Common Denominator - Chapter 9: Fait Accompli
"People, everyone, thank you for coming to this meeting," Kirov announced, standing in front of the chapel. "I have some news to share with you…"
Acre looked on from the side of the street as the old man addressed the gathered crowd. It seemed as if the entire village was there standing in the intersection, all listening to their leader with eager anticipation.
"Nearly two weeks ago, a terrible threat within our village revealed itself to us," Kirov told the crowd, "One which took too soon the lives of young Markov and Nikolay."
Acre noticed Magic lugging a crate of demining tools down the street. Magic gave Acre a nod as she walked by, which Acre returned.
"Today, that threat has officially been defeated!" Kirov triumphantly told the crowd.
Acre watched as the crowd cheered and clapped, their relief almost palpable. The recent days have evidently been very tough for the people, the uncertainty of their situation causing a buildup of emotion that at last released itself like a geyser.
"However, that's not all," Kirov continued after the commotion died down, "When Sangvis Ferri first arrived, they also opened our eyes to another threat, an unknown enemy."
"Hey," a voice called out from beside Acre. Acre turned her head, seeing MX approaching, her hands casually tucked into the pockets of her huge blue jacket.
"A collapse fluid spill occurred in our village," Kirov said, "Even more so than the landmines, it represented an existential threat to us."
"Hi," Acre replied, watching MX stop beside her and lean against the wall, looking at the congregation in the intersection. Acre realised that she no longer felt an instinctive urge to distance herself from the Griffin doll, a reaction that she had seemingly lost sometime during her stay in the village.
"It has been a terrible journey for all of us, we have been forced to make sacrifices, concessions," Kirov addressed, "I know everyone has been scared; I certainly have."
"It's been a hell of a two weeks, eh?" MX mused, watching the crowd.
"But when we could've chosen fear, we chose understanding!" Kirov announced, "Your patience and resilience has been rewarded. Today, our village is free of radiation! Today, we survive!"
"Well, that might be a bit of a simplification," MX commented as she watched the villagers erupt back into celebration. "Radiation levels are still above baseline, but they've been reduced below CROW II, which is the Low-red Zone classification threshold on the Collapse Radiation Observation/Warning model, that is."
"But we succeeded, didn't we?" Acre responded, "I mean, the village is safe now, right?"
"Sure, safe enough," MX smiled, "And it couldn't have been done without everyone working together, don't you think?"
Acre put her hand on her chin, looking at the ground in thought.
"I mean, at least that's what I think," MX said, "How about you?"
"I guess you're right," Acre replied after a while. "But saying that feels…"
"…Feels wrong?" MX guessed, "Feels like it goes against your world-view and what you've been taught to believe?"
"I suppose," Acre admitted, "Humanitarian operations with Griffin isn't exactly in our SOP."
"Well, the fact that you've made it this far is a good sign," MX replied, "War is sometimes inevitable, but peace should always be given a chance. That's what you've been doing here every day."
"Right…" Acre muttered, "Thanks."
"Anyway, I actually came to look for you," MX said, pushing herself off the wall. "Kia wants you."
"What happened this time?" Acre asked.
"It's a surprise," MX replied, flashing an enigmatic grin. "And a good one this time."
"Soccer?" Acre asked, looking at the group of dolls standing around on an open field within the village. MX had seemingly led Acre to a makeshift soccer field.
"Football," Axiom corrected, seemingly in a grumpy mood.
"Soccer," RFB grinned, holding a ball between her legs as she tried to tie her hair into a ponytail.
"You up, Acre?" Kia cheerfully asked, jogging up to Acre. "To celebrate the end of the operation, and to prove there's nothing left hidden in the ground, we figured we'd do something special."
"Um, I-" Acre stammered, looking at the handful of villagers gathered around the field. Acre didn't really see the point of the match, nor did she really want to play.
"Come on!" Kia insisted, grabbing Acre's wrist, "It'll be fun!"
"Fuck!" Howl shouted, wiping the dirt from her face as she walked off the field.
"We really did just get 5–1'd, did we?" Magic sighed, rubbing her head as she followed Howl.
"Dude, how'd we get fucked so hard by Griffin anyway?" Howl complained, looking at the Griffin dolls celebrating in front of the spectators. Maple Moon hovered in front of the Griffin dolls, positioning for a group photo.
"Maybe we could've done better if you didn't spend half the match trolling Axiom," Magic smirked, giving Howl a playful punch. "Just hope she doesn't kill your ass after we get back to base."
The two Mace girls walked past Kia, who was conversing with a few Griffin dolls and humans. Unlike the situation during the beginning of crisis, atmosphere was much more laid-back. One of the dolls—RFB—handed the soccer ball over to a group of young children who proceeded to run onto the field to play.
"Well, looks like everything's wrapping up quite nicely," Kia mused, looking at the children run onto the field. She realised that this was the first time she saw the children of the village play about.
