Chapter Text
The faint sound of a gas hissing awakens the person inside from her slumber. And her skills would be put to the test.
The first of those tests being seeing if her still waking mind could endure an entire mental spiel.
As the final hisses of air leaked out, the top of the chamber she was in opened: searing light into her pod as the bed raised out. When it finally came out from the pod, a figure leaned over her.
“Do you understand?” the voice said
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light as she was making out the figure.
“Too much at once.” she simply groaned.
The figure nodded, pushing themselves out of the light to make it easier for her to see. “I figured as much. Considering how dated this instant learning system is.” as the figure raised a partly gloved hand at her. “Can you get up?”
She stared at the figure. Red eyes and yellow hair staring at her, with a military uniform she distantly recognized on the figure. She took the figure’s hand that helped her sit up right.
The figure leaned in, whispering something. “Let me ask you this first… Do you think humanity should be erased from this universe?”
Her nose twitched.
“No.”
The figure leaned out. A small smile on their face.
“Then, it thankfully looks like you’ve not lost your memory. At least, not all of it.”
The figure turned themselves around, shuffling through a cabinet and handing a towel towards her.
“Get changed, Lady Willow. I’ll explain things further as we go towards the meeting.”
She took the towel, the fluff of it in her hand as she used it to cover her chest before heading towards the rest of her clothes.
“Given the situation, my rank is meaningless. Just Branwyne is fine, we’ll need to sort the situation out. Remind me, what is your name?”
The figure tilted their head slightly. “Setsu.”
“Setsu.” Branwyne stated. “How many infectees are here?”
“Among the three people you’re about to meet, one isn’t human.”
Branwyne nodded, fixing the last of her dress. “Then, we’ll need to sort this out.”
“Correct. Are you ready to go?” Setsu inquired.
“Almost.” Branwyne turned to Setsu and leaned in towards her. “The pod I was in, it was a medical pod. Was it not?”
“Yes. I found you unconscious during the events of the outbreak, but I managed to haul you here and into the ship and pod.” Setsu confirmed.
Branwyne nodded “And this pod…. What did it inform you of?”
A pause, as Setsu stared up at Branwyne.
“The pod informed me of a few things, but I imagine you mean specifically that.” Setsu pointed out and up towards Branwyne’s face. “Then yes. It did tell me that too.”
Branwyne gave a smile. Two fangs showing. “Thank you for the honesty. Does anyone else know?”
Setsu shakes her head “The only ones that do currently are myself, and LeVi. The ship’s AI, who ran the scan. We are the only two aware of you being a Vampire.”
Branwyne nodded “Then we’ll keep it a secret from the rest of the ship, and we’ll be fine.”
Setsu gave a firm nod back. “That was the plan. We can deal with whatever ramifications come from that later.”
Branwyne would approach the door. “Well then, that’s all from me. Let’s head to the meeting.”
---
Setsu explained the situation in greater detail to Branwyne as the two walked to the meeting room of the ship. They found themselves on a ship called Interstellar Cruiser D.Q.O. Who landed to rescue them as they escaped. However, their arrival to safety is delayed and until they eliminate the Gnosia on board, they won’t get clearance to land on any planet. Among the survivors, there is one infectee they need to eliminate.
The alternative is that if they don’t, LeVi will blow up the ship to eliminate the Gnos infectee. The only reason why LeVi hasn’t is due to a compromise made by Setsu and the rest of the crew. If they send someone to a cold sleep and the ship warps closer to arrival, they can avoid self destruction. But due to warping, there is still Gnosia on board. They will eliminate a crew.
Setsu also explained their fellow crew, and fellow suspects. Gina, Raqio and SQ. With Setsu giving a description of each of them to help identify them. There wasn’t much time for further questions, like what to look out for, as they made it to the meeting hall.
---
Sure enough, the remaining trio was already waiting. Turning their heads as the futuristic door opened.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Setsu announced to the group as Setsu and Branwyne approached.
