Free Earth Afire (The First Formic War) by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston Page A

terminated the holo. The words ‘alien invasion’ sound ridiculous.”
    “Yet true nonetheless,” said Imala.
    “I could only bait the hook,” said Prescott. “I told her we had made the greatest scientific discovery in centuries and that if Mr. Jukes made the announcement to the world, he’d be considered an international hero. That piqued her interest.”
    “If he already has an appointment with the press,” said Victor, “we should see him before he meets with them. That way he can pass on the warning immediately.”
    “No chance of that,” said Prescott. “For starters, this isn’t the right type of press. They’re all tech journalists and industry bloggers. Ukko’s unveiling something the company’s been developing. When we go to the world with our story it needs to be with all the big news feeds and networks. Ukko will want to make a show of it. Besides, he won’t want to go to the press today, even if he believes us. He’ll want further evidence first.”
    “More evidence?” said Victor. “How much evidence do people need?”
    “Ukko’s cautious,” said Prescott. “He’ll want incontrovertible evidence from his own people. Evidence from a free miner will hold little weight. He’ll regard it warily. I mean no offence. That’s just how it is.”
    “But you have gathered evidence,” said Imala.
    “Evidence of destroyed ships,” said Prescott. “That proves there’s been an incident. It doesn’t prove who’s responsible.”
    “Five minutes isn’t a lot of time to convince him,” said Victor.
    “You only have to hook him. Once he believes this is possible, he’ll wipe the rest of his schedule clean and give you all the time in the world.”
    Prescott called for a skimmer, and he, Yanyu, Victor, and Imala boarded it and returned to the surface. Ukko’s office was underground within the Juke tunnel system, but it was located at such a distance away that Prescott thought it faster to fly to the docking station nearest the office than to weave their way through the tunnels.
    After the short flight, they descended underground again and entered a wing of the tunnels that was far more elegant and brightly lit. Here the floors were hardwood with strong magnets underneath that pulled on everyone’s greaves and allowed them to walk normally despite Luna’s low gravity. There were leather sofas and chairs, potted plants and abstract art, tapestries and vaulted ceilings, massive sculptures made of iron ore mined from asteroids deep in the Belt, all lit by soft recessed lights that gave the whole wing a prestigious air.
    Prescott led them into the waiting room to Ukko’s office, where a tank of tropical fish consumed an entire wall. Inside it, the tunneled rock of Luna had been carved out to resemble a coral reef, and eels and other vibrantly colored water creatures swam in and out of crevices and holes barely bigger than Victor’s fist.
    The site of it all made Victor sick. All this money, all this extravagance. Out in the Belt free-miner families slaved over asteroids to pull out enough lumps to feed their children, only to have corporates like Juke Limited sweep in, jump their claim, and toss the family aside. And what did the Juke bastards do with that money? They bought fish tanks and sculptures and hardwood floors and pranced around in their palaces while honest people went hungry.
    “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
    Victor turned away from the glass and came face to face with a woman in her midthirties. She wore a long, modest business skirt and loose-fitting blouse and clutched a holopad tight to her chest. “That one’s a leopard moray eel,” she said, pointing to one with vivid red stripes and black and white splotches. “They look vicious with that snout and sharp teeth of theirs, but they’re really quite harmless. They never bother humans, preferring instead really tiny fish.”
    “The big preying on the weak,” said Victor. “He must feel right at home.”
    She