Chapter 2: Stranger

Collin peered at the door through his eyelashes, trying to make his eyes appear closed. He watched as the door slowly creaked open allowing a mysterious figure to walk in.

"I know you're awake. No use faking it."

Internally cursing at his failed attempt for a sneak attack, Collin decided to change tactics. Given that the figure could speak, maybe he could try to reason with it. He sat up on the bed, opening his eyes to see a girl standing before him.

The girl seemed to be about his height if not slightly taller than him. Beneath the dirt and grime that she was covered in, Collin could see that she was in fact quite beautiful. She had blond hair that fell in waves past her shoulders. Her brown eyes shined as they stared straight at him.

Collin was quite shocked. Most of the planets they had surveyed didn't have many life forms on them. The ones with intelligent life forms were extremely uncommon. The planets with intelligent life that resembled humans were so rare, they could be counted on one hand and each of those planets had caused major problems for the fleet. Or at least that's what he read from the records.

The initial shock of finding a human life form soon wore off as Collin began to regain his mental composure. He looked at the girl for another second before speaking.

"How did you know I was faking?"

The girl stood there for a moment with a blank look on her face before laughing.

"I didn't." Through the energetic laughter, Collin could tell that the girl had a rather soft voice. "I would always say that when I would come in," she confessed, "who would have thought it would work."

Collin gave her a funny look, causing her to stop chuckling. She shrugged her shoulders before pulling two bowls from a nearby cabinet and filling them with the substance in the pot hanging over the fire.

"Eat! You must be hungry," she said before handing him one.

Collin could see little pieces of an unknown meat and vegetable swimming in a somewhat clear broth. The smell he almost couldn't resist before was even more tantalizing now. Throwing caution to the wind, Collin took a big gulp letting the simple but delectable stew slide down his throat.

It was probably the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. While there was supposedly good food on the ESF, it was almost exclusively consumed by the upper echelon. The stuff normal people ate was usually just a nutritional loaf.

Although the loaf was nearly tasteless, because of the neural blockers, a slice of it would make one feel full all day. Not to mention, it contained all the nutrients and calories needed for a balanced diet. This meant people only had to eat one meal a day which allowed them to spend more time on their work. More work meant more credits after all.

Collin hadn't realized how hungry he had been, and the delicious stew didn't help. He quickly drained the bowl. The grumbling in his stomach made him wish for more.

He looked up to see the girl with a surprised look on her face. She took the bowl from him before walking back to the pot.

"That was fast, I guess you're feeling better" she proclaimed as she refilled his bowl and handed it back to him.

"My name is Ella, what's yours stranger?"

The question caused Collin to pause mid bite. He slowly lowered the bowl, remaining silent. Everything about his mission, name included, was supposed to be classified.

Realizing his hesitance to talk, Ella yanked the bowl away from him.

"If you're not going to move your mouth, you don't need any more stew."

She looked back at him to see that he had his arms stretched for the bowl, like a kid begging for a pastry. It was a rather hilarious look for Collin, that made her laugh again as she gave him back the bowl.

Collin was frustrated that Ella had laughed at him for a second time. Scowling, he took another bite of the stew. The delicious taste seemed to mellow his mood.

"My name is Collin," he said, letting out a sigh.