Brought Down

30. The Traitor

Julian

They have picked a room in Rosefield and stuffed it with equipment and turned it into a twin brother of the control room they have left in their now destroyed hideaway. Only they call this one 'War Room'. As if they have finally accepted that their rebellion is, in fact, a war.

Rosefield is more of a multi-layered underground city than just a mine. I have never been to any mines before, and it looks grandiose—an enormous, stinky, dirty, crowded hive-like kind of grandiose. It's been getting even stinkier and more crowded since the refugees from the hideaway have begun to stream in.

Rykar's decision to trust me and lead them here must have saved thousands of lives, but the miners' routine has been seriously disrupted. The atmosphere of unrest has been increasing for the last couple of days, with miners and their families fearing food shortages and possible attacks from the royal forces as a result of them sheltering the refugees.

At last, Garrett has come to my tiny cell today to escort me to the War Room.

Now, I'm sitting here by the long conference table, feeling very much out of place.

The people around the table, despite clearly holding senior positions, look at me in exactly the same hostile, brooding way the miners do. After a few minutes, annoyed with the fifteen pairs of eyes staring holes through me, I choose one of them and try to stare him down.

It's the red-faced man I saw arguing with Rykar in the control room of the hideaway. There's a fresh scar on his forehead, and his eyes, still fixed on me, are red and tired. Guess their trip through the mines was neither safe nor pleasant.

"What?" he says at last.

"Just basking in your attention," I say. "You barely take your eyes off me."

Sitting to my right, Garrett snorts. The man frowns.

"Funny, huh?" he says. "It's because of you that we're stuck here."

I smile pleasantly. "It's because of me that you're not stuck under the ruins of your hideaway."

"It's because Rykar had decided to believe your selfish royal ass about Rosefield being safe."

"Was he wrong?" I spread my arms. "It's been two days, and was it attacked? No. Also, being a selfish ass, would I be here myself have I thought this place dangerous?"

Before he can answer, Rykar walks in.

"Hello everyone," he says, walking to the head of the table.

He sinks heavily into his chair, and passes his hands over his cheeks, rubbing his stubble. All eyes rest on him, and it takes him a moment to notice that. When he does, he lowers his hands, laces his fingers on the table, and nods at me.

"So," he says. "Maynard." He spits my name like a curse. "Speak."

"Do call me Julian," I say. "How are you?"

"Save me your pleasantries. It's time to give answers. We've trusted you and it seems to have paid off. Despite Rosefield accepting refugees, it has not been struck. Now, we want to know why."

"It's been only two days," the red-faced man chimes in. "There could be preparing for an airstrike as we speak. Or they will just cut us off and rely on Greenfield and all the other mines on Earth and Luna, and --"

"Enough," says Rykar. "We know your opinion. Let me remind you that you yourself tried to convince me to evacuate people here. Is it me refusing your advice but accepting that of Maynard's pup that annoys you so much?"

I welcome their squabble since it postpones the moment when I have to take the plunge. There's no way back, and yet the prospect of disclosing the most guarded secret of the royal forces makes me queasy. It will be treachery of an unprecedented scale. It will change everything. If I speak now, the status quo that has existed for the last few centuries between the royals and the miners will change. It will be chaos again, and the old wounds will open anew.

Or maybe not. Maybe the truth is the only way to heal them.

"So?" Rykar looks at me. "Back in the hideaway, you said you have information that will help us win the war. What is it?"

I sigh. Out of all the eyes fixed on me, I'm most aware of Garrett's. I can sense his presence by my side. Despite my heart pounding like crazy, I force a smile.

"The information is that you've basically won," I say. "You just don't know it yet."

Everybody just stare.

"Explain," says Rykar.

"Luna mines," I say. "They do not exist." There, I've said it. I feel lightheaded, almost on the verge of fainting. "There's no 'other' mines. There's only four mines left on Earth—Rosefield, Greenfield, Shando and Mayfield, and that is it."

"What?" says the red-faced man. "What about the Asian and the African mines?"

"Why do you think they exist?"

"It's just... known."

"Known how?"

"From your communications that we intercepted," says Rykar slowly. "Do you mean --"

"Royals lie, as you like to say." I allow myself another smile. "Never underestimate the power of disinformation. The other Earth mines have been destroyed, one after another, either by 'things', as you call them, or by the royal forces. When the first rebellions started, they were put down with an iron fist—until there were too few working mines left. As for the Luna mines, they have never existed. The colonization of Luna was indeed attempted hundreds of years ago, but it's failed."

I glance at Garret. The look of shock on his face is almost comical.

"Regarding Luna, it wasn't a disinformation only for your sake," I continue. "Only a few dozens of the most prominent officials know the truth. The general population is blissfully unaware that four lousy mines are all that prevents their comfortable space stations from running out of resources."

I look around the table. "You need to shift your perspective. You always thought that you need us, but the facts are the opposite. The royals are completely dependent on the materials you supply. If all four mines cut off all contact with them, and survive for a few weeks or months on that disgusting artificial food of yours, the royals will be forced to negotiate. After all, you're on solid ground here, and they are stuck in space and completely dependent on their technology. They can't attack you, since destroying the working mines would be the end of them as well. You see now why Rosefield is safe?"

Most of the people just gape at me in shock, but I can see the first hesitant smiles appear on some of the faces.

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