J Mauldin - Final Solution

As Liberty slept soundly, her naked body curled up beneath the sheets, I got up and searched for William Fryatt’s personal tablet. There was one question I needed the answer to. After a minute I found what I was looking for, resting inside the drawer of his massive four foot long desk. I took it with me back to the bed and eased up against Liberty’s warm, sleeping body. She was like a stone pulled fresh from the hearth.

I took a deep breath and unlocked the tablet with the sinking suspicion I wouldn’t be disappointed at the results.

Search: Pan-X Trade Agreement .

I’d been right, the information network was being censored. In less than a heartbeat, the full details of the Trade Agreement pulled up, and I wasn’t liking what I saw. It involved three players: China, Ceres and the Axis.

When the Axis had gone into business in 2055, they’d made an agreement with China to supply them with all the consumable materials required to keep Europa’s base running until it was self-sufficient. As the Axis began to turn out record profits, mostly in rare materials and advanced electronics research, word got around and China began to ask for higher prices on their goods. The Axis complied for a time, but it soon became a major burden as these trade prices weren’t set in stone.

In 2057, The Pan-X Trade Agreement, brought before China by the Axis’s high council, was meant to rectify this issue by granting the Chinese government a portion of the Axis’s profits in exchange for the necessary goods, thus increasing long-term incentives over short-term gain. Upon hearing of this, the Brethren moved into action, and with some creative, legal leg work, found a way for them to circumvent the deal after it had already been signed. As the Axis scrambled to form a new agreement, the Brethren swept in and offered a larger share of their profits to secure a twenty year deal with China, under the provision that all shipments were sent via Russian freighters owned by Bear Logistics. At the time China was in a bind, being that consumer driven luxury goods and novelties were down worldwide, and so they took the best deal they could out of economic survival.

The result: The Axis’s supply lines thinned, being the only goods they could purchase were at astronomical prices. The Jovian people began to starve, realizing the gravity of their situation being a sovereign corporation several hundred million miles away from Earth. Out there, you were alone in the truest sense. And without support, you were dead.

In 2058, three years later, as a last ditch effort to secure a new supply chain, the Axis made a deal with corrupt officials at Ceres station. By circumventing the Brethren government, they could secure their goods at a discount and keep Europa alive, while still being gouged. However, during their second visit to the asteroid belt, a bomb was set off, destroying both Ceres station and the Axis vessel. No one knew for sure who set the explosive.

2059, war was declared on both sides.

I set the tablet down and rubbed my eyes. Liberty stirred but didn’t wake, a sleepy moan escaping her. I ran a hand across her arm and down her warm back, tickling her skin. Her shoulders rolled and she edged closer.

“Shit,” I mumbled. “We pushed them to it.”

Even still, there was nothing I could do now. Just because we’d created the situation that had started the war, events were already set in motion and long past the window of apology. Our politicians had done this to us, knowing just what they were doing. God help us, we had to fight through this to reach the other side. There was no other option.

“David? What are you doing?” Liberty asked groggily. “Lay back down.”

I followed her instructions while wondering how much she knew. How much her father had told her. But I guess It didn’t matter. I’d keep it to myself.

“You ready, Lib?” I asked as she fastened her uniformed coat, one silver crossed button at a time. She wasn’t delaying, but also, wasn’t hurried. She was deep in thought, running the plan over and over in her mind, seeking to annihilate any errors she may have missed. That was her new role as Captain, to consider all possibility for something to go wrong and lead us through, but at this point, she’d done everything she could. Meetings with her, XO and I had lasted for days. All the bases had been covered.

She’d made sure all systems were running at full—weapons, power, life support, communications, optical and spectral scopes, targeting programs and sensor network feeds, emergency propulsion and pitch control—all meeting and exceeding factory specifications. She’d gone through drills in the event of explosive decompression, redistributed non-combat crew into safety zones and planned rescue response routes. This tiny space can was organized better than ever, ready for any number of possible events short of total destruction.

If a section was pierced, and that was likely, we would seal it off and transfer any crewmembers to the nearest safe zone. Doc and a few others would be on standby, ready to get anyone in need to the ship’s protected bunker in Med 1. It would offer limited protection for the injured, being in the near center of the ship, and have all the equipment necessary to treat them. Brix and Higgins were to patrol the ship, looking for any physical security issues or mental breakdowns, even though it seemed a bit pointless. The only enemy now, the Razor , was quickly whipping its way around the dayside of Mars from low orbit to bring its weapons to bear. No more time to plan. It was time for action. Time to leave our fate to God.

“I’m ready.” She tugged the bottom hem of her coat, making certain her shoulders were comfortably seated in their sleeves. She faced herself in the mirror and checked her hair once more—for the third time. Despite her bun being perfectly wound, her uniform neat and crisp, and a light dusting of makeup around the eyes, the room—smelling of fresh sweat and latex—nearly soiled her supreme air of command. She replaced the juice cartridge of her vape pen and took a drag, blowing vapor at her reflection with a cold, tight grin. She put on her game face. By day’s end some of us would be destined for the cold well.

The final leg of our journey had passed in a blur. Everyone who had someone made use of their dwindling time among the living. XO had been in near constant contact with his wife and kids on Mars, Higgins had made nice with his daughters, Harold had asked his spouse for forgiveness over indiscretions while in the Mirror City, and Rosaleigh Head and Smith, free of Graham, had made their relationship public. There were many stories to tell, but they were all the same at the core.

Stage one, confessing what wrongs had been done.

Stage two, lengthy discussions and heightened emotional states.

Stage three, resignation over our dire situation and eventual forgiveness.

Stage four, reconciliation through the reminiscence of good times.

The only crewmember that didn’t seem content was Kelly. He was increasingly ornery over the smallest things. Kelly had had family, but they were gone, burned up in the attack on Ceres which started this whole mess. He was increasingly adamant about getting vengeance for their deaths, though feared the cost.

Liberty turned around and let out a sigh. “How about you? Are you ready, Davie?”

I kissed her on the lips before pressing my forehead against hers. “We do this together. Live or die.”

“Live or die,” she agreed, patting the nametag on my left chest. She then took my hands and squeezed them tight. “Smoke?”