The Far Bank of the Rubicon (The Pax Imperium Wars: Volume 1) by Erik Wecks Page B

positions feels the same way at times. The truth is, right now, there may be only ten of us who know that you’re alive and what happened to you, but that won’t last long. The Unity will be on your scent as soon as they see through our ruse, which is why we must put you somewhere safe.”
    The Secretary paused, and Anna noticed her eyes seemed to soften. “I understand your desire to simply blend in and feel like you are an average citizen. I understand it more than you know. My dad was a civil servant before me. I’m an only child and my mother was a huge socialite. For all intents and purposes, I raised myself. I attended the right schools and took the chosen path. When I was younger, I wanted out, but for you and me, I don’t believe it is possible any longer to live an ordinary life.”
    As kind as she was trying to be, it irritated Anna that this woman kept talking as if she were government property. “But I don’t work for the government! I’m not Jack. You keep talking like I have some obligation to you! I don’t.”
    The Secretary took a moment before responding. When she did, she looked Anna hard in the eye. “Anna, your existence is proof that the Unity tortures people. You’re living proof that against all standards of international law—not to mention human decency—they mind-jack their own. The rewired circuits and residual false memories in your brain are a testimony to their cruelty. Don’t think those missiles were only aimed at Jack. They want you dead just as much as they want Jack dead. You don’t have any obligation to any government, but we both have the same goal. We want to keep you alive.”
    Anna let the words sink in. Her heart sank and her throat tightened. The terror she had worked so hard to overcome in the last couple of years prowled the edge of her consciousness. “When I arrived on Apollos, I thought like that. I used to look over my shoulder all the time. In the last two years I have worked hard to put aside my fears and not think that way. Now you’re telling me that I have to be paranoid for the rest of my life.”
    Secretary Ohlson shook her head. “Hopefully not, Anna. That’s why I want to send you and Jack to the Kingdom of Athena. The Imperial Trade Minister is headed there on Beta shortly to help negotiate a dispute about tariffs. If there is any place in this galaxy where you’ll be safe, it’s there. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you to have had your life ripped away without having a say in the matter. Adjusting to the reality that you’re important might be harder for you than it was for me.”
    Anna found herself wondering just how much the Secretary knew about her situation. She wondered if the Ministry of Information had been spying on her. That thought made her feel even more vulnerable than the thin gown.
    On the other hand, finding people she could talk to had been incredibly hard since her arrival on Apollos, and even then, she hadn’t ever been able to tell anyone the truth about why she was there. Anna suddenly realized her soul desperately longed for honesty. Ohlson appeared to have been straightforward and truthful with her so far, more truthful than Jack. She decided to take a chance. She snorted in irritation and said, “Jack made all the choices for me. I was just the damsel in distress—the princess to be rescued.”
    “True.” Ohlson pondered this for a minute, staring opaquely at the claw on the ceiling. “And you’ve really had nothing to do since you arrived here, except work a petty job and take care of two children who are not your own.”
    “Yes, but it isn’t really about the kids or the job—although that’s part of it. It’s got more to do with Jack. To be honest, I’m not sure he really cares for me. I never have been. You know, the night before I was taken and tortured by the Unity, he promised to run away with me. He promised to choose me, but until that point, I was just one on a neverending list of