03-23-2020, 07:15 PM
Restricted Region, Kerlile
13th October 2003 - sunrise
“You are all going to be executed today.”
Kat’s heart plummeted. For a moment, she’d dared to hope that she’d survive. It was a foolish dream; this was Kerlile, there are no happy endings. She let out a desperate sob and fell to her knees, wailing as the lines of prisoners erupted.
Chrissie vanished, pushing forward with some others, desperate to fight for their lives, to try and escape or fight back, even though it seemed futile. Georgina, though Kat couldn’t see her, would be standing blankly, waiting for death. Meg, on the other hand, picked up Kat and clutched her as she sobbed desperately, wailing into Meg’s shoulder throughout all the chaos.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I really thought they wouldn’t,” Meg said to Kat, devastated herself. In response, Kat only sobbed harder, gasping for breath every so often. Meg was supporting all of Kat’s weight, she couldn’t stand herself in her present state.
Around them, there was a cacophony of noise, as people fought and screamed and begged. There were four main groups: those who stood, silently accepting their fate. Those who cried and wailed like Kat. Those who were trying to run, only to find there was nowhere to run to. And then, finally, those who fought back. Meg could see Chrissie up at the front, she’d managed to acquire something metal and was trying to fight off some guards. She managed to hit one on the head and it gave Meg some satisfaction to see the guard fall.
A gunshot rang out across the now-messy crowd, which caused people to scream. Kat clutched Meg tighter, and Meg clutched her too. They both fell to their knees, eyes squeezed tightly shut, waiting for the end.
*
Restricted Region, Kerlile
13th October 2003 - around 30 minutes earlier
“Fern, Gemma, Carmen, wait here,” Councillor Sarah Robinson whispered, then vanished into the night as the three teenagers huddled together. The 19-year-old Carmen, who would one day become Councillor, seemed by far the most frightened of the teenagers, despite the youth of the other two.
“What if this doesn’t work?” Carmen whispered in terror.
“It will,” Fern, the older of the two trainee Auroras replied. “Trust us.”
“You’re children!” she hissed quietly at them.
“That may be so, but we’re well trained,” said Gemma. “We can survive this, and much more besides. And if we don’t, thousands are going to die.”
“We’ve prepared well. We made sure the right staff are on shift, those who are working for us. Trust me, Carmen, it will work,” Fern reassured her.
“It’ll be dawn soon,” remarked Gemma, gazing at the horizon. Sure enough, a thin line of light was beginning to emerge. The three looked on in silence as suddenly an alarm rang in the distance, and Councillor Sarah returned.
“Quickly, Carmen, inside, it’s go time,” Sarah whispered, and Carmen quickly got back inside the car parked beside them. The two Auroras shared a look with Sarah and then vanished, heading down towards the prison they overlooked from where they were perched halfway up one of the mountains.
Gemma and Fern headed down the mountain on foot by themselves. They were dressed to blend in, which was fortunate, given that the sight of a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old walking down a mountain by themselves would have attracted some looks. Never mind that anyone caught walking alone in the Restricted Region was liable to be shot. Despite their age, they seemed calm, either a testament to Aurora training, or a sad reflection of the fact of their stolen childhoods, depending on what side one was on.
“You’ll be assigned soon,” Gemma said as they walked.
“Yes, I will,” Fern replied, then paused slightly, looking out to the horizon as the light began to increase ever so slowly. “I would rather not.”
“You’ll take the assignment though? Or would you rather go to failure prison?” Gemma kept walking, using the name Auroras called the building where those trainees who were never assigned were confined to.
“I’ll take it. I expect I won’t get back alive.”
“Many of us won’t,” shrugged Gemma. “I hope I do.”
“I hope so too.”
They continued to walk in silence, and as they approached the fence, they could see the lights turning on inside, the sounds of a few screams of those reluctant to obey orders, and the movements of the nervous guards, who knew what was coming.
