1 Day Later. June 22nd, 2267. 08:00 Xenuian Headquarters – Upstairs Living Room

An all-hands-on-deck meeting was being held informally in the second-floor living room. Six members of the team were absent, either on assignment or they were running necessary errands and their attendance was critical. Elias was pacing back and forth in front of the assembled members waiting for the final two members to appear.

Daphne, along with Viviana, were the final two to appear, “Sorry, we were…”

“Yeah yeah,” Elias gestured quickly, “It doesn’t matter. Ok, we didn’t have a good day yesterday. Initial feedback at 21:00 suggested that Dale had a commanding lead of about seventy-eight percent of the total vote. This morning that sits at seventy percent.”

“Some good news is that two of the opposing candidates have shuttered their campaigns,” Kaius said, “Though they are throwing their support behind William. It all stems from the final moderated question. His answer was simply superior to that of Dale’s, due in no small part to the simple fact that he is a businessman through and through.”

“The curveball at the end was also discovered,” Castor said, “Nancy Beckhaus was admitted into Gracemont Hospital with a head contusion due to a traffic accident. The fellow they picked was done so at random, the moderator forgot about who the backups were.”

“One mystery solved then,” Elias said before flicking on the holographic projector, “Here is our enemy. Today’s business is to do a deep dive into everything he does.”

“Why not just start a smear campaign?” Daphne asked, “From a vested third-party source?”

“Dirty campaigns are highly frowned upon here. Especially when it is viewed as nothing more than an attempt to smear the opposition,” Kaius said, “Only one victory, in the colonial house I might add, has been achieved and that was short-lived as they only managed one term.”

“Any dirt we uncover will be shared with Dale and if it’s relevant to any debate they are having he can use it then, and more importantly in the proper context.”

“This may be a dumb question, but shouldn’t we dig into Dale’s past more deeply? We could help him discuss or talk off any of his historical bad actions,” Castor said.

Elias nodded, “Looks like you signed up to do that. Be quiet about it, we don’t want to let him know that we are doing that.”

“Am I looking at our long-term estimates correctly?” Viviana asked as she looked at the screen.

“Yes,” Elias said.

“Then why are we so worked up? The election is in four and a half months. We’re projecting Dale to have the support of at least sixty-two percent of the populace, with a margin of error of two percent. That is an overwhelming victory.”

“I want to ensure that this number doesn’t fall below sixty-six percent. That number fell over ten percent in a single night,” Elias quickly countered, “And with the field down to two people the election changes at a fundamental level now.”

“I know this is a bit off-topic, but the immigration records that got assigned to me still look fucked up,” Nemo said, “The numbers don’t add up.”

“Keep digging,” Kaius said, “Alberic will assist you in that review.”

“I’m going to share my public feelings on Paulus’ murder. I’ve listened to the police, and I have no evidence to suggest another reason for his murder. But my gut is screaming out to me that it was a targeted response.”

“Targeted?” Daphne’s tone of voice was concerned.

“I’ve watched the footage. I’ve seen when the individual shambled over and sat next to a pile of filth. The intelligence agent in me tells me he was there waiting for someone.”

“That explains the rule of three for when we leave this building then,” Katherina said, “What do we know of this person?”

“Nothing. Can’t even tell his race, he was wearing gloves. Six foot two to six four, heavy set,” Kaius said, “I share some similar concerns, but we don’t have enough to off now.”

“That also explains why Constantine’s remaining members are always armed,” Daphne said.

“Be careful and keep your heads on swivels when you are out,” Elias said calmly, “There isn’t sufficient evidence to restrict activities outside of this building at this time. But you must be careful. If my concerns are unfounded, we still reside in a shithole as our candidates said.”

“It did clean up well inside at least,” Viviana said in a semi-sarcastic tone.

“Back to the task at hand,” Elias said, “We need more intelligence on William. Anything, no matter how minor, needs to be collected. Especially focusing on the time and activities he pursued prior to arriving in this colony. We need to catch him in a lie of some sort.”

Heads nodded and many sighs could be heard. It was going to be a busy day. Maybe a busy several days. People slowly filed out and headed to their respective work areas. Elias lingered behind, as did Kaius.

