Lunara: The Original Trilogy

by Wyatt Davenport

  She bit her lip. How can I fight for a society that will never embrace me?

  The air smelled of heated algae porridge, and she decided it would be better to make her tough decisions on a full stomach. The guards were bringing her breakfast. Usually, they knocked. She bolted out of her bathroom at a quick pace.

  "I would appreciate it if you would knock before you entered." Entering the living area, she didn’t immediately see anyone, only the tray of food. She took a step toward it, when, to her right, she saw a figure moving from the shadows near the window. "Oh, you. You’re making it a habit of coming into my apartment without announcement. If I can’t come into your office unannounced, you can’t come in here."

  "I’m your father," he replied. "I don’t want to keep having ‘the talk.’ You must listen to me."

  "What talk?" She sneered at him. "The one where you tell me you don’t trust me, and you prefer to tell everything to Samantha? How do you think that makes me feel? I love you, and I would do anything for you. Whatever you say is what I believe. Why would you do something like this without including me? I’m your daughter."

  "I didn’t include you because you are my daughter. I’ll always protect you."

  "Don’t shelter me. I did a lot of growing up on Lunara."

  "Not entirely. I made a deal and convinced my associates to exonerate you for your role in the escape of Seth and Chloe from the medical facility." Her father moved toward her, but she backed away around the couch. "What you did was wrong, and you should be punished more than you are. I want you to trust me again."

  "I want to trust you again, and I want to make up for the mistake I made that caused you to not trust me. Take me as an advisor in your MSA. I can convince the people that you have everyone’s best interest in mind. They will believe me. The ‘Princess’ has a lot of pull with the people."

  "I thought you were against the MSA."

  "No. I was surprised and hurt you didn’t include me," she said with some truth underlining her statement.

  "Why did you rescue Seth and Chloe?"

  "I did it to save them, not to hurt the MSA. They are my friends, and—"

  "And what?"

  She stepped around the couch and stood opposite to him. "I’m in love with Seth. I couldn’t let anything happen to him. I would have left Chloe in the medical facility for you, but he wouldn’t allow it. They are devoted to each other. I’m just caught on the outside, loving him. I know it is stupid, but someday he’ll start to love me like he loves her."

  "Love is never stupid. I didn’t know…I’m doing this for your mother, for her memory and her suffering. I can’t bear to watch any other family suffer the way we did watching her die every day. We need to harness Seth and Chloe’s potential."

  "You want to learn from them. To help save mother, but she is long dead." She had to say that to see what his reaction would be. She needed to discover if a glimmer of hope was within him, or if he was completely lost to her.

  He grimaced slightly. The grimace told her compassion remained in his heart.

  His eyes softened. "What if you get sick, what then?"

  "Trust me. Of all the people on Mars, who is better to know how you feel about mother’s death and how we both wanted to stop it desperately. Let me help."

  "How can we trust you after what you did to the MSA? In addition to rescuing Seth and Chloe, you infiltrated the security center."

  She thought immediately of the man she had killed on the surface. Had her father discovered him? "I had to find out why you were lying to me. It was eating me from inside. You don’t know how much it hurt me to see you scheming with Samantha and leaving me on the outside."

  "I couldn’t let you in the MSA without compromising you on Lunara."

  "And uncovering your plan to take Lunara?"

  "You are far too clever, Gwen."

  "Exactly why I should be your advisor." She was desperate for his approval now. Something within her begged for him to say yes. She wanted it more than any wish, even more than to have Seth by her side. How did he do this to her? He was playing with her ambitions, and ambition was the worst trait she inherited from him. "Letting me drift in this void between the stars is far worse."

  "But I can’t disregard your actions."

  "How did you know it was me in the security center?"

  "You left your blood."

  She reached for her hand and ran her fingers along a rough, old wound. "I didn’t hurt the war effort or sabotage anything."

  "You killed MSA members."

  "We had to kill people who were in between our escape…yet I didn’t reveal the plan to the planet. I knew you were going to strike at the gala. I found it on the computer."

  "You did?"

  "Yes, and I withheld the information because I trusted you to do the right thing. Now I want to be a part of it." She pushed herself closer to him. "I promise to serve you."

  "I will talk to my associates and get you started."

  Chapter 4

  Parker glowered at Sarah McCloud. He had just been released from the infirmary only to find Seth and Chloe locked in interrogation rooms. "How can you interrogate Seth and Chloe like they are criminals?"

  "Because they are criminals." Sarah straightened the datapads on her desk and then deliberately raised her head in a slow, condescending movement.

  Parker caught a faint glint of a smirk forming on Sarah’s cheek. He sensed her satisfaction in catching two of the perpetrators of her father’s assassination. "They made a mistake. The chancellor used them like so many others."

  "They need to be questioned."

  "Yes, but not split up and escorted directly to a conference room with armed guards. A debriefing is appropriate."

  "What is the difference what you call it? An interrogation or a debriefing. They need to be questioned."

  "There is a fine line, and you crossed it."

  "It was for their safety. The Aethpisians haven’t expunged them of their wrongdoing. Many of my people think they purposefully helped the MSA kill the government officials."

