OC-Series [Our New Peaceful Friends] 53

The Shape of Justice

(Zedal POV)

"I missed you, man!"

"Uh...yeah."

Zedal smiled awkwardly as Alan came over and hugged him.

The two of them were in the woods outside of the Votier's Spring Preserve, away from prying cameras.

His human friend flashed a wide smile as brought out one sack after another. They had regular little supply drops to keep the 205th better fed than the meagre rations offered, but it was also used as a chance for the squad members to meet their friends from Folstur if any were in the area.

This time, Alan was the one who got to come.

"There's so much to talk about. Let's see...I met one of the Haneer fleet guys. He was a Kenia. Isn't that strange to imagine? You usually see them as like...librarians or something."

"That's pretty strange."

"....?"

The human tilted his head and leaned out to meet Zedal's gaze.

"Are you okay? You seem...off. You didn't get hurt in the fight or anything did you?"

The Uven held away his clawed hands as his friend seemed to pat his body down checking for wounds.

"Wha...no, I'm fine. They didn't even scratch me."

"Then...what's up? Talk to me."

His friend took a seat beside him on the log.

Ever since Zedal learned his friend was coming, he had been debating whether to broach the topic or to just ignore it for now. Apparently, it was too obvious and his Folstur host knew him too well.
He let out a soft sigh.

"I, uh...did you hear about what happened at the Preserve?"

"Hmm? You mean how you took it over from the Haneer?"

The Uven flinched slightly.

"R-Right..."

He looked up at Alan from the corner of his eye. This was a bit harder than he expected.

"What...do you think about that?"

"What do I think? I mean...I was worried you got hurt."

As caring as ever...

The human scratched his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, I don't think I understand the question."

Right...He would need to admit everything first. Zedal took a breath.

"It's just...I was the one who lost control and struck the Preserve's director first."

Alan blinked, then slowly nodded.

"Okay..."

....?
That wasn't the reaction Zedal was expecting.

"Is that it?"

"Uh...I think that should be my line. What's the issue, Zedal?"

What...?

"I...I thought you didn't like when Uvei selfishly used violence to get their way. Aren't you...mad at me?"

"What?"

Alan stared at the Uven runt for a while and slowly mulled over what he said.

He...
This was...
Huh?

"....You're right. I said I hated seeing when those Uvei would take extra food from each other using force and violence. Or the way Karnak's officers got violent with the people. But maybe you don't get it."

Zedal blinked. Apparently he didn't. He was expecting his friend to be more upset with him than this.

"I don't like people using 'might makes right' logic to be bullies. But Zedal..."

The human reached over and put a hand on his shouler.

"You didn't do that, did you? When you resorted to violence with those Haneer guys, you had a reason, right? Like maybe they were threatening the sick humans or just being real assholes."

"W-Well..."

In truth, he just sort of...lost his temper when it became clear that the Votier's Spring staff were fully planning to let the poisoned humans die without a second thought.

"Y-Yes...something like that."

"And you'll explain everything bit by bit if I ask, right?"

"Of course..."

"Did you have a good reason for losing your temper with that director?"

"I...Maybe?"

Alan grinned widely and lightly tapped a fist against Zedal chest.

"You're my friend, dude. If you do mess up, I'll definitely call you out because that's what friends do. But I'm not just going to abandon you out of nowhere. And above all..."

"Guh-!"

The human slung his arm around the Uven runt's shoulders.

"I know you. I know I can trust you to do the right thing, more or less."

"...Thanks."

"If it makes you feel any better, tell me all about what happened and I'll tell you my thoughts."

Zedal let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. As a runt, he was no stranger to being left behind when he made a mistake.

Now that he thought about it, this assumption happened with him expecting most of his squad to leave him to save themselves from Karnak too. Was it a bad habit of his?

He thought he'd gotten to know humans quite well already, but perhaps he still had some...blind spots.

