"-and so I was thinking that the issue of heavy machinery might best be left to us." Petunia stood against the wall behind Titanyana as the conversation from the car continued once more. "We will have to wait until Donovan is finished conversing with your engineers, but I believe we can design something to transport those vehicles, if not produce the equipment ourselves."

  "That capability would certainly push our progress forward a great deal, though I insist you focus your efforts on personnel transports. We will find a way to get the tools over here, eventually, but our ability to transport people won't grow until it becomes meaningless." Seppard closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "I would think it a waste to spend that precious industrial capacity on a problem we should have solved within a few months."

  "To that end, I have decided we should bring the individual responsible for production into the conversation." Diana produced a tablet from the bag she had brought with her. "Arc, I have pced you on the table. Do we need to calibrate anything?"

  From the tablet came a slurry of gibberish Petunia could not decipher. It was discouraging to be oblivious to an ongoing conversation because she simply couldn't understand the words. Actually, that wasn't entirely true at this point. The more she listened, the more she was able to pick out key words, names mostly. She wasn't able to understand this 'Arc' quite yet, but she could at least figure out who or what it was talking about if she thought hard enough.

  "Um, I believe the top-side of the tablet is facing him. Is that enough for you?" More gibberish, though the outburst was shorter this time around. "Did you understand that, Seppard?"

  "I, uh, more or less. What is this thing? Or rather who, if that is more appropriate?"

  "This is Arc, or rather a vessel through which we may interact with him - it. I understand your people don't necessarily have a concept for what he is, something like a living being made of metal rather than flesh, but I assure you he means no harm!" Petunia thought Diana might be referencing something, but she didn't know what.

  "Fascinating. And it has learned our nguage already?"

  "Not perfectly, but the more he listens the better he will get. He is unmatched when it comes to memorization and calcution as well, in fact we pn on integrating him into the design and scheduling process to free up manpower for other projects."

  "And we will be able to communicate with it how? We don't exactly have access to these terminals, and I doubt you are swimming in them."

  More words from the little rectangle of light, which seemed to appease Seppard.

  "I suppose that leads into the topic of conversation, then." A brief response. "What is your pn regarding heavy duty equipment? Diana mentioned you might be able to handle our production and transportation problems."

  Petunia averted her gaze from the table as the conversation carried on without her, checking the reaction from her Queen before looking to the rest of the room. Unfortunately for her, there was only Leno and Seppard's adjutant to look at, the map on the wall nearly featureless. Evidently, they had yet to conduct proper surveys, or at least complete them.

  "A temporary excess? How is it . . . oh, that would make sense." The adjutant wore clothes Petunia thought to be quite strange, fitting tight to her body to accentuate her curves but covering almost all of her skin. Clearly it was professional attire of some sort, perhaps the female counterpart to the uniform many of the men around here wore, but the undershirt which concealed a significant portion of her neck wasn't a material she had seen on anyone else.

  As a matter of fact, Petunia wasn't entirely certain she had seen a Holifanian woman other than this adjutant. Men were physically capable of more overall, making them much more valuable for a construction effort, but it was still weird that there weren't any. Surely some of these men had wives, right? Or had they all been left behind?

  "Kimbal, dear, can you please get me a sheaf of paper and something to write with."

  Ah, so that was it. She was Seppard's wife, or at least had some retionship with him. Truth be told she wasn't particurly fond of corruption and nepotism, traits endemic to Nekh on the whole, so this apparent abuse of power wasn't doing wonders for her impression of him. That said, it hadn't necessarily been harmed too much either. She could sympathize with the desire to keep your lover close, and if she could do the job requested of her then there wasn't much harm.

  "We aren't using cement for our foundations anymore, no. It's too heavy when the soil gets muddy, and importing it presents too much of a drain on resources."

  Kimbal returned shortly, carrying with her a stack of paper and a pen, two of them in fact.

  "Alright . . . uh-huh . . . no, we can't do that . . . the left side . . . how many? . . . I don't know . . . yes, we have that capability." Short questions, short answers, and a tempo that meant Petunia had less of a chance to catch any sort of meaning. "What about crewing the transport? Donovan isn't going to be here all the time, so we will need to train a few people to operate it in his absence."

  "Um, if I may interject here," Titanyana inserted herself into the conversation, an act which brought Petunia some level of pride. "One of the tasks I had been given was to identify individuals among my people who may have talent as pilots. I imagine that Donovan wishes to develop these skills within our residential popution, as well as provide us with a sense of agency moving forward."

