Earth Awakens (The First Formic War)
Page 41
“Awake and talking nonsense,” said Lem. “I offer him a decent job, and he turns me down. Talk some sense into him, Imala.”
“He doesn’t have any that I’m aware of,” said Imala.
Lem turned back to Victor. “We’re reinitiating cargo shipments to the Belt. Tell me when you want to leave, and I’ll get you passage.”
“Thank you.”
Lem offered his hand, and they shook. “Keep the sun at your back, space born.”
“You too.”
Lem walked out.
Imala came and stood by the bed, her expression flat. “So you’re heading to the Belt. You’ve made your decision.”
“My family needs me, Imala.”
“Your mother doesn’t want you to come, Vico. She said as much. She wants you to stay here. To go to a university.”
“I can’t get into a university, Imala. We’ve been over this. I have no diploma, no birth certificate, no citizenship—”
“You can take tests to get a diploma, Vico. And Lem could help you acquire the other necessary papers.”
Victor scoffed. “Yeah. Illegally.”
“Maybe not. Maybe he has connections in immigration. And anyway, so what if he does it illegally? You deserve to go to school, Vico. You deserve it more than anyone. If you go back to your family, you’ll end up becoming a…”
“A what, Imala? A free miner? Is that what you were going to say?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I was going to say you’ll end becoming a suitor in some arranged marriage. That’s what your family does, isn’t it? They mix up the gene pool by swapping eligible bachelors and brides among the families.”
“We have to, Imala. Families are isolated. We can’t intermarry. That would be incest. All of our kids would have twelve toes and a second pair of eyes.”
“I’m not advocating incest,” said Imala. “I’m saying arranged marriages strip you of your right to choose. I’ve seen the documentaries, Vico. Newlywed brides bawling their eyes out because they’ve been forced to marry a stranger.”
“It’s not always like that,” said Victor.
“It is sometimes.”
“Why are we even arguing about this?”
“Because you’re not thinking about your own future, Vico. Your mother is leading the effort to reconfigure the ship. She says she can handle it.”
“And she’s wrong, Imala. Installing all of that equipment, making all the necessary configurations, it’s far more complicated than she realizes.”
“Or maybe she knows precisely what she’s getting into, and she wants to try it anyway. Sometimes you have to trust people enough to let them succeed and love them enough to let them fail. You can’t fix everything, Vico. If you do, the only lesson people will learn is dependency. Your mother has done fine without you all this time. If you rush to her now, what is that saying? Hi, Mom. I knew you were incapable of doing this task, so I’ve come to rescue you.”
“I love my family, Imala. My mother has been through a nightmare. She lost my father, her home, half her family. Is it a crime to want to comfort her?”
“Of course not.”
“I have nothing here, Imala.”
“A job, a possible future, friends who care about you. That’s nothing?”
“My job offer is from someone who lied to us and abandoned us. Have you forgotten what Lem Jukes is? The only reason he actually followed through was because of the tech. This was an economic decision for him all the way. Why should I put much stock in any offer from him?”
“You’re right, Vico. What I was thinking? Silly stupid me.” She walked out before he could say another word.
* * *
Lem was alone in his apartment when his wrist pad lit up with messages. He flipped through them and saw that they were all from journalists seeking an interview. He had already received dozens of such requests, and he had erased or ignored them all. He was done with the press, done with the phony theater of it all.
By now the media had interviewed many of the miners who had participated in the final battle. Each of them had given harrowing accounts of the fighting. When pressed about Lem Jukes’s involvement, they had all explained how Lem had called them to arms and promised to financially reward the ship that accumulated the most kills. The media had had a field day with the Argentine family who had won. Lem had paid them as promised, and the press was all too happy to stick a camera in the people’s faces. Some of the women had cried. Now they could get needed medicine and food. Now they could repair their ship.
One reporter had called it “Humanity among the horrors of war.” KINDNESS IN THE CHAOS, read another headline.
Lem wanted to laugh. Didn’t the press realize he had done it to save his own skin? The more aggressive the miners were, the better chance they all had of getting out alive. Wasn’t that obvious? This was self-preservation, you fools, not philanthropy.
But what did the media care? If the charity angle resonated with people and generated a high click count and ad revenue, they would milk that cow for all it was worth.
Still, Lem was curious why a rush of reporters would contact him now and request an interview days after the battle. Some new bit of information had been released perhaps. Some little nugget of intel that everyone in the world was hungry for.
Curious, Lem went online to see what scrap of information the press was running.
To his surprise, a vid was playing on all of the feeds. It showed Lem at the helm of the Valas, Lem at his warehouse, Lem in his fighter taking on the Formics, Lem interacting with the MOPs. There was audio as well.
How was this possible? Who had taken all of these vids?
It was Father, of course. Who else? He had been watching Lem with hidden cameras every step of the way.
Lem was so furious, he flew immediately to headquarters. Father’s receptionist tried to stop him, but Lem blew by her desk and burst into Father’s office. “You used me!”