Raqio, dressed in an outlandish outfit, was the first to speak. “Ah, the guest of honor has arrived.”
The tension in the air was thick.
“Good work, Setsu.” Gina began, turning with a soft smile. “Has their memory come back?”
Setsu turned to Lady Branwyne. Who gave a partial nod.
“Yes, although it was only partially that.”
Gina paused at that, and her face was confused. So Branwyne quickly clarified.
“The reason I was in the medical pod wasn’t just from temporary memory loss. But also some of the damages I had sustained in the chaos of the escape. I was unconscious for some time, but it was Setsu who brought me here so I would be brought back.”
Setsu nodded, as if to confirm my statement. Gina seemingly relaxes at this.
SQ, the girl furthest in the back. Looks up with an almost pitying expression. “Wait, what? Which memories are like, zero on?”
“Only the most recent ones around the time of the attack until getting here.” Branwyne stated “I remember many other things perfectly well.”
Raqio scoffed at this. “Selective amnesia? At a time like this, how convenient that you’re the only one that gets this."
SQ tilts her head “Is it? I mean like, she was the one that ran a distraction to let us three get to the ship. She had like, a bunch of dudes after her! The fact that she’s even alive is amazing!”
Gina would tilt her head, as if thinking. A finger twirling a small section of her hair. “I agree. Faking amnesia now would bring too much attention to yourself.”
Raqio would pause at this, and then frown. “They say the Gnosia possess the same level of intelligence and cunning they had before infection. Lady Willow over there is a cunning politician, remember. That was the reason she was there on Liu-An to promote anti-Gnos policies before its destruction, after all.”
Setsu would frown “By that logic, I would be suspicious too. As the military personnel on board.”
SQ chuckled “Ah, here comes the calvary for the royalty.”
Lady Branwyne would pause, listening in on the conversation that was about her. It sounded like they had recalled her time there and what she was doing. But something about these events seemed off.
“If I wanted to promote anti-Gnos policies, I had no reason to physically go there myself when I could just promote it from the safety online. So… I had covered up why I wanted to truly go there. But why was I going there…?”
Lady Branwyne zoned back into the conversation that had continued around her. “-be too obvious, wouldn’t it? You really seem to have it in for Winnie huh, Raqio?” SQ stated. “That actually makes you the most suspicious.”
“Oho… So you’re suspecting me?” Raqio asked. “Well, I’m sure all will be made clear once we discuss things. There isn’t any further reason to delay, is there, Setsu?”
Setsu nodded “I don’t think there should be. We all seem capable of debating, unless…?” Setsu looked at the rest of the crew. Only silence came back. “Okay, then let’s begin. This discussion will determine whether we will survive.”
In the center of the room, a screen suddenly formed from the center console. “Day 1, 5 crew.”
Setsu continued, leading the debate “First, did anyone notice any suspicious behavior or any other evidence characteristics of the Gnosia?”
“You say that, but, like…” SQ began.
Raqio continued “All we really have to go on is that someone here is concealing their identity.”
Gina sighed, “I’m not sure if that is enough to go on by itself.”
Raqio chuckled “They say that humans who have a gender are easily swayed by external looks. It seems that’s true; appearances determine everything.”
Setsu frowned, “That doesn’t apply to me, but I still don’t feel like suspecting Lady Branwyne.”
Raqio nodded “It may not, but that’s not where I was going with this.”
SQ leaned up from her position. “Oh? I thought you were like, totally going to continue to accuse Winnie.”
Raqio gave a wide grin, popping out a container of some kind and flipping some sort of pill into their mouth in a seamless catch. “Well, I think we can all agree that Lady Willow is still suspicious. But I’m not sure if she’s the type to go for such a risky move. Gina… on the other hand?”
Gina wordlessly looked at Raqio.
“Pressing on those who stay suspiciously quiet sounds prudent."
Gina paused. “Appearently, I seem suspicious.”
SQ smiled “Don’t worry, Gina. I won’t be fooled by Raqio’s wild accusations. They're like, totally suspicious.”
