Jeanne

[Tango]

PART 2

Rogue Destroyer. Somewhere in the New York System. Three weeks ago.

The fragrant smoke of the cigar had permeated through the entire room, whilst it’s ash had been carefully disposed of in an expensive ashtray.

The fat man sat with his back to the table. He was currently gazing through the window at the view of Manhattan, with his legs stretched out in front of him such that they rested comfortably on the wide window ledge.

News arrived at the destroyer with the same quality any house in Manhattan had.

He sat quietly listening to the Colony News broadcast that had just begun on the vidscreen behind him. It seemed that the use of Cardamine was on the increase throughout Liberty. “Those hispanions have made their way here”, he thought out loud.

He drew deeply on his cigar, and as he did so, the sound of the Colony News broadcast began to distort. It was gradually replaced by the sound of sombre music, over which a woman’s voice began to speak. “ I am Jeanne. I’m here to tell you Libertonians the truth”

The man blew the smoke away that was enveloping him and turned toward the screen. His eyes wide with shock.

“…What the hell…?”

He put the still lit cigar into the ashtray, all of his attention focused on the small screen. Whilst the sometimes distorted broadcast continued he did not make a single move, his cigar laying forgotten in the ashtray. All of the mans attention was now focused on the screen and the words that the women shown on it was saying.

When the woman had finished, her face faded with static into the background, the music died out and the Colony News resumed it’s broadcast.

He reached out and touched the comms panel on his desk.

"Was tha local?"

The voice on the other side answered: "No sir, as far as we know all Manhattan has suffered the broadcast. It was a hacking invasion, it has isolated all comm..." The voice was cut off abruptly as the mans finger punched down on the comms panel keypad.

The fat man pressed a short combination of buttons on the comms panel, and looked at its screen. An image appeared "Yo said she was dead! What in hell is going on???" he shouted.

"Who...I've told you not to make contact. Why are you calling me?"

"She is alive... and free! Do yo know what it means? Do yo remember who she is??"

"We are making every effort we can to recapture her. But we can't make too much noise."

"Noise?? She has broadcast to the whole damn system! How much noisier can things be?! "

"It seems someone had other plans for her. We didn't know she was still alive."

With that, he hit the cancel button closing the channel, his forgotten cigar rolled into the ashtray where it lay amongst the discarded ash. "Liars!"

With that he turned his back to the table and resumed gazing out of the window toward Manhattan. This time however, it was not Manhattan that he was looking at, but the dark space all around the planet.



Alcatraz Base. California System. Thirteen years ago.

"Mike, that's the girl?" said Thom.

"It's 'Boss', Thom. Yo have to get used to it or the others wont respect me. And, yes , that's the girl they sent" said Mike.

"Yeah. SO... 'Boss', don't ya think she's too young t'be out there? She can barely reach the yoke."

"That’s the deal. Ah'll do as they say and they say she has to have her spirit broken."

"Mik...err, Boss, the guards say she hasn't said a word, she hasn't cried a single drop since she arrived. For her age, she's a rock."

"That's why she's out there... taking water from rocks. Maybe she can learn something from this."

"Did ya discovered why they want her so much?"

No... but its making me curious... Maybe ah should..."

"What?"

"Nothing Lieutenant Thomas. Yo're asking too much."

Some seconds of silence pass before Thom answers. "Aye sir."

The two men remain seated watching the monotony of a ship mining in an asteroid rock field.

Mike took a communicator tied in his belt:

"Rookie One, can't yo see she's too close to the security perimeter. Are yo sleeping?!"

A nervous voice came from the communicator: "N-No.. No sir, I mean.. Aye sir. Will do."

One of the guard ships moved quickly and fired a single blast at Jeanne's ship which removed the protective shield. She moved back to the center of the circle formed by the other three rogue ships, and started all over again to shoot the rocks and tractor the water.

"How long will it last, 'Boss'?" Thom asked as he stood up to leave.

"As long as it is needed, Lieutenant. As long as it is needed."

For about a year, Jeanne shot rocks and tractored water. Every day, as she was forced to do the mining job, she tried to remember her Mothers prayers, and she repeated them over and over again as she shot the asteroids.

Following orders, they guards made every effort to prevent her from being touched by any of the guards or others prisoners.

In her last week on the base she was led to the Mike’s office where she found him smoking a cheap cigar. The room was full of smoke which smelt terrible. He had some papers resting on his pot belly and his feet were resting on the table. The room was untidy and dark. Jeanne sat on a chair by his table with her head down.

"Lady, your time here is about to end. Do yo want to say something?"

She remembered the hunger, thirst, and the hard work, and said in a low voice:
"Why?"

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