“Oi! Stop there!” called a voice, and two women carrying large rifles ran up to the pair of trainee Auroras. The Auroras paused, and looked up at the women in unison as they stopped in their tracks and looked uncertainly at the teenagers. “Uh, do you two girls know where you are?”
“Yes,” Fern replied calmly, and then attacked.
The fight was short, taking only a few seconds before the two guards were unconscious on the ground. Gemma stared at Fern, alarmed at her skill - she hadn’t even had to lift a finger to help the older girl. In response, Fern grinned and showed Gemma a piece of cloth.
“I wouldn’t breathe it in, that stuff is strong,” Fern said, then dropped the cloth on the ground. Gemma stepped cautiously around it as they continued. They ignored the main entrance, opting for a secondary way in that Sarah Robinson had discovered on one of her recon journeys to the facility. The Councillor had the right to visit the DKS prisoners whenever she wanted, which had been useful for their purpose.
They slipped inside through a section of fence that had been rotting, that they were able to create a small gap in with minimal effort. Moving forward stealthily, they crept around the buildings in the dawn light, seeking the one which held the administration offices. For, although gender was the largest dividing factor in Kerlian society, it was as true there as anywhere else that those in better-paid professions were more likely to support the status quo.
Upon reaching the admin office, Gemma slipped inside and made her way to where the highest-ranking officials in the prison were. Fern waited outside as Gemma knocked on the door where they were all drinking coffee and talking as their underlings rounded up the prisoners for them.
“Excuse me?” Gemma said, pushing the door open and causing all those inside to jump. “Hi, my mum works in Facility 14 down the road, our car broke down, and there is a hole in the fence out there. I think someone escaped.”
“You can’t be in here!” one shrieked as another cried “What!?” and a third pushed past her, running outside. Someone grabbed Gemma’s hair and yanked her backwards, causing her to shriek in pain.
“Stupid little girl,” hissed the voice of whoever held her. “You’ve seen too much to leave here,” the voice continued, then the person began to drag her backwards down a corridor by her hair. Gemma panicked slightly. This wasn’t part of the plan; she hadn’t expected them to want to kill a random teenager. Still, she let herself be pulled. Showing off her skills too early would be a mistake, and ruin their plan.
As Gemma was dragged into a windowless room and thrown roughly on the floor, Fern watched a crowd of high-ranking Kerlian officials file out of the building and towards where the prisoners were being gathered. Silently, she snuck closer, making sure she wasn’t spotted - a task made considerably easy by the fact that everyone present was very distracted and panicked, both guards and prisoners. When those in charge were close enough, Fern raised a gun, steadied herself, and shot the highest-ranking officer in the prison right in the head.
The gunshot served multiple purposes. It caused panic, as evidenced by the noise as the crowd began to scream. It was also a signal to the guards loyal to their cause to begin shooting. Suddenly, as the prisoners for the most part surged together, trying to protect themselves, most closing their eyes, half of the guards turned on the other half. Fern sprinted to a safe distance and watched the battle unfold. She looked back to the admin building, expecting Gemma to emerge, but she didn’t.
When the fighting finished, silence fell and Fern watched as one by one, still-alive prisoners opened their eyes and cautiously looked around. The guards who had turned on their colleagues looked rather worried as they looked at the main gate where two figures were walking up towards them. The vast majority of them bowed their heads respectfully as Councillor Sarah Robinson and her daughter Carmen walked up.
“You needn’t be afraid any longer,” Sarah said, her voice echoing around the deathly-silent prison. “As far as your enemies are concerned, they believe you were executed. Now, you may wonder why I would spare you - am I not part of the Matriarchy you all so despise? Well, that may be true, but please be assured: DKS has far more friends left than the rest of the Council thinks.”
*
Kat stared at Councillor Robinson in disbelief. Next to her, Meg was sitting on the ground, confused and looking exhausted. Before Kat knew what was happening, she was standing up, and pushing through the crowd. She barely noticed the others, a mix of blank and terrified, many bleeding, and some even dead - not all of them had managed to survive the fighting - as she passed, heading towards the Councillor.
