With two fluke emergency contacts under my belt, I decided food was in order. I moved to the dining table and activated the synthesiser. Beef Steak, if you could call it that. The "meat" looked much paler than a real steak would, and the taste, little better than cardboard. I knew it was technically nutritious, but eating it was more chore than anything else. Water, at least, was still just water, so I could cut the pieces of the "steak" very small and just swallow the pieces like pills instead. There was no point in ordering anything different; it all tasted identical.

  With that chore dealt with, I then moved to the other requirement of living, that being releasing the aftermath. Pretty much, liquid came from both places. The burn from the backside was probably the worst part of eating this "food". Now for the aftermath of the second communication.

  "This is Pamela, to those who called for help before. Is anyone there?" It took some moments, but not only did the couple I saw earlier, but also the brave person from the wall. "Wonderful, the bravest of your defenders is with you; I'd like to know your name, sir. Your behavior when I used the Defender to hurl those bolts at the creatures was quite impressive."

  "You... saw that? Ah, yes, you're a Goddess, so I suppose you can see everything. I am called Romannus, I am honored to be thought of so highly."

  I groaned. "I am NOT... a Goddess. Things are much stranger than you can... currently... understand. I was inside the Defender, it has no life or will of its own. I used nearly all of its power just to deal with that one situation. The solar collectors... maybe sun absorbers is better, anyway, they were covered for more time than even I can really comprehend. THOUSANDS of years of being buried in dirt, there are many other defenses, and also aids in this settlement, and there are a total of ten settlements which have these defenses and aids within their walls. Your forebears had full knowledge of these things and how to use and care for them. The OLDEST settlements had these things, as this world is NOT the origin of our race, you were brought here, by your own desires, to colonize this world. Something, LONG AGO, went wrong, as a result... your generation, and countless others before you have forgotten the wisdom of the elder colonists. We must work together to recover what was lost. Without the Defenders, I can not aid you in combating these native threats."

  Romannus rocked back on his heels in shock. "My Goddess, how can we make amends for our failings?!" Asked the man of the house in question. I glared at him.

  "As I have already stated, I am NOT a Goddess. Get that into your heads! This device is NOT a sacred relic, it is only a construct made by the hands of men LONG AGO. I myself am a human woman, just like your wife there. Seven millennia ago, I entered a special type of sleep. This sleep stops aging until it ends, but it requires a special type of container, and now, thanks to another couple just like you, I was awoken. I have a few compatriots still sleeping, but those special containers will not last much longer than a year. My food likewise will only last a year, and that's if it's just me. Were I to wake any of them, the time our food would last would be reduced further. We must prepare for the imminent arrival of those of us here. We will come to you in a craft with fire for wings. That's only an analogy, it's not literal, but it makes as much sense as anything."

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  "You are not like me, my lady, your skin!"

  I cut her off. "My skin is based on my ethnicity. My ancestors lived in a bright, hot land, skin like yours would have been red, and sore almost constantly. Those ancient ancestors adapted to that land over even more millennia than I have been sleeping. Our world of origin grew too crowded, and we set out to find other worlds that could support us. This world was thought to be perfect; those creatures... weren't discovered by our survey teams. Had we found them, or the ones that attacked the other settlement earlier, we would either have abandoned this world, or else removed them all. Now it's too late to do either, as our people were attacked during my sleep, a war, and we apparently lost. One outpost is sending aid, but they won't arrive for centuries; they didn't know we survived the purge. Effectively, we are on our own."

  I decided to change the view and shock them some more. Standing up, moving back to allow my full body to be shown, I then removed my jumpsuit, displaying nearly all my body for everyone to see. The eyes of all three grew wide, and the men's eyes included desire. "My lady! You mustn't!"

  Cutting her off again, I continued. "As you can see, I have all the same bits, in all the same places. My underthings cover what needs to be covered for decency right now, but if needed, I can remove them to prove the point. I don't normally do this, but having you continue to think I'm a Goddess is unacceptable. Watch." I then picked up the knife I use for my "steak" and cut myself on the finger, and showed my red blood flowing. "In the past, Deities were believed to exist, and described to have golden liquid for blood; as you can see, my blood is just as red as yours, unlike those creatures with their purple blood, or the turquoise color of the other beasts I killed."

  Their eyes were now filled with wonder, I was a human after all. "My lady, I take your point; I was not convinced you were a Goddess to begin with, but now I know you are not. Please cover yourself once more. It may be acceptable to you, but it would NOT be allowed here. I would ask you tend your injury as well. I must give my thanks for your aid in the defense earlier as well." Romannus bowed in respect for that, and I did as requested.

  "You're quite welcome, it's part of my duties. Though the extreme nature of the emergency is quite a surprise, it's still just my job. Believe it or not, good sir, you're exactly my type. Perhaps, once all is as settled as it can be, we might pursue things?" Romannus stood straight, startled.

  "I am honored at the thought. However, I myself am already wed." I smiled, and nodded at him.

  "Well, she's a lucky woman then, and I wish you both, along with your family well. I must end this conversation now, the power of your terminal, the device that lets me talk to you, is running low. The shiny flat things on the Defender's shoulders; there are similar panels on the roof of this structure; carefully find and uncover them, so the terminal can recharge. Pamela Ortega, out!"