The Chiron Chronicle 7: 2183

[Sprayber]

Blast Rifle Crag

Governor Pontas sat at his desk trying to find the right words in which to address his old friend general Kessel. Try as he did, he could not decide on the appropriate path to take. When he had finally learned that Santiago no longer ruled Sparta and it was Kessel that had taken over, Pontas had wished that he had held out just a little longer. But that time had passed. There was no conceivable way to go back now. Independence had been declared and he had marked himself a traitor. He did not believe the Kessel would try and take back the base. But still that was a possibility that he must at least consider. He would have to garner support from key players to achieve a guarantee of safety. This would mean talking to the Peacekeepers, Drones, and maybe even the Hive. Pontas hated to rely on the Alliance. But for now, the Alliance was all he had. As Pontas started to write yet another message to Kessel, his aide appeared over his screen. “Sir you have an incoming live message. It is a Marshal Kessel.” “Did you say Marshall Kessel, lieutenant?” “Yes sir. That is how the message reads.” “Patch it through then” “Yes sir.” On the screen the face of his aide disappeared and was replaced by the familiar face of Marcus Kessel.

--Governor Pontas. Since we are old friends, I will skip the threats and the posturing. What you have done up there has put me in a very difficult spot. You must imagine my surprise when I receive reports that there are foreign troops in one of our bases. And you must further imagine my dismay when I hear that it was you that invited them in and that you have declared independence.
--I did what I felt was best for the people here at the time, my old friend. Where was Sparta for those long months that were under siege?
--Sparta was busy tearing itself apart. But fortunately that is all in the past. I am the new leader of the Federation. We have restructured the government and currently pursuing a peace process.
--That is all good, Kessel. But you cannot now expect me to reverse my actions and revert back to Spartan Control do you?

Kessel was silent for long while. A small smile spread across his face.

--On the contrary my friend. I want you to continue with the present situation. Oh I will have to make some threatening comments in public of course. But I actually think this may work to Sparta’s advantage. And all you have to do is be sincere. Don’t let the Pirates have too much control up there. They are a dangerous lot. Much more dangerous than the Pks will ever be to Sparta. I trust that you will not do anything to endanger Sparta’s future. Just remember one thing. Keep your base neutral at all times. Don’t allow anyone to build up their forces. I can assure you that there will be no effort to attack the base. General Kell had forces stationed near the base. He has now been appointed the governor of Janissary Rock.

Pontas studied Kessel’s face for signs of his sincerity and started to believe that he was indeed sincere.

--I am glad to hear that there is not animosity between us. But remember. Blast Rifle Crag has turned a corner. It will be impossible to go back now or in the future. Done is done. It cannot be made undone.
--Since when did you start quoting me Pontas? Very well. I see your position clearly. But you must be aware of this. If in any way Blast Rifle Crag becomes a staging point for Alliance forces, it will be considered an act of war. And we will take whatever actions necessary to neutralize it’s use.
--I understand.
--Good. Kessel out.

As the screen blinked out, Pontas leaned back in his chair and began to think about the exchange. He had angered Kessel when he mentioned that the base would not consider future reintegration into the Federation. But he trusted him to keep his word about not attacking the base. Pontas decided that it was time to make arrangements for the base to step up efforts to create an independent security force. So that it wouldn’t have to depend on the good graces of outsiders.


Sparta Command

Official government announcement.

Effective immediately, the following changes in the governing bodies will take effect.

Office of the Military Governor Of Inner Sparta will be the highest office in the Federation.
The post of Marshal has been activated and given to General Marcus Kessel who had now been appointed Military Governor Of Inner Sparta.

The following Posts of Governors have been announced.

Sparta Command:.......Constantine Veers
Commander’s Keep:.....Timothy Drake
Janissary Rock:...........Gregory Kell
Centurion Cave:..........Kendal Hines
Assassin’s Redoubt:.....Diego Santos
Fort Legion:...............Patricia Keller
Defiance Freehold:......Hans Needa
Ironholm:..................Peter Screed
Militia Station:...........James Piett
Fort Superiority:.........Hans Gruber
Survival Base:............Susan Conner
Hero’s Waypoint:........Alexander Powell
War Outpost:.............Vacant
Blast Rifle Crag:..........Vacant
Temple of War:...........Vacant



Each Governor will hold a seat on the revitalized Board of Military Governors. The Board will be headed by Marshal Kessel. Any Base that has no governor appointed will be run by the bases SPO until a governor can be dispatched . The Board of Military Governors will act as an advisory to the Marshal. At the end of every year the Board will vote on a statement of confidence as to the current course of actions taken by the Marshal in the running of Spartan business.

Each base will have a Board of Magistrates that consists of four governor appointed positions and five positions that will be filled by an election of the citizens of each base. Each base will be required to have these specific positions filled.

Base Engineer-------------------Appointed
Base Doctor---------------------Appointed
Base Urban Planner--------------Appointed
Base Resource Manager----------Appointed
Base Citizen Representative------Elected
Base Citizen Representative------Elected
Base Citizen Representative------Elected
Base Citizen Representative------Elected
Base Citizen Representative------Elected

The Governor will be the final authority on all matters concerning the base. The Board of Magistrates is to operate as an advisory role only.

The Militia and Armed Forces are to be under the direct command of the Military Governor Of Inner Sparta. He shall appoint those officers necessary for the efficient operation of the Militia and Armed Forces.

The following posts have been created for the operation of the Spartan Federation.

Department of the Interior--In charge of coordination between bases for the efficient use of faction resources.
Department of Science--In charge of research and development into future technology.
Department of Intelligence--In charge of intelligence gathering.
Department of Foreign Affairs--In charge of diplomatic efforts with other factions.



Each Department will have a Chief of Operations appointed by the Military Governor Of Inner Sparta with the advice of the Board of Military Governors.


Further changes are being considered. Citizens are urged to remain calm and proceed in their routines in a Spartan Manner. Governors have submitted their choices for the participants in the upcoming Spartan Games. Citizens are encouraged to follow the progress their local competitors and show their support. The winning base will be given the honor of having the first Spartan War Banner to be flown over their base. They will also be treated as first among equals in future gatherings of the various bases.

End of Statement---Copy Forwarded to Blast Rifle Crag.

[Sprayber]

To: Commissioner Lal
From: Marshal Kessel

I have looked at your latest proposal and would like to offer something a bit different. Instead of Sparta giving a credit payment, I propose that we instead build the sea colony pod ourselves. I believe that simply paying a fixed amount of credits is just somehow wrong. After we complete the sea colony pod, we will escort it out to a predetermined location and turn it over to your forces. Of course, you would be allowed to send a delegation of engineers to supervise the construction. You would also be allowed to inspect the pod to make sure it is up to your standards. The choice is yours. This has the potential to perhaps begin an era of mutual trust between our two faction. Because quite simply we cannot coexist for too long with the level of distrust and animosity that currently pervades the Eastern Continent. Along with the sea colony pod I would be willing to turn over General Weiss to stand trial in whatever manner your courts see fit. Proceedings are already underway to court martial him for unrelated offenses. After our tribunals are through, no more than a week or two, he can be turned over to your forces near Ruby Ridge Memorial. My apologies, Data Acquisition. My forces are prepared to withdraw from Data Acquisition as soon as an agreement is reached. These terms will not be easy to accept to many Spartans. But I am willing to go through with them if you are willing to meet me half way. Some day Commissioner, humanity will need Sparta. If you look around you will see evidence of a once powerful race. It is my belief that eventually they will come back. And I intend to make sure that Sparta is not caught unprepared. I await your response.

