Current time...

The female was looking at him without blinking, probably seeing no point of escaping. Any gun is faster than a human runner. Cochise put the gun down, ''Do not be afraid, I am not going to hurt you''. The human's big eyes got even wider, ''You...TALK!''

Suddenly he heard a soft sound as if it was a smoothly working tiny engine...Purrr...The Volm looked down and saw an animal he has not encountered before; it was small, had gray fur with dark stripes, quite a long tail and yellow eyes resembling his own a little. The human female startled and hushed at the animal, ''Lizzie! Run!''. The animal, however, ignored her and rubbed its head over the human ankle. Then sat and looked at Cochise.

''Please don't touch her, she is harmless'', whispered the young female. Cochise looked at her more attentively. A young one, at least looks about as young as the fighter named Maggie. About medium human female height, light brown hair – nothing special. The eyes are huge though, almost as big as his and as brown as Tom Mason's. That thing some humans wear on the eyes, glasses. The face and clothing seem cleaner than what those humans from Charleston had. The female frowned,

''If you're gonna kill me do it fast and don't say you're not going to!''

''Oh, believe me, if I was going to kill you I would not hesitate. My race is here to fight the Espheni, not the humans", Cochise tried to keep his voice smooth and calm.

''Esp...What in the world are you talking about?! Do you mean those six-legged aliens?''

'' No, those creatures are just victims themselves, they were enslaved using the device called harness what you have probably seen on human children's backs". The female nodded in agreement and kept on looking at him with her mouth half-opened. The Volm kept on speaking, "The real masterminds of the invasion and the war is the race called the Espheni. They barely go out, they usually use their slaves to do the job. And those mechs are also controlled by the masters". The human looked at him, "Do you mean those robots that make the scary sound?"

"Correct. And the Espheni also attack my home planet in the past. The rest of my race, the Volm, took the mothership and left to seek the Espheni. As it turned out, there were other planets they enslaved. So my people help whenever it is possible. The aggression needs to be stopped". He looked at the shocked woman who was obviously trying to put the new information into her head. "There is a settlement nearby Charleston, I guess it has about several thousands of people. I first arrived there about a year ago when my people landed on Earth..."

"Several thousands...I had no idea how many people have survived", Lily looked around and saw a huge rock and sat. The shock of meeting a new race and the things this alien has told her was enormous. She looked at him, "I've been here all alone with Lizzie for almost 3 years".

Several drops of rain fell on them. Lily frowned, "We better hurry up or this rain will get us right here. But...I have so many questions I don't even know where to start". She stood up. "I am Lilith but better call me Lily". The Volm hesitated before introducing himself. " The humans gave me the nickname, Cochise, they could not pronounce my full name. It is Chichauk Il'sichninch Cha'tichol.". The human looked at him and repeated the full name what sort of impressed Cochise.

"So far you are the only human who could say it".

"Did the others even try?", asked she looking right into his eyes. Cochise shook his head. She was right. They did not really try. Lily shrugged, "I used to study German, one of the other languages spoken on Earth. It has words longer than your name...Anyways...Would you like to go and talk at my place? I really don't feel like getting all wet in the rain and then catch a cold."

Cochise idled for a moment. He hoped this human was not an Espheni agent and her place would not turn out a trap. He remembered the damage caused by another young female, Lourdes. The vivid memories of the event and pain from losing so many people of his own was still bothering him. ''If it is a trap'', he decided, ''they might kill only me but I need to send a signal to my team''.

The Volm nodded and his new human acquaintance picked her gray animal from the ground. Cochise notice Lily's eyes expression, like she was eager to ask something but did not dare.

''What is it? You said you got so many questions''. The female timidly smiled, ''Yeah! But while we walk, do you mind telling me how you find this planet?''