“I’m not in the mood for any more bad news,” Elias said as he shut off the projector.

“There’s a spot of good news,” Kaius said as he handed Elias his tablet, “The police have a suspect in the murder.”

“Arrested or aware of one?”

“Arrested.”

“Find out who was accused of it and research them,” Elias could hardly believe his ears, “I don’t trust them to do their jobs here. But if it checks out then it will assuage some of the concerns I have.”

Kaius nodded as he slapped Elias’ shoulders, “It’s unfortunate that it happened, but if this checks out then we’re worrying for nothing.”

Elias nodded as he turned and headed for his office. He wanted Kaius to be right. Deep down he really did. But something about this whole situation felt like Paulus’ death was the first string that was pulled.

June 24th, 2267. 11:12 Westside Mall – Food Court

Daphne and Elias were sitting down to eat some “fast food.” Based on the time it took to receive their order it was anything but fast. The meal in front of Elias smelled much better than it looked, the food appeared to be hastily tossed onto the divided plate. He was pecking at the food and not sure where to start.

“Some date this turned into,” Daphne said with a sarcastic tone.

“This isn’t a date, it’s for work,” Elias said, “Observe the people here, we need to understand the electorate better.”

“What’s there to observe?” Daphne spoke in a derisive tone, “The people here are generally poor. The lowest of the low class. Maybe a handful of them are lower-middle class. Most are uneducated and beneath us,” she speared a piece of orange chicken and took a bite, “Wow, that is tasty. Not at all healthy for you, but quite pleasant.”

“So, if you were one of them, why would you vote for one candidate or another?”

“Simple, who would do the most for me? They would get my vote.”

Elias nodded, “Who’s done that so far in the campaign?”

“Dale is a smooth talker but let’s cut through the bullshit my dear, he’s a fucking silver-tongued idiot,” Daphne sighed, “This other chicken thing is not as good. That is disappointing.”

“And William?”

“For two and a half days we’ve tried to find dirt on him. A couple of petty thefts occurred when he was a teenager. He hooked up with a girl under false pretenses and then dumped her. When he was twenty. He’s forty-seven now. Besides the two divorces he’s got here there’s no red flags.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Fuck,” Elias said as he ate a piece of the orange chicken, “You are right, this is a guilty pleasure kind of meal.”

“You’ve seen the books, the colony can afford some of the more radical suggestions,” Daphne said before taking a drink of a fizzy drink the locals called soda, “Ooh, this is delightful. But it feels horrifyingly bad for my teeth.”

“Universal wages aren’t anything that is sustainable over the long term. And the colony would burn through its cash reserves in under two years,” Elias, “But it’s something we ought to keep in the back of our pockets.”

“Have you talked to Castor about the dirt?”

“We may have picked the wrong candidate.”

Daphne shook her head, “No, you picked the right one. William never would have accepted our help. On the plus side, he hasn’t done anything like those accusations here. And he wasn’t convicted or charged in any of the incidents.”

“Daddy dearest paid to cover it up,” Elias sighed, “He’s absolutely guilty as sin.”

“Well, he clearly didn’t pay enough to clean things up properly,” Daphne closed her eyes, “We just have to pray no one digs too much.”

“Put a trace on anyone that searches for that information when we get back,” Elias then spoke more quietly, “I’d like to avoid disappearing anyone but…”

“Oh, I’m sure the goon squad would thoroughly enjoy that one.”

Elias took a bite of the second dish, “This isn’t as bad as you think, but it isn’t as good as this one. By the way, February twenty-second of next year.”

“What about it?” Daphne looked up at Elias with a raised eyebrow.

“It is the date of our nuptials.”

“The hell it is, I choose the date we get married,” Daphne angrily blurted out.

It was as if the damn holding back Elias’ emotions burst. For too long he had bottled up his feelings regarding the engagement he had with Daphne. He had resisted, even defended her to others, when he heard people say it was an engagement of convenience. Deep down he knew Daphne never loved him, not like he did to her.

“You are mistaken. I pick the date and that is the date I have chosen,” Elias said, “It is well past the point that our union be made. That date will work for us.”