Setsu nodded “I don’t want Gina to go away just now…”
Raqio would roll their eyes “Well, one of us has to go away. Unless you all are seriously considering me over anyone else here?”
There was an awkward silence, Lady Branwyne thought she heard someone: SQ? Awkwardly coughing.
“We’re just going back and forth based on nothing, as we don’t really have any evidence.”
Lady Branwyne’s eyes flickered around the room from face to face. But none of them seemed off in any way.
“If this goes on like this, we’re effectively just going to freeze someone at random. And in all likelihood… they’re going to be human.”
Of course, that was just what was going to happen. Unless they got lucky as a group, it was likely that they would blindly pick a human. It would probably be better for LeVi to just pick a name out of a file, at least that way the infectee couldn’t interfere.
She felt a prod on her shoulder, and saw it was Setsu. “Lady Branwyne, are you okay?”
Lady Branwyne paused, she felt fine. Sh-
“Oh, woah woah woah. Winnie, you totally have like… something spilling from your mouth!” SQ shrieked.
Ah.
Lady Branwyne reached for her handkerchief and wiped the blood from her mouth and lips. It wasn’t the normal color of blood due to her status as a vampire
“If you’re still unwell… your majesty, we could see if we could delay the meeting a bit to give you longer in the pod.” Gina said softly.
Raqio would tilt their head “Hm, seems the ship’s medical pod still leads enough to be desired.”
Lady Branwyne shook her head, finishing cleaning herself. “It’s nothing. I’m fine now. It just… happens from time to time.” She lied through her teeth.
Gina simply hummed at that.
“I had something I would like to potentially suggest.” Lady Branwyne began.
“Oh? Well, don’t leave us hanging.” Raqio smirked
Lady Branwyne nodded, “Perhaps we shouldn't freeze anyone tonight.”
SQ’s eyes widened “Woah, woah. Isn’t that like, totally against the deal we made with LeVi?”
“It would. We need to freeze someone each night.” Gina nodded.
Lady Branwyne shrugged “Then I’ll just make LeVi agree then. Moving on-”
Setsu frowned “If we don’t freeze, then Le-”
Lady Branwyne raised her hand in front of Setsu. “Let me elaborate first. Our problem is that we have no evidence of who we should freeze, correct?”
Raqio chuckled “You just realized?”
Gina tilted her head “Do you have a method to help us find Gnosia, Lady Branwyne?”
Lady Branwyne shook her head “Sadly, I haven’t come up with something. But if we need evidence that badly, then we should force our Gnosia to make the first move and see who they eliminate first.”
“That’s…. An idea…” Gina stated.
“Hmph. It would barely give us anything. The Gnosia could kill someone for any number of reasons.” Raqio stated.
“But it would give us something to work on, rather than nothing. Wouldn’t it.”
Raqio seemingly relented. “I suppose a crumb is more than nothing, in the end of things.”
Setsu would shake her head “However, by doing so. We also lose one of our chances to freeze Gnosia.”
“Oh? Would we, Setsu? I like… don’t exactly see how.” SQ asked.
Raqio chuckled “Ha, how slow are you, SQ? If we freeze a human at night, the Gnosia would kill someone and that leaves us at 3. But a still human majority. But if we don’t, then we only have one opportunity to freeze.”
Gina would pale “That’s a bit… too risky… losing an entire chance for us to stop Gnosia.”
SQ would nod “Oh yeah, like totally. This plan is too dangerous!”
Lady Branwyne would simply smirk. “Is it? I think we can totally figure out our Gnosia with just 1 night of information.”
Setsu would pause “You do?”
Raqio would sigh “Ah, humans with their ego. They think their logic can match up with Gliese? I would be almost interested in seeing you fail if it wasn’t our lives on the line.”
“Like you’re one to talk, Raqio.” Lady Branwyne thought to herself, before shrugging “I mean, you all state that we have two chances. But that’s all we really have. A chance of randomly picking a Gnosia. Unless you all feel confident in getting a 1 in 5 chance?”
