The Strange

[Karmotrine Dream]

Captain Lefina Elwyn stopped beside the dorm door, closed her eyes and leant against the wall, taking a few long, deep breaths away from expectant eyes.
She felt terrible.

Sean may have been looking the most galvanised he's been ever since they returned, either because of her confidence - one she didn't really have, but had become adequately capable at feigning over time - or because he was itching to get back to the bad old days of constant skirmishing with the Forces, but she just couldn't share in that excitement.
It came, albeit unwillingly on his part, as an indictment of her efforts to bridge that gap - to try, in earnest, to prove Gaians can and should be reasoned with and that doing so is in everyone's interest.

(And then came the news...), she thought, with a glance to the door.

No significant inroads had yet been made, admittedly, but it still came as a cold shower.

(Dealing with the BAF isn't easy, stars know, but dealing with a potential alien threat? At least with the former you know where they stand... I have to figure out what they want, as soon as possible.
And if it gets really bad, find 'those blokes' as well... )

She sighed, pushed herself off the wall and went inside, greeted on the doorstep by the sweet smell of hyacinths and the sight of the tiny inner garden.
Islay was no Torshavn, much less Gaia, and what accommodations could be made for flora were limited by necessity - but living quarters devoid of flowers, plants and sunlight are unworthy of the name, and despite everything, this unwritten tenet of theirs was still upheld.

Amy Douglas shifted in her bed, hearing the door slide open, and groggily looked in her direction.
She blinked a few times, as if she'd just woke up - though her slightly sunken eyes suggested that what little rest she may have had, it had to be tumultuous.

« Ah, captain... it's you. »
« Hi, Amy », she smiled. « How are you feeling? »
« A mess. Couldn't sleep straight for so long, thinking and worrying, and eventually I'd just kind of... flopped down. »
« Still thinking about your encounter, hm? »

The girl nodded.
She walked over to her bedside, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

« Sorry, ma'am. It's just... it wears on my mind a lot, and it's hard to forget that feeling... »
« Do not apologise. There's nothing to apologise for, don't worry, and if you'd rather talk later, just say the word. »
« No, no, it's fine. I wanted to tell you the moment I arrived actually, but the XO sent me away for check-ups and rest... I guess I really must've looked like I was insane there, haha », she chuckled, with little amusement.
« Well then, Amy. I'm listening. »

The pilot pulled herself up, stuck the pillow behind her back, and took a deep breath - figuring out where to start.

« Well... I'm guessing you saw the logs, right? Sean said he'd look at them. »
She nodded. She also felt a little uncomfortable, prying into her mind like that, but it was for a good cause; and she couldn't help but smile, albeit melancholically, at some of the things she'd said - her yearning for peace foremost among those.
« And I guess it didn't include the part that made me freak out, right? Since it's, well, psychic stuff... »
She nodded again. « What is it he said? »
« It was... when I asked him to show me where's the peace, he thought, er, he said... "yours shall find peace at the right moment, ours revealed this information to yours"... »

She frowned.
Added to the man's reticence on naming who his supposed allies are, the already ominous message managed to sound even more worrying.

« And when he was saying that, I felt like it was speaking directly into my mind, echoing, and... the thoughts they were like, creeping in, like I could feel them, and... »
« That's enough », she said, holding up her hand as to stop her; Amy looked down and quietened up. « I can see why you are so shaken... and tell me, was it like this with the Nomad warform as well? »
« Yeah... I think so. It's been a while, but now I'm thinking back, it felt more or less the same way... maybe stronger? I-I don't really know. Sorry. »

(Two clues do not a proof make), she thought, (but it's reason enough to wonder...)

« Captain... what do those things want from me? Why are they talking to me? I wondered if I was... psychic or something but the vice admiral said it's just that they want to talk to me, and I don't get why! », pleaded the girl, worry once more settling on her features; the captain took her hand in hers, as to reassure her.
« I'm sorry, Amy, I wish I knew myself. But we will figure it out, once you're back up on your feet. Okay? »

The girl remained silent for a few seconds, then looked up, her bright green eyes shimmering with a spirited, defiant light, and moved her bedsheets away - as well as the captain's hand, albeit more gently.

« I'm fine, I can get back to it straight away. Really. I'm not gonna learn anything by staying in here anyway. »

She scoffed.
(Stubborn, beset by adversity, and ultimately undaunted... how familiar do those traits ring. I wish they did not.)

« Perhaps not, but I still want you at your best. » she retorted, shaking her head. « Now rest, tomorrow you'll be very busy. Understood? »
« ... I'll hold you to that, captain. And thanks. »

Lefina gave a little, dismissive wave of the hand and stood up, as Amy pulled the pillow down and slipped back beneath the sheets; not long afterwards, the girl fell asleep again.
She took her leave then, taking care not to make noise, only stopping for a moment to look back at the young pilot.

(There won't be any need for that, my dear girl. Sirius will see to it.)