“Stop,” a hand grabbed her gently, and she turned to see a teenage girl holding her. “If you approach the Councillor, someone might think you mean to harm her.”
“I don’t,” Kat said, as if that was explanation enough.
“Trust me, I know, I can see it on your face,” the teenager gently urged her, leading her off to the side as the Councillor began to address the crowd again. “My name is Fern, we’re here to help you. You’re safe now.”
Kat had never seen the young teenager before, but something told her to believe the girl. She nodded, and allowed herself to be led away from the crowd and into another building she’d never known was there. It was filled with what seemed to be deserted offices, and Fern sat her down and handed her a mug of something. Kat sipped it and gasped, looking down at it. Taste. She’d only been fed the blandest of food and drink for years.
“Don’t move, you two,” warned a voice suddenly at the doorway, and Kat tensed as she looked around to see someone standing, holding a gun to the head of another teenager, who was bleeding and had a cut on her face. “I know what you are. And when I tell Councillor Pierre what the traitor Sarah is using you for, the whole lot of you will be begging for death.”
Fern held her hands up in a calming gesture, as Kat remained frozen to the spot, the mug of tasty tea grasped in her hands, burning them slightly. The woman who held a gun to Gemma’s head stepped towards them slightly, only to gasp and then suddenly let Gemma drop as she moved to clutch her chest. A sharp knife was sticking through it, and the woman fell forwards, to reveal a terrified Carmen Robinson standing behind her.
Carmen then proceeded to vomit on the floor.
“It’s okay,” Fern gently took the tea from Kat, trying to reassure her, as Gemma looked after Carmen. “It’s over now. We’re going to take you all away from this place, you’re going to be safe. The rest of the Council think you’re all dead, which is why you’ll be safe. They’ll never come looking, trust me. We have a plan. We’ll keep you hidden away, and then when the time is right, and we know we can win, DKS will live again.”
“You…” Kat trailed off, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at the would-be Aurora.
“Democratic Kerlian State was not destroyed. It still exists… but they don’t know that. And when they feel the safest, then we’ll strike. They will never see it coming,” Fern said. “The Robinson family is with us. Trust me, this time we’ll win.”
*
Robinson Safehouse, Grapevale, Kerlile
19th March 2020
“Wait… the DKS massacre never happened!?” Natasha jumped up, her eyes wide, as she dropped her mug of hot chocolate, not noticing that it spilled. She moved around the coffee table so she was facing her mother, eyes wide. “The DKS prisoners are still alive!? They weren’t all shot in 2003!? They’re free? Grandma worked with DKS!? What!?”
“I did say it was going to be an interesting conversation,” Carmen remarked.
“You killed someone!? I mean, for good, sure, but still. This changes everything I knew about everything. The Auroras, you, grandma, the Council… Goddess,” Natasha said, sitting down on the arm of Veronica’s chair.
“Most of them live abroad, we managed to sneak them out. Especially those who had been scarred by the torture, they would be noticed, and if they were caught again the game would be over. But some remained, working as household staff for our family. Kat, from the story, she remained. She goes by the name Julia now.”
“Julia was in DKS!?” Natasha gasped, then turned to Veronica. “She’s one of our gardeners.”
“She likes being outdoors, the inside reminds her of her confinement sometimes. But yes, there was no massacre. The rest of the Council covered up the deaths of the other guards, explained by prisoners getting loose and managing to kill some. They would never let people know prisoners had rioted, so they did our cover up for us. Nobody wanted to ask too many questions. Everyone was dead, and it was over. Or so they thought.”
“You knew about this?” Natasha confronted Veronica.
“There are some members of staff at the Aurora Centre with DKS sympathies,” Veronica nodded. “When each of us is recruited from an orphanage, we are assigned a member of staff to look out for our welfare. One of those members has in turn recruited a number of us for this mission, including myself and the two who helped with the prison break in 2003.”
