May 25, 2361 AIA

P31

Rosa Shaw walked into the room with her proud head held high. Pride was her only defense against the growing sense of dread she felt. There were two peacekeepers and two Supremacy officers waiting for her.

The older of the two officers nodded to her with a solemn face. “Mrs. Shaw, I’m Lieutenant Victor, head of security over P31. This is Colonel Harlan.”

Harlan nodded to her. Rosa didn’t know much about the military and its ranks, but she felt that he was young for a colonel.

The lieutenant continued, “We have to ask you a few questions.” He motioned to a cold metal chair on the other side of the small table.

Rosa sat down. “What is this about, Lieutenant?”

It was the colonel who answered. “Do you know who this is?” He laid down a large photo. It was low resolution, but Rosa Shaw had no difficulty telling who it was.

She looked up at Harlan. “That’s my son, Adan Vas.”

The colonel shut the file he was holding. “This photo was captured by the body cam of a peacekeeper your son slaughtered.”

“What do you want me to say? I’m sorry for the man and his poor family, but I still don’t understand why I’m here.”

Lieutenant Victor sat down across from her. “He was here on Mesa Rojo.”

She looked from one officer to the other, gripping her skirt under table with both hands.

“Did you see your son when he was here?” Victor asked.

“No.”

“Was there a chance he was coming to see you?”

“No! He’s not welcome in my house, Lieutenant. I don’t believe in the rebellion. He knows that.”

“If he had come to you, or seen you, you would have turned him in?”

Rosa swallowed. “Of course.”

Colonel Harlan leaned over her. His voice was low enough she had to strain to hear it. “You’ve never seen your son since he joined the Uprising?”

“No.”

“So you wouldn’t know who he was with?”

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Confusion was written all over Mrs. Shaw’s face.

The colonel pulled out another photo from his file, put it on the table, and dropped his finger on it. “This woman?”

Rosa studied the face while twisting her hands, trying to control the trembling. “I don’t know her. If I’ve seen her before, I don’t remember.”

“Are you certain, Mrs. Shaw?” Harlan’s voice became sharp. “This is crucial. Have you ever since her before?”

When Rosa was done looking at the photo again, she said, “I told you I don’t know. But I don’t think so. She was with my son?”

“Yes.”

“Then she’s probably part of the Rising.”

“She’s most definitely a part of the Uprising. She’s personally responsible for the deaths of dozens, if not hundreds, of Supremacy soldiers. Are you sure you haven’t seen her?”

“Yes!”

“A moment ago you didn’t sound so certain! Are you lying to me?”

“No!”

“I would be careful not to lie to me, Mrs. Shaw.” Harlan picked up the two photos. “Why did you denounce your son?”

“He decided that his political ideals were more important than his family. He put us all in danger. Why are you asking me this? We went through all this when he joined.”

“But he took his younger brother with him?”

“Ciro wanted to go.”

The colonel watched the woman’s face with narrowed eyes. “You still care about them.”

Rosa Shaw grit her teeth. “My sons are dead to me. Isn’t that enough?”

“No.”

Lieutenant Victor’s eyes flew up to the colonel. Harlan dropped the folder on the table.

“It’s not enough anymore, Mrs. Shaw. You have a cozy life here while your sons are busy waging war against the legitimate government and making friends with ruthless murderers.” Harlan put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “And I think that Adan Vas might care more about his family than you give him credit for.”

“Colonel!”

Harlan slowly turned to the lieutenant.

“If I might have a word, sir?”

There was a short, cold silence.

“Of course, Lieutenant,” Harlan said.

They left the small interrogation room and stood out in the hall. Through the window they could see Rosa slowly move to open the folder and look at the photos.

“Are you trying to intimidate her, Colonel?” Victor asked.

“Yes. I’m also trying to get information from her, and I don’t appreciate being interrupted, Lieutenant. I have a job to do.”

“I respect that, sir, but if Adan Vas does care about her, I doubt he would put her in danger by making her a conspirator. She was under watch for over a year, and her communications are still being monitored. All our checks have shown she has no dealing with anyone in the Rising. Do you honestly think she knows something?”

“I doubt it, Lieutenant.”

“Then no amount of intimidation and threats are going to change that.”

Harlan turned to the lieutenant. Victor felt an involuntary shiver move through his spine.

“Just because she doesn’t have information, doesn’t mean that she won’t be useful.” Harlan went back to watching Mrs. Shaw through the window. “She’ll be coming with me—”

“No, sir. She won’t.”

Colonel Harlan stared. “Excuse me, Lieutenant?”

“If you think it’s necessary, I can detain Mrs. Shaw without a charge under the Wartime Rules for Defense Concern, but—”

“I gave you an order, Lieutenant.”

“She’s a citizen of P31, which puts her under my jurisdiction. If you want to extract her by force, you’ll have to appeal. And you would have to appeal, Colonel, because I won’t hand her over to a man I believe would use her as a hostage. This is the Supremacy. We have laws.”

“Laws! This is about survival.”

Victor shuddered at the raw passion in the colonel’s face. He clasped his hands behind his back. “You’ll have to find another way, Colonel. We don’t threaten innocent people with harm because of things other people have done.”

Harlan turned away. “You’re all damn fools.” As he stormed down the hall, he shouted, “This is why the war will never end!”

The lieutenant had to take some time to compose himself before he could go back in the room.