by Thomas Davis
She didn’t answer right away. Instead she leaned forward in her chair and clasped her hands together as she considered him. “Is this because of Chase?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you weren’t prone to letting your personal feelings impact our work Captain?”
“I thought long and hard about this. It needs to be said and it needs to be said on this stage with all of these eyes watching.”
Sam stood from her chair and approached Jake. She towered over him. “And the team?”
“This is bigger than the team, bigger than all of us.” Jake extended his right hand to her. “But I won’t do this unless we’re all in agreement. I need your support on this Sam.”
She looked down at his extended hand. “What’re you going to say?”
***
The parade was in full swing and Catherine Fisher had her hands full micromanaging every detail. She was directing the many underlings buzzing around her when her new assistant Lucinda Luxenberg approached her from behind. “Madam Governor.”
“Lucy this better be of the utmost importance because I have several balls in the air right now and I…” Catherine turned around to see Jake Takeda standing next to Lucy. She stopped all of her activity and just took him in for a few moments. For the first time in a long time she was at a loss for words. He was just a boy the last time she saw him. She was in awe of how much he had grown. “Captain Takeda. I’ve followed your military career very closely.”
Jake stood at attention and raised his hand to his brow, “I’m honored. Madam Governor.”
“Please you don’t have to.” She gestured with her hands for Jake to relax.
He assumed a more natural posture. “Oh? I’ve been in the military for so long. It’s kind of a reflex now to jump to attention when addressed by an official.” His earnestness brought a genuine smile to Catherine’s face. “I followed your career also.”
“You have?”
“Of course. We’re both survivors of Lhasa.”
“Yes. it was…” She took notice of Lucy who was hovering near the two of them with a vacant expression on her face. Catherine tried to dismiss the girl without saying so out loud but Lucy wasn’t picking up on her signals. “Lucinda?”
“Yes ma’am?”
“Could you go and help with the preparations?”
“Which preparations ma’am?”
Catherine got a little frustrated, “Any preparations just…”
“Oh! You’d like to speak with the Captain alone. I’ll just go over there and wait.”
Catherine folded her arms and pinched the bridge of her own nose, “Thank you Lucy and thanks for saying so out loud. That didn’t make things awkward at all.” Lucy smiled and waved at the two as she backed up. She tripped over her own feet and stumbled a little as she walked away. Jake couldn’t help but let out a slight giggle at the scene. Catherine looked to him, “Sorry about that Captain.”
“It’s fine. I like her.”
“She can be quite a handful.”
“I see.” Jake smiled.
They stood in silence for a time until Catherine spoke up. “I remember you from the escape pod.”
“How?”
She reached for Jake’s gloved robotic left hand. “May I?” Jake reluctantly nodded then removed his glove and presented his hand to her. She lifted his prosthesis with her right hand and delicately ran the fingers of her left along its many angles. “Of all the injuries I witnessed that day yours stuck out in my mind. I still think of it from time to time. I wondered how it happened, what you went through, how much it hurt.” She lowered her head, “I’m sorry Captain. I’m sorry for all of the pain I put you through.” She couldn’t reveal the truth of why she was apologizing but at least she could take some ownership of what happened. “I was the acting head of Station Security at the time of the attack. It was my job to keep you, to keep everyone on the colony safe and I failed. You suffered because of my failure.”
Jake placed his right hand on top of her left. “It’s okay.” He looked at her with kind eyes. “This hand would always shake whenever I was frightened. I didn’t realize how strong I was until I lost it. You don’t owe me any apologies Madam Governor.”
“Please, call me Cat. Okay.”
“Okay… Cat.” There was prolonged moment of silence. “Anyway, Lhasa was such a small colony. Seeing someone else from back home out here achieving such amazing things.” Jake grinned from ear to ear. “I don’t know. It’s… inspiring.”
“I’ve seen some of the footage of you on the battlefield. You’re quite impressive yourself.”
“About that… There’s something I wanted to do with my entrance. I think the crowd will get a real kick out of it.”
“Go on.” Jake went on to explain his idea in detail as Catherine listened intently. “I love it.”
“Great.”
Lucy quickly walked back over to them. She had something to say but was too nervous about upsetting Catherine to spit it out. Catherine was highly annoyed with the young woman for interrupting them. She managed to maintain her cool as she responded through a forced smile on her face. “What do you need Lucy?”
“You’re needed on the main stage ma’am.”
“For what?”
“He’s requesting your presence immediately.”
Catherine was intrigued. Someone had the gall to summon her on her own Colony. She squinted her eyes as she tilted her head back and placed her hand on her hip. “Who is requesting my presence?”
***
In Mercer Square a grand stage was erected for the occasion. There was an area on the right of the stage where an orchestra was in the process of setting up and tuning their instruments. On the left technicians were fine tuning the holographic fireworks systems. They had already prepared the holo-projectors to display a view of the main stage that would fill the sky. People on the other side of the Colony would have close to a front row seat to the proceedings.
