Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it! :)
DISCLAIMER: Only my OCs and plot idea are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.
The next morning…
"Riley," Marcus greeted with a tentative smile as he hugged Riley, "It's good to see you."
Riley smiled sleepily as she and Marcus sat at a small table in a café close to Titan News, and she blinked her eyes a few times in an attempt to wake up. She hadn't slept at all the previous night, and she had to force herself to shower after she woke up, since she had almost refused to get in the shower. Damn it, she had cursed to herself, Don't develop aquaphobia.
"You too, Marcus," Riley replied in a scratchy voice, reaching for a pitcher next to her, "Coffee?"
"Sure." Riley poured him a cup before taking one herself, drinking it and trying to wake up again while the two of them flipped through the menu hologram next to them.
"Hey, are you okay?" Marcus asked, studying the dark bags under Riley's eyes, "You look like you haven't slept at all."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Riley sipped some more coffee.
"Oh yeah, Maddie couldn't make it this morning," she reported, remembering a message on her audio RIG from Madison, "She said she was going to try and find a therapist for Sutton."
At the sound of Sutton's name, Marcus sighed and buried his face in his hands. He was still reeling from the argument of the previous day and couldn't believe he was about to confide in one of her friends.
"Marcus?" Riley pressed, trying to initiate the conversation to get her mind off nearly drowning the other night.
The CEC engineer looked up again. "So I guess you two feel the same way I do," he said, "About Sutton joining the Church of Unitology."
Riley frowned. "You have no idea how worried we are about her," she said, "Her behavior's been so erratic ever since she joined, and yesterday, Madison and I noticed a scar on her that we think was from the Church, and she got really defensive. And now Maddie wants to find a therapist for her. I know we shouldn't hold Sutton back from something she enjoys, but this sudden obsession with the Church is not normal." She held her breath and waited for Marcus to reply.
"Thank God you two understand," he finally sighed with relief, "I was worried you'd support her decision to become a Unitologist, since you're all good friends…"
"Of course we're her friends. That's why we're worried about her, and I know you must be, too."
Before Marcus could say something in return, a waitress stopped by their table to take their orders. "Welcome to Titan Café," she greeted, "What would you guys like this morning?"
The two adults quickly gave their orders.
"Coming right up," the waitress said with a sly smile, "Hey, you two make a cute couple!"
Both Riley and Marcus winced. "We're not together," they replied.
"Oh. What a shame…"
And mumbling to herself, she walked away, causing them to share quiet chuckles with each other. It was at least a nice change of pace from yesterday's tears.
"Sutton would damn her to hell if she heard that," Marcus commented, his smile fading, "And I'm not even trying to be funny."
Riley's concern for her friend returned, and she sat up straight again. "So what happened between you two yesterday? You mentioned you got into a fight with her."
Marcus reluctantly explained the quasi-argument from the previous day, and Riley listened aptly, nodding at the appropriate times.
"And you just left?" Riley questioned, "Like that?" She snapped her fingers.
"It's not like I wanted to," Marcus insisted, "I realized I wouldn't be able to change her mind. Besides, I don't think I said anything that bad. You all know how worried I am about my mother. And it's not like I was choosing her over Sutton…" He trailed off there, and Riley raised her eyebrows.
"Maybe that's why she went off on you," Riley deduced, "Maybe she felt like you haven't been giving her enough attention lately. Granted, she had no right to taunt you about your mother, but she could be feeling like you're ignoring her. Hell, maybe that's why she flocked to the Church in the first place."
Marcus's heart sank as the waitress returned with their food, but instead of eating, he just picked at his plate with his fork.
"Suddenly, I don't feel so hungry anymore," he groaned, "Are you implying that I'm the reason she's now obsessed with finding the Marker and Altman?"
"I'm not implying anything," Riley answered, "I'm just trying to make sense of all this myself. I don't even know if I'm right about Sutton's motives. It's just a theory."
"I wouldn't be surprised if your theory turned out to be correct," Marcus sighed, "Most of the time, they do."
"No, they don't-"
"Yeah, they do. Just like I'm sure your theory about EarthGov will be true, too."
Riley narrowed her eyes and cut a piece of bacon for herself. "That has nothing to do with Sutton and the Church," she said.
"But it might after you hear this," Marcus pressed, and he proceeded to tell Riley about his suspicious encounter with Dr. Edgars the previous day, causing her to widen her eyes as she grew more and more shocked with what she was hearing.
"The whole thing was just off," Marcus said, "Sutton even said EarthGov owned that part of the hospital. And the way Patient Five's eye was bleeding…" He shivered.
