Justice Keepers Saga - Books 13-15

Chapter 2-3

whyGripping the edge of the table with both hands, Harry shut his eyes as he drew in a breath. “We’re not entirely certain what their motives are,” he answered. “The Overseers seem to be conducting some kind of experiment.”

“An experiment?” someone muttered.

Harry extended his hand to Claire, grinning like…Well, like a dad who was oh so proud of his little girl. “Ladies, enbies and gentlemen,” he said. “My daughter, Claire.”

Claire hurried over to join him, hopping onto the table beside him. She could sense curiosity from the audience. The air was thick with it. Her mother wasn’t exactly pleased, but then Harry could say the sky was blue, and Della would still find a way to be mad about it.

“When they saved my daughter,” Harry said. “The Overseers were quite adamant that I start preaching a religion. Oddly, they didn’t seem to care what I preached as long as I inspired belief.

“So, I strutted across the stage with wild gestures talking about prophecies from the Covenant of Layat, stories of a man who could use the Overseers’ technology against them. I happen to fit those stories.”

Harry extended his hand toward the audience, and that creepy Overseer thing peeled off of his skin, curling up into a ball in his palm. Claire heard several gasps and she didn’t need her talent to know that several people were grossed out by what they saw.

Harry pressed his lips together, nodding slowly for emphasis. “This was a device the Overseers left on my planet,” he explained. “When it was first unearthed, it bonded to a young man who couldn’t control its power.

“Eighteen months ago, my friends and I were searching for the Key, a cipher that would grant access to an Overseer installation under the surface of Earth’s moon. During that time, I met a being that I can only describe as a friendly Overseer, and they gave me the ability to control the device I carry now.”

A young woman with long, brown hair looked up from her tablet and squinted at Harry. “Why would the Overseers care?” she asked. “Why would they want you to start a religion?”

“It seems to be part of the experiment,” Harry said. He stood up slowly with a grunt, towering over the people in the front row. “They told me they wanted us to kill each other. That’s what they said. This war we’re fighting. It’s part of their plan.”

Claire kept scanning the area, searching for Overseers who might be listening in on this conversation. She was pretty sure this counted as breaking the deal. She felt nothing out of the ordinary, but that was no guarantee of anything. The Overseers might be going out of their way to hide from her now that they knew she could track them.

“So,” Harry concluded, “if there’s one piece of advice I can give you, it’s this: push for peace.”

Ten minutes later, the last of the students had filed out of the room, leaving only Claire, Harry and Della. An awkward silence hung over them. Claire was still trying to figure out how she felt about all this.

“Well,” her mother said. “As sermons went, that was odd.”

Harry turned, exhaling roughly, and then fixed his gaze on her. “I’ve stopped giving the sermons,” he said. “At least the ones with all the theatrics. I figure I’ll just tell people the truth as best I can.”

“You think it’ll make a difference?”

“I think it doesn’t matter,” Harry said. “What you said a few months ago really stuck with me, Claire. The Overseers are going to come for us no matter what we do. So, we should try to do the right thing and hope for the best.”

Claire didn’t think she had ever been prouder of her father than she was at that moment. She gave him the fiercest hug, and he laughed. “How long has it been since the three of us did something fun together?”

“A long time,” Della said.

“Then…how about we go for ice cream?”

“I’d like that,” Claire murmured.

Harry chose a place near the university. He had seen it several times while he was on his way to give one of these “sermons.” The term still didn’t sit well with him. And not just because he hated the idea of being a religious icon. The truth was these weren’t sermons anymore; they were just lectures.

The ice cream parlour had windows along its front wall, rain-streaked panes of glass that offered a blurry view of the streetcars that rushed past. They were the primary mode of transportation here in Calisaro.

Bright lights shone down upon a dozen round, white tables that were spaced out on the tiled floor. Most of them were vacant. People weren’t big on ice cream during the winter months. The walls had been painted a vibrant pink with neon-green stripes at waist and eye-level.

The hologram of a perky girl with short, blue hair appeared behind the counter. “Hey, there!” she said. “What can I get you?”

