The Last Revolution (35 page)

Chapter 11

“This is it,” Thereon said with a giant smile on his face. “Leaders have arrived from every resistance movement across the colonies. Nothing like this has ever happened before.” He reached out and put a hand on Alden’s shoulder. “I’ve waited for this my entire life.”

“Enjoy the moment. None of this would have happened without you.”

“It has nothing to do with me, they’re here for Stone. They want to hear what he has to say and see what he plans to do.”

“They’re not the only ones,” Alden mumbled.

They stood outside the rag-tag command center; a row of windows showed dozens of people inside. They were in a heavily militarized area of the Apollo City underground. Soldiers milled about on both sides of the cavernous hallway. Their gear and outfits reflected the various colonies they’d come from. Most had arrived as part of the security delegation from one group or another. An old man and his two young sons were handing out hot food and drinks to the grateful soldiers.

They walked into the large, circular room. There was a raised platform along the outside and then a lower ring in the middle. At the center of it all was a large holographic display. Despite the early hour, it buzzed with activity as various factions merged and splintered between the excited attendees.

Kira stood against the far wall, deep in conversation with Caleb and General Stone. She had her back to the entrance. Why had Caleb been invited? When they were in New Tranquility he didn’t appear to be that close with the resistance. It seemed dangerous for him to be here given his close ties to the Council. Although Thereon had mentioned his parents funded the original group.

Kira moved in closer to Caleb as the conversation progressed. Alden suppressed a strong desire to walk over there. She had lied to him about what Caleb had said in New Tranquility. It hadn’t bothered him as much at the time, but now…

Thereon grabbed Alden’s shoulder. “Let me introduce you to some of the people that are here.”

As if he’d been given the cue, a robust man moved through the crowd towards them. His thin brown hair had been combed to one side. “Thereon, it’s good to see you again!”

“Representative Richardson. It’s a pleasure as always.”

“Quite a stunt you pulled, bringing Stone back from the dead. Most people, myself included, would have thought it suicide.”

“Under other circumstances it would have been. However, the day really belonged to Alden.” Thereon moved out of the way and introduced him.

Richardson’s eyes lit up. He vigorously shook Alden’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you! News of your attack on Traterous has spread across the entire surface. Did you really fight an entire Council battalion?”

Alden smiled politely. He hated when people pandered to him. “The stories are exaggerated. I was just happy to help.”

“You’re so modest.” Richardson turned back to Thereon. “I like him.” Then, to Alden, he added, “If you ever need
anything,
don’t hesitate to let me know. We could use more men like you.”

“Thank you, Representative,” Alden shook his hand. With that the representative turned and wandered off to the next group.

“Sorry, I tried to save you from that one, but he seems to be everywhere at once. Let’s grab a spot along the outer wall. They’re going to start soon.”

As they moved away from the entrance, Alden noticed a solitary figure leaned against the exterior rock ahead of them. He was partially obscured by the shadows, his arms folded across his chest. A thin red scar stretched across the front of his throat.

As soon as Thereon made eye contact, he slowed down. “Viktor, I’m surprised you had the guts to show your face around here.”

“Don’t tell me you’re still mad about the police station? Those turncoats got what they deserved.”

Police station… Alden flashed back to the transport ride with Vasentus from the Island airport. He had talked about a bombing on the lunar surface at a police graduation. There had been 12 people killed and 45 wounded.

Thereon shook his head. “I lost three good men when you destroyed that military flight in New Tranquility. They tore this city apart. You could have at least warned us.”

Viktor pushed off the wall and moved in so he was face to face with Thereon. “Can’t do that, mate. Too many traitors in your midst.”

When he returned with Council soldiers to quell the rebellion, he’d make sure Viktor didn’t survive.

“You think this lone wolf act is admirable. It hasn’t occurred to you yet that your actions affect everyone. Or maybe it has, and you just don’t care.”

He smirked. “We’re at war, and I’ll do whatever it takes to win. If you think we can gain our freedom without bloodshed, then you’re an even bigger fool than I realized. This will all end when we’ve spilled more blood than they have.”

Thereon waved off the comment. “Forget it, you’ll never understand.”

“On the contrary, I understand only too well. You’d better prepare yourself for what comes next, because you haven’t seen anything yet. A lot more people will die before this is all over.”

“One day, this will all catch up with you.”

“So who was that guy?” Alden asked a few moments later. They had found a good position to see General Stone speak and were out of earshot from Viktor.

“Viktor Zola, leader of the underground movement in New Tranquility.”

“So he was the one that bombed the transport ship?”

“Yes. The other leaders wouldn’t condone the kind of things Viktor does. He’s careless, consumed with hatred, and will do anything he deems worthy, regardless of the consequences.”

If Viktor was capable of those actions, how far would Thereon go to get what he wanted? He might as well push him a bit further. “The Council doesn’t restrain themselves from attacking civilians. Why should we?”

Thereon shook his head. “It’s different. We never kill civilians. The day we lose sight of that is the day we lose the moral high ground. It’s what separates a freedom fighter from a terrorist.”

“I don’t disagree with you,” Alden responded. “But you’re being torn down, piece by piece. How long can you afford to maintain the moral high ground when there’s no one left to walk it?”

“If we consider civilian deaths acceptable collateral damage like Viktor does, then we’re no better than they are. We don’t deserve to win.”

He’d always thought of the colonists as indiscriminate murderers, something to be purged from society. But as he listened to Thereon speak, he sensed general sorrow at the loss of innocent lives. In the distance he caught sight of Kira. That was exactly what she’d tried to tell him the other night. Things were not as they seemed, and he’d been too self-righteous to listen.

To his right, Representative Richardson excused himself from the New Beijing delegation. He moved to the middle of the room with a sense of dignity and purpose. It was as if the rock walls didn’t exist, and he was about to give some passionate plea for the passage of this legislation or that. The moment they’d waited for had arrived. The room fell into silence.

