Chapter 56 – Guns

Harriman had gathered most of his crew to meet Focalor and the girls before it was time to feast on the spoils the demon had provided.

Focalor stood atop one of the crates. “I am not great at speeches but I will do this favour for captain Harriman no matter what. Hello everyone, I am captain Focalor, I command the airship you see in the sky. I was also the one who authorized the supplies you see here. Hopefully, you can see that we are not your enemy, no matter how much admiral Douglas and his advisor, professor Broysc, insist we are. We are here to protect a group of very vulnerable beings, to allow them safe passage to a place where they will be safe. It was never our intention that you run into us. It was never our intention for this standoff to happen. We just want to help these beings and then be on our merry way. Sadly, this might not be possible. So, to show that we want to be your friends, not your enemies, we will celebrate together. Do not hold back, feast on the things we have brought you. We will just send more when you run out. My crew and I will be here all night, you can just talk to us, ask us whatever you want to know. Just get to know us. We are here as friends and if anyone, even the admiral, wants to punish you for being open for friendship, we will protect you. All of you. Because that is what we do.”

The executor looked around the human crew before her. “One last thing before we dine. I provided captain Harriman with enough cards for everyone. Little informational cards with a number and instructions, in case your government wants to extract information that you do want to provide or wants to charge you with something for accepting our kindness. We will protect you. Alright… captain, if you would?”

Harriman nodded. “As captain Focalor said, she and her crew will be here all night for you to talk to. I encourage that you do so, there is much I am not allowed to tell you but they are. But for now, the mess hall is open, enjoy the meal.”

The feast was a marvellous as it could be, being served on short notice on a warship. After asking the girls and Focalor many questions and getting quite a few answers, many of the crew decided to finally take proper showers. One freshly showered female crewmember approached Anne, who was enjoy the view of the nighttime ocean.

“Miss Engelhardt.”

“Hey.”

“Ordnance technician chief warrant officer Christina Brooks. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“Of course, chief warrant officer Brooks. Just call me Anne.”

“My friends call me Chrissi.” She smiled.

“Alright, Chrissi. I have time for you.”

“Thank you. I watched you, miss Valefor and captain Focalor talk to almost everyone this evening. You and miss Valefor are civilians, right?”

“We are, yes. Technically Focalor is too, her ship is a scientific vessel, but she is properly part of the fleet staff. There are other vessels like this one out there, with their own crews and all that. Melody and I are involved because we volunteered and a friend of ours inspired this entire mission.”

“That’s fascinating! What do you on that airship then?”

“The airship is only part of this entire thing, only protection for what we are actually doing. We are mostly doing coordination, integration assistance, social work overall. Most of the technical stuff is handled for Focalor, her direct colleague Umbria and Nemesis, the operator of the ship.”

“That’s three people, surely a vessel of that size is staffed by dozens, maybe hundreds of people.”

Anne shook her head. “Not at all. Nemesis can run the entire thing alone.”

“A marvel in automation then.”

“Pretty much, yes.”

“Such a beautiful and advanced ship must have a name, right?”

“Nemesis.”

“You said that’s its operator.”

“And the name of the ship. I wish I was allowed to tell you why those share a name.”

“Too bad, but it is a lovely a name. Greek goddess and all that.”

“And Nemesis the person is a lovely person. Maybe you can meet her before we part ways.”

“I hope so. You have been lovely people too.”

“Oh thank you. That means much. Your curiosity does you credit too.”

Chrissi shrugged. “I’ve been staring at your airship for months, marvelling at how it stays there, silent, unmoving, like a monument carved into the sky. You never received a supply shipment, never sent anything anywhere. No windows, no visible weapons, no engines, no anything but shiny black… stone? It looks like stone from down here, which is even wilder.”

“I don’t know what exact material it is, but it does look like polished stone from up close too.”

“You saw it up close? Sorry, dumb question.”

“Not dumb at all. I mean, from down here you can’t see any place for someone to stand on it. There is an exit on the very top. We saw it in dry dock, just as still and unmoving as it is now. It does have engines, the wings.”

Chrissi looked up and raised an eyebrow. “But how…? They are just… floating there, not even connected to the main hull.”

“Magic, I suppose. I’m a design student, not an engineer. Even if this stuff is incredibly interesting, the science behind how anything works up there is so far beyond me, it’s not even funny.”

“A design student? I thought you’d be like a, I don’t know, airship engineer.”

