The Second Letter

May 4



It was more of a private club than a public gathering place.

A heavy wooden bar to one side as you walked in. Well-stocked with expensive spirits and brandies. Decorated with marzipan and delicate pastries. A dining area and cuisine to satiate the appetites of the most jaded epicurean.

To the immediate right, a small comfortable lounge was situated. It was here I came to meet the Companion, Calina Tereshchenko.



"Ms. Tereshchenko," I greeted her with a smile.

Calina twisted around, "Major! A pleasure to see you again. How are you?"

"I am well thank you."

"Please join me," she invited, "Would you like a drink?"

"Yes please," I said as I settled into the chair across from her, "a coffee would be fine."

From where I sat, I had a good view of the door and a commanding view of the room itself. The window was wide and I could see the approach from the street. In the event of emergency, the room at the back of the establishment was lit only with candles. The darkness and shadow would provide temporary cover.

"A delightful place this," I remarked.



The Companion leaned over the arm of the chair and called out an order for a coffee and another glass of wine in a mix of Chinese and Russian. "Yes, it is," she replied as she turned her attention back to our table.

"I must say I was not surprised when you contacted me..." I began and produced the communique I had received from the Jade Revolution. I reached across the table and passed it to Calina.

Our drinks arrived promptly.

Calina nodded to the barkeep as he brought a tray. "Spasiba," she said, handing him a few credits with a look letting him know that privacy is to be expected. She then skimmed the communique. "Your letter is nicer than the one I received," she remarked. "I almost threw the rabbit across the room. Not very Companion-like of me."

In turn, Calina handed me a note of her own.



----

Dearest Calina,

Do you remember the days of Eavesdown Docks? A little dress-shop, yes?
Do you remember the chickens?
The cats?
Ishkin?
Lynx?
The golden buddha?
The innocent albino girl who came to you with a note she couldn't read?
The Doctor who wanted to harvest her organs?
You took her in.
You worked together for so many happy hours, you and that young albino woman.
You were like sisters.
How you must have grieved when she left that on that fateful day.
   
Tell me, dearest Calina, how do you sleep at night?

The Laandsrat is tainted by evil. Sweet Jade knew this to be true.
The Blood Cure was evil. Sweet Jade knew this to be true.
Her death would be to their advantage. Sweet Jade knew this to be true.

Tell me, dearest Calina, how does your conscience feel sitting alongside those people?

The time has come for your salvation, dearest Calina. I know the guilt must sit heavily upon your heart. You have the chance to put right your sins and be a beacon of the new dawn. I believe you will help us.  To believe you would betray the memory of your dearest friend - I can not think it of you.

I have left a small token. [a small jade rabbit]

The choice rests in your hands, dearest Calina.
To contact us : leave a message in the Rabbit and place it in the alcove to the right of the bridge facing entrance.

----The Jade Revolution

-----



I centered on one fact. "You have a way to contact these people...."

"Yes," replied Calina, "it would seem that I do. I have not contacted them yet because every time I start to write, only anger and hurt spills onto the page."

I nodded slowly.

The Companion picked up her wine glass, "Jade's gangster handler visited me the week before she was killed."

"Do you think there is a connection?" I asked.

"He was sitting in the tea room like he owned it," she said, "That... hwun dan. Somehow, yes. But, I don't think he killed her. He seemed to genuinely care for her. Not just seeing her as an organ incubator."

I looked at Calina's note again. The wheels began to turn...

She continued speaking, "It's been so long, I don't remember the whole conversation I had with him. He spoke of making sure she was safe. But, then again, she being the stubborn good-hearted girl she was, he could have killed or had someone else do it because she would have been bad for his illegal activities. But to the Jadists, I don't know what they are planning. For the Magistrate to call them terrorists is antithetical to everything Jade believed in. That girl wouldn't have hurt a fly."

"The writer of this note," I observed, "despite signing it 'The Jade Revolution'... writes in first person."



"A movement of one," remarked the Companion.

"Or the leader of a movement," I suggested. "Whoever he or she is... the writer knows details."

Calina nodded. "It would have to be someone Jade confided in." She chuckled, "Which would have been nearly everyone she met."

I inclined my head acknowledging the point, then frowned. "Leave a message in the Rabbit and place it in the alcove to the right of the bridge facing entrance.... which bridge?"

"I believe they are referring to an alcove," she replied, "near the Shanjian Manor."

"On Araxes."

Calina continued, "It is the last house before the bridge to the Magistrate's Keep. Yes, on Araxes."

I nodded, "Do you intend to contact this person?"



"When I can write without wanting to shatter things, yes," she replied.

I turned my attention to the note I had received. Written using the plural, except for one instance:

Tell me Ms. Major: who looks after the little chicks now?

A rhetorical question perhaps, but I had to ask. "What did happen to Jade's chickens?"

"She sold them all. Used the credits to buy a kitten once she got on Araxes. I think she missed the chickens, though." Calina leaned back "I'm not entirely sure what to draw out of the Jade Revolution."

"Perhaps they intend to continue her work," I offered, "Perhaps it is something more. Both our letter speak of us finding salvation. Mine goes further... identifying the Consulari as The Betrayer."

A religious reference?

Calina raised an eyebrow and then grinned, "She did put you in red."

I smiled, "Yes, I remember it well"

She continued, "And given the Consulari's recent behavior with the Dawla and Laandsrat, I am not certain that statement is far from truth. I wouldn't necessarily call it treason but it was certainly a disrespect to the Laandstrat for her to do and end run around and get votes for that legislation in secret."

"Could this comment be a reference to that incident?" I asked.

The Companion replied, "Perhaps the writer knows something we do not. These letters were delivered well before that vote as far as I know. Perhaps the Consulari has other... dealings."

It was possible, of course.



"Or perhaps they are referring to the pledge to protect Jade. In that sense," she added, "all of us betrayed her." Calina continued, "That person has no idea how I grieved... that is what makes me angry."

I turned my attention back to Calina's letter and read, "'You have the chance to put right your sins and be a beacon of the new dawn.'... It sounds like they have plans," I remarked.

She met my gaze and in a moment of uncharacteristic emotion declared, "Part of me died with her. That despite the charges and being arrested, she was like a mei mei to me. This beautiful, sweet girl who saw the good in everything and everyone... who could draw smiley faces on the armor of a soldier and they just stand there. Who was entirely unafraid of the consequences of her actions because - at her core - she still believed her life had no value and was thus free to give. I hate Araxes. I hate being there. Everything there reminds me of her."

I nodded.

Calina continued, "If the 'forms didn't need to be followed' as a condition of my release... that I have to stay on with the Laandstrat, I would leave. Then the Magistrate would probably hunt me down because someone in the 'Verse must know how to get the silverware set up for a banquet."

I smiled.

The Companion sighed, "I apologize, Major. There is just ... really no one else to share this with."

I made a decision. A proto-messianic movement threatening Alliance citizens and promising a glorious future. It was worth a deeper look. Glory never comes without blood.

"If you choose to contact these people, I will offer what assistance I can ...which is considerable. In the meantime, I will contact 'the Betrayer' and see if she knows anything."



Calina chuckled, "Tell her if she doesn't talk, I am going to make her wear yellow."

I grinned. "Why Ms. Tereshchenko... I never realized you had such a mean streak!"

She laughed.

We both stood.



"Be well, Ms. Tereshchenko," I said, "we will see who dares to cast a shadow upon Jade's name."

"Safe travels, Major."