Riley frowned in thought again. "You think EarthGov is hiding something," she quipped. It wasn't a question.
Marcus nodded and smiled ruefully. "You're not the only one who can come up with theories," he teased, "But in all seriousness, yes, I think they are. I mean, you've been saying that ever since the Ishimura…" He sipped some coffee and made a face.
"Anyway, back to Sutton. You said Madison was trying to find a therapist for her?"
Riley nodded as well. "That's right. She thinks that may help explain some of her behavior. I mean, Doctor Graham's been so good to me for the last year, so I don't see why one of her coworkers couldn't help Sutton."
"I don't care how we do it. I just want to get her away from the Church." He took another sip of coffee.
"Somehow," he continued, "I highly doubt Michael Altman was this zealous himself."
Riley shrugged. Having never met the man, she couldn't say for sure. "Well, he is credited for being the founder of Unitology two hundred years ago," she reasoned, "Perhaps he didn't expect it to grow this much."
Suddenly, Riley's audio RIG beeped. "Hello?" she asked after pressing the button to take calls.
"Bennett!" her boss, Delia, barked from the other end, "Thank God I caught you. I need you at the office pronto."
"But today's my day off," Riley reminded her, "I can't-"
"Now, Bennett!" Delia hung up. Riley sighed as she glanced back at Marcus.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I've got to go. My boss is expecting me at work. She sounds really stressed out about something."
Marcus nodded. "All right. Good luck with everything. And thank you for speaking with me about Sutton."
"Good, you're here!" Delia cried as soon as Riley had entered Titan News, hurrying past one of the producers, "Follow me. I called Kincaid in as well. I need both of you right now."
Sure enough, Riley spotted Madison hurrying towards them as Delia ushered both women into her office.
"Riley!" she cried, "You got called in, too?"
"Yeah," Riley responded, "Do you have any idea what this is about?"
Madison shook her head, but Delia shut the door and gestured to two seats across from her desk, which both women took.
"I apologize for sounding rough over the audio RIGs," Delia apologized, "But we were just informed about a breaking news story that will be covered. We're doing a very important live shot at 10:30 this morning, and the reporter who was supposed to cover it, as well as the senior journalist, both called out sick at the last minute. Kincaid, you'll be going on location with one of the camera men, so you'll have to write out what you're going to talk about on air, and Bennett, I need you to write an article on this story. I need this stuff ready in the next hour."
Madison and Riley glanced at each other, and Riley's head felt like it was spinning. She couldn't remember the last time things had been hectic like this, except for when the station had covered the tragedy on the Ishimura.
"What's the breaking news story?" Madison questioned.
Delia blinked and then chuckled tentatively. "Right. I forgot," she said, "I've been so busy trying to get this whole thing put together for Director Tiedemann that I forgot to tell you what it even was. The USG Ishimura's been recovered and is going to be docked here."
"What?" both Riley and Madison gasped in unison. Riley felt her stomach drop out from underneath her.
"Well, she was actually recovered a few weeks ago," Delia amended, "From an anonymous tip, EarthGov said. But it took them a long time to transport her back here without inflicting anymore damage on her."
Riley shook her head. "But…but…" she stammered, feeling a sweat break on her forehead.
"What's the matter?" Madison asked.
"From the way we reported the story last year," Riley answered, "It sounded like everything was nuked. The Ishimura, Aegis VII, the O'Bannon, all that!"
Delia shrugged. "EarthGov thought the Ishimura was gone as well," she retorted, "But recent discoveries have shown that to be false. They were hoping to recover at least the planet cracker to give the families of the victims some closure."
Riley's heart sank, but she pushed the depressing sensation away as she nodded at her boss. "If reporting this story is what Director Tiedemann wants," she stated, "Then that's what he'll get."
A few minutes later…
"How does this sound?" Madison asked as she and Riley sat in one of the editing rooms together, "As you can see behind me, the USG Ishimura is currently arriving at the dock just outside of the Government Sector. Officials say it could take up to a maximum of two hours to secure the planet cracker in the dock itself."
Riley didn't answer, only staring out a window that overlooked most of Titan Station. She drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her and studied Saturn, which was just in her line of sight.
"Riley?" Madison asked.
Riley blinked and looked away from the view outside. "Sorry," she apologized, "That was good."
But Madison knew her friend well enough to know something was bothering her. "About this breaking news story," she started, "Are you okay?"
