted to find a way to end the war. Perhaps they had those among them that did not want peace? Factions were known to happen in large governments like the Terran Empire. Unlike the Rhimodians, dozens of worlds came together to form the Terran Empire. All of them with their own needs and plans for their future.
The wind blasted, and she started to lose her balance. He grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, so she didn't fall to the sand.
"You really are tiny," he said. Her body felt like nothing under the voluminous clothing.
