Crystal Rebellion by Doug J. Cooper Read Free Book Online

clear, you called this meeting.”
    Alex raised his voice. “Yeah, to talk. Not start a military
campaign.”
    “Stop,” said Anya, rising between them with her hands on her
hips. “Why are you two acting this way?” She looked from one to the other, and Alex
thought of a parent scolding her children on the playground.
    The silence lingered as the men looked down, then Marcus
spoke.
    “Earlier this year, I spoke with a colleague back on Earth
and realized that my projected image there wasn’t saying the same things I was
saying here on Mars. I soon realized that anything having to do with four-gen
fabrication was being live-edited. My friends weren’t hearing what I said, and
my projected image on Earth voiced words I never spoke.”
    Anya returned to her seat next to Alex and together they
waited for Marcus to continue.
    “I accused Ruga of misbehavior in a public venue. After all,
he was either responsible or, at a minimum, allowing others to do it. The next
day, a Red visited me at my home and tried to intimidate me. He made sure I
understood that my actions have consequences.”
    The back of Alex’s neck tingled as he recalled his similar
experience after making public comments critical of Ruga.
    “I started my organizing efforts the next day.”
    “What do you hope to achieve?” asked Alex.
    “There’re all sorts of rumors about the Triada and I’m not
sure what to believe. But I know Ruga is determined to get a four-gen fab
facility running as soon as possible. Instead of just being open about it, he
hides his actions. And he uses intimidation to conceal his larger objectives.
My lack of training in history aside, I’m certain that a bully with a hidden
agenda is not a healthy leader for any group. Definitely not for the colony,
that’s for sure.”
    “You really think the situation is that dramatic?” asked
Alex.
    “I don’t know the future. But every morning my goal is to
make progress in exposing Ruga’s secrets without having anyone get hurt,
especially me. If I’m thinking that way, then yes, at least from my view,
things are that dramatic.”
    “Have you thought about confronting him in person?” asked Anya.
“Get a group of colony leaders together and have a sit-down? Hell, go to his
home if you have to.”
    “Want to know something interesting? I can’t find anyone who
knows which apartment is Ruga’s. The prime record is silent on the subject. That’s
why so many believe the Triada are really stooges living on Earth and serving
the needs of the Union. When is the last time you saw any of them? I mean, not
as a projected image, but in the flesh?”
    Alex shook his head and looked at Anya. “I don’t know that I
ever have. But I haven’t met lots of people. I work with this one guy all the
time at the tech center whose office is just one floor down from mine, but I’ve
never met him face-to-face.” He shrugged. Everyone uses images these days.
    “I have been seeing lots of Reds in person, though.” In a
quick summary, Alex briefed Marcus on his experiences, from the way Ruga was manipulating
project priorities, to the intimidating visits from Reds at his home and office,
to the confrontation in front of the garden just a short while ago.
    “You’re getting far more heat than anyone I know,” said
Marcus, standing. “Including me.” He called an end to the meeting by shaking
hands with them both. “Let’s think some more about how we might work together.”
    He moved to the door, then stopped and looked back at Alex.
“What do you think Ruga has for an end game? What’s his ambition in all this?”
    That’s what I want to know , thought Alex.

Chapter 5
     
    Juice stepped into the passageway of
the scout in time to hear Sid growl and Cheryl giggle. To her relief, Cheryl’s
door shut before she heard whatever came next.
    “Discretion is not their strong suit,” Juice sighed to Criss
as she walked onto the bridge.
    Cooped up together for almost two weeks, she’d