"We have a proposal, demon. The ship you're on has been evacuated. We would really like to get the people in your room out before we decide precisely what we're going to do with you, so if you're very quiet and motionless while we open the doors and let them out, we'll refrain from blowing you all to smithereens, how's that."

Quiet and motionless? That's really what they're going with? He's a demon! He doesn't have to move to make shit! Let's see, can he avoid having to cooperate this far with the probably evil aliens, whether obeying by the letter or not. He... could try, but he doesn't have a good way of guaranteeing success, he doesn't know what kinds of weapons are in play right now.

"Does that sound like it leaves you all alive?" he asks the humans. "In particular does it sound like it results in that if I can check whenever I want by conjuring up little mindless copies of you to check how they're doing?"

"Most of us will be fine, assuming you don't do any weird stuff in the middle of it that makes them decide to blow you up. They're gonna kill me, probably, but they can do that whenever they want anyway, so it's whatever."

"I'd really rather hold out for nobody dying." Especially her.

"I cannot really off the top of my head think of any ways to definitely do that. They haven't killed me yet but that's probably a plausible deniability thing."

"They might just make you very sad for several days and then use you as an incubator?"

"Or that, you know, that is also possible."

"They really don't sound like they know what they're doing right now."

"Yeah I'm very surprising. I do not want them to make you very sad for a few days then use you as an incubator either, that sounds like a terrible plan. Look," he tells the walls, "you can't personally endanger me. I'm indestructible. I'm sure the -" AAAAAAAAAH "- psyon'll confirm that I'm very, very confident of that. We're just quibbling over these humans' lives and comfort here, and if you want to get any use out of me at all, you won't do much quibbling."

"He's very certain. I don't think he knows about planet-wreckers, but he does know what stars are, and he's still very certain."

- of course you can't really say the same thing of Imrainai.

"I could wreck a planet, that I was standing on, and be only temporarily inconvenienced in the process." Let's just NOT tell the bugs how criticial the summoner's safety is. It's still totally true that they won't get any use out of him if she dies.

The walls are silent for a bit, and then the doors open. The old voice is back.

"Work crew seven, report to the forward escape pods for additional instructions."

"You folks are all work crew seven?"

"Yeah, that's us."

"I don't feel very assured of your safety. Do you?"

"Not terribly, but - "

The sudden experience of pain is not one of those nearly-friendly looks-like-you-fucked-up-some pulses that she experiences on a relatively regular basis. More of a we're-not-killing-you-now-because-we-don't-have-to pulse. She pitches forward and screams. 

"That stops or I go looking for bugs. Five four three -"

She stops screaming on "three" and whimpers.

"They stopped," says Parael, not sounding super put-together herself.

"That does not happen again or I go looking for bugs, and now I don't plan to let her out of my sight lest invisible torture sneak by while I'm inattentive, congratulations!"

"Work crew seven, report to the forward escape pods for additional instructions."

Everyone except Imrainai looks at Cam, expressions suggesting various levels of fear. Imrainai is really busy trying not to throw up.

"If the rest of you would also rather take your chances hanging out with me I'll do my best but it's up to you."

Various people independently come to the conclusion that Imrainai will be killed if she's the only one in here. They would really prefer that this not happen. People sign at each other from across the room, and in half a minute there is a consensus - children and a few particularly fragile people will leave for the escape pods. Some people hug them and send them on their way. Everyone else - about fifty people in this room - is going to stay.

Parael doesn't count as one of the children; she stays.

"Would you prefer to continue conversing like this," Cam asks the walls, "or is there someone else I and these people under my protection should go?"

"Your diplomatic status is uncertain. We are notifying the proper authorities."