One more item Commissioner. My sources claim that a Colonol Christopher was in charge of units operating around Data Acquisition at the time of the Incident with the rover. I suggest that you ask him if he knows anything about such an incident. Other than that, I am afraid that I have no hard evidence to offer regarding that recording that you are now in possesion of. It is a matter out of my hands now.

[OOC: Had to split up the post. There is a word limit now]

[Guardian]

U.N. Data Acquisition

Another night was falling...

Kyla had the first watch that night.
Once again, she was all alone in the gunner's compartment, anxiously watching the Spartans over by the defensive perimeter. She discovered a figure she could not recall seeing before and zoomed in to have a look... It was a woman, maybe a few years older than herself, standing there on the wall looking back in her direction. There was something kind of strange about this Spartan woman... she didn't look like a regular Spartan... Like... her features were softer, somehow... As in... it was almost as if she was standing up there wondering, "Why do all these people hate me so much?"

"Because you're a Spartan b*tch, that's why!", thought Kyla angrily, then immediately bit her lip and swallowed, feeling guilty and ashamed... She shouldn't think that way about a person she didn't know anything about, even if it WAS a Spartan... For all Kyla knew, this woman might have never hurt anyone... yes, that did seem unlikely, but she couldn't be sure... at least she didn't look like some horrible evil monster looking for someone to torture and and kill... she looked very human...

The next thought came as something of a surprise... She could have been my sister...

Her mind was drifting...
Why are we out here? Why are we doing this?
We've never even seen each other before, and here we are, ready to blow each other to pieces at a moment's notice...

Kyla's crosshairs were resting squarely on the woman's chest... the guns weren't actually pointed at her yet because Kyla had her system in what she liked to call the "sightseeing mode", meaning she could look around without aiming the guns at everything she looked at... Still, she could snap out of this in an instant... her finger was always ready... this woman wouldn't even know she was in trouble until her chest was ripped open like a paper bag...
-and why would I want to do that?
Because she's Spartan... nothing personal, just business...
Sorry lady, but you're history... if you wanted to say something, it's too late...
and you can't scream because you have no lungs anymore, and your heart is in little bits and pieces all over the wall behind you... there's not even time to say a prayer or to close your eyes and think of your loved ones... and you'll never know who shot you and why, or what life you could have had if things had been different this day... all you ever had was just taken from you and you didn't even see it happen... and all you did to deserve it was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...

You should have been somewhere back in Sparta right now, minding your own business... You know, I never wanted to be here myself... I should have been somewhere back out there on the island I call home... with somebody special... someone who'd hold me and love me... and I would fall asleep in his arms at night, knowing that he'd still be there when I wake up in the morning... knowing that I would wake up in the morning...

-But instead I have to stay out here and watch you Spartans... and some day, something will happen, and they'll ship me home in a sealed package which my relatives will be adviced not to open...

She shuddered.
The crosshairs fell away from the Spartan woman's chest and went milling about on the ground between them for a while...

It was getting dark.
Kyla was alone in the gunner's compartment.

No one could see her cry...

[[LordLMP]]

To: PLanetary Council
From: Captain Svensgaard

I suggest we rap these votes up now as university abstains and planetmind doesn't to be available at the moment.

Captain Svensgaard

To: Governor Pontas, Blast Rifle Crag
From: Captain Svensgaard

I would like to invite Blast Rifle Crag to send representives to the Global Trade Summit at Morgan Industries sometime in the third quarter of this year. Blast Rifle Crag as the potential to be a profitable trading base.

Captain Svensgaard

[Guardian]

From: Commissioner Lal
To: Planetary Council

One week has passed.
Here are the results of the votes:

1. On the formation of an Interfactional Peacekeeping Task Force...

The vote being 7 against 2, the measure passes.
Talks on the implementation of such a peacekeeping force may commence immediately.


2. On the right of all factions to establish unarmed embassies in each others capitals...

The vote being 4 against 5, the measure fails and no resolution is adopted.


From: Commissioner Lal
To: Marshal Kessel

We have considered your proposal and there is some sense in some of the things you say. However, we are unable to accept your proposal in regards to the sea colony pod, mainly because the trust of which you speak simply does not exist at all. With the amount of checking and double-checking we would need to do, it would easily cost us 3 times more to have you build a sea colony pod than to build one for ourselves. -And even then, our people would still have serious problems with the idea of using a Spartan pod...


From: Commissioner Lal
To: General Braddock

Please contact me as soon as possible.
We may have a problem...


U.N. Data Acquisition

At the end of her watch, Kyla turned her post over to private Kensington and went to get some rest. There was nothing special to report. However, before crashing, she spent some time tinkering with the onboard communications computer...


Later that night, a message started popping up in the strangest places...
Addressed to "Undisclosed recipient" from "Light sleeper", few could even figure out which network the source was located in, much less pinpoint an individual computer or even a network segment...


If you haven't lived my life
Then you know nothing
Take my longing here and now
But wish for nothing more

[Sprayber]

To: Captain Svensgaard
From: Governor Pontas

Blast Rifle Crag would be honored to send representatives to the trade summit. I am afraid that our infrastructure is not what we would like it to be, but we would be open to new opportunities. Thank you Captain for thinking about us.

To: Commissioner Lal
From: Governor Pontas

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Governor William Pontas of Blast Rifle Crag. As you know we here at Blast Rifle Crag have declared our independence from the Spartan Federation. With the help of the Nautilus Pirates and Gians we have maintained our position here. Since you are the Planetary Governor I am here to offer Blast Rifle Crag as a meeting point or safe haven for your faction and indeed any that may need it. Blast Rifle Crag should remain a neutral and open base. Also I am offering my services in the current peace process. I have a few contacts within the Federation that may come in need from time to time. So far I have maintained a cordial relationship with Marshal Kessel himself. I have every confidence in your abilities but wish to keep us in mind if you should need something. I am aware of your sensibilities when it comes to a democratic process. I can give you my word that when things have stabilized, we here at Blast Rifle Crag will hold free and fair elections to determine the future. I await your input regarding the matter. And one more thing. If you would like to send some kind of peacekeeping force here to the base then rest assured that you will be welcome. It’s not that I don’t trust your Alliance members. But after all you are the original Peacekeepers. Thank you for your time Commissioner.

[OOC: Pontas would feel much better about the situation if there were Peacekeepers at the base. He sees them as the only faction that he can be sure about. Everyone else seems to be out for their own advantage.]


