The Last Roman (The Praetorian Series - Book I)

by Edward Crichton

  Earth /

  Havana, Cuba /

  ISLAND Departure Spaceport /

  11.06.2595

  08:00:00 Zulu

  In a time of great prosperity, the most obvious course of action is toward progress.

  Growth.

  Modernization.

  To build toward the future and create a utopia of high tech splendor.

  It’s what happened in the days following the end of Earth’s population crisis and later economic boom that came with the advent of interstellar trade and colonization. Cities across the globe became shining, glimmering metropolises of glass and light, more beautiful than ever, but not Havana, Cuba. Its spaceport was the sole means of transportation to the High Earth Orbit ISLAND Docking Facility in the western hemisphere, and a prosperous city because of it, but it appeared little more than a dirty small town on the cusp of social annihilation.

  At least that’s how it seemed like to Carl Lawson as he sat in a local cantina, waiting for the departure time for his shuttle to arrive. The seedy bar was something out of a Western vid, an entertainment genre made famous once again after centuries in obscurity. It was a setting that belonged in a museum, like the one Lawson had in fact seen at the Cleveland Museum of Ancient American History when he was eight years old. The only difference being the lack of holographic personifications of living, breathing humans performing any number of mundane, yet clichéd tasks like bartending, piano and card playing, wenching, and the like. This bar was authentic, with real live people enjoying the relaxed, stress free setting in which Havana still exuded. On any other day, Lawson probably could have died content as he sat amongst fellow travelers in seek of a cold cerveza, but life was never completely stress free, especially not with his folks visiting to see him off.

  “This isn’t what you want to do,” his father, John Lawson, said from across the table. “ISLANDs only come back to Earth every three years.”

  “About two actually,” Carl Lawson replied, not understanding his parents sudden desire to dissuade him from leaving. He ignored his father and turned toward the bartender. “Señor, una cerveza mas, por favor.” The bartender nodded and tossed him a can of beer and Lawson couldn’t help but smile.

  Where has this place been all my life?

  “But you won’t know anybody,” his mother, Eileen, chimed in with her ever chipper voice. “All your friends and family are on Earth, not to mention your friends in the military.”

  Outwardly, his mother was the sweet and caring type you’d find in any homestead across the galaxy, but Carl had known the truth behind it since he was a toddler. Underneath that façade of motherly kindness was the attitude of a woman who simply didn’t give a shit, and only kept up her disguise to fit in with societal pressures. The fact that she still treated him like a child, instead of the forty five year old man that he was, said something about her. She was the kind of person who would shop for yet another needless product to sooth her own fickle desires on her Lens’ Inter-Lens Service, while maintaining only the barest semblance of attention during what someone else would consider a very personal conversation.

  “Mom,” Carl said with a sigh. “Why do you think I’m even doing this? The only actual friend I have left is coming with me, so why stay.”

  The statement wasn’t a question, and he didn’t expect his mother to answer anyway. Not because she knew it hadn’t been a question, but because he knew she didn’t actually care.

  John Lawson ignored his wife and pressed on. “You realize, son, that if you leave, you’ll be doing little more than admitting your own guilt and running away in shame?”

  Carl turned away from his mother, who no longer seemed interested, fixating her attention instead on the young Cuban bartender whose biceps were at risk of bursting through the sleeves of tropical style shirt. He fixed his father with a stern gaze and lowered his voice.

  “Is that why you’re here? To convince me to stay on a world that would rather see me hung by the gallows because the firing squad would be too quick? There’s nothing left for me here. At least if I go, I can visit in a few years when things have quieted down. In time… who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to return one day.”

  “No one is saying you should go on the Lens and draw attention to yourself, son, but if you stay and lead a quiet life, at least you can say you kept your honor intact and stood your ground.”

  “Whose honor exactly am I protecting? Yours or mine? Better be careful, Dad. You don’t want to be taken off the list of all those holiday parties you’re always invited to.”

  “Don’t take that tone with me. I’m past caring about whether what happened was your fault or not, but our reputation has already been blemished by all this as it is, and the only thing you can do to repair it is to stare your accusers in the face and refuse to admit defeat.”

  “I already did that. Don’t you remember when they stripped me of my rank and all my accomplishments and held me up as an example to save face with the Chinese? No, I did my part thank you much. I think I’m well and done with all that bullshit.”

  John Lawson folded his arms and glared at his son, watching as Carl swallowed that last of his beer.

  “Don’t do this, Carl. Don’t expect a home to come back to if you do.”

  Carl smirked at his father and picked up his travel bag before getting to his feet and throwing some anachronistic monetary coins down on the table. Physical money may have been extinct on Earth for centuries now, but for those traveling to the outer colonies, it was a necessity, not to mention for those few who knew to stop at this lovely hole-in-the-wall before departure. “Don’t worry, father. I haven’t been coming back to one since the day you tried to save your own face in all this at no one’s expense but my own.”

  With nothing left to say to his father, he reached out and grabbed his mother’s arm before passing by her. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, knowing he’ll miss her despite all her faults. “Say goodbye to Lilly for me, mom.”

  Eileen flicked her eyes away from her beefcake pretty for just a second. “Oh, your sister will miss you terribly. Won’t that help you cha…”

  “Goodbye, mom.”

  “Oh, well, goodbye, dear.” She turned back to her lustful desire and said nothing else.

  Lawson looked back at his parents, now both ignoring him for completely different reasons. He couldn’t believe it had come to this. His own parents had turned their backs on him in a time when he needed them the most. When the entire world was against him, he should have been able to turn to them and expect comfort and reassurance, but no such sentiment existed, and he was on his own.

  Carl Lawson versus the universe.

  He turned and headed toward the door, stopping only briefly to take in the surreal atmosphere of one of the most unique places he’d ever visited. With a nod of approval he walked out into the dusty streets and turned north toward the only sign of progress and hope as far as the eye could see: the spaceport.

  And his future.