Terminus Project: Jupiter (Child Prodigy SciFi)

by Casey Herzog

  The Europans were seated together on one side of the table, and Peter could see the discomfort on every one of their faces. None of them dared to say anything. After all, what could they say? Their own people had openly attacked members of the Unity. They were lucky the whole station wasn’t being treated as a Secessionist colony by Earth.

  “We have in our custody four people who have conspired against the peace and prosperous living Earth wishes to see for the Solar System. However, given the previous acts of aggression perpetrated against us on arrival at Europa colony, not to mention the complexity of your most recent sabotage, it is the opinion of my staff, and the Commanders of the Unity that there are more among you who are guilty of conspiring with the enemy.”

  “No one is conspiring with the enemy.” The Chief Engineer spoke up. He had a surprisingly calm voice as he stood up to Icarus’ accusations. “Our people are not working for the Secessionists. We just chose to sit out of the conflict and remain neutral. While I do not condone the violent actions our people used against you, I feel it must be stressed that their actions were not made with the intent to aid the Secessionists.”

  Icarus scowled, his eyes burning with a barely contained zeal. It seemed to Peter like the Commander was straining at the leash as he addressed the man. “There is no neutral side, sir. We have all been given a mission, a mission entrusted to us by humanity. Ours is to deal with the Secessionist threat to the Solar System and set up a new body of guardians to defend humanity’s frontiers. Your mission was to provide the water and food to supply the mining operations of the Jupiter system and send surplus back to Earth. By giving even half of your product to the enemy, you declared yourself an enemy of Earth and broke the oaths you made before the Monument of Pilgrims. That makes you all Secessionists, as far as I am concerned.” His voice was loaded with latent malignity, and it was clear he would not accept any more arguments over where the Europans stood in affairs. As Peter looked to the incensed leader, he could tell he was veering off message from the promising opening he had given to proceedings.

  Lauren Stanwell gave a perfunctory cough and Icarus’ fearsome gaze seemed to soften. He turned his back on the assembled persons and let his second take over for him. Lauren was far less intimidating, though she carried a seriousness to her as she glanced around the room suggesting she was not to be taken lightly. “Regardless of how your people might feel about the war, the truth is we are all participants within it. Your perceived inaction is an action in and of itself.” Lauren was eloquent indeed, and Peter guessed Icarus’ earlier words were written by her.

  Glancing down at her data pad, Lauren’s brow knitted, and she straightened her back a little before continuing. “At this point in the proceedings, we would like to invite you to give your reactions to the attack.”

  “Our reactions?” The facility’s doctor looked to her colleagues in confusion.

  Icarus kept his back to them, but suddenly spoke up. “We’re giving you the opportunity to apologize to us.”

  There was an awkward quiet before the doctor took the initiative to speak on behalf of their people. “Of course, we do not condone any acts of violence. While you have made your stance to our neutrality clear, we chose it because we did not wish to hurt anyone. I know that may seem hard to believe in the light of what has happened. However, I must stress those who have chosen to fight you are a minority of our colony. I will not pretend we are happy to be prisoners under your guard and forced to obey your orders, but we are not about to fight you over it.”

  Icarus turned and looked at the doctor. The muscles in his jaw twitched. “That doesn’t sound like an apology, more like excuses.”

  The Chief Engineer risked stepping in again. “What good does an apology really do for you? Is it really going to make you feel better? You said we were here to discuss how we can move forward together. Rather than waste time rehashing things that have been done, I’d rather see us forge forward. I have several suggestions on ways our people can cooperate better. With a number of subtle and simple changes, I think we could help alleviate much of the bad feeling that exists between us.”

