The Mars One Incident

by Kelly Curtis

Alma looked at the ceiling trying to think, “So many new faces and so many conversations that could or couldn’t reveal Terra Nova sentiments,” she said just as much to herself as to the Admiral.

  “What about Jason?”

  “Jason?” Alma was shocked. He was so young and so innocent. “He’s never said anything or done anything that would make me suspect him.”

  Shana passed a file from her side of the desk to Alma.

  Alma opened the file, inside it had pictures of Jason attending Terra Nova meetings. It had a biography of his family, they used to be traditionalists. “Christopher is a traditionalist, it means nothing.”

  “But were his parents sent to the Ethereal? Read on.”

  And so Alma did and sure enough, Jason had motive for supporting Terra Nova. “But how can we know this to be true? This could all be fabricated. Who can witness that any of this actually happened?”

  “We can’t. You know that. Who would say something against their friend without implicating themselves as well? And what enemy of Jason’s could be trusted? However, a member of your crew might know, must know.”

  Alma thought about this, Yes, someone must have seen him doing something suspicious. “Let me think about this and privately have some conversations over the next week.”

  “Fine. And are you ready for today? Have you prepared something to say?”

  Alma stood, “You know, I never prepare what I am going to say beforehand. I’m ready though.”

  Shana rose, “Good. It’s time. Do this with the steadiest of hands,” the last sentence was a line from a famous play about a man who was the driving force behind the requirements for procreation in the JC.

  Alma responded with the same reply as in the play, “The ink has already dried,” as was the protagonist’s response. He meant that what he wrote would be nothing new to anyone and in Alma’s case now nothing she said would be outside what anyone expected her to say.

  Shana nodded and Alma left her office.

  Alma made her way to the Military Guild’s Assembly Room. Before she entered she was met by the Military Guild’s Crier.

  He pulled Alma to the side before she walked in, “Captain, may I look over your speech quickly?”

  Alma looked at him and smiled, “I rarely prepare my speeches.”

  “What are you going to say?”

  “What comes to my mind when I look out on the crowd before me.”

  “Captain, I must insist that we take a few minutes to at least go over some key points. I don’t need to tell you this is a very delicate matter. It’s not just your reputation but the reputation of the JC and the entire Military Guild,” the Crier insisted.

  “No, you don’t need to tell me. I know who I represent, ” Alma said and then walked into the assembly room.

  The room was filled with a section of Guild Criers from all over the world to report back to their guilds about what was said here and a section reserved for the military and government as this was her guild and closest sister guild. Finally, in the front closest to the podium was row, upon row, of family members and friends to those who she had killed.

  As with much in the JC, there was no preamble, no introduction. Alma took the podium and waited for the crowd to quiet down for her. As the talking slowed she could make out words that made her uncomfortable, “killer, massacre, too young, send her to the Ethereal.” She looked over at her own guild and saw the faces there. The faces of all the others who knew she made the same choice that they would have. All the faces that risked their lives daily for the others, who had never had to be the judge in a life or death situation. Alma looked directly at those family members in the front now. She went person by person row by row, making eye contact with them all. She didn’t care that everyone else was becoming restless now, these family members deserved this from her. When she finished she looked out on the rest of the people assembled there and began, “I mourn with you,” this was a set phrase. “I mourn with you,” she repeated it for emphasis. “We mourn together.”

  The crowd echoed her, “We mourn together.”

  Alma began a bit emotionally, “Let me tell you that I did not kill your sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and friends in vain. They died so that the JC, our utopia may live. I believe this to my core. That ship, the Alba, was carrying nuclear weapons with the intent of a coup by Terra Nova to force technology back into our lives.” She looked through the crowd, waiting for this to sink in. She saw some nodding heads and not just from those who were sitting in her own guild. “Our ancestors made the choice to rid us of personal technology and limit weapons. They did this to save humanity.” More people agreeing with her and some vocally. “I made the choice to work with technology and look at my social standing, I suffer from it. I will not allow Terra Nova to ruin our utopia.” There was a lot of vocal agreeing with her now, and so she decided to wrap it up there, “Now, I say I mourn with you. I mourn with all of you.” She looked down at her hands then and people began singing the mourning song. For once Alma was proud of her singing voice and she sang for all the people that she had killed and for the death of her own innocence. For the first time, in that moment, Alma knew exactly who she was and that she was never going to be one of them. It was impossible, but that she would always accept them and protect them. As Julia, had said to her, ‘it was who she was meant to be.’

