I didn’t manage to sleep, or even rest. A bit because I’d never gone so long without eating and was feeling a little sick from having too much too quickly, but mostly because of my diary. I was painfully aware of the importance of what I was living through, and I was determined to write down every detail while my memories were still (mostly) photographic. I’m good with shorthand, and that only made things worse. I could write as fast as I could think. Reading back what I wrote that day, decades later, I could feel how overwhelmed I was, how afraid. It wasn’t in chronological order, everything connected by how it made me feel or by something I no longer understand. I managed what was important though, everything was on those pages.

  I could’ve been around for all the various people that came to talk to Lee, she would’ve liked to have me there, but it was things I knew about my home, that I didn’t need to hear said by humans who didn’t belong, who didn’t know what they were talking about. I made the right choice by focusing on my diary. I had almost finished by the time Habi and Lee asked for me specifically.

  “It seems a few of the venalia doctors have some morals. During private questioning,” Habi turned to me, “actual questioning, we don’t torture, a few of them gave us their personal passwords to the ioe medical database, suspicious that its seperate, and I have serious doubts about it’s accuracy, but better than nothing I guess.”

  “It’s always been like that,” I added, “we are, were, very limited in what information we had. A few ioe nurses I think had some limited access to the venalia database, but not our own, never our own.”

  “Well I hate that,” Habi continued, “but I guess that means it's somewhat accurate or else why would they hide it. Translating is an issue. Either of you see any problems with asking the ioe for volunteers to help our doctors with that.”

  “No,” Lee and I both replied at the same time, “but,” I said, “I don’t know how many volunteers you would get. It will seem suspicious that you are only interested in medical.”

  “Easy solution,” Lee replied, “we can hand over everything we have, medical and otherwise, everything the venalia hid, let them go through it all and tell us whatever they think we should know.”

  “But if Saria has any issues we won’t be able to help. We need to prioritize medical shit.”

  “It’s fine, I’m in good health, and while I would like to look it over myself the odds of me needing anything are low.” The concern was nice, but Lee was right, handing everything over was what needed to be done. It was a small risk I was more than happy to take.

  It turns out the venalia had assumed that the humans were after their research on the sphere. All their efforts went towards encrypting everything they had on it, making sure to leave nothing on personal or work computers that were easier to get into. That worked against them. Lee was determined not to steal any research so all the venalia did was reduce the amount of information the humans had to sort through. That being said, breaking into an alien system, even a basic personal computer, is difficult. Not understanding how venalia computers were built or their programming the humans’ only option was to brute force passwords and hope. There was the option of going through the paperwork that many ioe kept as our computer access was limited, but Lee forbid that, rightfully so. Outside of figuring out what human food was safe there was no rush, and even then there was a decent stockpile. The venalia were not a threat, we could wait as long as we had to.

  Hours later Lee got a call, the ioe had elected a representative, Lerva, another member of the diplomatic corps. I knew her, not well, but she was confident, kind, social, likable, always made a point of making conversation with whoever was around. A good choice.

  “Can we speak in the bunker?” Lerva asked, “without any humans?”

  “Yes, not a problem.”

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  I was afraid, not in the sense that I thought I was in danger, not that I could understand why I was afraid, I could only feel it. Lerva took us into a corner, and the others kept away, allowing us to speak as privately as possible given the circumstance. She could clearly tell I was afraid and did her best to speak softly, kindly, to be comforting.

  “Are you okay? How are the humans treating you?”

  “Good, they’re good. I’ve been included in everything, even military, and I started this. I asked, they didn’t offer.”

  “How?”

  “I have a hard drive full of evidence, of how they treat us, treated us.”

  “And the venalia haven’t been harmed?”

  “No, I mean I trust they haven’t. I don’t want to see them, obviously, so I don’t know for sure.”

  “And do you know what they want?”

  “Our liberation, honestly.” I could tell she didn’t believe me. “It makes sense, if you saw what was on there.”

  “If.”

  “We can go get it, and a computer, Lee won’t care, the humans have copied it all, and I can get you access to their internet.”

  “Lee?”

  “The human admiral.”

  I got up to leave and Lerva followed. We didn’t speak during our walk to the Chang’e. I think she was a little surprised that we could leave the bunker without telling anyone, could walk around without marines following us, not that they needed to, with all the drones everywhere. She was clearly surprised when I opened the hatch and we walked onto the Chang’e, then onto the bridge, without anyone stopping us, without even seeing a human.

  “They’ve given me access to everything I can think of, any computer you want, human or venalia, you can have, just ask. They mean well.” I explained, handing over the hard drive.

  “I promised to check on the venalia.”

  “Okay, do I have to be there for that?”

  “No. Then I’ll look at the hard drive. Probably the easier order to do things in.”

  I had to call Habi, I didn’t know where the venalia were being held. I waited outside, sitting on the grass, while she escorted Lerva through the various shuttles that were impromptu prisons. To my relief they were gone for a while; I trusted Habi to make a good first impression on behalf of humanity.

  As Lerva and I walked back to the bunker she stopped me in an open courtyard, as far away from humans and drones as we could possibly be. She whispered quietly to me, trying not to be overheard.

  “I understand, truely, I do, but I fear you’ve traded one tyrant for another.”

  “That’s fair.” I replied, not that I didn’t want to defend the humans or Lee, but at that moment, I didn’t have it in me.

  “A tyrant who is more powerful,” she continued, her anger at me clear even in whispers, “who doesn’t speak our language, doesn’t know our culture, who can leave at any time even though we now depend on them for our safety. We are one, ioe and venalia, we will have to reconcile with them, we will always have to reconcile with them, that is the only way it ends, that is the only lasting peace we can have, and I don’t know how that will be possible now. Never mind when all venalia find out what happened here. They will retaliate against the innocent.”

  “They likely won’t have a chance, the human ships are faster, I think.”

  “Would they? Seriously, would they?”

  “Lee thinks so, the humans vote on everything, and since this was so easy…”

  “We have to stop them. Losing our foothold on the sphere is one thing, but our planet.”

  My silence said more than I could.

  “Saria?”

  “It’s not ours is it, not in any way that matters. I will make sure you have a chance to speak when it comes time to vote, but it was easy.”

  I was calm because I was tired, but I think it only angered her more, that I didn’t have emotion in my voice. It felt like she hated me.

  “So now what? If they don’t want anything?” She asked.

  “Whatever ioe want.”

  “Sufferage is not the most controversial."

  “It might not be enough for the humans, we are a minority and would be out voted.”

  “Sufferage and a bill of rights?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. The details would probably matter.”

  “We can’t ask for too much, because the humans will leave and we will be at the mercy of the venalia again and if they think we took too much they will take everything and we will be worse off than before. We have to be reasonable, balance the temperament of would be tyrants.”

  I didn’t understand her loyalty, and I didn’t understand how to continue without understanding her loyalty, so we walked the rest of the way back in silence. She gave me a hug before opening the door and stepping away into the bunker and I walked back to the Chang’e, wondering what Lerva meant by that.