Prime Minister Archibald Harper sat on the grand stage surrounded by the governors of the other 11 colonies who were all standing. Archibald was a silver haired man with a large mustache that connected to his side burns. Behind his small square glasses were a set of piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a tailored grey suit with a black vest underneath. His hands rested atop a polished wooden cane with a golden handle. He didn’t need the cane for walking, he just liked to pose and gesture with it. He flashed an unconvincing smile that didn’t reach his eyes as Catherine walked up the many steps to reach the stage floor. “Governor Fisher. It is splendid to finally meet you in person my dear.”
Catherine was well aware of how the Prime Minister really felt about her. He was friends with the recently ousted Governor of Bethlehem and openly endorsed her opponent during the campaign. She returned his false smile with one of her own. “Welcome to Bethlehem Minister Harper. We’re happy to have you.”
“Prime Minister Harper.”
“Excuse me?”
“Please… When you address me, it should be with my full title.”
“Of course.” She replied. They stared at each other in silence for more than a few moments. Until Harper subtly gestured to her with his white gloved hand. Catherine was forced to swallow her pride. “Prime Minister Harper.”
“Thank you, Madam Governor. I just wanted to say hello. I won’t keep you from your duties any longer.”
Catherine had to travel 30 city blocks for the Prime Minister’s inconvenient little hello. She didn’t enjoy being summoned. It made her feel small which was the point of the Prime Minister calling her here. This entire exchange was a power play on his part. He was making sure she knew her place.
“Oh, I nearly forgot,” Archibald tapped his cane against the floor. “I’ll be introducing Captain Takeda to the audience today. Is that satisfactory for you?” It wasn’t a real question. The only acceptable answer was the one he wanted.
“Of course. I’ll see to the preparations.”
�
�Thank you, Governor Fisher.”
“Good day Prime Minister Harper.” She said the words with just enough venom to let him know how much she disliked him without being too obvious about it to all that were gathered. The whole scene brought back those sad memories for her of working under Louis Johnston back on Lhasa. This wouldn’t stand. She worked too hard to be disrespected like this, to have someone wield this much power over her. She had a new enemy to conquer.
The Prime Minister watched as she walked away. He summoned an underling with the snap of his fingers, “Dig up everything you can on Governor Fisher. She can’t be as clean as she seems. Everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet and I want to be very familiar with hers.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
***
The parade march ended in Mercer Square where an enormous crowd had gathered before the grand stage. The event was also being broadcast throughout the republic. Prime Minister Harper was giving a rousing speech expertly laced with a nationalistic xenophobia that had most in attendance eating out of his hand. There were members of the crowd who even had holographic projections the size of poster boards shining from their Navis. The images were of offensive propagandist depictions of the Arez as snarling beasts with jagged teeth jutting in all directions and exaggerated features. The Prime Minister was a man who nurtured such an atmosphere. Catherine Fisher was relegated to the background and for good reason. Archibald was well aware of her charisma and didn’t want to potentially be upstaged. This was his moment.
The five current members of the Strike Team sat on the stage. “Hey.” David whispered. “Edi.”
“What?” She responded.
“Hey. Doesn’t the PM look like Colonel Clickers?” David quietly giggled. Edith cupped her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Colonel Clickers was the mascot of a fast food chain called Greasers. He was a tall anthropomorphic Rooster who wore a white suit, a pair of glasses and carried a cane. “All that’s missing is the top hat.”
Edith smacked David’s arm and hurt her hand against his metal body. A loud guffaw escaped her lips as she clutched her hand. The PM turned his head in her direction slightly. She slid down in her chair in embarrassment then shot David a look.
Samantha Hawkins grabbed Edith’s other hand and leaned over to her and David. “Do I need to separate you two?” They both shook their heads, no, in unison. Jake smiled as he took in the little scene that David had caused. He would soon be pulled back into reality and the trial that he would soon face.
Archibald Harper concluded his speech, “and now without further ado. I present to you. The man who put an end to the Crimson Death!” He boldly outstretched his long arms. “The hero of the greatest culture in the known cosmos. The Glass Runner, Captain Jacob Takeda!”
Jake took in a calming breath then stood and approached the podium erected on the elaborate stage. He felt a myriad of emotions as the Prime Minister patted him on the shoulder and yielded the stage to him. The first was guilt. The citizens were rejoicing, celebrating, and he had to be the one to shatter this joyous illusion they all shared. He had to be the one to let them know that they didn’t win anything of importance this day. That all they won was a little more time. The second emotion he felt was fear. He had faced death on many occasions, almost daily, but to potentially be hated by his own people was a terrifying prospect for him. To be looked at as a sympathizer or disloyal in a society that demanded patriotism. But the words in his heart had to be uttered. The people needed to hear the truth.
He thought of Chase Turner and the immature decision that ultimately lead to his death. Chase was just a child of 17. His ability and confidence were misleading which made him seem seasoned but still he was a child and he made childish decisions. What kind of society sends kids off to war? Jake thought of his own life and how similar it was to Chase’s. Most of the choices that shaped his life were decided before he had the wisdom to understand what he was doing. His present self was birthed from his own childish decisions and he was lucky to have made it this far. Jake had to let go of that 16-year-old kid who felt responsible for thousands of deaths including the deaths of his parents. It was time to leave all of the fear and guilt that child felt behind and finally be an adult.
