Miracle on the Road¶
Belt Independent - Ceres
[2375/09/21 20:00 UST]
Carrie Kim-Moyo Reporting
Since January of this year, nearly a hundred Belt citizens, transients, and lone tourists have inexplicably vanished from the galleries of Ceres. Belt Independent has been bringing you day-to-day investigative coverage with your favorite on-the-spot correspondent Carrie Kim-Moyo. Although UEF authorities have dismissed most of these cases as "intentional drop-outs", Carrie and Belt Independent's investigative team know that the viewers want the truth.
Tonight, Carrie brings you astonishing revelations, uncovering not only a nest of human traffickers, but a series of revelations that will rock the entire System. Coming up: a harrowing tale of kidnapping, rescue, Talent, and Unity.
Stay Tuned For More...
Commercial Break¶
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Carrie Kim-Moyo¶
A woman dressed in high Ceres fashion flashes a sparkling grin at the camera
Welcome back, my beloved viewers! Tonight we have something truly special for you, something both exclusive and extraordinary.
As Belters, we've all heard stories of pirates. We've all heard stories of dramatic battles and inspirational rescues. But my 친구들, you have never heard a story like this. Seventeen people taken from Ceres and stations or claims across the outer Belt were kidnapped, caged, and held captive aboard a pirate station 2.5 days burn from here. The accounts of their rescue, given to Belt Independent in interviews over the past 48 hours, defy easy categorization.
What is clear: the merchant vessel Spice Road under Captain Fatou Diallo, responded to a distress call only to find a ransacked vessel and a plasma trail. Diallo, like any good spacer would, ordered her ship to follow the trail in order to look for survivors or, as she expected, the pirates responsible. Diallo found what she was looking for, but what came next will surprise you.
Healing Light¶
The camera switches to show a young Belter, maybe 14, familiar to the crew as one of the rescued captives
"We were cold, and we were scared. Every time the door opened we wondered if they were going to feed us, hurt us, or take us away. Then suddenly, without warning, we were surrounded by a warm feeling, a feeling of safety. There was a light, almost, but a light inside, you know?"
Another survivor, a mining technician taken during a refueling stop six weeks ago, gave their account under condition of anonymity.
Words appear, scrolling slowly up the screen:
I was stupid. I got taken. I knew for certain I was never going to see my friends or my home again. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I knew I'd be safe. Not a wish, not a guess, but the clearest most vivid knowledge, as deep as knowing which vein you can tap and which will crumble around your ears.
I heard something. Not a voice, not even in my head. In my heart, my body. It said "you're going to be okay". It said "you aren't alone".
Listen, I ain't dumb. I know Talent when I feel it. But you gotta understand, this was Talent like I've never encountered, Talent wielded like your grandfather wields a laser drill. Like your 할머니 wields her wok.
These Unity folks, they know their business and I ain't telling you any more than that.
The camera switches back to the reporter, Carrie
Just who or what, exactly, is Unity? Well hold onto your 엉덩이, viewers, because you're about to find out.
Unity¶
Our most stunning interview comes to us from Dane Jarvii, a mechanical engineer from the Boroughs. Like the others, Jarvii reports being taken unawares, from his worksite in the Foundries, catching no sight of his captors. He was held unconscious until awakening in a cell with two other captives. After nearly five weeks of captivity, the two were joined by a third captive who was kept drugged until their rescue.
Interview with Dane Jarvii¶
Carrie: Dane, can you tell me more about the hours leading up to your rescue?
Dane: Carrie, the place was miserable. Pirates have no pride of place. Unlike real Belters, they let their station fall into disrepair. Our cell was particularly bad - filthy, oxidized panels and exposed structural beams everywhere. They gave us a slop bucket, if you can believe it! They fed us expired ship biscuits, some of it infested. And don't get me started on the "water". As for the hours before the rescue? They were like the hours before that, a miserable waiting for an inevitable end. We didn't know rescue was even possible, much less imminent.
Carrie: Oh my, Dane, that sounds truly awful. I'm so sorry.