Sparta Command

Kessel had not set foot in his office all day. He was tired of the day to day grind. The so called peace process was a mess. Looking back at the events that had landed him with this job in the first place, he couldn’t help buy wonder if this was what Santiago had had in mind. She had gotten out right at the best time. Not that he believed she was a coward. But she must have been up to something else. But what could have been so important as to leave at a crucial point in Spartan history? Whatever it was, it had better be pretty damned important. Kessel walked into the rec facility, closely followed by his guards. He hadn’t worked out in here in so long now. Instead, opting to do it in the Command Center Complex. Come to think of it, this had been the first time in over a month that he had even been out of the complex. Damn, I’ve already developed the bunker mentality. He made a mental note to be seen in public more often. The troops needed to see their commander and the citizens needed to see their leader. Kessel stood just inside the door watching the various people inside the main hall of the facility going about their different exercises. In one corner a young man had just taken a nasty hit from the female he was sparring with. He appeared to hesitated for a mere second from the pain possibly. His opponent took advantage of this and delivered a lightening fast combination of kicks that Kessel had rarely seen before. If fact, only twice. Once in the final round of the hand combat competition in the 33 Spartan games. And the second time a month later when he ran into a small group of War Outpost Militia at the local R&R Bar. Even Spartans were known to get a little drunk and get into fights from time to time. Kessel could have had them brought up on charges for hitting an officer, three officers in fact, but didn’t. He had been just as aggressive as they had. But surely this couldn’t be the same woman. She surely couldn’t be here in Sparta Command. For a brief moment he remembered just how old he was getting now. That was almost fifty years ago. Somehow living this long just wasn’t natural. It meant running into old acquaintances over and over again. Even if that was the last thing you wanted to do. Kessel snapped out of his memories. The woman and backed off just a bit. Her partner was still trying to recover from the blows. He got up and attempted to strike back with a combination of his own but she just merely sidestepped a bit and caught him on the back of his head with her foot has he went by her. The man hit the floor with a thud with what appeared to be blood coming from his nose and his lip. “Enough” Yelled the woman. “Medics” As soon as she yelled the words two medics appeared from the corner of the room and went about attending to the young man. “He is unconscious sir, but will be alright.” “Take him away.” Kessel had stepped back to get a better view of the woman. It can’t be her. He thought to himself again. The woman finally turned around for him to see her face. And sure enough it was her. Marta Bettina. Her hair had been cut and she had grown more lean, but it was definitely her. There was no mistaken those dark green eyes and raven hair. Just as a thousand thoughts started to flow through Kessel’s mind, he herd a beep from his comm unit. “What is it?” Kessel was obviously not happy at the interruption “Sorry to disturb you sir but Colonel Santiago has signaled ahead and confirmed that she will arrive tomorrow evening” “Tell her that I look forward to talking with her and that I will great her at the gate when she arrives.” “Yes sir” Kessel had turned around to look for Marta and found that she had gone. Kessel couldn’t decided if that was a good thing or not. “Well, my day is ruined” Kessel motioned to his guards. “Lets go see what fate has more in store for me today, shall we.” The guards didn’t answer. They merely formed up behind him and followed him as he exited the rec center.

Ruby Ridge Memorial {Data Acq.}

Sergeant Gains and his men had settled in a routine. Up in the morning for their daily exercise and then to the mess hall for what passed as rations in the Spartan Army. Being stuck inside a base was not what he and his men had been trained to do. They belonged the the rover groups. Mobility was their life blood. Sure they could fight dismounted and did far more of it than most would think. But this was simply not their idea of the Army. Now he knew what the garrison troops felt on a day to day basis. To keep his men occupied he and several other squads kept busy by clearing the streets repairing some of the facilities that had been destroyed. Nothing major. Just a lot of physical work to keep the troops minds off the boredom. Today they were scheduled to go up on the wall. He didn’t like the wall anymore. His squad was always stationed in the same place. And everyday he would look down at the PK rovers and occasionally see her. The PK and Alliance troops would from time to time hold what seemed to be parties. This would infuriate many of the Spartans sitting up on the wall but it didn’t bother him. Or at least he didn’t let it show. As he sat in the barracks checking all the equipment that his squad would be using that day, corporal Unger walked in the barracks. “Corporal, where have you been?” “I just got back from watching Sergeant Wanton give the Pks some grief.” “What do you mean?” “Follow me and I’ll show you.” The two soldiers walked across the compound yard and made their way up the side of the wall. When Gains and the corporal had made it to their usual spot, the squad that they were supposed to relieve later on were all standing up gesturing to the PK rovers down below and across the no mans land. Sergeant Wanton had a loud speaker in his hands was yelling over the speaker. “From what we see up here, you PK’s are looking soft. Why don’t you bring that pretty little blonde up here and we will show her what real men are like” Gains looked out over the wall and saw a group of PK soldiers gathered behind a defensive wall erected in between their rovers. Some were out in the open with hand gestures of their own and some were nervously in their rovers. He could see the rover turrets slowly move from side to side. “Have you lost your mind Wanton?” Gains was now standing next to the loud sergeant. “Stand back Gains, that little blonde b**** started it when she insisted on insulting me and my men.” Gains had noticed before that there was actually three women in that particular rover group. For now he was giving Wanton the benefit of the doubt. “What do you mean insulted?” “Last night they had some kind of get together out there and I demanded that they put out their fires. They were creating a hazard.” “And” “We called announced our demand several times. And just after dawn a female got up on her rover and told us all to go to hell and to stop interrupting. I issued the demand once again, she made gesture and stated that we were all bastards and all we knew how to do was to rape old ladies and kill children. She then stated her desire for Santiago to be hung up side down and the rest I didn’t catch because she was pulled down from the rover by her comrades.” Gains looked back over at the Pks outside the perimeter. “Is that all she did?” “That and she threw a rock over our way.” “Ok. So why are you attempting to escalate it further? Let it pass.” As Gains said that, the woman that he had spent so much time thinking about popped up out of her rover and the PK soldiers near by broke out in a cheer. She raised a pair of binoculars towards the Spartans on the wall. “There she is now” Wanton raised the loudspeaker up and began his verbal assault. “Her is the culprit in the flesh. Why don’t you come over here and we can show you what real men are all about.” “I’m warning you Wanton, put that damn thing down or you’ll be sorry.” “Buzz off Gains. I’m going to teach this little girl a lesson.” Wanton began to talk into the loudspeaker again. “What base are you from little girl? Too bad you didn’t get to meet up with me and my ” before Wanton could finish the sentence, Gains drew back and punched him with everything he had. Wanton feel back as blood began to squirt from his broken nose. One of his men attempted to get Gains from behind but was stopped by Corporal Unger. Wanton tried to get up but gains kicked him in the rips and took the loudspeaker from his hands. “Everyone back to their post. Unger, contact the day officer.” “Right away Sergeant.” Gains turned to look around to try and see her. She was still there looking through the binoculars. At that moment he heard someone coming from behind him. He stepped off to the side just as Wanton lunged forward with a knife. The blade dug into his side but didn’t penetrate too deeply. He turned to face his attacker. Wanton was on his knees trying to catch his breath but got up anyway. He steadied his knife and tried to lunge again. Gains hit him over the head with the loudspeaker. Blood was now pouring from his nose and head. A medic arrived a minute later and began to apply a pressure bandage to Wanton’s wound. He looked up and noticed that Gains too was bleeding. About that time five MP’s made their way up the wall with an officer. “Take them both into custody until we find out what happened here.” As they surrounded Gains, he turned to see if she was still there watching. And to his surprise, she was.

[OOC: Guardian, I didn't want to say too much about what your character was doing. I tried to think about what she might say if she were having a bad day and the Spartans were giving her grief. Oh, Don't forget that you have a one armed Spartan that you have captured. Captain Drake. ]

[Guardian]

[OOC: Sprayber, it's OK, you did fine. Sounds like something Kyla might have said / done on a bad day...
As for Captain Drake... I haven't really forgotten about him, but he's been left out of it for pretty long now... Let's see if we can find out what happened to him, shall we? I think we'll start with a little flashback...]


North of U.N. Haven City, several months ago...

The room was rocking lightly as the ambulance rover sped across the dunes. He didn't know where he was or what had happened. He just knew he was thirsty and had a bad head ache. -And there was definitely something very wrong with his arm... Gradually, as he came awake, the memories came flowing back to him, about as welcome as Alexandro Demeneras would have been in U.N. Headquarters. The problem was, there was nothing he could do about them now. The disaster had already happened...
Before he had time to dwell on it, a big guy wearing a PK Medic's uniform came up next to him... A Peacekeeper! Why, the son of a... He was about to lunge out with his good arm, but then he saw the look on the other man's face and hesitated for a moment... This guy looked... almost friendly...

The guy held up both hands before him and spoke in a soft, soothing tone of voice. "Whoah there! Take it easy buddy, there's no war on in here. This is the U.N. Medical Corps. We don't fight wars, we just take care of the wounded. Now you can be pissed off about being here, but that's not our fault, okay?"

