Close Encounters

There was something dimensional about his voice, the way it ping ponged around in her head. What was she going to do, disobey? The medic sat heavily right where she had been standing, the piece of metal clanging off out of reach.

"It seemed as though you were in need of rescue, Terran. If you are not too injured, remove your armor. It is ruined." 

Thickly she had to consider for a moment if she should respond out loud or just think back at him, but she wasn't a tall telepathic alien was she? "Just a minute there, -Protoss-. I need to know what you mean by locking me up in this place."

He took a long moment to consider her and the dawning look of defiance on her face. "It is for your own protection. There are many technologies here that you may not understand, many places you could find yourself lost or hurt."

Kastanias pushed herself to her knees, then her feet as he explained. "Now wait, do I look like I need babysittin'? I'm a hardened damn criminal!" she proclaimed as several further pieces fell off of their own accord. Instead of answering, the zealot stood there, staring. Just staring. Minutes into their staring contest he turned away to leave.

 "Wait!" She yelped, realizing that getting her own way wasn't as important as not being alone in this weird place, "I'll take it off just.. Tell me what's going to happen to me." She began to pry heavy clasps apart and shimmy out of the last remnants of her protective shell. He returned to staring, watching her strip down to the standard second skin that rode up her hips like a bathing suit. She pulled the bulky helmet off last, her head mostly shaved bar the flopped over black fauxhawk and long locks of hair just in front of her ears. There were ports in her olive skin for the life support interfaces that came standard in Terran lock-up jobs. She scratched at one, peering at him and trying to figure out why he didn't comply. When he finally did answer, he seemed hesitant.

  "I cannot let you go free. This planet is too dangerous and I cannot guarantee my brothers will protect you."

"I am starving.." she realized, it must have been a day since her last meal. 

 "This is a problem. There is no food here."

"What the hell do you mean?! How.."

 "We Protoss are photosynthetic."

"You don't.. really look like a flower," she said, coming up to the glass where he stood. She placed a hand on her side like she wanted him to reciprocate but instead, the zealot seemed to recoil. She quickly pulled her hand away, embarassed.

 He left then, almost before she had realized it. She stood staring at the empty spot for a while before she went to bed hungry.

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The zealot checked on his charge a few times that night. She had been deep in the sleep of the exhausted instead of banging away at the walls. In the morning, she woke just as the glass was sliding shut. Groggily, she tried to scramble out of bed and for the door but merely ended up on the floor with her blanket tangled around her legs. He turned back to watch her as she crawled dejectedly back towards the bed. He was staring again, only this time the light seemed to stream from his eyes and his double-thumbed hands were clenched. Shaking the sleep from her brain, she looked back over her shoulder to see him standing almost menacingly at the door, every muscle in his body taut. 

 Her body, soft and fleshy and inviting down there on the floor.. His own body had lit up with a fire not even zealotry had brought on him before. He had to leave. His voice came across, deeper, dead serious. "Eat."

  He disappeared and she gorged herself on weird yet delicious alien fruit that day.