Across the Expanse: Day 17
Havardy: It’s your turn.
Lee: Huh?
Havardy: Tell me why you’re here.
Lee: …
Havardy: Come on, I told you my story. The least you could do is tell me what happened with you.
Lee: I mean it's not really that interesting.
Havardy: Bullshit, no one “promotes” an enlisted soldier and sends them out to the middle of nowhere without a reason.
Lee: *Sigh* Well, you already know the Coalition is currently in the middle of a shadow war with the Legion right?
Havardy: Yeah.
Lee: I was stationed in Vahiri.
Havardy: Damn, that's deep in the Fractus Systems, what were you guys doing there?
Lee: We got reports of a Legion encampment in the area. My squad was sent out to do some reconnaissance. We spotted them in the middle of a valley, but there was something… off about it.
Havardy: What do you mean?
Lee: It didn’t look like a military encampment. There were definitely Nagas, but we could only a few of them were carrying weapons, and even then they didn’t look militant. I pointed this out to the lieutenant, but she told me that we shouldn’t take any chances. She was new, you see. Fresh from the Academy and shooting through the ranks in the span of a year. She had something to prove, and the others, of course, agreed with her.
Havardy: ...what did she do?
Lee: She called in a bombardment right on top of them. The encampment disappeared in a cloud of smoke and fire. I tried telling myself that she did the right thing, that what she was doing was the safe route… but then we went down to investigate.
Havardy: No…
Lee: They were defectors from one of the Legion’s fringe planets. They were trying to hide out in Vahiri and let some of the conflict die down around them before the tried making their way to the Poros sector.
Havardy: Who told you all of this?
Lee: The only survivor of the bombardment… as she was crying and cursing us for killing her family...
Havardy: ... hey, you don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.
Lee: No… it’s fine, I’ve said this much. Better to tell the whole story.
Havardy: Alright… but let me know if you need a moment alright?
Lee: Yeah… thanks.
Havardy: Anytime.
Lee: This Naga… she couldn’t have been more than 16 or 17 years old, but from the fire in her eyes I knew she could kill, and there was nothing more she wanted to do than kill us right then and there. The lieutenant could see that too, and she panicked. She shot the girl right in the shoulder. No warning or anything.
Havardy: What the hell?
Lee: I knocked the gun right out of her hands right afterward, and the Naga made a break for it. The lieutenant ordered us to fire, but I jumped between the Naga and the rest of the squad.
Havardy: ...you didn’t think that would get you shot?
Lee: It wasn’t the smartest idea, I admit, but we spilled enough blood that day. I’d had enough. I wasn’t shot, but let’s just say the lieutenant wasn’t too happy about me letting the “enemy” get away.
Havardy: What did she do?
Lee: Had me detained and pulled me for Violation of Orders and Dereliction of Duty.
Havardy: What a bitch!
Lee: She, of course, failed to mention that the bombardment fell on innocents. So I decided to fire back and take her to court for war crimes.
Havardy: Good, but… things didn’t go quite as planned did it?
Lee: Turns out the lieutenant’s father was an Admiral. So instead of either one of us going to court, some strings were pulled and I was promoted to Ensign for “outstanding judgement in a high stress situation.” and sent here as a “reward”. The lieutenant, of course, is continuing her career as UCN officer.
Havardy: ...that’s not how promotions work.
Lee: I know, and the reasoning is obviously bogus as well, but I guess when you’re high up and your little girl is being tormented by the big bad petty officer, you want things to just be swept under the rug.
Havardy: Why didn’t you take this to the press? They would have had a field day with this.
Lee: Because… I still believe in the Coalition.
Havardy: What? How can you say that, after what’s happened to you?
Lee: Because that was only two people out of the entire force. It’s not worth tarnishing a whole organization just to get back at someone who made the wrong choice.
Havardy: An organization that allows this shit to happen needs to be brought down a few pegs.
Lee: You’re not wrong… sometimes I do consider telling the press everything that happened, but at the same time I keep telling myself that things will get better, that there are people out there who do good in the name of the Coalition, like my mother did.
Havardy: People like that don’t last long Jim.
Lee: …
Havardy: ...Sorry.
Lee: No, it’s fine, and you’re probably right, but the eternal optimist in me believes things will get better. Maybe my time on this rock won’t be for long, maybe I can get back out there and make a difference, be someone that stops things like what happened Vahiri from ever happening. Maybe I can be someone my sister looks up to, just like I did with my mother.
Havardy: …
Lee: *Laugh* Oh man, now I know how you felt yesterday. Anyways I’m feeling kind of tired, wake me up for meal time alright?
Havardy: Right… and Jim?
Lee: Yeah?
Havardy: Don’t beat yourself up too hard alright?
Lee: …I’ll try not to.
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