Humans Don't Hibernate [Part 75/?] (Patreon)

64 Hours After the First Round of Interloper Interrogations. UNAFS Perseverance (HSR) - Shuttlecraft - 01. Truval City International Airport. En Route back to the UNAFS Perseverance.

Lysara

There was something about this whole adventure with Evina that started to put things into perspective. Indeed, just short of holding off from becoming the very stereotype which I wished to have no association with, I could honestly say that witnessing Evina’s trials and tribulations gave me an increased appreciation for what it was I was fighting for.

The stakes I was dealing with sometimes threatened to make me lose sight of just who or what would be benefiting from the successes or failures of my mission. The grander picture that spanned star clusters and galaxies often placed me in a position where I had to think of the overarching interplays of two unyielding juggernauts in their own right - humanity and the interlopers, without appreciating those that stood between them.

Our own resources and abilities sometimes felt so paltry and meaningless in the grander scheme of things, and yet today, just a small fraction of our capabilities had managed to avert what would’ve been an assured fate for the likes of two lives.

Executing an impromptu operation seamlessly without so much as a single collateral.

It might’ve been pretentious of me to even allow this to be a passing thought, let alone entertain it, but I couldn’t help but to admit that there was something well and truly impactful about the recent turn of events.

As it humanized the stakes, and by doing so, added both a newfound sense of motivation alongside an entirely unexpected sense of dread.

A dread for the lives that hung in the balance of this seemingly never ending conflict. A sense of unease that hung over me in what I could only imagine was a fraction of what contemporary humanity must have felt when dealing with actions that would determine the very fates of entire galaxies.

Which was where the epiphany finally struck me.

There was a fundamental difference between my mission and humanity’s. And it wasn’t because our goals were any different at the end of the day, no.

It was simply the fact that we, unlike humanity, had the benefit of being small.

What was in effect our very weakness was also our greatest strength.

Whilst we didn’t have the resources nor the raw power of either of contemporary humanity’s factions, what we did have was the element of obscurity, alongside the element of surprise.

Our story was similar to that of Evina’s, a constant trial for survival, amidst a grander game which we could not see.

But the difference was that we now had the knowledge of said game, and the ability to potentially change and redirect its course.

As well as the added benefit of a thousand generations of Elijah’s descendants’ plans and cached resources to pull from.

That epiphany was what dominated my mind for much of the boarding process, as Evina and the rest of the drones began packing up shop through the newly-built elevator, and up into the loading ramp that had been extended to the very top of the control tower’s wrap-around observation balcony.

My mind was, as it always seemed to be in recent weeks, segmented into two distinct parts. One that was constantly considering the existential nature of my circumstances, and the other laser-focused on the task at hand. Which in this case, was the careful oversight of the loading process for Evina, her friend, and the various reference materials and priceless artifacts that were either adjacent, or directly relevant to her friend’s condition.

“Are we all set there, Evina?” I announced over the intercom this time around, prompting the alien’s fur to stand up on end for a split second, before she responded.

“Yup. We’re all ready as we’ll ever be down here.” Evina spoke affirmatively over the intercom, before turning towards the stretcher-bound Eslan. “As long as you can confirm the stretcher’s secured, I think we’re all set.”

“I can confirm that to be the case.” I responded with a nod, before placing a hand on the console in front of me. “Engaging IA engines in five… four… three… two, and one.”

As if on cue, the vision from the bridge shifted almost immediately. From the rusted and blown out remains of the city, to the brown, dreary skies above, all in the span of less than half a minute; with most of it spent on the careful reorientation of the vessel before full power was applied.

I couldn’t feel the rumbling of the engines as we performed this maneuver of course. In fact, I couldn’t even feel any of the g forces that would’ve been expected from any of my maneuvers.

My internal vestibular system relayed not a single iota of useful information, as everything it relayed to my brain was completely at odds with the reality of the flight.

As was the case with all modern flight mechanics, in, and out of atmosphere - training emphasized a reliance on visual acuity for situational awareness. Along with a constant state of mindfulness for the various sensors and navigation systems that were far more reliable than physical senses evolved for a ground-based lifestyle.

It was easy to be tricked by your own senses when dealing with intra-atmospheric flight, let alone a featureless and horizonless environment like space, with no single reliable physical landmark to orient oneself with.

Humanity seemed to at least partially agree with us Vanarans when it came to this particular aspect of our operational philosophy, as the operation of this craft as well as the ship, more or less fell into line with how things were back at home.

I sat there in silence for the next few minutes, monitoring our ascent through the various readouts. The clouds outside blanketed the world in a foggy mess as we began our way through the turbulent troposphere.

However, about halfway through the journey, I saw a familiar looking alien shape coming up from behind the open cockpit door.

“May I come in?” Evina requested with a hint of nervousness, prompting a simple nod of affirmation as a response from my end.

