Terran Oblivion

Chapter 16

Robert Kushner

May 31, 2203

Over Haiti

11:43 PM

Such has been the procedure for many years, although our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its own borders. There was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce. But as the tea, silk and porcelain which the Celestial Empire produces, are absolute necessities to European nations and to yourselves, we have permitted, as a signal mark of favor, that foreign hongs [groups of merchants] should be established at Canton, so that your wants might be supplied and your country thus participate in our beneficence. But your Ambassador has now put forward new requests which completely fail to recognize the Throne's principle to "treat strangers from afar with indulgence," and to exercise a pacifying control over barbarian tribes, the world over.

-Emperor Qianlong's letter to King of England, 1792.

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Robert didn't want to ever have to think about Haiti ever again in his life, let alone ever have to go back there. That nation had cost him so much of his life, his peace, and his serenity. While most friendships could eventually expect to heal after a time of peace, reflection, and time apart, Robert heavily doubted if his relationship with Simon could ever heal.

The Flyer buzzed over Haiti. This mission was going to be very dangerous, going right into the belly of the beast, so to speak. Charles Etienne had not been in hiding as some were describing it, no, but instead found himself in seclusion, governing the country away from the prying eyes of the nation and any lower cadres. But unlike previous secret leaders like President Gonzalo or Pol Pot who stayed in hiding and only acted out using their nom de guerres, sometimes not even showing their faces to the point where only the most important members of society knew who they were, Etienne remained quite open with his face and his cult of personality, at least according to the reports Robert had. This made hiding a very fruitless endeavor. He'd get sniffed out eventually.

He should have been thinking entirely about the mission, doing his best to calm any nerves and go over every last inch of his gun with a fine-toothed comb. Instead, he spent his waking moments here worrying about Simon.

Simon was unstable now. Almost to a fault. Yes, people had to grieve, and grieve they needed to. One couldn't just forget about a loss like that without having time to be alone and go over it, but Oblivion Division agents were meant to be able to handle the pressure and not let it interfere in visible ways, especially during missions. Picking agents almost turned into a science, with people getting blood tests and psychological exams to try and pick out ideal candidates who wouldn't crack under the pressure of their missions. It's why most agents were single and didn't have many attachments. Not that getting married was against the rules, but they preferred people who didn't have that specific worry. Besides, people who could handle the rigor were younger and usually not in that stage of life. Robert chuckled as he thought about Courtney's body, Courtney sitting across from him, all of her body hidden underneath layers of armor and uniform. Even through his armor, Robert could feel Simons' anger. It was all the little things–the way he sat, the way he looked out into space, the way that his breathing came in loud and his heart rate heavy.

Why is Archer so insistent on sending us into this mess? I don't get it.

As he looked down at the land flowing by him, Robert tried to make sense of it. They were flying from the south. The land in the south around the city of Jacmel, the place where they found that Martian missionary couple, was rugged and a bit rough, albeit exceedingly picturesque. The blue waters of the Caribbean gave way to rocky beaches which gave way to jagged hills of the center of the country. It amazed him that the revolution didn't start here in the South because any government trying to keep control of this land would have difficulty in trying to do so, especially against a committed foe with an ideological line that people wanted to follow. These hills eventually flattened and lowered into the flat plains that housed Port Au Prince, hemming it in into the flat bowl with mountains on either end, sort of like Athens in a way. All the reports he read indicated that Kenscoff, before the takeover, was one of the wealthier parts of the nation because of the altitude it had been built on, about 4500 feet or so, which made the climate cool and pleasant. Difficulty in accessing it made it exclusive. Most wealthy Haitians built homes here over the last hundred years, enjoying the cooler weather and using their Flyers to move around the country and abroad without interacting with the local population at all. Nestled in the hills and out of sight, the people of the nation must have seen those wealthy elites as almost mystical, as a group of people whom they never saw yet somehow fell victim to their schemes. No wonder a revolution broke out! How could it not, at least in retrospect?