  "Are you one of them?"

  Her arms thrust to her hips. "One of what?"

  "The people who have found them guilty."

  "Their interrogation will help fill in some of the holes in the story we received from our contacts."

  "The colony, where Josef Vhortov gave them the information, has been destroyed. The chancellor is covering his tracks. Don’t you see how they were used?"

  "And isn’t Vhortov as guilty as the chancellor? As your friends?"

  Parker shook his head. "Vhortov did it premeditated. Seth and Chloe were tricked."

  "My sources haven’t confirmed their guilt…or innocence."

  "Yet your source figured out Vhortov was involved, so why can’t you see that Seth and Chloe weren’t?"

  Sarah straightened her jacket. "My sources traced Seth and Chloe’s trail to Memnonia Sulci. Jan’s information was spot on, but they lost any further trail because of a dust storm in the area and the destruction of the colony. There is a gap between when they left the colony and when they arrived at the gala. Who did they meet with?"

  "They met with no one. The evidence of Martian treachery from Vhortov blinded Seth."

  Sarah eyed him carefully. "Blinded? How do you know that?"

  "Because the crew heard nothing from them. Seth went right to the chancellor."

  "So. The chancellor could have promised Seth a return to Lunara, and end his suffering on Mars. He hates Mars, so why wouldn’t he do anything to destroy it?"

  "He hates Mars, but he is not a murderer."

  "That remains to be seen." Sarah turned and looked out of the window toward the Earth.

  Parker remained silent for a long moment. He had decided, from the moment he saw the transmission of Seth telling the world that the minister was guilty of treachery, that Seth and Chloe weren’t involved voluntarily. Yet it looked bad for his friends. Not only could they not deny they had said it, but there wasn�
�t much they could say to plead a misunderstanding. Seth said the minister had betrayed Mars, and his words left no room to be misinterpreted. But Parker could see the difference between being tricked into saying something and believing what you were saying.

  Seth was clearly ignorant of the facts inside the datapad. From Seth’s point of view, a sordid viewpoint of hatred and pain on Mars, the minister had to be guilty because where did those resources go? It turned out that the chancellor was behind the troop movements and attacks on both Mars and Lunara, but the media told a different story. On Mars, the chancellor had moved against the minister and ruined the coup attempt, and on Lunara, the chancellor had been unsuccessful in taking back the colony from the invaders, who unleashed a counterattack on his forces. With Lunara so far away, the media and the chancellor’s propaganda were trusted, while Sarah and her supporters were admonished as the minister had been. He understood how Seth could have been tricked.

  Parker stepped toward his wife and placed his hand on her shoulder. "They’ll prove their worth to you. Seth and Chloe have abilities that can help our cause."

  "I don’t know," she said. "As my husband, I trust your word. I know your loyalty is strong, but you can’t be loyal to the Alliance and to your crew at the same time. Sometimes those allegiances must be tested and split."

  "You want me to choose?"

  "I don’t want you ever to choose between them, but you will have to choose. It is inevitable."

  "Choose between the Alliance and putting Seth and Chloe into jail for treason?"

  "Could be, but you might also have to choose whether to fight against Gwen Arwell, or something else entirely. The choice will come, and you must prepare for it."

  Sarah’s words jolted Parker. He looked over the floating debris orbiting the moon. He had fought in the battle to free Lunara from the MSA, and he had fought for the Alliance. Was that his allegiance now? Was the crew gone forever?

  Chapter 5

  The conference room in the main tower of Lunara was empty. Seth paced in front of the bay window overlooking the entire north section of Lunara. A discernable quarter ring of destruction slashed its way across his view. His eyes followed along the damaged strip from the eastern living complex to hangars ten through fifteen, speckled with cavities of varying sizes. On the far end, Lunara Tower, the first tower built, lay in ruins.

  Even with all the damage, he still thought he had made the correct decision for the people of Mars. The people had the right to the truth. But he realized on the long trip back to Lunara that the fact-finding mission had been a little too easy for him. The chancellor used him, but the whole idea of someone setting up an elaborate ruse to lure him and then trigger a Martian war seemed astonishing and too convenient to put outright blame on him and Chloe. The entire planet went into turmoil and war over his words; how unstable was Mars to let that happen? Granted, he didn’t understand Martian politics, and he definitely didn’t play it; the war on Mars wasn’t his fault. The minister should have watched the chancellor. They were responsible for attending to their Martian business.

  He shifted toward the Earth and began to wish Chloe was with him. Sarah had separated them shortly after their arrival on the station, but they had found enough time for a one-minute exchange with Ty and Jan, probably the most difficult moment of his life. He had disappointed the people who cared for them when they arrived on Lunara as stowaways. Chloe had cried uncontrollably in Jan’s arms, but he had held his stolid face. There was no point in showing everyone the torment inside of him. He was already a traitor in their eyes, and any further weakness would show his guilt. And he wasn’t guilty.

  His eyes again shifted toward the damaged northern rim of Lunara. He twisted his head away with repulsion, and then sat down, kicking his feet on the table.

