Chapter 45: Chapter 44: A Humble Request

After taking their shower and having the first real dinner since arriving on Vesta, Alex and Jenna made their way over to Rick’s housing unit that evening, intending to spend some time together with Alex’s former brother-in-law.

They found Rick and Nikki practically glued to their news feed, which was broadcasting a not-so-surprising segment about an upcoming event in Vesta.

“Well, I don’t believe it,” said Rick, shaking his head. “They’re calling for elections to the Vestan Council to be moved up! Instead of being only two weeks away, they’re scheduled for a week out!”

“Damn, that was quick,” said Alex, turning his attention to the news feed.

Indeed, Annette had worked her magic quite well. Those old laws she found must have made a good argument to Belladonna, and now they had a chance at saving Ellie from being put to death.

That is, as long as they got someone favorable on the council and not just two more of Belladonna’s lackeys.

“Do you think anyone from the Racine will run?” asked Nikki after the news segment ended. “I know we just got here but there’s a significant number of us compared to the rest of the Vestans. I could see that being used as justification to get us a spot on the leadership council.”

“I think it’s important that one of the new arrivals does run,” said Jenna. “If we’re going to live here, we ought to have a say in the leadership.”

“But who though?” asked Rick. “Who is ambitious enough to run for something when they just got here?”

At that moment, both Alex and Rick looked at each other. They mouthed the same name almost immediately.

“Serrano.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” said Alex. “All he’s done since we met him is chase power in some form or another. Now that he’s warmed his way into Belladonna’s good graces, he could be a threat for the council.”

“We should have killed that guy when we had the chance,” grumbled Rick.

“In due time,” replied Alex. “He’ll get what’s coming for him. But we should be prepared for the likely event that he goes after one of the seats.”

“Hey, Alex, look at this,” said Jenna, once more watching the news feed.

Alex turned his attention to see a small box of news running across the bottom of the feed. In that box, it announced that the trial of Ellie Vesta has been postponed until after the elections. It was a small but monumental gesture of failure on behalf of Belladonna.

“I bet she’s royally pissed about that,” said Alex, chuckling. “No wonder it’s in the smallest box of the news feed. She probably doesn’t want too many eyes on it.”

Rick started to grin. “What I’ve learned so far is that anything that’s bad for Belladonna is good for us.”

“Amen to that. Maybe if we keep pissing her off, we might just turn this colony around.”

They continued to chat about the upcoming elections for the next ten minutes when Alex started to get a message on his P-com. Answering the device, he found a hologram of Annette Moore pop up from his wrist.

“Hey, Alex,” she said cheerfully. “Did you see the news?”

“I did and hats off to you, Annette. How pissed was Belladonna?”

Annette started to laugh. “So pissed that she whipped a plate against the wall as soon as I left. I could hear it shatter as I was walking back to my housing unit.”

Alex grinned. “What a shame.”

“Would you do me a favor by the way?” she asked. “Ellie and I were hoping that you and Jenna would stop by our unit?”

“You mean right now?” asked Alex. “What’s so important?”

“We’ll tell you when you get here,” said Annette, not going into any details. “Come over sooner rather than later though, okay?”

The call ended, and Alex turned to look at Jenna, who’d been watching the whole interaction.

“What do you think that’s about?” she asked.

Alex shrugged. “I’m not sure but it sounds important.”

Jenna bit her lip. “Well, maybe we should get it out of the way then.”

They said their goodbyes to Rick and Nikki and made their way to Biosphere Three. Annette’s door was left slightly ajar again, allowing them to enter without needing to scan their hands. They found both Annette and Ellie sitting at the table again, expectant smiles on both of their faces.

Alex raised an eyebrow as soon as he saw them. “You both look like you’re up to something. And whatever it is, it tells me it’s probably not going to be good for me.”

“Now, Alex, would I ever suggest something that wasn’t good for you?” asked Ellie, laying it on thick.

“I don’t know, Ellie,” replied Alex, sitting down at the table. “I’ve only known you for a week. So there’s my answer.”

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Ellie started to giggle and reached over to touch his hand. “The answer is no. I like you too much to do something like that.”

Ellie’s words caused some noticeable tension with Jenna. She glared at the other woman’s hand when it made contact with Alex’s.

“So what is this about then?” asked Jenna in a much more neutral tone.

Ellie pulled her hand back for a moment. “We had an idea that we wanted to share with both of you and hopefully get you to come aboard with us.”

Alex raised his eyebrow. “Come aboard with what? What idea?”

Ellie and Annette looked at each other briefly before Annette answered the question. “We want to ask both of you to run for the open spots on the Vestan Council.”

