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spread along a plain which was bordered by two separate hillsides, both joining into one as they intersected in the distance. She ran for the hills, using the terrain to keep out of sight as dawn encroached upon the horizon.
    Large boulders rested atop the westward hills, most having rolled away from their peaks and collected into piles within various depressions. An outcrop of rocks held in place by a few scraggly trees had caught Silhouette’s attention, and she decided to use it as a shelter. She sat down and scanned through the files in her Ocu.
    Maps. Detailed maps, mostly of the Jhiik Compound. X had created a digital 3D rendering of nearly every space within the Burmin camp. The corridors and rooms were labeled with names and the purposes for each; there was detailed information on the routines of the Burmin officers, including where they could most often be found and at what times. He had listed the names of certain Burmin and human slaves who accepted bribes, and there was even an inventory of weapons in the armory. How did that man get into the armory? A few spaces in the maps contained limited information or estimations for what they were used for, and a couple spots were altogether dark and unlabeled, but overall this was a gold mine.
    There were other maps, far less detailed representations of some of the streets in the neighboring cities of Vix and Heron Springs, but nothing on the nearby villages. Silhouette already had maps for the cities stored away, but X had provided some useful information on the towns, such as caravan routes and Burmin gathering places.
    She studied the documents for hours. The files were digitally available to her at a moment’s notice, but she wanted to memorize all that she could. After numbing her brain with names and numbers, she finally decided to rest. The first day back in action was always exhausting.

    * * *

    Vix was the largest city near the Jhiik Compound, and that meant the easiest to get lost in, to hide in. Back alleys cross-stitched the city blocks and there were always piles of trash to hide behind or parked vehicles to duck under. Sue had never visited Vix as a child, but it was where her mother had been born. She had heard plenty of stories about the city from her parents. It sounded like a nice place, at least before the Burmin had arrived.  
    Silhouette blended into the city’s shadows and watched as both human and Burmin walked the streets. People hustled, often carrying heavy loads, each one busy or at least pretending to be. Humans skittered around passing Burmin, staying out of reach and not making eye contact, behaving differently than the people she was accustomed to seeing on Erde.   They showed no personality, only fear— or survival, if that could be called an emotion. They moved about like rats. Silhouette looked over her shoulder into the dreary backstreet that she had been moving through and watched the people for a while as they slunk in and out of the alleyways, staying out of sight and darting over to their next source of cover. The overflowing dumpster at her side was ripe with spoiled food and she was crouched next to a heap of crusted, sticky gunk. Rats. That’s all these people were.
    The Burmin, on the other hand, walked tall and were tall. They were a bit larger than the average human, but appeared massive compared to the skulking Nyian populace. Their body shapes varied, often having broad torsos and big feet, and the bones in their faces were striking, prominent and more angular than a human’s, but not in a grotesque way. Their spines protruded from their head and back, making them appear strong and sturdy. The Burmin had no hair and no nose. Their ears were big, floppy pieces of skin which were worn similar to how people wear their hair, ranging in size, style, and color. Some of their ears were long enough to be tied or knotted. Do they keep on growing forever and need to be trimmed ? Silhouette wondered.
    It was odd, all of it.