“Now?”
“That’s what I was told.”
“I’ll tell you what. I'm going to help Eleanor take my kids to her place so they can get some more sleep. Then I’ll come back here and you can ride with Aziz and me into the village. Do you think the council can wait that long?”
He nodded his head.
“Can you take Pierre, again, Eleanor?”
“Already on it.” She picked up Pierre and said, “You are getting so big. You’re heavy to lift up now.”
“Aziz says his spices are magical and will make me stronger. I guess they are working!”
Eleanor laughed and looked at Aziz. He shrugged.
“Come on, mon petit papillon,” Marianne said to Genevieve, who was looking very sleepy. “We need to get you somewhere you can get some more sleep.”
++++++
Both children were sound asleep on their horses before they had gotten a quarter of the way to Eleanor’s house. Riding immediately beside Marianne, Eleanor spoke, “What’s up with you and Aziz? That was quite some hug.”
Marianne rolled her eyes and said, “Rania asked me to take care of him during this period. He needed that.”
“C’mon, Mar. We know each other better than that. That was no reassuring someone hug. You wanted that just as much as he did. When did this happen?”
“Nothing’s happened,” Marianne said indignantly. But she avoided looking her friend in the eyes.
“Sure. Whatever you say.” Eleanor sped up and rode towards her house a little more quickly.
Marianne sped up and rode behind her. She thought briefly about what Eleanor had said. She knew she did care about Aziz. If she was honest with herself, she had desires for him, too. But she wasn’t ready to deal with those. Not yet at least, if ever. But apparently, they were more obvious than she liked to think. Damn it! She didn’t have time for this.
Soon, they reached Eleanor’s house. She hopped down carefully while holding a sleeping Genevieve against her chest. There were lights on in the house, but that was true for every house they’d seen. It seemed like the noise of the creature had woken the entire colony.
Good, she thought. Everyone needed to know what'd happened. She stayed just long enough to say goodnight again to her children, before she hopped on her horse to hurry back to her house and her escort to the council. Fuck the council! What did she expect her to do, let Aziz and her family die along with her?
Reaching her house again, she signaled Aziz to hop on behind her. Once he was securely on, Pascal started walking towards town. The guard quickly mounted his horse and then caught up to slightly behind and beside them. She snorted softly to herself. What did he think he was going to do if she stopped and refused to go? She had no doubt that she could take him out if she needed to. But what then? She wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the colony and she wouldn’t have her children. She wanted this council meeting more than they did. Or more than Renee did. Renee could no longer maintain that this was a figment of her imagination or that these creatures were not dangerous to them. She shook her head in disbelief of Renee.
Aziz must have noticed her movement. He leaned forward and quietly asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just arguing with Renee in my head.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to do that in person momentarily.”
He was, of course, correct. But hearing his voice changed her perspective, her thought stream. Now she was very consciously aware of his arms around her waist. She closed her eyes and she imagined his hands sliding up her abdomen until he was grabbing her breasts. Reaching inside her shirt, he would gently squeeze one, then pinch its nipple.
She realized she was starting to squirm in the saddle, a movement he was bound to notice. She stiffened back up for the remainder of the ride. If he'd noticed, he never showed any sign of it.
++++++
The guard started to escort them into the council chambers when the sergeant-at-arms stopped them. “You can’t take that in with you,” he said, pointing to her plasma rifle.
“Sorry. To be honest, I forgot I had it. Would it be possible for you to start recharging it during the meeting. I don’t want to be home without it fully charged.”
Patrice said, “If you lend it to me, I’ll get it recharged. I need to recharge mine as well.” Turning to the sergeant-at-arms, “Can you see them in, while I take care of the weapons.”
The sergeant-at-arms nodded and watched as Marianne handed her precious rifle to the guard. She hated surrendering it to someone who reported to Renee, but she trusted that he understood the need for it.
“Wait here a minute, while I announce your arrival,” the sergeant-at-arms said, before disappearing inside the chamber door. A moment later he re-emerged and waved them in. Marianne and Aziz took what were becoming their accustomed seats.
“It seems like we see way too much of the two of you,” Renee said with disdain in her voice.
