Part 3: What Happens Next

: But I guess it isn't cloudy or rainy. But sometimes I prefer rainy days, y'know? Nothing really beats the sound of a light rainfall and the smell of the morning dew.

: I guess, as far as mornings go, this one's pretty okay. That's my ranking for this morning. Pretty Okay.

: Alright, we're off to a start.

: My name's Ezra Foy.

Soul Searching (Nikita's Theme)

: Nikita Klein.

: Your turn, Ezra Foy. What brings you here? A spot like this is usually a little out-of-the-way.

: You're right. I don't often come out this far; I'm usually a big city girl.

: But... I don't know. I guess I'm still processing the big victory from last night and I just needed to start wandering, you know? To help sort my thoughts out.

: Actually, Nikita, you're a total stranger, so maybe you can give me some unique insight. Is that weird? Am I the weird one for having that kind of reaction to the victory last night? Or are you here for that too?





: But yeah, I don't think that's 'weird.' I mean, we've all been in a certain state of mind for the past decade-and-some-change, and just last night, it all flips like a switch. Everyone's going to have different responses to it.



: Yeah, I guess that's true.

: Thank you for the insight.

: Glad I could help.



: Robotics engineering. I was going to start working on the next generation of combat androids to help with the war effort.

: Oh yeah? Those Gen Three models, right? I thought they had just started rolling them out.

: Yeah, we were learning more about them just yesterday when the lesson was interrupted by a broadcast of that mothership exploding.

: I was probably going to start working on those and their upgrades and maintenance... and on their successors, if the war lasted long enough.

: How about you?

: ... I was...



: Really? On the front lines? You were going to be in one of those outer-space fighter spacejets?

: Yep, that was going to be me. I had just gotten my butter bars and everything; I was only a few weeks away from my first tour on the front lines.

Nikita's reference to "butter bars" means that they are a junior commissioned officer, either an ensign or second lieutenant. That seems like a pretty high rank for a pilot, honestly, but maybe the Riklid have wiped out so many soldiers they are promoting youngsters as fast as the enlisted soldiers were dying up in space. Maybe that's why Nikita doesn't look so happy about being a pilot...

: Hey, my mother is the same way! She's a soldier on the Moon, right on the very front lines, staring those bastards in the eye.



: Yeah! She's on her fifth deployment right now. I get to speak with her once a week. Now that the Riklid have finally retreated, I bet she'll be coming home in a few days.

: ... Wow. There's... a lot to process here.

: Is that so unbelievable?

: About your mom? It's not just her: it's this whole conversation.

: What I'm having a hard time understanding is someone immediately believing me when I say I'm a fighter pilot. They look at a body like mine and long hair like this and they immediately think I'm, like, a call girl that gets most of her business at the base, or something.

: Whoa.

: Well, it'd be hypocritical of me to think that a woman couldn't be a badass, at the very least.

: You're off to a good start, Ezra.



: She's definitely the bravest woman I know. I was too scared to follow in her footsteps; that's one of the reasons why I put my focus on robotics.

: You're a close second, Nikita. It takes guts to want to put yourself in the hot-seat like that.

: 'Close second,' what?

: You're a close second in bravery, I mean.

: Yeah, I know that. But you said that your mom was the 'bravest woman you know...'

: ...does that make the second bravest woman you know?

: ... Uh....

: Go ahead, just guess. I won't be offended.

: In fact, if you couldn't tell, this is a lot of fun for me.

: ... Well... I kinda assumed, what with the hair, and the curves, and the clean, pretty face–

: Oooh, keep going.

: – that you were a woman...?

: Really? You thought that all of this was your idea of feminine?

: ... Yep, sure did.

: Well, Ezra, it was a coin flip, and it came up tails.

: Which means... you're a guy?

: Is there something wrong with a guy wanting to look pretty?

: And we've established that 'women can be badass,' too. Really, it's kinda the whole package, if you ask me.

: Pun not intended.

: Okay, Ezra, calm yourself down. You had a lesbian threesome with your best-friend-with-benefits and a Ghian last night and now you're speaking with a very pretty, very accomplished man. Things are moving fast.

: ... I wonder if I should introduce him to Carla and Isol...?

: U-uhhh, anyway–

: That just means that you're the bravest guy I know. Most of my other guy-friends only want to get as close as the Moon, and not directly in combat.

: I can't blame them. I've had a lot of sleepless nights thinking about what my future has in store for me.

: That's not stopping me from going through with it, though...

: ... But hey! We don't have to worry about stuff like that anymore. The war is over, Nikita! You and I, we can do whatever the hell we want!