It was most certainly NOT okay... but the guy was right: it wasn't his fault...

"Now, in a while you will meet some other people", the medic continued, "and they'll want to ask you questions and stuff... What I want you to do is remember that they are Peacekeepers. Under the U.N. Charter, the only information you have to give them is your name, rank and number. They can't make you say any more than that. They can ask you questions, but whether you cooperate or not is up to you." He paused again as a young nurse entered. She nodded lightly and sat down next to the bed without speaking a word. The medic returned her nod and then turned back to face the injured Spartan. "However, when you make your decision, you should keep in mind that we Peacekeepers are pretty advanced technologically. If you help us out, perhaps we can help you out... See what I mean?"

The medic turned as if to leave, but then appeared to have second thoughts, and turned back to face him again. Looking him squarely in the eye, he spoke one final sentence:

"What I'm saying is that we just might see what we can do about that arm of yours..."

[Guardian]

U.N. Data Acquisition

"Johnson!"
"Sir!"
"Get in here, I need to talk to you."

Sergeant Felipe "Speedy" Gonzales was proud to be a Peacekeeper.
He was proud to be in the Special Forces, proud to be with the 6th Assault Rovers, proud to be in the 1st Platoon of 1st Company. He was proud to be on the lead rover... He was really proud of his crew.

And, he had to admit, he was especially proud of one of them... His main gunner, corporal Kyla Johnson. She was... simply something special. There was no better way to put it. A great soldier and a sweet, wonderful person... caring and sensitive, yet brutally efficient when she needed to be. And very popular amongst the others. Not just her own crew, but the entire unit and more or less everyone else who became aware of her. There were rumors that even a few of the Spartans seemed to soften up a bit when she made an appearance out in the open where they could see her. Her mere presence was good for morale. But now she was in some kind of trouble and Gonzales needed to find out what was going on...

"Right away, sir."

She winced.
It seemed today simply wasn't a very good day...

It had all started the night before, when she'd gotten all emotional watching that Spartan woman on the wall... She had seen that same woman again in her dreams that night... It had been exactly like the real thing at first... only, there hadn't been anybody else around... it was just her and this woman... and this woman had been standing up there looking back at her with eyes saying "Why do you hate me so much?"
"I haven't done anything. You don't know me. Why do you hate me? Why, why, why, why, why??"
In the dream, Kyla wanted to kill that woman.
She didn’t know why… just sort of… felt like it…
And she knew she could do it. Nothing could stop her but herself.

And the scary part was... she wasn't sure she wouldn't...

Then she was awake again, and there was some sort of commotion going on outside... she rolled over and tried to ignore it. It was probably just some people having a party of some sort out there and the Spartans not being too impressed... It had been a while since she'd had a truly good night's rest, so she drowsed off again after a few minutes...

...and the dream came back to her...
Only, this time she wasn't in the rover... she was standing right there by the wall, and that Spartan woman was just lying there on the ground... Her chest was torn open by armor piercing rounds that had gone right through her body armor... her skull was cracked and her neck broken from falling off the wall... blood running from her nose and mouth... her eyes were still half-open... glazed, unseeing... staring off into eternity... still asking... "Why?"

Oh God, no! I wouldn't have! I couldn't have! I'm a Peacekeeper...

Then she was awake again... some Spartan was getting pretty loud out there, yelling over a loudspeaker... this was getting annoying... Still she stayed put, trying to get some rest... She hadn't gotten too much of that though. Her dreams kept troubling her and those damned Spartans kept yelling and waking her up... in the end she had given up and rolled out of her bunk... it was just before dawn... The first thing she had done was to check her commlink... Nothing... yet... Then she just sat down, buried her face in her hands and tried to clear her mind and get ready for a new day...

-and then that Spartan started yelling again...

Something inside her just snapped. Before she had time to think much about it, she was out of the rover telling the Spartans with furious hand gestures to shut the f*** up and leave her alone! She'd never invited them here and she'd never really wanted to be here herself, so if they didn't like it here, tough sh*t! Not her fault, not her problem and she didn't want to hear any more about it. They could all go to hell as far as she was concerned.

Ignoring her message, the Spartan simply repeated his demand for the fires to be put out, claiming they were creating a hazard. -And pissing her off even further. Her next string of gestures was the one that really pissed off the Spartans... "Just shut the f*** up, Spartans! You're not soldiers, you are scum! You couldn't have fought your way out of here if we were all blindfolded! All you know how to do is to rape old ladies and kill children with nerve gas! Well, guess what, we're getting sick of you dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking bastards! You have no right to even be here, so stop trying to tell us what we should do! Why on Chiron should we listen to you? You are scum!" She paused for long enough to hop off the rover and snatch a rock from the ground, which she proceeded to hurl towards the Spartans with all the strength she could muster. It was a pretty darned good throw, but nobody could throw a rock that far... Then she was on top of the rover again, telling the Spartans that in her opinion, Santiago should be hung upside down in... -it was probably a good thing that she never got to finish that one... it was also a good thing that there were other Peacekeepers out there watching her. By this time, some of those other Peacekeepers had realized that Kyla might be getting herself into more trouble than she could handle, so they came running over and pulled her down from the rover, possibly saving her life in the process.

She had been about to say that Santiago should be hung upside down in a recycling tank and left there, because she'd do more good in 5 minutes as fertilizer than she had ever done and would ever do as a person...

What she had said had been enough though. The Spartans were furious! Within a couple of minutes, tensions were running dangerously high as the Peacekeepers rallied to defend their popular sister in arms. The Spartans were crying for her blood. Or at least that was how the Peacekeepers were taking it. Gonzales was less than happy when she hopped back inside the rover... "Did you start this, Johnson?" She bit her lip, then nodded lightly. "Yes sir", she said softly. By now she had realized what a dangerous situation this could potentially be. "What the hell where you thinking?! Are you trying to get yourself killed out there??" She shook her head. "No sir, I just..." She paused for a moment. "I know it was dumb, sir..." Gonzales didn't wait for her to finish. "You're damned right it was dumb! But it can't be changed now..." He seemed to soften a little, but not for long... "Now get your sorry ass in here and man your battle station. We may have to shoot some of those people you just pissed off."

She hadn't felt too good about herself then. But at the same time, she knew that her comrades didn't really hold it against her. They were her people. She was one of them. They'd support her no matter what - or at least pretty darn close to no matter what. They blamed the Spartans, not her. It was kind of nice to know that they'd all go to war for her, even if she had done something stupid...

As she put her helmet on, she took a deep breath, not knowing what to expect. She was somewhat relieved to see a squad of Spartans all standing up and "talking" to her with angry gestures... It could have been worse... As she zoomed in for a better look, she noticed that the guy with the loudspeaker was a sergeant, obviously the leader of this band. She had seen this sergeant before. Actually, she had seen all of them before. But not like this. The sergeant was yelling something over the loudspeaker. She didn't get it all, but it was something about Peacekeepers being soft and that they should send her up to him so he could show her what real men were like... Yah, right! She rolled her eyes and shook her head lightly. "What are you talking about, Spartan? You're not a man, you're a creep! If you're gonna come anywhere near me, you're gonna have to shoot me first..." She paused and swallowed, knowing that he very well might do just that if he got a chance...

While he kept shouting verbal abuse, she allowed herself a quick look around, checking the positions of other Spartans along the perimeter and then briefly looking to see what her own people were doing out there. Hmmm... Not a pretty picture, but not Fort Apache either... At least not at the moment, but now some of the other Peacekeepers seemed to be getting pretty pissed off with this Spartan abusing her verbally...