“That’s…” Gina pauses.
Branwyne pushed forth with her argument “The odds are, we lose a human. Then we gather a bit of information from the human they kill. Then the remaining two humans have to both solve for the Gnosia. At least if we don’t freeze anyone now, we’ll have three humans to find one Gnosia.”
“So like… your hope is that we like, sink it in one?” SQ asks.
Lady Branwyne nods.
There was silence as the group contemplated. Eventually though, Raqio spoke.
“You know what, I like how this is going. I’m down for this.”
Gina eyes widen “Huh…? You approve?”
Raqio nods “It’s the obvious choice, considering the circumstances. We might as well not waste anymore time here since it’s unlikely we will come to a collective conclusion.”
Setsu looked up. “LeVi, are you okay with this?”
LeVi responded, the AI speaking in a feminine voice “While this breaches the contract, you all seem to be stuck. If you all agree to this, I will allow it once. However, you must freeze someone tomorrow.”
Lady Branwyne folded her arms “Is that your terms, LeVi?”
“That is correct.”
Another silence fell temporarily, as Gina spoke up. “Your majesty, what are you aiming for with this plan?”
Lady Branwyne turned to face Gina “My hope is that this ends up being the most effective plan for balancing between most of us surviving and our chances at getting the Gnosia frozen. If we are correct, we should end up with 3 humans alive for only one. I don’t believe we will get our Gnosia today, so tomorrow is our best bet.”
Gina goes back to thinking, twirling her purple locks again before nodding “Then… while I don’t completely get the strategy. I agree with wanting to preserve as many lives as possible. So I will approve of this.”
SQ would blankly stare “Well, I don’t get this at all. But I guess if Gina and Raqio approve, I will totally join in!”
Raqio would shrug “It would be too much to explain it to you, anyways.”
Setsu, the final hold out, would pause “If this is your plan, Lady Branwyne. And everyone else approves, then I will as well. Even if I don’t completely like the bending of LeVi’s rules.”
With that, the meeting ended early.
---
“Well, if that’s all. What do we do now?” Gina asks, as everyone begins to slowly leave the meeting room.
Setsu would glance back at Gina “We wait around for warp, and prepare ourselves for tomorrow. What you do exactly is up to you.”
“I see…” Gina said, approaching one of the large windows facing the vast void of space.
“That has to be a safety hazard of some kind.”
“There is 1 hour until warp. Please relax until then” LeVi announces. “You will all be alerted when it's a half an hour and 5 minutes before warp.”
“Well, bye for now.” SQ begins, giving a half hearted wave “I’m a bit hungry, so I’m gonna go have a sad meal all by my lonesome.” SQ walks off down the hall, faking sniffles as she rounds a curve.
Raqio rolls their eyes “Drama queen. She’s likely the one least likely to be targeted.”
Lady Branwyne would tilt her head. “Is that so?”
“Ha. Don’t pretend that you wouldn’t want to keep someone like her around if you're Gnosia. She’s nowhere near the brightest bulb of our ship” Raqio chuckles.
Setsu makes no comment on Raqio’s statement, instead turning to Lady Branwyne “Lady Branwyne, may I talk to you for a bit before warping? It will be quick.”
Lady Branwyne would tilt her head towards Setsu, then shrug “Not like I have much else to do. Where to.”
Setsu would shrug “We’ll find out together. I suppose.”
Lady Branwyne would just shrug “I suppose we will.”
Lady Branwyne follows Setsu down various hallways in silence. Once they distance themselves from Gina and Raqio enough and Lady Branwyne confident that neither of the two are following, Lady Branwyne chuckles.
“Are you going to lecture to me about taking control of the meeting from you, or bending the contract you all and LeVi made?”
Setsu would pause, as if milling over what was said. Eventually making it to the top floor they begin. “Neither, actually. Although it was risky for you to lead the meeting. Gnosia might be willing to take you out.”
Lady Branwyne would frown “I would like to see them try to.”
