Apology and Reconciliation
I activated the hologram for apology and reconciliation. "Here, take a look."
The cabin had fallen into darkness. Blue photons scattered in the air, tracing out a massive spiral. With a low humming from the drive, a hologram about two meters in diameter slowly began to rotate. Against a pitch-black night sky, trillions of stars sprinkled like gem dust—an awe-inspiring sight. It was the very galaxy we stood upon and floated through.
I pinched my fingers to zoom in on a specific sector. Near the spiral arm of the galaxy, a sharp red boundary line stood out. "This is the territory of the Deussis Federation."
I continued like some kind of teacher. "The Federation controls about ten percent of the entire galaxy. In raw numbers, that's roughly 300 billion stars we've surveyed. Of course, not every one of them has Federation citizens living on it. Only a fraction have been colonized."
The red region in the hologram blinked. Humanity and countless other intelligent species in the Federation had managed to claim such vast territory purely thanks to that technology. Compared to now, the Federation's origins were humble—just a few hundred star systems pieced together by its founders. Was it a blessing from the universe itself?
They discovered an unknown artifact. An overtechnology called Astra, the source of warp tech, whose principles weren't even fully understood. Scholars reverse-engineered it—taking it apart and reassembling it—to develop the faster-than-light drive. It was a revolution. Commercializing tech that folded space and moved faster than light truly ushered in the age of interstellar exploration.
"To manage this vast territory efficiently, the Federation divided it into twelve sectors total. From Sector 1 Prime to Sector 12 Horizon, where we've just been. It's one of the Federation's greatest achievements—and its pride."
I paused in my explanation. My eyes caught the blackened border zones on the outer edges of the holographic map, scorched like burn marks.
"If... there hadn't been the war with them, scholars say we could've claimed three times the territory we have now."
Xenoforms. Planet-devouring calamities. Without that grueling war against them, humanity's flag might've been planted on the far side of the galaxy. But history has no 'ifs.' Without the xenoforms, my comrades wouldn't have died like that either.
I swallowed the bitterness and prepared the next data. Now it was time to show their horrific forms. Now that we were in the Outer Rim, running into xenoforms was only a matter of time. Knowing their danger was essential.
"Next up are the forms of the xenoforms. Pay close attention, Eve. Those bastards..."
But my words scattered into the air.
"......"
The ship's sole crew member—and my would-be student—had her back turned to the hologram, head bowed low. Her small back, knees drawn up and curled tight, was completely shut off from me.
I shut down the hologram I'd been about to display and let out a small sigh. "Haa. Eve."
"......"
No response even when I called. The shock must've hit her harder than I thought. It'd been a full hour since she'd said a word to me or even met my eyes.
If you asked whether Eve had done wrong, the answer was no. She'd damn near caused an accident, sure. Trying to swallow Meomeo was a mistake. But Eve was young. Not just her ten-year-old appearance—I mean her mind. Locked away her whole life in Industries' cold labs, she had zero social experience or moral compass. At best, her mental age was that of a newborn driven by instinct. For a kid like that to suppress her explosive hunger and spit out Meomeo—for the sake of our promise. She held back from even chewing after putting it in her mouth. Instead of praising that patience, I'd gone and flicked her head first thing.
Damn it.
My gut twisted. Orphaned and raised rough, I'd always been clumsy with relationships, but connecting with a child like this was a whole other level. Balancing discipline and abuse, protection and control—it was always a tightrope walk.
But right now... I should be the one to yield. What was the point of an adult beating down a kid?
Once I'd made up my mind, the hesitation vanished. I slowly approached her from behind. "Eve."
"Hmph."
She snorted and curled up even tighter, like she was showing off. That stubborn back view looked just like a sulking cat. As I took one more step, Eve's shoulders twitched and trembled faintly. That tiny reaction stabbed my chest. Was she scared I'd hit her again?
I lowered myself even more carefully. Circling to her front, I dropped one knee to the deck. Matching her eye level. Between her knees, her buried face came into view—her crown of hair. I opened my mouth in the lowest, softest voice I could manage. "Eve, I'm sorry."
Only then did her buried head lift slowly. Tear-filled red eyes looked at me. A face full of confusion. Why hit me then apologize now? Resentment and bewilderment mixed in her gaze. But I didn't make excuses. I just conveyed my sincerity.
