February 16, 67 NSE
Kunwarland, Quaoar
It was the third day of shooting, and the cast and crew of
Humanity's Horizons were still finding their way around the labyrinthine halls of Kunwarland's primary reactor complex. Lana Juraeva knew her way better than most, having spent most of the last week painstakingly poring over blueprints and pacing down halls to find decent places to set up the show's cameras without filling the shot with conduits or warning signs - and whacking her head on every too-damn-short bulkhead door along the way.
The special wasn't meant to be shooting for four more months, but the fuckwit AGH suits decided the best way to "head off any economic uncertainty in the wake of the Mercurian crisis" was to shuffle some holidays forward - and if that meant fucking over any production schedules, that was her crew's problem. Jan had yelled himself hoarse at the exhausted secretary who handed him the new air dates, and it was only Dario stepping in that stopped him from throttling the poor man.
Jan was a great director and a decent friend, but he was a cunt some days, even when he wasn't fucking with his meds - and on this schedule, it was just a question of how long until she or Dario caught him.
The small office that had been turned into the crew lounge was eerily quiet as Lana pushed open the door. Dario was nowhere to be found - not unusual, he had old friends on the research staff, and wasn't really needed until the actual shoot started - but there was none of the barely controlled chaos of the crew before a shoot. Production staff were huddled in corners, speaking in hushed voices; the door to Jan's office was shut, and the blinds were down. When a few sharp glares saw no one speak up - or even meet her eyes - she rolled her eyes, crossed the room, and pulled the door open.
The office was a mess; papers were scattered everywhere, one leg of Jan's desk was broken, and the smell of alcohol was so strong that it almost bowled her over just stepping inside. Jan was slumped over his desk, a large flask of something cradled in his hand while the other hung limp by his side. "What the
fuck, Jan?! I was gone for an hour and a half, and I come back to-" Lana frantically waved around the room.
He slowly looked up at her, eyes red and face pale. "News from Mercury; Bagong Maynila is gone."
And just like that, her anger evaporated; the empty space it left devoured her shock, and all she could say was a quiet, croaked "What?"
"Shuttle of loose cells hit it, took out the whole arcology. HIE says it was the terrorists, but..." he trailed off, but she'd been following the news. She'd been
shooting the news last night; Bagong Maynila was a rebel stronghold, and HIE had orbital supremacy. "Paolo..." Jan's husband, a dour, lanky HIEDS suit who Lana had never liked, "look, Lana, I need you to keep your fucking mouth shut about this, I probably shouldn't be saying anything, but Paolo thinks it was HIE; he's called a vote of no confidence, and it looks like most of the board is behind him - but AGH isn't. Last I heard, they were waiting outside the boardroom with a SWAT team; he's going to be the next Pete fucking Veight."
Pyotr Veight's hearing had been delayed again. They'd cut to commercial early when Michelle brought him up. The producers took her aside - anything about Marlotown was off limits. Couldn't risk "destabilising the situation".
Lana ran through a thousand responses before settling on "Fuck."
"Fuck is right." Jan took another snort from his flask. "The board's meeting now."
"Take the day, Jan; I'll call Tony, we can keep the producers off you-"
"Fuck Tony, I can do my job. If I'm just sitting on my dick waiting for Paolo to call..." yet another pull on the flask, longer than the last; his hand is shaking. "I can do my fucking job, Lana."
She gave him a dry look. "Fine, I won't call Tony - if you can say that while looking Dario in the eye."
Jan laughed, or tried to; it was a half-choked sound. "Who do you think was the first to know?" He waved off in the vague direction of the door. "Professor ran out to raise hell as soon as he got me to sit down and shut up."
Something in the back of her mind clicked. The crew office was empty not just because the staff were so quiet, but because
the cameras were gone.
"Jan, where'd he go?"
"Does it matter? I think he's quitting." Jan hissed, then took another gulp - or at least tried to, before tossing his empty flask across the room. "Fuck knows I am."
"He hasn't quit yet - that means I'm still DoP. I didn't spend hours crawling through tubes just for Dario to fuck up his own lighting." Lana choked out a laugh of her own, and forced her face into her best commanding glare - even if she was sure her makeup was running. With a last nod from Jan, she took off back down the hallways, following the trail of half-opened doors.
If Dario was going to run off and do something stupid and heroic and get them all killed, she was at least going to make sure he looked good doing it.
* * *
My friends, my country. I cannot find the words to convey my gratitude for how you have welcomed me into your homes, your schools, your families; to have such students is the dream of any teacher. But I do not speak to you today as an educator or a scientist; I speak to you as a human being, a simple man, hoping to be a good man.
Eight hours ago, the arcology of Bagong Maynila in the Caloris Basin of Mercury was destroyed by a weaponised antimatter strike. A city of eighty million souls, gone in moments - or to them, agonising eternities, as those who survived the blast would be scoured by the Sun and the void. Hermes Integrated Energy claims this was the act of the Mercurian Popular Front, who controlled the city in their ongoing uprising against HIE; this is a lie, as their own messages reveal - demanding silence, listing questions that were not to be asked.
We are not a people inclined to silence, to falsehood, to answers unsought. We chase the horizons, however far we must walk. In this spirit, Paolo Mbatha would not stay silent, and the people of HIE Deep Space joined him. They rebuked the monstrous acts on Mercury, and sought to reveal them to the people. Paolo is a dear friend, husband of thirty-nine years to Jan Mbatha, whose name you see even before mine at the end of our program. You do not see Jan on your screens, but you see his work in every moment of our time together. We have our differences, as all friends do, but in this matter, I will vouch unequivocally for the moral character of Paolo Mbatha.
As soon as the vote was called, the board resolved to speak out, they were arrested by AGH security and charged with fraud, incitement of revolt, sabotage, and theft of trade secrets.
Forty-three minutes ago, the executive board of AstroGrav Horizons ordered the scientists, engineers, and workers of the Primary Reactor Complex to transfer control of our antimatter stockpiles to AGH security forces, citing only a nebulous terrorist threat.
The staff of the Primary Reactor Complex denied this request, and initiated emergency lockdown protocols. It is on their behalf that I speak to you today.
This facility will remain locked down. We do not have demands; our only goal is preservation of life, all life, on this world and others. My show came here to honour the life and work of Carmen Mayuga; instead, we are called to honour her last words. She asked but one thing of humanity when she gave us her creation - that we not turn it upon ourselves in anger. On Mercury, that promise was broken; it shall not be broken here. The lights will stay on; you need not fear for your right to breathe or eat or drink. But none shall pass through these gates until we are certain they come in peace, for all mankind.
I ask nothing of the people but that they hold true to the spirit we all share; the spirit I have dedicated my life to, as best a simple man can. Seek the truth, ask questions, and teach each other - though I fear that not all coming lessons will be kind.
- Professor Dario Ngunaitponi, speaking on behalf of the Primary Reactor Mutiny