Just as she was starting to wonder if there was any way she could possibly defuse the situation, another Spartan sergeant showed up next to the one she was watching. This one was familiar also. She even knew his name. Gains. Sergeant Alvin Gains. The one who had sent her a message back when she first came here... She hadn't seen him in a while, but he used to be stationed in that exact spot when he was up on the wall with his squad. As she watched, the two sergeants started talking angrily, apparently having some pretty major disagreement... She blinked. Could it be that...? The other sergeant was still talking in the loudspeaker, but Gains kept distracting him, and as she watched the argument unfold, she started to relax a little. Maybe she could defuse the situation after all. If the Spartans were busy arguing with each other, she might be able to calm down her own people, possibly just by sticking her head out and showing them that she was okay. She had to give it a try. Removing her helmet, she turned to Alex Kensington and half-whispered the words "Cover me". He nodded his understanding and immediately took over. Kyla picked up a pair of binoculars and opened the door...

Inside the rover, Kensington was nervously watching the Spartans, watching for any kind of reaction.
"Don't you dare...", he whispered. "Don't you dare point a weapon at her!"

As she slipped outside, the nearby soldiers broke out in a cheer.
She felt a jolt of pride and joy that actually subdued her fear, at least for the time being.

Nobody was going to hurt her now.
Not unless they were prepared to die for it, and even Spartans couldn't be that mad. She'd be okay. Now she just needed to act calm and confident so the others would hopefully take the cue and chill out. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. With a thin smile on her face, she raised the binoculars towards the Spartans up on the wall, just in time to see Mr. Nasty Guy raise the loudspeaker again, obviously pissing off Gains even further. What was he so mad about, and why was he mad at this other Spartan and not at her? She didn't understand... There had been a time when he had called himself her admirer, but she had basically told him to f*** off and he had ignored her ever since. -At least as far as she knew... Surely, he wouldn't be standing up for her over there... not against other Spartans. Nah. Couldn't be. A "mighty, mighty" Spartan sergeant wouldn't be sticking his neck out for a "stupid, pathetic PK b****" like herself. Wouldn't happen. Had to be something else... Now Gains was yelling something to Mr. Nasty, who in turn shrugged him off with a sneer and an irritated gesture before turning back her way and yelling more verbal abuse over the loudspeaker.
“What base are you from little girl? Too bad you didn’t get to meet up with me and my..."

At that point, Gains moved up and punched Mr. Nasty in the nose, hard.
Her jaw dropped and she hurriedly closed her mouth as she kept watching... What the hell?? As Mr. Nasty fell away bleeding, one of the others tried to get gains from behind, but was stopped by the corporal who had arrived there with him. Mr. Nasty tried to get up, but Gains was in control now. He kicked the man in the ribs and took the loudspeaker from his hands. He yelled something to the others and the corporal yelled something back before disappearing at a run. Then Gains turned and looked her way... What was that look on his face? Uh, oh! Mr. Nasty was coming up behind him... with a knife! Gains stepped off to the side just as Nasty lunged forward, but the knife hit him in the side. She winced. Now Nasty was trying to get in position for a second attack with the knife, but Gains knocked him over the head with the loudspeaker and he fell away bleeding...
And that was the end of it. Nasty didn't get up again, but Gains didn't take his eyes off him this time. So, for about a minute, they stood there like that... Gains watching Mr. Nasty and Kyla watching Gains... why had he done that? She didn't know...
A medic arrived and started working on Nasty. Then five MPs arrived with an angry looking officer in tow. As they surrounded Gains, he turned again to look her way. On impulse, she put the binoculars down and spread her hands in a final gesture... "What??"

She might never know if he'd caught it...

Maybe it didn't matter all that much, as the whole incident was over and she might never see either Spartan again. The Spartan MPs had removed the two sergeants from the wall and the Peacekeepers had broken out in a spontaneous victory celebration. The remaining Spartans on the wall had been more pissed than ever, and Kyla knew that if looks could kill, she would have been a very dead PK gunner by now. But they had stayed at their posts and not pressed the matter any further. Later that day, they had all been replaced. Things were pretty much returning to normal now. But she was still confused... What was that thing with Gains anyway?? She tried to ignore it and just forget about the whole thing, but somehow it just wouldn't let go...

-And now her own sergeant wanted to talk to her...
What on Chiron should she tell him?? The answer wasn't all that hard to come up with... The truth... the whole truth and nothing but the truth... that's what she should tell him. But... just what was the truth here??

She sighed. What a mess she'd gotten herself into! What a lovely freaking mess!
Ah well! It could have been worse... She had made it to 23 and she hadn't been sure about that a year ago... Now she'd better get herself straightened out and go see the sergeant...

****

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the base, another PK unit was stationed outside the northern gate of Data Acquisition. This was colonel Christopher's unit, who had also seen better days...

The colonel had just received an encrypted message from general Braddock, with a file attached...
The general wanted to know if the colonel knew anything about the file's contents...


U.N. Headquarters

[ access granted ]

The door opened. He entered, made his way over to his desk, and was somewhat startled to find an appearently untraceable message on his screen...

If you haven't lived my life
Then you know nothing
Take my longing here and now
But wish for nothing more

"Damn!", he whispered softly after inspecting the message and it's headers carefully... "Looks like something she might have sent..."

****

Not more than a few blocks away, commissioner Lal was studying another message. This one was from governor Pontas. Hmmm... interesting... Lal was especially intrigued by one sentence...

If you would like to send some kind of peacekeeping force here to the base then rest assured that you will be welcome.

Pontas may have declared the base independent, but he had grown up Spartan.
-And this was about as close as he would ever come to saying "Please send me some Peacekeepers."

It simply could not be ignored...

[Sprayber]

******Classified******
To--The Commander of the Military District Of Inner Sparta
----copies available to members of the Military Board of Governors upon request and after permission is given from the CMDIS.

Author--Major William O’Neal
Subject--Report On The Recent PK War

What follows is a pulmonary report. Expanded draft to be delivered upon conclusion of peace talks.

Ground War: Overall conduct of the ground campaign can be described as early success leading to an eventual quagmire. The failure of the Spartan forces to press the advantage after the capture of Data Acquisition can be traced to the overall lack of central authority in the decision making process. It was observed that ground commanders exercised too much independence in picking of objectives. This lead to personal considerations taking precedent over Factional concerns. Also, the use of atrocities only served to harden morale instead of breaking it. There were no indications that any decrease in enemy morale occurred.

Sea War: The Spartan Navy was totally unprepared for combat operations against a vastly superior Alliance force. The blame should not rest upon the men and women that proudly serve in Sparta’s defense, but in Faction leadership for ignoring the basic tenants of the Spartan Battle Manuel.

Air War: The use of air power was at a minimal.

The failure of the current operation actually has root causes in the previous PK war. The failure of the Spartan Federation to expand into the former PK lands after they withdrew to their island sanctuary was a fundamental mistake. A further lack of reconnaissance into the area for decades not only invited resettlement, but ensured it. Future expansion south will become more and more unlikely as time marches on. It is unadvisable.

A list of those contributing to the disaster follows.

General Von Halzburg--ordered initial use of nerve gas in the southern campaign despite orders to use it for defensive purposes.
General Weiss--Use of nerve gas and use of POWs as human shields ensured fanatical resistance. Use of brutal force on civilian population further bolstered enemy morale.
Alexandro Demeneras--unwise use of probe operatives in the mission of UN Sea Quest ensured planet wide opposition to Sparta.
Colonel Santiago--sanctioning of the cult of war, entrusting nerve gas to General Halzburg, encouragement to then Commander Weiss, and finally removal of Junta during an ongoing war all contributed to the unsuccessful completion of the war.