Setsu would frown, turning to Lady Branwyne “If you think your… traits or status could protect you, I can tell you neither will. Gnosia will kill you as it is their duty to and they will find a way to.”
Lady Branwyne would click her tongue, “Sure, but what did you want to talk about then?”
Setsu would sigh, making their way up to an observatory room.
“Lady Branwyne. Why did you show up to Liu-An?”
“Hm?”
“You never left your home planet, Rime, until shortly before showing up to Liu-An. It was completely out of left field for someone like you. Yet you and your council showed up. I want to know why.”
Lady Branwyne would pause “I don’t remember.”
Setsu would stare “You don’t remember?”
Lady Branwyne would nod “My memory loss was only partial, but I can’t for the life of me remember why I went to Liu-An. I just remember being at Rime, and then waking up here.”
Setsu would mill something over “You were the leader of the council, so you were the one that ordered everyone in your council over.”
Lady Branwyne would nod “Of course I did.”
“Then will you confirm if it was truly for anti-gnos policies?”
Lady Branwyne would sigh “Confidental.”
Setsu would squint their eyes. “We both know that this isn’t going to fly in this situation.”
Lady Branwyne would close her eyes, internally groaning. “If I told you it was not, but I don’t remember why. Would you believe that?”
Setsu would nod “For now. I’ll want to know why exactly later.”
Lady Branwyne would click her tongue. “You have some nerve, questioning nobility about things.”
Setsu would chuckle at that, which would be a surprise. “It’ll make sense to you later. I assure you.”
“What in the world is that supposed to mean?”
“30 minutes until warp. Please prepare yourselves in your own quarters for your own safety.” LeVi announced.
“Is that all then, soldier?” Lady Branwyne asks.
“For now. I would like to continue this tomorrow.” Setsu states.
“My answer is unlikely to change by tomorrow.” Lady Branwyne retorts.
“Well, in case it does. I would like you to show up to my quarters after the meeting no matter what so we can get you back into the pod at the Sickbay. We’ll see if we can jog some memories”
“Is that an order?”
“If that will make you listen.”
Lady Branwyne would pause “Alright. Sure.”
Setsu would smile “Good, see you tomorrow then.”
Lady Branwyne would nod, and leave to wander the ship on her own. She would eventually make her way to her quarters. A simple room with a bed, desk and chair and some closets for storage.
“Usable, I suppose.”
Lady Branwyne would lie down on her bed. It was nowhere near the quality at home, but she could rest here. And she certainly slept in worse.
It wasn’t long though, before there was a knock at her door.
“Who is it?” Lady Branwyne asked
“Gina”
“Come in then.”
Gina would walk in, with a small plate that was completely filled with food.
“Hm? What’s all that?” Lady Branwyne sat up.
“Mitarashi dango, the most supreme food.”
“That’s… a lot.”
“It’s fine. I also gave that much to SQ. She would have received less, but Raqio refused to take their portion.”
“How nice that Raqio got a choice.”
“Hm. I see. What’s this for?”
“You're sick with something. It’s not just a ‘time to time’ thing. Is it?” Gina inquired.
“Hmm?” Lady Branwyne stared at Gina, and squinted at her.
“It is an observation, your majesty.”
“Hmph. You don’t need to call me that. Majesty makes me sound more grand than I actually am.”
“Are you not a part of royalty within the planet of Rime?” Gina asked.
“...I didn’t know other planets paid attention to kingdom politics.”
“I only heard about it in Liu-An.”
“So someone leaked that…”
“That makes enough sense.”
“5 minutes until warp” LeVi interrupts the conversation. “For your safety, please stay in your room during the warp.”
Lady Branwyne looked at Gina “You heard LeVi. Best head to your own room, Gina.”
Gina would nod “Of course. Good night, your majesty. Please enjoy your food while you still can.”
Gina leaves, and Lady Branwyne does not touch a drop of her food.
“This will taste like ash, no matter how glazed the food is. I can barely taste some wines.”