“I would love to just take care of my farm and my family in peace, but that hasn’t seemed possible,” Marianne said, glowering at her adversary sitting in front of her.
“What do you say happened this time? Why did you feel the need to terrify the entire colony?” Renee asked.
“We were awoken in the middle of the night by one of the cliff creatures on top of the house. We first contacted the council for help on an emergency basis. When none seemed imminent, I asked Eleanor Marceau to help. She managed to distract the creature sufficiently that I could slip out through the basement hatch.”
“So you were fleeing from the creature? Abandoning your children? And Aziz?”
“No, she was defending us, unlike you!” Aziz snapped.
Marianne put a hand on his arm to quiet him, before answering herself. “As Aziz said, I was changing my tactical position in order to defend us. I needed to get outside the house to get a clear shot at it.”
“And did you kill it?”
“No. I had almost drained my rifle when I decided I would not be able to do so. So I saved my last few shots for an emergency and tried to find an alternative plan.”
“Did you devise such a plan?”
“No. Fortunately the council guard arrived shortly thereafter. With the additional two rifles, we were able to kill the beast. At least to the best of my knowledge, it’s dead. One of your guards remained at my house to keep an eye on it, just in case.”
“It’s only your word that this is what happened. Perhaps you trapped the poor creature and brought it to your house to get the attention you seem to crave.”
“That’s not what happened!” Aziz shouts.
“You previously established that you are not an unbiased witness in this matter, Monsieur Gharbi. Or should we say El Gharbi, since you are not truly French, are you.”
“Objection!”
“I hear your objection, Councilor Clements. Please strike the end of that statement from the record.”
“Objection!”
“I’m already striking the comment, Georges. What more do you want?”
“I insist the statement stays in the official record. I’m calling for an official council vote censuring President Desjardins for a racist comment.”
“Very well, All councilors in favor of the censure, please vote accordingly. Everyone opposed, please vote accordingly. The vote is 3-2 and I stand censured for my comment. I apologize to you, Monsieur Gharbi. But the fact remains that we’ve only heard a description by a citizen who has a history of opposing this council. And from a new citizen who has expressed willingness to support that witness in defiance of this council’s rulings.”
“Have you talked to your guards? They could testify that there is no way I could’ve trapped that creature or possibly brought it to my house. And I certainly wouldn’t have endangered my family or Aziz, whatever his background.”
“You were not asked a question, Madame Laurent. I must remind you not to speak out of turn in these proceedings,” Renee said.
“The witness raises a good point, however,” Michelle Ouellette said. “We have an officer of this council who witnessed much of the incident. We should bring him in to tell us his version of the story.”
“Very well. Sergeant-at-arms, please enter the chambers. Witnesses, you are dismissed.”
“Objection!”
Renee sighed. “Yes, Councilor Martin?”
“None of the other councilors have had an opportunity to question these witnesses. I would like to hear Patrice’s version and get clarification from them where appropriate.”
“Is that the will of the council?”
All four other councilors, including Jacques Piton, nod their heads.
“Very well. The witnesses may remain. But once again, I feel the need to remind the witnesses of the need for silence unless you are questioned directly. You are not a participant in these proceedings except when a question is directed at you personally.”
The sergeant-at-arms walked back into the chambers and approached the front. “Sergeant-at-arms, is Officer Gerard available?”
“Yes, Madame President. He’s waiting just outside.”
“Then please bring him in immediately.”
The sergeant-at-arms left and directly re-entered, now escorting the guard into the chambers. Patrice proceeded to a chair next to Marianne. They nod to each other. He softly said, “Your rifle is fully recharged. The sergeant-at-arms has it in his locker, ready for you when you leave.”
“Thank you.”
“Let the record show that Council Officer Patrice Gerard is here as a witness to this morning’s incident,” Renee said. “Officer Gerard, would you please give an oral report of what you witnessed at Madame Laurent’s residence?”
“At 2:13AM, Antoine and I were summoned to investigate the situation at Marianne’s house. I was already awake, as I expect the entire colony was, when what I assume was the creature shrieking when Marianne first fired at it.”
“2:13?” Marianne blurted out incredulously.
Bang, bang, bang. “The witness was already reminded to be quiet unless responding to a direct question. Any further interruptions will be treated as contempt of the council. Please continue, Office Gerard.”