Ukko was sitting at his desk, head back, a paper bib around his neck protecting his suit. A makeup artist was leaning over him dabbing a paintbrush at Ukko’s eyebrows. A man with a holopad was standing off to the side. He wore a finely tailored suit, and not a single hair of his head was out of place. He stepped between Lem and his father, frowned, and put a hand up. “I’m sorry, Lem. Your father is in the middle of something. Now isn’t a good time. Can I call you later to set something up? We could discuss a time you two could meet?” He checked his holopad. “How’s six this evening?” He offered his hand. “I’m Maxwell, by the way.”
Lem almost hit him. “I suggest you get out of my way.”
Maxwell’s smile faded, and he retreated back a step.
Ukko brushed the makeup artist away. “Maxwell, Natasha, leave us for a moment. My son is in a mood. And he and I have urgent business to discuss.”
Maxwell stepped to the desk. “Are you sure, sir? We need to be downstairs in ten minutes. They want to check your audio and the lighting on your face.”
“I’m going to look like an old man regardless of the lighting or makeup, Maxwell. Give us a minute, will you?”
Maxwell frowned, regarded Lem with sharp disapproval, then followed the makeup artist out and closed the door behind them.
Lem cocked a thumb at the door. “Who is that idiot?”
“Were you not paying attention? That’s Maxwell, my new chief of staff.”
“Simona is your chief of staff.”
“She was. Unfortunately I had to let her go.”
“You fired Simona? Why?”
“I demand absolute loyalty from my staff, Lem. Their devotion to me must be unquestionable.”
“Simona was devoted to you,” said Lem. “Insanely devoted.”
“She used to be, yes. Until you returned from the Kuiper Belt.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“She was clearly in love with you, Lem. I’m disappointed you didn’t see it. It was blatantly obvious to me.”
“She couldn’t stand that you ignored her. You bickered like a married couple. I thought for sure you must have slept with her.”
Lem blinked. “With Simona? No. Is that why you fired her? Because you thought she was sleeping with me? Because she wasn’t.”
“I fired her because she betrayed me.”
“How? I can’t believe that.”
Ukko stood, pulled the bib from his neck, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it on his desk. “You’re going to dislike what I have to say next, Lem.” He exhaled and sat on the edge of his desk. “I suspected Simona’s love for you was increasing. That poses obvious problems for me. I can’t have my chief of staff giving more loyalty to my son than she gives to me. So I gave her a test. I knew you were sleeping with Despoina. And I knew you were trying to pull information from her about my affairs. So I wrote an e-mail to myself as if it were written by Despoina and I let that e-mail fall into Simona’s possession. If Simona was loyal to me, she would erase it and never disclose it to you. But if Simona was in love with you, if she was loyal to you over me, she would show it you. Which she did. She went straight to you behind my back. My only option was to fire her.”
Lem stared. A sick heavy feeling had gripped his chest. “You wrote that e-mail?”
“Despoina was not my informant, son. I did not ask her to spy on you or extract information from you. Nor was she the whore you took her for. She was a sweet girl. For whatever reason, she seemed to be blind to your faults. Or perhaps she loved your strengths so deeply that she saw past what makes you human. Either way, you let a real catch slip through your fingers, son. Her father has quite the empire. It could have been a lovely match.”
Lem said nothing. Words wouldn’t come. His whole body felt numb.
“You acted too rashly, son. I found your response revolting. Arresting her in the night, banishing her from Luna, writing a malicious, scathing note. What were you thinking? That was cruel and demeaning, son. Totally inexcusable. And what’s especially tragic is that it’s evidence that you were clearly in love with her. Only a man betrayed by love would debase and humiliate someone like that. If she had meant nothing to you, you would have come to me. I would’ve been the one who had offended you. But instead, you spit all of your venom at her. You’ve made plenty of mistakes in your life, Lem, but this is first time I have ever been ashamed to call you my son.”
Lem stared at him. His hands were trembling. His words were quiet. “I am not your son. I can’t be. No father would ever do such a thing to his own child.”
Ukko sighed. “This defense of yours gets old, Lem. You can’t blame me for all of your mistakes.”
“You created a lie. You invented a situation and provided proof. You built the justification for my actions in my mind. How is this not your fault? She was kind to me, Father.”
“Learn from this, Lem. You can’t act rashly. You can’t hire thugs to—”
“This is not one of your damn life lessons, Father! Or if it is, it’s so twisted and demented that I don’t want to hear it. You used me. You used her.”
“You used her first, Lem. Don’t forget that. We both know why you came to my office and approached her.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“It was, Lem. Your heart might have gone pitter patter eventually, but you were playing her for your own gain. What’s that American phrase? The pot calling the kettle black?”
Lem waved his arms and stepped away. “I am finished with you. Done. I don’t know why I ever wasted time seeking your approval. You were never going to give it anyway. It’s no wonder Mother left us. It’s no wonder she’s crazy. How could she not be if you treated her like you treat me.”
Ukko stood erect and straightened his coat. “Are you done throwing your tantrum now?”
It was such an infuriating thing to say, so condescending, that Lem couldn’t form a response.