“Architectural design, to be precise. I can guarantee that you would be able to make more sense of the engine than I could. I am just here because I see things, many things. The fact that you put on your uniform in haste after the shower, that you rushed it to be here, talking to me before someone else might eat my time before you could speak to me. That fact that you held back all evening in the hopes to get me alone. The fact that ensign Kaylen Brown has eyes for you. The fact that there is a dent on the forward gun mount that you keep eyeing whenever you walk past it.”

“You do see things, holy shit. I didn’t know about Kaylen, thank you for telling me. He isn’t my type though…”

“Didn’t think so. You have eyes for Commander Carter, haven’t you?”

“Of course you noticed that too…”

Anne smiled. “Yea, as I said, I see things. Melody is often the one to put those things together and draw conclusions.”

“Someone like you is handy to have around, I’m sure.”

“I want to believe so, yes.” Anne glanced up at the chariot, which very gently turned to face the aircraft carrier nearby. “Why the guns?”

“What do you mean?”

“You aren’t ordnance technician by pure chance. What made you pick that specific task?”

“This will sound stupid, but… I like things that go boom. Not the destructive part, I don’t like destroying things, I like controlling something so fundamentally uncontrollable. The fact that I can’t order an explosion to go certain places to make a bullet go fast but that I have to create an environment in which the explosion wants to go that way on its own is what interests me. Trying to reign in something so dangerous is appealing.”

“I want to make a joke about fucking a dagger that I would have to explain but I’m not allowed to, but I can tell you that this desire to leash the uncontrollable, at least for a little while, is something I deeply understand.”

“It’s like gently caressing the abyss.”

“Death longingly looking back as you tease her gentle curves… metaphorically of course.”

Chrissi chuckled. “Metaphorically. Not like death is hot woman. Unless… she is. Maybe. A Girl can dream.”

“That she can.”

“Why design then?”

Anne shrugged. “I love creating. Art, music, literature, all things I love so deeply and I found my little spot in mostly interior design. Making a home for someone to feel, well, at home in is the most wonderful thing.”

“I can imagine that.” The warrant officer slowly turned to look at the cruiser sitting beside the USS George Hammond, watching as it turned several of its guns and missile launchers towards the George Hammond. “What are they doing?”

“What we feared. We should-“ Anne didn’t even get to finish her sentence as she grabbed Chrissi, teleporting them both to Focalor and the shield emitter at the front of the ship, away from the impact of weapons fire causing ripples on the otherwise invisible shield.

Chrissi struggled to her feet. “Why… why would they do this?”

“Because you accepted our help.” Focalor helped the human up.

“Who even are you that they would kill their own people over accepting help?”

“I hope you won’t have to find out.”

Two white beams cut through the water around the cruiser, barely missing it on each side, before a voice echoed across all ships. “This is Nemesis. Cease your hostilities or we will be forced to destroy you. This is your final warning.”

“And this evening went so well…”

Nemesis’ image flickered into existence before the group. “Executor, I believe I don’t need to explain what just happened.”

“Just tell me who gave the order.”

“Admiral Douglas on the advice of professor Broysc.”

The cruiser stopped firing.

Focalor sighed and turned to the captain of the George Hammond. “Captain Harriman, it looks like we can’t wait with this negotiation.”

Harriman nodded and grimaced. “I agree. Warrant Officer Brooks, are you briefed on basic diplomatic protocol?”

Chrissi shook her head. “No sir.”

“Doesn’t matter, really. I just need someone from the crew I can trust, you’ll join me up there.”

“Aye sir.”

“And voice your opinion during those talks. That’s an order.”

“Aye sir.”

Focalor turned back to Nemesis’ image. “Call Famine and tell Sariel we might need a few more justiciars.”

Anne spoke up. “I would like to suggest getting RICA involved. Another human perspective might be a good.”

“Good call. Nemesis.”

Nemesis nodded. “I will bring in everyone required. Should I also procure the admiral and Broysc?”

“Please.”

Chrissi looked at Anne and asked quietly. “Procure?”

Anne returned a wry smile. “Most literally, you will see once we're aboard the chariot.”

“That’s what you call the airship?”

“Yes. And you will see so much more in a few minutes…”

Focalor looked at Harriman. “Ready to go?”

“One second.” He raised his voice at a nearby crewmember. “Midshipman Wilson!”

The crewman answered. “Yes, sir?”

“I’ll be leaving the ship for a little while, head up to the bridge and tell Miller he’s in charge until I’m back.”

“Aye sir.”

“Now I’m ready.”

Focalor nodded and teleported everyone back to the chariot.