Marianne’s fists are clenched and her face is drawn and scarlet with rage. Aziz pats her arm to try to keep her calm.
“We could hear the on-going battle, so we galloped as quickly as possible to her house, arriving at 2:24. The noises stopped while we were on our way. Upon arrival, I could immediately see an enormous creature of some sort on top of her house.
“Marianne and her friend Eleanor were waiting out front. Marianne approached us and gave us a tactical update. As recommended by Marianne, we moved to the rear of the house, where the bulk of the creature was clinging to the back of the house. It had suffered significant damage from her plasma rifle, including completely severing two tentacles.”
Marianne opened her mouth, but found the control to not speak.
“Antoine and I fired upon the creature with our rifles. It shrieked loudly. After approximately a dozen direct hits to its main body, the creature lost its grip on the side of the house and fell to the ground. We each fired one more time, but the creature showed no more signs of life. As far as I know, Antoine is still there standing guard over the body in case it’s merely unconscious.”
“What were your orders from the council?” Rene asked.
“You told us to investigate and report.”
“So you disobeyed orders in firing on the beast, didn’t you, Officer Gerard?”
“I take full responsibility for the decision. I felt that the situation required immediate initiative, given the unexpected situation.”
“I take that as directly disobeying your orders. We’ll need to review your fitness for your position, Officer Gerard. Do any councilors have any questions for the officer?”
Georges Clements raises his hand.
“The President recognizes Councilor Clements.”
“Personally, I think you showed bravery and good judgement, Officer Gerard. I will recommend a commendation for your actions,” Georges said. “Before your arrival, a theory was proposed that Madame Laurent captured the creature and somehow transported it to her house to stage this incident. You have not offered enough description of the creature for us to evaluate this possibility. Could you describe the creature more thoroughly and give your considered opinion about the possibility of doing this.”
Patrice chuckled. “I mean no disrespect, sir, but I don’t think you understand the creature we were dealing with. The body of the creature was something like the size of four elephants. The larger tentacles must have weighed a tonne or more apiece. I guess I’d estimate its weight at something between twenty and forty tonnes. I’m amazed the house didn’t collapse. I can see no possibility she could have transported it while it was still alive. On the way back here, I was trying to think about how we’re going to dispose of the body. I guess five or six horses might be able to drag the body somewhere. Figure out how to drop it over the cliff, sending it back to where it came from.”
Renee looked sickened by this discussion.
“What do you think the outcome would have been if - ,” Georges started.
Bang, bang, bang. “The President has not recognized the councilor for a second question. Does anyone else have a question? Anyone on the Council, that is.”
Michelle Ouellette raised her hand.
“The President recognizes Councilor Ouellette for one question.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Marianne, you seemed very surprised and upset that the Officers were summoned at 2:13. Can you explain your reaction?”
“Thank you, Councilor Ouellette. I sent an emergency request for aid to the council at 1:37AM, thirty six minutes before they were summoned. We could easily have died in that time. I’m still surprised that we survived. And shocked that the house held together.”
“But apparently, your fears were misplaced since the house did remain standing and the creature is the only thing that was killed in the incident,” Renee said.
Aziz raised his hand, only to be ignored by Renee.
“Are there any more questions from anyone else?” Renee asked. Seeing Jean Martin raise his hand, she said, “The President recognizes Councilor Martin.”
“Monsieur Gharbi, you seem to feel you have information relevant to this investigation. Would you please share that information?”
“Thank you. One of the roof beams did crack. When Marianne opened fire on the creature, it shifted its weight to the back wall of the house, which seemed to relieve much of the stress on the roof. If Eleanor had not come to distract the creature and Marianne had not been clever and brave enough to slip out the basement hatch, I fully expect the roof would have collapsed before 2:24.”
“Councilor Piton, do you have any questions for any of the witnesses?” Renee asked.
He shook his head no.
“Every councilor having been given a chance to ask a question of the witnesses I declare this hearing concluded,” Renee said.
“Point of order,” Georges said.
Renee looked frustratingly at Georges, saying, “Really?”
“Yes. You did not consider any motions prior to ending these proceedings.”
