Generation 3, Chapter 5: Mission accomplished

The atmosphere in the air was tense. We hardly made any eye contact, afraid that looking might reveal our next mood. To think that chess could be so important to both of us.

Maybe it was just the winning part that was important.

Whatever the case, I was in heaven.

Putting my brain and intellect to good use felt great, after having lacked any challenge for so long. Of course, that was Copper's fault.

"You know, just staring at the chessboard isn't going to make you win," Chambray chuckled, moving one of her own pawns to intercept mine. It was classic bickering, usually brought on when you know that you're screwed. In this case, Chambray was stuck in a pickle. I could beat her in a minimum of 10 moves if I wanted to. She just sucked at the game that much.

I was probably enjoying the situation a little too much. Just to make her sweat, I waited for minutes at a time, contemplating what my next move should be, feigning that I know I will be defeated.

All to build up her confidence, and crush it in the end.

It sounded cruel, but that was the way war worked. Or chess, even. It all depended on the situation.

A thought struck me, and a brilliant one at that. "Say...," I leaned back in my chair, trying to look as if I was deliberating on some matter. "If I manage to dig myself out of the hole I just made and beat your ass at chess, would you grant me a wish?"

Chambray chuckled at how ridiculous the request sounded. I had fooled her into believing I was losing. Success. And to think I was never comfortable with lying.

Now it came to me as if I had been doing it my whole life.

It was strange that my personality had almost completely changed within such a small time period.

That's probably what happens when you're old captive, with hardly any free will.

"It all depends on what the wish is, mind you," moving her queen forward to defeat my bishop, she sat back in her chair, a huge grin spreading across her face. "One more move and I'm next to your king. Then it'll time for you to cry for mercy."

"I want to go outside and explore your world," I took a pause, breathing to quell the nauseous feeling pushing up into my throat. "By myself."

Just as I had expected, Chambray nearly fell off of her chair. She wasn't prepared for that kind of request, but somehow, she recovered quickly. "Deal. But only because I know you're gonna lose in about one or two moves."

"Not if I had anything to do with that," smirking, I moved my castle into position, implementing my secret plan and subsequently putting her in checkmate. "Not so cocky now, are you?"

"You had it all planned, didn't you?" she grumbled, knocking over her king, admitting defeat.

Though I went through so much effort to win, I didn't feel good achieving victory. The sweetness just wasn't there.

"Do you know how much it sucks, sitting here everyday, not being able to go anywhere? Even though I don't have to much free will outside as well, it's better being stuck there than in here."

She sighed, pressing her fingers onto her temple. "I don't know, Lia. Copper isn't gonna like it..."

"Screw what he thinks!" I hollered, spreading my arms into the air. "The whole world doesn't revolve around Copper Dell. Come on, Cham. Just this once. It's not as if I can run away from you guys. I know I'll most likely be killed if I do."

There was no valid argument to counter that. She could do nothing but fold, and accept defeat.

The transporter beamed me above ground, and I wasted no time getting to my destination. When I tricked Chambray, I did it with an ulterior motive. I had to get in touch with those other humans again.

They had been vague on the details - especially the important stuff. I wasn't sure if they could be trusted.

It was strange, but I'd much rather trust Chambray and other aliens than my own kind.

What was wrong with me?

From far away, the house I approached looked as if it had been abandoned long ago. That wasn't the case, as Tyler and a person I had yet to meet was waiting for me behind a wall that hid them from being seen from the road.

It was a clever place to be meeting. At a house that no one would visit because it was outside of the town's borders, which was where the "outsiders" or those that were banned lived.

"You know, being stalked by people of my own race is freaking weird," I cleared my throat as I took a position a few feet from them. I honestly didn't want to be close to them. Their body language was intimidating. They might be human, but they carried the attitude of the aliens.

"Why have you come here?" the female asked. No "hello there", no "how you doing?". Not even "how the hell did you know we would be here, waiting for you?". Nope, none of that. Just straight to business.

"I want details," the confidence in my voice shocked me. "More specifically, how do you know Copper would be able to get us off of this world?"

"Our captors never revealed how they brought us here, and there was nothing on their computers that explained it. But Copper knows how. We monitored him long before you came, and that's how we figured it all out. We saw a shuttle of some kind being towed in by him," Tyler explained slowly, keeping his neutral stance toward me. They both looked incredibly professional.

"That...was the shuttle I was in," the fact suddenly came to mind, "that was supposed to take me to the space station... How did it get so far off-course?"

"Something went wrong," the female shrugged. "No one knows what did, exactly, but your fellow astronauts died because of it. You miraculously survived long enough to be rescued by Copper."

"So you're telling me I owe my life to that scumbag? Fantastic."

"Shannon, she wasn't rescued," Tyler corrected the female's words. "He only saved her so he could do experiments on her. That's not rescuing. That's enslavement."

"Whatever the case was," Shannon continued, "all that matters is, we need Copper to talk, and you're the only one that can do that. Are you still up for it? We'd hate to have to pose as you. The possibility of being discovered would be too great."