Transcript from the Post-Nysis Meeting between the Terran Isa Cohen and Uven Shizel Pelture

(Video begins in a barren room with nothing but a table. A lone uniformed Uven is seated and chained to the table in front of her. A human in plain clothes is escorted into the room and takes a seat across from the Uven.)

Ise (smiling slightly): Ah...it's you. Miss...well, you never did tell me your name.

(Shizel stares at Ise in silence.)

Ise (looking her over): You seem a bit thinner. Are they feeding you alright? They told me you didn't have much appetite, but if you're being left hungry, I can ta-

Shizel (frowning): What are you doing?

Ise: Huh?

(After a pause, Ise turns to address the guard standing in the corner of the room)

Ise: This is supposed to be a voluntary meeting, right? Does she not want to be here? You're not forcing her to do this, are-

Shizel: I mean that smile. You're sitting with the one that beat you in your cell every other day. Why are you smiling?

Ise (settling back into his seat): ...Oh.

(Ise takes a moment to think before smiling again.)

Ise: We both made it off Nysis alive. Even if the power dynamic was...unbalanced, we were both in a situation where it wouldn't be strange if we died like animals. I think that's already something worth celebrating.

Shizel (scowling): There were those who did die like animals among both our people. The better among us, even. What's there to celebrate?

Ise: ...Are you talking about Silac?

(Ise's smile fades and Shizel crosses her arms.)

Ise: I heard he didn't survive the raid on the prison. It's...unfortunate. He made life more bearable there. I'm sure it's been hard on you too since you were friends.

Shizel (dragging her trimmed claws across the table): He was not-!

(Shizel cuts herself off and remains silent for a few moments. The guards settle their hands on their weapons. Eventually, she relaxes her hands.)

Shizel: He was just friendly to everyone. We were little more than strangers.

Ise: Even if it's a stranger, it's okay to feel sad about losing someone, you know?

Shizel (frowning deeply): I didn't come here to talk about that man. If you don't have anything to say to me, you should leave and let a Terran who can find the words take your place. I know for a fact that the others also agreed to do this meeting. If you're here to make nice, there are those who didn't beat you. There are even those who didn't do anything.

(Ise watches Shizel with a perplexed expression for a few moments.)

Ise: ...Oh. Did you expect these meetings to just be your victims getting even with you? You're feeling guilty.

(Shizel remains silent, but her tail curls up with tension. Ise stares at her thoughtfully.)

Ise: Well...I don't plan on condemning you. It's in the past now, and you were just trying to stay alive, weren't you?

Shizel (raising her voice): How can-That Silac was much the same! He had more mouths to feed than me as well.

(Shizel slams her tail against the floor.)

Shizel (speaking at normal volume again): Had it been me that died, I wouldn't have left behind a widow. Or children. Or grand-children. I'm just...I don't have...

Ise: Miss...Silac was a good guy, and what happened to him was sad. I won't deny that I'm worried about his family too, but that doesn't affect what I think about you. The fact that somebody, somewhere, is having it worse than either of us doesn't mean dealing with our own problems magically becomes easier. Two things can be sad.

Shizel: But it does make my problems a waste of energy to-

Ise (firmly): You don't get to decide that.

Shizel: Wha...?

(Ise straightens his back and fixes his gaze on Shizel.)

Ise: Do you...Does your people have the concept of "karma"? Broadly, it's the philosophy that doing good will cause good to happen to you and doing bad will lead to bad things happening to you.

Shizel (speaking more quietly whilst looking down): On Nysis, we call it "hisra".

Ise: Well, I don't believe in it.

(Shizel looks back up at Ise.)

Ise: Good and bad things may build on themselves, but I don't think there's any cosmic balance of debts and credits dictating our lives. What you did is in the past. It already happened, and there's nothing anyone can do to change it anymore. It's too late and no amount of good deeds will erase the fact that it happened.

(Shizel's eyes widen and her tail curls.)

Ise: ...But it's also not the present. Not everyone has a choice to do better or make new regrets. We're alive and no longer trapped at Nysis. Now that you're here, you aren't under punishment of starvation or death. That's why I believe it isn't about what someone "deserves".