  Lauren glanced to her Commander, an unspoken exchange seeming to pass between them, and Peter noticed the way Icarus suddenly clammed up and let his second take over once more. She really seemed to have a lot of control over him. “I am afraid you might be misunderstanding us when we said we required your input. We have been given very specific orders on how to proceed with management of your colony. The input we require from you specifically is twofold. Firstly, we need your input on how the new changes will affect productivity. We cannot permit output from Europa to drop off. In fact, we ideally want to see an increase in productivity to address the short fall that has been created by your actions.”

  Peter looked to the Europans. He could see their interest in the meeting disappearing as easily as ice on a hot stove. The natives of the moon had clearly hoped for better from this meeting. Lauren didn’t seem to notice or else did not care.

  “The second matter we need to discuss is our concern that there are more of your people responsible for the hostile attacks made against us than we have yet found. We have found only four of the dissidents seeking to upset the peace here.”

  The Engineer leaned forward, hands closed together as he rested his arms on the table. His eyes looked to Lauren. His face was devoid of emotion now. “Let me get this straight, you want us to red mark people within the colony who might prove to be a problem for you? If that’s the case, you can add my name to the list right now. Quite frankly, you people are bullies, pretentious children playing hero. No one asked you to be here, and you do not get to demand our gratitude for having come here to control our lives.”

  Icarus turned around and put up his hand. The Engineer fell silent. When looked at from an objective view, Peter found it odd that a sixteen year old held such authority over adults, but he reminded himself of the training they had gone through to earn such authority. “Enough with the lectures. Our authority comes from Earth and from the colonies in the Solar System who have remained loyal to the ideal of a united humanity.” Icarus’ lip curled in an amused smile as he paused. “However, I thank you for pointing out a potential dissident from amongst your people. It was most generous of you to admit your own guilt. Gabell, would you please arrest the Engineer and secure him with the other prisoners.”

  Peter blinked. He stood up from his seat, but he didn’t actually move. He was uncertain he had even heard the Commander correctly. He could not help but look to his own cohort leader for guidance. Alphred would surely object to such a rash and knee jerk reaction by Icarus. Alphred was like a statue. He sat with arms crossed and expression neutral, and he made no attempt to counter the command.

  “You cannot be serious? I was using a figure of speech. I did not mean to suggest I had anything to do with the attacks against you.”

  “Not for me to say,” Icarus said. “As it is, you’re showing significant opposition to our program, as well as a concerning sympathy for those who attacked us. Under our new orders, we can no longer turn a blind eye to such inflammatory remarks. Your statement stands, sir, and you may consider the red mark put against your name.” Icarus’ eyes flashed back to Peter, his annoyance visibly on his knotted brow. “Gabell, if you please.” He nodded back to the Engineer.

  Peter began to walk, taking a spear from the arms cabinet as he went. He moved with a certain stiffness, reminding himself as he walked that this was an order and it was not his fault that this had happened. He walked up to the Engineer, holding his spear in both hands, but not brandishing the tip at him. “Come on, let’s take a walk.”

  The Engineer looked around him for support, surprise obvious in his wide eyes. He flapped his mouth open and looked to his fellow Europans for back up. None came. Peter could feel a shift in the others. They all had opinions, all wanted to say something. Still, something now reined in their tongues. It was fear. Fear was the new order Icarus would use to achi
eve order and control on Europa base. Peter did not question whether or not it would work. It was certain to work. Even so, it made him uneasy.

  CHAPTER 13

  Escorting the Chief Engineer to his cell was a pain. As soon as the man realized his arrest was serious and irreversible, something seemed to snap in him, and his pleas for understanding and leniency turned to indignation and a reigniting of the rebel spark within him. He began to shout down the corridor. Like some oppressed hero of the people, he began to spout a confused and garbled political manifesto. He shouted about the unfairness of Earth League, the shame of their station being run by a bunch of kids, the tyranny that was to come. He spoke to no one in particular, but hollered his voice down the corridors for any and all to hear. Peter wondered if he should gag the man, but decided against it. He couldn’t say it aloud, but he felt the engineer was being treated unfairly, and he didn’t want to add to his misery.