LeVi soon begins to count down.
“5… 4… 3… 2… 1…”
---
WARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGPROGRESS10%.WARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGPROGRESS33%.ERROR.WARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGERRORWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGWARPINGPROGRESS77%.WARPWARPWARPWARPWARPWARPWARPINGPROGERSS100%.STATUSFOURCREW.WARPCOMPLETE.
---
An alarm blares as soon as warp completes.
“Warning. Gnosia presence was detected upon warp. Please prepare for the standard Gnosia infectee protocol.”
Lady Branwyne looked at herself, she was completely untouched.
“I live to see another moon.”
Lady Branwyne left her room, deducing that most of the crew would head towards the meeting hall. Sure enough, everyone else was there. Everyone but Setsu.
“Hmph. Looks like we’re all here.” Raqio said, staring at the remaining trio.
“LeVi.” Gina began “Please confirm a status check on Setsu.”
LeVi would appear “I detect no vital signs from Setsu.”
SQ would lean against the monitor “OMG, Setsu? That’s like, so sad, you guys…”
Raqio would shrug “We knew that was the risk for not freezing someone, still though. Our ability to fight is being gradually whittled down…”
Lady Branwyne would nod “Indeed. Due to our new agreement, we need to freeze someone today. Or LeVi will blow up the ship.”
Gina’s face would gloom “And if we fail to freeze Gnosia, one of us will be taken out tomorrow. And then Gnosia will have no reason to hide and take over the ship.”
LeVi would make the monitor glow in the middle. “Day 2. 4 Crew.”
Raqio would nod “So we need to strike correctly. Lady Willow, what does Setsu dying tell you. Since you were the one to enforce this was a good idea.”
SQ would chuckle “Oh, already pushing on Winnie again? That’s like, so mean, Raqio. You could use your own brain, like, for once.”
Raqio would frown “I believe I asked for Lady Willow, not Miss Whiny”
Lady Branwyne would smile. “I’m glad you asked, Raqio. But let me throw a question back at you. Why do you think Setsu got targeted last night?”
Raqio would chuckle “An orphan at Gliese could figure it out. Setsu was smart and a leading figure. Anyone would want to shut Setsu up.”
SQ would muse, thinking. “I mean, that would totally go for Lady Branwyne too. Wouldn’t it?”
Gina would nod.
“Correct. However, Setsu was targeted. And obviously, Setsu didn’t target themselves.” Raqio smirked. “Even if Setsu had a touch of humanity left from being infected, there would have been a complete removal of detection. And Gnosia don’t target Gnosia at night anyways.”
“Hmm…” Gina would nod “But where does that lead us? Did Setsu leave us any clues?”
“Not directly” Lady Branwyne nodded “But I have a hunch I would like to go down.”
“Well, go on then.” Raqio pushed “This was your idea, after all.”
Lady Branwyne nodded. “As we know from Setsu’s testimony, Setsu trusted me completely about me not being a Gnosia. Therefore, I have no reason to kill her.”
SQ looked confused “Eh? Wait, how does that exactly work? I mean, you could totally still kill Setsu just because.”
“If Setsu completely trusted me, I could just vote with Setsu. At worst, forcing a tie that we would have to break. I would have no reason to not take the easy route to win by tricking Setsu rather than eliminating her and trying to manipulate the three of you.”
Raqio would chuckle “Eh, you’re a politician. You can probably backstab everyone here and be home for dinner without a tear shed. But I see your point.”
Gina would nod “I can agree as well… and I would like to trust her majesty. Personally. If Setsu trusted her… I want to trust her too.”
“Hmmm… okay. Well, I think that Raqio is like, pretty sketchy then! All like, ‘I’m gonna accuse Winnie of being pretty sus!’ That seems toootally sketchy to me.” SQ smirks.
“That’s…” Gina muses.
“Hmph. What kind of argument is that? We all were suspicious here, in case you forgot SQ.” Raqio frowns.