End Report--Final Draft Due At The Conclusion Of The Peace Talks.

Sparta Command

After Kessel read the report he began to think if it should be kept from the Governors. They would be informed of the reports existence. They would then undoubtedly want to read it themselves. Most of the report would be favorable to Kessel’s position. Except the comments about Santiago. She is an icon. Flawed, but very important none the less. Kessel made the decision that Santiago would need to be protected. Nothing too big would be necessary. Some blame would be put upon her, but only that she mistakenly trusted too many people. She was an excellent military leader. She had done the Federation great service in the early years. But now it had grown to a point to where her style no longer fit in. She was scheduled to go into the rejuvenation takes a little early that was first planned. What no one other then Santiago, Kessel and her doctor knew was that the years had been unkind to her health. While other Spartan landers had long since taken full longevity treatments, she only took the minimal requirements. And time had began to catch up on her. Maybe, Kessel thought to himself, that was why she had chosen to abandon the Junta when she did and risk loosing the war. She had shone great ability at defeating adversaries on the battlefield but in the end, time was catching up with her. Then something struck Kessel as rather odd. Her personal doctor had insisted that Santiago not undertake the journey back to Sparta Command. And then when she had arrived, there was the attempt to brisk her away to the Med labs underneath the Command Center. Kessel already knew about her other health problems. She had spent an awfully long time at Assassins Redoubt. It had been a little over 7 months since she had turned over Command to Kessel. Kessel had not thought anything odd when she arrived back here at Sparta Command two weeks ago and had not wanted to see him. He had made the offer of meeting them at the gates but her doctors had insisted on going straight to her quarters. To be honest Kessel was relieved not to have to deal with her. But now a vague sense of uneasiness had begun to set in. What was wrong? Why hadn’t the doctors insisted on beginning the rejuvenation treatments immediately. One of the only reasons someone would not want to began the process would be if she was. The thought raced through his mind at the speed of light. A cold chill started at the base of his spine and slowly rose to the back of his neck. Then Kessel let out an uneasy chuckle. “What am I thinking? Santiago can’t be pregnant. I mean she is Santiago. Santiago can’t be a mother.” Kessel was slightly annoyed for talking to himself. Kessel decided that he was going to have a small chat with the Colonel as soon as he could break away.

[Argonaut]

Angel's Herald

Data Angels Pulling Out of Eastern Theatre

Datajack Roze announced today that she would be withdrawing her rovers from near U.N. Data Aquisition as soon as a transport can arrive to bring them home. With the conflict wrapping up there as negotiations are decided upon, the Datajack has decided that

it's tme to bring our people home.

The Four Impact Foils that have been accompanying the Allied Fleet will be escorting the transport back to Data Angel territory, before heading to Atlantisville to begin upgrades. The upgrades are part of the new armament policy, bringing our armies up to current technological standards.

Angel's Won't Participate in Mock U.N.

It was announced today that the Data Angels will not contribute forces to the newly approved International Peacekeeping Force. Governor's Michael Omega-Nine and David Harrington held a joint press-conferance to answer questions about this latest decision.

The Data Angels will not be participating as such a body is redundant. The U.N. Peacekeepers can fill this function more than adequetly,

explains Governor Omega-Nine.

Our forces are spread enough as it is guarding the Morganite and University fronts, as well as assisting in the defence of the Conciousness and other Alliance facilities

added Governor Harrington, fueling the debate that the Data Angel army is not only becoming quickly updated but is not sufficient to meet current demands.

As of yet, no response has come from the Council or Interfactional Community, although it remains unclear as to whether a Data Angel commitment would even have been necessary.

Data Angels Set to Flock to Summit

Trade Minister Nkosi Pondo confirmed today that Data Angel merchants will be encouraged to attend the impending Trade Summit in Morgan Industries. Companies will be provided with free travel arrangements and accomodations in order to send a delegation to the Summit that

will surely be crucial to the future of Data Angel companies in a growing Interfactional market.

[Sprayber]

Sparta Command--The Command Nexus

Kessel Walked into the Ops Center of the Command Nexus. This room was tied into every base, outpost, sensor tower and any other information source in the Spartan Federation. In many ways this room had become the Spartan Federation. The room formed a circle. Currently the light emitted a light green hue signifying that there were no hostilities. Monitors lined the entire circumference of the wall. Technicians went about monitoring every bit of information that came in. then Kessel noticed Major O’Neal talking to a tech sergeant. That meant alpha watch was on duty. In the center of the room lay the great holo map of Sparta. On it every single unit in the Federation was highlighted. If he had wanted to he could have called up any information possible about the status and communicate directly with that unit. Off towards the bottom was Ruby Ridge Memorial. With the blue unit markers symbolizing the PK units that at this very moment lay outside the perimeter of the base. Kessel walked past the holo map and towards his private office. If the Ops Center had been a donut, his office would be the hole. From the inside he could make the glass transparent to get a clear view of the surrounding work centers. Or if he chose he could order it to black out so that he would not be disturbed from the outside business. Either way, no one could see in. This way, no one could ever be sure if he was looking at them or not. That had been Santiago’s doing. The room was already blacked out so Kessel sat down at his chair. He turned to the side and entered a series of commands on the console. Without delay, a message printed across his screen.

--Governors are waiting Marshal Kessel--input correct password---

Kessel typed in the long series of codes that was required to get into the system. He then pressed his hand down on the pad next to his chair. The edge of the pad seemed to form around his exposed hand and a small needle rose from the center of the pad and began to extract the necessary samples it needed. After a process that seemed to take forever the needle retracted and Kessel removed his hand from the pad.

< good afternoon Marshal Kessel > said a female voice coming from the top center of the office < do you wish to initiate holo mode or screen only > “Screen mode today Ruth.” He was a bit of a traditionalist. Besides, when you were talking to 12 people, Kessel had found it easier to use the screens that formed on his office wall. < of course, sir > replied the computer voice. Kessel waited patiently for the screens that lined his wall to come to life. It began with the logo of the Spartan Federation in the center of each screen. Slowly the logo moved to the top and a new logo appeared. This time it was the logo of each base. The base logo then moved to the bottom of the screen. Then came the pictures of the various governors. Governor Veers spoke first. “Sir, on behalf of the Military Board of Governors, I pledge our allegiance to you and to the Spartan Federation.” “Thank you governor, I accept your pledge and return it with my respect for you and to the citizens of the Federation. Before I hear your questions I have an announcement to make. Effective next week, I am appointing Diana Goldman as the new governor of War Outpost. Now, I am well aware of some of objections that may be raised. But I feel that she will bring order and stability to the base and help ease tensions that the untimely death of General Halzburg and Gov. Wilcox has caused. I will now hear your questions for me.” A light came on next to Gov. Drake of Commander's Keep came on. “Yes Gov. Drake.” “Sir, about the Goldman appointment. I have no doubts about your choice, but isn’t it true that Goldman is not only of a PK family but she was 6 years old at the time of the liberation of War Outpost? Wouldn’t this make her a former PK citizen?” A playful smile crossed Kessel’s face. “Actually Gov. she was born a year after the liberation. But you are correct to say that her sister was indeed born before their liberation. So Goldman is a Spartan citizen through and through. I will forward her entire service record to all of you after the session.” Drake nodded assent and turned his light off. “You have a question Gov. Piett? “Uh, Yes sir. Thank you for hearing me out sir.” Piett was one of the younger members of the board. His youth and sharp mind were the reasons Kessel had selected him as gov. of Militia Station. “Sir I would like to inform you that we have completed our selections of the magistrates, and elected the citizen representatives. I only need to know how much power you expect them to have.” “That is not for me to determine. The reason this board was set up was to make it easier for you to run your bases. And to interject some kind of accountability in government. Now don’t get the idea that we are all of a sudden going democratic. Because we are most definitely not. But there is a serious risk that our people will look to outside influences for inspiration. Now instead of going in and stapling those who resist, we are going to provide an outlet for their frustrations.” Gov. Kell, of Janissary Rock raised an eyebrow at Kessel’s last sentence. He switched his light on and waited for his turn. This did not go unnoticed by Kessel. “I understand sir. You are saying that it is up to us as too what we allow?” In a way, you are correct Gov. Piett. I picked each and every one of you for a specific reason. But I knew that whatever you all would do, first and foremost on your minds would be the welfare of your people. We have failed in a very important mission, my comrades. We have let our people down. Not because we didn’t take over the world, but because we have let them suffer. Our people are strong, but needless sacrifice is a crime. I intend to end it.” While the attending Spartans held many views about the current state of the world, everyone there nodded with sincerity their agreement on this one point. “Gov. Kell, I believe you have a question.” “Yes sir. My question is about the Hive.” Kessel hide his surprise more than Gov. Veers of Sparta Command did. “What about the Hive, Gov.” “What are we supposed to do with them?” “You are supposed to learn from them Gov. Despite what you may think of them, their industry is the best on planet. With their help we may be able to get out of this rut that we are in. I know that you don’t trust them. I of all people have every reason not to trust them. But it is only logical that we learn all we can. Yang will never be willing to meet any of Lal’s or the Alliance’s demands on his current society choices. Since we have never made any demands on his society or don’t care what Yang does in his lands, he will always be closer to us than the others. We may not always get along, but in the end conflict between the two of us would be stupid. Just be patient with them Gov., and we will be rewarded.” This seemed to satisfy Kell, cause he nodded and turned off his light.

