ganymede rising
by Jonathan Shepherd
EPISODE 7
“I had the vision again.” Tanya said, as they sped down
the freeway toward their meeting. “I wondered if it had something to do with why you
were attacked… do you have any idea?”
Edward watched her drive. How delicate she looked even though he
knew that behind her eyes was a wisdom and a connection most people couldn’t
understand.
“I’m not sure how the crash you keep seeing ties into
everything yet… I know that the men who attacked me must have been trying to get some
information about that security net I stumbled upon. I’m not sure why they chose that
time to strike- because we know that something is going on now for sure.” Edward
looked out his window and watched the city blur by them.
“A random mugging is out… since they were obviously
looking for something specific. But were they trying to get information from you, or to
find out just exactly what you know? Either way you’re going to have to be very
careful from now on. At any rate, I’m glad you two are back on Earth now. Jenna knows
where we’re heading right?”
“Yes,” he said, “she should be there shortly after
we are. Chaplain says he has a lot of information for us, and he wants us to meet
Sinclair’s son finally. He says we can trust him, and that he wants to help the
cause. I don’t know why he always has to be so dramatic.”
“In our fight to find the truth… is there really any
other way to be?” Tanya asked, and was quiet for the rest of the ride.
•••
“So this movement you keep referring to,” Alexander
said, “do you always meet in the most dilapidated tenements you can find?”
Chaplain exhaled his smoke and stared into the young man’s
eyes, “We meet where we know we won’t be detected. We are dealing with forces
beyond our comprehension… and at times we never even know if our own moves
aren’t really being dictated… or followed.” He stepped over to a window and
took another drag of his cigarette. “The others should be here shortly, and once
we’ve all caught up with one another, you can decide exactly what you want to do,
Alex.”
The room they were in was lit only by a couple of candles. It was
a building that had been discarded after the war. Decades of wear made it look more like a
tomb than an old apartment building, but Alex somehow felt safe here. He would never show
it, but Chaplain’s ideas made sense to him… and Alex’s desire to understand
the truth was overshadowed only by his anger at his mother’s death… his desire
for vengeance.
Chaplain turned from the window, “I believe they have
arrived. Let me do the talking at first, until they know that you’re someone we can
all trust.”
•••
“So, you’re saying you think that Sinclair’s
assassination is the start of a chain reaction?” Jenna leaned back in her chair,
staring at the others around her and being careful not to upset Alex, sine the subject
matter hit so close to home.
“Yes,” Chaplain said, “It’s obvious,
considering the circumstances. But I am not sure still why they chose her instead of one
of the others. One theory is that they may have been aware of her support for our
movement- the ramifications of that are frightening, but we have to be prepared for
it.”
“And what about the freighter crash Tanya keeps
seeing?” Edward asked.
“We can’t be sure about that until we have more
information. There was no crash while you and Jenna were out there, so we can only assume
that it’s something that’s going to happen in the future… or that it’s
a red herring. I know Tanya’s skills can be trusted, but none of us know what the ETH
are capable of.”
“My mother does.” Alexander finally spoke, dropping a
bomb of silence on the room. “It doesn’t sound like any of you know anything. I
want to know why my mother died… and I’m going to find out…”
“Alex, listen,” Chaplain interrupted, “I know you
want answers. We all do. What we have now is the start of the biggest lead we’ve ever
had. I don’t think you understand that some of us have been researching this for
years… and this is the closest we’ve come yet to the truth. Please be patient
with us, and follow our lead. Any rash moves on our part before we know enough information
could destroy us all- and our cause will be over.”
“Okay.” He said, “Then tell me what your plans
are…”
“First,” Chaplain said, “we have to spread out.
You’re not safe here and neither is Edward.” He finished rolling a cigarette,
and lit it up before proceeding. “Second, we need to give Tanya some space and time
to find out as much as she can about this vision she’s having. We need closure with
that, and in our experience, she doesn’t have these sights unless there is a
reason.”
“And the assassination?” Tanya asked.
“Is better left alone for a while,” Chaplain said,
“We know enough to assume that there were ETH forces behind Sinclair’s death,
and that will have to be enough for now. Any more investigation into that and we’ll
just draw attention to ourselves. I want to find out about this security network on
Ganymede, and make sure that we’re all protected. And I think we can accomplish that.
“I have a friend and sympathizer on the Mars colony who is
an expert hacker. One of the best. Sorry Edward, but while you’re the genius
programmer, hacking is an art in and of itself.” Chaplain took a drag and paced the
room, looking at each person intently.
“I don’t debate that,” Edward said, “I would
welcome another set of hands to get me in there so I can really look around.”
“Here’s what I propose…” said Chaplain,
“Edward, you and Alexander go to the Mars colony and get in touch with my friend. His
name is Jonas, and I’ll give you what you need to reach him and prove your friends of
mine.
Once you’re there, you can disappear for a while, and work
on the information you downloaded about that network. Meanwhile, I think Jenna should stay
here with Tanya and keep quiet for a while. They can work at deciphering this vision and
keep in contact with the rest of us until we get another break.”
“What about you?” Jenna said, “Where will you
be?”
“I’m going to disappear to,” he said. “And
the fewer people who know where, the better. I’ll give you all instructions on how to
reach me.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Edward, “But how can we know how much time
we’ll have?”
“We won’t.” Chaplain said, “We’ll have
to play that one by ear. Like we always have. I only ask one favor, and that’s that
you get Alex up to speed on our history, Edward. He has the average person’s
knowledge about the ETH war, and no more. He needs to understand. He will be more valuable
to the movement with that knowledge… and we have to keep him safe. They may come
after him if they think that he has any access to his mother’s information.”
Chaplain turned to Alex and stared at him. “Are you comfortable with all of
this?”
“Should I be?” Alex asked. “I don’t think my
life is going to be comfortable for a long time now. But you people have conviction. And I
know you’re going to help me figure out what is going on. So tell me when to be
ready, and I’ll start packing.”
