rotate.”
“Complying,” said the wallscreen’s voice.
Before her appeared the faces of her Thuringia neighbors from the Nidar peninsula where she and her family had lived a hard life as soybean and potato farmers. Rather than show the 47 as family groups, each person of whatever age occupied a beautiful full color ceramic medallion. When the close-up reached the bottom of the pillar, she spoke again. “Rotate ninety degrees, go to top of pillar, move down slowly.”
“Complying.”
Before her glowed the image of her father Benoit. His French features showed a black beard stubble. He was dressed in brown coveralls. There was no smile on the face, but Charlotte knew her Dad’s heart always smiled whenever he spent time with her, Matthew and their three sisters.
“Move down slowly.”
The close-up of the medallion images showed next her sisters, each one a smiling urchin. Red-haired Sally the youngest. Then black-haired Janine. Followed by twelve year-old Melody, the family flutist, her tanned face looking out intently. Then her own image came, showing a red-haired young woman dressed, like her Dad, in brown work coveralls. Then Matthew, at sixteen his black hair hanging in ringlets above his broad shoulders, while his brown eyes looked out intently. The image showed him lifting a barrel of potatoes for sale at Elios Port market. Finally there came her Mom. Her reddish-brown hair framed a narrow face with high cheekbones that Matt said came from their Apache heritage. Charlotte had never cared about their family’s ancestry. Only that her parents, brother and sisters had loved her deeper than words or medallion images could ever show.
She sniffled. “Pull back from close-up. Resume audiovisual broadcast.”
The holo pulled back to show the pillar in the center of the plaza, surrounded by the jeering crowd who were kept from attacking the Meligun laborers by colony police. The even-toned narrative resumed.
“Destruction of the Memorial Pillar was ordered by Sector Captain Yorkel due to its depiction of the Human renegade Matthew Dragoneaux, whose family was taken by the genome slavers.”
“Stop!”
“Matt! You’re alive! ” And doing something that had ticked off the Anarchate. What could her brother be doing? Wetting her lips, Charlotte hoped that whatever he was doing, Matt was still alive.
“Resume.”
“Dragoneaux has been declared an outlaw to the Anarchate for violations of two of the four Rules of Anarchate Trade. His alien warship attacked and destroyed the Flesh Markets in the center of Halath city, on planet Megil, in Alkalurops C system. His ship also destroyed a dozen genome harvester starships in orbit about Megil. Before that Dragoneaux was reported to have destroyed a Commerce Station in Omega Centauri cluster. More recently, an alien warship similar to the T’Chak warship used by Dragoneaux destroyed planet two in the 51 Pegasi system, location of a major Anarchate tachnet base. Rumors of attacks on Nova-class battleglobes by the Dragoneaux warship have been denied by Anarchate officials,” the broadcast said as it showed a full body three dee image of her brother.
“Stop! ID source of images and Belizel dates.”
Shaking with hope and fear, Charlotte wondered just where Matt had come across an alien warship? She sniffled, still remembering the images of her family that were being destroyed in the central plaza of Elios Port.
Before her loomed two holo images of Matt. One showed him in a white ceramic combat armor suit adorned with several wolf’s head images. The suit sported two shoulder mounted laser pulse-cannons, while the large helmet faceplate was clear. It showed an older Matt, looking as if 15 years and lots of hard time had imprinted itself on his face. His expression showed unwavering determination. Its location was a Commerce Station in system CC1939, in Norma Arm. The other image was a holo of Matt from fifteen years ago, when he’d gone to Elios Port to buy
“Complying,” said the wallscreen’s voice.
Before her appeared the faces of her Thuringia neighbors from the Nidar peninsula where she and her family had lived a hard life as soybean and potato farmers. Rather than show the 47 as family groups, each person of whatever age occupied a beautiful full color ceramic medallion. When the close-up reached the bottom of the pillar, she spoke again. “Rotate ninety degrees, go to top of pillar, move down slowly.”
“Complying.”
Before her glowed the image of her father Benoit. His French features showed a black beard stubble. He was dressed in brown coveralls. There was no smile on the face, but Charlotte knew her Dad’s heart always smiled whenever he spent time with her, Matthew and their three sisters.
“Move down slowly.”
The close-up of the medallion images showed next her sisters, each one a smiling urchin. Red-haired Sally the youngest. Then black-haired Janine. Followed by twelve year-old Melody, the family flutist, her tanned face looking out intently. Then her own image came, showing a red-haired young woman dressed, like her Dad, in brown work coveralls. Then Matthew, at sixteen his black hair hanging in ringlets above his broad shoulders, while his brown eyes looked out intently. The image showed him lifting a barrel of potatoes for sale at Elios Port market. Finally there came her Mom. Her reddish-brown hair framed a narrow face with high cheekbones that Matt said came from their Apache heritage. Charlotte had never cared about their family’s ancestry. Only that her parents, brother and sisters had loved her deeper than words or medallion images could ever show.
She sniffled. “Pull back from close-up. Resume audiovisual broadcast.”
The holo pulled back to show the pillar in the center of the plaza, surrounded by the jeering crowd who were kept from attacking the Meligun laborers by colony police. The even-toned narrative resumed.
“Destruction of the Memorial Pillar was ordered by Sector Captain Yorkel due to its depiction of the Human renegade Matthew Dragoneaux, whose family was taken by the genome slavers.”
“Stop!”
“Matt! You’re alive! ” And doing something that had ticked off the Anarchate. What could her brother be doing? Wetting her lips, Charlotte hoped that whatever he was doing, Matt was still alive.
“Resume.”
“Dragoneaux has been declared an outlaw to the Anarchate for violations of two of the four Rules of Anarchate Trade. His alien warship attacked and destroyed the Flesh Markets in the center of Halath city, on planet Megil, in Alkalurops C system. His ship also destroyed a dozen genome harvester starships in orbit about Megil. Before that Dragoneaux was reported to have destroyed a Commerce Station in Omega Centauri cluster. More recently, an alien warship similar to the T’Chak warship used by Dragoneaux destroyed planet two in the 51 Pegasi system, location of a major Anarchate tachnet base. Rumors of attacks on Nova-class battleglobes by the Dragoneaux warship have been denied by Anarchate officials,” the broadcast said as it showed a full body three dee image of her brother.
“Stop! ID source of images and Belizel dates.”
Shaking with hope and fear, Charlotte wondered just where Matt had come across an alien warship? She sniffled, still remembering the images of her family that were being destroyed in the central plaza of Elios Port.
Before her loomed two holo images of Matt. One showed him in a white ceramic combat armor suit adorned with several wolf’s head images. The suit sported two shoulder mounted laser pulse-cannons, while the large helmet faceplate was clear. It showed an older Matt, looking as if 15 years and lots of hard time had imprinted itself on his face. His expression showed unwavering determination. Its location was a Commerce Station in system CC1939, in Norma Arm. The other image was a holo of Matt from fifteen years ago, when he’d gone to Elios Port to buy
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