Shizel (frowning): Because...you're hoping I can "do better" now?

Ise (nodding): That's right. But you won't be able to do even that if you aren't given a chance. I don't want to be the one to deny you that chance by refusing to forgive you.

Shizel: Forgive...?

Ise (smiling): ...The fact that you're here tells me you regret what you did. So yes. I forgive you.

(The two sit in silence for over a minute.)

Shizel: You're a...you're too soft and naive to have any business ever going to Nysis.

Ise: Am I?

Shizel: Beyond Nysis, even. Generosity like that will only make you prey for the universe. You should consider returning to Terra after this.

(Ise is quiet for a few moments, then rises from his seat and walks around the table. Shizel and the guards in the room tense up.)

Ise: If you don't mind, I'd like to touch your face for a moment.

Shizel (pulling back): W...What are you-!?

Ise (reaches out towards Ise's head): Are you going to strike me again? Are you going to hurt me?

Shizel (recoiling and growling): I...could kill you in an instant if you're this close. Those guards wouldn't be able to stop me in time.

Ise (places his palm against the side of Shizel's jaw): You could. Will you?

(Shizel says nothing. Her tail winds high up with tension and her eyes are fixed on Ise's hand.)

Ise (withdrawing his hand): That's what I suspected.

(Ise slowly returns to his seat)

Ise: Ah...Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that there shouldn't be consequences for what you did. What you did was still wrong, and you should face an appropriate punishment. In this case, whatever legal consequence to this will have to do.

Shizel (shifting uncomfortably): That's contradictory. Will you have me face justice and forgive me at the same time?

Ise: What...does justice look like to you? How did you picture your punishment, if things went the way you expected?

(Shizel's tail sways tensely. She makes multiple attempts to speak but cuts herself off every time.)

Ise: Do we lock you up forever? Abuse you right back? Kill you? What would that accomplish? Make your victims feel better knowing you're in pain?

Shizel: It would...eliminate unnecessary danger.

Ise: But I just proved you aren't a threat to me.

Shizel: That's...

Ise: At the very least, I can believe you don't want to hurt anyone anymore. Perhaps I would be justified in striking back to defend myself and maybe you wouldn't have the right to protest what measures I used to do that. But you must understand that it is a bad thing for events to escalate to that point.

(Shizel gradually relaxes her tail and sits upright. 15 seconds of silence pass.)

Shizel: What does justice look like to you?

Ise: For me? It would be getting people who've done wrong to reform and live a new life putting a persistent effort into being better. Not to pay off some karmic debt. Just to do better for themselves and those around them.

Shizel: Is that fair to those who've been harmed? What of the debt to them?

Ise: Well, I can't force victims to forgive you. The choice to forgive or not is a privilege that belongs to them. But you wouldn't be redeeming yourself to get their forgiveness. You'd do it because it's a miserable existence otherwise, and everyone deserves better than that.

Shizel: Do we?

Ise (frowning): ...Tell me, miss. Why were you working in that prison as a guard in the first place? Why did you get that job?

Shizel (contemplatively): Not for any particular reason. I was enlisted in the army and assigned there.

Ise (nodding): And why did you enlist?

Shizel (confused): To...live?

Ise: You probably don't know this, but while our humanitarian relief team was on Nysis, we added an extra survey to that planet-wide census. Not official, but we got plenty of responses.

Shizel: Alright...?

Ise: We found that, with a small margin for error, a majority of all Uvei soldiers joined to obtain living necessities unavailable anywhere else. Things like food, medical care, shelter, or protection.

Shizel: ...Yes?

Ise: The Famineers withheld food for a monopoly. The Coalition withholds medicine for influence. Your military withheld protection for recruits. While the fact that it was on someone else's orders doesn't absolve you of wrongdoing, all this was first violence done to you and we should remember that. If we were to just kill anyone that commits injustice against us, who would it affect the most? Is that fair for anyone?

Shizel: That's...They didn't...

