Chapter 15: First Contact

"Ready yet?" Tara called out. The snare trap she had set required far more physical effort than the AI had led her to believe.

"Affirmative. Simulation projects a 4.897% chance of success," answered Mikey.

"What the—? That little? After all that damn work." Frustrated, she threw down the rope. Despite her reservations over committing theft, Mikey insisted that it was essential. Little did she know that her chances would still be miniscule at best.

"Now we just need some type of bait," said Tara. "Any that'll increase my chances to, I don't know, somewhere in the double digits?"

"I require further analysis of the vegetation and surrounding wildlife. For now, it'd be best if you procured an assortment of creekside roots."

Tara blew a wisp at a lock of hair that had become stuck to her forehead. Each day since her landing was mind numbingly humid. Compounded by the planet's gravity — approximately six percent greater than that of Kasai — and nights that lasted a mere three Kasaian hours, the resulting strain on her body made the journey ever more difficult.

Still on her mind was her mother and the strange boy from her dreams. The former's wary, exhausted eyes had been ingrained into Tara's memory, as did her tearful accounts of loved ones being eaten alive by the Devil's Mouth. Each dream would end the same way, with Tara attempting to answer yet another bewildering question that slipped past the boy's lips.

'I wonder if these dreams are telling me something.' Tara shook her head. Only her reunion with her fellow Explorers could possibly set things right.

The Starbell had already become hidden behind a thick overcast. Lining the horizon was a cluster of dark storm clouds from which thunder rumbled faintly.

"Should've known. I'd better hurry," she muttered to herself. As she walked down the hill adjacent to a creek, Mikey let out a foreboding blip.

"Princess, be warned. I detect humanoid lifeforms in the area."

Tara halted in her tracks. Humanoids — the same creatures that the crew had spent dozens of moon cycles analyzing. She remembered the final lecture Eren had given her and the other Explorers, and how they were to remain out of sight of the primitive people until authorized.

"Those must be the ones Eren warned us about," she whispered.

"Affirmative."

A gust of wind carried the low murmurs of distant voices through the trees. Tara frantically scampered behind the cover of a nearby boulder and peeked over.

Narrowing her eyes, she noted their deep, husky voices and large, muscular builds beneath gray tunics. The beings approaching were most likely male. A few wore pieces of armor that rattled with every step they took. One without such armor carried a large manila flag with a symbol written at its center.

"That flag," she murmured. "I think I can read it." She then paused. Though the calligraphy style was like none she had ever seen, the symbol itself was one that she could read.

"Wind. I think that symbol means wind."

The AI did not reply at first. Then it emitted yet another blip. "My records indicate that no such symbol exists in the Kasaian alphabet. Princess, how is it that you're able to decipher its meaning?"

"I-I don't know," she admitted. "It just came to me, like a memory I had in the back of my mind until now."

The men continued to draw closer. Tara could now make out the details of their visages. Each of them had a tan complexion, dark brown eyes, and black hair.

'Just like me,' she realized with astonishment. The words they spoke, however, may as well have been gibberish.

Tara turned back around, but stopped dead in her tracks when something metallic glinted into her.line of sight. She quickly realized that the tip of a blade was pointed directly at her throat. "Wha—"

A swordsman wearing the same uniform as the others had somehow snuck up behind her. He towered above, glaring at her with eyes that could kill. His long, ruffled hair and goatee only added to his menacing figure.

Pressing the tip of his sword against her neck, he uttered a few words. Tara remained petrified even as blood began to trickle from the wound. The man suddenly shouted, first at her, then at the approaching soldiers — all with words she couldn't understand. The sound of footsteps on the leaves immediately quickened.

"Princess, allow me a moment to analyze their language," said Mikey discreetly from within her conscience. "Coerce this gentleman into speaking further."

"Coerce?!" exclaimed Tara through the same means. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

"It's our only hope."

The swordsman pressed his blade forward even more, forcing Tara's back against the boulder. The rest of his comrades soon surrounded her.

A cold sweat took hold of her as she tried desperately to maintain her composure. Her instincts screamed at her to keep her mouth shut, yet her conscience told her to do otherwise on blind faith that the AI could save her.

Though they kept their weapons sheathed, many of the men began to shout. A few others mumbled among themselves barely within earshot.

"Who…"

"...is…"

"...she?"

Tara furrowed her brows. Some of the words were beginning to become comprehensible. The intonation with which the soldiers spoke would abruptly change whenever they said one such word.

"...kill…her…"

Upon hearing these words, Tara felt a pit grow in her stomach. "P-please don't hurt me," she whispered. The swordsman raised an eyebrow before speaking once more.

"Why...you here…" Every other word he uttered was warped. As he continued, more words followed suit. "Explain...self."

'Is this the work of the AI?' she pondered. Still hesitant, she kept her lips shut.

"Are you deaf? I said, why are you hiding here?" the swordsman seethed with gritted teeth. He was starting to lose his patience. "Explain yourself, now!"

Tara's eyes widened. She had somehow come to understand every word he had said. It was then that she decided to take the dive. Still trembling, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Uh, I-I—"

"Come on, say it!"

Tara took a deep breath.

"I'm lost," she admitted submissively. "Please, I don't know where I am or how I got here. I need help."

Her captor leaned in and looked at her dead in the eyes. His expression hardly changed. "What is it that you're going on about? Speak — would ya?"

"Hey! What's going on?" she snapped at Mikey through her conscience. A few of the words still eluded her grasp.

"Apologies, I can only decipher repeatedly used words and infer the rest. For now, you must avoid speaking more than necessary. The information I have gathered is insufficient for translating lengthy utterances."

"Wait, what do you mean by that last—"

"Get up!" The swordsman yanked Tara up by the hair, causing her to yelp in pain. Another man stepped forward and tied her arms behind her back with a leathery rope.

"Huh. She's a pretty —, isn't she?" he remarked as he ran his hand through her silky black hair. Now that she was no longer a threat, some of the men began to leer at her as well.

The swordsman would have none of it. "Come on, move it!" he shouted before shoving Tara forward so hard that she nearly lost her balance. The rest of the men immediately fell into line without so much as a peep.

His next words were mostly obscured by a part of the language barrier which Mikey had yet to break through. Tara's heart sank. With a silent prayer, she wished for a mercyful fate to await her.