Lady Branwyne would chuckle “My, SQ. For someone calling out for someone else being accusatory, you’re quite the same as well.”
“What? You’re suspecting me? Cute lil’ me?” SQ looked shocked.
“That’s what I said, didn’t I?”
“Do you… have a reason to suspect her, your majesty?” Gina asks.
“Not any pinpoint reason, but I do have a potential reason.” Lady Branwyne leads, pointing a gloved finger at SQ “She seems quite desperate to pin the blame on Raqio for a lot of things. She likely kept Raqio alive to try and keep an easy target around, and since Raqio seemed to suspect you: Gina, fall back onto that if that seemed to be the focus.”
“Really… you think… SQ could do that?” Gina would tilt her head.
“I do have to agree, Lady Willow. I’m not sure if SQ has the brains to think of who she should accuse, much less a decent together plan like that. I could see you or Setsu coming up with that plan. But her?”
Gina would frown, but say nothing.
“While SQ may lack the intelligence for such a scheme, I don’t think she lacks social awareness for it. She doesn’t need to come up with leading it, as much as trying to keep people alive that would point fingers away from her.”
Raqio would pause, then tilt their head to the side with a smirk “Ah, now I see what you mean. She would be reading the room and waiting, and just lunge with whoever seemed to win.”
Gina would stare at SQ. “And then take out whoever was left…”
SQ would scratch at her cheek, the heart transforming to a tear drop. “Woah, like, me coming up with something like that? That’s like, way too much and I… kinda stopped following! Winnie sounds like, totally obsessed with me though!”
“Playing dumb like that isn’t going to save you, SQ.” Lady Branwyne smirked.
Gina would nod “I think as well… when she was choosing who to eliminate, could have considered that we might have eventually pointed our perspective to you, your Majesty.”
Raqio would nod “With the perspective that you were trying to mislead us into a trap, it could have potentially led to something. But we revealed the trap before it could spring.”
SQ began to sweat “N-Now wait a sec-”
But before any more pleading or a potential turn could come, LeVi spoke. “The time for discussion is up.”
Machinery began to move around the meeting room, platforms moving the group down towards a separate chamber.
“It is time to vote.” LeVi spoke.
The four walked to separate areas, with SQ hesitating before walking towards her own monitor. Lady Branwyne’s screen with everyone else’s face was on it, with a large box to click and vote.
Lady Branwyne confidently put her finger on SQ before seeing that the vote had been finalized.
=Vote Tally=
Branwyne - 1
Gina - 0
SQ - 3
Raqio - 0
===
“Me? You like, seriously, all brought that?” SQ asks
“A vote is a vote, SQ.” Gina states plainly.
“I mean, I don’t really want to go into cold sleep. That like, kinda sucks?”
“Ha! We all agreed to this, SQ. You’re not getting out of this at all, even if you attempted to run for it. LeVi locked the doors when this meeting began.” Raqio smirked.
“Ugh… I mean, fiiine…. Does cold sleep count as like, beauty sleep…?” SQ asks.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out, SQ.” Lady Branwyne says.
“I don’t want to like, hear it, Winnie! I like, literally can’t even with you right now…”
“Good, nor can I.”
Lady Branwyne grabs SQ by the wrist tightly and, with LeVi’s guidance, begins to drag her towards cold sleep.
---
After a bit of time, SQ eventually was sent into the pod and frozen.
“This light will tell us if there is any non-frozen Gnosia on board.” LeVi instructs, “If the light remains red, there is at least one Gnosia still on board. If the light turns green it means all Gnosia are off the ship and the threat has been subdued.”
The trio wait tensely as the scan happens, and the light flickers off. It flickers as the scan gets closer to completion and then…
The lights flicker back on Green.
A collective sigh of relief is released from everyone, as if the tension was completely removed from their shoulders. They were right.
Gina was the first to break the silence, a soft smile on her face. “So… the Gnosia are gone. I was sure I would disappear. So, I feel sort of… strange.”
