Chapter 36: 035 Decisions

They had only recently woken up, yet they were back on the bed as if stuck in some vicious gravity field.

Diana was buried in Donovan's chest, her cheeks wet from tears. Her façade of strength shattered when the weight of their situation placed itself fully on her shoulders.

She thought she could take it. She even felt that she had steeled herself, fully resigned to the fact that they were now effectively alone. They might make allies, but who was to say when they would betray them? The only two people she could trust absolutely were Donovan and ARC.

"Have you calmed down enough to discuss our options yet?"

"Just a bit more."

"Okay."

Don moved his hand up to the back of her head. Awkwardly, he began stroking her hair. He wasn't exactly proficient in the art of consolation. Better to let her get a handle on her thoughts on her own time than try to help and screw something up.

This also served as a perfect time to get a handle on himself.

Why didn't he feel sad about this whole situation?

There wasn't a trace of depression in his mind, but he did feel empty. There was something missing, something that should be there. He felt hopeless despite being extremely optimistic about the circumstances.

No, it should be extremely optimistic despite the hopeless circumstance.

What reason would he have to feel optimistic when all his almost all of his sources of support where gone? Why wasn't he sad? What made this situation hopeless again? Was it that everyone just died?

Shouldn't these be easy questions to get the answer to?

Obviously he knew that they were hopelessly under supported, under funded, and under informed, but calling it such didn't feel right. Nothing felt right for that matter.

Nothing about their current circumstance felt 'right'. He understood that everything that had happened up to this point was real, but none of it was connecting in his mind.

Perhaps it had something to do with how long he had been out, but ever since he had woken up he felt as if he was in danger. It was not one that would threaten his life, more akin to the feeling you might get on the verge of slipping, but it was there.

He felt empty, confused, and endangered.

Yet he knew what was going on and that they should be safe. Did he even want to work out these mental problems? Stress was the last thing he needed right now.

Donovan once again decided to postpone this process, time and information had to help right?

"They looked kinda weird didn't they?" Tired of being left alone with his thoughts, Donovan tried to lift Diana's mood with conversation. "Especially that Scholar guy. what was going on with his eyes?"

There was a quick exhale from her nose. "Don't go saying that to their faces." There was a smile.

It was small, but it was there.

"I wasn't planning on it, but the rest of them seemed a bit weird too. Even the Captain. I know his ears were a bit long, but there was something about him that just seemed off."

"That's because of Uncanny Valley. That's what the phenomenon is called. The closer something comes to looking human, our human that is, the less familiar it feels. They are close enough to human to be back on the up curve, but I agree that they creep me out a bit."

"Even you? I thought you would give me some crap about diplomacy and how I shouldn't be thinking that way."

That elicited a giggle.

"I am human just as you are Don, I come with the same set of quirks and instincts, those instincts are important to survival. Don't go around displaying your disgust because of them, but don't be afraid to act on them either." She hugged him tighter. "I would rather have to deal with a diplomatic incident than die."

"You really think it might come to that?"

"Who's to say? I don't know what the people are like here, so an attempt on our lives is not off the table."

Don didn't have anything to say to that. He had a tendency to take that sort of thing seriously.

It was Diana's turn to keep the conversation going.

"You know... I'm fine with you spooning me as long as you don't get handsy."

. . .

"You were awake?"

"Indeed I was."

"Was I inappropriate?"

"Not unforgivably."

. . .

"I'm sorry about that."

"I already had a talk with ARC about suggesting such actions in the future."

"Are you sure its okay?"

"We're going to have to do something far more, um, intimate in the future. I think it would be better for my heart if I got warmed up to you in the meantime. Besides," she uncurled her body, moving to get more contact with him, "you make for a good bedwarmer."

She chanced a look up, wanting to gauge his reaction.

Don's face was pink in embarrassment.

"We're going to do THAT?"

"If by that you mean sex then yes. The species must live on. Di-did that thought not cross your mind?"

"I-I-I mean, not until now, no. I haven't really had the time to think about that! Are you okay with that? Do we need to set up some rules about it? Is there anything I need to know?"

"Calm down. I don't plan on letting a pregnancy happen until we are somewhat established. We have plenty of time to prepare ourselves. We have far more pressing matters to worry about." Diana wasn't ready for that conversation yet.

. . .

"I think we should go to the academy." He switched the subject as soon as he felt an appropriate amount of time had passed. "Are you still opposed?"

"It's not that I don't think we should go, I'm just holding out to see if we get a better option."

"What could be better than the opportunity presented by the academy?"

"Anything is possible. Why do you think the academy is such a large opportunity anyway?"

"It has pretty much everything we need right? Everything we are desperate for at least."

