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Chapter Seventeen | How to Proceed
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It was an arduous process, but I was slowly but surely making my way through the documents. After Steele's polite decline and after the Captain's insistence as well as the insistence of his friend, he seemed to be thinking about their request for his return and counsel. Knowing Steele, that meant that he was going to sit and stare at the horizon for a few hours weighing his options and, ultimately, go with his gut feeling about the whole situation in the first place.
For this, it meant that he was not going to go.
Still, he decided to humor me and let me read through the documents the Captain and Wofur provided. The ride back on the dinghy was tense, but I couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement at the same time. I was eager to know what was going on in the world beyond the horizon, and I soon found out.
After spending hours combing through the documents, I felt completely and utterly blindsided.
This was a bigger deal than I thought.
First, Keonune and Laryuen had some tense history with the mainland, mostly because of where they were located. Steele told me a bit about the different territories, and so I knew that the Orion living in Keonune were high in the mountains and the Orion living in Laryuen was practically a marshy swamp land.
While teaming with life in their own way, it was hardly pleasant living conditions for those in Laryuen. The documents stated they were requesting more supplies for trade, but other documents and correspondence stated that there was hardly enough on the mainland to go around and that everyone received approximately the same amount of rations.
For the inhabitants of Keonune and Laryuen, it wasn't enough.
I kept my oil lamp close, walking along the text that was scrolled and scratched in letters as long as my arm, as I continued to read.
Evidently, this treatment and various hostilities had been going on for quite some time – and now they were all at a breaking point.
The more I read, the more I felt for the Orion and the people of these territories. It was true that everyone was receiving proper trade and equal amounts, but it was because the living conditions were so harsh that they were asking to adjust the boarder lines, which would give both the inhabitants of Keonune and Laryuen more territory than the other districts.
This was the primary crux of the issue and why they were willing to go to war.
The entire time I read, I continued to update Steele about what I was discovering. I informed him of the details and facts without him having to deal with the minutiae of the situation.
"Steele, did you know that the Orion from Keonune have pushed down from the mountains into two of the towns. They're not occupying it, based on their claims. They're 'co-habitating' according to their leader. Do you know someone by the name of Imvyr Masatar?"
Sometimes, Steele would recognize the names and give me a summarized history of this person or that person, telling me how he knew them or some of the tactics he heard they used. While all of the information was useful, it was nowhere near some of the questions I wanted to ask him. I wanted to know about Steele's military history. I wanted to know about the respect he commanded among the ranks of a crew of strangers. Still, those questions could wait for after he made his decision.
For now, this was the priority.
I combed through more documents, describing all of the events leading up to the most recent ones. It wasn't until I reached one point where there was a skirmish that I noticed the name of our continent, Rascya, pop up. I shook in my shoes in disbelief and surprise as I read how the Orion of Keonune and Laryuen were now pushing into our homeland.
It was at the far east, but it was still happening.
Our home was being affected by this war of the Orion.
It was then that, from the depths of my mind, that I remembered something that the First Mate on the ship said to Steele as she helped debrief him of some of the facts.
The First Mate said that precautions and preparations were being made, and then she made eye-contact with me and glanced at my momma. It was a reluctant look, like how adults talked about children while they were in the room.
What did that mean?
My heart flipped in my chest as my mind was set to the races. Whatever it meant, it was not good – specifically for momma and for people like us. I wondered for a moment longer if there were reports in the east of what was happening or if communication was being cut off on purpose.
Were our people dying in droves and we didn't even know?
First, I needed to know what these precautions and preparations were. My mouth suddenly felt like I had stuffed them with cotton. I looked around me and suddenly noticed that the sun was hanging low in the sky, casting the horizon in odd, haunting shades of pinks, oranges, and reds. Steele's eyes were still clinging onto the edge of the world where the sky met the sea. Somehow, the light accentuated the subtle wrinkles and crow's feet on his face, making dark, contrasting shadows that made him seem like a different person than the one I had learned to call dad.
I don't know why I felt so nervous to ask him. Perhaps, in a way, I suspected the answer, but I didn't want to confirm it.
Still, I needed to know – I had to know.
