He stopped swiveling. “You saw their camp?”
I nodded.
“All of it?”
“Most of it, yes.”
“What did you see?”
“Their Launder House, how they harvest these red crystals and Oranium that basically powers everything and their farm. It was the most remarkable thing I’ve ever seen. They have better food than we do—”
“What about their security? Guard houses, perimeter gate?”
I knew where this line of questioning was going. “You’re going to raid their commune, aren’t you?”
I took his silence and refusal to look into my face as my answer. “Dad, you can’t do that!”
He stood up from his chair, putting his hand on my shoulder. “It’s protocol.”
I snatched my arm away, jumping down from the desk. “They are farmers and mechanics, for goodness’ sake. We ate with them. They showed us nothing but kindness.”
“You call that woman putting a gun to your head kindness?”
I crossed my arms. “No, but since Oliver is locked up here she’s in charge. Unlike him, she’s out for blood now.”
“They both should’ve thought about that before starting a firefight with us.”
“Had the president shown up, there wouldn’t have been one in the first place.”
Dad pointed his finger at me. “We don’t negotiate with traitors.”
I threw my hands up. “No, we just shoot them, right?”
His nostrils started to flare.
“One of your men shot first. I saw it.”
My father took a deep breath and sat back down in his chair. “I have a lot of work to do, India.”
He put on his glasses and swiped open his pocket tablet. Lying to me was something he sucked at. So he stayed silent.
I knew what I saw. We were the real tyrants in that situation. I didn’t even say goodbye to him, walking out of his office and shutting the door behind me.
I knew what I had to do.
I didn’t have much time to do it.
***
Dressed in a security uniform, braids pulled back into a neat bun, and my boots freshly shined, I was back in the main building late that afternoon. I wasn’t there to visit my dad. I took a right to the executive wing, which had even more security than my father’s side of the building. Luckily I knew most of the men and women on shift, so getting through to the President Michael Reynold’s office wasn’t hard. Nested circles of blue, red, and green were emblazoned on the frosted glass doors, the letters NE blending in one another in the center. The doors slid open and I stepped into the executive lobby. I’d only been there twice before and on both occasions, it was with my father. The secretary sitting behind the desk peered over her curved glasses.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m here to see President Reynolds, ma’am.”
She looked down at her desk tablet, her bushy black hair the only think I could see behind that high desk. “Do you have an appointment?”
“Um, no, but it’s important that I speak to him as soon as he’s available.”
She looked up, sucking her teeth.”You cannot speak with the president unless you have an appointment.”
I walked up to the desk, putting my crossed arms on the counter. “Can you tell him that Officer India Wilson, Chief Security Officer Wilson’s daughter is here? I’m sure he’ll make an exception.”
It took her a moment to register my name. When it did, her wrinkled face immediately softened. “Oh, you’re the girl they rescued.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”
“When I heard what happened I was quite relieved you were safe and sound.”
I managed a smile. “Thank you.”
“The president has been in a meeting with his advisor for the past hour, but I will message him and let him know you’re here. I’m positive he would welcome a visit from you.” She pointed over to the row of cushy, red chairs on the other side of the room. I walked over there and sat down, back straight, feet firmly planted on the ground. That was fine for the first hour. By the second hour, I was leaning back in the chair, more anxious than nervous and my stomach rumbling. I knew in my gut that the meeting had to be about Oliver’s New City and how they were going to destroy them. As tedious as it was sitting out there waiting for him for that long, I had to stick it out. Going into their commune with guns blazing was a big mistake.
Finally, at half past nineteen hundred hours, the president finally appeared out of the side hallway behind the secretary’s desk. He was an average-sized man in his fifties, his shiny salt and pepper hair slicked back. He only had a few wrinkles in his pale skin, his nose sharp and lips thin. The suit he wore was the fanciest thing I’d ever seen—a crisp navy blue two-piece with a dark red tie.
I jumped up to my feet, smoothing the wrinkles out of my uniform.
“India!” he said, walking over to me, his hand out. His face lit up as he smiled.
“Mr. President,” I said, shaking it. “Thank you for taking the time to see me.”
“Thank you for waiting. As you can imagine things are pretty busy around here.”
“Yes, and it’s the reason why I’m here.”
“I have a few minutes before my next meeting. Please follow me to my office.”
His office was at the end of the short corridor. There were remnants of the old bridge of the Resurgence ship still left in the renovated office. The wide window that looked out to the mountains. The elevated console turned executive digital desk. The ship’s name over the door. The floors and walls smoothed and painted light gray. Couches and end tables filled with Old Earth knick-knacks occupied the big space. He showed me to one of those red couches and he took a seat opposite me.
“So,” he said, clasping his hands together. “What can I do for you?”
I’d rehearsed this speech a million times before coming there, but I was finding the words I needed to say hard to find. “Sir, I’m here to give you information on Mr. Adams and his commune outside of the sectors.”
He leaned back, putting one foot on the opposite knee. “Your father is a very thorough and organized man as are the rest of my chiefs of staff. I have all the information I needed for this...sensitive matter.”