Tracing her finger along the desk, Riley answered, "I'm fine. I just can't believe they're bringing the Ishimura here. I really don't feel like this is going to bring any closure to the victims' families."
Madison frowned in sympathy. "I understand," she said, "But remember: the ship itself was a victim, too. Isabel Cho murdered all those people!"
Riley winced and stood up from the desk. "Include that in your report if you want to," she suggested, and before Madison could say anything, Riley exited the room and returned to her office so she could get started on her last-minute assignment. She pushed aside a pile of papers, where she spotted another brochure with the Marker on it. Sutton, she thought, sighing as she face-palmed herself, She must have stopped by here earlier.
While she waited for her computer to finish booting up, she ran her fingers through her bangs, sighing as she glanced over at a framed photograph on her desk. Her parents had wide smiles on their faces as they had their arms wrapped around each other, and in front of them was Riley at seventeen years old. Riley smiled as she touched the picture, which then faded as she glanced at the person next to her. The same one she had seen the night before.
"Peter," she whispered, clutching the photo and closing her eyes.
Suddenly, someone knocked on her door, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Come in!" she called out, logging in to her account.
The door slid open, and the person on the other side caught Riley by surprise. He was someone she had seen before, but never directly met until now. He was tall, bald except for a mustache and short beard, and wore a khaki uniform with multiple badges on it. Even though she reported to Delia West, this was the person Delia reported to, as well as the rest of Titan News.
"Oh!" Riley cried, "Director Tiedemann, good morning!" What the hell is he doing here? She thought to herself, He never stops by the headquarters unless it's something really important.
Hans Tiedemann just nodded, raising one of his hands up. "Good morning," he greeted in a somewhat cool tone of voice, "I just happened to be in the office and I wanted to check on all of Ms. West's employees. You do work for her, correct?"
"Yes, sir," Riley answered, standing up to shake his hand, "My name is Riley Bennett. I'm one of Ms. West's journalists."
"I figured as much. She informed me that you would be helping to cover the breaking news story I told her about."
"The Ishimura's recovery, right?"
"Right. And how will you be contributing to this, Miss Bennett?"
Riley sat down once again as she opened up a blank document, along with a package Delia had sent to her RIG containing all the information on the story, plus periodic updates. "Well," she started in a neutral voice as Tiedemann pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, "She wants me to write an article for the Titan Times. About the Ishimura's recovery and detailing the terrorist attacks on that ship, Aegis VII, and the O'Bannon. About Isabel Cho." The words sounded hollow to her, almost as if she didn't believe them, and she cleared her throat to try and put some life back into her voice. She began to type as Tiedemann looked over her shoulder the entire time, making her wonder why he was watching her so intently. She knew he owned Titan News and the accompanying newspaper, the Titan Times, but she still developed a disconcerting feeling in her gut.
"And that's pretty much my end of it," she concluded, "Ms. West is taking care of the rest of it."
"Yes," Tiedemann said, nodding, "I have made my rounds with everyone else and everything is going as planned. You're my last stop before I return to the control room."
Riley nodded and tried to smile when in reality, she was hoping Tiedemann would leave so that she could work in peace. She was never a fan of anyone breathing down her neck while she was in the middle of an assignment.
"So far, your work is good," he complimented, "But if I may, I'd like to give you some advice while you're putting this article together." He leaned forward in his seat and pointed at the screen.
"I see you wrote Isabel Cho was accused of being behind the terrorist attacks. She was not accused. She confessed to everything. You know that, Miss Bennett."
Riley fought the spark of annoyance that was threatening to show itself on her face, and she smiled again as she laughed. "You're right, Director Tiedemann," she responded, pretending to agree with him, "As a journalist, I always believe in giving people cold, hard facts. I'll change it right now." She deleted accused and wrote confessed instead.
"Better," Tiedemann commented, "I just want the people on this station to see that Titan News is consistent with what it's reporting. We don't want anyone questioning the accuracy of our stories. Understand?"
Riley tilted her head to the side as she considered what the Director was telling her. She couldn't help but smirk as she thought about him and the rest of EarthGov. All of you can go to hell, she thought viciously, but instead, she grinned.
"Duly noted, sir."
"Excellent. Ms. West spoke very highly of you earlier, and I can see why. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bennett, and I hope we can speak again soon." He shook her hand, got up from his chair, and smiled, sweeping his gaze across her desk.
"Is that a Unitology brochure I see?" he questioned, suddenly pointing at the image of the Marker on the brochure.
Riley picked it up in her hands and studied it. "Oh, this thing?" she asked, "One of the Unitologists must have been passing them around and left one for me." That's for sure, she added as a silent afterthought.