“Okay, do we have any motions?”
Georges raised his hand. As soon as Renee recognized him, he said, “I move that we have a special public forum about this incident, scheduled for later this morning.”
“Is this necessary?” she asked to no one in particular.
“That is up to the entire council to decide. May I speak briefly to my motion before the other councilors are given the opportunity to speak for or against the motion.”
“Yes, that is the normal procedure. But you are reminded to be brief in your comments. No showboating here.”
“Given that a family in the colony was attacked and that the entire colony is likely aware that something significant happened in the middle of the night, we owe it to our citizens to keep them well informed.”
“But we also have a responsibility to not cause unnecessary panic in them.”
“We have an expert in the room in maintaining the public peace who also is one of the few on the planet who can speak directly about the creature. With the President’s indulgence, I cede the rest of my right to speak to the motion to allow Officer Gerard to answer a simple relevant question: what does he think would have happened if the creature had attacked any other house in the colony?”
Renee is clearly losing her patience with Georges again, but she grants the request. “Officer Gerard, would you please answer the councilor’s question as plainly and directly as you can.”
“I cannot see how anyone else would have survived the attack. Only because Marianne was resourceful, brave, and armed with the rifle, was she able to bring the creature under control. To be honest, we have no idea how many houses would have been destroyed before we managed to take down the beast. I would expect we would be looking at the worst disaster in the history of this colony. I think people need to understand the danger. I think our citizens can handle it.”
“Thank you Officer Gerard. Can we please take a vote, so we can get back to sleep now?”
All the councilors nodded their heads, all looking very tired.
“All in favor of a special community meeting today, please vote accordingly. All opposed, please vote accordingly. By a vote of 3-2, we will call a special public meeting of the citizenry later this morning. Yes, Councilor Clements?”
“Since you’ve expressed your weariness, I’d be glad to write this announcement and build an agenda for the meeting to allow you your much needed rest.”
Renee glared at him. “I appreciate your concern. I'll let you write the announcement and I’ll create the agenda. I’m sure you’re as tired as I am. With this, may I call these proceedings to a close?”
Patrice raises his hand.
“What is it, Patrice?” Renee asks wearily.
“I think it would be advisable to summon Denis to relieve Antoine. We do not want him falling asleep and discovering that the creature was only knocked unconscious. And you probably want to send the Plateau engineer to look at the beast to decide how to dispose of the body. It’ll be a hard problem. I’d think that having its body rotting there is likely to be unhealthy and may bring undesired carrion feeders up the cliff. Not to mention cause discomfort in the citizenry.”
“You are of course correct. I’ll arrange both of those things immediately.”
“Having the engineer go as soon as the major sun is up would be useful so we can have her expert testimony available at the public forum,” Georges added.
“Duly noted.”
Bang. “I call these proceedings closed until the public meeting later today.”
++++++
Once they were out of the chambers, Marianne said to Patrice, “Thanks for backing me in there. I’m sorry if you get any pushback from Renee for your actions.”
“She can shove it as far as I’m concerned. But she's not usually this irrational as far as I’ve seen.”
“She is around me. She really has a thing about me. Read the official transcript from the last hearing when Aziz and I got dragged in here. I’m sure she would’ve been happy if the creature had killed us.”
“You don’t really mean that, do you?”
“I’m absolutely serious. I thought she just disliked me because I had pushed back when the council officially said Andre fell off the cliff. But she has really despised me since I shot the first beast that tried to attack Aziz. It feels irrational to me, but she probably has her reasons.”
“How did you get out of the house. I saw the damage it did to the front door of your house. There’s no way you got out that way.”
“Eleanor was the first level distraction. I knew it would see that as a distraction, so I had Aziz pretend to open the front door, so it would focus on that. It’s smart and it let Aziz see a clear path, all while waiting in ambush. But while it was focused there, I slipped out the loading hatch from the crawlspace.”
“Good plan.”
“I suspect it won’t work again. They’re smart. I have to believe that it had a way to send what it knew to others before it died. I didn’t expect them to try breaking a fence rail as a trap again. They now know we’re ready for that. I have no idea what their next attack will be, but it will come sometime. It was a month between the last one and this one. We might have that time to prepare for the next one. But it’ll be worse than this one, mark my words.”