“I know, but with all due respect, Mr. President, none of them were actually there.”
“And it was a travesty that you even had to experience that.”
“Sir, it wasn’t as bad as you think.”
He sat up a bit in his seat, his eyes narrowing. “Tell me then. What is it that you think I don’t know?”
“While I wholeheartedly agree that what they did was illegal according to our laws, I think it would be beneficial to at least hear what they have to say.”
“And what is it that they have to say that I should even entertain?” The friendliness in his tone was giving way to that of slight annoyance.
“That there’s more than one way to live. They’ve created quite a community. Advanced farming. Communal sharing. They even have their own school.”
“They can have all the amazing things they want. What matters is they broke the law, killed some of your fellow officers, risked your life. The time to talk sensibly has long passed.”
It did because you let it pass. He got up from his chair, and I followed suit.
“Sir, I don’t want to see any more people get hurt because of misunderstandings.”
He crossed his arms, his face getting tight. “Officer Wilson, I appreciate your input. However, as the leader of this new nation, I must do what is right for all our citizens. Not entertain the whims of a few.”
He pointed to the digital screen on the far wall that displayed a green three-dimensional rendering of the continent the explorers had mapped out so far. I could make out the mountains, the rivers, and rolling hills that seemed to stretch out for thousands of miles before giving way to flat land that trailed off the picture. “You see that image on there, Miss Wilson?”
I nodded.
“That is our future. Our mission has always been clear: create a better version of the world we left behind. The founding fathers of Old Earth tasked us with creating a nation where we will thrive while respecting the soil we stand on. A place where people gain power through real elections and not dictatorships. A world where your children and your children’s children won’t have to worry about getting nuked while they sleep in their beds. That was and always will be our mission. That is why I must uphold the rule of law that we all agreed to abide by. I cannot tolerate the slightest insurgency. Otherwise, it would put us on the slippery slope that will tragically undo all the work and sacrifice that we and the scores of others who lived and died on that spaceship made.”
This conversation was not how I pictured it in my head. “Sir—”
“Look, Miss Wilson, you’re young and impressionable. I admire that in your generation. However, we older generations have been through many of a crisis both here and on Resurgence. To ensure our survival on this new planet, we must abide by the rule of law. That rule of law is the New Earth Charter, not some made up one from a disgruntled colonist.”
He held out his hand again, that smile back on his face. “It was a pleasure to see you, India. I hope you aren’t offended if I don’t show you out.”
I shook his hand, and he turned his back to me, making his way to his desk.
I had to say something, anything that wouldn’t let him dismiss me.
“Mr. President, I have one more question.”
He kept walking. I couldn’t wait for him to respond.
“Is it true about the people in Sector C? Were those colonists getting the same amount of rations that we were getting?”
He stopped but didn’t turn around to face me. “Have a good evening, Miss Wilson.”
Chapter 11
I was too wound up to go back to my quarters that night, so I went to visit Flo instead. Her small apartment was on the south side of the sector, the slated window looking out at the perimeter wall. Unlike my living space, hers was quite colorful, hand-painted fabrics covering up the gray walls. Glass jars filled with shiny, colorful rocks sat on her desk. There was a rug she hand-knitted when we were on the ship by the door.
We sat cross-legged on her bed, classical music playing from the digital player. We munched on bland oatmeal cookies. She looked at me wide-eyed. “I cannot believe you spoke with the president.”
“Yeah, and he dismissed everything I said.”
“India...you went to see the president...behind your father’s back.” She stuffed a piece of the pale brown cookie.
“He would’ve never let me step foot out of my room if he knew I was going to do that.”
“Uh, yeah! And when he finds out, we’ll be talking through your crate window for the rest of your natural life.”
I took a bite of the cookie in my hand. “This is all so much bigger than my father and me. Innocent people are going to die, Flo.”
“I agree that violence isn’t the answer, but we’re not the president and we’re not the chiefs. You’re the chief of security’s daughter, and I’m way down on the totem pole as an explorer. We’re not in a position of power to do anything about it.”
I couldn’t accept that answer anymore. “Then what was the point of even coming to this planet, Flo? We’re becoming no different than the people who destroyed Old Earth. We’re basically killing each other over an outdated document.”
She brushed the crumbs off her hands on the floor. “Then run for president when you turn thirty in a few years.”
“This isn’t funny, Flo.”
“And I’m not trying to be. Look, I halfway admired what those people did out there. They have some awesome ideas. But if you keep banging your head against this brick wall not only are you going to drive yourself crazy, you’re going to give the president a reason to lock you up, too.”
I put my head in my hands. “He saved my life, Flo. He didn’t have to, but he did. Shouldn’t that count for something?”
“It should and it would if you were running things.”
I’d never felt so helpless, sad, and angry all at the same time. Oliver was going to die. His people were either going to get killed or captured. Their little happy life was going to come to an end, like those dead guys rotting in the woods. I couldn’t trust them to handle this matter in a peaceful way.