“To bring back DKS… and presumably win another civil war?” Natasha looked at her mother. “I’d figured out that much. I knew you were planning on starting one in favour of democracy, but I never realised it was the same people.”
“But you made me see the light, Natasha,” Carmen said, then looked at the floor, ashamed. “There is no need for a war, at this stage. We are managing to achieve what we set out to do peacefully, if rather slowly. And what we’ve seen from Lauchenoiria would indicate that such a course of action could end very badly indeed.”
“What happened to Gemma and Fern, the Auroras?” asked Natasha.
“Fern is in prison in her assigned country, we’re negotiating for her release just now…” Carmen sighed, and then put her head in her hands. “Gemma… Gemma died. She was about to be captured in Zamastan, and rather than face interrogation…” Carmen wiped away a tear that threatened to fall. “This is all so wrong. So many people have died.”
“What of Kat’s cellmates?” Natasha asked again, clearly curious about the outcomes of those from the story.
“They’re real people,” Veronica said quietly, feeling that Natasha’s questioning was rather insensitive, but Carmen answered her daughter anyway.
“Meg and Chrissie were among the groups we sent out to various countries. I don’t know where they are, or if they’re still alive. Contact is limited, for obvious reasons. “As for Georgia, she was unfortunately too upset by the torture. As you’ve heard from the stories and propaganda, DKS prisoners were kept in groups of six. The other two, Isabel and Lorna, had died during their confinement. Lorna became sick, and was denied treatment. And Isabel was executed for trying to escape. Georgia and her had been… close.”
“So what happened to Georgia?”
“She eventually recovered enough to speak, but all she would do was ask for the end, as peacefully as possible. She’d been through too much. Her wish was granted, eventually.”
“Oh,” Natasha said, sliding off the arm and sitting down on the floor. The room fell silent for a while, as the two sat there, letting Natasha process all she’d heard. They were still silent when suddenly the door to the basement flew open, revealing a woman standing, silhouetted in the light.
“Councillor Robinson, you need to come with me.”
To be continued…
13th October 2003 - sunrise
“You are all going to be executed today.”
Kat’s heart plummeted. For a moment, she’d dared to hope that she’d survive. It was a foolish dream; this was Kerlile, there are no happy endings. She let out a desperate sob and fell to her knees, wailing as the lines of prisoners erupted.
Chrissie vanished, pushing forward with some others, desperate to fight for their lives, to try and escape or fight back, even though it seemed futile. Georgina, though Kat couldn’t see her, would be standing blankly, waiting for death. Meg, on the other hand, picked up Kat and clutched her as she sobbed desperately, wailing into Meg’s shoulder throughout all the chaos.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I really thought they wouldn’t,” Meg said to Kat, devastated herself. In response, Kat only sobbed harder, gasping for breath every so often. Meg was supporting all of Kat’s weight, she couldn’t stand herself in her present state.
Around them, there was a cacophony of noise, as people fought and screamed and begged. There were four main groups: those who stood, silently accepting their fate. Those who cried and wailed like Kat. Those who were trying to run, only to find there was nowhere to run to. And then, finally, those who fought back. Meg could see Chrissie up at the front, she’d managed to acquire something metal and was trying to fight off some guards. She managed to hit one on the head and it gave Meg some satisfaction to see the guard fall.
A gunshot rang out across the now-messy crowd, which caused people to scream. Kat clutched Meg tighter, and Meg clutched her too. They both fell to their knees, eyes squeezed tightly shut, waiting for the end.
*
Restricted Region, Kerlile
13th October 2003 - around 30 minutes earlier
“Fern, Gemma, Carmen, wait here,” Councillor Sarah Robinson whispered, then vanished into the night as the three teenagers huddled together. The 19-year-old Carmen, who would one day become Councillor, seemed by far the most frightened of the teenagers, despite the youth of the other two.
“What if this doesn’t work?” Carmen whispered in terror.
“It will,” Fern, the older of the two trainee Auroras replied. “Trust us.”
