EPILOGUE - THE LONG ROAD HOME

The rooms, meant for huge aliens, accommodated two times more humans than they could accommodate ilsh. Which was good, since even then the bunks were packed full of humans and genemods, as well as a robot and a relmai. Each of the rooms was identical, and very odd by human standards. Hexagonal chambers lined with stacked beds around the sides, with another concentric hexagon of the same furniture in the middle. There were large, triangular viewscreens dotting the walls. Overall, the cabins were surprisingly spacious compared to the Pheidippides.

The bodies of Radd and Tuo were cremated using the heat of the Qshyixv-qwaywu's reactor, and the ashes stored in urns. Jamaad and Qsh agreed to have them be delivered to the base in Flamerider, where they would be given to the deceased's families.

The ship went somewhat slowly, with its drive taking somewhat longer than the Pheidippides, to recharge, and mostly took a safe but winding path through a variety of non-aligned yet friendly countries, such as the Iywkaa Republic, the Kaziil Technocracy, and the Chimera Federation. The ship stopped for maintenance at each major station, and the crew got off to explore them, in the same manner they did during the mission, but of course without such strict time limits.

This, combined with plenty of leisure time (much of it was spent playing games and reading books), and emotional support from Elektra, managed to mentally bandage the wounds of the more traumatized crewmembers.

Jamaad lamented the loss of his ship, but ended up learning a lot about the operations on Qsh's vessel, and even taught him a few tricks. Rachel and Kuw spent more and more of their time cuddling, and the void in the catgirl's heart slowly began to fill, yet the scars of course remained, as they would for the rest of her life. Elektra used her empathy and medical prowess to keep spirits high and bodies healthy, while not forgetting to have fun herself. Artur ended up studying ilsh weaponry, both personal and shipboard, and even challenged the ship's own armsmaster to a sparring match– which he lost soundly, and had to have one of his ears sewn back on. Patch spent most of the trip criticizing the sloppy engineering practices of its hosts– until it was told to knock it off, at which point it… apologized in the most heartfelt manner anyone had ever seen it.

11 Jun 2231

Meanwhile, in Ilsh-Vusbaw, the besieged aliens made sure that their manufacture of their newly-acquired weapons was as visible as possible. And like hungry wolves fleeing a hunter's lit flare, the dal-ghar fleets and transports, massed on the border, dispersed. The Union of Ulsh-Bewruw Kingdoms was saved, and the Hegemony's dastardly plan foiled. The speed at which the ilsh assembled their missiles was unprecedented, and rumors pointed to the distant yet temperamentally similar Šatlagol Union providing funds and skilled personnel.

25 Jul 2231

Admiral Wouwbiikza sipped her foaming, fuming drink as she watched the scanner. She got a short message from Jamaad a while beforehand, which said that he and his crew were returning with a successful mission, and trusted them enough to not ask for more details by mail.

A new blip appeared at the edge of the system.

She spat out the neon green liquid. "...AN ILSH SHIP?!"

Wouwbiikza then opened comms. Qsh and Jamaad explained the trip… but of course, the human captain omitted details like the civilian rescues, the fateful delivery, and Rachel's perfidy. With the ship's archives now physically inaccessible, none of these white lies could be dispelled.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Interesting. Captain Jamaad Warren, tell your crew we are waiting for the ship to dock. Then we will talk more. You did the right thing by sticking to Federation StarNavy regulations even in the face of temptations of pragmatism."

Jamaad smiled awkwardly, and they exchanged pleasantries, then closed the call. The rest of the day was spent in anticipation.

26 Jul 2231

The station's personnel crowded in the spacedock, a jubilant commotion awaiting the arrival of the Pheidippides' crew.

All twenty-three poured out in a line, floating in the zero gravity. The captain was in front. Four of the officers were behind him, and at the end of the following train of ensigns was Artur, pushing the platinum trough with the spheres.

Wouwbiikza stepped forward, alongside the aadalu admiral Oouusiyyiuur and the human admiral Lazarević. The old men and women parted the crowd before them.

The relmai admiral was holding a large datapad in her hands. She inhaled. "Captain Jamaad Warren, Comms Officer Rachel Beka…" she rattled off the rest of the surviving crew manifest, "...Ensign Doctor Sara Leitão, Ensign Officer Mo Laren… posthumously, Ensign Engineer Radd Grant and Tuosyie Kwonju-su…"

She inhaled again, more briefly. "You are all promoted, for your part in defending our steadfast allies and thus the security of the entire Eastern Oval!"

The crowd erupted with cheers, and so did the crew.

***

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER…

Jamaad ended up in command of a larger ship as a result of his promotion, and used his newfound clout to keep his crew together. He succeeded, and they went on many missions, some as fraught with danger as this one and some routine, but the crew always retained its cohesion. Yet, he didn't change much as the rest of the crew…

Rachel's guilt remained for her whole life, and she never touched a weapons console again, but she ended up donating much of her income to peyrhyll aid charities to ease the burden, saving hundreds more peyrhyll than she killed. When a decade later, she saw the Second Peyrhyll Federation emerge from the ashes like a phoenix, she personally traveled there alongside her lover. Some guilt still lingered, but everyone said she redeemed herself, so she believed that.

Kuw ended up being very attached to Rachel, even by relmai standards. They were never seen apart, and the degree of their mutual affection could never be overstated. When BCIs became commonplace, they even ended up half-melding their minds together, becoming able to hear each other's thoughts. They were together forever in all meanings of the word.

Artur became very humble by Canid standards. He was still a loudmouthed space barbarian, but knew when to not resort to violence, and learned to properly apply the proper amount of force, both literally and metaphorically. He never returned to the BFR, preferring to stay with the StarNavy. In a way, while he remained a Canid in form, he became a human in mind.

Elektra ended up dabbling in the proper, academic study of alien faiths. Though her strong belief in her own faith prevented her from adopting syncretic beliefs, she became even more understanding. In addition, the following years saw advancements in mental genemodding. Elektra went well beyond being an empath-genemod, and while she did not physically change, she essentially became an avatar of infinite kindness and understanding.

Patch left its physical form, and became the mind of Jamaad's new ship, while its body was recycled. Some of its more superstitious peers accused it of essentially killing itself, but Patch did not listen to them. It had better things to do, like enjoying its now hundreds-of-meters-long body with an entire fleet of drones at its bidding.

And thus they grew. And none of them would forget the fateful events of the mission until their bodies and minds were taken by the whims of entropy.