I watch as the Coordinant strolls around the long opaque desk and sits on the broad black-silvered throne, crossing her legs as she leans her hand onto a bent knee. She smiles and raises a hand toward the chair in front of her.

“Please, sit.”

My boots clank across the floor as I make my way over to the chair. I arch my legs and plant myself down, the usual shiver that goes down my spine is nulled by the softness of the linen on the back of the chair. Despite the discomfort of my station’s furniture, it was all I’d ever known, so this new experience was very…

“… Uncomfortable?”

I look over at the Coordinant, now leaning forward with the same soft smile from before, noticing my squirms and shifts in the chair as I try to find a good spot. Her eyes meet mine, causing my eyes to dilate and lids to widen as I straighten my back with a jolt.

“No ma’am, perfectly fine! Thank you for showing such concern to such a meager being like myself!”

She sighs and tilts her head downward tapping her hand still resting on her ankle with a single index finger. After a few moments, she re-postures herself and looks up at me.

I feel a bead of sweat swivel down my neck and into my uniform as I take a dry gulp with my eyes pinned to the ground.

“D-Did I do something to upset you… Madam Coordinant…”

She looks over to me and shakes her head with a chuckle.

“What? No… No… It’s just, and please, call me Emelia.”

… You know I would never do that.

Emelia switches her crossed legs onto one another and gives another soft laugh. “I suppose you wouldn’t, would you?”

My eyes raise from the floor and gaze up at her for a split second before going back down. “I-I’m sorry… Ma’am… If you said something I did not hear…”

“Never mind that now. I would rather you speak to me about your opinion about the Ya’valt.”

I jump from my chair and pound my fist onto my chest and click my heels. “The Ya’valt are conquerors, skirmishers, and proud natives of the Planetary Ollurances during the Yelliow Era! Their rise to power came after their peace pact with 4045-E also known as Earth was disdained; Allowing for full colonization and seizure of their planet’s resources and species, providing the necessary tools and reproduction for the rise of the—“

Emelia waves her hand into the air and nods her head. “… Ya’valt Galactic Federation. Yes, I know, I know. But that’s not what I mean, not any of that… What they droned about in your textbooks, rather.”

“W-would you rather me recite regulatory space law regarding the Ya’valt’s accomplishments pre-premonition into spacial excursion?”

Emelia nods her head. “I mean, your, opinion, Miya.”

I clench onto my arm with my hand now hidden behind my back while searching the ground.

Is this some sort of test? Why would she ask me something like this when I’m to be promoted to a Patroller?

Perhaps she wants me to say something off-putting to test my rebelliousness… Or something witty regarding their galactic laws to test my outward thinking. But… What if it’s none of those and she just wants to test my loyalty to the Federation?

“You’re making this a harder question than it has to be, Miya.” Emelia surveys with a tilt of her head.

… It’s not like your question is an easy one to digest.

“Alright then, I’ll make it easier. Regarding how the Ya’valt treat humans and Yak’sha: Do you believe that it could leave a negative impact and low morale within its ranks?”

“Uhh, well…”

My eyes look to the side, being distracted by a large celestial space whale striding past the transparent window panes of the room. Its body was shrouded in black, except for the gleaming white specs of light drifting off its body.

Behind it was an infinite spacial void, consisting of glittering pink, red and blue stars sparkling then fading ever so often. The planets, however, were much more marvelous with some looking like colorful small orbs while others had rings and were shaped like diamonds and squares.

“… Beautiful isn’t it?”

My head turns back to Emilia, her too, looking at the deep-space atmosphere surrounding us.

“I’m sorry… It’s just… I’ve never really seen it except for in pictures and through the talk of my colleagues.” My voice mutters with a sense of embarrassment.

“It’s alright. That’s why I decided to meet you here instead of at your terminal. A lot of the patrollers before you were taken aback, not only by the distressing situations given their role, but also by the vastness and void that is the cosmos we live in. That is why it is my duty as Coordinant to make sure that you’re fit for the position at hand.”

The celestial whale slightly opens its mouth, causing some of the white specs surrounding it to grow in size and shoot into the distance to join the nova radiance. My feet then feel a sudden vibration making me buckle my knees.

I then loosen the tension in my shoulders and close my eyelids with a soft breath.

“There are no rules on how subordinates are to be treated by their seniors in the Federation. And I am not in any position to impose or change such regulations either. However, if I may say that any or all abuse would lead to the repressed inaction within the individuals to materialize into mental or physical altercations if provoked to a certain degree.”

My eyes jolt open as I throw myself onto my knees and take the handgun from my side holster. With a click, I push the nozzle into the side of my head with my index finger trembling towards the trigger. The steam protruding from its sides and hot iron from the blaster’s inner hole make me wince in pain as I claw at the black-furred carpet beneath my nails.

… Why... Why can’t I control my body?

. . .