*
Seth sat in the captain’s chair of the I.S.S. Monitor. It was floating a few hundred miles away from the Lachesis space station. The leap coordinates for Airlann—which Moira transmitted to him when he returned to his ship--were already programmed into the computer. But Seth wasn’t ready to leap just yet. He still needed time to think everything over.
Everything seemed wrong to him. Stealing the Monitor was supposed to be an act of independence. He broke away from the iron grip of the People’s Interstellar Republic. He wanted a life of his own, among the stars. And now, before he could even begin this new existence, he found himself working for someone else. Moira Quick was giving him an incredible amount of autonomy, but Seth knew that she was still in control. Even her refusal to order him around was an exercise of this power.
Once again, he was serving some greater cause. Only this time, he didn’t understand what it was. The Republic was, for all its faults, admirably transparent about their goals. They wanted control over the human race, and they wanted to use that control to further the comfort and equality of their citizens. But what was the goal of Lachesis? What did Moira want? She spoke of a great burden, an oppressive destiny, but refused to elaborate.
Seth was part of that destiny now. He was sure of it. Even if Moira was letting him go about his business, she had something in mind for him. It would just be a matter of waiting until the day arrived when she would finally reveal her intentions.
There was no turning back. He would go to Airlann like she suggested. Airlann was a neo-luddite colony. They rejected advanced technology, so it seemed like an odd choice. They wouldn’t have been friendly to a starship before the Fall. Now, he expected them to be outright hostile. But Moira wouldn’t have suggested it without a reason, and Seth was curious.
After Airlann, Seth would begin building an alliance. There were dozens of worlds that were crippled by the Fall. They would see Seth and his starship as salvation. He would work with them, and hopefully find a way to save faster-than-light technology forever. A new, better society would rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the Fall.
Seth smiled as he thought of the phoenix. It wasn’t a bad idea for a starship name.
Epilogue
Phaer Absalom was sick to his stomach. He stared out of the window in his office on board the Europa station and rubbed his aching leg. As much as he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about Seth Garland. They’d worked together for months. They were friends. Garland saved Absalom’s life. And then, just like that, he betrayed him.
Maybe Absalom should have seen it coming. It wasn’t like Seth entered his life under the best circumstances. He was arrested protesting the Fall. Absalom only brought him into the fold because he thought he was an asset to the Republic. Garland could be very convincing, and he was willing to spend a couple hours every week trying to convince people that the Fall was the right thing to do.
It had all been an act,: a way to get access to a starship. Seth Garland never believed in the Spatial Preservation Act. He was a coward unwilling to accept that humanity had to fall from the skies. And he’d won. He single-handedly prevented the Fall. When he leapt away with the I.S.S. Monitor, he prevented the end of faster-than-light travel. And there was no way to even chase him, because he had the last ship capable of such a feat.
Worst of all, Absalom was the only person willing to admit that it was a disaster. Most people in the Republic didn’t even know about Garland’s theft of the Monitor. He’d managed to cut off all the cameras on board the Europa station before the news got out. The other commissars who knew were unconcerned, they figured he would be killed sooner rather than later. The scientists assured Absalom that a single Heilmann Drive couldn’t do much damage to the fabric of space by itself. They all just acted like it was best to pretend that it never happened.
That wasn’t good enough for Absalom. He’d already put through his recommendation to the High Council to begin re-assembling a small number of starships in order to pursue Seth Garland. It was likely the council would reject him, or that such a feat was impossible, but he would keep petitioning them until they gave in. They were weak-willed. They would eventually allow Absalom to finish the job they gave him. It was only a matter of time.
A loud chime disturbed Absalom from his thoughts. He looked up at the door and saw a flashing blue light. “Come in!” Absalom shouted.
The door slid open. Standing on the other side was one of his lieutenants, a young man by the name of Avery Jacobs. He was fidgeting nervously. “I’ve got some information that you requested, sir,” he said. “But I’m not sure that you want it anymore.”
“What are you talking about, lieutenant?”
Jacobs took a deep breath. “It’s the report on Mr. Garland’s father,” he replied. “You asked me to look into it, but that was last week, and--”
At the very mention of Seth’s name, Absalom felt his muscles tighten. A throbbing pain ran up his leg from his ankle. He remembered that he’d called in a favor with the prison administration to find out what became of Seth’s father. Seth believed he was in some sort of indefinite detention within the system and Absalom wanted to prove him wrong. That was back when they were friends, when Absalom still had hope for Seth
He wanted to tell Jacobs to throw the information away, to never look into it again. But Absalom was curious, and he knew that he would get a strange satisfaction out of knowing what happened to James Garland Seth would never be able to find out. He would always be in the dark because he betrayed Absalom.
“Hand it over,” the commissar said. Jacobs passed him the tablet and loitered in the doorway while Absalom read it over.
Most of the information on the tablet reiterated what Seth told him. James Garland was a Sensory Stimulation Specialist who refused to give up the profession after it was banned by the High Council. He was discovered plying his trade beyond the law and sentenced to seven years prison. But that’s where it got interesting.
James Garland had his sentence commuted to three years for good behavior. He was a model prisoner and well-liked by all of the officials. He was scheduled to go home to his family when Seth was only ten years old. Everything was set up to re-intigrate him into society, including a new job in research and development with a government gnostin manufacturer.
At first, Absalom was confused. This was nothing like the story Seth told him. It appeared as if James re-joined his family without incident. If nothing else, he’d been free for over ten years. Then Absalom saw the actual documentation from the prison. Specifically, he examined the form authorizing the release of James Garland.
He was not retrieved from prison by his family, or taken from the gates by the Republic police. Instead, he was released into the custody of a third party.
Absalom’s hand tightened around the panel. “You know, this might be why Mr. Garland hates us,” he said. “He thinks we took away his rims-damned father. But it wasn’t the Republic. It was someone else. They plucked him right out of prison and made him disappear.”
“Who?” Lieutenant Jacobs asked.
“I do not know,” Absalom replied. “All I have is her signature. Don’t know why she was allowed to take custody of a Republic prisoner. Highly irregular.” He paused, squinting as he read the signature. “Does the name ‘Moira Quick’ mean anything to you?”
“Nope. Doesn’t ring a bell.”
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