Raqio would look at Gina and chuckle “Don’t look so relieved, the more I think about it… Hehe. If I were Gnosia, the results would’ve been the exact opposite. You both should be thankful. For having me on the same side, that is.”
Gina’s face would sour at Raqio’s gloating, then turn at the two. “What do we do now?”
Raqio would muse “As much as I would like to just go back to Gliese and get this whole ideal behind me, we’re likely going to need to stop and drop off the frozen Gnos at a military base so they can… whatever they do and make reports on the incident of Liu-An and the fallen.”
Gina nods “Indeed… I didn’t know Setsu long, but I’ll miss them.”
“Well, in case it does. I would like you to show up to my quarters after the meeting-”
Right, Lady Branwyne promised that. Setsu wasn’t around anymore, but…
“They seemed to know something about me that I didn’t. Maybe something will come up.”
Lady Branwyne began to leave, but Gina turned to the door. “Where are you going, your majesty?”
Lady Branwyne came up with a simple lie “I’m going to check Setsu’s room to see if they had anything we could use to help lead us on next steps, they seemed to have an idea of what we needed to do. Maybe they have something we can read up on.”
Raqio scoffed “I don’t see what they would have we couldn’t just ask from LeVi. But I guess it couldn’t hurt while we wait for LeVi to reboot from the anti-Gnos protocols.”
Lady Branwyne nodded, and left.
===
Setsu’s room had the same bareness as her down. There wasn’t much difference.
“Except for the obvious…”
A strange cube on the desk, that glowed with some form of light and had something inside, and a written note nearby.
“Well, Setsu had to leave this out for a reason.”
Picking up the note, Lady Branwyne read it.
“Lady Branwyne Willow.
We may not have known each other long, but I had a favor to ask of you. If you are reading this note, then it is likely that I have either died or simply wasn’t convincing enough. In either case, that’s on me.
If that is the case: continue reading.
I am Lieutenant Setsu of the Federal Army 928th Division: Class B Defense Force. If the infectee threat is over, LeVi should be able to verify this. Regardless, know that you and I wish to deal with the same emergency situations and threats of the world.
If you seek answers, take this and hold it and speak the words “Don’t doubt. Don’t be afraid. And know. Knowledge will save all.” That’s what the person who gave this to me said. It was… a long time ago. You’re going to need it. So I’ll pass it on to you this way since I’m unable to in person.
With this, you will now have the power to transcend deaths in ways you couldn’t before. That also means you’re accepting the beginning of your long journey to escape this place. But if you want to save your people like I wish to, you will take this in a heartbeat.
-Setsu.”
Lady Branwyne paused after she finished the note. It was a lot to take in all at once. The final sentence rang through her brain like a bell. Haunting her.
“My people…. My kingdom.”
And a memory returned.
=
“Counselor.” Lady Branwyne shouted. “How many refugees have managed to make it to the safe room?”
They were in the middle of the chaos of Liu-An, during the thick of the outbreak. What exactly occurred, she still couldn’t remember. But an event was playing out like she was in the moment.
“Only three, my lady…” her Right Hand Lady spoke. “I was hoping more made it, but this attack happened so suddenly…”
“Better than nothing. Counselor, escort them to the ship that came for emergency aid. Even if we have no idea who the ship is, anywhere is better than here.”
“What will you be doing, my lady?”
“Buying time.” Lady Branwyne saw her open her mouth as if to respond “You have your orders. Bring them to the ship, and don’t come back for me if I don’t make it back on my own.”
“But-”
“I know she’s not here, and this was a ploy by her. But I also brought you all here, I’m getting you all out first. I will make it back.”
=
Lady Branwyne clutched the cube, rotating it in her gloved hand.
“I know not what you desire from this…”
“Don’t doubt.” She chanted
“...but if you saved my life…”
“Don’t be afraid.”
“...and you will help save my people…”
“And know.”
“...then I will repay your debt. Setsu.”
“Knowledge will save all-”
And as that final word was spoken, she saw the cube free itself with one last glow and her mind transfer.
=
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