Who Can Fathom the Soundless Depths

Thrice in a Nightmare

I wake up to the sun in my eyes, and Laffey squirming around in my chest thanks to said light. I open my eyes, seeing Enterprise opening the shades. "Sorry to interrupt you two, but we've got some important work today, all hands on deck.

I rub my eyes, "mhh... huh?"

She walks to the door, "Apparently the Red Axis have a strange dial related to the sirens, which some of the Royal Navy's maids have taken. Those maids are outside of Sakura Empire, but they are surrounded. I'll explain more on the way, but get ready and meet up at the docks by 8."

I sit up, "mhm."

Enty walks out the room, leaving Laffey and I alone to get ready for work.

"Laffey, wake up." I shake her awake, and leave her to wipe the sleep out her eyes as I go to get dressed. 'Sorta funny how she has reacted to sleeping with me. She tends to remember bits and pieces of my memories, even if I don't. Like my having apparently comforted Enty for something. She didn't remember why, since we never spoke about it in the dream. '

"Laffey, I'm leaving now! You need to get dressed too!"

"Okay." She sticks a thumbs up from the bed.

__

Enty, Belfast and I are on a ship approaching the island. I'm reading Purifier's book, "A Thousand Eyes", while listening to Belfast and Enty talk.

'This is interesting; "Every great one loses its child, and thus yearns for a surrogate." Does that mean that a great one will try to give birth, but fail? So even gods are capable of failure. Does this mean that, since I was created, that a great one used Mom as a surrogate? OH. That would explain a lot, actually. And given how I seem to have a natural affinity to illusions and the unseen, it would make sense.'

I hear Enty say, "You're calm, Belfast."

I look up, seeing Belfast facing Enty. "What do you mean?"

Enty leans against the bow of the ship, looking ahead. "Aren't you worried? I thought the ones on the island are your close companions."

Belfast stands alongside her, "Yes, they are maids as well, serving under the queen."

Enty puts her hand to her chin in thought, looking at Belfast. "It's quite strange. We're ships, but all this talk about maids and queens... as if we're imitating..."

Belfast finishes her sentence, "As if we're imitating humans. It makes no difference. People, Ships... There is no difference. We are all alive. We all have hearts."

Enty shakes her head, "No, we were born to fight. We're not like humans."

I walk next to Enty, tucking the Other Me's book away for later. "Enty, while physically we are not like humans, what makes us so different? Ignoring the riggings, and the durability, what's the difference?"

She turns to look at me, "We were made for fighting, for protecting them."

I nod, "That's true, but that's not a difference. Plenty of humans were raised to be war machines. They were trained to kill men, women and children alike without mercy. You can't just say we are so different because we were made for fighting, because they seem just as drawn to it as we are."

She shakes her head, attempting to dismiss the idea."Yes, but they are the exception, not the rule."

I turn to only face her, "Alright, then let's be more general. Do you think someone needs to follow the path set out for them? If they find a purpose in life, do they have the right to divert from the path given to them to live as they want?"