Tiedemann nodded and chuckled. "As long as you're not getting involved with them," he said, "They don't seem to know how to keep quiet, even with the laws I keep passing. I may have to start throwing some of them in jail."
"Jail?" Riley echoed, "It's that serious?"
"Yes. Many of them preach in the streets without proper permits. That's against the law. But you don't need to worry about that. You seem like a smart, young woman who wouldn't be brainwashed by their cult."
Oh, you have no idea, Tiedemann, Riley thought, shaking her head to get rid of the previous night's flashbacks in her mind. "Thank you," she thanked him, and with another wink, Director Tiedemann turned and left the room. Once the door slid shut behind him, Riley breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he was gone, she could reflect on her conversation with him, which had sent up a lot of red flags. She turned back to her article, watching as the I-beam flashed closest to where he had forced her to reword some of her story. She clicked on the place she had left off and continued to type a little more aggressively than before. Although she would never admit it to anyone, least of all Hans Tiedemann, the fact that she had written accused instead of confessed hadn't been a mistake.
Unlike her friends, coworkers, and parents, Riley was not convinced that Isabel Cho had confessed to murdering all those people. Even watching the reports last week, she had hypothesized that EarthGov had tortured a confession out of her, and she still believed that. She turned on her video RIG to study the information Delia had given her, and she stumbled upon a video of Cho holding a Pulse Rifle and firing an infinite round of bullets. Just like the reports from the previous week, Cho's face was blank, and there was a small red dot in the middle of her head, between her eyes. Riley wasn't sure what it was, but something didn't sit right with her about this video. It all seemed phony to her, which only took her back to her and Marcus's conversation earlier. If she and Sutton's boyfriend were correct in their assumptions, she might have just pinpointed her reason for hating EarthGov.
As she continued with her article, Riley's eyes welled up with tears, which she fisted away quickly. She had helped cover some pretty tragic stories in the past, but this one was very close to her heart. I was able to deal with it last year, she thought, So why am I all of a sudden feeling this way again? Sutton helped me get back on track.
The Church. Riley wondered if last night's ritual had somehow helped to open up a whole can of worms. Between nearly drowning, seeing Peter, and arguing with Sutton, Riley felt like she was unraveling. And this was only one week after she had started her latest mission in the Church.
"Bennett!" Delia shouted through her audio RIG, "Is that article almost finished?"
"Yeah," Riley confirmed, "I'll send it your way within the next five minutes."
"All right, good. Because Director Tiedemann wants this story to run smoothly."
"So I've been informed," Riley muttered, hanging up so that she could finish her work.
One hour later…
"This is it," Delia stated as she stood behind some of the producers in the control room. Riley took a seat next to her and watched the clock count down until it was time to run the live shot. Right now, they had twenty seconds.
"How's your mission going, by the way?" Delia whispered, facing Riley while they continued to wait, "You haven't really discussed it since you started."
Does she have to bring that up now? Riley thought to herself.
"It's…going," the journalist retorted, refusing to discuss the ritual, "You know, I'm trying not to lose my mind and all that."
"You know they'll try and find ways to convert you. Just don't fall victim to them."
"I don't plan on it," Riley assured her with a smile, but inside, she felt uncertain about her future in the Church.
"Okay!" one of the producers shouted into the microphone, "We're on in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…Madison, stand by! Brian, stand by. Rolling the opening breaking news headline. And…cue!"
"Good morning, Titan Station," the morning anchor, Brian King, "It's 10:30 AM, and I'm Brian King here with your latest updates. In the breaking news headlines this morning, the planet cracker starship attacked by a band of terrorists last year, the USG Ishimura, has been recovered and is currently on its way to the docking station by the Government Sector. Reporter Madison Kincaid is in the area with more information for us at this moment. Madison, what can you tell us about this new discovery?"
"Cue," the producer commanded, and Riley and Delia watched as the screen switched over to Madison. The door to the control room opened, and Riley glanced over her shoulder as Tiedemann entered the room and sat down next to them. He locked eyes with Riley and nodded at her.
"Good morning, Brian," Madison greeted on cue, "Good morning, everyone. As you can see behind me, the USG Ishimura is currently arriving at the dock just outside of the Government Sector. Officials say it could take up to a maximum of two hours to secure the planet cracker in the dock itself." Everyone in the control room caught a glimpse of the Ishimura in the background, although there were various holes and tears throughout her hull. Riley clenched her fist and held her breath, trying not to cry again. She refused to cry.