“I am going to say this as respectfully as possible, that date is not going to work for me.”

“Quite the contrary, that is the date that has been set. Should you or your family believe that this betrothment is no longer acceptable then you are free to petition my family accordingly.”

Daphne’s tone changed as she angrily looked at her fiancé, “That isn’t how things…”

“Quite correct, how things normally go are the betrothed are married within twelve months of the family’s agreement. It’s been over thirty since our announcement. I’m done playing these games. There’s always something that comes up with you,” Elias spat back, “Either join me in a proper union or don’t.”

“You bloody well know why I can’t say no to you, or this arranged bullshit. I would…”

“That is so correct my dead. You need me more than I do you,” Elias said as he leaned back in his chair, “That is the crux of the issue. As much as you want your independence and control, your options are limited to marrying me and retaining a small degree of autonomy, or rejecting me and having none.”

Daphne looked like she was gulping for air. She didn’t have a quick counter for him. The pair then ate in awkward silence for a couple of minutes. All along Daphne tried to find some counter to what he said. The bitterness and anger within Elias ruined his sense of taste and appetite.

Elias then pushed his seat back and stood up, “You’ve failed at every turn to make the right decision. It’s long past the time to come to the simple realization that you aren’t the center of the universe, and it does not bend to your whims. Worse than that, you’ve failed at your mission here, you’re too focused on things that matter not to it. And in the moment, you’ve utterly ignored observing these people.”

“I’m not done eating,” Daphne scowled at Elias.

“Whether you return with me or without is no longer my concern,” Elias then leaned down and hissed at his betrothed, “Do you trust these birthers to not randomly accost you in broad daylight? One murder and fourteen assaults occurred in this very sector last night.”

“You are playing dirty right now.”

“And how is that any different from how you’ve played in this game that is our relationship?” Elias angrily whispered in his lover’s ear, “Not as much fun when it’s directed at you now is it?”

Once again Daphne was stuck without answers. She was more surprised than anything else. This side of Elias had never been seen before. It wasn’t a side she cared for, not that she’d openly admit it because he used the same tricks she used on him frequently. But while her tricks were used to stall, he went right for the jugular.

Daphne reluctantly stood up and picked up her soda pop. Like a defiant child, she left her food tray sitting on the table. She spoke not a word to Elias, nor did she spend a waking moment observing her surroundings. All she did was follow behind him a step and try and enjoy the fizzy drink. The day was ruined for her.

19:45 Xenuian Headquarters – Elias’ office

Elias was leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t joining the rest to watch the local soccer match. In truth, he didn’t want to be around people at the moment. Daphne was still on his mind, and he was still angry she resisted efforts for their two families to come together.

A knock at the door brought Elias back to reality. He swung his chair around and looked to see who it was. Constantine and Kaius were both there.

“Enter, may as well close the door given the looks you have,” Elias said.

Kaius nodded as he gestured for Constantine to enter first. Constantine strode into the room and quickly took one of the two seats on the opposite side of Elias’ desk. Kaius closed the door and instead hopped onto the couch along the far wall.

“What is it?”

“It’s about Daphne. She is no longer trying to conceal the fact that she is a cancer upon the mission,” Constantine stated bluntly.

“I should never have brought her with us. I had hoped that her defiant behavior wasn’t her real personality,” Elias sighed loudly, “Clearly I thought she was something that didn’t exist.”

“I think we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. If we confine her, she’s going to go malignant. As it is now her complaining is annoying but isn’t at a point that we can’t correct or fix,” Kaius said.

“There’s no fixing her in the conventional manner,” Constantine said, “I know she is your betrothed, but my men and I can arrange for…”

Kaius interjected, “You cannot be serious.”

“Deadly, she is a threat to this mission. All of the other women on this mission have had their eyes opened a bit. And not in a good way, even Heva on my time has spent much of her free time researching the freedoms and rights the women here have.”

“I’m not having her killed off,” Elias said firmly, “Nor is anyone else. Am I clear?”

The two other men nodded.

“I’m in the process of bringing her to heel. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will be fully finished until we head back home. Now then, what else did the two of you have for me?”