: Yeah... it's a good feeling to have.

: What will you do now?

: I have no idea. And frankly, I've been hoping for someone to ask that question since last night.

: Like, no doubt it's been on everyone's minds, right? Not just mine? We're an entire generation of soldiers-to-be to join the cause against the Riklid, and suddenly, there's no Riklid for us to rally against.

: Which is a great thing! It's amazing. We – all of us, all of humanity – have been fighting a massive fight that's lasted thirteen years, and we, and the generation after us, have been getting ready to join in against the war effort.

: And in the blink of an eye, it's done. It's all gone.

: I know it's too early to be getting wound up over it. We should be celebrating. Last night we were getting drunk and pairing up like it was the last night of our lives, and tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if we do it all again.

: I sure hope so, anyway. And maybe with less booze so I remember more of it.

: But, like... what now, y'know? What happens next? What do we do with our lives?



: For thirteen years, our generation has had to deal with an uncertain future, with the only 'absolute' being that we were going to participate in the fight for Earth and our solar system. How we were going to do it was different for everyone, but we were all going to do it.

: But now...

: Well, the future is still uncertain.

: But in a good way!

: It's like we've had a huge, terrible weight on our shoulders for over a decade. Which doesn't sound like a long time, but each day is an eternity while it's bearing down on you. And now it's gone! Lifted, all at once, with no warning, just like that!

: You and I, Ezra, and everyone – the future is what we want to do with it. You and I can make our own decisions about what we want to do with our lives now that we don't have to worry about invading aliens and interplanetary combat.

: You've been thinking about this as hard as I have, haven't you?

: Heh, no comment.

Nikita is cool and down-to-Earth. Or not-Earth, wherever we are. The land really doesn't seem too badly affected by the Riklid, if this is Earth or Mars...



: Haha! I met a Ghian last night that said it's not different for them.

: I think you're asking the wrong question, Ezra. The question isn't 'what do we do now?'

: The question should be 'what do we want to do now?'

: What do we want to do?





: ...

: ...?

: ... I don't know. I've been so caught up in what I need to do that I don't even know what it is I want to do.

I like how the game used this "choice" to illustrate how Ezra really doesn't have a clue what to do. More games need to mess with game mechanics to make a thematic point.

: Just so you know, I think that's a normal response to our situation.

: We've all been through a lot, and it's a lot to process. Nobody has the right idea about what to do with themselves going forward, and if they try to tell you otherwise, they're lying right through their teeth.

: Take me for instance. I have no idea what I'm going to do tonight, much less what I'm going to do with my life from now on.

: And it's great! I love having that sort of spontaneity available to me!

: Up to a point.

: We're all figuring it out as we go, Ezra, and for the first time in nearly a decade, we can take our time with it.

: ... Yeah. That's all true. There's no rush.

: It just feels like there is, y'know? There's a sudden vacuum in... agency? Direction? Point is, I had – we all had a plan going forward, and now, we don't.

: Yeah, I get it.

: But look on the bright side! The plan that we had sucked. I'd much rather have no direction in life than the direction we were all going in.

Nikita speaks truth here. What would you rather face: a certain future where you're all going to commit to a war where you may just die in the long run, or a peace where you don't know where you'll end up?

: Hah, yeah, I agree. I was barely a teenager when the war broke out. I hardly had a chance to enjoy my adolescence and now it's nearly over.

: Just a few minutes ago, I was paralyzed with indecision on how to approach a pretty gi– a pretty man, which I think is a skill I should have learned when I was a teen, but never had the chance. And I don't think I'm the only one.

: I'd rather have the opportunity to fill in the blanks than to dedicate the rest of my life to designing war androids.

: That's the spirit!

: Let's try an easier question.

: What do you want to do right this red-hot second?

: Right this red-hot second?

: Right this red-hot second.

Carla used the same line earlier. Must be an expression the writer likes?

: Hmm...



: That's not a bad idea! I've never been there either. Maybe seeing past our skies and across the land will give us some perspective on what it is we want to do with our lives going forward.



: Oh! Uh, I shouldn't presume. Let's make this an official thing.

: Would you mind if I tagged along? I've got nowhere else to be and it's nice talking with a girl that's on the same wavelength as I am.

: Yeah, I wouldn't mind the company. You're a pretty cool guy.

: You know, being complimented on my looks is one thing, but being complimented on my personality is a different sort of feeling.

: Which is to say: thank you. You're pretty cool to talk with, too, Ezra.

: Shall we get going?

*The screen fades to black. The music and ambience fade out.*