Page 52 of Echoes of War

That’s how things were meant to work, how they had always been done since the origins of man-kind. This wasn’t Monterey, and the rest of the world would neverbeMonterey. I’d tried things their way. While it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t sustainable. Not on a bigger scale.

Amaia would get it one day, when I came back for them. She understood history, how things worked; I’d always respected that about her. They needed to see things through the right lens, and I could help with that. Moe could help with that. If I could get them to understand where my father was coming from, we could all be a family again.

All would be right in the world.

But the only way I could do that is if I worked on the inside. Saw what this was all about, then tell them the truth that no one that had left Covert had been willin’ to tell.

The ones that had fled had been the weak ones. They weren’t worthy of understanding our ideals, not ready to work for the bigger than themselves.

With Amaia on our side, there wouldn’t be a need for a war. People trusted her, listened to her judgment.She had a way of getting people to believe. I just needed my dad to come around to that fact. There didn’t need to be two sides to this, only one.

She and Prescott had made a name for Monterey Compound, and they could do great things with my dad and our people. Between what we had there, and what Covert Province really was, we could make this country what it should be. Make it great.

I rounded the corner, a newspaper stand in front of my building had my face plastered on the front standing next to my dad.Odd, I don’t remember taking that. A teenage girl with raven hair and gaunt cheeks met my eyes from behind the stand, her gaze shot toward the ground as I approached and remained there. Something I’d observed all the women did here when speaking to a man.

It honestly kinda bothered me, and perhaps it was something Amaia could help with once she got here. My mom, Reina, they’d never been submissive women. While my dad adored them growing up, I’d always noticed it wasn’t a particular quality he appreciated. In the end, his word was always law.

Monterey had its pitfalls I suppose, but Amaia and Tomoe had helped me see the world through fresh eyes. There was nothing to fear with powerful women, other than being on the other end of their rage. It would be in my father’s best interest to embrace that. After all, that’s what his vision of the world had always been—elevating those who possessed a certain level of greatness.

“Hi, Miranda.” I nodded in my approach.

She shifted on her feet. “Want a copy, sir? It’s about you today,” she said.

I took it, glancing down at the headline.

Ronan Moore is Hopeful About the Future

After years apart, Ronan Moore has reunited with his son, Seth Moore, previously deemed a traitor of Covert Province. Covert Times sat down to interview our fearless leader on how thereunion has been and what we can look forward to in the future.

“It was tough, I thought I lost both my kids,” Moore said, pausing to reflect on the years passed. “I was devastated when I went to search for them at our family home in Minnesota. There wasn’t a soul in sight in that neighborhood. It took everything in me to carry on to Covert Province, the only thought in the back of my mind was, how can I make my children proud? How can I give others the life I’d always promised them? Then, God granted me a second chance at being a father. I’ve loved every second of it. My boy Seth is one of the strong ones. I raised him well.”

We at Covert Times are thrilled to have this addition to our leadership. As we spoke with Ronan, we uncovered some of the guiding standards he held himself to over his rise to power since the war. While his viewpoints have certainly evolved over the years, he states the standards he has for members of society have remained the same as they always have.

I scanned the rest of the bullshit article, rolling my eyes. He loved talking about himself every chance he got, so it was no surprise he used my return for a moment of publicity. In The Before, dad had always been lost in his own mind in some fashion or another. The bite only exasperated the hyper-fixation: he’d become enthralled with thewhat if. When he made it out to Richmond, it was like God had answered every one of his prayers. After the war between territories, my father had climbed his way up the power ladder. How he’d managed to convince a city full of formergovernment agents into trusting him to run a third of the country was still a mystery I hadn’t gotten any closer to solving.

Turning the page, my heart stopped. A photo of my sister, Amaia, and the woman my heart ached for were plastered front and center.

A recent skirmish outside enemy territory in Duluth has resulted in the death of several troops. The death count is unclear. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as Ronan Moore receives more information. Daughter, Reina Moore, remains harbored by Sloan Moore inside Duluth’s city walls with Tomoe Sato and rebel leader Amaia Bennett. They are expected to flee soon though their next movements have not been determined at this time. A reward is being offered to those with information. Any individual living in the Outskirts who would like to volunteer for search and capture efforts, please report to the capitol. The incentive of an elevation of status awaits the successful capture of all three women.

I slammed the paper down on the stand, and Miranda jumped back with a yelp. Mumbling my apologies, I entered the high-rise apartment complex dad had me cooped up in.

Before dad even had a say around this place, they’d already been placed into different factions. I mean, if you thought about it, it was the best way forward. For humanity to truly survive, the strong needed to make it out every time. It’s basic science.

From an outsider’s perspective, I could see how it looked like everybody else was just collateral. That wasn’t true though; their efforts weren’t overlooked in the slightest. We valued it, truly. It was just important they didn’t get the wrong idea, which is why it was better to keep things separate.

The hierarchy was simple, and I wasn’t sure why people complained. This was all luck of the draw, for now. It wasn’t as thoughwehad all been genetically engineered and created people to lead a lower life. We weren’t monsters, and it wasn’t our fault that higher powers had bigger plans for us all. Until my dad’s testing could be confirmed in a few years.

They needed to wait it out, give my dad a chance. He was trying here, and eventually, we’d be a society filled with greatness. What we could achieve together would be the beginning of a new order in history.

The lobby was filled with Elite assholes. I shuffled between them, pushing my way into the full elevator. The capital had such a stuffy, know-it-all aura to it and this fancy building didn’t help tone it down. But I guess that was the point; people that had a tangible value for society deserved to be awarded for their efforts. Work hard, play hard and all.

Scholars, Tinkerers, and the Umbra Mortis all resided here, the forefront of greatness. We possessed advanced powers that led the way for innovation and progress.Wewere the ones that would leave humanity better than we the world we had been born into.

People like Miranda resided in the outskirts of the capital, and were often placed throughout the outlier states. TheElementa Manipulatushelped bring the Elite’s ideas to fruition.

Elemental magic was no small thing when you had a vast amount of power. They were treated right, had a decent living. Especially if they knew all the right people. Fire elementals were what kept us in business, honestly. Between their skilled forgery and engineering, there wasn’t much we could accomplish without them.

Turning on the shower inside my apartment, I stepped in, grateful for our aqueduct engineers. They were the reason the entire territory had access to fresh water for whatever needs they saw fit, not to mention the healing aspects many of them were able toprovide. There were more healers here than in Salem and The Expanse combined. Unlike my sister, they had the ability to heal many at once too. Reina would have a field day if she saw the hospital here.

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