Witness [A First Contact Romance]-COMPLETE

59. All the Pieces (Part 1)

Earth

2027

Rory stood at a podium on the stage at a convention center looking out over a few hundred people who had gathered. She'd coordinated with the US government on choosing a location that would not garner a great deal of attention and she'd urged all those invited not to speak to people about this meeting before they came. An abundance of military troops dispersed throughout the room to handle any security concerns.

Rory had wanted to speak to as many representatives as possible in person so that they would hear her message with their own ears and know it had not been manipulated online. She could have packed out a stadium with reporters, trusted aides who could report back to federal and state congressional members, and international representatives who could make the trip in time. It was too dangerous to gather in large crowds, though. In the thirty-six hours since world leaders had announced Vehru's invasion, the social upheaval was too great to draw in crowds like that. There had even been attacks by individuals supporting the Federation, people who demanded that Earth support their liberators, or die.

That was not even considering that Vehru could surprise her by giving up on the humanitarian act and attack a large gathering.

Rory had thought about using her squad as security at a stadium, but they couldn't manage a crowd like that. If Vehru offered more soldiers for security, it would make her look trustworthy to the people. So, Rory had settled for meeting quietly with representatives from each state in the US and as many countries as could join. She'd asked that trusted staffers come in place of major activists and politicians because the people needed their leaders and they'd have to be very careful with their lives.

If Rory could, she would travel to other countries and do the same thing. At least this way, one group would hear her, record the message, and be able to spread the word that they'd heard it in person. It was real.

For now though, she only had time for this one meeting before she and her squad enacted the most dangerous mission so far. Each person had their own objective and it had to be carried out simultaneously if they had any hope of finishing the job before Vehru or Morfrain stopped them.

If it worked, then not only would Earth have some kind of chance against the invasion, but Rory would manage to significantly hurt Vehru and Morfrain.

When she began, she opened with reiterating some of the things she had said before, extorting them not to give into Vehru or believe her lies. Then she told her story, all of it. Vehru had not banned her from discussing the personal details of her life, only classified information. Although, she questioned whether Vehru would let her tell everyone about the threat to hurt her son. She would save that for the end in case Vehru stopped her.

Those gathered appeared visibly shocked as she talked about Vehru stealing her memory and breaking apart her family, or when she told them that her first husband had come to Earth as one of Vehru's generals.