“You’re children!” she hissed quietly at them.
“That may be so, but we’re well trained,” said Gemma. “We can survive this, and much more besides. And if we don’t, thousands are going to die.”
“We’ve prepared well. We made sure the right staff are on shift, those who are working for us. Trust me, Carmen, it will work,” Fern reassured her.
“It’ll be dawn soon,” remarked Gemma, gazing at the horizon. Sure enough, a thin line of light was beginning to emerge. The three looked on in silence as suddenly an alarm rang in the distance, and Councillor Sarah returned.
“Quickly, Carmen, inside, it’s go time,” Sarah whispered, and Carmen quickly got back inside the car parked beside them. The two Auroras shared a look with Sarah and then vanished, heading down towards the prison they overlooked from where they were perched halfway up one of the mountains.
Gemma and Fern headed down the mountain on foot by themselves. They were dressed to blend in, which was fortunate, given that the sight of a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old walking down a mountain by themselves would have attracted some looks. Never mind that anyone caught walking alone in the Restricted Region was liable to be shot. Despite their age, they seemed calm, either a testament to Aurora training, or a sad reflection of the fact of their stolen childhoods, depending on what side one was on.
“You’ll be assigned soon,” Gemma said as they walked.
“Yes, I will,” Fern replied, then paused slightly, looking out to the horizon as the light began to increase ever so slowly. “I would rather not.”
“You’ll take the assignment though? Or would you rather go to failure prison?” Gemma kept walking, using the name Auroras called the building where those trainees who were never assigned were confined to.
“I’ll take it. I expect I won’t get back alive.”
“Many of us won’t,” shrugged Gemma. “I hope I do.”
“I hope so too.”
They continued to walk in silence, and as they approached the fence, they could see the lights turning on inside, the sounds of a few screams of those reluctant to obey orders, and the movements of the nervous guards, who knew what was coming.
“Oi! Stop there!” called a voice, and two women carrying large rifles ran up to the pair of trainee Auroras. The Auroras paused, and looked up at the women in unison as they stopped in their tracks and looked uncertainly at the teenagers. “Uh, do you two girls know where you are?”
“Yes,” Fern replied calmly, and then attacked.
The fight was short, taking only a few seconds before the two guards were unconscious on the ground. Gemma stared at Fern, alarmed at her skill - she hadn’t even had to lift a finger to help the older girl. In response, Fern grinned and showed Gemma a piece of cloth.
“I wouldn’t breathe it in, that stuff is strong,” Fern said, then dropped the cloth on the ground. Gemma stepped cautiously around it as they continued. They ignored the main entrance, opting for a secondary way in that Sarah Robinson had discovered on one of her recon journeys to the facility. The Councillor had the right to visit the DKS prisoners whenever she wanted, which had been useful for their purpose.
They slipped inside through a section of fence that had been rotting, that they were able to create a small gap in with minimal effort. Moving forward stealthily, they crept around the buildings in the dawn light, seeking the one which held the administration offices. For, although gender was the largest dividing factor in Kerlian society, it was as true there as anywhere else that those in better-paid professions were more likely to support the status quo.
Upon reaching the admin office, Gemma slipped inside and made her way to where the highest-ranking officials in the prison were. Fern waited outside as Gemma knocked on the door where they were all drinking coffee and talking as their underlings rounded up the prisoners for them.
“Excuse me?” Gemma said, pushing the door open and causing all those inside to jump. “Hi, my mum works in Facility 14 down the road, our car broke down, and there is a hole in the fence out there. I think someone escaped.”
“You can’t be in here!” one shrieked as another cried “What!?” and a third pushed past her, running outside. Someone grabbed Gemma’s hair and yanked her backwards, causing her to shriek in pain.
“Stupid little girl,” hissed the voice of whoever held her. “You’ve seen too much to leave here,” the voice continued, then the person began to drag her backwards down a corridor by her hair. Gemma panicked slightly. This wasn’t part of the plan; she hadn’t expected them to want to kill a random teenager. Still, she let herself be pulled. Showing off her skills too early would be a mistake, and ruin their plan.