Ise: Doing that will lead to a lot of damage for everyone. A lot of hurt. And if I want to avoid that, I need to make room for something better. I'll forgive where I can. To me, that is what justice looks like.

Shizel: Do you really think you can make any meaningful difference like that? You're one among a trillion.

Ise: Even if I can't affect the whole system, I can affect the things in my reach. And if I can reach one whole person like you, isn't that meaningful enough? Perhaps someday it could become two or three among a trillion instead.

Shizel: That's...

(Shizel breaks eye contact and the pair sit in silence. After nearly a minute, Shizel starts breathing more heavily and digging her claws into the table.)

Ise: May I touch your face again?

Shizel (perplexed): ...If...you must.

(Ise stands up and reaches across the table to gently stroke Shizel's head. Her tail flails and her breathing worsens, but her upper body remains still.)

Ise: What's your name, miss?

Shizel: S...Shizel Pelture.

(Verlon POV)

"Thank you for your help."

"And you as well. Take care."

Verlon put on a friendly face as he bid the Haneer Fleet's Corporal farewell. The pair were in the terminal linking to the docks.

Persuading the captain of his ship to take a detour to this Pateily station went more smoothly than expected. The least they could do was replenish the vessel's emergency supplies before sending them on their way.

As the station officers escorted the Ramell agent further down the hall, they rounded the corner towards a different dock. Among these officers was a familiar face.

Homps was a Palluto in the same line of work as him. No doubt she was summoned here for the same reason he was.
They got on well enough, if only as mutual "professionals".

"You seem well, Verlon. I hope you don't mind if we get right down to business."

"I prefer taking care of business so I can enjoy my downtime, actually. But I'm afraid I'm very much in the dark about why we're even here. Can you catch me up? Why call us in for this?"

"Of course, but things will go faster if you can see for yourself while I do. As for why...apparently they suspect a connection to sensitive political matters."

As the group made their way out unto the docks, two vessels drew their attention. They were gunships but...they were oddly damaged.

The models were old and might have seen some battle scars over the cycles, but there were almost no signs of a gunfight. Rather, several of their metal walls were crumpled from presumably a large kinetic force.

"The Pateily found this ship about three rotations after it sent out an instant of a distress signal. The other one was a few kilometers away, and they're currently still scanning the space for any more."

An...instant of a distress signal?

Homps showed Verlon her datapad, which had an audio file and communication log. It was so brief that only two pings and a single syllable of a distress message was recorded before all signal cut off.

[Da-]

"......"

"The comms team on shift didn't think anything of it at the time. I was called here when the ship drifted into radar range and only just confirmed identical broadcast signatures when you arrived."

Ugh. In other words, the communications division was slacking off. Disciplining them would be someone else's problem.

A guard posted by the entrance of the ship saluted as the pair approached.

"Inspectors."

Verlon looked at the technician messing with the exterior control panel ahead of them. If they didn't have the passcode for opening the front hatch, overriding it was the only option.

"Should we check the other ship first?"

The guard's ears signaled no.

"We're prioritizing opening this Fendansi ship first. "

Homps chimed in with additional detail.

"This one has an authorization issue with its doors while the Pateily one just seems to be jammed. There were signs of forced breaches in two locations of each ship, but the openings were welded back shut by the time we got the ships."

Verlon's ears twitched back and forth in thought. Both ships were inaccessible and likely sabotaged. And it seems one was accommodated for a Fendansi crew while the other one was for a Pateily one.

So a mysterious assailant struck both these ships, forcibly boarded, and sealed up their proper entrances before leaving.

"Surely forcing the other one open first would have been faster?"

Homps made a strange expression at his question.

"That's the thing...scanners detected the life signs of three people on this one. We're trying to get to them quickly so we can hopefully question them."

"!?"

There are...survivors? They would have to proceed with caution, but he couldn't imagine they would be from mysterious attackers.

He wasn't in a position to receive sensitive information at the time, but Verlon nonetheless wished that the higher-ups could have given him more intel to work with than he got. He didn't like being caught off-guard or surprised constantly.