“Please do, I wouldn’t want you to miss the best part of this journey. You were out cold for this part of the voyage on your first flight off-world after all. And no one should miss their first untethering experience.”

The alien soon took her position next to me almost immediately after that encouragement, effortlessly leaping from the door right into her seat without any prompting, demonstrating a great display of agility.

Something that would’ve been difficult if not impossible for a Vanaran with even martial training to accomplish.

We sat together in silence as the shuttle finally breached the troposphere, revealing the brown transitional layer between this, and the clearer skies of the stratosphere; a pale blue that stretched in all directions.

Evina remained quiet all throughout this, her eyes practically glued to the ‘windows’ and monitors, and her breath constantly shifting between abrupt pauses and fast-paced breaths, as we likewise eventually breached the stratosphere; entering the final few layers of the atmosphere that marked our departure from the planet proper and into space. The brilliant blue skies slowly but surely shifted to the blank and omnipresent darkness that now surrounded us on all sides.

The alien’s breath slowed down as we finally made it through the exosphere, space having more or less come into full view by this point.

“So… untethering.” Evina finally broke the silence, prompting me to crane my head towards her with a warm smile. “I’m assuming that’s a term that refers to a person’s first experience in actually leaving their planet, as opposed to the effect of seeing their home from space for the first time.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “A logical deduction on your end, Evina.”

The alien let out a self-satisfied chuckle at that, before shrugging. “The term seems rather straightforward, and it’s not too hard to put two and two together. You guys, being a space faring civilization where space travel’s probably ridiculously accessible? I bet untethering is probably like a rite of passage or something.”

“It was, to an extent.” I nodded in acknowledgement, once more appreciating Evina’s logical deduction skills in spite of her humbler origins. “Not every family had the opportunity or was permitted into space, but that is more the exception rather than the rule.”

Evina paused at that response, her eyes narrowing as she finally was able to pull away from the spell that had transfixed her gaze on the world outside. “Was?” She questioned with a cock of her head.

It was at that point that I realized her logical deductions skills were, in fact, something to be reckoned with. That, or I’d simply been far too generous with the information I was providing.

Or simply sloppy with infosec, as my military compatriots would’ve more than loudly chastised me for if they were here.

I took a moment to consider Evina’s question, doubting whether or not I wanted to go into it, or whether to deflect it entirely. But given Evina’s situation, her lack of a Vuark from the scans, and any contacts to the outside world once she did return to her bunker… I saw no issue in at least addressing the matter. If only to further strengthen the trust between us for the sake of this first contact.

“Yes, I indeed did use the term: was.” I reiterated, prompting Evina’s features to shift in deep thought, as if she was considering the implications behind that one, simple word. “I informed you earlier that I was on a mission, correct? One to aid the galaxy at large?”

Evina nodded wordlessly, allowing me to continue.

“Well, the instigating factor… or more specifically, the turn of events that led me to this point has rendered the people and the life that I had once known to be something of a distant memory, relegated to the past rather than the present I now inhabit.” I replied vaguely, with a clear hint of difficulty in conveying those more complex emotions that I had still been unable to truly grapple with.

Something lit up behind Evina’s eyes at this revelation, as if she understood the implications of my words almost instantaneously.

Which made sense, considering the fate of her own world, her own people, and her home.

“I’m sorry for bringing that up.” Evina responded solemnly, regretfully, but most of all, respectfully; even dipping her head down for a moment. “I shouldn’t have pried.”

“No, no.” I interrupted, raising both hands up reassuringly. “It’s alright Evina. Truly, it’s alright. I’ve… come to terms with the nature of my reality.”

That was a bold faced lie.

“And moreover, you were simply asking a rather open ended question. I know you didn’t mean to pry into a rather sensitive topic. A topic which I voluntarily agreed to disclose, I might add.” I ended that off with a smile, one that hid a growing sense of turmoil beneath me. A turmoil that had become a part of my daily routine since this all began.

“Still, I should’ve known better than to stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong. Especially after everything you’ve done for me so far. So, you have my apologies, Lysara.” Evina managed out through a sympathetic, and equally reassuring smile. “With that being said, there’s something in my culture we call pained reciprocity. It’s the idea that after a social mess-up, or a faux pas if you’re feeling fancy, that the party that messes up has to make it up to the other party somehow. So, considering I asked something that was clearly something I shouldn’t have brought up… I’m fine with you shooting me a question so that we can call it even. So hit me.” Evina concluded with a friendly smile. “Anything you like.” She quickly added.

This brought up several talking points I wanted to bring up to Evina, ranging from everything like the bunker in the forests to the circumstances behind the state of the other survivors on her world.

However, the one point that rose prominently above the rest didn’t have anything to do with those topics. In fact, it was something that’d just been referenced in passing just a few hours ago during Eslan’s frantic wails of disbelief.

“Anything?” I clarified.

“Anything.” Evina reiterated.

“If that’s the case then… would it be alright if I asked you about RONAC and SNAC?”