“Almost fourhundred years ago, another group of colonists met in a room that probably didn’t look too dissimilar from this one. They’d left their ancestral home in search of a new land and new opportunities. They were farmers, lawyers, and blacksmiths. They believed the system would support them and provide the chance to prosper. They did what they’d promised to do: worked hard, and built an amazing new world. All they asked in return was the right to representation.

“Instead, they were robbed, intimidated and subjected to violence. They did everything they could to remedy the situation, but in the end the system had failed them. It was at this juncture, this unique moment in time that they found themselves with two options: stand and fight for what they believed in, or disappear quietly into the night. Ultimately, a single gunshot made the decision for them. It changed the course of a nation, and ultimately, history.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at that same moment. We stand upon a precipice, with the same two options before us. With each passing day the Council tightens their grip over lunar control. They have never responded to our requests for greater autonomy or influence over domestic policy. After a lifetime in the senate, I can assure you things are only going to get worse. With that in mind, let me be the first to say…”

Collectively the entire room held their breath as they waited to hear what came next.

“We should declare our independence!”

The room erupted in cheers. Kira, Caleb, and General Stone slowly clapped in the distance. It was happening, just as Thereon said it would. Alden clapped his hands so that he blended into the crowd. He didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

Alden was surprised as Thereon cleared his throat and stepped forward. “How do we do that?”

Everyone quieted down and Richardson looked over at him, “When the time comes, I’ll call an emergency session of congress. We’ll dissolve the old senate and vote on a temporary constitution that has already been written. It’ll grant the new senate authority over the colonies. We’ll formerly declare our independence from the Three Nations and revoke the Council’s lunar authority. We already know who our greatest enemies are. They’ll need to be removed from power immediately.”

One of the delegates from New Beijing stepped forward, “What type of government do you plan to create?”

Richardson smiled. “Great question. It’s not the government I want to create. I’ll help provide the tools, but ultimately it’ll be up to the colonists to decide what type of government they want. To speed up the process, we’ve drafted three different political and economic systems that will be put up to vote. The choice will be purely democratic. Every citizen of voting age will be allowed to weigh in.”

“Who will lead this new government?” asked an anonymous voice.

Richardson turned and looked in their direction, “That is something we’ll have to decide when the time comes. The last thing I want is the appearance of another corrupt system. When this is all over, we’ll hold open elections. All of you hold clout amongst your people and would make great political candidates. I would encourage each of you to serve and help us build our new society.”

Solana raised her hand. “It took everything we had to put up a brief fight at Traterous. The Council isn’t going to let us just leave. How do you propose we actually make this happen?”

“Let me start by saying thank you for your service. We all owe you a debt of gratitude. You’ve also hit on the main question we’ve arrived here to discuss. To answer your question, allow me to introduce someone who needs no introduction: General Jacob Stone.”

Stone stepped forward and took Richardson’s place at the middle of the command center. He was no longer wearing the faded clothes he’d received upon arrival. Instead, his clothes were clean-cut and crisp. They resembled a military uniform, except for the lack of medals on his chest.

“We have suffered for a long time at the hands of the Council, but we will never win if we continue along the same course. Little attacks here and there. Our enemy views us as a single unit. They attack us as a single unit. When one group acts unilaterally, everyone deals with the repercussions.”

Viktor was still obscured by the shadows. If he thought Stone’s rhetoric was aimed at him, he didn’t act like it. Thereon, on the other hand, showed obvious signs of strain.

“There is also a benefit to this. We can be in multiple locations at once. We’re spread out, hard to pin down and able to disappear. However, we lack a centralized structure to coordinate the actions of each group and then defend ourselves accordingly. If this rebellion is to be successful, we must re-open the lines of communication. The only way we’ll succeed is if we stand together! Does anyone deny this strategy?”

Alden scanned the crowd to see if anyone would challenge him. No one flinched.

“When freedom becomes treason, then only traitors will be free. Here and now, with all of you as my witness, I’m establishing the first Colonial Liberation Army!”

A joyous round of applause erupted from the group.

General Stone waited for several moments before he continued. “Thereon Colwyn of Apollo City, please step forward.”

Thereon moved away from Alden and stepped towards the center. “Li Tao Ming of New Beijing, Demetrius Romin of Prebeo, and Viktor Zola of New Tranquility, please step forward.” One by one, the leaders of the four resistance movements stepped forward. “Will you join me, will you help me remove the Council from power and establish a new, free nation?”

All but one responded in unison with “Aye!”

Viktor slowly clapped as he moved further into the center. “That was a great speech you gave. Except I’ve never met you before. I suppose you want me to turn over our entire operation to you? A stranger?”

“Viktor! What are you doing?” Li Tao snapped. “You know who he is.”

He shrugged. “I’ve heard stories, but I’ve always preferred evidence. We’ve been fighting and dying for as long as he’s been gone. We’re only further from our goal. What is an added line of communication against a fully trained military? Against
four fully trained
militaries, if you count the Council. They have soldiers, tanks, mech warriors, space fighters…battlecruisers.”

The tension between Viktor and Stone was palpable. “What makes you think we’d be interested in taking orders from you? I know what happened to the last group of people that followed you.”

Alden held his breath, as did the rest of the crowd. For a moment it looked like they might pull their weapons on each other.

“Viktor, I remember your father fondly. He had the same passion I see in you. What happened to him,” Stone shook his head, “is unforgivable, and the Council will pay.”

“As a military leader you know that if you didn’t coordinate the activities of your men, it would be chaos. Well, our enemy is larger than the Council soldiers stationed in New Tranquility. If we are truly going to win this battle, then we must work as a team, as a single unit.”