Jarvii nods
Carrie: When did you first become aware something unusual was happening? Can you walk me through the first few minutes of the rescue from your point of view?
Dane: Honestly? I don't think I can. The first sign I had that something was happening was the voice of Dr. Armstrong in my mind. I've been touched telepathically before, but that was like a whisper in the Adits compared to Dr. Armstrong's voice - clear, firm, reverberating almost, while still being utterly controlled. I'll never forget the words he said. But I'll also never share them, they were for us alone. He asked us to join him in freeing the other captives, and of course I agreed.
Jarvii pauses for a breath, and Carrie takes the opportunity to slip a word in
Carrie: You say "Dr. Armstrong". Do you mean Dr. Azure Armstrong of Luna? How did you know it was him? What was he doing out there on the rim of the Belt?
Dane: Yes, that Dr. Armstrong. I didn't know, at first, and it wasn't a great time for introductions, but within a few moments that became... irrelevant in some ways. As for his business on the edge of the Belt, you'll have to ask him.
Carrie laughs. Public information about Azure appears in a window.
Carrie: If I'm lucky, I'll get the chance! What happened next?
Dane: Two things happened at once. First, my mind opened like a radio telescope. Then I became part of something. Every wall in my head fell away at once and there was... Unity. I could feel the person next to me thinking, and the person next to them, and Dr. Armstrong kilometers away on the Spice Road. Then everyone, all over the station and the ship, their public minds open like standing in a crowded gallery full of conversation. Then, as one, we reached. We touched.
Jarvii pauses
Carrie: It seems like you don't quite know how to describe it?
Dane: I don't. There's nothing like it. It's a level of closeness you just can't understand unless you experience it. It's a level of power I never imagined I would witness, much less be a part of.
Carrie: Did you realize you were Talented before this?
Dane: No, no I didn't. But I sure wasn't left with any doubts.
Carrie: What happened then? What did this great... Merge? What did the Merge do?
Dane: First we helped the people who needed it. Then Dr. Le Gerrac - Kai - did something... impossible. He reached out through the Merge to a fleeing pirate vessel, and he brought it back.
Carrie: with a shocked expression He brought it back? He telekinetically pulled a ship across thousands of kilometers ("tens of thousands" Jarvii interrupts)... Tens of thousands of kilometers, while it was under thrust?
Jarvii takes a deep breath
Dane: No, Ms. Kim-Moyo, you don't understand. He didn't pull the ship. He moved it. He took it from where it was, and placed it where he wanted it, without it travelling in between. And placed its engines somewhere else. Teleportation.
Carrie stares blankly at the camera for a moment before shaking herself. Public information about Kai appears in a window
Dane: What you need to understand, Ms. Kim-Moyo, is that the world you fell asleep in is not the world you've awoken in. None of us knows what comes next. But they came for us. Nobody was coming for us, and then they came. When all is said and done, that's what matters.
Validation and Sources¶
Several more of the survivors spoke to Belt Independent on conditions of anonymity. Their stories corroborate the more mundane details of Mr. Jarvii's account, though the non-Talents among them did not experience the Merge or witness the teleportation of the ship. However, the Belt Independent has gained access to high-resolution sensor data which clearly shows a ship under thrust translating from one point to another, while instantly shedding its velocity in a way that defies known physics.
Sensor data feeds, clearly military in origin, appear in a window.
Unanswered Questions¶
Although the Spice Road is a known quantity on the Mars-Ceres route, the presence of doctors Armstrong and Le Gerrac on the vessel remains unexplained. Captain Diallo has declined to comment on her guests. The Mars Consortium is yet to issue any public comment about these events.
The demonstration of Talented power displayed during the rescue is sure to raise questions both home and abroad, and will likely impact the ongoing debate over the Talent Registration and Transparency Act.
What other revelations does the Spice Road's arrival on Ceres hold? Is there any connection to the recent advances in Talent research published by one Dr. Victoria McKinley? What is the connection to the Tiamat revelations?
As always, the Belt Independent wants to hear from you!