Sigma/Star: Aftermath

Chapter 147: Sparring

Porter tapped his spoon against the edge of his metal bowl, watching the small puddle of remaining soup at the bottom ripple each time. The sound was getting to him though, detracting from the entertainment the motions provided. Ardwen placed his hand on Porter's arm, putting the whole thing to a rest.

"Cut it out. I don't need anything else irritating me."

"I think he meant well." Porter's eyes shifted to Rick. The butler-assassin was at the opposite end of the facility's cafeteria, speaking with a handful of soldiers. "He seems to be implying Riya wanted this to happen, so it can't be all bad."

"People are dead, Porter. Regular, innocent people, just killed as part of that raid. And nobody cares." Ardwen lifted his bow, tilting it to sip at the remainder. Sigma sat across from them, staring into an empty bowl he had been given. He had given a sarcastic statement that he ate air.

"I care," Porter replied. "You know I care. I know those people mattered to you. We were priority targets though, who had already injured and assaulted their forces before. And probably killed a bunch of them too."

"It just seems unnecessary." Ardwen gently placed his bowl back down on the table. The space around the trio began to feel heavy, a prolonged silence settling around them. "I don't..." Ardwen started something before recoiling back into his mind. Porter watched him struggle, feeling all of it through Ardwen's eyes. He had been there too, in many discussions with Sigma about what had gone on in the past. "I get it, whatever, we're finding people. It's just...I thought I...we, were past this. I thought we would be done with fighting and death. That was the point of the Jahari being wiped out."

"You know that didn't change anything for us."

"Didn't it?" Ardwen's eyes flashed as he responded. "Sigmeund is using this as some chance to pick up the pieces and unite them, to make a peace. That's all they want. Why are we opposed to that?"

Sigma and Porter exchanged a glance. The android stood up and cleared away the dishes, carrying them off to the kitchen at the back of the room. "Maybe that's true," Porter said. "Maybe it isn't though. With what we know, with what we've learned, I'm not willing to gamble on truth. There's one person who has always been around during all of this, and that's Sigmeund. There for the Enigma soldiers. There for the war. There to collect it all at the end. Some sort of uprising springs out of the dirt in an instant, Sigmeund stands on top of it. Peace by absolute force isn't what I think I had in mind."

"But it's a peace, isn't it?" Ardwen tilted his head slightly, carefully watching Porter.

The young man's eyes wandered to Sigma instead of answering his friend. That machine contained an unbelievable level of power, possibly enough to settle anything through absolute force, if used properly. But did that make it right to do so? "We left before because we opposed the lengths to which our country would go to win a war. And if they want, it's entirely possible there would be peace. But is unleashing a horde of monsters from the depths to wipe out everyone how we want to be remembered? Is orchestrating the whole thing so armies are weakened and you can begin a campaign of oppression better?"

Sigma returned to the pair, standing over their table. His purple armour shimmered with bright spots from the lights above, some of the other tables reflected in it. "We should warm up," he said, without a hint of emotion.

Porter rose in response, stretching out his arms and back. "Fine," was the reply, equally as curt. Ardwen picked himself up from his seat a moment after to join them. "Where will we do it though? I'm not clearing tables here." Porter gestured at the mostly empty cafeteria. A few other people were enjoying their lunches in different corners, mostly quietly. They were still half-guests, half-prisoners in this scenario, so suddenly flipping the décor probably wouldn't go over well. They didn't need to disturb the peace.