"Last year, the USG Ishimura was one of three sites attacked by a group of terrorists led by Doctor Isabel Cho, who just recently confessed to being the master mind behind the attacks and is currently awaiting her trial. The Ishimura was in the middle of a routine planet cracking mission on Aegis VII when the tragedy occurred. A nearby ship, the USG O'Bannon, was also attacked, with no survivors in any of these three locations. Brian, back to you."
"All right, Madison, thank you very much," Brian replied, "Now an even bigger mystery is what the government has in mind for it now that it's back. Has there been any word from officials regarding this question?"
"Well, Brian, we've just gotten word that EarthGov is planning to restore the Ishimura back to its former glory. What else EarthGov plans to do with her is unknown at this time, but for now, all the damage that's been inflicted on her will be repaired. Brian, back to you."
"All right, thanks, Madison. And stay tuned for more updates on this breaking news story."
"And we're finished!" the producer announced, pressing a few buttons to switch back over to the normal news, "Good job, you two."
"Thanks," Madison thanked him.
"You can go home, Madison," Delia told her, "You did a good job."
"Yes, excellent work, Miss Kincaid," Tiedemann spoke up in agreement, "And you as well, Mr. King." They both thanked him as well, and he nodded as he patted Riley's shoulder.
"Now they know how to deliver a story," he said to her, "You'd do well to take notes from them."
Riley wanted nothing more than to punch Tiedemann right across the face, but instead, she smiled and nodded until she thought her mouth would ache.
"Duly noted, sir," she repeated from before.
"So the Ishimura's been recovered, huh?" Riley's mother, Fiona, asked after she and Ed put the Titan Times down, which was running their daughter's article on the first few pages. The two of them were visiting Riley in her apartment at the moment to discuss this breaking news story with her.
"I know, I couldn't believe it, either," Riley told them as she continued to fix a quick dinner for them, "What do you guys think?"
Ed sighed and closed his eyes as he rubbed his temples. "I think…they should have left things as they were. Just when your mother and I finished healing…" He took a deep breath, and Riley and Fiona went over to him and hugged him.
"I just miss Peter so much," Ed whispered.
"We all do, honey," Fiona assured him while Riley just glanced down at the ground, "We all miss him."
Riley couldn't help but feel guilty about what she was doing when her parents weren't around. If they knew they had almost lost her the night before…she shook her head. She didn't even want to think about how much it would hurt them.
"We love you, Riley," Ed whispered as he hugged his daughter next, "No matter what happens, we love you."
Riley hugged her parents in return, tightening her grip as she replied, "I love you, too."
Fiona wiped her eyes and smiled sadly as she sat down. "So, Riley," she said as Riley hurried into the kitchen to get plates, napkins, cups, and utensils for the three of them, "What have you been up to these days?"
I've been initiated into the Church of Unitology, and I'm currently trying to find out why Sutton's losing her mind and how I can get her out of there without losing sight of myself, she thought, I nearly drowned the night before trying to find answers. Oh, and I thought I saw Peter, too, as well as possibly realized why I despise EarthGov.
"Fine," she lied, wincing as the guilt returned, "Work's been killing me, though. Things are getting pretty demanding around the office. I met Director Tiedemann today, too."
"You did?" Ed gasped, "What was he like?"
"Interesting," was all Riley said as she began dishing food out into different bowls.
Fiona chuckled tentatively. "With you, that could go either way," she commented, "Did you like him?"
Riley shrugged noncommittally. "He was all right. I mean, he seemed decent enough, but…" She trailed off there.
"But what?" Ed pressed.
Before Riley could answer, they all suddenly heard her RIG beep in her room. "Sounds like you have a message," Fiona pointed out.
Riley sighed and stood up. "I'll be right back." She bolted into her bedroom and checked her RIG, which informed her about a few new messages in her email account. She quickly pulled up a hologram that gave her remote access to her computer, so that she could check her emails that way. The messages were from various people around the Sprawl, and they often left comments about the articles she wrote, since her email address was always at the end of each one she published. Good thing I made a separate one for my Unitology identity, she thought, quickly scrolling through the emails that all had the same, incredulous reaction to the Ishimura's recovery. "I couldn't agree more with all of you," she mumbled as she clicked through each one, quickly reading them and deciding she would answer them later.
That was when she stumbled upon a message that made her freeze.
"Riley," it began, "If this is the only way I can reach someone from that news station, then so be it. I'll get to the others later. Retract your article from today's paper or I'll expose you and your station for the liars that you are."