“Way to cheer me up. But thanks. I think you’re the only one here who really understands these things. And you're one brave woman. I meant what I said back there. I’m proud to be on the planet with you.”
“Thanks Patrice. You showed your own kind of bravery and honor for standing up to Renee in there.” She turned to Aziz, “Shall we try to get a little rest and do our morning chores before we need to be back in here in not that long.”
She reclaimed her now fully charged rifle and they climbed onto Pascal. The horse was doing most of the driving as he slowly walked back to her house.
Aziz was leaning into her back as he hung onto her. She had to admit, she liked the feeling of him against her. Rania really was right about her feelings for him. He’s the hardest working person she’d ever known and she respected him for that. And he was earnest and sincere. She could tell he had a bit of a fiery temper, but unlike her, he didn’t let it build until it boiled over. She wished he'd stand up for himself a little more, but otherwise, he seemed like a good partner for her.
She let Pascal lead them home as she relaxed with the feelings of Aziz against her. She was actually surprised when Pascal slowed down as they approached her barn.
++++++
When Marianne and Aziz arrived at the meeting, the room was more than half full, murmuring loudly. Rumors were running rampant. She listened to them until people recognized her. Most people knew she’d been the one to shoot the last creature, which made a similar sound; they assumed she was involved again.
Each time someone asked her, she answered, “Yes, there was another one of the creatures. It’s dead now. More details will be provided at this meeting.”
Before long, Renee banged her gavel and brought the meeting to order. “This is a public special meeting of the Nouveau Gaul Plateau Council. This meeting will be run as an ordinary meeting of the council, but will be limited to discussion of the incident early this morning. There will be an opportunity for some members of the citizenry to ask questions of the council, time permitting. So the more orderly we can keep this meeting, the more questions you’ll be able to ask.”
The crowd quieted down, trying to listen now.
“I will start by reading a brief prepared statement that will also be sent out to any citizens unable to attend this meeting.”
To the citizens of the plateau.
The council has decided to inform you about an incident that happened this morning around 2AM. A large unknown creature apparently scaled the cliff from the jungle. It came to rest on the residence of Marianne Laurent, on her farm on the boundary of the plateau. She sent an emergency distress to the council when she was awakened by the creature. The council sent a pair of armed guards who were able to kill the creature before it could do any harm to any residents. Many of you probably heard its shrieks as it was shot. Rest assured that the council will continue to provide the necessary protection to all citizens. Should you see anything that you feel should come to our attention, please notify us at once.
Sincerely,
Council President Desjardins
and the entire council
The murmuring got louder. Marianne could hear many people shouting out questions at once.
Bang, bang, bang. “As I said, there’ll be an opportunity for questions later in this meeting. To provide more clarity, the council now calls on Officer Patrice Gerard to speak to the assembly. He and Officer Antoine LaFleur bravely contained any threat the creature presented.”
The sergeant-at-arms handed Patrice a microphone. “Hello? Can everyone hear me?”
Many people yelled yes. Patrice was obviously uncomfortable speaking to a large crowd like this.
“When we arrived at 2:24 this morning, there was a large creature on the roof of the Laurent home. My estimation is that the body was about the size of three elephants. It had twelve tentacles, I believe. The larger six were approximately a meter in diameter at their thickest and reached approximately fifteen meters from the base of the body. When we arrived, the creature was already heavily injured by shots by Marianne Laurent’s plasma rifle, which the council had presented her with because of her previous encounters with what we believe was the same kind of creature. Antoine and I provided the death shots to the creature and Aziz Gharbi and Pierre and Genevieve Laurent were rescued from within the house.”
More murmuring.
Renee chose to speak over it this time. “Thank you Officer Gerard. The council commends your brave dedication to the colony. I would now like to call for a report from the Plateau engineer, Danielle Allard.”
The sergeant-at-arms, who had already reclaimed the microphone from Patrice, now handed it to a woman standing near him, also at the front of the crowd. She seemed more comfortable speaking to the group.
