Chapter 4: “Humans”

Collin looked up when he finished his second bowl of stew. Ella's eyes stared far off into the distance. Her stern face betrayed her deep thought. Despite already draining two bowls, Collin still felt hungry.

"Can I get another bowl?" His question snapped Ella out of her daydream. Her face returned to a soft smile as she grabbed his bowl and took it back to the pot.

Collin still wasn't sure if this girl was a threat or not. Maybe she was just waiting till after getting some information out of him, he thought. He looked at her and wondered if her dress was hiding anything he should be wary of.

He wasn't too worried about weapons. Almost everything within the room, including the structure itself, was made of wood. The rest was mostly various types of fabric or flora. Although present, metal was severely lacking in quantity compared to other materials. There were no light bulbs as the entire room was lit by the fire and a few candles. Collin couldn't see any other types of electrical devices and the apparent absence of advanced construction techniques made him confident that there weren't any in hiding.

Normally, weapons should be on a similar level of "advancement" to common objects. Given the room, he figured they should pose only a minimal threat.

What he really had to be cautious of was Ella herself. He had no idea what was common for this world. He didn't know if the "humans" here were different. For all he knew, they might be abnormally strong, intelligent, or had some other dangerous mutation. In addition, if they had an incredibly large population or a solid community, he would be easily overwhelmed. The worst-case scenario could be a combination of both.

Collin realized just how screwed he was right now. He was behind enemy lines with barely any supplies and had a severe lack of crucial information. Not to mention being at the mercy of one of this world's "humans".

For the moment, he deemed the lack of information the most important. If Ella was going to try and extract some from him, Collin figured he should be allowed to do the same. If anything were to go wrong, he at least had his weapon, the MASAK, at the ready. There was a reason every soldier carried one. They may be simple, but they were versatile, effective, and deadly. He should at least be able to counter her and make a break for it.

Collin tried to calm his nerves as he activated the SSS. This particular activation sequence would allow him to carefully analyze subtle signals, such as body language, heart rate, and breathing patterns, to determine if a person was telling the truth.

"So how did I get here?"

Ella looked up from filling his bowl.

"Well, I brought you back here after I found you in the forest."

This isn't good. The SSS says she is telling the truth, but for a young girl like her to carry him back, she must be unusually strong.

"I tried to lift you, but you were far too heavy, so I grabbed some vines and wrapped you up to pull you back."

That would make more sense, he thought, relaxing just a little bit.

"Dragging you over the brush and uneven ground of the forest was bound to give you some bumps and bruises, but something really weird happened. Those clothes of yours started to glow, then suddenly you were floating just above the ground."

Collin looked at his suit. The SSS had determined that Ella was telling the truth, but as far as he recalled, it didn't have any sort of automatic anti-gravity or flotation function. The suit was, like the rest of his equipment, simply, standard issued gear.

While it did have some special functions, some of which might have caused a slight float, none of them could be activated without the direct orders of the wearer. Something impossible to do while being unconscious. On the other hand, the suit did have a few automatic functions, but none of them could produce such a response.

Collin wondered if maybe high command had upgraded his issued gear, but quickly dismissed the idea. If they had, they would have notified him and provided the appropriate manual. Besides, considering how fast he was ushered onto the mission, he doubted they would have had time. Collin turned his attention back to Ella, who was still detailing her heroic efforts.

"… I finally managed to pull you inside and get you on my bed," Collin could tell she was stressing the 'my' part of that sentence.

"I tried checking you for injuries, but whatever those clothes are they would not come off. Luckily, you seemed fine, so I figured I could just leave you be."

Finally, some good news, Collin thought. At least two of the automatic functions were still working.

The suit's lock function made it so only the wearer could remove it and open the registered pouches. It was a protective function to prevent stolen gear. It may be standard issue, but it's still very expensive equipment. However, given the military's annual budget, even if a few mass shipments were stolen, they could easily be replaced.

More important to the suit's lock function, was an auto heal system. At the first sign of any biological anomaly, the suit would release a swarm of nano bots to quickly assess and correct the issue. This would ensure that soldiers were always uninjured and in combat ready condition.

"You sure have been quiet," Ella commented, drawing Collin's attention away from his thoughts.

"Now, where did you come from? I found you in the forest south of the village. That forest is a complex maze. Only the people from this village attempt to navigate it, but you're not from around here. I haven't seen you before."

The SSS started beeping in Collin's ear. A lie.