The walk through the trees was silent. None of the Spire spoke to me, and I took that as a good reason not to speak myself. I know at least one of them speaks the Common Tongue, but I myself don't know any more of the Spire Tongue than that one order. Do the other two speak the Common Tongue, or will I be stuck with speaking to that one alien? Maybe I'll have to learn to speak in the Spire Tongue...

The fact that no one was talking only made the trek through the forest feel even longer. Somehow, even though you couldn't see the sky through the foliage atop the trees and we'd left the fires behind ages ago, heat surrounded us. It felt like a hot summer's day back on Earth, when the sun is just mercilessly beating down on your skin. I was starting to worry that I'd gotten a sunburn or something like that. I was sweating up a storm. My armor felt too heavy, and my muscles groaned with each movement. I wondered if I'd find bruises or some other injury, once I had the time and privacy to check. All in all, I was just uncomfortable. I hoped we reached wherever we were going soon.

Speaking of which, where were we going? The base I'd originally been sent to attack? Somewhere else?

Another question haunted me, but I refused to dwell on it. What would happen to me?

Despite myself, I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I scolded myself as I jerkily raised my arm to wipe the tear off my cheeks. As I pulled my arm away from my face, I glanced at my armor. It was smeared with blood. Who's blood was it? It couldn't have been mine, could it? I don't want to think of who's it was. It just reminds me of the fact that I am the only survivor, and that I am never going to see anyone I've ever known again.

The Spire in front of me suddenly stopped, and I almost collided with him. I tensed up, and looked around, wondering why we'd stopped. I saw nothing around except for trees and dirt and shadows. The Spire stood there, doing nothing. I felt the seconds slowly tick by until a full minute had passed with no movement. I turned to the Spire to my left, giving him a quizical look. He didn't look at me, only stared ahead blankly. The Spire on my right didn't respond either. Two minutes have passed since we stopped moving.

I wanted to know what was going on, but I feared speaking. I also didn't want to tap them on their shoulders. I didn't want to know what they felt like to the touch, and I wasn't sure how they would respond to their prisoner touching them. All three of them seemed completely captivated by... something.

Could I use this as a chance to escape? Try to run? Make it back to the Galactic's base? I felt my heart soar as the idea of escape, of seeing my High Commandant, of going home! I took a hesitant step back, watching the Spire intently for any sign of awakening from their slumber. Another step. And another. And another. No response from any of the Spire.

I took a bigger step back, and shrieked when my back bumped into something solid. I whirled around, my heart pounding wildly. I saw another Spire, in the same state as the other three. As my heart slowly calmed itself, I waved my hand in front of the Spire's eyes. No response. Huh. I stepped around the Spire, and continued away, back towards my base. I hope.

I walked quickly, trying to look for anything that seemed familiar, but all the damn trees looked the same. I saw several Spire, all just looking ahead without really seeing. I picked up my pace to a jog when I started to smell smoke. I hadn't seen a Spire in a couple minutes. How much time had passed? How long had they been like that? I really would like to know what that whole deal is.

I suddenly stumbled, and as I fell I realized I had tripped over the body of my commander. I picked myself up, holding my breath and refusing to look at the ground. Then I remembered that I no longer had my weapon. I hesitated, wondering if I wanted to pick up one of the dead mens' guns. The burning in my chest spread as I held my breath longer. I was wasting time. I had to move on. I kept jogging, heaving a breath, leaving behind my comrades for the second time. Once I got back to base we'd be able to come get them.

My brain was scattering with a kind of euphoric excitement as I neared where I believed my base to be. Was I seriously going to escape the Spire? Was it that easy?

Of course not.

Fire suddenly burned my leg, and my nerves screamed as red flooded my eyes. I cartwheeled into the ground, screaming and clutching at my right leg. I smelt smoke and singed skin again, or maybe it was just the pain making my brain go loopy. I screamed louder, until I ran out of breath. I could barely take another breath, the pain seemed to be shutting down my body's systems. Miraculously, I heard footsteps over my loud and ragged attempts to breathe.

"You shouldn't have run." a voice said. I screamed again, hoarse and painful. Someone had picked my up. They'd taken care not to touch my leg, but the mere brush of the humid air against my right leg sent searing snarls of pain across my nervous system.

"We're running late now. We'll have to run." the accented voice said, holding me close to his chest. I screamed again, though not as loud. The pain was slowly - very, very, very slowly - starting to fade. And suddenly we were moving, and the pain was back. The pressure of the air hitting my wound was almost unbearable. I was too tired to scream, and my throat was sore because of it. I focused on my breathing, turning my head into the Spire's chest and taking deep breaths. I counted the breaths I took, trying to distract myself from the pain.

I'm not sure if the pain got better, or if I was just getting used to it. After a couple of seconds of the pain reducing to a soft simmering on the back of my right knee, I forced myself to look up at the Spire carrying me. I was immediatly taken aback by the length of his eyelashes, and the foreign beauty that he possessed.