There was a moment of silence as both Alex and Jenna contemplated the enormity of the request. They shared a look together before Alex finally blurted out his first question.

“Us? Why would you want that?”

“Because what we need more than anything is friendly numbers on the council,” replied Annette. “Ellie won’t be able to run again either, considering that she’s currently being prosecuted for breaking her exile. So that means we have to find somebody else to fill the two open seats.”

“But why us?” repeated Jenna. “Isn’t there anyone else in Vesta who would be better suited? What’s so special about Alex and I?”

“I think you already know the answer to that question,” answered Ellie. “Alex has already made quite the splash with his arrival. He has name recognition already and he’s part of the new colonists, which Annette and I agreed should have a say in the leadership. He’s practically a shoe-in.”

“Okay, but why me then?” continued Jenna. “I agree that Alex makes a lot of sense but why me? Just because I’m a packaged deal when it comes to Alex?”

“Because I can tell you care about what happens here in Vesta,” said Ellie quietly. “We need someone with a level head and someone with intelligence. And I know you two the best already. It also doesn’t hurt that you are linked with Alex. His name recognition will help you as well. So I think you’d be an excellent fit on the council.”

“So it’s just because you know us then?” blurted Alex. “If anyone else had found you in the wild, they might be sitting here instead of Jenna and I?”

Ellie couldn’t shake her head fast enough. “No, Alex, that’s not what this is about. Yes, I have the luxury of knowing you two the best but I can tell you’re good people. I’ve spent enough time with you to know by now, even though the days were short. And, Alex, I can’t not mention the elephant in the room. What you’ve done so far since you’ve been here is seriously impressive. Vesta would be lucky to have you on the council.”

“I just don’t know, Ellie,” said Alex after a moment of thinking. “There’s a lot of things at Vesta that I don’t like already. It would be hard for me to be a leader after some of the things I’ve witnessed.”

“All of that makes you well-suited to be put into the leadership, Alex,” argued Annette. “The fact that you know things could be improved means that your voice needs to be heard.”

“I couldn’t agree more with what Annette just said,” added Ellie. “Alex, you would be incredible on the council. With the threats that are facing us, I have no doubt that you’d be our best hope.”

Ellie reached across the table again to touch his hand. Jenna watched the progress and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“What if Alex doesn’t want that?” she posed, looking directly at Ellie. “Maybe you don’t know what’s really best for Alex.”

It was that statement that caused a noticeable amount of tension in the room. Alex suspected, rightfully so, that they weren’t just talking about getting on the council.

Once again, both women were squaring off, playing tug of war with Alex as the meat to be won.

Finally, Ellie leaned back in her chair. “We’re not demanding that Alex do anything. Or you, Jenna. This was just an idea that Annette and I had and we wanted to run it by you. By both of you.”

“My cousin is right,” added Annette. “If you turn us down, that’s your choice. We’ll both be unhappy but it’s not like you have to watch your back moving forward. Ellie has the benefit of knowing you both longer than I do. When she tells me that you’re both good people, I trust her. Furthermore, I can see that she’s not wrong. When given the choice to make a run for power, most people run toward it. You’re both trying to run away from it. That tells me that you understand how much is at stake. That also shows me that your hearts are in the right place. I believe that Vesta would be well-served with you two on the council.”

Alex shared another long look with Jenna. Judging by the way she was looking back at him, she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. Neither was he.

“What would we have to do?” he asked. “I’ve never ran for anything before. I don’t even know the first place to begin.”

Annette smiled at him. “I’ll take care of all the details. All I ask is that you follow my guidance and we’ll get you on that council, I promise. The biggest thing we’d have to work on is public relations. I’m going to have to do some serious smoothing over when it comes to you kicking the shit out of Serrano,” she joked.

Alex actually smiled. “I think that will be something that most people like about me, especially once they get to know Serrano.”

Annette giggled. “No doubt about that. Especially if he runs, which Ellie and I see as a very likely possibility. We need a counterweight to Serrano, and so far, that’s been you.”

“The guy tried to hijack the Racine and almost killed everyone,” replied Alex. “And now you want me to run against him for an election. Vesta is a strange place.”

“No one is denying that,” said Ellie. “But you can help us make Vesta a better place. With all of your experience, Alex, you can make Vesta the home that you’ve always been looking for, right?”

Ellie had a point to that. He’d left Earth because it no longer felt like home. It was the reason he was willing to go to prison for avenging Sophie’s death, because he knew his life would never be the same again. Deciding to come to Vesta was the chance to start over, and now that he was here, he was determined to earn it.

“Okay, I’m in,” said Alex after a moment. “What do you need me to do?”

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