Ch. 3 - Beyond the Veil

Content Warning: Homophobia

↓ This is the Audio Companion for Chapter 3! ↓

While Joshua was leaving Bran's office, he took the chance to read through part of the material Bran had given him. It was rather difficult maneuvering the weight of the binder around while walking, and not looking where he was going, but despite the odds, he managed to get the thing open.

The first thing he saw was a sparsely worded page with bullet points saying:

• Remember: You are there to be nice and courteous-looking; if you can't get on their good side, we likely won't get anywhere with talks about the veil, and our bosses won't like that.

• There is an index for you to refer to for answers to questions they might have about Galvana. Don't worry, you'll be fine with this.

• As much as you can, try to keep conversation focused on the village. Unless they are telling you some demands they would like fulfilled before they leave, you need to make sure that they know the village is important for us.

Now, Joshua wasn't inexperienced in reading, nor did he have any real difficulty with it (provided the words he was reading he recognized), but this short list still instilled anxiety in him. They had no idea what these aliens were like, other than they might have some curiosity for the people of that village specifically. They did, after all, seem to ignore the city of Galvana, other than them bringing the veil down in time to stop their military advance, if that was what they were trying to do. Hell, what was the likelihood that they'd even understand Joshua?! Or vice-versa?!?!

As Joshua stepped out through the doors of the Tower, the veil came into perspective once again. But as the sun was getting closer to the horizon at this point, the effect the veil's light had on the world around it was different; it painted the leftover clouds surrounding it with a partially washed out shade of pink, making the harsh color of the descending star much softer, and oddly relaxing.

Joshua took a deep breath, as the thoughts of how any of these problems could be dealt with started leaving him, and sighed. He looked back in the binder, finding a little note attached on the inside of the cover.

You can find a car to use in the warehouse next to your barracks. I had it reserved for you.

Joshua made his way to the warehouses, cutting through the dirt roads that made up the streets of the run down civilian area. The houses themselves, while not entirely uncharacteristic for the architecture of Galvana, still had a lot of work to be done on them; many of them had partially splintered woodwork, in the pillars at the corners, to the roofs, even to the doors. Joshua saw plenty of the stone edifices had some level of mold growing. But for all he knew, the mold itself might be dried out, and no one cleaned it up.

The street was also completely empty. No one might even live here.

But Joshua quickly threw that thought away. He had his own business to deal with right now.

The warehouse near the very end of the road was the only thing that had any level of care put into it, even if Joshua knew that care was only because of the obsessive orders to soldiers to clean it every day. Something he had to do when he was a private. Something he was pretty sure everyone had to do when they were a private.

One of the earliest parts of his life he could remember.

The shutter door opened, and a little jeep pulled it's way out. Joshua noticed very easily that it had been cleaned very thoroughly, probably because of Bran.

It was also just a really nice looking car, with a simple black paint job and tinted windshields for the intense sun of the desert. It also seemed to have working A/C. As the driver opened their door, Joshua could feel the cold air washing over him, and he whispered to himself a 'thank you' to Bran for that.

"Wait a minute," the driver said, to Joshua's side.

Joshua turned to acknowledge him and...

...Oh God, is it really this guy again?

'John'.

What the hell is he doing in the warehouse?

"What the hell are you doing with this car?"

Joshua pulled a stern but neutral face.

"That's none of your business."

"Uh, Yeah, it is."

'John' walked over to the jeep and loudly put his hand on the hood, as if he was trying to get Joshua to jump from the noise.

"This is my car," 'John' continued, raising his voice slightly.

Joshua, with his new position of partial authority, didn't feel in any way intimidated in the moment, despite 'John's' clear best efforts.

"And your Second Officer has reserved me a vehicle for the foreseeable future for official business, on behalf of Galvana." Joshua said, honestly laughing on the inside looking at just how mad 'John' seemed to be at these events.

If it wasn't for 'John' walking up to Joshua in anger, casually towering a few inches over him, Joshua would be smiling right now.

"Nobody told me anything about what business my car would be a part of," 'John' said, his anger not coming as clearly through his voice as it did yesterday. Maybe he wasn't feeling nearly as confident in himself right now.