An hour later, the questions ended and each of the governors gave a report of what his or her base was doing. After the reports had ended Kessel had declared the meeting adjourned and each of the governors faded off the screen. They were replaced by the Spartan logo which was soon replaced itself by blackness. Kessel leaned back in his chair. It had been a productive meeting. The only true worry left in him was Gov. Santos. Diego Santos had been the Governor of Sparta Command under Santiago. He was one of the original Spartans. He had been the one that fought by Santiago’s side when Kessel was still officially an UN guard assigned to Captain Garland. Santos had always supported Santiago in everything she did. Except for the last four months of her regime. That is why he still served today. Kessel had thought Santos an honorable man. His silence troubled him. “Maybe I need to arrange a personal talk.” < sir. would you like something > “No Ruth. I was just talking out loud again.” < of course sir > “Ruth” < yes sir > “There is something that I had almost forgot about.” < yes sir > “Play the message that Poulos transmitted last night while I was out. The one from Assassin’s Redoubt.” < working sir > Kessel leaned back and watched as a screen glowed bright and a video image began to play. At the bottom of the screen a text message read.

----Assassin Redoubt Security 21:31 hours---Med Lab 3

The familiar image of Santiago and that of Dr. Hopper entered the room. “Colonel, per your request, we have collected the genetic material of the top ten Spartan males. Four Landers, and six native born. We have cross referenced, athletic ability, intelligence, and disease resistance. We have assembled them here for you to choose. Santiago moved over to the awaiting vials that were kept in an isolation field. Would you like to choose by name, or how they rank?” A rare smile crossed her face. “Well, doctor. According to the prevailing custom, I should at least know their name.” In a very low voice, small enough to evade human detection but not the delicate sensors of the spy camera, she spoke something to herself in Spanish. The translator quickly clicked on and Kessel heard these words. “Mama would be real proud of me now.” The doctor, not hearing the comment picked up a recording instrument and looked at Santiago. “Colonel, I will go and prepare the room. All you have to do is touch the screen next to the name and the appropriate vial will be dispensed to you.” A look of bemusement registered on Santiago. Kessel was impressed to see two instances of a smile in the same setting. Santiago leaned over to touch the screen, and out popped the corresponding vial of genetic material. Kessel was annoyed that the angle of the camera had not permeted him to see the choice Santiago had made. Santiago, turned around and walked into the next room. Kessel leaned forward into his seat. Was she humming something. “Ruth rewind tape, .63” < yes sir > Kessel strained to hear, like he could pick up something that the camera could not. She was humming something. Kessel finally leaned back in his chair again as the screen went blank. < sir how should I classify this material > “Classify this Kessel Alpha 1. This tape is not meant for anyone.” < yes sir > “Well, this day has been blown all to hell.” < an explosion sir > “Just an expression Ruth” < of course sir > So Santiago is pregnant with god knows who’s child, Marta is in Sparta Command, and my computer has no sense of expression. “Women. I just can’t figure them out” < a woman is classified as the female of the human species. the woman is responsible for the birthing process and > “Thank you Ruth. I have all I need now” < yes sir > Kessel laid his head on his desk and let the cool metal drain his tensions away. “This is going to be a long day.” < .56 standard minutes longer than yesterday sir > Kessel raised his head. “Ruth, you may go to sleep now. “ < yes sir, starting diagnostic cycle now. good day sir > "Yeah, good day Ruth"


[OOC: Ruth isn't an all powerful AI. She is just an useful interface for Kessel to work with. Or at least that was how it was designed. ]

[Guardian]

[OOC: Edited my previous post... -and then edited it again. No changes made, but I've been adding to it... I'll try not to make a habit out of this... ]


U.N. Headquarters

Lal was busy organizing his response to the message from governor Pontas. He should send a reply soon, but he wanted a couple of things settled first...

****

Over in the security department of the ministry of communication, a young man named Aaron Johnson was hard at work tracing an "untraceable" message...

It was hard to concentrate on his job when he kept thinking about his sister...

[Guardian]

From: Commissioner Lal
To: Governor Pontas

Thank you for your kind words, governor. I am aware of your current situation, and I guess it is about time for an official response from our side. To that effect, I am pleased to inform you that the U.N. Peacekeepers will officially recognize your independence in a statement which will be released later today. Also, in that same statement, we will announce that we are dispatching two infantry regiments from the U.N. Special Forces to serve as a peacekeeping force at your base. This is a relatively small, but highly professional and well-equipped task force. Hopefully, their presence at your base will serve as a stabilizing factor. They will arrive with a naval task force, which will also be stationed in your area until further notice. Also, we propose to appoint a civillian delegation of U.N. officials who can serve as observeres / advisors for your planned elections. At a later stage, you may be allowed to send a delegation of your own to visit us here at U.N. Headquarters, but I am afraid this will require a U.N. security clearance for each member of your delegation, as they'd all be ex-Spartan citizens. I know it may sound harsh, but as you know, we have had some extremely nasty experiences with Spartan visitors in the past, which is why we're currently not allowing any at all. Hopefully, this will change over time, and the next generation of our peoples may grow to see the world in a different light, but for now we have to take precautions. In any case, your independence puts you in a somewhat special position, and you may already be clear of the worst messes. We shall certainly do our best to help you keep things that way. If there is anything else you need, please feel free to let us know.


U.N. Missile Foil Defender

Fleet commander Evans was a fairly happy man. Finally, some new orders. They might actually get to do something for a change! The task force had been sitting around gathering dust since the beginning of the war, stalking a Spartan Fleet that had never re-emerged from cover after the initial long range engagement. Now they had a new mission: Escort the U.N. Special Forces on their first peacekeeping mission on Chiron! They'd have to sail back south a bit to meet up with the troop transport, which would be escorted by two more AAA Missile Foils. Then the entire force, 8 AAA Msl Foils and 2 transports, would proceed to Blast Rifle Crag at best speed. He turned and looked out across the combined allied fleet that his task force had been part of for so many months... "Well", he whispered quietly to himself, "it's been fun to play with the big boys, but now there's work to be done."
As he went to let the Pirates know that he'd be leaving this party, another thought was playing in the back of his head... The upcoming mission would probably be his last one with the Defender. Soon he would have a cruiser of his own. The thought was exciting. It also made him a little bit sentimental...

