An Interstellar Spring (Part 3): Letters of War

 

By Nick Gibson

UST: May 5^th, 3569, 4:28 PM

Dear Journal: Two days, it has been two days since I last heard from Molly. It took about a day after the uprising started for the news sites to catch on and when they did I was shocked by the larger than normal degree of distortion going on.

What to my own eyes looked like a protest gone horribly wrong, the news reported as a violent insurrection. Perpetuated by extremists who wanted nothing more than to tear down the regime the graciously protected them. Oh and they were bigots to so of course we had to hate them.

I tried to inform my parents of the true story. That went about as well as you would expect. My mother accepted the “official” story without hesitation. Being born into wealth, she never had to want for a thing any day in her life. The hardest task she ever had to do pretend to a “normal person” for the sake of appearances. Like most of her status, this usually meant phoning in support for whatever cause was trendy at the moment. Unfortunately, the plight of the common person was so last century.

Thankfully though, my father was a bit more receptive to my pleas. Having been the victim of a vicious accusation not five years prior. The woman in question claimed my father did unspeakable acts to her. Problem was she had never even been on the same planet as him! It took the press a bit to get a hold of that simple fact. They of course had to run through the initial cycle of finger wagging. Getting all the hits they could before issuing a half hearted apology. That is of course, if they bothered to at all.

Seeing as how their was nothing I could do in the short term but wait, my parents started me on a strict regime of house work. While they did not see eye to eye on my claim, the did agree that the best cure for any stressors is honest hard work.

So that’s how I ended up embarking on a multi day quest to weed the garden. As much as I wanted to think about my girl friend. The task at hand did a remarkable job of pushing it from my mind. It was only after I had showered and picked up my slate, the libelous reports still flooding in. That I had a chance to remember what truly mattered to me.

Checking the time in the corner I saw that I still had roughly a half hour before my mother called me down for dinner. Meals being a big deal in our household, I could not be late. I had time to draft maybe two messages? I knew who the first recipient would be but the second was currently a mystery. Resolving to figure it out later I opened the app and began to write.

Dear Molly,

I have no idea when or even if this will get to you. I’m scared shit less about what may be happening over there. I hope you are safe. I know your Pa is a foreman in those mines and most likely a ring leader in whatever when down. I just hope against hope you were not roped in. If you were please promise you will be careful. I care about you a lot. You still owe me 250 credits and I have every intention on collecting. Well not really I just wanted to sound tough. Guess that fell flat on it’s face huh? Anyway, make sure you don’t fall flat on your face yourself. I’d hate to be the only good looking one in the relationship.

Your Wonderful Man,

Curtis Wright

P.S. I attached a picture in the message. It’s the front of my house. My mom has been having me pull all the weeds out.

Hitting send, I let out a breath I didn’t know I had held. I had no clue when I might get a response. In times such as these the web was the first thing to be pulled. Still, I had to at least try and do something. I owed her that much.

Effort aside, I still had time for one more message. But who could it be? I thought to myself. Then it hit me Willie! That fabulous redneck worked the Hydrogen mines of Europa during break. Not only was he in the same system as my girl he also belonged to the same Union! If anyone could give me some answers it would be him. So, with some trepidation, I found his contact info and began to type.

Hey Willie.

Yeah I know, long time no type. I’m sure you have an idea as to why I am contacting you. I’m going to get straight to the point then. I watched what happened live and I know what’s going on. Further more, Molly is in the thick of it. I don’t want anyone to be hurt, least of all her. I know you are in the same union as the ones who led the protest. If you have any information on what is happening please tell me.

Your Trusted Friend and Ally.

Curtis Wright

No sooner had I hit send then the shrill shriek of my mother burst forth and into my ear drums. Announcing dinner like the event it was. In her mind at least. Realizing I was still in my skivvies, I quickly threw on a nice pair of black pants, a blue button up shirt, black waistcoat, and black tie. Not my finest but it was what I had on hand. What I had on the floor to be more accurate.

Walking down the stairs I could see the table was set up extra fine. Did we have a guest? I wondered. My curiosity being immediately satiated when I turned around the corner to see an older gentleman. His dark skin contrasting nicely with his bright white military uniform. A navel man I concluded So this is to be a dog and pony show. Very well, I know my part.