  ". . . I can understand the desire to have a base of proficient individuals who can assume the burden of educating future generations, but I don't quite follow the second objective."

  "That, um, hmmm. While I have not been to Nekh in quite some time, and I have yet to gauge the feelings of those who are present on Nectar . . . I recall a pervasive atmosphere of hopelessness among those I interacted with. They did their best to hide it from me, especially in the days leading up to my departure, but it was pretty obvious that nobody thought we were going to survive. I get the feeling that Donovan wants to help us help ourselves, to wash away the defeatism we've been mired in for generations."

  "You really think he's that conscientious?" Diana tilted her head, Titanyana's ears fttening slightly in response.

  "Y-yes? He seems to be invested in insuring we are motivated."

  The tablet interrupted Diana before her follow-up could begin, granting Petunia a moment of respite to handle an emerging issue.

  "Leno," she whispered, trying her best to avoid drawing attention, "calm down."

  "She just-"

  "They are having a conversation. It is not uncommon for disagreements to crop up."

  "But! But Titanyana, she-"

  "Was being challenged by her superior?" Petunia shot an ugly gre his way. "We are subjects of the Terrans now, and have been granted a generous arrangement considering our respective situations."

  "Oh, so he was aware. Sorry, Titanyana." Diana patted Titanyana on the head, an action which wound Leno up further. "In that case, the principle he's working under is fairly simple - a people with no stake in the game have no reason to py. In other words, he believes the Nekh will have more of a desire to participate in the state we build if they believe they have pyed a part in its construction, that they have a purpose."

  "Purpose? Is it that difficult to find?"

  "The Nekh, as a people, are in the process of losing their home. Along with it, they will lose much of their heritage, cultural sites, and traditions. I dare not speak on their behalf, but I imagine that a great many of them have been pushing to survive for the sake of survival, so that their children may be able to live without the suffering they had been the subject of. The Nekh will need to find a repcement for that motivation soon, if it isn't something certain portions of their popution need already."

  "That . . . huh." Seppard frowned. "So, how do you suppose everyone else determines this motivation? I mean, it isn't like someone can build an empire without a strong desire to do so."

  "There is a great difference between the motivation of an individual and the motivation of a people. A king may motivate his men to fight for him with promises of gold and glory, or even out of loyalty, but the motivation of a people has, in the Terran experience, been much more potent. Ideology, nationality, cultural ideals, religion, all of these can incentivize people to take action in ways considered unthinkable from a strictly rational perspective, even actions that are obviously detrimental to themselves." Petunia could not see Diana's face, however she could sense a smile forming across it. "A society that cks this motivation will be hard pressed to cim victory over one which does, even if they possess a significant advantage. The point at which they consider a struggle to not be worth the incurred cost is much lower."

  "I see. So this can be thought of as a way to ensure combat morale?"

  "Not necessarily. Defensive wars generally present the sort of motivation I speak of by merit of a shared enemy. I suspect Donovan is much more interested in squeezing as much industrial capacity out of them when it is most important, now. It's hard to get much out of a workforce that isn't interested in working."

  "Lady Diana!" Leno finally snapped. "I am thankful for everything that you have done and will hopefully to do for us, but I cannot abide this slight on the honor of the Nekh!"

  "Pardon?" Diana appeared genuinely surprised that Leno would speak up like this, especially considering his courteous behavior earlier. "In what way have I slighted your honor?"

  "You suggested the Nekh would not work to save our own!"

  "I did no such thing!" Diana scoffed. "If anything, I presented a case for providing you the opportunity save your own."

  "Even so! The insinuation that we would need another motivation to work is insulting, and I demand you apologize!!!"

  "Leno!" Titanyana growled at the man, hand inching towards her sword. "I will not have you disrespecting Diana this way!"

  "Disrespect!? My queen! It is she who has disrespected us first!"

  "Leno! Apolo-"

  "No," Diana stuck an arm out in front of Titanyana, blocking her from moving forward as she shot out of her seat, "I will handle this. Leno, can you guarantee that your mindset is shared by every Nekh?"

  "We may be weak and suffering, but we have pride!"

  "Do you think you are unique in that?" Diana's eyes focused in a manner Petunia had not seen before. If anything, she seemed to be imitating Donovan. "Do you think you are the only ones with pride?"

  "Our pride is unique!"

  "I'm sure everyone with a simir sense of pride thinks themselves unique. I'm also sure that this pride is not as ubiquitous as you make it out to be."

