The next day Oliver woke with a bit of a spring in his step. He wasn't really sure why, he was just happy. Maybe it was because he was going to see Shi'ae, but that was debatable.

First, before he went to go meet her he had to come up with a reasonable excuse as to why he was leaving the base. Five minutes later, he came up with one he thought would satisfy anyone's queries.

He would tell them he was going out to the woods to check on the sensors again to make sure they were all still working and positioned correctly. Happy with his excuse, he quickly got changed and headed out the door. Isaac, was nowhere to be seen which was quite odd, but then again it was quite late in the morning for someone in the military, so he was probably out working or getting breakfast.

He got an apple, a bar and a bottle of water to have on the go while he was walking to the spot where Shi'ae said she would be.

Nothing interesting happened on the way there. Oliver was taking his time enjoying his small breakfast and looking at the birds flying high above, or occasionally he would spot a little squirrel scampering up a tree.

He broke through the treeline with a big step over a fallen log, and found himself in a familiar clearing. He didn't spot Shi'ae immediately, but turned when he heard some movement to his left. He saw the friendly alien standing behind the same tree she was at yesterday. Her eyes were slightly squinted in happiness, a warm, joyous smile on her face.

Thinking to herself, she was actually really glad he was able to come visit again. Oliver was happy to see her also, but he needed to discuss about their meetings with her. He didn't really want to, and he was afraid he might even hurt her, yet he had to talk to her about the issue.

"Hi, Shi'ae!", Oliver opened.

"Hello to you too, Oliver. I am glad you were able to make it.", Shi'ae responded.

"Yeah, me too. Thing about it though, I have something to talk to you about."

Shi'ae didn't have an idea what he wanted to talk about, but it sounded like it wouldn't be like the happy and lighthearted conversation that had the other day. With nothing to go on, she responded simply with a,

"Mmhmm."

"I'm not really sure exactly the best way to say this is, but I'll give it a go. I was thinking about what if someone saw us? At the moment no one is really suspicious of my whereabouts, mostly. I want to keep visiting you though Shi'ae, I just... don't know what to do."

It took Shi'ae a number of seconds to respond, Oliver counted the seconds that slowly passed.

She knew it was a problem. Of course she didn't want to get Oliver neck deep in trouble he couldn't handle, and she certainly didn't want to get captured either. The easiest thing to do and what seemed the most obvious to do, would be for them to stop seeing each other. This option was on the two of their minds, neither wanted to say it however. The easiest thing to do wasn't the best thing to do at the time for both of them.

The silence was almost unbearable, that was until Shi'ae broke it.

"This situation has me perplexed aswell, and of course I would hate for you get disciplined, and imaginably worse, because of me. But if I can say, I truly have enjoyed your company even if it may have been brief, and I think our bond is proof our species can live in peace. I know an the current moment in time, it seems unlikely, but I still believe it possible. I would be asking a lot from you undoubtedly, but I think maybe if you can get your people, or even just one person at a time to see it is achievable, then I think it would both help our situation and be one step closer to achieving peace."

It was a lot to take in for Oliver. He understood what he was asked to do, what he had to do, and what he was going to do. He knew the person he would speak to, and he just prayed he would be able to convince them.

"I'll try Shi'ae, I promise. I have a person in mind I think I'll speak to. Thanks for your advice."

Shi'ae was happy that he would try, but she wanted him to be discreet about it. She hopes this 'person' wouldn't say anything even if things went sour between them.

With that hurdle with Shi'ae overcome, he decided it would be best to enjoy his time relaxing now and worry about what he was going to do later.

The two of them talked for sometime about things ranging from the nature surrounding them to more cultural oddities between their cultures.

An hour and a half later they were still talking. The conversation had gotten to point where they were talking about shopping. It was far from a topic Oliver was interested in but he was fascinated in all the differences between their cultures that were, well, just so alien.

"We don't have those large 'supermarkets' you have, we do sometimes have markets and occasionally travelling merchants visit. We don't buy food and necessities from these vendors however. They always have unusual things on them that I don't understand why anyone would buy, but I do like looking at the trinkets and bracelets they sell."

"We have those types of markets in places sometimes aswell. I was never too interested in them most of the time, but I did get a cool necklace before from one of them."

When Oliver finished his sentence, he checked the time and realised it was lunch time. They didn't really check for your attendance at the base but that did not mean he could go completely unaccounted for without any repercussions.

He quickly followed after that statement by saying, "I'm really sorry Shi'ae, but I have to run. I'm already late for lunch."

"That is fine, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow as long as things don't south!"

He made it back to the base running all the way. He slowed down just as he reached the outskirts to allow himself to catch his breath. He stepped through the open door and went straight to his room to put his bag away.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to Isaac now or later.

'If he's there, I'll speak to him, if he's not, I'll just do it later.", he reasoned.

As he neared the door he knew the probability was Isaac was already back from lunch, and was in the room. He went over what he would say to him, mentally preparing himself. He took a long breath to call himself. He tried not think of the consequences if the worst happened, but they still lingered in his mind.

He opened the door and slid through before turning around and shutting the it. Isaac was indeed in the room, and was on his bed, looking at his tablet.

Before Isaac could say anything, Oliver burst out with, "Hey Isaac, can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah I guess so. What do you want to talk about?"

"Do you remember the elite that just let us go a while back?"

"You've been seeing it, haven't you?"

After a second long pause he confirmed Isaac's suspicions.

"Yeah, I have. How'd you know?"

Isaac didn't give too much of a reaction to the news, he looked slightly surprised but he wasn't angry, which was good. Then again, Isaac rarely gets angry at all.

"Bit of guess, but the notion came from when I saw you help it back when we were taking this base over. I didn't report it though."

"Thanks for that. I think it felt right to help Shi'ae because even before we had that run in with her at the field hospital, she helped me a different time. I know I shouldn't have helped her, although talking to her I learned she wants this war to end just as much as we do. She believes the best way to end the conflicts is to make peace with one another, and I'm trying to tell you that they aren't as bad as they seem, or at least most of them are. Shi'ae is actually a really nice person with good intentions. I hope you can believe me on this, and what I ask is that you keep the option of peace open."

Isaac processed the information he gathered from Oliver's speech, and he carefully selected his answer.

"I trust you judgement, and from first-hand experience I know Shi'ae is good hearted. I don't know if all of her species would be as accepting, nor do I think ours would be either. But, I agree that the best outcome with the least loss of life would be a peace treaty, and although at this moment I don't think peace is possible, I would support it if the option ever came", Isaac ended with a supportive smile for his friend.

Oliver was amazed at his words, but deeply grateful of them at the same time. He thanked his friend with a smile on his face.

Really sorry for the wait, took a bit of a break. Hopefully this chapter doesn't seem too all over the place cause that was a lot of info in a short time. Anyways, thank you all for your continued support, I'll see yous soon.