"Yes indeed," RFB agreed, wiping a grass stain from her knee with a piece of damp cloth. "I'm just glad the people here are going to be alright."
"Knowing that always feels good," Kia concurred, "Reminds me of the old days, working in the medical bay."
"It was quite a monumental feat, too," Glock 17 added in, "I mean, apart from the beginning, I don't recall any deaths occurring at all."
"We have Nyx and M590's skillful leadership to thank for," Kia agreed, "And of course, the hard work from everyone else here too."
"Kia, this is Élan," a voice interrupted over Kia's radio, "Archangel wants you at the truck for final drawdown procedures. Come on."
"Understood, be there soon," Kia acknowledged.
"So, is it back to business as usual after today?" RFB asked, a bittersweet tinge in her voice.
"Suppose so," Kia sadly smiled, looking at the late-afternoon sun. "Enjoy the peace while it lasts, I suppose. And never forget what happened here in this village."
"It's ironic," Glock 17 remarked, "When you two first met, RFB was this close to shooting you in the head. Now look at you two."
"Yeah well, things change, you know?" Kia winked, "Being wrong isn't bad, so long as you can adapt."
"You know, Kia, you could still come back with us," RFB said after a while, "My offer still stands, you know?"
"I'm honoured, but I'm gonna have to refuse," Kia smiled, "After all, I've still got friends back where I came from, and things I still need to do."
"Maybe someday in the future then, on the other side of history," Glock 17 said, "Tell you what, once this war blows over, we'll treat you to a drink."
"And a long night of gaming!" RFB added in.
"Of course," Kia laughed, "Until then…"
Archangel watched as Veritas and Keter loaded the crates of equipment back onto the truck. The gear from each demining team had been returned and accounted for by Axiom, and bit-by-bit the traces of the war began disappearing from the village. Of course, Archangel understood, there would be certain traces that would never fully fade, some scars that would never fully heal, but this time, they did well enough. As she watched, memories from her conversation with the Commander flashed through her mind. She had gotten what she came for today, and that made her simultaneously very excited and scared.
"Hey, Howl!" Magic shouted, running up to her partner who was busy carrying a reinforced container of concentrated collapse fluid—the end product of Azure Shield.
"Magic, what's up," Howl replied, looking over the bulky cylinder. "Wanna help me carry this thing?"
"No way!" Magic grinned, "It's your job, I don't wanna carry it either."
"Okay asshole, I'll just drop it on the ground again then," Howl teased, feigning losing her grip on the container.
"Holy crap, man," Magic exclaimed, "Not in front of Archangel!"
"Howl," M590 called, appearing from down the street.
"M590," Howl acknowledged.
"I'll take the collapse fluid from here," M590 said.
"What?" Howl asked, stopping dead in her tracks.
"Griffin will take care of the collapse fluid," M590 calmly repeated, walking up to Howl. "It's better this way."
"Like hell it is," Howl scowled, instinctively taking a step back and tucking the container against her body.
"Here we go again…" Magic rolled her eyes.
"Wh- Come on, Howl," M590 sighed, "I don't wanna cause a scene here."
"Okay, fuck off then," Howl indignantly replied, "You're still the enemy, you know?"
"Howl," Archangel called from the side, "Just give it to her."
"What?" Howl asked, swivelling around to face the ringleader, "Are you kidding me?"
Archangel motioned her head towards M590.
"Fuck," Howl glowered, her face turning red as she turned back towards M590.
"Well?" M590 asked, raising her arms in front of her.
"Just do it," Magic sighed.
"God damn it," Howl scowled before she shoved the container into M590's arms, "Fine, take it. Like I give a shit."
"…Thanks," M590 replied with a forced calm before turning around and walking away with the container.
"Yeah, whatever, bitch," Howl muttered, crossing her arms.
"I was worried you were actually gonna smash the cylinder or something," Magic remarked with a grin, watching the mixture of embarrassment and anger on Howl's face.
"I can't believe Archangel shut me down like that," Howl complained, "Like, what the fuck?"
"Archangel's right, man," Magic sighed, "You really wanna be bringing that shit back with us to SF?"
"Yeah, well, I don't fucking care, okay?" Howl rolled her eyes, "I just want to go home, I don't give a shit what the fuck happens to it. She could trip and spill that shit all over the ground again and I wouldn't fucking care."
"Oh really, now?" Magic teased, "I still remember the face you made when Kia read out the final radiation reading."
"Kill yourself," Howl snarled, narrowing her eyes at Magic.
"You're so cute when you get flustered like this," Magic laughed.
"I hate you," Howl pouted.
"Just admit it. No matter how you try to hide it," Magic continued, raising an eyebrow. "You do care, and you don't have to be ashamed of it."
Howl glared at Magic.