As Gemma was dragged into a windowless room and thrown roughly on the floor, Fern watched a crowd of high-ranking Kerlian officials file out of the building and towards where the prisoners were being gathered. Silently, she snuck closer, making sure she wasn’t spotted - a task made considerably easy by the fact that everyone present was very distracted and panicked, both guards and prisoners. When those in charge were close enough, Fern raised a gun, steadied herself, and shot the highest-ranking officer in the prison right in the head.
The gunshot served multiple purposes. It caused panic, as evidenced by the noise as the crowd began to scream. It was also a signal to the guards loyal to their cause to begin shooting. Suddenly, as the prisoners for the most part surged together, trying to protect themselves, most closing their eyes, half of the guards turned on the other half. Fern sprinted to a safe distance and watched the battle unfold. She looked back to the admin building, expecting Gemma to emerge, but she didn’t.
When the fighting finished, silence fell and Fern watched as one by one, still-alive prisoners opened their eyes and cautiously looked around. The guards who had turned on their colleagues looked rather worried as they looked at the main gate where two figures were walking up towards them. The vast majority of them bowed their heads respectfully as Councillor Sarah Robinson and her daughter Carmen walked up.
“You needn’t be afraid any longer,” Sarah said, her voice echoing around the deathly-silent prison. “As far as your enemies are concerned, they believe you were executed. Now, you may wonder why I would spare you - am I not part of the Matriarchy you all so despise? Well, that may be true, but please be assured: DKS has far more friends left than the rest of the Council thinks.”
*
Kat stared at Councillor Robinson in disbelief. Next to her, Meg was sitting on the ground, confused and looking exhausted. Before Kat knew what was happening, she was standing up, and pushing through the crowd. She barely noticed the others, a mix of blank and terrified, many bleeding, and some even dead - not all of them had managed to survive the fighting - as she passed, heading towards the Councillor.
“Stop,” a hand grabbed her gently, and she turned to see a teenage girl holding her. “If you approach the Councillor, someone might think you mean to harm her.”
“I don’t,” Kat said, as if that was explanation enough.
“Trust me, I know, I can see it on your face,” the teenager gently urged her, leading her off to the side as the Councillor began to address the crowd again. “My name is Fern, we’re here to help you. You’re safe now.”
Kat had never seen the young teenager before, but something told her to believe the girl. She nodded, and allowed herself to be led away from the crowd and into another building she’d never known was there. It was filled with what seemed to be deserted offices, and Fern sat her down and handed her a mug of something. Kat sipped it and gasped, looking down at it. Taste. She’d only been fed the blandest of food and drink for years.
“Don’t move, you two,” warned a voice suddenly at the doorway, and Kat tensed as she looked around to see someone standing, holding a gun to the head of another teenager, who was bleeding and had a cut on her face. “I know what you are. And when I tell Councillor Pierre what the traitor Sarah is using you for, the whole lot of you will be begging for death.”
Fern held her hands up in a calming gesture, as Kat remained frozen to the spot, the mug of tasty tea grasped in her hands, burning them slightly. The woman who held a gun to Gemma’s head stepped towards them slightly, only to gasp and then suddenly let Gemma drop as she moved to clutch her chest. A sharp knife was sticking through it, and the woman fell forwards, to reveal a terrified Carmen Robinson standing behind her.
Carmen then proceeded to vomit on the floor.
“It’s okay,” Fern gently took the tea from Kat, trying to reassure her, as Gemma looked after Carmen. “It’s over now. We’re going to take you all away from this place, you’re going to be safe. The rest of the Council think you’re all dead, which is why you’ll be safe. They’ll never come looking, trust me. We have a plan. We’ll keep you hidden away, and then when the time is right, and we know we can win, DKS will live again.”
“You…” Kat trailed off, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at the would-be Aurora.
