(Y/N)
30 minutes later
I pace in front of Dorothy's bed. She's lucky to be alive. Turns out, being part cyborg has its advantages. All it took was a little tinkering with her mechanical heart and she was as good as new. She's already awake, staring at me like an owl from her bed.
We checked the cameras. Dorothy was acting unusually stiff when giving the order, which everyone interpreted as her bracing for impact. I suspect there is more to this that what meets the eye.
The same couldn't be said for Micah though. According to Dorothy, the jolt from the attack sent both of them flying across the room. In an attempt to save Dorothy, Micah had wrapped himself around her, breaking his spinal cord in the process. He's currently in a coma and if he does survive, he'll be paralyzed waist down. Even with our technological advancements, his best bet is walking on mechanical legs for the rest of his life.
"Why did you lower the shields in front of an enemy?" I ask her, fists clenched. Despite being insufferable, I've always viewed her as the sensible hero everyone thinks she is. I always believed that when the time comes, she would be the one raising the shields, not lowering them.
She looks at me confused. "I did?" She asks.
"Of course! We have visual confirmation that you told Micah to lower our shields!"
Her eyes widen. "Oh no...this can't be happening. Not again." She says.
"Again?" I ask her, confused. What on earth is happening? Why does she look so terrified?
She sighs. "Look, (Y/N). I think I know the reason why humankind on Earth is deviating from its course." She starts, "You know the whole story about how I became part cyborg?"
I nod my head. "A massive solar flare almost destroyed your ship. You almost single-handedly re-established communication with Columbis Ground Force." I recall.
She shakes her head. "That was a lie. The Lollets attacked us."
I gasp. "But why?"
"The current captain of the missing Exploration Ship, Joanne, was and sometimes still is a daredevil. It's a long story, but she unknowingly stole something the Lollets wanted. She never told me what it was, but it put her life in grave danger. We offered her sanctuary and peace talks with the Lollets, but they attacked us during the meeting." She explains.
The Lollets did that? I thought they were our allies!
What on earth is going on?
"What does this have to do with what's happening now?" I inquire.
She sighs. "They raided the ship. You may not know this, but we did find traces of human life during our exploration. We had narrowed it down to this Solar System. All of the research, documentation was on that ship. The Lollets found it." She finishes gravely.
"You're saying the Lollets might have found Earth all those years ago? That they must have incorporated themselves into Earth's society?" I ask in awe.
She nods.
"Why didn't this information reach us? Did you not tell anyone, Captain?"
She scoffs. "Tell them what? That our so-called allies were preparing to attack us all along? That Joanne stole something from them but she refuses to tell us what it is? That they stole what could have possibly been our reunion with the remainder of our kind?" She says.
"That still doesn't explain why you lowered the shields."
"On the day of the attack one of the Lollets knocked me and Joanne unconscious right before the talks. I don't know how it happened, but they managed to somehow make it look like I was conscious during the meeting. All of my crew explained that I was more 'alert' and 'guarded' than usual. It was only when the attack started that Joanne and I regained consciousness, though it never felt like we were sleeping in the first place." She says.
"So some kind of mind control? Hypnosis, maybe?" I ask.
"I'm afraid so. They seemed to have activated that mechanism in me this time around." She responds, "This could very well compromise the Ship's safety. If the Lollets managed to activate whatever mind-control they have on me..." She trails off.
"Then they must have activated it for Captain Joanne and her crew." I finish.
She nods. "Either way, to not take risks, I'm afraid I must step down as Captain. My suggestion as your supervisor would be you go along with them for now, Captain." She says with a small smile.
I smile back at her.
Maybe she's not as bad as I thought.
I clear my throat.
"Agreed. If the Lollets have this kind of secret technology who knows what the Earthlings have?" I say.
"So that's what you're calling them now? Earthlings? Seriously?" She snorts, amused.
I feel my grin grow wider. "Creative, isn't it?"
And as she and I talk and laugh, I realize she's not all black and white, just an old shade of grey.
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