  The sunrise sees us all through

  Those dark nights

  Together we come together

  Rejoice in life and the comfort

  Of Earth

  See us from the beginning to the end

  From womb to coffin

  Together we stand united as family

  It was only afterwards that Alma found out that her eulogy and song had been broadcast to promote and officially stored in the Library. She absently wondered if this would be her only legacy in the JC’s history.

  Chapter 11

  July 30th, 2635, The Joint Confederacy Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia, North America

  “Admiral you wanted to see me?”

  “Alma come in, close the door and sit down.”

  Alma sat down across from her desk and waited.

  “How are you doing?”

  Alma shrugged, “Fine.”

  “I’m sorry your apartment got downgraded.”

  The only apartment building that would have her was filled with other people who had also done many questionable things within the JC. Many of whom were on the verge of being sent to the Ethereal. “What can I expect when so many of the twelve were killed?”

  “You can expect some gratitude that they still have their lives and the government that they elected.”

  “I’m still alive. I still have my job. I’m fine.”

  Shana and Alma held eye contact for a long minute. “Well, I have an opportunity that will suit you and the JC. Hopefully, by the time you return your social standing will have increased enough for you to live somewhere decent again. Maybe, even find another boyfriend to start a family with?”

  “That is going to be a long time if ever,” she still could not get Scott’s words out of her mind. She was ashamed by what had happened in her personal life even though she still stood by her conviction that she made the right choice.

  “This is going to be a long mission.”

  “Where?”

  “To Sa, the Shimbahn Unification of 5’s capital planet. I want you to lead the mission. They have promised us that they will trade technology and weapons to us, not just UCs, for what we have to offer, food, spices, art, music and literature. As you know, the Unification is devoid of any of the more creative aspects of life and now they find themselves wanting some distractions.”

  Alma’s eye lit up, “I would love to lead the mission to the Unification.”

  “I’m glad you want to do it. You need to go. You need a break from the JC and I think, we need a break from you too.”

  “When will I go?”

  “As soon as we can get ar
tists to sign up and ships ready for the long voyage. I hope before the end of the year. It’ll take three years to get there. You’ll be in hyper sleep almost the entire way. You must get a crew together. I don’t imagine that’ll be easy with your reputation and most people don’t want to be away for three years and it will be six if you don’t manage to trade for jump drives.”

  “The Unification will really trade goods for technology? They have said so?”

  “They have confirmed it, but we need to go there to show our sincerity I guess.”

  “Okay,” Alma was so excited. She felt like she could breathe again. “I’m confident that I can get together a crew.”

  “But, there’ll be many artists who will be unwilling to go with you. You must convince them that your actions on Mars One was in their best interest. You’ve an interview with the largest art guild in Paris next week.”

  Alma went pale, “They are going to crucify me.”

  “True, but it will show your goodwill and some of them will respect you more for showing up. The majority will hate you, but you must show your humanity now to everyone so that they will follow you on this mission. I cannot send you alone without the goods and many of those goods are artists. Get your parents involved.”

  “I don’t want to ask.”

  “Do you want to do this or not?”

  “I do.”

  “You need to swallow your pride and talk to all of these people you saved. You need to ask your parents to pull every string in the book to get artists to go with you to the Unification or else your get out of jail free card isn’t going to work. Do you think you can do that over the next weeks?”

  “Yes. I’ll do it,” Alma said confidently and she was suddenly more confident than she had ever been in her life. This mission, everything felt right, more right than anything before.

  “Good, we are counting on you Alma.”

  If you enjoyed this book and are curious to know how Alma’s story continues in her trade mission across the galaxy the Shimbahn Unification of 5, please follow me, Kelly Curtis, as an author on Goodreads or Amazon so that you will be notified when the new book is released.