The first day Alex went to the city, Alicia and both her friends had remained in the bridge of the shuttle with their eyes glued to the screen, they didn't want to miss anything.

They were amazed by everything they saw, it was like seeing an old town right from a movie. And the idea that it was real and not fake made it even more impressive, they couldn't wait until they could get to visit.

After Alex left the city they dove right in their Lanti lessons, trying to learn as much as they could, and right now they knew all the personal pronouns basic verbs and simple sentences. It was like seeing the possibility energized them to absorb as much information as they could, just so they could speed up the day they could set foot in the city with their own feet.

When Alex came back and explained to them all he learned it made them even more eager to go there, he had a sore spot about the fact that most people can't read or write, but they tried to cheer him up that if he wanted he could find a way to teach as many people as he could when they settled, it didn't work, he was still angry just because the people in charge didn't think it necessary to educate everyone. Finding out information is going well, because people are willing to talk, even if they don't give a full explanation about the full political structure. One of the things they know it that the city has a count that rules over it and surrounding lands, there is a duchess that rules over many cities and there is a king that rules over the continent.

They had decided not to tell any of the natives about their origins, mostly because if they didn't react well it was not possible to take it back, and things could go very bad, as Angela said their lives could go from fantasy to horror movie.

Because of all that Alicia hadn't found the time to talk to Angela until the next day.

When Alex went to the city on the second day Alicia decided to approach Angela.

"So" Alice said when found Angela "We haven't had the time to talk much lately"

"Well, things have been getting stranger by the day" Angela answered, it was a big understatement

"How have you been, with all of this?" Alicia asked

"Look, I know that sometimes I behaved like a bitch, mostly to Alex" she said

"It's understandable, we are here and its mostly because of something he did" Alice assured her "No one is ready for this. I don't think that Alex is ready for this"

"Really? Because he's acting like it's a walk in the park"

"Did you see how he was acting when he got to the city, before he found out about people not knowing how to read?" Alicia asked

"Yeah, he was lively, it was a little hard to believe it was the same stiff person" she said

"I think he feels guilty when he sees us" Alicia said. It was an observation Paul had made by the way Alex behaved around them.

"You and Paul really have taken well to him" Angela said

"We are not defending him, Paul is mostly doing things to make sure we survive as long as possible, and as long as we depend on this shuttle Alex is a big part of that"

"Ok, how about you?"

"Well, I am still angry, but, we were making an experiment to see if we could prove a theory to merge quantum physics and special relativity, well, the theory also involved black holes and wormholes"

"So, you are saying it's our fault?"

"No, it's just that his people have made wormholes before and all of them never went beyond 15 lightyears, all his previous experiments have never gone beyond 15 lightyears, the only time it happened, was when we activated both our experiments at the same time. Two experiments that have something to do with wormholes, even if our was only wormhole adjacent"

"So, you are telling me to cut him some slack" Angela surmised

"More or less, but, you don't need to start doing it now, if you feel like venting, vent, just try not to go overboard" Alicia said, knowing full well Angela needed to vent to get over things quicker.

"Do you think I went overboard?" Angela asked in a low whisper

"No, but next time, try to vent when either me or Paul is nearby, no more midday strolls through the forest" Alice teased

"Oh, you got jokes" Angela replied "So, how are things going with Paul?". This conversation was taking a turn to a place she didn't intent to

"Paul is fine, what do you mean?" Alice asked trying to deflect

"Do you really think that you guys are being discreet. It think even Alex is aware of it, and he acts like he doesn't pay attention to what we do"

"I think it's more like he is giving us the freedom to do what we want and trying not to be imposing."

"Yeah, I heard is first contact speech. But you know that you guys could use the bedroom right?" Angela said pointing to behind them to the bedroom behind the bridge

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"That's Alex bedroom, and we are have a place to sleep" She defended 

"One, I am not talking about sleeping" She said, Alicia didn't really want to talk about his now, better divert the conversation to something else, but before she had a chance Angela continued "Two Alex doesn't use it, I came to the bridge here very early one time and he was asleep in the seat" That was surprising, why sleep in the seat with a perfectly good bed nearby

"That's weird" Alicia commented

"Maybe so, but, that means that he doesn't use it that much. You two could simply get in there, and its soundproof" Angela said

"How would you know that?" Alicia asked, trying to know why her friend would focus on the bedroom.

"It's in the shuttle's schematic, I was studying the shuttle and saw it in the specification" That didn't explain why she focused on that part of the schematic.

"Well, I wouldn't feel comfortable using it knowing you guys are out here" No point in denying that she and Paul were getting closer.

"All I have to do is go in another day long field trip with Alex, I was amazed you guys didn't use the opportunity" Mostly because at the time neither thought about it since their main focus was watching the city.

"And besides, someone has to use it" Alicia realized that Angela excluded herself from consideration.

"What about you? Wont you want to use it one day?"

"Who would I want to use it with. If I ever find someone worthy in this planet, I won't be bringing them here" She answered.

And Paul chose that time to get back to the bridge.

