Terrestrial Undead

Chapter 44

Faith was laying on her own bed as Pax entered. She was always pleased to see them, but this time they were nothing short of a blessing; she had been turning over everything in her head so many times she thought she might go mad. After Faitoh had thrown her arms around Pax, they spoke.
"Orla's not well. She knows the entirety of Terrestria is braying for her."
"I've been thinking about that, too," Faith replied, sighing, "It's so unfair on her. And yet, think of how it could be with one of us on the throne. Everything could change. I thought the public would be our only challenge, and here they are, actually asking for one of us."
What Pax said next had Faith bristling with surprise.
"I think you should talk to her."
"Me? But we're not all that close. We really got off on the wrong foot."
"But you're not on the wrong foot now," Pax explained, "and you're captain of this airship. They way you talk holds sway with people— just look at how many crew members stayed, just to be under your captaincy. Between the two of you, you'll come up with something. It'll make her feel better to have a plan. It always makes you feel better, right?"
Faith wasn't convinced, but they trusted Pax's judgement. Hoping she didn't make things worse, she headed to Orla's cabin.
"Orla? It's Faith. Can we talk?"
At first there was no answer, and she knocked again. Still nothing.  She sat with her back against the door.
"We've come a long way," she sighed over her shoulder, "We've come so far that... I don't know what to do next, to be honest. I'm supposed to. I'm the Captain. But I really don't. I'm at a loss. Are you at a loss too, Orla?"
Again, there was no response, but Faith could feel a certain tension behind the door. Was she listening?
For a moment, Faith felt as if it didn't matter, and words started rolling off her tongue again.
"In a way, it feels like we've come too far. Further than is natural. I never really thought about getting to this point, just getting through the next thing in front of us. Now we're here, I'm lost. We've run out of next steps, and there's no emergencies right in front of us to deal with to make it obvious. How far we've come... I feel like I'm carrying it all around, and it feels heavy. It feels like we're carrying around everything that's happened, everything that's changed, and it feels like it's... it's..."
The door creaked open a little, revealing half a pallid face with a glowing green eye peering out the crack.
"...too much?"
Those were the exact words Faith had been looking for. Orla let her in, helping her up off her place on the ground. They sat opposite each other in silence for a while, each contemplating the other. For all their differences, they had a lot in common, Faith realised; Their bodies had both been wracked and warped by Johnathon's regime. They had had things taken away— Faith's sight, parts of Orla's body— and had gained other things, too. Orla could do things others couldn't, and now that she thought about it, so could Faith. She could live without sight, making use of her other senses to build a picture of the world around her. Not only that, but she was a Captain, and people trusted her. A lot had indeed changed, and although it was what they had strived for in a way, it was a lot to hold. Although Faith had once feared Orla, now she found her familiar presence comforting. Orla seemed to feel the same way, because ether tension Faith had felt behind the door had dissipated.
"All along, we've just worked with what's in front of us. It's not so obvious now," Orla murmured wearily, and Faith agreed.
"There is still something in front of us, though," she began carefully, "we can't stay here forever. They'll find us eventually. we can hold them off for a while, but they'll throw everything they've got at us. We'll go to prison, the king will go back to the throne... everything will be undone. Even though it's heavy, I don't want it to be undone. Do you?"
Orla shook her head. Faith got the feeling she was thinking about speaking, but wasn't ready. That was okay. It was best if she broached the subject herself, instead of Faith pushing it on her.
"When we were trying to get into the Order," she began slowly, "Tesla said something. She said that when one pack of rats was moved on, another would move in to take its place. Soon, the government will give up on John, and they'll find another rat."
"Yes, they will," Faith replied. It was a wonder they hadn't done that already. She supposed with the king still alive, they were hoping of a return to a new normal... or fighting it out amongst themselves to determine the new head rat. Orla had descended into silence again, and wasn't showing signs of breaking it, so Faith took a deep breath. What would ORla say to someone else in this situation?
"But we could make sure the new rat is a nice rat. A good and noble rat. That's the kind of rat the public is asking for."
Orla slumped.
"I can't be the rat, Faith. It's all too much already. And the idea of stepping into John's place... my father's place..."
She sat out the word father the same way she had spat out the dried fish when she had tried it at Miu's behest. Faith nodded.
"I know. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Nobody's going to make you. You know, I nearly became like Captain 11 when I first took over the airship," she said in a small voice, thinking about what the previous captain had said about her selfishness. "Everything I did... I did it for myself. But the more I thought about Pax, the more I trusted them..." she paused to laugh awkwardly, "the  further away from that old pig I went. Now here we are, wedged into a cave. I'm glad for it... I never thought I would be, but I'm glad for it."
The two friends looked out the door into the rest of the cave, dimly lit with morning light filtering through vines and trees and peppered with the odd bird flitting through.
"You wouldn't be a bad rat. You've been through enough not to. And if you did start turning into Johnathon, you can be quite sure there would be plenty of people behind you to remind you not to."
Faith looked towards the bridge as she said this, where a group of people were emerging: Pax, Tesla, Juju and Emlyn, blog with a few crew member who were beginning to show budding thoughts independent from what the airship had taught them. Orla followed her gaze.
"Don't be a bad rat," she murmured, half to herself. "Alright. It seems the obvious way forward. Let's give the public their rat."