Hunt the Truth/12 VO

Petra warns against the dangers of going public, but the gears are already grinding on one last, big plan. It’s time to burn ONI once and for all.

PETROSKY: Who the hell is this?

BEN: Anthony, it’s Ben Giraud. I don’t have much time but I’ve got something-

PETROSKY: Ben? I- I didn’t recognize the feed, what are you, calling me from prison or someth-

BEN: Listen. Listen, I just sent you a location. I need you to get yourself there on Monday.

PETROSKY: …Uhhh…

BEN: You still wanna tear down ONI, right?

PETROSKY: Y-yeah. I don’t know what to tell you, man. We dropped that bomb and it fizzled out, man. People in power apparently don’t give a rat’s ass-

BEN: Yeah, but now we got a real payload, and we’re gonna deliver it to real power. Look, I totally understand either way, but I’m about to board this flight, so I kinda need to know now. Are you in or out?

PETROSKY: …I’m in, okay?

BEN: Yes. YOU are a bad-ass.

PETROSKY: But I’m tellin’ you, the Senate is not-

BEN: Anthony, we don’t need the Senate. And trust me, by the time we’re through? Every crooked, lying bastard in the UEG is going to be charged with high treason.

I’m Benjamin Giraud, and this is Hunt the Truth.

My ride was about ready to leave Bliss. The freighter was fully loaded and doing safety checks. I hung back on the dock so I could make another call.

RAY: Hello, This is Raymond Kurzig.

BEN: Ray! It’s Ben. I fo-

RAY: Dude, what’s this feed you’re calling from? Are you okay?

BEN: Yeah, I- I’m fine. Look - I found it.

RAY: You found it? Found what?

BEN: Everything.

RAY: What do you mean, everything?

BEN: Look, I just transferred you the files. Don’t say what it is.

RAY: Okay, hold on…

I listened as Ray opened the folder and saw everything ONI had never wanted us to see.

RAY: Oh my God… Ben, where did you get this?

BEN: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but this our chance, man. This is our only chance to put a stop to all of this.

RAY: I- I don’t know what to say…

Now, Ray had back-up files on everything, and I needed one last favor. He was the only person I trusted with it. I pushed him a list of domains and asked if he’d forward every last file to everyone on it. When he saw the list of addressees, I could hear his jaw drop. After the shock wore off though, he said he’d make it happen.

RAY: Yeah. Okay. No problem.

BEN: Man, I really can’t thank you enough, but we got ‘em, Ray. We got ‘em. And I promise you, no one will ever know that you helped me with Biko. I’m gonna upload the rest of my story when I get back, and you won’t be on any of the recordings, not this conversation, none of it. You were right to cut ties and I just want to make sure that you are absolutely clear of this.

RAY: Ben. They gutted my house.

BEN: What?

RAY: My house. They completely gutted it. Down to the studs. They-

BEN: Ray, Ray-

RAY: They did that to my home. Where my wife and daughter sleep.

BEN: How would they have known-

RAY: I got them off-world, they’re in a safe place now, but… Whether I want to or not? At this point I can’t turn back. How can I help?

Ray was one of the most selfless human beings I’d ever had the honor to know. He went way out of his comfort zone time and again, bravely sacrificing over and over. I don’t think I could ever truly make him understand how much that meant to me.

I sent him instructions over encrypted texts and we finalized our plans. I thanked him again, we wished each other luck, and we said goodbye. The next time I’d see him was going to be a life-defining moment, and there was no one I’d rather have at my side.

As I left the Outer Colonies behind, it was hard not to think of how steep the price of our freedom and safety had been. So much truth had been buried, so many people. ONI had tried to bury me, too. But they’d failed. I wasn’t scared anymore, and I had something to say. How many sacrificed people was too many? As far as I was concerned, the answer… was one.

MSHAK [MESSAGE]: Hello? Oh man, I’ve been waiting for you to call. I’ve got something very important to tell you. This is a recorded message. Hah hah!

BEN: Mshak, hah hah! M-shack! Look I don’t know if-

[BEN LEAVES A MESSAGE FOR MSHAK]

Mshak still haunted my dreams. Every time I closed my eyes, he was slipping into that black bag, and I couldn’t save him. But I would make it up to him. I would make it up to Ray. I’d make it up to FERO. I’d make it up to Petra and Anthony and Katrina and Ellie and everyone in the Outer Colonies, everyone our government had kept in the dark. Whether by choice or not, too many sacrifices had been made and far too many of them had been people.

BEN: I guess just what I- I just wanted to say thank you. And I’m sorry.

For the first time in my career, I felt like I was finally going to tell the full story, every ugly piece, from loose threads to the rotten core. That’s why it wouldn’t all of have been in vain. That’s how I would make it up to everyone. I would give them the dignity of knowing the truth.

I must have been nodding off when I got a call from Petra Janecek. For someone who had threatened me bodily harm on more than on one occasion, she also, with far less fanfare, always seemed to check in to make sure I was okay.