"Hey, M590!" Magic called out to the distant Griffin doll, "Howl wants to tell you something!"
"The fuck?" Howl demanded as Magic pushed her towards M590, "No I don't!"
"What is it?" M590 reluctantly asked, "Howl?"
"Fuck you, I'm not apologising," Howl said through gritted teeth.
"I don't care," M590 sighed, beginning to turn around. "If that's all…"
"Wait!" Howl suddenly interrupted.
M590 stopped, turning her head back towards Howl with an inquisitive look.
"Um, the collapse fluid…" Howl forced herself to utter, "You better not fuck it up!"
"What?" M590 asked.
"Just… Make sure you do the right thing with it!" Howl demanded, "Make sure it ends up in the hands of scientists! Not… politicians!"
M590's gaze softened; was it really Howl who just said that?
"That's all…" Howl muttered, tilting her head to one side.
"That's not something I can control," M590 replied after a while, "But I swear that I will make every effort to ensure this container of collapse fluid never harms another being ever again. For you, me, and the sake for everyone in this village."
Acre slowly walked down the street, looking around at the village which was on the brink of destruction mere days ago. Although Acre hasn't fired a single bullet during her time here, she felt the same relief she did at the end of her ill-fated first combat mission. Acre couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph in seeing the progress everyone's made, even if Acre couldn't fully shake the doubt regarding whether she had truly done the "correct" thing.
Just then, a young boy ran over to Acre's side. He handed her a flower which Acre instinctively accepted. Caught off-guard by the sudden gesture, Acre was at a loss of words as she studied the palm-sized white flower in her hands. It was a white poppy—a flower which symbolized peace—Acre noted as she recalled Bluebell's seemingly incessant rambling about flower facts. Looking back up, Acre realized the boy had already run back to where he came from. Clinging onto her mother's leg with one arm, the boy waved at Acre and smiled with naïveté only an innocent child could make. The mother—whose child Kia had saved seemingly ages ago—stood in the doorway to their house and gave Acre a polite nod. Acre stared back at the mother, unsure of how to respond. Eventually, Acre gave the mother a quick nod in response before walking on.
"Welcome back, Acre," Kia smiled as Acre approached.
"Hey, Kia," Acre absentmindedly replied.
"What's that you've got there?" Kia asked, noticing the flower in Acre's hand.
"I believe it's a white poppy," Acre replied, "Some kid gave this to me out of the blue."
"A white poppy, huh," Kia mused, inspecting the flower. "How fitting, don't you think?"
"Sure, I dunno," Acre shrugged, also looking at the flower in her hand. "Anyway, you should have it. You're the one truly deserves this."
"No, Acre," Kia smiled, politely blocking Acre's hand. "This flower is for you."
"For me?" Acre asked, confused. "But I didn't really do anything to earn it."
"This isn't a reward, it's a gesture," Kia corrected, "A gesture of friendship, of mutual understanding. That's not something you have to earn."
"A gesture…" Acre muttered.
"You seem conflicted," Kia pointed out, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, but it's just that I feel so lost again, like how I felt right after my first mission," Acre responded, "Is what we've done here really the right thing?"
"The right thing?" Kia asked.
"We're definitely disobeying orders in doing this," Acre pointed out, "Surely that can't be the right thing to do?"
"You think these rules and orders define what is right and wrong?" Kia suggested.
"Of course," Acre replied, "I mean, rules and laws exist for a reason, don't they? If people didn't follow rules, society wouldn't exist. So then what sort of precedent are we setting by ignoring orders and doing this?"
"What sort of precedence?" Kia asked, "Well, would you prefer a precedence where we stuck to our protocols and didn't help these people?"
"See, that's the thing," Acre said, "From a strictly rational point of view, I think we shouldn't have intervened, but…"
"But…?" Kia echoed, "But you feel your morals contradicting what your mind has rationalised?"
"Morals?" Acre asked, "Is this what morality feels like?"
"Rules and regulations provide structure and guide people," Kia explained, "But they're only justifiable insofar that they are moral and benefit society. This is how the social contract operates."
"Rules are only justified if they are moral…" Acre muttered to herself.
"Archangel didn't send you here just so you can help out with the cleanup. Anyone could've done that," Kia said, looking at the ringleader several metres away; Archangel was busy discussing something with Nyx. "She also wanted you to learn from this experience."
"Learn?" Acre inquired, "Learn what?"
"Well, I think your flower perfectly summarizes the lesson," Kia smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Remember our conversation the day you first arrived here? I told you that I wouldn't tell you what you should be fighting for… However…"
"However…?" Acre asked.
"One day, you will find what that thing is," Kia said, putting her hands on Acre's shoulders. "When you do, you must cherish it no matter what happens. You must never waver in the face of opposition, never regret the choices you've made for your beliefs, and most importantly…"
"…Never forget what you are fighting for."