"Steele?" my voice sounded so small as I called up to him. At first, it was like he didn't hear me. He kept his eyes, unblinking, turned toward the ocean. It wasn't until I opened my mouth to call out to him again when he blinked slowly, drawing in a deep breath, before turning his violet eyes onto me. They looked luminous against the sky.
"Yes, Terrilyn?" asked Steele. His voice sounded exhausted and wary. It was like he knew what I was about to ask and was reluctant to share the information and resigned himself to answering, regardless of the information's unpleasantness.
"I keep seeing the same references to preparations and precautions, and I remember the First Mate saying something about it before looking at momma and I," I said. Steele nodded as if he could see the question behind my eyes. "What does that mean?"
Steele chewed on his bottom lip and, for the first time in a long time, turned to look back at the water without answering my question. He was nodding slowly over and over again. Anxiousness pressed in on my chest like deep water diving, surrounding me and compressing the air until it was almost unbearable. Just when I felt like I needed to break the surface, Steele responded.
"There are laws and clauses in our government that recognizes your people. You know one of them as the Directive of Noninterference. We, the Orion, know and recognize that our civilization is different than yours. We have made certain advancements that your people have not yet discovered.
"Our counsels and political figureheads of the day, long before I was around, decided it would be better if our two races did not interact very much as a whole to prevent us from accidentally tampering with your natural civilized progression," stated Steele. His voice sounded distant and mechanical, like he needed to emotionally distance himself from the information.
"That was the one you were afraid that they were coming to arrest you for? The Noninterference directive? Telling us about your civilization and educating us? Teaching us about more efficient crop harvesting and so forth?" I asked. Steele nodded complacently.
"Yes," he replied quietly. I was able to take one breath, but it was far from the relief that I needed. He needed to keep talking.
"Alright, I understand as much, but what about the other thing? You haven't explained these precautions yet. Is that another directive?" I asked. The reluctant wall Steele had placed between the information and me broke. Just like before with his detached tone, he began explaining.
"There is a clause in our laws that addresses conflict, specifically about it reaching your territories. Because we know of our devastating abilities and our natural advantages, a specific clause was created to protect your people. It states that if war or conflict appears eminent, it is the counsel's responsibility to utilize the Counsel of Archanum to preserve the cultures of different regions, cities, towns, et cetera by bringing small groups to our land, confining them to a safe location, and then relocating them once the potential hazards have been neutralized," said Steele, his words hanging hollowly in the air.
My knees were actually shaking as I stared up at the only true father I had ever known.
Did he just say what I thought he said?
Relocating them? Moving my people? Bringing small groups to their homeland? Confining them? Relocating them? Keeping them "safe?"
It reminded me of something I read from the traveling scholars and university students about preserving wildlife in developing areas. From what Steele just said, sounded like he was talking about some kind of endangered species of lizard, not people – my people.
"But... there's no way our people have signed off on this, right? Do our councilmen know about this? If they do, this is horrid! They're just letting our people be relocated without general consent? Why not just have us evacuate?" I asked. Steele once again looked away from me, but this time he was shaking his head.
"No," he said, obviously crestfallen at his admission. "Your people are kept in the dark about this particular directive for reasons. It would raise too many questions and too many would resist, condemning countless lives to death simply because some are too stubborn to relocate themselves. So, no. Your people have not given consent, and it is because of the Directive of Noninterference that we do not inform your people and simply have you relocate."
My jaw dropped.
This was worse than I thought. The Orion – giants by our standards – were on the brink of all-out war and our citizens didn't have any clue as to what loomed on the horizon, literally. We were sitting ducks, fish in a barrel, and we had no resources to defend ourselves and no say in how we were to proceed.
"Steele! This is an atrocity! This violates all of my peoples' civil liberties and puts us at horrible risk. We have to tell the authorities! We need to notify the heads of our districts and inspire action." My voice had taken on a life of its own, ringing out like some kind of patriotic orator. I felt energy surge through me as I felt true purpose.
Steele's violet eyes, however, held a much heavier look.
"Terrilyn, these actions would be in direct violation on my part with the Directive of Noninterference. Not only that, but getting these authorities to listen to you will be an immense challenge and take time we do not have," stated Steele. "As you read in the report, they are already on the brink of war. Things like this take time."
I felt frustration well up inside of me. I stood defiantly and stared at my giant, Orion father. Rarely were we at odds, and this felt like one of those times.