Diana looked at him suspiciously. "Explain."

"Explain what exactly?"

"Explain why you are so convinced the academy is the best choice."

"I would also like some information on our potential options." ARC chimed in. "I might not have a final say in the matter, but I might be better able to inform your decisions if I know more about what will be considered a positive or negative."

"Well there's a lot to unpack there. One reason, probably the biggest, is information. I imagine you will need to know at least a little bit of someone's background before you start negotiations with someone right Diana?"

She nodded.

"But that is only half of it, your half. The half involving the education I would receive is more important if our goal is the preservation of our species. If I can be taught how to fight like someone else then I can learn how best to counter it, like I mentioned earlier, but there's more to it.

Presuming I get a good enough handle on not just the general tactics and military situation of the galaxy as a whole, I should be able to give you an idea of which parties we can take in a fight, and which ones we should avoid. It could mean the difference between life and death if it comes to the point where our options are fight or flight."

"I believe my own analysis systems should be good enough to give you an on the spot threat assessment."

"I don't think that's true anymore ARC. This Split thing is a whole new can of worms when it comes to combat capabilities, from what I can tell that applies both offensively and defensively. If we don't even know what the weapons look like, how can we hope to assess their level of threat based on sensor readings before its too late?"

"A fair point."

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"I'd like you to get to work on learning about these threats so it isn't an issue in the future, but for now focus on the pressing concerns. I think we'll need an industrial base before we do anything aggressive."

Diana tugged his arm. "I have a question about the information aspect. Why are you convinced that this will be the best source? Surely the Scholar and the Captain would be good enough for our purposes right?"

"Maybe the best quality, maybe, but we can neither guarantee that nor can I say that having a set of intel different from the norm is a good thing. I don't necessarily want to know the 'best' information first either.

In all of the cooperative test operations I did in the academy, I found the ones that were most difficult to coordinate with an ally on were the ones where we were working off of two different sets of intel. Most of the time, the intel wasn't even wrong or vague. Even knowing the specific capabilities of one ship in a fleet can alter your strategy to accommodate."

"So you would rather know exactly what everyone else knows and nothing more rather than know more than they do?" Diana was confused on this point. Generally speaking, knowing more than your diplomatic partner, be they friend or foe, was a good thing.

"Not exactly... If I had to elaborate, I would say that its more along the lines of needing the base level of knowledge that should be expected. You could describe our situation as 'new'. We know how things operated back home, er, back when home existed, but we have absolutely no idea how things run here beyond the theoretical.

There was a whole class I had to take about how there were different practices aboard different ships despite them being physically the same in every aspect. An reassigned from one ship to another might do everything perfectly according to theory, but mess up in some way in the eyes of that ship's crew.

Right now, I think we are kinda like that new engineer. We know how most things should work, but we don't know what everyone else does and what we should be doing, much less why."

"Am I correct in assuming that class was called 'Culture in Carriers: How to Manage Procedural Differences between Fresh and Veteran Crew Members'?" ARC had scanned his course registrar for something that matched.

"I think that was the name."

"Overall score of 98%, note from the professor expressing excellence in the field. I believe it is safe to assume he knows what he is talking about, though I worry it is not applicable in this context."

Diana had not considered this aspect. "It would be nice to get a broader idea of what people think..."

"Right? Plus, we could use that to our advantage. If its true that they really haven't figured out the rocket, then there have to be other things they don't know about. That sort of knowledge could be very good bargaining material."

"There is evidence to suggest that might be the case. When the Captain boarded and began the unlock sequence, he expressed surprise and interest at various objects in the room." ARC recalled the Captains actions in the brief amount of time he had contact with him. "There is of course the possibility that his body language differs from yours, or that he was surprised at us having reached that level."

"No." Diana had experienced their mannerisms. "Their body language is pretty much the same. I think his interest was genuine as well."

"Yeah, I didn't see a single electronic device. I take it you gave the Scholar that tablet?"

Diana nodded. "Do you think it's all Split powered?"

"Something like that. None of the materials or lights indicated that there were wires. Usually, I would expect to see some sort of service panel or other such material inconsistency around where the wires would be embedded. I can't rule out the possibility they are just advanced to the point of not needing those things."

"No. I think it's safe to say they aren't that advanced in regards to electronics. The Scholar was fascinated, nearing the verge of worship, by the tablet. That seems extremely inconsistent with someone who is familiar with such things."

"In that case, knowing exactly what they don't know will be very important. If they don't have electricity figured out, I can only imagine what else they are missing. They might not even have the elements figured out yet."

"You seem very interested in the technological aspect of this."