"Then you don't need to know." Joshua kept his composure, not backing down from the hulk in front of him. "Unless...", Joshua continued, turning his face into a sly smile, "...you'd like to have a word with the General."

'John' took a step back in bewilderment, not even replying to that with a question.

"You heard me," Joshua continued. "Yes, the Second Officer gave the order for the car, but he's working on the General's orders, so when you think about it, this is coming from him. And if you really want to talk to him, you can march your angry ass all the way to his office by yourself and talk to him, because I am taking this car."

Joshua didn't care if this might bite him in the ass later, being this cocky and sure to this man. He just wanted to rub it in to this guy, letting him know that this attitude wasn't going to get him anywhere right now.

'John's' bewilderment still remained, but he tried to steel himself, and found himself leaning towards Joshua, his words lacking much weight to them to Joshua. "If... If you do... Anything... Any of 'that'... in this car... you're dead."

Joshua looked bored, and 'John' seemed to know his words didn't effect him much, so he turned back to the warehouse, and brought the shutter door back down with the cable button, glaring at Joshua the entire time.

Joshua burst into laughter as soon as the door shut. He couldn't be happier if he tried, after what just happened.

Oh, Bran... if you did all this on purpose, I love you.

It was much harder to pull the car out from the alleys of Galvana than Joshua originally thought. It wasn't that the roads were so tight as to scrape the walls of houses against the car itself, but... there were plenty of times were he could swear that it got really close to being that way. If the streets themselves were any more unkempt, it probably would've actually happened. Drifting with gravel between the tires. Thankfully, all Joshua had to worry about was the dust kicking up through the fully opened windows, because he didn't know how to close them yet.

Despite the very harsh ride through said alleys, he quickly found himself at the front of the NTG, where he could see Brandenson fast-walking to his car. He had some papers in his hand, and he was being followed by a younger man in a basic white suit shirt, black dress pants, and a tie. He looked like a mascot for office workplace community or something like that.

"Hey!" Bran called out. He was lucky that the windows were rolled down. "Stop the car!" He didn't seem to be exerting himself too much with the running and talking, but the sound of his voice came through muddied nevertheless. Probably from the noises of the engine and tires.

Joshua pushed the brakes, and the car quieted to a halt. "Hey."

Bran pulled the younger man forward by the arm, firmly but gently. "The General wants you to take these with you. They're not like the notes I gave you; they have more specific - and wordy - demands. I think he wants you to sound intimidating or something."

The young man pulled the papers out and handed them, straight-forward and robotically, to Joshua. "Who's this?", he said while gingerly taking the papers into the passenger seat.

"He's the General's coffee boy. I just accompanied him because I figured I'd have an easier time getting you to stop than someone you didn't recognize."

"Did he mind that?" Joshua asked, looking from Bran to the coffee boy, back to the Tower.

"Well it's not like I told him, and it didn't cause any harm," Bran said, putting a hand on the coffee boy's shoulder, who didn't react to the moment.

Bran moved away from the young man, and leaned into the open window. "Also," he whispered, "I at least wanted to see you off before you got to the village. I arranged something for you for when you get back, since you won't have to worry about getting drilled by your D.I while you're doing this."

Joshua leaned in as well, lowering his own voice. "What? And why are you whispering?"

Bran shushed him, quickly and quietly. "It's a secret. I'm not telling you anything else until you come back. Give you something to look forward to."

Joshua couldn't help but give a sly smirk. "Okay, whatever," he replied, still whispering.

Bran backed up next to the coffee boy, who was now looking between Joshua and Brandenson. "Just follow what the notes say and you should be just fine."

"That's assuming anybody will come see me."

"That's part of hoping," Bran simply replied, before quickly saluting Joshua, who did the same, before shutting the windows of the car.

The air conditioner's breeze finally had room to breathe now that the desert heat wasn't leaking into the space of the car, and it washed over Joshua, who felt relieved at the sensation. He took a moment to take in the refreshment before letting go of the brakes, and turning to the now open gates, and driving through.