"So, we do nothing?" I demanded. "Like cowards and the lords who are far removed from the front lines, watching and judging without residing in the slums and trenches with his people?" There was a flare in Steele's eyes as he looked at me.
The look wasn't that of anger, but of bruised personal pride.
"Terrilyn, my kind, sweet summer child. You do not know the atrocities of war. The logistics and persuasions, treaties and deals, are no longer viable options. Fighting is all that will stop Keonune and Laryuen now," sighed Steele. He folded his hands and turned his eyes to the sea once again.
I looked over at the silhouette of the ship, my eyes catching the faint bit of light on the bow and stern as well as the few cabins that could be seen because of the light through the portholes.
My thoughts raged in my head as I fixated on the ship.
How could he sound so defeated? They came to him for help because he's dealt with this situation before. Why is he so reluctant? It's not like he would actually be fighting, right? Or is he afraid they will arrest him for the whole Noninterference Directive thing?
My insides twisted. Right there as a silhouette on the horizon was the chance to protect my people and to prevent the death of countless lives. Right there was adventure and the chance to see Steele's world, a place I had only imagined though dreams and descriptions he gave me.
It was heart wrenching.
Then, a thought occurred to me.
Maybe he wouldn't go, but would that stop me?
"Dad?" I said as I kept my eyes fixed on the mast. "You said once that visitors from other lands were designated as ambassadors by default unless your counsel had someone designated for the position, right?"
My Orion father looked down at me, violet eyes stern and fierce with a play of curiosity in them.
"This is correct, but..."
"Could I go?" I asked. The words were out of me before I could even think about them. I knew this was going to bring on a discussion, but I was more than ready to continue defending my point.
This – my world and my people – were important to me.
My father's violet eyes softened into a pensive look.
"Terrilyn, do you truly desire this?" asked Steele. "Do you truly want to go and attempt to undo the impossible?" I straightened up and looked him in the eyes. I felt overwhelmed, but excited too.
"We will not so easily be overlooked simply because of our size and advances. Perhaps we were far behind the Orion, but that didn't mean we were only slightly superior to animals. I want to go. I need to go. This is important to me, Steele. Even if it does nothing, at least I tried. Isn't that what you taught me to do?" I asked.
I could have sworn that beneath his stern gaze that I saw a hint of a smile turning the corners of his lips upward.
"Indeed," Steele muttered. "Koova ka'non psion. Feylyra koova. Liehara naterma."
I knew what he meant.
My dearest love. My daughter. Just like your mother.
I felt myself beam with pride. Evidently, I had done something right.
"Very well," he said softly as he tore his eyes from me back to the mast of the ship. "We shall go."
Did I hear him correctly? Go? We?
"You... you're coming with me?" I asked. Steele nodded and tenderly placed his hand on the ground beside me. I stepped on without hesitation and crouched as he lifted his hand near his face. Those captivating violet eyes of his turned once again on me, and I felt a shiver run through me.
For a moment as my heart flipped in my chest, I saw the commander Steele once was. I felt an intimidating presence of a wise, seasoned warrior who was determined to turn the tides set before him.
"I will not allow my daughter to enter into this battle alone," he said firmly.
I knew what I was asking. I knew what Steele was sacrificing. He was willing to travel across the world to face a world he thought he would never see again for me, and I loved him for it.
I stood and stepped carefully up to the side of his palm, holding my hands out as I used to as a much younger child. Knowing what it meant, Steele pulled his hand closer to his face and let me hug along the bridge of his nose, our foreheads pressed together as we once did.
After countless seconds passed, Steele pressed his lips against my chest and pulled away only to fixate once again on the ship.
"We have some letters to send out of courtesy to your officials to let them know of what is occurring as well as your intention to be an ambassador. Then, we must hail the ship. It will be a long night ahead of us," stated Steele. I felt tingly all over, excitement electrifying my nerves as Steele lowered me to the ground.
"Yes, dad," I said assertively.
Yes, the night would be long, and maybe it was all for nothing and the wheels of fate were already turning. Still, I knew in my heart that this was the right thing to do.
Grabbing my writing desk and preparing for the long night ahead, I dipped my quill and prepared to change history's tale with nothing more than ink and perseverance.
Wouldit be enough?