"I was too hasty. I didn't acknowledge how hard you were trying to hold back."
Eve's eyes wavered. Her tightly pressed lips quivered. "......Kal."
"Yeah, Eve."
I reached out carefully. She flinched but didn't pull away. This time, I gently stroked that tiny head where I'd flicked her before. The soft texture of her hair under my rough palm felt tender.
"That hurt a lot, huh? I'm sorry."
Were those words the trigger? The tears teetering on the edge fell with a drop, then burst forth like a dam breaking. "Waaah!"
Eve started bawling her eyes out. The cabin rang with her cries—I was the one panicking. "Hic... sob!"
"W-was it that bad? Did it bruise or something?"
I checked her forehead in a fluster. It was just faintly red—no real mark. Snot-nosed and sniffling, Eve stammered through sobs. "My... my head hurt... hic... but it went away quick..."
"Okay, okay, but why'd it start hurting again? Stop, cut it out."
"Here... here hurts more...!"
Eve pounded her chest with her tiny, twig-like hands. "Kal hates me... so it went thump here... waaah!"
In that instant, it felt like a punch to my solar plexus. Her chest hurt more than her head. Because of me.
More than any words, that gesture squeezed my heart. I couldn't say anything else. I wiped her streaming tears with my thumb, but they kept welling up endlessly. In the end, I spread my arms and pulled Eve into my embrace.
"......"
She buried her face in my chest. Whether from crying or just her nature, her body heat was hotter than expected. And above all... so small. A fragile little life that fit in one arm. I patted her back slowly, rhythmically, until it calmed.
Pat. Pat.
My touch was clumsy, but Eve didn't reject it—she clutched my clothes tight.
"Eve, I'm sorry for not trusting you."
"......"
"Won't happen again. I promise."
Face still buried in my chest, Eve mumbled back. "No... me too... hic... sorry for not keepin' what Kal said..."
"But you tried so hard to keep our promise. That's enough."
"......Mm."
She nodded, sniffling. Her body might turn monstrous, but at heart, she was a good kid. Wanting love, recognition—like any normal child. I held her like that for a long while. Until her sobs faded and even breaths came.
Grrrrowl.
The silence shattered with a mighty rumble. Eve's head shot up from my arms. Tear-streaked face looking up at me. "Kal."
"Yeah."
"I'm hungry."
Hard to believe this was the same kid bawling like the world ended moments ago. So matter-of-fact. I couldn't help a chuckle. "Alright."
As I started to stand, Eve tugged my sleeve. "Carry me."
"You can walk."
"Carry me like this."
She brazenly spread her arms wide. Eyes still damp, but demands crystal clear. I shook my head in mock defeat and scooped her up. "Getting heavy. What'd you scavenge?"
"Didn't eat nothin'!"
"Got it, got it."
One hand under her butt, I headed to the galley. A tiny warmth brushed my neck. As we passed down the corridor, the cabin filled not with cries, but small laughs.
Three days after reconciling with Eve. The view beyond the cockpit had completely changed.
Bang. Boom.
Something smacked the hull shields now and then, sending vibrations through the ship.
"Whoa..."
Eve in the copilot seat pressed her face to the window, gasping in awe. Beyond the glass stretched an endless sea of wreckage. Hulls of massive ships split in half, bulkheads twisted like taffy and drifting aimlessly, organic clumps filling the gaps.
This was one of the places dubbed the Federation's Grave. Site of a fierce local skirmish between the Federation and xenoforms. But endless wars had pushed cleanup down the priority list—it'd been abandoned for decades.
Simple reason we'd come: time to do my old job. Picking at corpses like the crow I was.
I gripped the controls and warned Eve. "Debris'll hit the shields hard. Hold on tight, Eve."
"Okay!"
She answered but kept staring out. A graveyard of countless ships. Frozen xenoform corpses drifting amid the debris. Scenery that'd terrify or disgust a normal kid.
But Eve's eyes were different. Not fear—curiosity. Or something deeper flickering in her gaze.
Enthralled, she pressed her palm to the window. Just as the ship grazed a massive xenoform corpse.
Thump.
Her tiny body trembled faintly. Heartbeat? Or my imagination? Eve's red eyes gleamed with an eerie light, staring into the dead battlefield.
Another instinct was stirring deep within.