“What’s our plan if things go
wrong?” Seth asks.
“Go wrong? If most of Mars supports
us, then we should have nothing to worry about,” Cadmen says.
“We were just in a firefight with
members of the Church who wanted to kill us. I think we should have a plan.”
“Like what? They shouldn’t know we’re
coming and by the time they know, we’ll have their name and we’ll be the ones
after them.”
“Alright. I guess I’m just nervous
about actually fighting people I know are loyal to God and His Church.”
“How do you know the people we fought
weren’t the same? Just because we’re enemies doesn’t mean they didn’t actually
believe they were doing the right thing. Always try to think positively about the
motivations of others. It helps you not to hate them.”
“I understand, brother. Thank you
for the reminder.”
The brothers land at one of the
many cathedrals in the colony. This cathedral was built in honor of those who dedicated
their lives in getting the Catholic Church into space, the faithful who lost
their lives in space, and the many who fought in wars to protect the Church in
space. When the brothers exit their ship, they are happily greeted by priests
and officers.
“It’s a welcoming surprise to see
you here, Archbishop Cadmen and Sergeant Seth. What brings you here?” the
priest asks.
“We have a lead on the person who
set up the assassination at our debate,” Cadmen says.
“That’s great! What is it might I ask?”
“We have the bank account number
that comes from this colony. We’re going there now to reveal our anonymous source.”
“Can I come too? I’m curious to
find out who would commit such an atrocity.”
“Of course.”
“What about us?” one of the
officers asks.
“We want to see this terrible sinner
brought to justice,” the other says.
Seth bumps Cadmen’s shoulder and
whispers to him, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“They seem genuine. Let’s trust
them until you have a reason not to,” Cadmen whispers back before telling the
officers they can come along too.
As the brothers, two officers, and
priest make their way to the bank, they see Maiken on most of the large screens
of the city talking about politics and recent events.
“Sergeant Seth, look! Your wife is on,”
the priest says.
Seth watches the broadcast on the
monitors as he walks.
“Did you hear about the violence
happening where your husband and his brother were?” the politician says.
“If this wasn't an indicator his
cause is influenced by Satan, then I don’t know what is,” another politician
says.
“I heard about it, but from what I
know, they were shot at first and had to defend themselves from law enforcement
that had no right to arrest them,” Maiken answers.
“No right to arrest? The law
dictates that citizens who are suspects of a crime must stay on the planet that
the crime happened on and your husband and brother disobeyed it,” another
politician says.
“They were freed from suspicion on
the planet they were on.”
“By people that are on their
side. It’s not difficult to get away with a crime if you have people in the system
that will believe you no matter what. I should have everyone that let them go
questioned,” yet another politician says.
“You should shut your mouth! All of
you! How dare you accuse my husband, his brother, and the many faithful citizens
who defended themselves against a threat that is within our own Church! I should
be the one accusing you of conspiracy for trying to put all my supporters and
myself in jail because you don’t want your power to affect politics and the church
taken away from you!”
The surrounding civilians chant
Maiken’s name and cheer for her as the talk continues.
“There’s no wonder why people call
her a mother in terms of how hard she fights for and defends her people,” the
priest comments.
“It’s also because she can’t bear her
own children, so she treats the people under her care as if they were her
children,” Seth says.
“Regardless, you have an inspiring
wife, Sergeant.”
“Thank you, father.”
The group makes it to the bank and
moves in front of the short line of people.
“We need to see the owner of this
bank account. It will lead us to the man behind the assassination attempt,”
Cadmen says to the desk attendant.
“Yes, Archbishop Cadmen. Right this
way.”
The door that the attendant leads
the group to opens to reveal soldiers and officers with their guns pointed at
them.
“I knew something was going to go
wrong,” Seth says as he takes out his gun.
Cadmen, the priest, and the
officers take out their weapons as well as more armed law enforcement and
military enter the bank. A single man approaches them from the crowd.
“Archbishop Adriel? Are you the one
behind the assassination attempt?” Cadmen asks.
“I am. Don’t worry I’ve had a
change of heart. I’m not going to frame you for what I did. Instead, I’m going
to take responsibility for it, execute you, and write it into law as it is in Heaven.”
“You can’t be serious. The Church won’t
allow it. God won’t allow it.”
“They’ll come to see the truth.
This is done to prevent the Church from collapsing from within herself.”
“It’s already doing that! Don’t you
see what you’ve caused? The faithful are fighting against each other because of
what you started,” Seth says.
“You are mistaken. You started
this. If it weren’t for your rebels and you, then there wouldn’t be riots in
the streets. There wouldn’t be people hounding their bishops, priests, and
leaders for rights they don’t have nor deserve. You are going to create a church
full of self-appointed leaders who will lead the Church into Hell. I cannot. Will
not allow that to happen, so you must die along with your rebellion to ensure
that doesn’t happen.”
“No, you can’t! How do you know
that your new rule will turn against you?”
“I have my faith in God that it won’t.
How do you know that your new law won’t end up being a mistake?”
“For the same reason you do.”
“I don’t believe it because of the rotten
fruits of your work.”
“Then don’t believe it. What about
the rest of you? Are you really going to kill your fellow Catholics who are
risking their lives to serve God and His Church? Are you going to serve a
murderer who unrepentantly kills innocent people to get his way? If you are,
then go ahead and pull the trigger. I’m willing to die for the truth.”
A crowd behind the law enforcement
starts chanting for Seth as the officers look at and whisper to one another. They
then turn their weapons on Archbishop Adriel.
“Is that how it’s going to be? Well
then…”
Archbishop Adriel tries to shoot
Seth but is shot at by Cadmen.
Seth silently crosses himself
before saying, “Thank you for the save, brother.”
“Thank you for your speech. It
seems like you’ve been taking notes from your wife, but you still need some practice.”
“I figured, but first we should
give the archbishop a proper funeral and burial.”
Once the archbishop is buried and his
plan exposed along with his collaborators, the citizens of the Catholic space
empire receive the right to vote. A few days later, Maiken becomes pregnant and
she and Seth take it as a sign from God that they did the right thing. Cadmen
receives an award and praise for his efforts along with his supporters. Not wanting
to keep the public waiting, Maiken along with other political and church
leaders put into law a system where each citizen in the empire can vote in
their political leaders. As the first election comes around, everyone prays and
hopes that this is the beginning of a bright future.
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