The Devil's Puppet Show - Part I

15th March

Old Settlement, Artemis, Freehold territory

The provisional government is to be held in a conference room in the former DELOS offices. DELOS, of course, becoming defunct three days ago, following the declaration of lunar independence that Frank made. The offices have since been converted into some sort of a base of operations for Frank and his allies. There's a number of Artemis Energy employees, as well as former DELOS employees who are now working directly for Frank, as well as others whose affiliation with Frank is a mystery known only by themselves and Frank. There's a number of Huesong employees here as well. Since Hue-Song Jun was named Consul by Frank, Huesong has become even more closely aligned with him. In fact, all the lunar transnationals are. Huesong, Medano, Ingprad, and Fort-Leiher have all now become aligned with Frank. The one exception being Jianyang, who's fall from grace has been both spectacular and dramatic.

Myself, Randolph Lawrence, and Jamie Zhu Hai, all make our way through the mess that cramming all these additional people in has created. Even the hallways are jammed with stacks of paper, people sitting with eyes glued to laptops, and others running from room to room. And everywhere you go, yelling. Constantly. It's a wonder my ears haven't started bleeding. The three of us make our way, single file, through any number of hallways and stairwells, before eventually making our way to the conference room. It's pretty easy to spot which one it is. Security guards from all the tigers, as well as Artemis Energy, surround the room, blocking off the hallway. The three of us are allowed in after conversing with some of the security.

Seeing their uniforms reminds me of Yohn. It doesn't make me that sad. Not really. He only died yesterday, but I haven't spoken to him in so long that it doesn't feel like it. I don't think it's quite hit me yet. I haven't quite grasped what it really means in my head. Yohn is dead. That is a cold, physical fact. But that isn't really something I, personally, have any evidence of. Sure, I know conclusively that he is dead and gone, but without seeing it in some way with my own eyes, I can't comprehend it.

The three of us walk into the conference room, myself at the front. When I walk in, I see the room is set up with three tables, each with three chairs. Considering the other six chairs are full, then we must be the last to arrive. The three tables are set up like three sides of a square, the chairs lined up on the outside, facing in. The table closest to the door is empty. The three seats along it, presumably for us.

The front table is stationed by Frank's lackies. Jazz Connolly, and a man I don't recognise, stand behind their chairs talking. The third member of Frank's faction is a pale lady with short cut blonde hair, who sits patiently and solemnly behind her seat. Looking at her, I notice that there are nameplates on each of the desks. The one the lady sits behind reads: Rosia de Marcos, on behalf of the Governor of Ceres, Seine Montague. I still have no clue who she, Rosia, or Seine Montague are. I guess they must be among the mysterious associates of Frank who seem to have only arrived in Artemis a few days ago. The next one along belongs to a Kyle Matthews, Archon of the Freehold, Chair of the Provisional Government. Kyle Matthews. Kyle Matthews… I remember that name. He was the head of DELOS' Singaporean offices for a time. I didn't know he was on the moon, or that he had ever been. Such a forgettable man. The little I do remember of him, was that he had been friends with Frank, or rather, a faithful servant of Frank's since they were about twenty. I think Kyle's a few years older than Frank, though he looks perhaps a decade younger than Frank now. Jazz Connolly, Governor of Luna, is however, someone I do know. The entertainment tycoon of the moon is rather famous up here. I've also known that him and Frank have been working together for many years. Hell, he probably never would've come this far without Frank's help.

Across from where I'm standing, on the far side from the door facing back towards us, are three women, two of whom I recognise instantly. Rachel Larsson, Ingprad's Head of Lunar Operations, and Jaime de Vries, Medano's equivalent, both sit in their seats, simply waiting for the meeting to start. Further along from them, a woman in Muslim dress sits patiently. Her nameplate reads Dora Qemali, Representative on behalf of Fort-Leiher. The fact that Charles Fort isn't here in person seems strange to me. You would want to be here, to decide the fate of the moon yourself if you were invited, wouldn't you? Perhaps he just doesn't trust Frank at all. Why would he have agreed to support Frank then?

After we're all sat down, Kyle sets off to begin the meeting. It seems that he has been given the position of 'Archon' by Frank, which makes him the third most powerful official in Frank's Freehold, after the two Consuls. The Archon is also set to be the Chair of the Senate, once there is a senate, but for now Kyle is the Chair of the Provisional Government. That means it's his job to lead our meeting, and any other that we have in the future. Kyle clears his throat, before standing up to speak to all of us.