Sent To Protect and Serve Humanity

Chapter 51: Count Your Blessings

3rd POV

The soft tweeting of birds is what stirred Courageous from her slumber. She pushed herself off the floor, feeling a smooth, cold floor beneath her palms.

"Ugh..." The girl massaged her head and rubbed her eyes.

A cool gust of wind would sweep across her. Her eyes would groggily open to reveal a familiar, ethereal landscape. Fields of golden grain stretched into the horizon due east, a winding river of dark blue splashed across the western bank, and a long, soft dirt road ran from the south to the north. The sky was reminiscent of a summer afternoon, with scattered fluffy clouds marching across the heavens.

Courageous found herself at an unprecedented ease and sense of hope. She stood up and walked across the empty floor of the Pavillion, approaching the steps with care so as not to stain the white sundress she was in. On the steps, Spring would stare into the endless expanse of wheat, resting her head in her palms.

"Morning." The frigate greeted her companion. "What'd you think they want this time?" She sat down next to the girl, another breeze sweeping through the Pavillion.

The now real girl would rest her head against the other's shoulder and sigh. "I don't know..." Her brilliant emerald globes were perfectly highlighted by the sun's rays. "...but this place is like heaven. I could get used to it." She smiled.

"Me too." Courageous added on, her chocolatey hair flowing down her back.

The frigate's eyes would stray from the golden field and toward the exotic flowers and plants that lined the dirt pathway, fixating on a strange crimson-red tulip on the right of the path. To the left side, another flower would bloom in the form of an even stranger plant that spiraled into a magnificent green bud. These two flowers would come to a stop right in the middle of the pathway from the frigate's perspective, almost as if they were trying to convey something.

'Odd...' Courageous thought to herself. She perked up, being careful as to not draw the ire of her companion, and looked up and down the path. "Is that...?"

"Frigate!"

"Cour! Spring! Is that ya'll?"

Spring shot up and looked up and down the path, her eyes landing on two familiar faces. "Defi? Okie?" Her eyes widened at the quickly approaching leading warships before they landed on a young woman that trailed the light carrier. "And Autumn?"

Defiance, as he appeared tall and strong, had his new armor removed in favor of a traditional Sangheili robe that did well to cover his body. His triple-jointed legs freely moved down the path, leaving Sangheili paw-prints in the soft dirt.

Oklahoma had also appeared in a different outfit, one that consisted of a simple white cloak that covered a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans with a pair of brown boots. His somewhat long hair was allowed to flow freely, making him look a bit less refined than usual.

Finally, the woman who trailed the light carrier was his artificial companion. Autumn, as she named herself, was a woman a bit taller than Spring and carried herself with a gentle grace. She was a young girl with short ochre hair and matching eyes and wore a white shirt with a brown scarf and a long brown skirt.

The three would eventually reach the steps of the Pavillion and hound the two with questions.

"What is this place?"

"Where are we?"

"Is this a dream?"

"Why am I real?"

Courageous quickly put her hands in their air and attempted to quell their distress. "Listen, listen." She got them to quiet down. "Just... take a seat." She pat the steps next to her.