Harry stood there with hands folded behind his back, grunting as he made his choice. “Two scoops of strawberry in a cup,” he said. “One scoop of chocolate-hazelnut, also in a cup. And, Claire, what did you want?”

“Marshmallow fudge delight!”

“One marshmallow fudge delight in a sprinkle cone.”

The hologram flickered a few times before vanishing altogether. He heard a distant, whirring sound from behind the wall. Machines at work, he suspected. The cleaning bots had been out here. He caught the faintest whiff of lemon-scented floor cleanser.

A hatch opened in the wall behind the counter, allowing a mechanical arm to pop out with their order. It set the tray down in front of Harry and then quickly retracted. “Mechanical servants,” he mumbled.

As he went to join his family, he felt a pang of nostalgia. This was almost like the days before he and Della had divorced. Except that Melissa wasn’t here.

Claire and Della had chosen a table by the window and were talking quietly when he arrived. His daughter flashed an eager smile, taking her sprinkle cone.

Easing himself into a plastic chair, Harry lifted his cup of strawberry ice cream. He hesitated before tasting it. “So, how’s school?”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Why is that always the first thing adults ask?”

alwaysUnable to help himself, Harry felt a grin coming on. “Because we’re not all that creative.” He spooned some ice cream into his mouth. It was pretty good. They didn’t make this stuff with cow’s milk, but whatever they used was a decent substitute. “So, how’s school?”

“It’s fine,” Claire said around a mouthful of chocolate fudge. “Don’t tell anybody, but I think I like math.”

“Really?”

“Solving equations is fun.”

Slouching in her chair with her cup in one hand, Della pointed at Claire with her spoon. “You know, honey,” she began. “They say geeks are the cool kids now.”

Once again, Claire rolled her eyes and snorted just to make her point clear. “Yeah, but that was when you were young,” she said. “These things go in cycles.”

“But you are studying?” Harry pressed.

are“Yes, Dad,” Claire said, exasperated.

Harry replied with a curt nod. “Well, good,” he grumbled. “You’re going to have to work extra hard. I won’t have anybody saying that you only succeeded because you can read minds.”

Or because her father was dating the teacher. But there was no need to bring that up. He suspected Claire would kick him if he did.

“Are there any boys you like?” Della asked.

Claire’s sudden blush made Harry think that his ex-wife might be onto something. “Mom!” she hissed. “You’re not supposed to ask me things like that!”

Della shrugged casually, stirring her ice cream with her spoon. “Why not?” she asked. “It’s a perfectly normal thing for a girl your age.”

“Mom!”

“What?”

Leaning over the table, Claire glanced around the room as if she thought that someone might be eavesdropping. And then, with a great deal of reluctance, she said, “I can promise you there are no boys I like.”

“Hmm,” Della murmured. “Are there any girls you like?”

girls“Mom!”

“Non-binary kids?”

Moaning, Claire slapped a hand against her forehead. “Can we please talk about something else?” she whimpered. “Hey, Dad, did you know Jack and Anna are getting married? I bet you want to go lecture those crazy kids about moving too fast!”

please “More like moving too slow,” Harry grunted.

“That’s right!” Claire agreed. “They should have done it years ago. These young whippersnappers don’t know a good thing when it’s right in front of them. I bet you can’t wait to tell them how much smarter people were in your day. Why don’t you practice the speech on me?”

“You know,” Harry said. “There’s probably a math club you could join.”

“Maybe you’ll meet a cute girl there,” Della added.

Claire groaned.

Later that evening, Anna returned to her quarters, the door sliding shut behind her and cutting off the light from the hallway. It was dark, at first, but a few quick commands to the ship’s computer remedied that situation.

Her quarters were quiet. Spock snoozed happily on the couch, but other than that, she was alone.

Anna strode across the room, closing her eyes and heaving out a breath. “Computer, access the Leyrian News Network.” Bleakness take her, where had that weariness in her voice come from? She had been in a good mood all day. “Download all broadcasts from the last twenty-four hours and play any that include the words, ‘Jack Hunter.’ Output to my tablet, please.”