  "Wha-"

  "Have you taken the time to meet every single one of your people?"

  "No, but-"

  "Then you have no way of knowing if this sentiment is shared by everyone. Our history has proven that zealots are a minority, and that moderates will agree with them if only to secure a smidgeon of peace. So I ask again, can you guarantee that your mindset is shared by every Nekh?"

  "Bu- that would be impossible!" Leno's face had flushed red.

  "Then don't cim it to be an absolute!" Diana let go of Titanyana's arm. "If we can motivate so much as one more person to work their hardest, then we can save ourselves that much more effort ter."

  "Bu- I- I-"

  "Let it go, Leno." Titanyana was frowning, clearly disappointed by his dispy. "She isn't talking about the most loyal devotees, those who have sacrificed everything and more to keep our people alive just one more day. She's talking about people who had given up hope once already . . . people like me."

  That comment cut deep, plunging into Petunia and Leno's hearts like an arrow. As it stood they were the Nekh who held the closest retionship with the Queen, and knew more than anyone what life had been like for her. The Strappers were a symbol of strength for the Nekh, an assurance of their future. In turn, she needed to put on a strong front for everyone, to assure them that everything was going to turn out fine. To learn that their symbol of strength had, at one point, lost the hope for the future she symbolized was devastating.

  At the same time, it wasn't a surprise. For how long had she been alone at the Sanctum? Trying fruitlessly to manifest that hope? Weeks? Months? And what had been their reaction back home to the ship she left on failing to return? Misery? Despair? Why did they not hold onto hope that Titanyana survived and was fighting for them in some way?

  The answer was simple - that pride Leno spoke of only went so far as they could see, and Titanyana had been a torch lighting the way.

  "Those people will need something to attach themselves to if we want to move forward, something that isn't home, that isn't me."

  "But to do so would be-"

  "Selfish?" Titanyana's shoulders had sckened a little bit. "I think it's okay to live for one's self a little, to find purpose beyond the survival of the collective."

  "My Queen-"

  "I've been learning about them, Leno. About the Terrans. I've been learning their nguage, studying their history, looking at their art, absorbing their culture. It fascinates me, Leno, all of it. Even through darkness and despair there were those that sought greatness, to change the world they lived in with their own two hands, to alter the course of history. There is so much there that we don't have, and I can't help but think that maybe it was our own fault." Titanyana's ears were lying ft. "Why couldn't we do anything ourselves? Did we really try everything? Had we exhausted all means in our attempts to survive? Was it the right call to minimize our risks? Those are the sorts of questions I find myself asking every time I see the feats of some Terrans, individuals who I imagine did more for their people in a lifetime than all of my predecessors combined, and it makes me feel . . . helpless."

  Titanyana was showing signs of crying, probably brought about by the reminder of how futile her actions appeared in hindsight.

  "M-my Queen I-"

  "Settle down, Leno." Petunia whispered softly to him as she put a hand on his head, something mothers did to calm agitated children. He was only going to worsen her mood at this rate. "She's not mad at you, not anymore."

  The warrior, indignant for being treated like a child, turned back in anger at her momentarily before the embarrassment of his actions set in. Shame was took the pce of rage, and he once more positioned himself on the ground in a dogeza.

  "I have brought shame to both myself and my people. I hope that you will be able to forgive me for my outbursts, and confer upon me the proper punishment for my misdeeds." He was directing his apology towards Diana rather than Titanyana, his Queen.

  "Why are you apologizing to me?" Diana had put her hand on Titanyana's p so as to comfort her. "It is not my honor you have stained, nor do I possess the authority to punish you. What you did was rude, yes, but not beyond the pale for what may be considered a 'cultural dialogue'. Titanyana is the one you should apologize to, both for usurping her authority in the conversation and sullying the reputation of her people."

  "Then I shall-"

  "Ahem!" The other person of import present, Seppard, aggressively cleared his throat. "If our conversation is concluded for the day, I would very much like to leave. Time is of the essence at the moment, and there are a great many stacks of paper collecting dust on my desk. Shall we schedule a meeting for a ter time?"

  Petunia looked around the room, nobody was really in any state to continue a formal conversation after that incident.

  "I do apologize for this, Seppard. I didn't intend for this to become a shouting match."

  "No one ever does, Lady Diana, though I expect you will have many such verbal spars going forward. How about the two of us have another conversation over breakfast tomorrow? The sun will set in a few hours, and I know how much the young Queen wanted to address the masses."