Drowning Utopia

Chapter 40: The Second Letter

"In the three weeks since the attack," Mis Briggs read aloud from the newspaper, "authorities have declared at least one-thousand-and-fifteen confirmed killed, almost two-thousand wounded, and over four-thousand souls still missing. With all of the uncertainty—between the cultist attack on the World Fair, the Oni Tribes Rebellion, the resurgence of insurrectionists in the South, and the overthrow of the Emperor of Missidith—one must wonder if the idea of a shining utopia will ever be realized. Certainly, one thing is for sure. The beacon of hope that the City of Tomorrow represented is no more." She shut the paper and set it down on the table next to her tea with a sigh. "I must admit that I did not see this coming."

Tessa Copperfield and the delegates from Avalon sat outside a small café in Nonbrook Station in the City of Ford as they waited for their train to arrive. They had spent the last three weeks in recovery at one of the local hospitals.

"Well, the cards certainly did." Sir Cornwall said, as he had a set of artistic cards with fanciful depictions on them. He turned another over and revealed a card with several blades on it, and a storm in the background, "Ah, a revers three swords. that is a good omen." he muttered to himself with a smile as he shifted, immediately wincing, "Blast this thing!" he cursed rubbing his leg.

Miss Briggs, who had recovered well and was back to her traditional prim self, took a sip of jasmine tea before chiding her boss, "If you used the wheelchair as instructed, perhaps you would avoid such long-term pain." She set down her cup. "As to your point, the tabloids seem to think that it is not a coincidence that one of the princesses of Missidith—mind you, the only member of the royal family who was out of the country at the time—should go missing while the generals stage a coup d'état."

"Indeed," Sir Cornwall said gravely, "Killing all of the royal family is a very drastic thing to be sure, barbaric even. But the timing of it all feels a bit odd, don't you think?"

Tessa shook her head, "No, I think that it was merely happenstance that both events coincided."

The delegate took another bite of his scone as he sighed, looking melancholy. "What a shame, too. Especially with the groundwork that we had made toward peace between the Rus Kingdom and Missidith during the Science Expo. I truly hoped that it could have led to something."

Miss Briggs adjusted her glasses. "Yes, but that very well could be why the coup happened in the first place. The idea of peace has been tossed around for a while. The ceasefire was proof enough of that. Yet there are those who are still invested in the Russo-Missidithn conflict."

Sir Cornwall nodded, fiddling with his walking stick. "Yes, the prideful old hawks in the command structures of Missidith to be sure." Sir Cornwall sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh.

Tessa contemplated the princess and her condition the last time she saw her. "That poor girl. Being taken away like that.... I still can't help but wonder what those sky pirates got out of all of this."

"Quite a lot if you think about it," Miss Briggs noted. "They, after all, escaped not only with the princess, but one of the world's most advanced warships. Both could have been held for a handsome ransom before the princess's father was overthrown."

"Not to mention some of the latest advancements in technology from the expo itself." Tessa noted with some apprehension at the idea.

"Yes, but to what end? It is truly baffling." The old man stroked his mustache.

Miss Briggs adjusted her wire rim glasses as she pointed out, "You know, if the conversations we overheard between the leaders of their alliance meant anything, they each got what they wanted. The Boomers settled the score with Higgins and his city, the Oni secured the pirates and Boomers assistance with their revolution, and the pirates obtained the necessary components for a new laboratory. That last part concerns me the most."