Sighing, I nodded slowly. I had made up my mind long ago, but admitting it was always hard. "I'll do it."

"Good, good. You're doing us all a favor, Amelia. There are a lot of us humans on here, and we all appreciate what you're gonna do. I understand that it might be hard, but please, keep persisting. He won't deal you any physical harm, only emotionally, when he's probing your mind and searching for memories," Shannon smiled, trying to encourage me probably. I didn't feel encouraged. More like the whole world relied on me and I was afraid I would screw up.

"As always...," Tyler smirked, "we'll be in touch."

Of course, they beamed away, leaving me alone in a strange place.

What had I gotten myself into? A battle between species? Or a way for us to get out of here? Their motives were never clear, always hidden away behind either glasses, or a sullen expression made of ice. It screamed hostility.

Something told me to be skeptic, to be cautious.

Something also told me that they didn't really care if I got hurt.

There was always a possibility that if I did help them, somehow, I could get killed.

No one could be trusted, not the aliens, nor the humans.

But for now, I would trust the aliens enough to provide me shelter. With mixed emotions and a heavy burden to carry, I started on the path that took me back to the outpost.

Biggest mistake ever. I should have taken my chances and run away from them, because the moment I stepped through their house's doors, I immediately knew something was wrong. That was evident by Copper making a scene in their broken-down kitchen.

"Honestly, Chambray, what were you thinking? Letting her go out and explore? You should know better by know! Humans don't explore, they escape! After all the trouble I went through to get her here, you let her escape just like that. I should never have allowed you to be a part of this experiment. It's too much for you to handle." He didn't seem to notice my entrance, giving the opportunity to hear him lodge his full argument against his sister. I was more surprised of the fact that he was speaking in English, and not in his home language.

"What do you mean by that, Copper?" she whispered, taking a step back from him.

"It means that you need to leave, that you're off of the project. You're no longer going to take care of that girl."

The hurt in Chambray's eyes was evident, and she turned her back before Copper could see. But I could see, see the tears in her eyes and her body softly shaking as she cried.

Only after his sister turned away did he notice me.

"You! You were never allowed to go out on your own. You could have gotten us all killed, and yourself. Do you have no sense of self-preservation?"

"I do," whispering, I looked him straight in the eyes. I wasn't afraid of him anymore. Yes, he could throw a big tantrum, but when I saw how he hurt his sister, it gave me the courage to speak up. "I had enough to come back here because I knew I wouldn't be able to survive out there. Copper, you just don't see it, do you? You can trust me. The opportunity for me to escape presented itself, yet I came back. What rational person would do that? Does that not prove that I am trustworthy?"

He couldn't answer, not to that. I had won, and I hadn't even yelled at him. I took a softer approach, something that he wasn't expecting.

"I...," he started, his mouth moving but nothing coherent making its way out.

"No, I understand. You think all humans are devious, that we have hidden intentions. Copper, believe me when I say that I am not one of those. I know the rules you laid down, and I intend to follow them to the letter. I just wish you could open your alien eyes and see that."

Still no answer.

"Fine, don't trust me. Blame me for what's happened. But please, don't blame your sister. She's a soft soul, incredibly sensitive to the things you say. Just...go and comfort her, like a big brother should."

Without a word, Copper moved to where Chambray resided in the corner, her hands covering most parts of her face.

"Cham...," he tried laying a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off with a shrug.

"Just go away, Copper. You're just gonna make things worse when you start opening your mouth," she tried to make it seem intimidating, but the sobs in between ruined it.

"I...I'm sorry. I...shouldn't have said those things. I didn't mean them."

"You did, everyone of them," she hissed, her tears subsiding, and her eyes gaining a bit more clarity.

"Believe me, I didn't," he smiled timidly, lowering his gaze to the ground. "And believe this: You can stay, with the added benefit that...that Amelia gets a protective suit. Whatever color she wants it in."

That part caused Chambray's head to snap up and look into his eyes which were avoiding him. Apparently, getting my own suit had to be pretty important if it caused such a reaction.

"What does this suit entail?" the curiosity got the best of me, and I opened my mouth to ask that question.

"It means...you're one of us. That he acknowledges you as a good person and...someone he can trust," Chambray explained slowly, still trying to look into his eyes.

"Seriously?" I stood there, dumbstruck. Getting a new outfit, one like their's, sounded great. I hated the clothes thy usually forced me in.

But there was something else that also shocked me.

I gained his trust, something that I thought I never would gain, and I got it a lot quicker than I had expected. I thought it would take months.


I wasn't going to complain.

Mission accomplished.

~♥~

I took a bit more time to write this chapter (only a day longer, heh), as I wanted to improve the quality of the posts. I want to rush to the good part of the generation, but I don't want to slack on the writing.

Anywho, thanks for reading, and have a super awesome day! Hope you guys are doing something fun, because I have nothing to do other than sit and write.