The Broken Peace

Marquette returned to the Berenice after meeting with the governor of Meteora for over two hours. During the meeting, the governor denied prior knowledge of any impending attack. He further stated his security forces were investigating all personnel who worked in the capitol building to find who leaked the information about Marquette's arrival.

Perturbed, Marquette hurried down the shuttle's ramp. At the end of the hanger, First Lieutenant Devers awaited his arrival. "Welcome back, Captain Marquette."

"Thank you, XO. Are the prisoners ready for interrogation?"

"Yes, sir, they're awaiting you."

"Good, Sergeant Kreb, you will accompany me. Devers you take the girl."

Several minutes later, Marquette and Kreb entered the small room where a young man sat with his hands shackled to his chair. He wore no expression, but Marquette knew the man was nervous.

Marquette examined the man like a scientist analyzing a specimen. The captain sat across from him, resting a small holographic projector on the table before him. He did not speak. He let the silence do his speaking, letting the tension build. After several minutes, he broke the silence.

"Have you been treated well?" Marquette asked. The man did not respond. "Not much to say, then? I understand. If I were in your position, I might also keep my silence. Silence, though, will not save you. Cooperation will."

The man continued to sit in silence. "You're not ready to break yet. I get that. When we go through training, they teach us how to resist a captor. It's hard, especially when you realize just how isolated you are. Here you are, surrounded by the metal of the ship. A ship full of people who would like nothing better than to tear you apart for killing four of their shipmates. Several others were wounded. One may never walk again. You also have to trust that the guards don't give in to the temptation to turn the cameras off for a few minutes. That's all it would take."

Marquette studied the man again. He could tell that the last part started to work on his nerve. It was a subtle twitch, but Marquette saw it. He knew he was getting through to him.

"You know, I'm willing to bet you are not a zealot. No, I don't think you want to be a martyr for the cause. I think you got caught up in all the patriotic fervor. You got convinced to join the cause by someone who told you how much better life would be without Anatoli, and you bought into it. Then when the moment came to take action, you started having second thoughts. Am I close?"

The man still said nothing, but a small bead of sweat rolled down his face. He was trembling. The man tried not to show it, but Marquette could see it.

"It's too bad, really. How old are you? Nineteen? Twenty? Yep, too bad. They may not hang you and your friend, but you're both going to spend the rest of your lives in a prison colony at the very least."

Marquette looked at Kreb. "Have you ever been to Mizeria, sergeant?"

"I was stationed there for eight months. There are over twenty prison facilities on Mizeria, and they are spaced far from each other. Not to mention the facilities are full of some of the worst people in the League. They have the whole planet but still keep people walled in day and night. It's weird, a planet full of people, but you feel utterly alone."

"And that's where you get to spend the rest of your days. Wishing you could take it all back; unless you help me out."

The man continued to sit in silence. "Not interested? I guess I was wrong about you. Sergeant, let's go. Good luck with the trial. Considering what they were going to do to the planet, I'm sure you'll do fine at trial." Marquette folded up his papers, picked up the projector, stood, and walked to the door.

"What do you want to know?" the young man asked.

Marquette stopped and smiled to himself before turning to face the man again. "Let's start with your name, and that of your partner."

"Jason. Jason Grimes. Look, I just want-"

"Tell me, Jason Grimes, who is the young lady with you?"

"Lacey Webber. She's-"

"Important to you. Someone special, I think. That's it, right? You're trying to protect her. Is that what you're doing."

"Sir, please, she didn't fire a shot. We hid until the shooting started and then we ran. I swear we didn't kill those troops."

"Whether you did or not is irrelevant, Jason. Unless you help me, you both are going to hang. You are both members of the Meteoran Liberation Army, are you not?"

"I don't know anything about the organization. I wasn't that important to them."

"But you do know names. Locations. Insignia and paraphernalia. Symbols. Things we can look for. Places we can watch."

"If I tell you, will you let her go?"

"That depends completely on you, Jason. Give me a name."

"Orson Malone. That's the guy that recruited me."

"Where did he recruit you?"

"At a bar in Gelenion. It's on Dorsette Street."

"This bar on Dorsette Street have a name?"

"Cullen's Wild Rose. You will find him there."

"Thank you, Jason. I appreciate your honesty. So, let me be honest with you. We will look for this Orson Malone, and we better find him. If we don't, then that means you've lied to us. If you lie to us, I'm going to hang Lacey right before you. Not the fast way either, but slowly, painfully. Then I will send you somewhere far away to live with that image in your mind, knowing you could have saved her. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I swear it's true."

"Alright, there's something else I want to know. Where did you meet when you had your meetings with the MLA?"

"It's a floral shop called Burst of Color."

"Is that where the weapons are stored?"

"I think so."

"Think so? You can do better than that."

"I don't know for sure. I know they keep some there, but I don't know how many."

"Alright, Jason, you need to think real hard about your situation and what you remember. The more you tell me about their operation, the more I can help you. Play your cards right; you and Lacey may find a way out. Remember though, if you lie to me, it won't go well for you or her."

Marquette and Kreb left the room, spotting Lieutenant Devers waiting for them. "Did you get anything useful from him?" he asked Marquette.

"One of the men we are looking for is an Orson Malone. He also told us where they hold some of their meetings and weapon caches. Did the girl reveal anything?"

"No, she swore that she never fired a shot. She said she hid the whole time and then ran away with loverboy. That's it."

"She probably knows more than she wants to tell. Keep working on her. If nothing else, we can verify what Jason told us. For now, we need to report our findings to Admiral Cloudsley. "