"It's been a long time since we have been like this" Paul said, sitting on the seat next to her

"Seating in a bridge of a shuttle on another world, about to act as peeping toms in a whole city?" Angela asked, Alicia couldn't help but laugh at that. It was so Angela. Well, the old Angela, she has been down lately, it was understandable, but still sad.

The peeping tom comments is because they would follow Alex's trek through the city, it would allow them to see the city and its inhabitants.

"No, just the three of us watching ... Let's call it a movie, or a live stream" Paul said trying to be diplomatic in his analogy.

"Yeah, it's been a strange week" Alicia said remembering all that happened since they were pulled through the wormhole and found themselves on the other side of the galaxy in an alien shuttle.

"At least it had a positive side effect" Angela said

"It did?" Alicia asked, she couldn't see what Angela had talked about

"Yeah, it made you two stop dancing around your feelings, it was driving me nuts" Angela said. It's not fair they were going to be on their first date on the station

"Hey, that's not true" Alicia complained

"Come on, you guys spent years on it" Ok, it was a couple years, but they had other things to worry about.

Just then the main view screen showed the street. It means that Alex had arrived at the city. It's fascinating how fast he could move, Alicia knows a lot of people on earth who would be fascinated about what his people accomplished with genetics.

"Here we go" Angela said fixing herself better in the seats. "Wow, you know, I still find their clothes beautiful, well, the colored ones. Did you notice that except for the simpler ones the others are all different."

She was right, they followed a basic style but each was a little different "It's possible that the clothes are made on demand"

"Yeah, but that would make it even more expensive" Angela said

"Well, based on their level of technology, I don't think they passed through the industrial revolution." Paul said "So, probably it's all made by hand"

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Angela asked

"He said he will spend more time in main street visiting shops" Paul said.

The day before was elucidating, they found out that for some reason people are told to lift their shirts when entering the city, which doesn't make sense, but it's not too terrible, after all they hadn't told him to remove his clothes.

He also only covered part of the main street and what they assumed was the agricultural district. The city was big and it would take a long time to see it all.

"Do you think they did that weird inspection again?" Angela asked

"Well, maybe it was only because it was the first time seeing him." Alicia answered, she hoped it was true. The reason they hadn't seen it is that he only uncovered the wrist watch after passing the gates.

"You know, people are not really interacting with him unless he deliberately askes them something first" Angela said

"Ok, what does that mean?" Paul asked

"We could probably go there and it wouldn't be a problem" Angela said

"We agreed to only go there when we learned the language" Paul reminded her

"Yeah, that was because we thought they would interact with us. But look, we don't need to talk to anyone if we don't want to" Angela said

"Angela we agreed" Alicia said

"Yeah, but that will be in what? Two months? Come on" Angela whined, "We could simply go there for one day, and walk around then come back"

"What if people ask us something?"

"The only ones who can ask us anything are the guards, and Alex said, they don't know much about people from the wildlands, so, it's possible that they speak differently" She said stretching things as little

"You don't know that" Paul said

"Neither do they" She said "Look, just think about it"

"We have to at least observer more"

At this time Alex entered a store that sold swords, there were a lot of men browsing. While he was browsing a woman entered the shop and was browsing the weapons as well. She was dressed differently from most women they had seen till now. She was dressing pants for once and not a dress, and was carrying a sword, the sword was strapped to her back, and she had what looked like a leather vest on top of her clothes.

"That's new" Alicia said

"Yeah, she looks like she can kick ass" Angela answered

"And good looking" Paul said, both girls turned to look at him "come on, it an obvious observation" he defended himself, she had to give him that.

"I was talking more about the clothes. She is the fist woman I saw wearing pants. The others we saw were wearing dresses, even the ones wearing gray clothes" Alicia commented on the girls choice of clothes.

When she was close to him she opened conversations, the shuttle was putti g subtitles to what was being said, it was out of phase since it only started translating a few seconds after the person started speaking but it was possible to follow along

«Beautiful pieces don't you think?» She said when she was close to Alex showing him a sword she had picked up from

"Is she talking to Alex?" Angela asked

"It seems so" Paul said

«Yes, I think its aesthetically pleasing» Alex answered the woman

«You are new to the city?» the woman asked, this made Alicia a little nervous

«Yes, I am just visiting and decided to enter a store at random» Alex answered

«Do you need a guide?»

«I don't have a way to pay, sorry»

«No need to pay, I'll show you around the city» she said

"She is forward" Angela said "Why did she approach him?"

"I thought you girls like the muscles" Paul said

"Well, I guess some girls like that, but there are other people in the shop, why approach the only Alien?" Angela asked

"You think she knows something?" Alicia asked

"It's just strange, that's all, and she doesn't look like someone flirting, she is very businesslike" Angela said, looking at the lady Alicia agreed, but maybe it was simply the girls way of doing things.

«Maybe another day» Alex answered her, rejecting her offer of a free guide, maybe it would have been a good idea.

«If you change your mind I am at mete's inn, just down the street» she answered, and with that she turned around and left.