And Yet, We Meet Again

Posted on Sun Nov 3rd, 2019 @ 11:56pm by Captain Henry Crow & Lieutenant Aemilia "Millie" Stepanova

Mission: Bless the Maker
Location: Counselor's Quarters
Timeline: Immediately following Mediation

Millie stormed through the door in her own quarters. In the back of her mind, she wished for the doors that she'd had in a previous colony posting--the kind that you could slam behind yourself for emphasis. It was unlike her to express frustration and anger. She'd always been so good at keeping it all under wraps, ensuring that nobody could see beyond the gentle smile and peaceful face that her job often required.

She tossed her uniform jacket over a chair and crossed to the small table displaying a cross and religious icons. Millie placed both hands on the tabletop, closed her eyes, and muttering a very terse Russian prayer under her breath, willed her angry heart to slow its pounding.

"A lot of good, prayers will do you."

Millie gave a sigh, recognizing the voice. "I take it you're not a man of faith, then?" she asked, not bothering to open her eyes. His timing was...not exactly appreciated.

"What needs does a man have from a deity when he can have anything he wishes without it?"

"Peace, James." Millie took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She didn't turn yet, but she reached across the table and lit a small stick of incense. She'd made sure to stock up before leaving Moscow, unsure of when her next trip home would be. "You can have all of the money and power in the world, but none of that can ever purchase peace."

He freshened his drink, wherever he was. "Peace is a luxury like any other. Speaking of which you don't seem very peaceful tonight. I don't think I saw you this agitated when I had kidnapped you."

Millie sighed. "Staffing problems. A clash of personalities, you could say." She waved her hand, wafting the trail of incense into the air. "But such things happen when you lock a few hundred people on a ship together for...extended periods of time."

"Someone upset you. What did they say or do?"

Millie waved off his comment. "It is fine." She took a deep breath in of the incense aroma before turning. "It is all part of my job as Counselor. Not everyone is receptive to looking inward and opening old wounds."

He put his feet up on something and took a sip. "I've had a hellish day too. We had a trade dispute with a world who makes a component we need for some weaponry. They've never given us a problem in over a century and now suddenly they want more wages."

"Perhaps, after a century, they may be owed a raise." Millie stepped over to the replicator and requested a mug of very hot water. She pulled a small tin from a drawer, scooped a small amount of the leaves and herbs from the tin into a tea strainer ball, and let the small device bob in her mug of water as she walked to one of the comfortable chairs. She kicked off her shoes, climbed into the chair, and tucked both legs under her.

"We don't give raises. And now because of their greed they get nothing. Short sighted fools."

Millie's head tilted slightly. "You...don't pay your workers? How are they able to provide for their families?"

"We eliminated those workers' jobs. Replaced them with androids and shipped them to another manufacturing world in need of labor."

The anger seemed to ease from Millie's brow, and her eyes softened. "You took them from their home?"

He took a long sip. "They made us remove them by their actions. They should be thankful for the second chance."

"Is that the only solution? Remove them?" Millie held her tea in her lap, letting the mug warm her hands.

"No, we usually just wipe them out. Like I said they should be thankful."

Millie's expression darkened with concern. James had mentioned this elimination method before, and it was no less disturbing this time around. "But it certainly must be...expensive to eliminate an entire workforce and retrain their replacements. Probably far less expensive than partnering with the local population, da?"

"You're right it used to be but my initiative has been to rely on androids. Someday I see our entire workforce including military being automated. No strikes, no questioning orders, just loyalty and hard work for centuries before a unit needs replaced."

Millie gave a soft chuckle. "Except that we've all seen that movie before."

He gave her a questioning expression.

That warranted a laugh from Millie. "Please tell me that you have seen a movie before..."

"Of course I have, we produce educational material in video form for worlds we acquire."

Her laugh became a giggle. "No. Not a propaganda film. Like an actual movie. A work of fiction." Millie looked at the still-confused look. "All these years, and you've NEVER seen a movie?"

"Propaganda is a loaded term."

The counselor shrugged, taking a tiny sip of her tea. "Then tell me that I am wrong."

"Our people create holofilms showing the positive things we do. But to your question, I do not watch fiction."

Another sip of her tea. "So your films tell the truth then?"

"Absolutely. The courageous formation of the company, our growth, and how we have protected billions."

"And how you protect the billions that are killed if they disagree with the occupation of your empire, da?" Millie quirked an eyebrow at him over her mug.

"Dissent promotes chaos. We bring unity, prosperity, and security."

"But you dissent in the way that these planets and their citizens were running their daily lives before the involvement of your company. Perhaps it is not that they have dissented, but perhaps it was your company who was wrong in their interference." A smirk played at the corner of her lips.

"The victor writes the history my dear." He finished his drink.

Millie decided to change the subject. This was an area that she wasn't likely to influence. "So, you remember that you're supposed to request an appointment, da?"

"Of course but this wasn't an appointment, I was just bored I suppose."

That was interesting. She took a long sip of her tea. "The man who can have anything he wants couldn't find anything to do?"

"I have a charitable function tonight so I'm killing time."

"Charity?" Also, very interesting. "It...doesn't seem like your style."

"A world we recently have come to terms with is honoring our company's efforts to help them win their global war."

Millie nodded in understanding. "So, a leader that you've had installed is celebrating your victory." She took a sip of her tea. "And the funds raised tonight are going into a war orphans fund?"

"No, they go to repay us for our efforts."

The Counselor's brow furrowed. "That's...not charity, James. Charity would be to support a cause that cares for the less fortunate, but you and your company...you are not a charity."

"We are whatever we want to be."

"Sir," a woman's voice sounded, "you're going to be late to the function."

He looked away as if to a chronometer. "You're right." He set his feet down from where he had been resting them and suddenly the shape rose as if standing before exiting the holographic picture. "We'll talk soon. And don't let whatever happened today upset you too much."

Millie opened her mouth to respond, but the hologram vanished before she could say a word. She leaned back into her chair and sighed. She wished Henry understood the depth of the risks she was taking just to protect his family--but this one, he would never know.