Prince Crimson Arc
9th May
It has been two weeks since the new council met for the first time, and myself and Miss de Marcos first put forward our plan to save the colony. During this time, the council has spent much time focused on making changes and amendments to the plan. But even then, many within the council still can't bring themselves to agree to it. Either way, the plan will be progressing. As the Governor, it isn't necessary for me to listen to the council. I have listened to them and made many of their recommended changes, but still only half of the council has agreed to the plan. The Deputy Governor, Edna, and Mohammed, all remain in opposition to it. The amendments made to it made the plan more tolerable, but still not enough for them to support it. However, it isn't their place to make law. That is my duty. In three days' time, if no new substantial objections are made against the plan, I will sign it into the colonial law, and begin preparations to implement it.
Between now and then however, I have other business to attend to. Later today, the Proserpina will leave beginning its' return journey to Luna. There are about twenty passengers onboard in addition to the many mineral resources of the asteroid belt being transferred back home. I wish that I was able to go home with them, I hate it here. This world is too different. Too alien. True, it doesn't look all that different from home. But at least in the lava tube cities of Artemis and Dunstan, and the crater loop of Apollo, there are some open spaces and places to relax or have fun. Here, there is none of that. This world is dead. I hear many Earthlings say that about Luna, but Luna is surely far more alive than this place. Earth, if I was able to go there, I'm sure I would find overwhelming. Too many people. Too many vivid colours. I think I would find it sickening. Not having a ceiling or a cavern roof over your head would scare me. And birds. Birds must be terrifying. No, I'm glad that my frail lunar bones are too weak to let me survive Earth's gravity. That place isn't for me. But neither is this place.
In addition to the Proserpina leaving, I received news from Mohammed that Sayyad bin Osman has returned to Ceres from his mining operation. Sayyad's ship, the Jaeger, pulled back into its' hangar late last night. Mohammed knows this as the Jaeger and its' crew are under the employment of the ICMU. I've asked Mohammed to set up a meeting between myself and Sayyad for tomorrow. He hasn't gotten back to me yet, however I'm sure Sayyad will agree to meet with me. Who would refuse an invitation from the new Governor? He will come, either out of curiosity, or ambition.
But that's for tomorrow. For today as Governor, it is my duty to see off those leaving Ceres. Among those who have decided to make their return to Luna is the Imam, Mohammed bin Omar Al-Sayris. It seems that he decided that there wasn't a place left for him here on Ceres. Whilst he took his dismissal well, perhaps he didn't entirely understand the limits of his power. Without the support of the council, the little credibility that the Imam had had left, collapsed. The Palestinians stopped supporting him entirely, and he has been left with no place on Ceres. Even his own countrymen have no respect for him.
The Proserpina still sits on the surface just a few kilometres from the hangars. At first it is hard to spot, the grey hull on the dull surface of the planet, but once you notice it, you wonder how you couldn't have spotted the behemoth immediately. The crew of the Proserpina, and the passengers taking the ship back to Luna, all prepare for the rover trip over to the spaceship. They pull on grimy ancient space suits and scarred helmets, and pray that theirs will not finally break whilst they're wearing them.
I speak to a number of those leaving. None of them I know – in fact, the Imam is the one that I know the most, and for that reason he is the one I leave to last. I thank the others for their service to the colony, and the time that they have spent here on
Ceres. Some graciously accept my thanks, others look at me like the freak I sometimes believe they all think I am. The alien child from Luna. The crimson-eyed freak. Moonchild, I have heard some call me.
At the end, I come before the Imam, and he greets me with a smile.
"I didn't expect you to decide to leave," I say to him, stretching my hand downward and outward to shake his hand.
"Neither did I," the Imam clutches my hand with both of his tightly, gripping me to the point where it is actually a little painful.
"What do you plan to do on Luna?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps I might lead the prayers at a mosque again, like a real Imam is supposed to," the Imam says, "but I don't know if I have the right to do so anymore."
"Well if you need help with anything, contact my family. I'm sure that the Scuderi name will be able to help you in some way."
"Thank you, Governor," the Imam shakes my hand vigorously once again, making my shoulder feel loose, "I pray that Allah be with you and all here on Ceres."
"You have my thanks."
The Imam loosens his grip on my arm, and backs away, relinquishing my wrist. For a moment, the Imam begins to turn around, but then he pauses, as if considering whether he has something more to say to me.
"If I may, there is one piece of advice I would like to give you before I go."
"Of course," I say, bewildered, "what is it?"
"Sayyad bin Osman. I heard from Mr Matthews that you were considering put him on your council."
"Yes, I am considering him."
"I'm not going to tell you not to let him on the council, but I'll warn you to be wary of him. He is a man of many talents, yes, but he is also a man of many faces. Make sure you make the right decision, Governor. No, Akira."
As the Imam and the others line up and take their turn going through the airlock out onto the surface, I think about what he said. Sayyad bin Osman, just who is he? But before that, how did the Imam find out that I want Sayyad on my council. He said Kyle told him. Did Kyle get him to try and convince me not to put Sayyad on the council? That's what it sounds like to me. Kyle really must dislike this Sayyad, but for what reason? Something must've happened between the two of them. Well, I can ask Sayyad, and probably Kyle as well, about it tomorrow.
When the Proserpina lifts up off the surface, the entire hangar system shakes. If it wasn't a vacuum out there, I'm sure I would hear the roar of an engine, like I did when I was onboard when it took off from Farside on Luna. I had never heard such a loud noise before, it was deafening. With one last look at the ship that took me from my home, Luna, to this desolate and isolated world, I turn back and head for the settlement proper, and my apartment.