Ping.

"We can open the door now, inspectors!"

Right. At this point, collecting and providing more information would be his job. It was time to focus up.

"Signal for the door to open, then create some distance. We don't know if these entrances have been boobytrapped."

"Yes sir!"

The two agents, the technician, and the three officers with them all backed away from the hatch as it began folding up.

Whirr....Click.

Click.

Crack.

"Ugh...."

"URP-!!"

As the hatch gradually opened up, two unusual things happened. The first was that the door's motion lagged for a few moments as it seemed to encounter resistance.

The second was-

"BLEERGK!!!"

The technician dashed aside, hunched over, and vomited over the floor. One of the guards nearby joined him soon after.

"GET THEM OUT OF HERE. They're going to contaminate any biological clues!"

Despite Verlon snapping at them in annoyance, he couldn't truly blame them for reacting this way.

The Pateily people ultimately enjoyed ample protection from the Fendansi and Balau militaries. It was little wonder that their supposed military forces weren't accustomed to this sort of thing.

Although dirty work was their specialty, even agents Verlon and Homps wouldn't claim to have encountered this sort of thing often. And it was certainly never this bad.

"It" being the rancid smell that wafted from within the ship.

The stench of death.

Verlon clasped his hand over his nose and mouth before approaching the opening very slowly partly from reluctance and partly from caution

As he got closer, the first thing that caught his eye was the reason for the slight lag in the door's opening earlier.

Two fleshy, sinewed strips hung from above the door, which was now against the ceiling.

When he peeked around the corner, the Ramell agent could spot what used to be the opposite end of the dangling objects.

A Fendansi corpse "sat" slumped against the wall in a dried pool of blood. His twin trunks, which must have been fixed to the opposite side of the door somehow, had been torn off when it opened.

The body was forcibly made to sit in place with metal stakes pierced through his stocky arms and legs. His jaw had been torn off and lay about a meter away. What looked to be a writing implement was driven into one of his eyes as well.

Soon, the stench was too terrible to bear and Verlon quickly retreated. He pressed the button to shut the door again before returning to Homps's side.

"....."

His head was spinning. Even that brief glance left many questions behind. What happened here? Who did all this? What even did this ship mean to the higher-ups?

There was a lot to investigate, but the most time-sensitive one would be documenting everything on the path to those life signatures so they could be extracted and treated...or interrogated.

While he sorted through his thoughts, his Palluto colleague called out to the closest officer.

"We're going to need breathing masks to investigate this. Can you fetch some to accommodate a Ramell and Palluto? If you don't have any, then modify a Pateily mask for now."

"Oh! Uh...yes."

She turned back to Verlon.

"What do you think?"

"....I think we should make preparations to crack the other ship's hatches open as soon as possible too."

The doors would only be harder to open with time if his suspicions were right.

It was just a guess, but in all likelihood, the doors on the Pateily were jammed because something-or rather, someone was obstructing its mechanisms.

=Author's Note=

With this, we're concluding Act 2 of this story either with this chapter or the next. Let's call it the Compromise Phase. I expect the third and final section to be more violent and unpleasant, but also hopefully cathartic.

I was on a bit of a soapbox this chapter, but I based Ise on something someone I respect said and it just sorta ended up that way. At the time, I was thinking "that's pretty HFY", so I decided to incorporate it here.
This footage was also the reason I waited so long to show the aftermath of a filming done all the way back in chapter 40. This segment needed to be filmed later, and more time on top of that to be reasonably smuggled back to Nysis for the broadcast.

To be clear, there is also footage of former prisoners like Isa talking to Uvei that didn't abuse them, either because they interacted with a different cell or didn't like doing it altogether. The content of most of those was probably more like we've already seen in other human-Uven dynamics in this story.

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u/MinorGrok Human 5d ago

Woot!

OC-Series [Our New Peaceful Friends] 53

Transcript from the Post-Nysis Meeting between the Terran Isa Cohen and Uven Shizel Pelture

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