Chapter 55 – Coexistence

“Thank you, truly.” Captain Harriman looked over the crates Focalor had brought with her.

“My pleasure. Any ideas what your chef wants to serve for dinner today?”

“Having seen what you brought us? A feast, to be sure.”

“You don’t need to ration anything from this stuff, we will just provide more when you run out.”

“That is too generous.”

“But necessary. We might have our regrets about humanity but that doesn’t mean we will leave you starving. Well, only when we are already involved, we can’t save you from yourselves… but the few times you bump into us, we will be nice.”

“As nice as you can be while protecting yourself and whoever you are actually here for.”

“Exactly.”

Harriman nodded knowingly. “This ‘bumping into you’ also got your two young friends involved, didn’t it?”

“Melody was involved by no fault of her own, she was adopted by two of our kind after an incident with something we left behind. Our dealings on this world thousands of years ago have left scars and shrapnel that are still dangerous. Her life might be better for it but so many others are not.”

“And her girlfriend?”

“From what they both told me, she was in the right place at the right time, asking the right questions.”

“They make for a cute couple.”

“They sure do.”

“Those others, those who aren’t better off because of what you left behind… people like Pierce who die for false ideals not knowing what they found, right?”

Focalor looked up at the chariot. “Pierce lives. We got him and his crew out just in time.”

“Your officer told me that there would be little chance of Pierce’s survival if the Corpus Christi were to attack what she called the guardian.”

“And that was a correct assessment, we just got him out the same way we came down here. We’ll make sure he is alive and well when we return him home. Speaking of returning home, I would like you to attend a meeting with Pierce, Douglas and Broysc tomorrow. Representatives from our side will be there too.”

“All cards on the table?”

“Yes, the full truth for all involved.”

“And you need me to be the voice of reason on the human side of the table.”

“I need you to be voice of truth. I don’t know how much reason there is to be had with the other three.”

“Fair point, executor. But those are all problems for tomorrow, for now why don’t I give you a tour of the ship before the feast?”

“I would love that, thank you.”

Melody leaned onto the railing and looked over at the other human ships. “It’s strange to hear someone else tell me they feel that their chosen place is the defence of others.”

The lieutenant shrugged. “It’s good to know what you want, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“You said ‘someone else’. You already know someone who dedicated their life to protecting others.”

“Several, one is one of my mothers, another became a librarian after fulfilling her duties. All of them found something else to fill their lives while still remaining able to protect those they love.”

“That would be the dream, doing whatever else and still being in the right place to protect people.”

“I just think it’s important to keep dreaming.”

“If that is what you got in with whoever is running strange black airships and makes food appear from thin air, that might be the best idea. Just keep dreaming.”

“It was a bit more complicated than that, but I am right here because I kept dreaming. And because another girl did too. Once this is sorted out, hopefully tomorrow, you might be able to meet her too. The one who nudged everyone else to make this happen.”

“The girl who moved an empire.”

“That sounds way crazier than it actually was…” Melody paused to look at the lieutenant again. “No, you’re right. She did move an empire. The consequences of her asking the right person to do something to save someone will be felt for aeons to come. There was that one scifi show, hyper competent people on a spaceship exploring the galaxy and trying to make friends with everyone. Whatever the fuck that was called…”

“I know which one you mean.”

Melody nodded. “This up there is like that ship. We call this a chariot, a tool for exploration, stuffed with the most cutting-edge scientific equipment but still capable of razing a city in a single blast. The original one was a tool for conquest, it’s in a museum now. This one was made for science and its very first mission right here is to protect vulnerable beings.”

“That dream again.” The lieutenant smiled. “A dream of discovery but still the ability to protect those in need.”

“And that is only possible because someone dared to dream of more than just military protection. This mission wouldn’t have been possible without the non-military advances integrated into the chariot.” Melody was mostly talking about Nemesis but a lot of the sensors the old weapon used were upgraded from the original design to fit their new purpose better.

“Alright, you win. You got me to genuinely consider what I would want to do after my service here.”

“More than just staying in the navy, I hope.”

“Very likely. I think I don’t need to be the one to hold up the shield, I just need to know that the shield exists because of me.”

“And that shield doesn’t even need to have anything to do with the military.”

“Maybe I should be a safety inspector.”

“See? That’s a good plan. Most people have no idea how many lives those save.”

“Too many, way too many. I guess that’s why it’s the perfect place to be to protect people. I don’t need the glory, I just need to know that even just one person lives because I was there.”

“They might never thank you directly, but every dented hardhat you find is one less dented head. One less potentially dead person. Is that confirmation enough?”

“I want to think so, yes.”

Melody smiled. “Then you have a bright future ahead of you.”

“How strange… I’ve been looking at that chariot of yours for months now and today I get to meet people from up there. And one of them gets me to reconsider my life choices in… what? Fifteen minutes?”

“Twenty.”

“Twenty minutes to fundamentally change my life. That must be so sort of record.”

“Potentially.”

The lieutenant returned the smile. “You are such wonderfully strange people. Wherever you come from. England, I would guess.”

“Do I really sound that bad?”

He scoffed playfully. “Not at all, just very… refined. In a good way.”

“I currently live in England but that might change in a few years. Going where that chariot came from. I’m sorry I can’t tell you where that is.”

“I already know that I can never tell anyone about the chariot, this entire mission is classified. Oh well, nothing wrong with a little mystery. I guess the imagination can come up with much more interesting places than you are actually going. No offense.”

“None taken, but you might want to reconsider how interesting places can be. Just imagine the best place that could genuinely exist and go a step further.”

“A place of dreams then.”

“That’s a good way to describe it.” Melody chuckled. “That all sounds like I’m going to some promised paradise via death through ritual sacrifice. Rest assured, I will be alive and well. It’s genuinely a real place.”

“I was getting a little worried there.”

“And that’s reasonable. You’re not on duty, right?”

“No, the captain has ordered that everyone not completely necessary to keep things running takes a break while your strange shield device is active. We’re supposed to eat with you and your captain and then get a good shower. Sorry about that by the way, we’ve been running short on soap for a week now.”

“It’s fine, I’ve smelled worse. Should we take a little stroll around the deck before heading back inside for food?”

“I could show you some of my favourite spots up here.”

“If you are allowed to.”

“There are places I can’t show you, but up here, everything is fair game.”

Melody nodded. “Lead on then.”

“Alright, this way please.” The lieutenant gestured towards the aft of the ship.