“Constantine, why don’t you take care of your item.”

“I’ve heard from several people that they are noticing the same children near them. It is possible that they are looking for us.”

“Children?” Elias sighed, “What in heavens could a child do to our operation here?”

“I reckon fuck and all,” Kaius said.

“I don’t disagree with that conclusion, but I find it odd nonetheless.”

Elias tilted his head a bit, “How would you recommend we avoid that?”

“Buy two more vehicles. We have sufficient space in our facility. No one is allowed to walk away from the building,” Constantine said calmly.

“Purchase a pair of vehicles tomorrow. That also solves our problem with the vagrants and their increased aggressiveness towards strangers,” Elias said.

Constantine nodded and stood up, “Thank you, I’ll take Linus with me and acquire them in the morning. If you’ll excuse me.”

Kaius nodded at Constantine as the other man left the room. Kaius’ expression changed to one of genuine concern and worry. He exhaled before speaking.

“I didn’t think he’d suggest murdering…”

“It’s a fair suggestion and one that is not unilaterally off the table. The mission must be achieved,” Elias tapped his desk, “Should she escalate any further…”

“Alright. We dug up more dirt on Dale. He’s a scumbag in short. If this campaign gets dirty, he’s going to lose in a landslide.”

“Well, if we…” Elias was quickly interrupted.

“No, under no circumstances can we let this get dirty. In fact, if we get off topic or lose focus and we get within a country mile of some of his messed shit he’s done, we could be done.”

Elias leaned back in his chair, “Done?”

“Here’s the deal, it is commonplace for the loser to be assigned to an important role in the governor’s cabinet. Meaning, if we do lose, we can’t lose so badly that he doesn’t get that nod,” Kaius held out his arms to stop Elias, “That’s a worst-case scenario, that we should at the very least consider and plan appropriately for. If we go dirty, we will have no voice in the government.”

“Work on that then. But I don’t like it. When we plan like that it feels defeatist and even can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Elias said before scooting his chair closer to his terminal, “Now what else did you have for me?”

“I’ve got the immigration records down to sixty names. Several of them don’t look like agents, though looks can be deceiving. We’ve got an antisocial loner who opted to live a couple of hours away from civilization. There are a couple of gung-ho ex-military guys living in the colony. An ex-special forces female soldier living in the New SoHo neighborhood. She is currently eight months pregnant though.”

“I trust you will continue to review these individuals?”

“When we get the list winnowed down more, I’ll bring it to your attention. So far nothing really stands out at this time,” Kaius sighed loudly, “I also heard from the police. They are charging our mystery man with murder.”

“Is there any hard evidence?”

“He was wearing the same poncho as on the video. He claims to have not fired a pistol, but his mind is so drug-addled they don’t believe him. The case is largely circumstantial, but it checks out.”

“But doesn’t eliminate all doubts you have though, right?”

“I guess what I’m having trouble with is just the randomness of it. I watch the evening news here and there’s always something. It’s hard to apply our norms to this world,” Kaius stood up, “It’s almost as if these people accept, sometimes revel, in the chaos that surrounds them. These aren’t people that will accept foreign occupation Elias. I fear our long-term mission is destined for failure.”

“The long-term goal may be much more difficult to achieve. I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t feel the same. I think the higher up’s war plans are justified though.”

Kaius’ facial features changed to obvious concern, “Are they though? It’ll be a hundred years at a minimum before they expand halfway to our territory. Maybe two hundred years. If our population estimates are accurate, it’d be better to fight later than now. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say our leader’s egos are getting the better of them, and us.”

“My old friend, I believe you better put to words what I was thinking on that matter. Nevertheless, our duty is to this mission. When it is accomplished, we will be sent home and support the war from there.”

A rapid knock on the door before a very frantic-looking Ellie barged into the office, “Apologies but there’s just been an accident.”

“Accident?” Elias asked.

“Milo and Fauna wanted to get a treat,” Ellie said hurriedly before she took a deep breath to try and calm herself, “The taxi they were in was involved in a horrific crash. They were pronounced dead at the scene.”

“Fuck…” Elias said as he hung his head and stared blankly at his desk.