“At the request of the council, I went to the Laurent residence to examine the carcass of the creature, in an effort to decide how to best dispose of it. I took measurements of the creature. Officer Gerard actually underestimated its size in his report. Its main body is a bit amorphous, but is approximately six meters in diameter and about five meters high, or about the volume of seven African elephants. The two longest tentacles reached approximately twenty meters in length. My best estimate is that the carcass weighs approximately 82 tonnes.”
The audience is temporarily quieted by her description of the size.
“I need to do some further calculations to confirm my expectations, but my initial estimate is that it will take 8 horses two days to drag the carcass to the edge and pull it over. The plan is to take a large sheet of our building plastic to use as a sled. Near the cliff, we will sink large beams into the ground to use as pulleys to bring the sled to the edge. I’m still working out the details for getting the creature all the way over the cliff.”
“Thank you Madame Allard for that very informative report.”
“Madame President, if I may, I haven’t finished my report yet.”
“By all means, my apologies.”
While I was at the residence, I also examined the structural damage done to the house itself. Aziz Gharbi had reported hearing a single roof beam crack. He was in error in that report. Two beams had cracked nearly completely. From the description of the action I’ve seen, my best analysis suggests the roof was within minutes of complete failure if Marianne had not lured the creature largely off the roof and onto the back wall. That did not come without a cost though. One of the rear vertical timbers is no longer viable. A second timber has sustained significant damage and should no longer be used in a structural capacity. Given the weight of the creature and its movements on the roof, I’m quite proud of how well the structure withstood the stresses. That said, I’ve declared her house unsafe for habitation.”
Marianne snapped her head to face Danielle at that pronouncement. Where were they supposed to live now?
“Well that's interesting and unfortunate news, I have to say,” Renee exclaimed. “As per our usual rules of order for public council meetings, Each councilor is allotted two minutes for a statement about the situation. I will start from my extreme right, with Councilor Martin.”
“I yield my time to Councilor Clements.”
“Councilor Piton.”
“I have no statement to make.”
“Councilor Ouellette?”
“I yield my two minutes to Councilor Clements.”
“Councilor Clements, it appears you have six minutes to make your statement about this situation.”
“Thank you, Madame President. But the real thank you today should go to Marianne Laurent, who saved not only her own life but that of her two children and her guest Aziz Gharbi. And perhaps others if the creature had been allowed to roam the plateau. Her heroism and efforts should not go unnoticed.”
He paused as the crowd roared its support for Marianne. Some were chanting her name. She was more than a little uncomfortable with this, but watching Renee squirm listening to it made it all worthwhile.
“I propose a motion to the council commending her actions and awarding her a prize of 5000 credits from the council’s coffers.”
Cheers rose again. Marianne was stunned. 5000 credits was a lot. She’s not sure what she would even do with all that.
“Since we have now learned that her house was destroyed in the attack, I propose a second motion to move Aziz Gharbi’s house to be the next on the list to be built, so that her family and Aziz can move into that house quickly.”
Clapping, but not as loud cheering as earlier. Many probably realized their house (or their guest’s house) just got bumped down one spot.
“This morning, the council learned that there was a 36 minute delay from the time the emergency request was sent until the guards were dispatched to resolve the issue. A delay we now know could have been fatal to the family who was trapped in the house. I propose that the council undertakes an investigation into the delay, with the idea of redesigning the emergency summons system to ensure that this never happens again.”
This got more cheers.
“Finally, I propose that the Plateau forms a committee to consider how best to defend the colony from threats like these. I will personally nominate Marianne Laurent and Patrice Gerard as two members of this committee. I ask citizens who are interested to nominate themselves. The council will then choose a committee to present a plan to the council as soon as practicable.”
Loud cheers from the crowd.
“Madame President, I surrender the remainder of my time to permit more questions from the public.”
“Thank you, Councilor Clements. Do any of the councilors wish to speak to any of the Councilor Clements proposals? Hearing none, I will call a vote on the proposal for the commendation and award for Marianne Laurent. All in favor of the motion, please vote accordingly. All opposed please vote accordingly. The motion passes 3-2. Would the proposing councilor care to write the wording for the commendation?”
“I’d be delighted to, Madame President.”