“Democratic Kerlian State was not destroyed. It still exists… but they don’t know that. And when they feel the safest, then we’ll strike. They will never see it coming,” Fern said. “The Robinson family is with us. Trust me, this time we’ll win.”
*
Robinson Safehouse, Grapevale, Kerlile
19th March 2020
“Wait… the DKS massacre never happened!?” Natasha jumped up, her eyes wide, as she dropped her mug of hot chocolate, not noticing that it spilled. She moved around the coffee table so she was facing her mother, eyes wide. “The DKS prisoners are still alive!? They weren’t all shot in 2003!? They’re free? Grandma worked with DKS!? What!?”
“I did say it was going to be an interesting conversation,” Carmen remarked.
“You killed someone!? I mean, for good, sure, but still. This changes everything I knew about everything. The Auroras, you, grandma, the Council… Goddess,” Natasha said, sitting down on the arm of Veronica’s chair.
“Most of them live abroad, we managed to sneak them out. Especially those who had been scarred by the torture, they would be noticed, and if they were caught again the game would be over. But some remained, working as household staff for our family. Kat, from the story, she remained. She goes by the name Julia now.”
“Julia was in DKS!?” Natasha gasped, then turned to Veronica. “She’s one of our gardeners.”
“She likes being outdoors, the inside reminds her of her confinement sometimes. But yes, there was no massacre. The rest of the Council covered up the deaths of the other guards, explained by prisoners getting loose and managing to kill some. They would never let people know prisoners had rioted, so they did our cover up for us. Nobody wanted to ask too many questions. Everyone was dead, and it was over. Or so they thought.”
“You knew about this?” Natasha confronted Veronica.
“There are some members of staff at the Aurora Centre with DKS sympathies,” Veronica nodded. “When each of us is recruited from an orphanage, we are assigned a member of staff to look out for our welfare. One of those members has in turn recruited a number of us for this mission, including myself and the two who helped with the prison break in 2003.”
“To bring back DKS… and presumably win another civil war?” Natasha looked at her mother. “I’d figured out that much. I knew you were planning on starting one in favour of democracy, but I never realised it was the same people.”
“But you made me see the light, Natasha,” Carmen said, then looked at the floor, ashamed. “There is no need for a war, at this stage. We are managing to achieve what we set out to do peacefully, if rather slowly. And what we’ve seen from Lauchenoiria would indicate that such a course of action could end very badly indeed.”
“What happened to Gemma and Fern, the Auroras?” asked Natasha.
“Fern is in prison in her assigned country, we’re negotiating for her release just now…” Carmen sighed, and then put her head in her hands. “Gemma… Gemma died. She was about to be captured in Zamastan, and rather than face interrogation…” Carmen wiped away a tear that threatened to fall. “This is all so wrong. So many people have died.”
“What of Kat’s cellmates?” Natasha asked again, clearly curious about the outcomes of those from the story.
“They’re real people,” Veronica said quietly, feeling that Natasha’s questioning was rather insensitive, but Carmen answered her daughter anyway.
“Meg and Chrissie were among the groups we sent out to various countries. I don’t know where they are, or if they’re still alive. Contact is limited, for obvious reasons. “As for Georgia, she was unfortunately too upset by the torture. As you’ve heard from the stories and propaganda, DKS prisoners were kept in groups of six. The other two, Isabel and Lorna, had died during their confinement. Lorna became sick, and was denied treatment. And Isabel was executed for trying to escape. Georgia and her had been… close.”
“So what happened to Georgia?”
“She eventually recovered enough to speak, but all she would do was ask for the end, as peacefully as possible. She’d been through too much. Her wish was granted, eventually.”
“Oh,” Natasha said, sliding off the arm and sitting down on the floor. The room fell silent for a while, as the two sat there, letting Natasha process all she’d heard. They were still silent when suddenly the door to the basement flew open, revealing a woman standing, silhouetted in the light.
“Councillor Robinson, you need to come with me.”
To be continued…
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax