Freedom at What Cost

 

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Chapter 1 – Framed

A man answers the door to see two officers with laser rifles.

“How can I help you officers?” the man says.

“We’re here to collect on what you owe,” one of them says.

“I was supposed to get more time to pay it off. I already told everyone that I don’t make much. Can’t the little I’ve given you buy me a little more time?”

“This is a little more time. We were supposed to collect it last week. Today is payday, which means you should have more to give us.”

“Please, I have children to feed. I can only pay debts every other week because of how little I have.”

“That’s why we’re here. We need to take the children away to the monastery.”

“I can take care of my own children. I’m their father!”

“No, you can’t. Once your debts are paid, you can have them back. They’ll be well taken care of.”

“Wait!”

“Don’t resist or else we’ll have to bring you into jail, and you’ll have to pay off your debts in there plus for the crime of resisting the law.”

“Excuse me, officers?” Both officers turn around to see a man in a custom painted soldier’s mask approach him. This man with mask and gun has the armor of a soldier on his arms and legs but isn’t wearing any protective gear on his chest. “This card will pay for the man’s debts.”

“Let me check it.”

The officers check the card and the money goes through. They see the masked man’s ID that comes up along with the amount.

They look at him and bow before one says, “Oh, we didn’t recognize you with that mask, sir-”

“Don’t worry about it. Just continue with your duty, officers.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, sir!” the father says as the masked man leaves.

“Did you have to intervene, Seth?” the masked man hears over his comm.

“Yes, I did. Shouldn’t a man like you know the value of charity, brother?”

“Of course I do. It’s just easier to do what we need to with more money. No one on our side can pull in the funds that we need. I mean just look at what’s in front of you.”

Among the advertisements Seth sees in the city, there are also news reports and advertisements about the cause Seth is supporting.

“The Church educates its citizens to be the smartest servants of God in the galaxy, and yet, our governors, mayors, and planetary leaders that obtain their positions fail the people they serve. Therefore, you should be able to choose your own leaders. The law that is being looked over and debated within the Church’s leadership will give you a special role. You will be God’s instrument in helping his Church stay on course,” the woman on one of the advertisements says.

“Are you sure Maiken should be one of the figureheads of the movement?” Seth asks.

“Yes. Your wife, her accomplishments, and her position make the people think things will really change. Her announcements and videos are the most viewed too.”

“Your influence is invaluable as well, brother.”

“Yes, but not as much as yours. That is why you’re the one debating in the city hall today. Don’t take any more detours because they’re expecting you to be there soon.”

“Got it.”

Seth runs to the city hall where there is a large crowd surrounding a small stage inside the building. With his ID, Seth uses a back entrance to get on the stage where he takes off his mask to show his scarred face to the public, so they know it’s him.

“Seth, Seth, Seth!” the crowd cheers.

Seth waves at his supporters as he takes his seat. The man on stage with him is an official in a formal tuxedo who is representing the other side. Everyone is accounted for, Seth and the representative shake hands, and the moderators calm down the crowd as the debate begins.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Sergeant Seth. My name is Secretary Levi,” the representative says.

“It’s an honor to meet you too secretary. You don’t need to mention my rank. I’m not on active duty anymore.”

“But you still help guard a primary base and if I’m not mistaken, you are still wearing the armor of a soldier.”

“That’s right, but I’m not a soldier because of the injuries I sustained. Lost both arms and legs.”

“And you’re still alive thanks to the grace of God and your brother. Let’s get to the topic we’re here to talk about. We are here to talk about giving your average citizen passed the age of twenty-one the right to vote.”

“Yes. I thought talking about the war I was in was a good segue to talk about it. The war I fought in was a loss to the Church and Her faithful because of all the lives and resources lost. I think everyone can agree it was a waste especially with all the riots that took place because of it.”

“But I think you can agree that we had to fight against the organized heretical army? They had a terrible influence on us because of their lies and God knows how many souls went to Hell because of them.”

“Yes, I do think the war was just, but we fought it in the wrong way. Too many bad plans. Too many civilian casualties. Too much bloodshed. The Church almost lost control of Earth because of it. Do you really think we had to blow up their final planet to win?”

“It was the only way to end it without losing any more of our own. I think we can agree on that, but enough about the war. What makes you think that we need voting in our system? If you wanted to influence politics, the average layperson could become a politician, a businessman, or be a person of high status such as yourself? If you want to influence the Church even deeper, then a person could become a priest, then bishop, then an archbishop who holds a significant say in how the Church operates. Your brother, your wife, and you are doing that right now.”

“That’s true, but the average citizen needs to be heard. Not everyone can be all those things you said because God gives us specific roles to fill.”

“Then maybe it’s God’s Will that certain people shouldn’t have the power to affect their ruling government. To be in power, you must have a certain level of knowledge and experience and most people aren’t taught this in schools.”

“And yet, most people knew the war was fought wrong while those in power didn’t. Your average person is smarter than you think. They make up the most important part of our system. The family is the foundation of the Church after all.”

The crowd cheers for Seth before being calmed down.

“I see your point; however, everyone gives in to temptation especially when you have power. This is why praying for those in power is essential in every person’s daily prayer routine. Besides that, do you not think that the people will choose the wrong leaders who seem like they’re promising to do the right thing only to do the opposite? Politics can be that way especially for the political systems of our enemies and the democracies of old.”

“Then how about we try having one planet’s government have the right to vote to see how it stacks up against the others? Won’t that be a good way of seeing how it will work out while avoiding any possible damage?”

“If one planet has the right to vote, then the others will try to do the same.”

“If that does happen, then maybe it is God’s Will for the government to give its people their right.”

The crowd cheers again.

“Enough with the what-ifs. How exactly will this voting system work exactly?”

“My wife and her supporters on my home planet have a system they planned together that I think you’ll find interesting. I couldn’t have done it myself. My wife and her friends are just too politically smart for me.”

“I’d hope so with the title of the Motherly Senator your wife has.”

Suddenly, the secretary is shot by a masked person in the crowd. More masked people start coming out of the crowd to shoot the side supporting the secretary. Seth, his fellow soldiers, and some of his supporters attack the masked men and manage to take them alive. When everything is settled, no one is killed despite the heavy injuries suffered by both sides, but the supporters of the secretary accuse Seth’s side of staging an assassination on the secretary. Both sides argue with one another as the guards and officers come in to calm and assess the situation. Meanwhile, Seth watches everything with his brother on his comm.

“Someone is trying to frame us for this, brother, but who?” Seth says.

“It has to be someone who doesn’t want us to change the present political system.”

“Hopefully, the authorities can extract a confession out of the attackers.”

“Yeah.”

Another surprise comes as a ship flies in and fires into the crowd where the prisoners are. Everyone in the crowd is shot dead including the prisoners.

“Those…you aren’t getting away with this!” Seth says as he takes out his transforming sword.

His sword changes to a laser assault rifle with an underbarrel launcher that shoots out an explosive that crashes the ship to the ground. Seth runs to the crash site to find only one survivor. He takes the man out and questions him.

“Why?! Why did you have to kill those people?” Seth says in a fury.

“It was for the greater good.”

Seth then knocks out the man and brings him to the officers. He goes along with them to hear what the man says. What he finds out is that the people who were shooting the crowd were hired mercenaries allied with no government or empire. They were hired by an anonymous source with an enormous sum of money to shoot the secretary his supporters. If the squad that went in, couldn’t get out then the pilot was supposed to make sure they didn’t talk. The pilot was then supposed to fly away, but since the city they’re in doesn’t have any air defense, they didn’t expect to be shot down from the ground.

The ship the pilot flew was a spaceship given to them by the anonymous hirer. This spaceship was a Catholic Empire vessel known for fast airstrikes, so the ships in the air didn’t suspect the pilot of anything until it was too late. This is all the authorities could pull out of pilot since he knew very little. With this information, Seth tells his brother and wife, Maiken, about it.

“What should we do now?” Seth asks.

“We should investigate this ourselves. From the picture you sent me, I’ve managed to find the mercenary guild that the pilot frequents,” Maiken says, “I’ll be trying to alleviate this situation as best as possible from my side.”

“Investigate this ourselves? We’re already suspected in this case despite what the pilot said.”

“She’s right, brother. We can’t trust too many people in the government to do an honest job.”

“Oh, come on. You’re just agreeing with her because she’s your wife.”

“You know me better than that and you know we’re right.”

“Fine, so who are we sending to the mercenary’s guild?”

“I think you two should go.”

“Why the two of us?”

“Both of you have different levels of clearance and different skills that will be useful in getting the information we need.”

“I guess you’re right. Besides, I wouldn’t completely trust my brother doing this on his own.”

“Why makes you say that?” Seth asks.

“Because we always work better as a team and I’m your older brother, so I’m responsible for you.”

“I understand. I’ll meet you by the cathedral and we’ll fly your ship from there?”

“Aren’t the authorities going to question you or at least keep an eye on you since you’re a suspect?”

“They’ve already questioned me and don’t think I’m guilty since they like me and appreciate my service to God and the Church. They won’t mind if I come to meet you.”

“If you say so.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

Seth leaves to meet his brother at the cathedral. No one else is around as they meet on the landing platform with Seth’s brother’s ship. The two brothers hug each other as they meet.

“It’s good to be working with you again like this, brother. We rarely get to see each other in person,” Seth says.

“Business keeps us from being apart, but you’re always in my thoughts and prayers.”

“Same to you. I see you’re wearing the armor and helmet you wore in the war. Is the Bishop of the Battlefield back in fight?”

“Hopefully, there will be no bloodshed. Let’s try to make this as quick and painless as possible.”

“You got it.”

Seth and his older brother enter the ship and fly off to the mercenary’s guild in the hopes of finding answers to why the secretary and his supporters were attacked and who was the anonymous source who hired the mercenaries to attack them.

Chapter 2 – Shoot Out with the Law

As Seth and his brother near the planet the mercenary guild the pilot is from, his brother says, “What’s the plan?”

“Go in, ask for information, get it, then clear our names,” Seth answers.

“That’s not a plan. That’s a generalization.”

“We don’t know how it’s going to go, so I think it’s better if we have a flexible plan. We talk to the person who gives out requests and get him to expose the anonymous client.”

“What if they can’t do it or don’t want to?”

“There are ways to force it, especially with the Bishop of the Battlefield Cadmen, and Seth, the soldier who gave everything for God and His Church asking questions and demanding answers. Our reputation opens doors that no one else can.”

“It also brings with it a certain amount of trouble.”

“Let it come. God will protect us.”

“I’m not doubting God’s protection, but you have to take steps in protecting yourself otherwise you’ll end up like how you did in the war.”

“You’re one to talk, Bishop of the Battlefield. You went into the war to prove to the higher-ups that their plans and the war weren’t worth fighting for.”

“I also fought to protect you. I was the one who pulled you out when you were barely in one piece.”

“Then it’s good that we’re doing this together. We’re landing on the planet soon. Get ready.”

Seth lands Cadmen’s ship on the platform. The brothers step out to take a look at the city before them.

“This place is a ghetto of a planet,” Seth says, “Even though the Church occupies it because of the recent war, she didn’t send her best here. It has some of the most corrupt people that are the reason for its condition. I wouldn’t be surprised if we find the people being our framing here. I don’t even trust the cathedral we landed on.”

“If you’re so distrustful of them, then we should get moving and stop complaining.”

“I’m sorry, brother. I just had to get that out of my system.”

Seth and Cadmen walk the streets of the city while being looked at by very promiscuous people whether they’d be officials or criminals that either hide, turn away, or try to mind their business to not attract their attention. They reach the mercenary’s guild that’s disguised as a bar. Entering into the bar makes a few people walk out when the brothers pass while others whisper to each other about them.

Seth approaches the bartender and asks, “We’re here looking for information on an anonymous source connected to the recent assassination attempt on a Secretary Levi and his supporters.”

“That’s information that will cost you.”

“It’s going to cost you if you don’t give us it.”

“Do you realize that you’re outgunned in a place where you have no friends who will save you?”

“Do you realize who you’re dealing with and what will happen if you do anything drastic?”

“…fine. Talk to the boss upstairs.”

The bartender presses a hidden button that moves the shelves of alcohol away to reveal a hidden door that leads to an upstairs office. In this office, is a woman in business attire and a veil on her face similar to that of politicians in the Church. She sits at a computer with a TV showing the latest news.

“I know what you’re here for,” the woman says.

“And? Can you give it to us?” Seth asks.

“I can. Despite telling my clients that their identities are protected, I always keep their true identities in case I can use it against them later if they decide to turn against me or if the information will protect me.”

“It’s a good thing you do, so hand it over.”

“I understand, but I must have your promise that-”

“I make no deals with sinners such as yourself.”

“What are you going to do if I don’t give you the information?”

“I’ll find a way to get it myself. Either way, you’re going to be shutting down your operation. If you hand us the information without trouble, then my brother and I can lessen your sentence.”

“Think about it. You’ll have enough time to make yourself right with God, if that means anything to you,” Cadmen adds.

“…here.”

The woman hands Seth a USB drive.

“We’ll honor the deal,” Cadmen says.

“I know you will. I’ve recorded it,” the woman says before turning around to the TV to watch it.

Seth and Cadmen leave the office and enter back into the bar only to come across a squad of officers enter into it.

“Sergeant Seth and Archbishop Cadmen, you are under arrest for leaving a planet while being suspects in a crime,” one of the officers says.

“We got permission to leave. The authorities let us go because they didn’t suspect us of the crime,” Seth says.

“They let you off because they like you a bit too much. That kind of rejection of law won’t happen here.”

“I know your kind of people here. They both reject the Church’s law and God’s law.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think. We’re taking you in.”

“If you are, then you might want to see what we have here. We have evidence that tells us who paid the mercenaries to attack the secretary and his supporters.”

“So what? You’ve broken the law by leaving the planet while being a suspect. You’re going to jail either way.”

“That is not going to happen.” Seth takes out his assault rifle and points it at the officers. “We’re leaving here whether you like it or not.”

The officers point their guns at him.

“Put your gun down or we will shoot you both!” one of the officers says.

“Seth, what are you doing?” Cadmen asks.

“The right thing, brother. The people here even those in the Church are corrupt. I don’t trust them one bit.”

A cloaked person in the bar shoots their gun into the air and the bar erupts into chaos. Seth and Cadmen run to cover as the officers and some of the mercenaries try to kill them.

“At least we can’t be blamed for shooting first,” Seth says.

“It’s not going to matter if they kill us!” Cadmen responds while taking out his guns.

“Then let’s make sure that doesn’t happen! Come on, Bishop of the Battlefield. Show them how you got your name.”

“Can you stop calling me that?”

Cadmen transforms his rifles a multi-barrel gun similar to a minigun while Seth engages the officers and mercenaries. The brothers shoot and kill everyone who shoots back at them while wrecking the bar. Cadmen’s rifles tear through cover and the armor of the guards while Seth takes out his enemies fast with headshots and shots to their limbs and guns to overload them. When the dust settles, the bar is a wreck with bodies, blood, and laser burns everywhere.

“You haven’t lost your touch, brother,” Seth says.

“I practice shooting and my swordsmanship on Sundays, as the Lord intended. You haven’t lost your accuracy either,” Cadmen says.

The woman from the back comes out with her gun drawn. She says, “You are going to-”

Seth shoots the woman dead.

“Seth!”

“What? She had her gun pointed at us.”

“But we still owed her for giving us the information.”

“We’ll pray for her assuming she repented of her sins before her death. It’s all we can do now.”

“You seem happy that she’s dead.”

“I’m trying not to be. People who do business in murder need to face justice.”

“She was going to face justice in a trial.”

“Can we talk about this later? There are probably going to be more officers coming this way.”

“How are we going to explain this?”

“We’ll think about it on the way out. Let’s go!”

Seth and Cadmen run through the streets while more officers come in. A ship flies in the air with its turrets fixed on the brothers while assassins put their sights on them.

As they take cover and exchange fire, Seth says, “This is just like the war!”

“Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“Not really, but it’s something we’re used to.”

“But last time we had more backup.”

The ship is suddenly shot out of the sky while the assassins and officers are shot at on their blindside. A group of people with red and gold crosses on their masks come out to help the brothers.

One of them comes up to Cadmen, bows, then says, “We’re here to help, Bishop of the Battlefield. How can we be of service to God and you?”

“You can help by clearing the way to the cathedral then getting to safety.”

“As you wish.”

The group of resistance fighters clears a way forward for Seth and Cadmen as they approach the heavily defended cathedral. A bishop exits the cathedral and raises his hand to get his forces to stop the assault. Cadmen gets their forces to stop fighting as well as the brothers approach the bishop to see what he wants.

“Turn yourselves in, Archbishop Cadmen and Sergeant Seth, and hand over the information you found. If you do this, then you will be granted a fair trial. Refuse and you will be executed,” the bishop says.

“Oh, so is this why you chose you to attack us now rather than we landed? Who are you working for?” Seth asks.

“We are working for God and His Church, unlike you who are killing her guards, disobeying her laws, and threatening to rewrite them.”

“You dare accuse us of disobeying the Divine Law when you’re the ones who are attacking us?! Tell me, are you working with the people who staged the assassination?”

“We have similar interests.”

“How can you align yourself with people like them?”

“Because they’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep God’s law in place. Lay down your lives now or everyone including your rebel friends will be killed.”

“I don’t think so.”

The brother’s allies come out from hiding to shoot down the ship and blow up the surrounding forces. Seth, Cadmen, and those supporting them help finish off whoever still chooses to fight. While walking into the cathedral that was damaged by explosives and the crashing ship, Cadmen looks around it with a heavy heart. Seth puts his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“This is their fault, brother. Don’t forget that. We can repair this and make it better,” Seth assures his brother.

“I hope so,” Cadmen says as he makes his way to the landing platform.

The man who talked to Cadmen before goes up to him and says, “We’re sorry we couldn’t lessen the damage to the cathedral. You inspired us to act because of your actions and devotion to God and helping His Church.”

“Thank you, but you’re all going to be wanted criminals for helping us.”

“It’s all for God. We’re willing to do anything to see His Will become a reality.”

“When this is over, we’ll make sure the charges against you are drop. For now, try to lay low and not cause any more trouble.”

“Yes, father.”

“What is your name?”

“My name is Ham.”

“Thank you, Ham. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

Ham exits the cathedral while telling his allies to withdrawal while Seth and Cadmen go into their ship. They fly away as they analyze the data they got.

“This data doesn’t tell us exactly who hired the mercenaries. It looks like that woman was on the verge of finding the name of the source where the money came from,” Cadmen says.

“So, if we want to find who’s responsible, then we have to get them ourselves. What do we have to go on then?” Seth asks.

“We’d have to the colony on Mars to check that out. It’s where the money and communications come from.”

“I’m surprised that’s true. The colony on Mars is full of faithful Catholics that were very much against the war, so I thought most people there would be on our side.”

“That doesn’t look to be true.”

“How are we going to find the source there?”

“This data shows the city the source came from as well and it also the source’s bank account number that she managed to decrypt. We have to bring this to the bank there to find who owns it. Hopefully, this shouldn’t be too troublesome.”

“I hope you’re right.”

The brothers now fly off to Mars in the hopes of finding the source of their problems and bringing them to justice.

 

Chapter 3 – Believers Against Each Other

“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.

 

Chapter 4 – Consequences of “Rights”

“Are you certain that all of these changes are going to be good for the Church and her planets?” a secretary asks Maiken in a call.

“Yes. We’ve come far since we started and if we think God will allow these laws into his Church, then they should be right and just.”

“If you say so. There have been many riots and protests ever since you gave the laity the right to vote. Because of the way the system works, certain planets have different laws such as having the right to enact vigilante justice, right to openly carry weapons, electing leaders of their planets that aren’t already politicians, -”

“I’ve already heard of the many changes the planets are making on a daily basis. A lot can happen in a year, especially during these changing times. Trust in God to give you peace during these turbulent times.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing. Maybe I should go for adoration more often to get the silence I need.”

“It’s a good idea. I’ve been doing that in my free time with my son.”

“I hope the Lord blesses him while in adoration. Infants in adoration can be particularly noisy.”

“Not my little man. He’s been silent and calm while I’m in adoration and it’s not because he falls asleep. He stays awake for the entire hour.”

“That’s amazing. He’s truly a blessing. Speaking about children, I have to get to my own. So, tomorrow we’ll be looking at the voting law again?”

“We’ll have to do some revisions again since the last revisions caused a lot of trouble.”

“When does change not bring trouble?”

“Someone is bound to hate us for the changes, so we just have to hope these will work. Maybe they’ll grow to like the changes.”

“I hope so. God bless you and have a good afternoon.”

“Same to you.”

Maiken hangs up the call and finishes organizing her paperwork and digital files before exiting her office. She goes to the place in the capital building where caretakers teach and care for the workers in the building only for an explosion to destroy the room as she enters it. The capital building is shaken by more explosions coming from within and outside the building as an unknown group of people assaults it. Guards in the capital mobilize while calling for reinforcements and medical assistance. In the chaos, Maiken manages to get up from the explosion and searches for her child only to find blood and small limbs in the wreckage of the room. She lets out a cry of sorrow and rage before going back to her office to get a weapon Seth gave her to defend herself with.

The weapon Seth gave her is a laser assault rifle similar to his own except this one has an underbarrel shotgun rather than a launcher. With the rifle in hand, Maiken goes out to face whoever blew up the building and her son.

She goes up to a guard and says, “Where is the enemy? Who is attacking us?”

“You have to get to safety, miss. This place isn’t safe for a politician like you, especially in your injured condi-”

“I don’t care! I have a rifle and I can help. I’m well within my right to defend myself, especially since they blew up the children.”

“They…I see. You can help, but don’t be reckless.”

“I won’t.”

“They’ve breached the other side! We need people covering it!” one of the guards yells.

Maiken rushes to the other side of the capital with the guard she was talking to and a couple others. On the other side of the building is a squad of people shooting whoever they come across. Maiken engages the squad and manages to kill the group with only one casualty on their side. With this part of the capital clear, they go back to the other side to see that the other guards have died with more enemies entering the capital and slaughtering the people in it.

“Kill them all! Spare no one!” Maiken commands the guards.

The guards do as she commands while she also shoots down her fair amount. Once the building is clear, an explosion shakes the building as it begins to fall down around her. Falling debris kills the guards along with the other people in the building except for Maiken who manages to survive. She shoots her way out of the debris and finds herself in front of four people with guns in their hands.

“I was hoping to kill you myself,” one of them says.

“I was hoping to kill each one of you as well for what you’ve done,” Maiken responds with her gun raised, “Who are you people and why did you do this?”

“You don’t deserve an answer. You used to be an inspiration to us, but you changed when you didn’t put in the right laws that we asked for.”

“Since I was your inspiration, why don’t you do me a kindness by at least answering my question.”

“We are nobody. Just your average laity who’s fighting for change. If it means anything to you, my name is Ham.”

“I remember your name. I never got to thank you for helping my husband and his brother but now you’ve changed!”

“You are the one who’s changed. We fought for the right to change our planet in what we thought was God’s Will, but things have only gotten worse.”

“That’s not our fault. We’re still tweaking the laws to make them better. Maybe it was all a mistake to begin with.”

“No. You just didn’t do enough. I hope God doesn’t punish you for that.”

Knowing what the group is going to do next, Maiken quickly takes them out with the shotgun part of the rifle though she is shot in the arm and leg. A medical ship along with reinforcements finally arriving. Among the reinforcements is Seth who rushes to Maiken who is being helped by paramedics into the ship.

“Maiken!” Seth yells out as he goes to her side and holds her hand.

“Seth…I’m sorry. Isaac is gone.”

“What?”

“Lieutenant give her some space. She needs medical attention,” one of the paramedics tell him as they take Maiken into a medical ship.

It isn’t until Maiken is stabilized in the hospital that Seth is allowed to talk to her.

“Are you okay, Maiken?”

“I’m fine, Seth. I just need some rest, but that doesn’t mean I can’t talk to the public. I need to say something to them.”

“No, you need to rest.”

“I can’t. Everyone in the capital building died along with our son. An explosion blew him up as I was going to pick him up.”

“I don’t understand. Who would do such a horrible thing as this?”

“I talked to one of the attackers. His name was Ham, one of the people who helped you a year ago.”

“Ham? He was one of the attackers?”

“Yes, he said he did it because we changed. We weren’t putting in the laws he wanted.”

“That’s still no reason for him to do what he did. You think he’d know that from what we went through last year.”

An officer comes into the room and says, “Excuse me for interrupting you two, but you must see this on the news.”

The officer puts on the TV to show that the news is reporting that a colony on Mars is defecting from the Church.

A news reporter says, “A rebel force has taken over a colony on Mars and threatens to take over the planet as a whole. The rebels name themselves the Catholic Church of Mars have defected from the empire and the Church as a whole. They have sent out a message saying that the Church should instate the same laws they have on every planet to give every citizen the true government that God wants the Church to have. We will see if our leaders will comply with rebels, reach an agreement with them, or take back the colony with force. Stay tuned.”

“We have to stop them. All of them,” Maiken says.

“What are you talking about?” Seth asks.

“All of the rebellions. All of the riots.”

“We can’t just stop them all. People are going to fight if they feel like they aren’t going to get their way.”

“Then we have to cut this off at the root. After you stop the rebellion on Mars, then I’ll take away the people’s right to vote.”

“What? We fought so hard to get it and we’re just going to throw it away?”

“Yes. You see the fruits of our labor. It killed our son and so many others. It’s made us fight against our own.”

“The old law made us do the same thing.”

“But not like this. It didn’t have this level of violence and separation. Bring down the rebellion and peace to the Church. Please. For God, the Church, me, and our son.”

“…okay. I’ll do it. I’ll tell everyone about your decision.”

“Don’t tell them about what I said about changing the law. I’ll do it after the battle.”

“Okay. Get some rest in the meantime.”

Seth kisses Maiken before he leaves. He tells the military leaders of the Church what her decision is, and they agree especially after what happened to the capital and all the riots that have resulted in the injuries and deaths of countless people. The Church mobilizes a sizable portion of her forces to retake the colony on Mars by force with Seth and his brother Cadmen leading the assault.

As they fly to Mars, Cadmen tells his brother, “Hopefully this will be the last time we shoot at our own.”

“I hope so too, brother. I hope so.”

 

Chapter 5 – Counter-Revolution

Two large Catholic assault ships fly above the Mars colony as its forces deploy. Seth and Cadmen are among the forces flying to the ground.

“Soldiers. We are going to liberate the colony of Mars and take it back for God’s Holy Church. Since we are entering a hostile colony that has purged everyone faithful to the Church, our job is easy. Shoot everyone who isn’t an ally on sight,” Seth commands with a heavy heart, “These traitors think they can kill start their own church they dare to call the true church? They’re going to pay with their lives. Understand?”

“Yes, sir!” the soldiers say.

The colony deploys whatever fighters it has to counter the incoming fighters the Church sends. Before they land on the ground, the transport ships fire rockets and lasers into the buildings and houses where the traitors are shooting at them from in the hopes of preventing a ground assault. This fails as the ground force lands intact. Up in the air, the Church’s fighters finish off the last of the colony’s fighters and move in for air support. Because of this, the Church’s assault quickly quells the meager defense of the colony. All the traitors are executed without exception. This includes the traitorous politicians, laity, and clergy no matter their status, age, or excuse to be spared.

After the victory, a small team is sent down to plan the reconstruction of the colony. The faithful that were forced out are brought back in to recover what they lost if it managed to survive the battle. No one in the Church’s attack force really celebrates the victory or congratulations each other in a job well done. They quietly cross themselves and pray for the traitors as they go back home. Seth and Cadmen pray more than most since they partially feel responsible for being a cause in this. Once word of the Church’s victory against the traitors reaches the other planets, Maiken decides to make an announcement to the entire Church.

“Hello, faithful citizens of the Church. My name is Senator Maiken. As you know, I was one of the leaders who put the right to vote into law, but today, I am going to be trying to remove that law from the governments of all planets in the Catholic empire. I know this may come as a surprise to you, but this needs to be done. Because of recent events, I think that we’ve seen that the fruits of this law are poisonous. It’s made us fight against each other rather than help us in our fight against sin, heretics, heathens, and the forces of Hell. I hope that you see what I’m talking about and can agree with me. With the removal of this so-called right, our Church should come back together instead of being in a civil war. I apologize for the damage and death that I’ve caused. Thank you for listening and may God bless you all.”

Most of the highest members of the clergy and government within the Catholic empire agree with Maiken and take out the right to vote within a week. The Church leaders get all the planets under her control to comply with the law within a year. Meanwhile, Cadmen, Seth, and Maiken keep their positions within the Church and are celebrated for their humility. Seth and Maiken even manage to have another child. They take this to mean that God is rewarding them for doing the right thing. The couple hopes that they actually did the right thing this time as things slowly go back to normal. Above all, they pray and hope that God’s Will shall be done now and forever.

 

The End