  When Peter arrived at the new ‘cells,’ he opened the door for the engineer with a certain respect, letting the man walk in of his own accord. The man had seemed to ignore Peter the entire walk, but now that they had come to the end of their journey together, he turned to look at Peter seriously. His shouting and hollering were done, and now the man held only a melancholy look on his face.

  “We’d have been better with you in charge.”

  “Excuse me?” Peter blinked, surprised to be suddenly addressed, and even complimented by the engineer.

  “We know you risked your life for our people, even when they tried to kill you. You’re a good one, and there aren’t many of you among your people.”

  Peter stiffened up, unsure if he was happy to be complimented in such a way. He was a member of the Unity and he did not wish to be set apart from his fellow brothers and sisters in arms. “We all want what is best for your colony, even the Commanders. His approach is harsh, but I can assure you it is necessary.”

  The Engineer nodded and put a hand on Peter’s shoulder as he passed him. “Sure, you keep telling yourself that, kid.” As soon as he passed the threshold of the door, he turned with an oddly serene smile on his face. It was as if he had suddenly accepted his fate and was proud his actions had brought him here.

  Peter sighed. “I am sure the Commander is only making an example of you here. I don’t think you will be treated the same as the other four we’ve locked up.”

  “One can only hope.”

  Peter was too uncomfortable to take the conversation further, so he closed the door and engaged the locks.

  Though he knew he shouldn’t, Peter took his time returning to the control center. He did not like the idea of sitting through it and seeing the Europans made to bend to Icarus’ will. He could well imagine what was happening now. With the Chief Engineer made an example of, the other authorities on the station would know just how precarious their positions were. Assuming they lacked the backbone the engineer did, they would now be trying to prove their loyalty and trustworthiness. There was a chance a few of them would even start turning on their own, giving names of individuals to watch out for. It was a crude way to gain control of the station and its people. As much as Peter didn’t want to admit it, that’s what they really needed right now: control. He had tried to offer an olive branch of peace to Europa’s people, and it had been spurned. They had invited this new era of unpleasantness on themselves. That’s what Peter told himself again and again as he slowly trudged back to the control room. This was not his fault. He had tried his best. This was not his fault.

  By the time Peter returned to the meeting room, things appeared to be wrapping up. Admiral Gayle’s face was on the monitor screen, and he seemed to hold the attention of everyone in the room as he spoke in his formidable voice.

  “I will not sugar coat things for you. The four men involved in the assault on our people will be dealt with in full accordance to the war dictates laid down by Earth.”

  “And what are they?” The doctor seemed to have taken on the role of leadership for the Europans, and he asked the questions they would not.

  Admiral Gayle’s expression was stony as he spoke. “According to the treaties of war drawn up by Earth for this war with the Secessionists, prisoners represent a great cost to Earth and to the solar colonies. When you tally up the oxygen, heat, and food they consume each day you can surely see how big a drain they are in economic terms.”

  The Europans looked downcast. One even seemed to be crying as the Admiral delivered the news plainly and without sympathy. “So, you intend to have them executed.” The doctor didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the heart of what the Admiral was trying to say with diplomatic words.

  “It is a regrettable turn of events, but yes. Their choices have forced our hands in this, and we must hope the example that is set here will deter any more of your people from committing similar foolish acts against us.” The Admiral went silent, clearly waiting for the doctor to respond on behalf of her people.

  “How will it be done?”

  “There will be no pain.” It was a glib answer, open to interpretation. “If you will indulge me, I do not wish to dwell on such things here.”

  “And our engineer, Phillips? Is he to serve a similar sentence?”

  Peter felt a lump growing in his throat as he looked at the screen for the Admiral’s response.

  “Your engineer spoke in the heat of the moment. I am hoping a few hours or days in solitary confinement will convince him to come around. If that is not enough, however, then we will have to consider his usefulness to your facility.”

