Chapter 6: The Plan

"But if you were sent on a mission, that means someone at least knows where you are. Wouldn't that mean they would come looking for you?"

Collin shifted uncomfortably on the bed as the true depth of his predicament dawned on him.

"No," he said quietly.

"The people entrusted with primary information gathering missions like mine are known as The Scouts. They are a group of highly trained specialists, experts in combat as well as covert tactics, whose survivability rating is way off the charts. Scouts will complete their mission at all costs. If for some unexplainable reason they are unable to do so, the planet is officially ruled as extremely hazardous and not worth risking further loss of manpower and valuable supplies. All active operations regarding said planet are terminated and any further interactions are strictly prohibited. Suffice to say, if a scout can't make it back, they are abandoned."

The Scouts were super elites and supposedly trained from a very young age for their missions. Their success rates were through the roof and they held the officer ranks to prove it, rarely being lower than captain. As for him, he was recently pulled from the lower decks, given a half a year of basic training, then thrown on a ship for this mission.

It must have been because of the experiment, he thought. It made him feel stronger, he had more stamina, his reflexes were sharper, and he seemed to be able to think faster and more clearly than before. But something confused him. While his physical abilities were drastically improved, how could such a small change compensate for the many years of training and experience the other scouts had? Was this all that separated regular citizens from elite soldiers?

"So, if you don't find your ship you'll be stranded here?"

Collin nodded.

"Then we will have to find it!" Ella was almost glowing. A wide goofy grin spread across her face, that for some odd reason seemed to suit her.

We? She didn't intend to go with him, did she? Collin was quite confused with Ella's enthusiasm. It puzzled him why she would want to leave the comfort of her home to help some random stranger she just met. She was uprooting so casually.

Her motives were something Collin would have never understood. The only reason Ella had yet to venture out was because of the relative safety Borg village provided her. She had been told that the outside was far too dangerous, especially for a young girl traveling alone. Going with others was out of the question. Outsiders rarely visited the village and the villagers rarely left. Even when they did, adding another person would have only been a liability. No sane person adds danger to an already perilous task.

Despite knowing the risks, she longed to be free, to explore the world, but she was trapped in the village. It was like a cage to her. A safe one, but a cage no less. Something Ella was desperate to escape from. She wanted to see new things and meet new people. She wanted to go on an adventure. But the most important reason, by far, was that leaving was the only way she was ever going to learn more about herself.

Now a chance had presented itself to Ella. Collin was, as she had understood, one of these super elite soldiers whose job was to learn about the world. In her eyes, he would make the perfect escort.

"That ball of fire that your so-called ship had created managed to scare the other villagers half to death. As I was running to the forest, I saw windows and doors being shut faster than when a tax collector comes to the village," Ella proclaimed with an even bigger grin, if that was possible.

She eyed Collin to see if the joke landed, but he was just staring back at her with a blank look on his face. Realizing that it had missed its intended mark, Ella cleared her throat and continued, pretending like nothing had happened.

"Anyways, I doubt that anyone around here saw where your ship went. That being said there is a town to the north. The light was so bright that someone there must have seen it. Not to mention you would have an easier time gathering information for your mission."

A bigger town seemed like a good idea to Collin, and Ella tagging along was starting to seem like not such a bad idea itself. She seemed to know some geography, at least the general area surrounding Borg village, and having a local who knows the culture could prove useful.

Collin raised the stew bowl to his mouth and swallowed the last few bites. Most importantly, it would be quite convenient to have such a sublime chef along for the ride.

"Alright then the town it is. We'll leave tomorrow."