“It’s getting late,” Flo said, looking at her watch.
I checked mine and it was almost twenty-four hundred hours. I got up to go, but she stopped me.
“Just crash here. Who knows when we’ll be able to do this again.”
As I settled into the sleeping bag on the floor all I could think about was those dead people and Oliver sitting in that underground cell. I even thought about those starving people he showed me back at his commune. Who knows how many more colonists were starving in the other sectors while I lay there with a full stomach?
I’m going to find out.
I may not be able to help Oliver or his people, but I could make a difference for ours. There was no reason any one of us should be more well-off than the others. Flo could hook me up with a transport ride to Sector B in the morning. I would be gone before my dad even realized it.
Comforted by the fact I had a game plan, I closed my eyes and started to drift off into sleep. I wasn’t sure how long we were both asleep, but it had to be awhile. The loud sound of an explosion jolted me awake so hard I forgot where I was.
A minute later a second one went off and Flo jumped up. “What the hell was that?”
A third explosion. Screams. Gunfire.
I threw back the sleeping bag, stumbling in the dark. Flo peered out her window. “Crap, I can’t see a thing!”
I didn’t have to look outside to know what was going on. Deep in my gut I already knew. “Get your clothes on!” I said, finding one of my boots. I jammed my foot into it, Flo jumping down from the bed and grabbing her shoes from under it.
“Shouldn’t we stay put?” she asked, her voice shaking. “Isn’t it safer that way?”
If it was what I thought it was, nowhere in Sector A was safe. “Come with me.”
“And go where?” She turned on the light, but I cut it off. We didn’t need anyone to know we were in there. “Shit, India, you’re scaring me!”
Another explosion. More screams. More gunfire. It sounded closer than the last time.
I grabbed her hand, pulled the door open, and stuck my head out. There were people in their sleeping clothes running toward us. Behind them, I could see smoke and fire at the northeast section of our sector. That was where I lived. That was where my father lived. Flo’s eyes were wide, her lips trembling.
I grabbed her shoulders. “You need to run to the Transport Station.” It was about a hundred yards behind her quarters. “Get on the first transport and haul ass to Sector B.”
“You’re coming too, right? Because this is a really shitty time to play hero, India!”
“My dad is back there. I have to make sure he’s okay.”
We both ducked as another explosion rocked the night. I hugged her. “I’ll be fine. Please go!”
I left her there and ran, ducking and dodging the people fleeing in the opposite direction. I couldn’t think about what was happening. All I could think about was getting to Dad.
***
I made it as far as the Launder House before I had to duck inside through the back door to avoid getting shot. I peered over the machine and bit my lip to keep from crying. Dozens of people lay dead, bleeding out into the grass. Energy blasts whizzed through the air.
Then I saw them.
Our attackers were dressed in black from head to toe. Their skin was covered in black mud, only revealing the whites of their eyes.
I crawled from behind the machine toward the shattered front window. Careful not get pierced by the shards of glass, I watched those dark monsters move. They cleared the street of anything living before takin
g up strategic positions at each corner.
Something’s burning.
Smoke and fire swallowed the Headquarters, turning it into a large inferno. Tears burned my eyes.
Dad is fine. He’s not working this late.
That meant he was out fighting whoever these people were. He wasn’t safer out there either. I couldn’t keep hiding there. I had to find him. I crawled through the Launder House and out the back door. It was clear, but I kept low to the ground, traveling south to the end. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement and I froze. I was relieved when I saw three men in sector uniforms coming toward me.
“I’ve never been happier to see you, Nunez,” I said when they approached.
He handed me his sidearm. “Same here, Wilson,” he said, sweat pouring down his face.
“My dad, have you seen him?”
“The last I heard he was leading a team to the northeast perimeter,” the shorter guy replied. Everybody called him Clarke. “That was the point of entry. But that was after the second bomb. We lost all communications after that.”
“Who are these people?” the third one asked. His name was Vincent Callaway but went by VC. He was tall and chubby, his shirt wet with sweat.
There was only one logical answer to that question. I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t picture those men humming tunes while they fixed cars to be the same black camouflaged monsters. Maybe I was a fool to think they were anything more than criminals.
One of those intruders rounded the corner. He didn’t get a chance to draw his gun. I stood up and shot him in the head. When his body hit the ground the wind was knocked out of me. I’d never killed anyone before.
“Damn, that was a good shot!” Nunez said. “I couldn’t do that from this far away.”
“You can’t do much of anything, Nunez,” Clarke muttered under his breath.
“We can’t stay here,” I said finally. “We need to regroup with my dad’s team.”
“Lead the way,” VC said.
We hit the corner, and I took out another intruder posted there. The shots forced the other two from their positions farther up the street. Nunez managed to shoot one in the leg, but it was me and VC who doled out the kill shots. By the time we made it to the Quad, my emotions were numb. All that mattered was getting to that perimeter wall. Even if it meant shooting anything that got in my way.
The Mission Page 7