Several weeks later, Violet sat on a stage next to the station’s newly appointed administrators and several other key political players. All eager to cash in on Violet’s heroic rescue of the station.
Out in the crowd, everyone was there. At least, it felt like everyone. In actuality, the auditorium could only hold several hundred citizens. Violet saw some faces she hadn’t seen since she was in middle school. Friends, family members, politicians, labor party leaders, and even some of the station’s social elite who no doubt thought an appearance might boost their content ratings.
Her mother and father sat in the front row. A few members of her graduating class were seated in the next several rows with their own families. They were the ones who hadn’t left for university somewhere off-station.
Notably absent from the occasion were the former station administrators and their remaining children. Rumor had it that the Andersons had been quietly transferred off the station for their own safety.
Violet couldn’t say she blamed them. If she were in the same position, she wouldn’t want to be around when the majority of the population learned that they’d almost been killed by one of her children.
Zane’s face, speckled with Becky’s dried blood, flashed in her mind’s eye, and she shivered. How long would it be until she got over the trauma of seeing her best friend dead? And then being killed by that same killer? She wondered.
Perhaps more than anything, Violet feared that whatever murderous urges Zane possessed were buried somewhere deep within her as well, a part of her. After all, they’d both gone through the same drug-induced transformation. What if it was only a matter of time before she lost control and went on a murdering spree of her own?
Violet forced the questions out of her head along with the images of her psychotic counterpart as the chief of security took the podium.
“First off, I’d like to say thank you all for coming. Some of you had no choice,” he looked back to those seated on the stage behind him and a slight chuckle rose from the crowd. “But for the rest of you, thank you. It’s not everyday that something like this happens in our community here on Tryptek Station.” His face grew serious. “As you well know, thanks to a rather annoying emergency broadcast message,” he got another laugh from the crowd, “we were in real trouble. Just moments away from an impending disaster.”
He paused, taking the time to make eye contact with several members of the crowd.
“Those responsible for this horrendous act of killing and destruction have been apprehended and are currently en route to be tried for their crimes.”
Violet did her best to keep a blank expression on her face. She knew very well that the man responsible for this had not been brought to justice. But she supposed whatever lies they had to tell the general public to assuage their fears were for the better good. Morale on a space station was a delicate thing. If panic set in, control would be a hard thing to maintain. She’d seen the docu-vids about the mass hysteria that led to the destruction of several of the first manned space stations. It was an ugly affair.
“But we’re not here to talk about the cause. We’re here to remember and honor the victims of Sector Six and celebrate the heroic actions that saved the rest of us.” The security chief turned and gestured at Violet.
Guess this is my cue.
She rose from her chair and nodded to the crowd with a tight-lipped smiled followed by a shy wave of her hand.
Applause erupted from the crowd, and Violet found herself suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Tears streaked down her face faster than she could reach up to wipe them. She blushed red and turned her back to the crowd, trying to hide her embarrassment.
The applause continued for several minutes, eventually dying down.
“Come on over here, Violet,” the chief said, waving her over with his hand.
Violet wiped the last of the moisture from her face, hoping her makeup wasn’t a mess and her skin wasn’t beet red, and then walked over to the podium. The new station administrator joined the security chief, and together, they extended a large golden key to her.
“For her braveness in the face of danger and her actions on behalf of this station, we hereby present Violet Weaver with the key to the station.” The crowd cheered once more. “Come say a few words, Violet!”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The key was lighter than it looked. Probably cheaply printed from the 3-D lab and then sprayed with a metallic gold paint to make it look expensive and shiny, she thought. She took it between both hands and hoisted it overhead and out toward the crowd.
“Thank you all for coming!” Violet beamed. “This is really great,” she indicated the key, “but I just did what any of you would have done if you were in my place.”
The crowd awarded her another round of applause, and the station administrator took advantage of the pause in speech and moved in toward the microphone, subtly edging Violet out of the way. He was eager to take advantage of the spotlight and cement his new position of authority.