  On the wall in front of him, four paintings hung, and he welcomed the stillness they provided. They were older, from the founder’s days, approximately two hundred years old, and without doubt, for the entire two hundred years, the paintings had been on the same wall. The paintings were of the Earth in different orbital stages in relation to Lunara: the full planet, the gibbous planet, the quarter planet, and the crescent planet. Seth always found wonder in the latter; as a child he would watch as the sunlight formed a bluish halo around the Earth. A circular aura he wished he could walk into and leave the solar system for a different life. As he grew older, he realized the solar system trapped him. Not even in the fastest ship could he escape without a long voyage over many lifetimes.

  He laughed to himself, remembering how devastating it had been when the realization hit him. Yet the belief it could happen never left him. He felt pathetic for it. His continuing quest to save the past lingered always in the forefront of his mind.

  He was chagrined. Jan’s teachings about good or bad choices determining fate only led him to a clouded vision of the future filled with hate and anger. Maybe that was the reason for his anger. His fate was the betrayal of everyone on Mars and would stay with him forever. He was certain the planet had a vendetta against him.

  He bit his lower lip. He couldn’t accept that his fate was anger and hatred. When Sarah Cortez arrived to meet him, he would explain his actions, clear his name, and return to Mars to find Gwen. The time had come for him to create a new path of fate.

  "How many times can I say we are sorry? We thought we were doing something good for Mars. The evidence seemed clear. All of the news reports following the attack broadcast it," Chloe said, suddenly realizing she was standing toe to toe with the new minister of Aethpis, Sarah Cortez. "I realize he was your father, and his death ripped my heart out. I was in the room when it happened. His betrayal surged through me, scarring me. The chancellor deceived us all."

  "That is a convenient excuse." Sarah directed her to sit.

  Chloe complied, only because she thought it would loosen the tension in the room.

  "I read your report, and it mentions nothing about your time with the chancellor before the attack," Sarah said. "I clearly recall Seth with him in the marketplace. Did he mention anything to you about it?"

  "No," she said. "He only stated how Mars made progress toward peace, but he didn’t trust it."

  "You’re good friends with Miss Gwendolyn Arwell. How often has she mentioned her father to you?"

  "On many occasions. She is my best friend."

  "You admit to collaborating with her, but you also claim they used you. How can it be both?"

  "I lived with Gwen for two years on Lunara. Of course, she would mention her famous father. Basic logic dictates that. You need to realize Gwen isn’t involved in this plot. She was deceived like everyone on Mars."

  "It is obvious to me that she is involved. Her father is the head of the MSA, she was the chief diplomat on Lunara, and Lunara was the first colony the MSA attacked. What other conclusion should I reach?"

  "Your mind is too stubborn to uncover the treachery of this situation. Using logic, Thomas Cross was part of the MSA, and he is Aethpisian. You weren’t at the gala, so therefore, that means you are part of the MSA. Am I right?"

  In the next instant, Sarah brought her hand streaking across Chloe’s face. Chloe felt a sharp pain in her lower lip.

  Sarah drew her hand back.

  Chloe sensed that Sarah was waiting for a reaction. She dabbed the blood pooling on her lip, tasting the coppery ooze, and smirked. "Do that again, and I will put you on your butt."

  Sarah glowered. "Don’t threaten me."

  Chloe conceded she deserved the slap. She had called the head of the Alliance a traitor, and that was something that could not be taken lightly. Her purpose was to illustrate how accusations could be misconstrued. No one knew how she felt. The rumors vilified her across Mars and the solar system.

  She blamed herself for allowing the start of the war. If she had stopped and thought about it for a minute, she would have stopped Seth. The day happened so fast for her, from Josef Vhortov giving them the datapad to the chancellor at the gala. All
in a matter of hours.

  "I take the blame, but it wasn’t with malice," Chloe said. "You touch me again, and I will put you in your place. I don’t care if you are the minister. Lock me up. You can do nothing that Hans Bauer already didn’t do to me."

  "I don’t need you insulting me for something you, self-admittedly, caused. I’ll give my report to Ty Falloom after I talk with your husband."

  Sarah pivoted on her heels and left the room.

  Chloe liked hearing her say "husband." In an impromptu ceremony, they had asked Ty to wed them, according to Martian law. It only took his blessing, and he promptly gave it. In fifteen seconds, she had attained what she had waited fifteen years for Seth to commit to her.

  She was Mrs. Smith now and at the start of the next stage in her life: the restitution for her fatal mistake.

  Seth pulled his feet from the table as Sarah Cortez walked into the room. Her strides were quick. She didn’t acknowledge his presence in the slightest. Seth stared at her. Her hair, normally flat and splashing down along the side of her face, was awry and frayed toward the back.

  "Your wife thinks you are guilty of starting the war with the MSA. Is her opinion fair?"

  "She feels guilty about what she did to Mars and to your father. I don’t think the war was avoidable. We were patsies. The evidence from the datapad was overwhelming against the Aethpisians. And I know the information is accurate."

  "So you still insist my father is guilty. How can you say that after you watched him die for Mars?"