Jake cleared his mind and spoke. “My grandfather was a great pilot, at least that’s what my grandma always told me.” He got a chuckle out of the large crowd with that quip. “Hiroki Takeda. You probably heard of him, he flew in over 50 missions during the last war. I never met Hiroki Takeda. Grandma said he was kind, a bit clumsy, and the love of her life. He was killed on the final day of the war at the Battle of Jophiel along with 54,258 other brave military men and women.” Jake cleared his throat. “How can we call ourselves a civilized culture and allow such grand scale slaughter? We all have heard that number but we... we don’t make the connection. Those were real people… People whose lives were violently cut short fighting for a future they would never see. Our future. How- What would they think of us if they knew that we repeated all of their mistakes? That we couldn’t hold onto to that fragile peace that they died to give us.”
Archibald was seething as he watched from his seat. Some of the people in the audience began booing and a man shouted from the front row, “Are you sick in the head, you want us to forgive the Arez?”
“You’re an able-bodied man, come and fight on the front lines with me.” The man lowered his head in shame. “The Arez killed… They killed my father in front of me. I’m not asking you to forgive them. I’m asking for a dialog.” Jake turned and looked at the many political figures who had gathered on Bethlehem for their photo ops with him and the Strike Team. “I’m asking you to open negotiations. I’m pleading with you to ensure that the generation after ours doesn’t have to fight the same war that we inherited. We’ll never get back what we lost but we have to look forward, beyond the pain and hatred these wars have caused. We’re a great people and I know… I know we can do better than this.”
The enormous crowd fell silent in shock. They didn’t know how to react or even how they felt about what had just transpired. Jake waited for some indication that his words were felt, that his plea didn’t fall on deaf ears. Some of the amassed crowd reluctantly clapped in agreement while others shook their heads and jeered in disgust. Most of them did nothing. They didn’t know what to think. But Jake knew that he did the right thing he felt as much in his chest like a weight had been lifted from him. The four remaining members of the Strike Team took their places at his sides. David stood on his left with Edith while Sam stood on his right with Agatha. Sam raised her right hand in salute which was quickly mimicked by the rest of the team. Jake eventually followed suit, he was taken aback by how supportive his friends were being.
Governor Fisher was shocked by what had just transpired on the grand stage that she had set. She looked at the Prime Minister and knew that he would use this incident against her. The wheels in her mind were spinning in an attempt to concoct a way to absolve herself of the backlash that could potentially splash her way. Catherine had a career to protect. The obvious answer would be to reject Jake’s message and publicly denounce him. Paint him as an unpatriotic fool and a traitor which would boost her own approval rating and save her skin. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She thought of what happened 10-years ago on Lhasa. She looked at his prosthetic hand and remembered the role she played in his loss. The silent promise she made on the escape pod that she still hadn’t delivered on. Am I selfless enough to stay true to my word even if it bites me? She thought.
Catherine Fisher tapped her wrist to patch herself into the sound system. She stood from her seat and approached the Strike Team. She stepped between Sam and Jake and took a spot at the front of the stage. She looked back at Jake for a few moments then turned to address the confused masses. “Captain Takeda…” She paused. This was the moment. The moment that would truly decide what kind of person she was. “Captain Jacob Takeda has dedicated his life to protecting our way of li
fe.” She confidently gestured with her hands as she spoke. “He is a true patriot and has fought the Arez hordes on the frontlines for years… and I humbly thank him for his service.”
Catherine glanced over at the closed minded and frightened politicians who shared the stage. They cowardly looked to the Prime Minister for his opinion but he gave none. It finally dawned on her. She didn’t have to sacrifice herself to protect Jake. She wouldn’t be falling on the sword to keep her word. She would position herself as the leader who would put an end to the war. How else would she distinguish herself from the gutless flock of officials who played a safe hand just to maintain what little power they possessed? No. This was an opportunity to upstage Harper and wipe that smug look from his face. If she wanted the ultimate prize, to be the Prime Minister, she had to be bold in all of her undertakings. She was planning to oppose the Prime Minister anyway. This would be her platform.
“To be a true patriot is to question whether the Republic is on the right course!” She shot a condescending look at the Prime Minister. “To hold your leaders accountable for their actions. I’m sorry Captain. I have long held similar feelings about the war but I was too afraid to speak. But no more. I will join your fight for the future generations of Terrans. Our progeny will know only a universe at peace. People of Republic, my fellow colonists, join me in demanding an end to this bloody conflict! Lend me your support and I will lead the way to a better tomorrow!”
The audience ate it up. Those who already wanted peace were shouting it at the top of their lungs. The undecided joined them after being moved by the Governor’s words. Those who opposed peace either changed sides or fell silent. Catherine grabbed Jake and Sam’s hands and raised them high. The other team members joined hands as well and stood triumphantly before the crowd. Catherine shot a sly glance at Harper and other politicians on the stage. You want to play games Harper? Fine, we’ll play. She thought. She shot an aggressive glance at the orchestra assembled by the side of the stage and the conductor jumped to attention then started the Colonial Anthem, Our Proud Stars.