“Give it up one more time for Violet Weaver, the Hero of Tryptek Station!”
Violet did her best to look appreciative and took a small bow before making her way back to her seat. She wasn’t sure what to do with the awkwardly over-sized key and after trying several different positions, she finally decided to set it down on the floor between her legs.
The new administrator then droned on about community and tragedy and some other political horseshittery that Violet tuned out as she wondered about what came next for her.
The key to the station was great and all, but it didn’t change much for her day-to-day prospects. She was still stuck on a mining station in the middle of the asteroid belt with no real opportunities for ever getting off.
And just what exactly had happened to her out there in the corridors of Sector Six? Had she really died and come back to life? Or did she just nearly die and then miraculously recover? If that was the case, then how could she explain her sudden boost in strength, healing, and agility?
At first, she’d considered it might just be the adrenaline of the life and death situation. But now it was three days later, and all the physical and mental attributes still remained. No way adrenaline stayed in the system that long. It had to be something else.
Violet was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear the administrator bring the award ceremony to a close. She was the last to rise from her seat on the platform and find her way down, clutching the large ceremonial key awkwardly in her arms.
She shuffled her way to the banquet hall where a celebratory dinner was being held in her honor—yet another opportunity for those in power to further their influence and flout their self-importance.
At the bottom of the stairs leading off the platform, a man with white hair, dressed in a military uniform, approached Violet and extended his hand. “Violet, I’m Colonel Webster from Central Intelligence.”
Violet shook his hand but didn’t respond otherwise.
“We’ve received word of the excellent work that you did here. Rising up against extreme circumstances and overcoming what would have otherwise been a terrific tragedy.”
He paused, waiting for Violet to reply, but she remained silent.
So did he.
Violet could feel his eyes measuring her up. It was only fair, she was doing the same.
Finally, he spoke. “We’ve seen what surveillance footage we could recover,” he said. Then he leaned in and lowered his voice. “Quite a display of strength and courage. I could have sworn that man killed you… Lucky for us, he didn’t.” The colonel winked at her.
Violet’s hand moved to cover her throat, an unconscious response to a perceived threat to her well-being. What had they seen on the video footage? What did they know? She felt the sudden urge to turn and run, but managed to fight against it.
“Thank you, Colonel Webster. Your words are most kind. If you’ll excuse me, I believe they’re waiting on me to get the festivities started.” She made to brush past him.
He extended a hand to stop her. “I’m sorry if it was something I said.” He paused a moment. “I’m going to level with you. This sort of incident hasn’t been the only one of its kind recently. There’s something happening system-wide that has certain people I work with—”
He paused as if considering his choice of words carefully. Looking back at the moment, Violet wondered if the pause was genuine, or just a well-oiled sales pitch, aimed at getting her to buy.
“—concerned, let’s say,” the Colonel finished.
Violet’s face contorted as any young adult’s is want to do when older folk start talking about the economy or geopolitics or some other such subject that they don’t follow.
“I’m here to ask for your help, Violet. I’ve been tasked with getting to the bottom of whatever is going, on and I’d like you to come work with me.” He held up a hand. “Before you say anything, just think about it.” He handed her his comm information. “But not too long. Shuttle leaves in the morning. Docking bay 3-B, at oh-eight-hundred.”
He walked away, fading into the crowd, almost as if he were never there. Violet stood in quiet shock, considering what he’d said. She ran through the events of the last several days, all the way up to the point where she was lamenting her prospects on Tryptek Station.
Don’t overthink it, Violet.
She keyed in the colonel’s comm info and sent him a message:
I’m in.
She’d nearly reached the banquet hall when her comm chirped with a response. Boarding directions from the colonel.
A smile crossed her face and the general sense of despair lifted, replaced with excitement for the future. Eventually, her thoughts turned to what she was going to tell her mom and dad this evening before she left the station.
Probably for forever.