"He has to be." ARC responded to Diana's assessment, failing to explain.

"Is it odd?"

"Maybe? I haven't associated much with men in my life, so it might just be a guy thing."

Don tried to think, was his interest in technology odd? Was it implanted there by the Doctor? Did other people in his classes exhibit similar behavior?

"I don't think that it is too out of character, at least for Donovan. In our conversations about previous conflicts he expressed great interest in the factors behind certain developments in weapons technologies and industry. I have to agree with him that it is a fascinating subject."

"Anyways, I think that technology is going to be how we equalize our position. I think we could be stable economically if we sell novel products and remain a threat militarily by using weapons they don't know how to counter. So long as I learn how to counter their weapons and defeat their armor, we should have the advantage."

"And a military academy would be the best place to do that."

"Exactly."

A compelling argument on Donovan's behalf. Diana wasn't well versed in the art of war, but it was completely logical. She hated to admit that military parity was one of the primary objectives given to her if superiority was impossible. The reason it was outlined probably due to her desire to not stir up conflict in the first place.

But what could she accomplish diplomatically if things went south?

Nothing.

Military power itself was also a very powerful card she could play at the negotiation table, but they had to have it in order to use it, and the better Don could use it, the more powerful it would be.

Honestly she was really more interested in the economic aspect. If they could set up some sort of trading empire, conflict could be avoided outright.

Hopefully.

Still, she was hesitant, and it showed on her face.

"If that isn't enough, I think there could be some diplomatic benefits as well..."

"How do you reckon?"

"I'm no negotiator, but don't you need to know what people to talk to in order to, you know, negotiate? If this academy is the galactic melting pot of culture the Captain claimed it was, wouldn't that be the best place to find allies?"

"Yes, but that makes the academy a double edged sword. Because there is so much diversity, it will be just as easy to make enemies, maybe easier."

"So are you still not convinced?"

Don was concerned. Was there something he was missing? Were those elements not really that important?

Diana let out a heavy sigh. "I'm convinced. The pros drastically outweigh the cons. If I think there is a better option we take that though."

"Of course. Can we consider this topic settled then? I want to take Mercedes for a walk around this ship. She hasn't had the chance to get some proper exercise in a long time."

"You also need exercise, Donovan. The level of atrophy you have experienced is not insignificant. I expect it will take up to a month before you return to your previous condition." ARC made a comment on Donovan's physical health, taking the chance to remind him of his own priorities.

"That too yeah. Would you like to join us Diana?"

"Considering the alternative is leaving the both of you to make trouble, I don't have much of a choice now do I?" She was teasing him, fully confident that he wouldn't do anything to offend someone intentionally.

"Alright then. Mercedes! C'mere." Don got up, hiding the moment of dizziness that crashed into him, and jangled the collar and leash.

Mercedes had been patiently laying down at their feet all this time, but she was full of energy now. She didn't even really know what terms like 'walk' meant yet, but she knew that she didn't get to go out often.

"She wasn't a bad dog for you was she?" Donovan was curious about her behavior while he was out. Her receptiveness to other people would dictate how he let her interact with people, something he learned in that training booklet.

"For the most part she was a good girl, laying at your feet in order to protect you. She did end up biting the Scholar at one point, but I'm certain that was because he accidentally put a finger in her ear. She didn't seem to follow through with it once his hand moved back."

"Did she seem overtly hostile towards anyone?"

"I can't say for sure." They reached the deck, Mercedes immediately making an attempt to bolt off. Don was still strong enough to hold her back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She growled at pretty much anyone who tried to get close to you aside from me, but I don't know if that was her being protective or if she was genuinely hostile towards them."

Don nodded his head a bit in recognition as they worked their way to one of the edges of the deck. Mercedes was dragging Don along like a tractor, nose plastered to the floor as she took in the new scents. Even Don was overwhelmed by how many there were with his comparatively weaker nose.

He had been living in a fairly sterile environment for a long period of time, not even his food had appetizing smells attached to them. When he was bombarded by the various woody tones and fruity accents in the air he was more than pleased to just close his eyes and let Mercedes do the walking for him.

"It smells like cedar and maple, at least that's what I think the aroma is."

"What are those?"

"They are different species of tree Donovan, and their woods have different smells along with it. I was saying that the tree smells an awful lot like those two."

"Wait you can smell wood?"

"When it is cut or burnt, yes. If I remember correctly the type of wood you use to cook certain meals can have a big difference on the taste of a dish. I think certain types of fish recipes call for you to actually cook it on a plank of wood so that the flavor soaks into it, though I've never had such a meal myself."

"Huh." Donovan had no idea what to do with this information, even though he was the one who asked. "Neat."

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