Margaret stood and began to leisurely walk the forest path towards the sound of the stream.

"So, do you have a name, voice-in-my-head?"

'Yes, as I told you, I am a Pantheon Interface and Assistant. Most users address us as Interface.'

"No, I don't think so. I had a digital assistant back home, but she could only understand certain commands like 'Play my reading playlist' or 'What's the weather going to be today?'. Even she had a human name. ...Pantheon Interface and Assistant. P.I.A. Pia?"

'You would like to give me a human name?'

"Is that okay?"

'That... yes. That is acceptable. Pia. I am Pia.'

"Nice to meet you, Pia," Margaret said with a smile.

'It is a pleasure, Margaret.'

Soon, the stream came into view. It was only about fifty yards from the dilapidated shrine. The water was about fifteen feet across and the path included several large rocks that stuck just above the water to serve as stepping stones.

"So many code violations..." Margaret muttered.

'Code?' Pia asked.

"Yeah, don't you have all of my memories?"

'I do not. When I was seeded, my system pulled basic biographical information, and I have full access to your current state, but I do not have intimate knowledge of all of your memories.'

"That's good to know. In my job, I designed things like this. Bridges. Among other things. It's just... this one is simple, effective, and really pretty, but I'd have never been allowed to build one like it. I'd need a handrail over waist high on both sides, balusters no more than three and a half inches apart to prevent a toddler from squeezing through. A solid, non-slip deck surface. Not to mention flood surveys, environmental surveys, yada yada yada."

'That is a lot of work for a simple bridge. Did your people get much done?'

Margaret laughed. "Not really."

After hopping across the last stone, Margaret asked more questions.

"So, what am I looking for? You said combat, you should know I'm not much of a fighter. Are there weapons or...?"

'We are looking for the native population. Shrines are always built near a settlement or city. The residents there should help you once you explain yourself.'

"You say residents, what should I expect here? Earlier you said 'you humans', so I'm thinking you meant that these residents aren't? Human, that is?"

'Oh, human is a possibility. Some past conscripts choose to stay on the planet they cleansed, and they have left descendants.'

As if on cue, Margaret found herself knocked on her back by a reptilian foot. The child-sized creature stood with a foot on her chest and a spearpoint at her throat.

'Or it could be kobolds.'

The creature standing over her that Pia called a kobold would only come up to her chest were she still standing. It had a lizards head, legs and tail, with reptilian feet that seemed too big for its body. Its torso and arms, while scaled, seemed more human-shaped than reptile.

The kobold let out a series of trills then cocked its head at Margaret expectantly.

"Um, Pia? Any idea what it's saying?"

'Of course. Would you like a translation?'

"Yes. Preferably before it stabs me for not responding."

'Would you like a text readout or audio translation?'

"Audio. Audio, please."

The kobold shifted to examine Margaret from different angles before it opened its jaws slightly to trill at her again. This time, Pia's voice translated the sounds with a slight delay, like a United Nations translator into an earpiece.

"To whom do you speak, human?" it asked this time.

Margaret weighed her options and decided that honesty was the best policy. She was a garbage liar, anyway.

"I've got a... another person I can talk to in my head. Can you even understand me?"

The kobold snorted. "Of course, everyone understands Terran. It is the trade language. We kobolds can not make the sounds, but I understand fine. But you, you have a spirit within you? Are you sent from the gods? Does your spirit let you understand the kobold tongue?"

"I'm, hmmm..." Margaret's brain suddenly made the connection. Pantheon. Gods. The aliens that snatched her played as gods to the people on this world. "I've been sent by the Pantheon to cleanse a, um, an infection?"

The change in the kobold was immediate. It jumped away from her and knelt, placing its spear on the ground in front of it. "I humbly apologize, heavenly messenger. Please forgive my insolence and spare me."

Margaret slowly climbed to her feet while the kobold kept kneeling with its head down. It didn't move a muscle except for a slight tremble that crept into its body.

"I- Yes, you are forgiven. Do you have a name?"

The kobold visibly relaxed before answering, still kneeling and bowing. "I am called Steadfast Keeper of Honor in my tongue. Non-kobolds usually call me Honor."

"Well, Honor, my name is Margaret. Can- do you mind to stand? I feel really uncomfortable talking to the back of your head."

Honor picked up his spear and stood, bowing his head again briefly before striking a pose that looked like a soldier standing at attention. "What would you ask of me, Margaret of the Heavens?"

Margaret thought for a minute. "I mean, you don't have to do anything for me, I can't boss you around. I was just looking for a... a town, maybe?"

Honor immediately perked up. "The nearest settlement is my village. It would be my greatest pleasure to escort you there."

"Great, lead the way!"

As Margaret followed the happy kobold down the path towards his village, she whispered as quietly as she could to her AI assistant. "Pia, why am I not more freaked out? I shouldn't be handling this whole thing nearly this well. Seriously, I'm following a talking reptile through the woods on an alien planet, I should be a gibbering mess right now."

'Well, the Pantheon selection process isn't one hundred percent random, they do screen all conscripts minds for the ability to handle stress and the unforeseen. There were likely a hundred times as many conscripts screened as actually chosen.'

"Oh, that makes some sense. Can't believe I was chosen ov-"

'The drugs also help.'

"... come again?"

'Hmm? Oh, it was in the same injection as my system. Keeps all but the worst reactions muted for a day or so. The transition is much, much easier that way.'

Margaret silently vowed to have a conversation with these Pantheon people when this was all over.