“The second proposal is to move the priority of Aziz Gharbi’s house to be the next one built. Any discussion? Hearing none, would all councilors in favor of the motion please vote accordingly. All opposed please vote accordingly. The motion passes 3-2. The council will direct the building commission to make the required adjustments to the schedule.”
Marianne and Aziz look at each other. This meeting is turning out quite well for them. Other than discovering her house has been condemned, of course.
“It looks like Councilor Clements third motion was to call for a council investigation of the delay in sending the guard to the Laurent residence. Will all councilors favoring the motion, please vote accordingly. And all councilors opposed please vote accordingly. The vote being 4-1, the motion passes and the council will establish an investigation and provide a possible remedy to prevent future such issues.”
Four to one, Marianne thought. That meant she even lost Jacques on that one. There is no doubt in Marianne’s mind that Renee intentionally suppressed that request. She imagined that the council would find a way to sugar coat that, then take that power away from her.
“And for the final of Councilor Clements’ proposal, the formation of the colony defense committee. All in favor, please vote accordingly. All opposed, please vote accordingly. The motion passes 5-0. The President calls upon all interested citizens to submit their name for consideration to be included on the committee.”
There is no way I have time for that committee, Marianne thought. But do I trust these others to do it without me? I’ll talk to Eleanor. One of us damned well better be on that committee.
“Before I open the meeting up for a few questions from the citizens, I want to clarify the rules. Do not speak unless the sergeant-at-arms recognizes you. If this becomes unruly, I'll be forced to end the meeting. Please be respectful of your fellow citizens and allow them a chance to ask their questions. Thank you. Sergeant-at-arms, please hand the microphone to the first citizen you see with their hand raised.”
The microphone first went to a man that lives near Marianne’s farm. She always thought of him as level headed. “This appears to be the third attack by a creature against the Laurent farm. Why did the council not take the threat more seriously?”
Renee looked uneasy, then spoke, “Only one other attack has been verified. And that was only observed by witnesses that were not considered fully reliable.”
“Do you really still maintain Andre fell off the cliff?” someone yelled out.
Bang, bang, bang. “If you cannot keep quiet for the questioner, this will not work. Sergeant-at-arms, next question please.”
The next questioner was a woman that Marianne did not recognize, presumably a new settler. “Your message to the colony implied that the council guard took on the monster, with no mention of Marianne Laurent. But your own officer indicated that she was almost solely responsible for stopping the creature. And your fellow councilors just approved a commendation for her heroic actions. Can you explain the difference in tone and content?”
“In order to quickly update all the citizens, I composed a message based on incomplete information.”
“You mean you couldn’t even bother to have a five minute conversation with your own officer before providing us the background of a crisis, one that was no longer urgent and changing?”
Bang, bang, bang. “Next question, sergeant-at-arms.”
“Are you going to equip more of us with weapons before we’re attacked?” asked a woman who lives along the cliff four farms north of Marianne. She sounded frightened.
“We have limited firearms. I think this incident displayed that we have chosen wisely in how they’ve been distributed. With an improved emergency request system, I’m sure the officers will arrive in time to defend you and your house. Do you really want to try to face the creature by yourself, even with a weapon?”
The woman paled a bit. Renee looked more confident, at least until someone yelled, “Just stay on Renee’s good side and they’ll come.”
Marianne smiled. She didn’t recognize the voice, but the reality of her situation is understood by at least some of the other colonists. And many more now, she guessed.
The sergeant-at-arms handed the microphone to another colonist. A townsperson Marianne knew only vaguely. “Do we have a defined place to come if our house is attacked. A fall out shelter of some sort?”
Renee answered, “I would guess this building, but that is a good question for our new Defense Committee to consider.”
“If that creature comes to your house, you put your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye,” someone shouted, eliciting an uneasy laughter from the crowd.
“Or you better kiss Renee’s first, so help gets sent.” More laughter.
Bang, bang, bang. “This meeting has now been concluded.” Renee sounded furious.
A half dozen questions are shouted by the audience, too intertwined for any of them to be understood. Renee turned off the PA system and headed towards the side door behind the counselors.
The sergeant-at-arms announced, in his own booming voice, “The meeting is concluded now. Please make your way to the closest exit in orderly fashion.”
People started filing out, but the grumbling was apparent to all.