She had told Jack not to worry about what strangers thought, but someone had to keep an eye on that sort of thing. If they were going to smear her fiancé, she wanted to be ready for them.

someoneClaiming a spot next to Spock, Anna scratched the kitty between his ears. He raised his head and purred.

She picked up her tablet just before it lit up with Jarid Ponorsi’s handsome face. As usual, the man was staring directly into the camera. “So, Jack Hunter’s forty-six-day livestream finally comes to an end,” he began. “For many, these recordings, which have been confirmed to be coming from the Alosian System, are sufficient proof that Hunter is not the man who has committed heinous acts of violence against the Leyrian people.”

notAnna sat back with a hand over her mouth, narrowing her eyes. “Well, at least, he’s telling the truth.”

“We’ve explored the life of Jack Hunter in great depth,” Ponorsi went on. “Once, he was a hero, a symbol of hope and unity between the peoples of Earth and Leyria. How sad it is then that he soon fell out of favour with his fellow Justice Keepers. Perhaps we should have seen the warning signs when Hunter withdrew from public life or when he publicly rebuked the institutions that had given him so much.

“This one-time symbol of hope and unity went on to betray the very people who offered him the hand of friendship. Let us not forget that it was Jack Hunter – the real Jack Hunter – who led those first raids against several Leyrian military installations. And while those first raids were less violent, they were no less shocking.”

realwere“Uh-huh,” Anna grumbled.

Ponorsi projected that same stern visage to his audience: the uncompromising man who knew the truth and who was not afraid to tell it. “We’ve explored the life of Jack Hunter,” he said. “And the lives of his many co-conspirators – Harry Carlson, Larani Tal, Cassiara Seyrus – but there is one person whose story we have not explored. Quite possibly the most important person of all.”

Anna’s heart froze when she saw her own face on the screen. The picture was an image from the very first Friendship Day when she and Jack stood side-by-side on a stage with a dozen Leyrian delegates.

“It’s time to talk about Anna Lenai.”

Falling back against the couch cushions, Anna held the tablet up with one hand. “Sure,” she muttered. “Tell me about me.”

She was expecting some kind of spin job, something that painted her as a person who had always harboured subversive attitudes. The one thing she did not expect to see was her father sitting in a small office.

She hadn’t seen Beran in almost six months, but he looked much the same as he had on her last visit: short and compact with a thick beard and thicker hair. Once upon a time, he had sported flowing, red locks, but those had faded to a stark iron-gray.

“Can you explain your daughter’s actions?” Ponorsi asked off-camera.

Beran made a face. “I’m not sure what needs explaining,” he answered. “My daughter hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“How is it that she can so easily turn against her government?”

Her father leaned forward, staring into the camera with a fire in his eyes. A fire that promised pain to anyone who insulted his little girl. “Has Anna made even one public statement against the government?”

one“She has been an outspoken critic of Jeral Dusep.”

has “Isn’t that her right as a Leyrian citizen?” Beran protested. “Don’t we live in a society that guarantees freedom of speech?”

“Do you stand by your daughter?”

“What kind of a question is that?”

Anna turned off the video.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trembling, and then hurled the tablet away. “I’m sorry, Dad,” she whispered. “You never should have been dragged into this.”

Bleakness take her, she should have seen this coming. True, she hadn’t been part of Jack’s campaign to free the immigrants from captivity, but that was only because she had been off-world at the time. If not for the mission to Salus, she would have been breaking into the detention centres along with all the other Screw-Ups.

She had been prepared for a media backlash, but she should have known they would target her family. Fascists and their apologists never fought fair. Her father had lived his entire life in the public eye – he could handle this, but Alia and her mother? They weren’t ready for this sort of thing.

She wanted to tell Jack, but hearing about Ponorsi’s report might send him into another tailspin of self-blame. She’d just gotten him out of his shell. She didn’t want him going back in.

No, she would have to sort this one out on her own.