2503.13 25/31— International #Writever #Mars #SpaceOpera
A channel blinked: a priority ping but not Reina or the other heads. May Ri tapped her book plate, instead of ignoring it. She traced the missive to the deep space network, origin Earth. Manzanar Partners: the firm had negotiated the buyout of EM Corp's debt and assets for the Sorority. To a logo screen, May Ri recorded herself waving, "May Ri here. Please state why you've pinged."
A 21m 3s round trip. Intuition soured her stomach the instant she tapped Send, so she pinged Reina who camped on. Reina pinged her mother, section heads, and a few dome managers to lurk.
Twenty-five minutes later, she accepted the offered duplex. It cleared, muted, to show…
She recognized the pale unwontedly frail 63 year old man with grey hair and deep wrinkles, wearing a blue suit two sizes too big—not his.
A Decath minister in his 30s, wearing light blue robes with white edging, stood stage left in what, thanks to the sun through stained glass that illuminated carved wood and gold, had to be a Decath church property. She did not miss the dagger in a gleaming ruby-encrusted gold sheath.
Her father was an a-theist—like his daughter, who swore as she lip read because her father exaggerated his words: "Yes, she's the Princess of Mars."
The feed unmuted.
"For shame!" her father said, voice quavering. "You have led the Righteous Men of Mars astray with your Temptations and your Evil Words! Ha—h-h-" He couldn't say the word she deduced was harlot.
His eyes glanced to the minister, his handler, then her. Monotone speech: A script. The reason he was pale and prematurely old looking.
Two years ago Raymond had disappeared, after broadcasting his uncensored library. May Ri started shaking.
"Repent!" he went on. "Accept God's Blessing as I, your father, have done, so you may ask a Forgiving God that you not be Eternally Damned." He started coughing, his hand shaking until he caught his wrist. "They want—" His chest expanded in a deep breath. "Release the Deacon of Deimos. Sign EM Mars over into the Loving Hands of the International Decath Crown and your life shall be Spared—"
As if…
Crying, May Ri shouted over her father. "I love you, Dadie. You hypocritical Crown trash, or whoever filth you really are: You… have… attacked… My family!" She punched her book plate, severing the link, dropping the device to clatter, certain she'd never see the man alive again.
Reina's own book plate flew from her grasp as she half-tackled May Ri, having run from her office dome, hugging her so tightly May Ri couldn't breathe. "I'm so sorry!" She cried. They both cried.
"No," May Ri said, her sobbing stopping in an instant. Was it an oath, or maybe a hope? "One day they will be… very sorry."
The deep space network lit up. It was a real international conspiracy, May Ri decided, not a theoretical one. Too much coordination, the timing making it manifest that partial national adversaries had joined forces. Lawyers filed suits declaring EM Mars Corp stolen. The International Criminal Court, for a century obviously a delegitimizing arm of the American and European states, issued warrants for May Ri's and Reina Īto's crimes against humanity, various murders, and an ethnic cleansing of Decath believers. All their assets on Earth (nil) were impounded. All assets in Mars space were immediately forfeit.
As if…
The North American Decath State's Secretary of State pinged Mars. Though the Onēsanue was the "Head of State" requested, an operator connected May Ri. After the light delay, the face of a man in a red silk suit displayed, before he adjusted his blue tie and smiled with big teeth at the looping greeting she'd recorded. He'd gotten the real Princess of Mars on the line. His voice squeaked, ruining the virile look his hair style tried for.
"Princess May Ri. Congressional appointees today voted to declare war on the Sorority. Co-President Smith is assigned to execute that declaration by the blessing of God. I'm here to offer you a chance to surrender unconditionally, before we devastate your world—"
As if…
May Ri asked, "Killing an entirely civilian population?" speaking over him, oblivious to how they would spin the sound bite. Rolling her eyes, she disconnected.
She hadn't said defenseless. A nuclear thrust model of the starship was flight testing. Everyone had ideas. Amazing how a common enemy unified even dissenters.
Two days later, the Russian Supremacy declared war on NADS, reasoning the States had declared war on their vassal.
As if…
Insurgent forces on the Japanese archipelago and the Korean peninsula attacked East Imperial China. The clean nukes fired in retaliation against Tokyo were accidental.
As if… #RSMarsNeededWomen 25
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