  “We will convince him to return to his duties.” The doctor promised. They truly had been broken.

  “I am glad to hear it. Commander Icarus, you may resume your duties and have our colleagues from Europa return to theirs. Please leave the line open as I wish to talk with Mr. Gabell in private.

  Peter couldn’t stop himself from wincing as his name was mentioned. It felt like he was back at the training academy on Earth and about to be chewed out by his instructor. He had been warned this might happen, but he had held on to the vain hope that Minerva had been mistaken, or that the Admiral would be too busy to follow through on it.

  The Europan leaders were escorted out under guard, and Icarus ordered the room cleared to give Peter and the Admiral some privacy. As Minerva passed by him, she paused for a moment and whispered, “Good luck” in his ear. Alphred was not quite so bold, but gave a reassuring nod to him as he followed the others out. The awkwardness Peter felt doubled as the last body left the room and the door was closed behind him.

  The face on the monitor watched him impassively for a moment, and Peter wondered if the feed had frozen. He was not so lucky, after a minute quietly staring, the Admiral spoke. “You can be at ease soldier. Why don’t you get a coffee and take a seat?”

  Peter looked down at the table. “We try not to use the Europan’s coffee supply. We agreed not to dent their luxury supplies too heavily during our tenure here.”

  The Admiral nodded. “I see, well sit down then, Peter.”

  Peter pulled out a chair obediently and sat down. His eyes did not look directly at the face on the screen, but lingered slightly to the side. He didn’t speak. He would just wait for the chewing out he was likely to receive.

  “Well, Peter, I must admit I am very pleased with your work on Europa.” That was definitely not what Peter had expected to hear, and he had to blink three or four times to check that he was still in the same universe, or was not about to wake suddenly from a convenient dream. The room, the Admiral and the vid screen remained the same.

  “You are surprised.” The Admiral said it simply and offered that rare paternal smile he had given from time to time in informal conversations. “Your actions in saving the lives of two men who had tried to kill you is, despite being incredibly stupid, noble. You have shown the best side of what the Unity represents and this has proven invaluable on two fronts.”

  Peter nodded, but his brow was still knotted in confusi
on. “But the prisoners are going to be executed. I do not see in what way my decision to spare them is relevant to anything.”

  The Admiral nodded. “For one thing, you will now be instrumental in keeping things on Europa contained. The new policy of order Icarus has been forced to deploy will work well for securing order among the population, but it could also prove disastrous. If the colonists believe that our outfit has no concern for their well being, there is the chance they might fall into open rebellion. While it is necessary that Icarus lay down a hard line on the colonists, they need to feel there is still someone among Neptune and Pluto cohort who is championing their cause.”

  The confusion on Peter’s face did not lessen. “You are saying you want me to continue to work for cooperation with the Europans, fight for their wishes and desires.”

  “As long as you feel up to the challenge. I will understand if the attack has changed your opinion on the colonists.” The Admiral’s eyes narrowed. Peter felt a discomfort wash over him to be studied so minutely.

  “No, I have not been compromised by the experience. Though I must ask, does Icarus know you intend for me to fight for the Europans’ interests?”

  “Yes, as does your own cohort commander. However, that is as far as the line of trust extends. Commander Icarus has been ordered to put up token resistances to your attempts to try and regain rights and concessions for the Europans. However, he will be expected to grant these concessions over a suitable period of time.”

  “Why the subterfuge, Admiral?” Peter asked, scratching his obsidian hair. “Why not be transparent with the Europans and tell them their rights and privileges will be returned for good behavior.”

  “Because that will send the wrong message to the Europans. They already feel like they are slaves under your control. Creating a reward system for good work and productivity might encourage some of the more mercenary individuals among them. However, the majority seem to want reassurance that the Unity and its crew are on their side. It is the job of you and Icarus now to show both of our faces to the people of Europa. Icarus is the closed fist that will broker no betrayal or actions that harm our enterprise in this system-“