章 100: The Man in the Middle

"There is no such thing as the man in the middle." one of them answered.

"The Council talks." another one followed.

"What do you mean?" I said, instantly regretting my phrasing. "Who is the individual sitting over there, right in front of me, covering his face inside the shadows of his clothing?"

"We are the Core Council."

It was obvious that I was not going to get any useful information about that mysterious council member. However, before the talks ended and I was imprisoned, I would try to learn as much as possible.

"You keep referring to yourselves as the Core Council. Are there other councils, or is it just a special name you've chosen for yourself?"

"The Core Council is the supreme council which assigns other, more specialized councils such as the Makemake Council of Security and Council to Implement the Initial Development Plan."

"So... It is like the Core Council is the prime minister, and other councils are ministries?"

"Sort of." said a council member.

"Not really." said another. "There are big differences in function. Core Council governs every aspect of the state, minor councils are... usually temporary, non-essential helpers."

"How did the Core Council... come to be?" I asked. "How was this government established?"

"This meeting has already fulfilled it's purpose and is going off-topic." the man in the middle talked for the very first time. All council members turned towards him, in shock.

"Yes, sir." one of them said.

"Why does this whole thing resemble a monarchy then!?" I wanted to ask, but I held myself back.

"Please guide our brother... to his quarters." the man in the middle said. Two guards approached to my sides from behind, but didn't touch me.

"This way." said the one on my right, pointing with the tip of her spear.

I walked out of the council room, and obediently followed the guards into oddly narrow hallways. Finally, we made it to a prison. I passed by some cells, most of which were empty. Only a few were occupied by prisoners, silently sitting and looking down to the ground.

One of the cell doors were opened up.

"This one is yours."

I walked in without resistance. As much as I didn't like the idea, I could think of no escape plan. If I tried to run, I could be killed.

'Could'? Who was I kidding, I WOULD be killed.

The cell door was closed, and I was left alone. I took a look into the cell. A bed, a lamp, a toilet, and a table. Almost a typical economy-class solitary confinement room, except maybe the table.

After seeing everything I had to work with, I tried to come up with possible escape plans. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that I was a bit too tired to use my full mental capacity, so I instead decided to go to bed and get some rest. Even if I did come up with an escape plan now, the security forces would be extra careful with a new prisoner like me anyway, so I wouldn't try out anything this soon.

-----

Some time after I fell asleep, I was woken up with knocking on my cell's door. Just when I got out of the bed, the door opened. Then the guards stepped aside, revealing someone behind them. I instantly recognized him; it was the man in the middle!

He made a hand sign to the guards, and they left the man alone. I was curiously looking at him when he finally uncovered his head and showed his face to me.

"Hello, brother."

I was dumbfounded, and my response was a hesitant nod. He smiled a bit and walked into the cell, sitting on my bed.

"Come, sit." he said to me, patting his hand next to where he was sitting. I went ahead and sat by him. He slightly turned to face me.

"I am sorry for... the way The Council is, but it is necessary." he said. "I appreciate your patience, and also, I am sure you still have many questions unanswered. Ask away."

"If you wanted my questions answered, why did you stop me in the council room then?" I asked first.

"Because I felt that The Council wouldn't like to answer some questions in the most honest ways. I wanted to answer such questions myself, in private. Right here."

"Why would I trust you any more than the rest of The Council?"

"Ask 'if' before 'why' or 'how'." he said.

"Who are you?" I asked. I wanted to know why he was trying to help me. "Except for, of course, a member of The Council..."

"I am Kukulkan." he said. My eyes opened wide. It was him! The man we were looking for was right besides me!

"Can this Kukulkan... also have a 'Professor' title in front of it?" I asked.

"Yes, I figured that you would know me." he said.

"How?" I asked.

"A good companion you had on your journey, Professor Yamamari, was my colleague." he said.

"So you've met him already..." I said.

"Yes." said Professor Kukulkan. "He was kind enough to provide me with all the details of your quest. Luckily for him, my goals and yours look the same - save the future of humanity."

"So, does this mean you are going to help us?" I asked with excitement. "This journey wasn't for nothing!?"

"You've got it backwards." he said. "You are going to help me."

"How? What do you need?" I asked.

"The president of what was once the People's Republic of Mars, then the Republic of Mars... You are intelligent and experienced." he said. "And you know a lot about the enemy."

"What do I do?"

"I have a proposal." he said. "The group of refugees which made it to Makemake were, as you know, almost entirely civilians. People with military experience remained back to fight the enemy and died. You are invaluable for us as someone with extensive military experience. I offer to give you the command of our security forces, and you will defend the Order of Salvation and it's assets. However, your real identity will be top secret information, only known by the Core Council. You won't walk freely among the public obviously, however, you won't be life-imprisoned either."

This was an unexpected and interesting proposal. It made sense to begin with, and it could be my only way out of the prison. But I had one more thing in mind...

"I have one more term." I said.

"Go ahead." he said. "If it is something acceptable, why not?"

"I know The Council wouldn't let my companions roam around freely since they know about my being here. I can safely guess that they are imprisoned as well... but I want them to remain by my side, in secrecy, away from the public. We won't create problems."

"Professor Yamamari and the girl?" he asked.

"That 'girl' is the only surviving Martian admiral." I said. "I need them to be with me."

"I can release the girl, but I can't promise the same about Yamamari." he said. "I am his colleague, and I have an issue with him you have nothing to do with."

"What!?"