“You’re upset, Lem. My e-mail tactic with Despoina may not have been ideal from your perspective, but love was the reason for Simona’s disloyalty to me. So it was her love that I needed to test. Simona would be eager to give you proof that might end your relationship with Despoina. I needed to see if her loyalty to me was stronger. It wasn’t. Had I known you have would reacted the way you did, I would have taken another approach. We both made mistakes. As for your mother, yes, I probably drove her to her mental state. You’re a little old to be having that eureka moment now, though. You should have reached that conclusion about twenty years ago.”
The makeup artist had left her mirror on Father’s desk. He picked it up and examined his hair. “As for being done with me, well, that’s a problem. Because I clearly can’t give the company to you if that’s going to be our relationship.”
He set down the mirror and faced Lem.
Lem paused. “You’ll never give this company to me, Father. You never intended to.”
“I’m giving it to you now, Lem. I’ll put all my stocks in a blind trust. You have plenty of enemies on the Board, however, so I’d advise you to clean house and set things in motion to remove people. Ramdakan can help. He’s an expert at that sort of thing. He can tell you who the snakes are, and I assure you we have plenty. I’m as gentle as a butterfly compared to some. Also, I’d recommend putting Benyawe on the Board. We’ll be deemphasizing our mining operations and putting a greater emphasis in innovation and shipbuilding. That’s our future, Lem. Lots and lots of military ships. We’ll be outfitting most of the International Fleet.”
“What’s the International Fleet?”
“I’ll show you. It’s time to make history, son.”
Father led them from the room. Maxwell was practically coming out of his skin, he was so worried about the time. He checked his holopad four times during the brief elevator ride down. When the doors opened and they stepped off, they found themselves in one of the holo rooms. The overhead lights had been dimmed. A crew of technicians was making final adjustments to the rig of lights and holoprojectors in the center of the room. Ukko paused to shake hands with the twenty or so reporters on Luna who had come to witness the event. Natasha, the makeup girl, brushed Father’s cheeks with a light powder.
Maxwell got everyone into position. Father stood off to the side in the darkness. The crowd quieted. The technicians removed their ladders and disappeared into the shadows. The holofield beneath the projector glowed to life.
The heads of five people appeared in the field. Lem recognized a few of them. The secretary general of the United Nations was in the center, a Brazilian woman named Silva. The others were the heads of China, Russia, India, and NATO, who was an American. Secretary Silva spoke first. She greeted everyone who was watching this historic announcement via holo. She explained that each member of the holo was sitting in his or her own headquarters and speaking to reporters gathered at each site.
Silva then spoke for ten minutes on the need for a united global military consisting of soldiers from every nation on Earth. This International Fleet would be led by two experienced military leaders with a track record of working with international troops and resolving global conflicts. The position of Strategos would be responsible for the overall defense of the solar system. “This duty would go to Lieutenant Colonel Yulian Robinov, who is currently serving as the chair of a council of international military leaders also known as Strategos, from which this new position derives its name.” Robinov appeared in the holo alongside the others, with his name and title suspended in the air beneath him.
Secretary Silva continued. “Robinov’s international peacekeeping force known as the Mobile Operations Police, who will serve as a model for the International Fleet, was recently responsible for ending the atrocities in China and bringing this horrific war to a close.”
The second position of Polemarch, she explained, would be responsible for the construction, maintenance, a
nd operation of the International Fleet’s warships. “That duty goes to Major Khudabadi Ketkar of India, whose careful leadership fostered the alliance of Indian Para Commandos and the Chinese military, and who ended the Formics’ gas attacks and helped turn the war in our favor.”
Katkar appeared in the holo.
Silva welcomed him and then continued. “Creating and maintaining a defense through the International Fleet is a monumental undertaking that will require the resources and efforts of everyone. All nations must join in a united effort to protect our planet from future attacks while maintaining global harmony and peace. This council therefore proposes the formation of a global Hegemony. This Hegemony would consist of member nations committed to protecting our planet and the human race. Member nations would maintain their current system of government; but in global matters they would counsel with the Hegemony, who knows no borders and whose only interest is the planet as a whole and all of its inhabitants. Hegemony offices would be dispersed around the world so that Formics couldn’t destroy one capital and thus our global government. We would move the Hegemon’s core staff from city to city but never in the capitals of China, Russia, India, or the USA.
“No man is more qualified for the position of Hegemon than the president and CEO of Juke Limited, Ukko Jukes.”
A small holofield encircled Father’s head where he stood, projected down from a shelf above him. A large floating holo of his head appeared to the right of Secretary Silva.
“As a citizen of the moon,” Silva said, “Ukko Jukes represents all of humanity and not any one nation. His devotion to the people of Earth is indisputable. His dedication to our safety, unquestionable. His vast success and experience in the private sector makes him uniquely qualified to handle the heavy logistical demands of building and mobilizing an international fleet. What we are proposing will be the largest undertaking in human history. To lead that effort, we require a hegemon who has proven he is capable of managing operations on such a massive scale.
“The United Nations will vote on this measure tomorrow during our general session, followed by a ratifying vote within each member nation. It is our hope that all nations of the Earth will join this united effort to prevent the atrocities that occurred within China. Never again should one nation suffer alone.”