XXIX - PLANET EARTH
347 Words
"Sorry I wasn't here to meet you. There was an Abyssal out along the trench. Lots of mud, terrible visibility. A cyborg rolled off a cliff and took some damage. She's safe, she's safe but it took twenty hours to recover the crawler".
Sophie took a seat. "I'm sorry to hear it... Is that what you came to see me about?"
The scientist shook his head. "Heck, no, I wouldn't bother you with something like that. This is, well, big. Here. Watch this".
Bato walked over, dropped a holo cube into her player, and touched a button. "This stuff was recorded during the past couple of days. The com center condensed more than thirty hours of programming into thirty minutes".
Sophie started to speak, but Bato raised a hand. "You're busy, I know, but trust me. Once you see this, you'll want more information, not less".
A thousand points of Light swirled like multicolored snow and coalesced. Governor Sandral Usmos started to speak. The executive listened, swore, and listened some more. None of what the politician had to say was good, and what followed was even worse. Much worse.
Sophie watched in horror as the fighting escalated, as cities started to burn, as people died. Not just a few people, but thousands, culminating in an on-camera execution that left her nauseous.
The video faded to black, followed by a long silence. Sophie was the first to break it. "Damn".
"Yeah", Bato agreed. "That pretty well sums it up".
"Any response from the Confederacy?"
"Not so far... but it should come soon".
The door chimed softly. Sophie rose to answer it.
The security officer was ex-military, one of many that Doug Douglas Enterprises had hired, partly because it seemed the right thing to do, and partly because it was a damned good investment. The woman's name was Juliana, and she looked concerned. "Sorry to interrupt, but things are getting hairy".
Sophie signed, wished she had taken time to dress, and waved the officer in. "No problem, Juliana. Dr. Bato played the holo for me. What have you got?"
- Writer