But he stopped short of driving further away from the city, both to watch the gate behind him close, and to engross himself with the sand around him. There were no dunes to be seen in this desert, just seemingly endless, flat horizons of dulled golden yellow, occasionally accented with the cracks and crevices in the ground due to the severe lack of rain. What little vegetation existed outside of Galvana - or whatever was in the village - looked to be dead, or if not outright nonliving, certainly getting there soon. What remained of a dirt road leading into Galvana, was lined on the sides with patchy brush, which would probably itch to the touch. Nothing else could probably live here for miles and miles to come.

"Are you gonna drive or what?"

Joshua looked down to the dashboard, wide-eyed, trying to recognize...

'Ichael?

Joshua turned quickly to see behind his seat, where the voice came from...

...and found 'Ichael sitting casually behind him.

...

Joshua and 'Ichael found themselves staring at each other for the longest time; 'Ichael looking as casual and unaffected by the world around him as ever, and Joshua incredulous, wondering what he should even say right now.

"Well?" 'Ichael said, breaking the silence, while simultaneously intensifying it. "Are you gonna go?"

"'ICHAEL?!?!?!" Joshua finally spoke - well, nearly screamed - seeming to finally shake up 'Ichael who very clearly wasn't expecting that response, at least not for it to be so loud.

"What are you doing in the car?!" Joshua continued, wondering quite profusely if he was losing his senses all at once.

"Hey man!" 'Ichael responded, not being able to keep his cool while putting his hands out in front of him, as if projecting some force field to keep himself safe from the consequences of his actions. "Calm down! There's nothing to yell about!"

"Why are you here??" Joshua asked, heavily implying the word Then was at the beginning of the question with his tone and face.

"Well, hang on... promise me you won't get mad first!"

"'Ichael, this is already pretty upsetting, why are you here?" Joshua's voice lowered quite significantly in intensity and volume by this point, but it obviously didn't help anyone but Joshua in feeling better. At the very least, he got to keep his tone.

"Well, I...", 'Ichael started, his eyes darting wildly around like a prey animal from the prairie, "...I... wanted to see what you were doing?"

"Oh yeah?" Joshua replied quickly. "How does Bran feel about that? About you coming with me on this?"

"How would I know?" 'Ichael asked, his tone seeming genuine. "I haven't seen Bran all day."

Joshua's face quickly returned back to showing his disbelief. "What? He doesn't-- How did you get in the car then?"

"I crawled in, through the window," 'Ichael stated while pointing at the back left door, as if the conclusion was obvious to draw. "You stopped near the gate for some reason, and... one thing led to another."

"I stopped because Bran had some more notes to give--" Joshua started, before collecting his senses together, "--wha--no, no no! I shouldn't even be telling you! You shouldn't be here right now!"

"Why not?!" 'Ichael stated, his tone indicating feelings of disbelief. "I'm not doing anything else today except standing around and looking pretty! Fuck that!"

"Do you want to get in trouble with the General?" Joshua asked, "Because I sure will be if he finds out you or anybody else knows about this!"

'Ichael looked completely dumbfounded, and intrigued. The silence that had quickly disappeared only a minute ago was back, and now it was more awkward, because Joshua just realized what he did.

"Well now you gotta tell me what the General wants, dude."

"Get out of the car. Right now."

"No---uh!" 'Ichael said, whining playfully.

"We're not talking about this anymore. Get out."

"No, come on!" 'Ichael continued, becoming more serious. "Hey, look. I wasn't going to tell anybody else about anything anyways! Why would I? Everybody else hates me!" 'Ichael said, ending with a healthy chuckle.

"'Ichael..." Joshua started, keeping his tone soft.

"Look, I'll even stay out of your way, whatever it is you're doing. Or... if you want me to, of course... I can help you. And not ask questions. At all."

Joshua looked at 'Ichael with a near dead look, but the wheels of his head were turning every which way. At this point, mostly because of how much work it might take to keep him from coming anyway, Joshua was now seriously considering it.

"Pinky promise," 'Ichael added, as if that would decide the fate of the proposition.

Joshua continued to look. And ponder.

And then, after a good few seconds, Joshua breathed in deeply, and sighed.

"No pinky promise...... but fine."

"YESSS!"'Ichael exclaimed under his breath, using his free hand to pump his fist triumphantly.

