"No nukes," Elder Kiernan said. "If they try something, isolate bombardment to the bunker at Dawn."
Miranda splashed her face with water for the third time, and it still didn't leave her feeling refreshed. She ached. Her eyes were heavy. She hadn't slept well in weeks. She finally allowed herself a brief moment of rest, giving in to poor posture and letting out a deep, long winded, sigh.
Her shuttle was waiting, the captain's yacht, ready to bring her to the last place she wanted to be. They made sure she took command of the fleet from the Colossus of Rhodes, the Dreadnought that can be seen in orbit from anywhere in the colonies.
How could they? She thought, Did I mess up somewhere? She rubbed her temples, then crossed her arms, scanning the room. Perhaps a way out hid in plain sight.
She stood up, brushed off her coat and inspected the pins and medals on her uniform. She inspected their polish, ensuring they were perfectly straight before leaving.
Miranda's XO, Oliver, stared out of the cockpit windows as they began their ascent.
Miranda sat in the chair beside him and considered just how bad things were getting. They already blockaded the planet, maintaining control of who comes and goes.
It was only a matter of time before they grounded the wayfarers and prevented those still out in the void from coming home. Were they trying to start a war?
She had a thought, one that quickly bloomed into a proper plan. They were tracking the yacht, of that she was sure. They even have a mic on board to listen in. She glanced out the back window, saw the bunker of dawn on the surface of the planet, and smiled. "Oli, dear."
"Yes admiral?" He replied.
"Do you see that?" She pointed to nowhere in particular. "Is that a leak? I'm afraid this vessel is not structurally sound."
He turned to her with a lowered brow and tilted his head. "Admiral?"
Miranda winked at him. "We'll need to alter course and have another inspection."
He nodded and steered the ship back to the surface, the shuttle aimed directly at Drydock 7. "That's a shame. It could take a few hours."
Miranda stifled a laugh, searching for any sign of tampering. Before replying, she pointed to a small black box nestled discreetly between two modules on the wall, "That beast of a ship isn't going anywhere fast. We'll be fine. Better safe than sorry."
He looked and nodded. The black box wasn't there before. "Understood."
A man's voice came over the radio, "Shuttle 62, you've altered course. Explain."
Oliver replied, "We see what appears to be a breach in the hull. Emergency landing procedures say to land immediately, and drydock 7 is the closest."
It took a while for the flight director to respond. Miranda assumed he was checking the microphone they installed. "Negative, 62. The admiral would make a fine hostage, if Dawn was so inclined."
Miranda thought quickly, then replied, "Then we need to land on the surface. Can you get me a security detail. Nothing fancy. A couple men will do just fine."
"Understood. Once landed, they'll track the transponder and come to you."
Miranda worked the problem. She needed to talk to someone at dawn. She needed to tell them to stand down, to not throw their lives away. They touched down just outside of the bunker, where Miranda saw a young woman staring up at them as they arrived.
They left the shuttle, closed the door, and stepped away before Oliver spoke, "You have maybe 10 minutes."
Miranda nodded and rushed to meet the young woman who cautiously approached. Miranda let out a sigh of relief when she realized they'd already met. The missing arm was a dead giveaway. "Mouse."
Mouse seemed surprised to see her. "Admiral."
Miranda pointed to a wide open space nearby. "Let's talk. I need to know what's going on. I've just been asked to bombard the bunker if the wayfarers try to stir up trouble. Is that the plan?"
Moise shrugged. "I don't speak for them. I'm not even a wayfarer anymore, remember."
Miranda's eyes went wide "You still haven't organized? No leaders?"
"Nope."
"What are you doing here then?"
Mouse crossed her arms. "Getting some fresh air. It's awfully cramped in there right now."
"Cramped?"
"It's not just us anymore." Mouse said with a nod. "Our families are here, too. Everyone's worried."
Miranda nodded slowly as she replied, "Oh, They should be. It's getting worse by the day. So someone needs to put the pin back in the grenade, and soon."
Mouse shook her head and laughed. "Don't look at me."
"What? You want there to be a war?"
"You don't know what I know, what they have hidden down in the depths."
Miranda backed away at this, then put the pieces together. She couldn't help but laugh. "Sweetie, I know a lot more than you think."
"What?"
"Which one was it? I bet I can guess. Based on the details you gave us, I bet I know where you were kept." Miranda put her hands on her hips and looked Mouse directly in the eye. "You're talking about The Glass Garden."
"Y- you know too?"
"I'm the head of an entire branch of our military, of course I do."
Mouse looked hurt, backing away in disbelief. "You don't seem nearly upset enough."
"I don't exactly disagree with it, Mouse. It's a tool."
Mouse screamed. "It's a weapon."
"One for every theater of war, I know." Miranda added.
"How could you be okay with it?"
Miranda scoffed "I'm not, I just know it's a good thing to have when extinction is on the line. Have some perspective."
"It needs to be destroyed."
It should be, yes. That'd be the right thing to do, but How? Rebellion?" Miranda pointed at Mouse, frustrated and losing control of her words. "You're not even organized. How the hell…" she paused and took a deep breath. Trying to keep track of the time. "Okay, so how do you plan on doing this?"
"From what I know, no one seems to have a plan."
"Maybe you should change that, then, because the elders have a plan."
Mouse laughed. "Why would I? I'd be ignored, for one, not to mention, I don't know, the fleet of warships ready to nuke us from orbit."
Miranda raised a hand and smiled. "Oh, I won't be firing a shot."
"What?"
Miranda nodded. "My ships will not fire, regardless of the target. We're going neutral. My job is to protect the people, not the government."
"The elders won't stand for that."
Again, Miranda scoffed. "Frankly, I don't care. Once I'm on that ship, the fleet is mine. Loyalty is a powerful thing."
"How would I even do it? Can you help?"
"Listen I don't have time to school you, but here's a tip, take prisoners and treat them well. No full on assaults. Use guerilla tactics, hit and run. You're outnumbered." Miranda looked off into the distance and saw the tram in the distance. "You need allies, you need something that can help you win."
Mouse pondered this. The wait was agonizing for Miranda as the tram neared. Finally, Mouse spoke, "The outcasts."
"Yes. That's a start, but you're not thinking deep enough."
Mouse froze in place. "You want me to use the garden." Mouse said, her voice weak and soft. "No. No way."
"I want you to pretend to use the garden. I want you to tell everyone about it. Make them fear it."
"I tried. The archivist refused."
The smile faded, and Miranda almost didn't believe her. How is that possible? "Well hell. I'm out of ideas then. I really thought I had it."
Mouse crossed her arm across her chest and turned to the bunker. "Look I've got a lot going on right now. I'm busy adjusting to not having an arm and, you know, a life."
Now, it was Miranda's turn to shout, "What the hell happened to you. Where'd the fire go?"
Mouse ignored her, refusing to look back until Miranda was already in the shuttle.
Miranda felt exactly as she did before. She felt helpless, out of control, and that simply wouldn't do.
Things only got worse when she stepped aboard the Colossus of Rhodes. The first thing she saw was not the boring interior, but the sight of armed guards, members of the infantry placed to make sure she did exactly as she was told.
Oof, I really, really don't like the elders! They're quite the control freaks. They need to be tossed out of the throne! D:
They are a problem, that's for sure. Thanks so much!