Now that the pain was bearable, I felt the last remains of the adrenaline leave my body, and my eyelids drooped. I didn't want to fall asleep however. I pushed the sleep out of my mind. I would stay awake, and face whatever was coming to me.

And then we started to slow down.

I didn't realize how fast we were going until I felt how drastic the change was between running and not. I looked up again at the Spire as he lowered me to the ground. I gripped onto him tightly without meaning to, not sure if my legs would hold me. But surprisingly, they did. I could stand with little pain, and walk with a limp. In front of me was a base, one that used to be owned by the Galactics. It showed signs of being the sight of a battle. Several windows were smashed and a tree branch had fallen on the roof.

"Don't run again." the Spire warned me. He gripped my arm harshly, and practically dragged me towards the entrance. I had to limp excruciatingly fast to keep up. I sent a prayer to the clouds, begging for kind treatment.

Inside was a standard Galactic base. Grey and white were the dominant colors. Spire were busily buzzing around the base, repairing it from the damage it had suffered in the fight. They all looked exactly like the Spire that had captured me. The Spire holding me led me around a screen into a dark room heavy with the scent of incense. There were candles all around the room, giving it a soft glow. I could see a bath tub, and a partition. The Spire threw a black blanket over the screen for privacy, and let go of me to go run water in the tub.

He felt the water, and turned the knob to the left a bit. While the tub was filling, he crossed the room to a cabinet filled with bottles of varying shapes and sizes. He selected an hour-glass shaped bottle about as tall as the length of my arm from elbow to fingertips. He screwed open the cap, crossed back to the tub, turned off the tap, and poured a purplish oily substance into the tub. He swished the water around, before standing and facing me. I felt like a toddler, with my father getting the bath ready for me.

"Get undressed." the Spire said. I blinked, and crossed my arms protectivly over my chest. He raised his eyebrows, and faced the wall. I still didn't move. He looked at me with a look of exhasperation. "We're going to be getting on a starship soon. Do you want to be covered in dirt, blood, and grime for the whole ride? Besides, we need to clean that wound."

"You shouldn't have given it to me." I respond. I'm shocked by my boldness.

"You shouldn't have run." he countered.

"You should've just killed me with the rest of my squad." I said, looking him in the eye.

"You'd rather die than be here?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes. I want to go home and be with my family. I sure as hell don't want to be carted to the next galaxy over with a bunch of aliens who're famous for their psychological torture!" I snapped. The look on his face made me instantly regret speaking.

"Get undressed." he said flatly, turning back to the wall again. "You have thirty seconds to comply."

I slowly started to peel off my armour. It hurt to move, and as I took off my underclothes I saw the bruises, purple and shiny. Once out of my clothes, I lowered myself into the tub. I gasped at the coolness of the water, and the soothing sensation that spread through my body. I felt all the aches ooze out of my body. I leaned my head back, breathing slowly as I relaxed.

I wasn't sure if it was just the awkwardness of having someone else in the room with me while I bathed, but I felt eyes on me. I ignored it, scooting forward so I could bring my head under the water. I pulled a hand through my hair, trying to detangle it. I raised my head out of the water, opening my eyes, finding mysel looking straight into the eyes of the Spire. I blushed, feeling anger and disgust rise in my throat. Who does he think he is that he can stare at me while I'm ? However, he wasn't looking at me with hunger or desire. His gaze was curious.

"I thought human women were supposed to have three s and spots." he commented. I crossed my arms over my chest, embarrassed.

"No... Human women only have two s. We only have spots if we get them for a tattoo." I tell him. He nods, still staring at me. His eyes pierced mine. I waited for him to turn around again, but he kept his gaze on me.

"Is it true your men keep women as servants?" he asked, leaning back a bit. I was caught off guard by his question.

"In Earth's early history, women weren't seen as equal to men, so they were more servants than wives, yes." I say slowly.

"Were you a servant?" he asked again. I shook my head.

"That practice stopped centuries ago."

That seemed to give him pause for a moment, as his eyes clouded over with thought, and he was silent for several moments. The water swished as I slowly began to rub the caked-on dirt from my skin.

"Why do you let your women fight? Don't you value their lives?" he questioned.

"We believe that men and women are equal, and thus should both be able to fight for their alliance and risk their lives if they see fit." I explain.

He tilted his head to the side. "We believe that women are as close to divine as you can get. You wouldn't let a holy being fight, would you?"

"Most of the species in the Galactic Alliance are secular." I say. "And besides, it's war. Everyone should serve their alliance somehow, right?"

"I supppose..." he said thoughtfully. He looked away, and I returned to scrubbing away the dirt. It was silent for a few moments, and then,

"What's your name?"

I looked up at him in surprise. "Kat..." I answered.

He smiled at me. "My name is N. I am Spire. And now, so are you."