BEN: Ya know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were concerned about my welfare.

PETRA: Pfft, oh, get over yourself, Giraud. I just wanted to find out what you, um, found-

BEN: Seriously though, you’ve heard me apologize a hundred times for being such a… jackass, for putting your reputation on the line, y’know. But, I figured you could stand to hear me say thank you again.

PETRA: Well, you’re welcome.

BEN: For everything you’ve done. I mean, look, I- I really can’t tell you how much it’s meant to me, just-

PETRA: That’s okay, okay that’s….that’s enough.

BEN: Too much?

PETRA: Yeah, little bit. I mean, now you’re really ruining my reputation. Oh no, I hope this isn’t what the end of your story is like… You tenderly speaking from the heart? Ugh, I thought everything else was bad, but…Ugh! Anyway, I just- I wanted to find out what happened with the lead. What did you find?

BEN: You were right. It was one-in-a-million.

PETRA: Really? Okay, what? What did you-

BEN: I got everything, Petra... everything. All the undeniable proof anyone could ever want.

PETRA: Be- specific, Ben. Did you find anything on Biko?

BEN: Whole story, plain as day. Not only is the Chief innocent, but he saved the day. He pulled off the impossible. I’ve got everything I need to prove it, too. And the best part is, I’ve got the UEG blatantly implicating themselves in legislative negligence and then conspiring with the Biko magistrate to cover it up. Coercion, bribery, all of it. Those arrogant pricks could have prevented the whole thing. And they know it too. ONI and the UEG have been sacrificing the Chief this whole time to save their own asses, to distract the public from what we’ve been digging up on them. But now all of it’s laid out in the files they never wanted us to see. I’ve got ‘em... Dead. To. Rights.

PETRA: No, Ben. They’re just gonna suppress all of it. I mean, come on-

BEN: They’re gonna try. I don’t know when it’s going down or how they’re gonna do it, but they’ve made some deal with Biko. They’re gonna bring the real perpetrators to justice, but somehow, still let Chief take the fall too. And I’m not gonna let that happen. We’re gonna clear the Chief and expose ONI.

PETRA: We? Who’s- who’s we?

BEN: Ray and me and Petrosky.

PETRA: Oh, the three amigos, huh?

BEN: It’s all going down tomorrow.

PETRA: Ben, you know, you don’t have to do it like this.

BEN: Petra, it’s- it’s okay. It’s okay. I know you’re worried I can’t do this, that I’m sloppy, and you were right about all of that, but this time it’s-

PETRA: No, I just don’t want to see anything bad happen-

BEN: I need to do this.

PETRA: So, tomorrow, huh? What’s your big plan? Did you get one of the ballsier editors at Magellan to bite on the story?

BEN: No. I’m not passing this off. I’m going all the way.

PETRA: What does that mean?

BEN: Actually, I was hoping you’d do me a favor - send out a blast to your network about it. It can be offline, but trust me; No one’s gonna wanna miss this.

Sitting here on the freighter, getting everything ready for tomorrow, I’m struck by how lucky I am to be a part of this. If Ray and Anthony and I are successful, all that darkness ONI’s had us drowning blindly in for generations will finally light up. And it’s because of the help of so many brave people. To everyone who’s risked so much, and everyone who’s left me messages, to all my friends, I want to say thank you. This will be my final transmission. Tomorrow, you will witness the ending to this story that all of us deserve. After that, I will be going dark. At least for a while. But depending on how everything shakes out, I hope to be back sooner than later.

To everyone who’s listened to my story, those who’ve stood up and spoken out, I want each of you to know that simply by owning the truth, we have the real power, and by sharing that truth, we wield that power. Please never forget that. It has been my honor and great fortune to have found myself at the nexus of all your impassioned opinions and honest stories. It’s been truly humbling. So to all of you listening right now, I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Most of all though, I want to thank the Master Chief. Chief, you have saved us in more ways than any of us, perhaps even you, could possibly know. You have sacrificed so much for us, and whatever the cost of my actions tomorrow ends up being, I believe it’s a sacrifice we owe to you and all those who serve. And if I’m successful, in the end, everyone will know that you are still the savior we all needed you to be.

PETRA: Okay… but what is it? What are the particulars?

BEN: We’re going on ECB. I got a prime spot. Old producer friend hooked me up.

PETRA: Uh….

BEN: We’re going wide-stream. Full distribution.

PETRA: Okay…. Okay, you mean… You mean that you’re gonna-

BEN: Petra… Petra, tomorrow, we’re going live on the networks. Potentially in front of every person alive. We’re going to clear the Chief’s name before they burn him at the stake. We’re gonna douse the real monsters in kerosene, then once-and-for-all… and with everybody watching… I’m gonna burn ONI to the ground.

I’m Benjamin Giraud. And this has been Hunt the Truth.