Our Roles

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Stella asked.

Her mother smiled serenely. It was far from the kind of expression you would expect from a woman about to attend her own criminal trial. “No need, sweetheart. You already have a press conference at Dust Temple today, don’t you?”

“I can always move that back,” Stella said, “but the court isn’t going to let you reschedule.”

Sakura still shook her head. “Just as I have a role to play today, so do you.” She wrapped Stella in a firm embrace. “Just having you here with me now is enough.“

Stella breathed in her mother’s orange blossom perfume, and it induced a potent nostalgia.

Her mother had been wearing this scent since Stella was old enough to play with her perfume bottles. The fact that she would probably never smell like orange blossoms again—smell like herself, again—had Stella burying her face in her neck and clinging to her cashmere turtleneck with all her might.

“You’ve grown into such a wonderful person, Stella,” Sakura murmured in her ear, “it’s time you showed everyone what an incredible daughter I have taking over for me.”

Tears welled in Stella’s eyes. She’d needed to hear—to feel those words for a long time.

The sole reason she had joined the Strike Force was to earn her mother’s recognition; she just wished the path to receiving that parental pride hadn’t been so twisted.

“I’ll visit all the time,” Stella said as she pulled away just enough to look her in the eye. “In fact, I’ll probably see you more now than when you were the CEO,” she joked.

Her mother chuckled, her eyes misty and smile tender as she whispered, “I look forward to it.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour after seeing her mother wave as the chauffeur pulled the car away, Stella was standing in front of a crowd of news-hungry reporters in Dust Temple.

“As you all know,” Stella began, trying to keep the threads of her voice strong, “my mother, Sakura Sakai, has chosen to step down as the CEO of Sakai Kousan.” Stella gripped the edges of her podium tightly. “And as we speak, she is currently on trial for the unspeakable crimes she’s committed against the Aria and the people of this city.”

The cameras flashed in her face frantically as she continued, “Sakura Sakai put energy before people, and chose to create unstable Aria and sacrifice their lives for our benefit.

“As a member of the Strike Force, I experienced the loss of countless comrades in our mission to exterminate the Aria. What I want now, more than anything, is end this painful cycle of destruction.”

Stella pushed her shoulders back with a confidence she didn’t feel and soldiered on, “And so, with the support of the company board and my comrade Yui Dendrite, I will be rebuilding Sakai Kousan’s energy initiatives from the ground up as the new CEO.”

She had been told by the PR rep that the press would immediately bombard her with questions after the big reveal; he was right. She could barely hear herself think over the cacophony of voices. She was grateful that he’d taught her to withstand the pressure to respond until she’d finished speaking.

“Moving forward, we will be discontinuing our policy to ‘release and destroy’ Aria, and focusing on creating sustainable energy solutions. We will also be abolishing the Strike Force, and replacing it with a safety division led by former Strike Force member, Yui Dendrite.”

Stella caught Yui’s eye from her post just behind her and smiled. “She will be charged with our most important mission moving forward, so I ask for your undivided attention as she explains the purpose of her new role here at Sakai Kousan.”

A paltry applause was all that followed Yui as she stepped up to the podium and adjusted the mic. It was no surprise, really. Her mother had never acknowledged anyone else in the Strike Force by name except for Stella. It was doubtful the public knew who she was.

“Ahem. Thank you for coming today, everyone. As Stella said, my name is Yui Dendrite. I will be taking over as the head of the safety division.

“My job at Sakai Kousan moving forward is simple: to create a city where the Aria and humans can coexist peacefully.”

Yui paused for a moment to touch her scarf. “Like many of you, I lost a precious family member to the Aria attacks. I know that it won’t be easy. Most of you probably see the Aria as mindless agents of chaos. But I can confirm that they are capable of human thought and emotion.

“Sakai Kousan purposely discontinued the research they were conducting to develop the Aria, which means there’s a good chance that whatever mechanism in their DNA is causing their violent outbursts can be fixed.

“However, identifying the anomalies in the Aria’s genetic makeup will take time. We recognize there are still plenty of rogue Aria out there. And while we haven’t heard of any reports yet, they could be migrating towards other cities.

“For the safety of the Aria and the people of this city, I will be returning to the frontlines to capture and contain them. Our hope is that by capturing rogue Aria, we will eventually be able to rehabilitate their minds.”

Yui glanced back at Stella, whose PR director was trying to subtly dab at the sweat at her temple with a handkerchief. “As for the last thing…well, I’ll let Stella be the one to tell you.”

Stella swallowed as the two of them swapped places again, this time feeling even more unsure than before.

Is this the right direction? Am I making the right choice? Do I even have the option of backing out at this point?

She stood there a moment, staring down into the faces of people she had risked her life to protect. If this is a mistake, she thought, all I can do is face them head-on and take responsibility for it.

Stella took a deep breath. “While we recognize it’s unorthodox, we will be appointing the Aria known as ‘Protector’ as Yui’s partner in handling Aria-human relations in the safety division.”

As much as she feared the reactions of the crowd, Stella forced herself not to flinch away from her own words as she pressed on, “He is an Aria variant that has managed to retain his sanity, and thus has agreed to cooperate with us for the future of his species.

“Our motto at Sakai Kousan has always been ‘Effortless energy, tireless effort.’ And I take those words seriously.

“Though it will take an incredible amount of resources and the dedication of all of our employees, we are committed to righting our wrongs—to peace—and to managing the energy promised to this city’s people.”

Stella wrapped her fist in flames and let it thud loudly against her chest. “And I will prove it to you.”

The silence that followed her show of resolve was deafening. To Stella, looking at the stupefied faces of the reporters after battling her nerves all day was a delicious feeling.

Stella smiled as she extinguished her fist. She’d followed the first part of the PR department's directive to the letter. It was time for round two. “Now then. Questions?”