"On one condition." Joshua leaned in pointing his left hand towards 'Ichael, who couldn't stop smiling now. "If anyone finds out about this from you at all... I'm kicking your ass."

"Well, that's already not happening, so deal."

Joshua turned back to the wheel, readjusting his seat belt.

"And buckle up when your in this car."

"Why? You're not gonna be driving fast."

"Yes I am."

Fun Fact: The National Symbol of Galvana, a species of desert hawk, went extinct approximately 200 years before the establishment of the city state. As to why this animal was used as a symbol so long after it's death is unknown.

It continued to bewilder them just how few clouds this part of the planet had. Sure, very little water would be in a desert, but that observation did nothing but highlight the bizarre nature of the situation. An entire desert, hostile to just about all life, and yet here was a sizeable settlement, with it's own history, however short, insisting on it's survival in antithetical conditions . It was... eerie, to say the least. Disturbing.

It'kara massaged the fur on their arms, soothing themself a little. One way or another, I'm sure we can learn why, they thought, in an attempt to remain optimistic. While learning was not the only reason all of them were here, it served, quite often, as a way for It'kara to distract themself from those moments of ominous, anxiety-inducing mystery. It didn't help that the feeling was hard to describe to others.

Something caught their eye. Below the horizon. On the sand.

A car was driving to the shield. One undoubtedly from that city, Galvana. Was it time?

"It'kara!"

The voice called out from behind the way a friend would. And it was a friend's voice, as It'kara could see when they turned to meet their gaze. Tor'me, an old friend, walking over with their palm raised in the air, his white patterns shining as familiarly as ever. He was wearing something new, something more formal. Likely because he had the same feeling as It'kara about today.

"Hey,", they responded, simply, while finding a very welcome smile on their face.

"Anything going on?" Tor'me followed up, gesturing to the magnifier at the window.

"Take a look." Looking back to the window, the car far down below had stopped, but nobody had left it yet. It must be time, then.

"Ah," Tor'me almost sighed, knowingly. He put a hand gently on It'kara's shoulder. "Are you nervous?"

"Yeah." They sighed deeply, trying to shake those feelings temporarily. "I've done it before, though. I hoped it would be easier to start."

Tor'me rubbed his hand on their shoulder, and It'kara gingerly grabbed it in response, using their thumb to return the favor in a way. "Well, sometimes things don't really get easier. At least, in certain ways."

Two young, masculine-presenting humans stepped out of the car below. One of them looked significantly younger, with their short, bright blonde hair, baggy clothes and completely unwrinkled, beige face. It was hard for It'kara to imagine such a face being in the military, but, then again...

The other human, much closer to what they expected a human masc-presenting adult to look like, had dirtier blonde hair, with some strand ones peeking on the face. The hair seemed to be fairly thin, likely due to stress, they deduced. Their clothes fit much more to their figure, but the top half hung a bit below the waistline, as if it was still a few sizes too big for them.

"They look like they'd have a hard time in the military," Tor'me said.

It'kara could see the older one bring out some folder, with papers almost falling out of it as they clumsily dragged it from the car seat.

It has to be time.

Tor'me gripped It'kara's shoulder a bit. "Hey. You want me to come with?" he whispered.

"No, I... I want to meet them myself."

Tor'me pulled back understandingly. "Okay."

"Of course, you can join me when they get to the ship," they said, reassuringly.

Tor'me retained his cheerful look to them, still stepping back. "Right." Tor'me stopped, tilted his head down and pointed to It'kara. "If you need anything..."

"You'll be the first person I talk to," they finished for him, definitively.

"Alright," Tor'me continued, returning to speaking volume and bringing their hand out to give a thumbs up. "Good luck!"

It'kara nodded and waved him out, as he turned and walked away. The whole sentiment, and the little talk, did some work to alleviate their worries, but of course, the work still needed to be done.

They turned back to the window, adjusting the magnifier to get a clearer picture of the faces of the two humans below. They were talking to each other, probably waiting for something - anything, likely - to happen at this point, for someone or something to find them down there, as far as It'kara could tell.

Observing the two for a moment, It'kara drew their breath in, and sighed sharply, straightening themself up in confidence.

"Let's do it."