...but most of all, he was proud to be a Peacekeeper and eager to get on with his work.


U.N. Data Acquisition

"Get out, Johnson", Gonzales said, not at all unfriendly. "You're giving me gray hairs."
He ran a hand over his head and glared at her in mock anger. "How you ever ended up in the Special Forces is a mystery." There were traces of a deviant smile on his face. "But now that you're here, we'd like to keep you, so stay sharp, okay?" She nodded. "Yes sir." "Thank you, Johnson. Now..." He raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she was some strange kind of creature he'd never seen before and didn't understand at all. "Is there anything else I should know about?" Trying not to giggle, she shook her head. "No sir. Not... at this time... sir." He nodded. "Good. We have an understanding then, right Johnson?" She nodded again. "Yes sir!" He broke out in a big smile. "Eeexcellent. That'll be all for now, Johnson. Dismissed!"

He returned her salute and watched her go, pondering what she had told him...


U.N. News Network

Today's headlines:


U.N. Peacekeepers recognize Blast Rifle Crag

In a special announcement today, Commissioner Lal officially recognized the newly declared independence of Blast Rifle Crag. He also announced that U.N. Peacekeeping Forces were being sent to the former Spartan base on what will be our first peacekeeping mission on Planet.


Data Angels withdrawing their troops

Datajack Roze has announced that she will be withdrawing her rover units from the Eastern Continent in the near future. The 3 Data Angel rover groups are currently holding positions south of Data Acquisition, but are scheduled to leave "as soon as a transport can arrive to bring them home". In a comment today, General Braddock stated that

This is understandable and acceptable.
Of course, we would have liked to see them stay, but the Data Angels have already gone to great lengths to show their support for our cause. The situation here is now under control and their forces are needed elsewhere.

The General also stated that newly formed U.N. units would be relieving the withdrawing Data Angels, so our position would not be weakened by their removal.


Data Angels refuse to participate in Interfactional Peacekeeping Task Force

The Data Angels have announced their refusal to participate in the newly approved Interfactional Peacekeeping Force, which they refer to as a "mock U.N." In a press-conference to explain this decision, Governor Michael Omega-Nine was quoted as saying that

The Data Angels will not be participating as such a body is redundant. The U.N. Peacekeepers can fill this function more than adequately,

Who are these Angels?

In recent years, the Data Angels have repeatedly stood out as our strongest supporters and best friends amongst our fellow humans here on Planet. This has lead to some confusion in regards to why we haven't sought to develop stronger bonds with them. Naturally, being the U.N. Peacekeepers, we have to be careful about favoring one faction above others, but it is generally felt that we should do anything we can do without comprimising our integrity.


Peace process stuck in a ditch... -again...

Negotiations with the new Spartan government appear to have stalled again. Although the reason is not known to the public, many are asking why we're even talking to these people if they're so opposed to a genuine peace process...

[DarkCloud]

The Perfect Society/The Howellians

OOC: No need to transfer any units; just create them out of thin-air. (Let's say they were
reserve building materials?)?

From: Sir Cloud
To: Cyborgs, Data Angels
Subject: Weapons Pact

The greatest of thanks to you both for providing us with the parts needed to construct
two Laser Rover units. Due to your generosity we can now patrol our trade routes, defending
ourselves from Morganite bandits and the Planetworms.

The University Sun-Governor
Cyborg Base Raided!

From: Cyborg News agencies
Several masked men bearing an emblem of a ruby on a ridge on their jackets broke into
a Cyborg retail building, shot and injured three Cyborg citizens and kidnapped
one citizen known as Werner Delta-Four. Sources are outcoming with more details but it
is believed that this Werner was in the service of the retail building for nearly s...

... The scientist crumpled up the piece of paper with a grin on his face.
Flashing his teeth at his subordinates he gave the order to them. "Hook the 'Werner' up to
the machine and download the news files into his mind... We'll worry about his 'new personality'
later.

The University Sun-Governor
The Death Squads

Several anarchists swept through the University capital today- shooting and brandishing banners
depicting a fist clenching both a lightbulb and a stock report. No one was killed, but several
anti-foreigner locales were shot at.

It is not known what the banners mean, but the men were apprehended and taken for questioning
by the Chief of University Security, William Louis-Durnham. Answers when disclosed, will be
reported here as soon as possible.

Conversation
2000.1

Dr. Fitzben-- Sir- I must protest. I know that these 'establishments' are evil, but why apply violence to them?
Sir Pong-- No one was killed.
Dr. Fitzben-- Thank the Academican for that.
Sir Pong-- Do you HAVE to use that expression.
Dr. Fitzben-- No, but-
Sir Pong-- Good, anything else to discuss?
Dr. Fitzben-- Yes. How do we expect to get new recruits when we act as if we are anarchists?
Sir Pong-- People will come.
Dr. Fitzben-- But the right people,
Sir Pong-- True, we will recruit only rifraff at first- but we will allow those to immigrate to the Data Angels or the Cyborgs.
For now we want to assuage the Academicans fears that we are well organized or led.
Dr. Fitzben-- How will you do that?
Sir Pong-- Our 'contact' will inform him that the people who shot up the University capital today were acting independently and were not following their orders.
Dr. Fitzben-- I see...


(OOC: The following 'project' is the project to move underground)

Conversation in the Head Academicans Residence
--Recorded--
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: This dangerous violence must cease.
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: I don't know what you are speaking of,
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: Yes you do.
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: They were not operating on orders
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: So you have no control
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: Ah- well- um- Not supreme control- anyway.
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: Perhaps I should dismiss you because your faction has no power.
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: Perhaps I could inform about your 'project'
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: You wouldn't dare
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: The Cyborgs could make use of the information...
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: If they found out...
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: They would tell the council that you were going to put nuclear silos in the 'project'
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: Which I'm not
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: But you could be- They would put 'peacekeepers' in to observe your progress
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: And that would defeat the purpose of the 'project'
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: It would no longer be secret
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: I could have you killed-
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: And others would tell-
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: How do we know if they already told,
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: They wouldn't.
H.A. Prokhor Zakharov: In that case you are dismissed.
Kommandant Reya Hollis-Keyson: (smugly) -And a good day to you, Zakharov

[Guardian]

U.N. Headquarters

Almost done...
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
He'd been working on the "untraceable" message for some time now, and although he technically hadn't identified "Light sleeper" yet...

He couldn't hold it off any longer.
He had to talk to her... Now!


U.N. Data Acquisition

Her commlink beeped, and... it was the right tone!
Her expression broke out in a smile... Finally!

Excitedly, she pressed the button to receive the message...

Hello sister! Where are you and how are you?

With a sweet, warm, genuinely happy smile on her face, she started eagerly keying in an answer...


U.N. Headquarters

Yo Bro! Me? Still at Data Acquisition watching the Spartans... You?

Aaron felt a wave of relief wash over him and a smile spread on his face. She was okay!

I'm working... -when I'm not too busy worrying about you, that is...
Sis, I've got to ask you something... are you a "Light sleeper"?

He waited a while, eager to see if she'd know what he was talking about.
Her answer gave him something else to think about...

Well, you know... when you go to sleep each night not knowing if you'll wake up in the morning, you don't exactly sleep through thunderstorms...

He winced, biting his lip and clenching his fists.
Damn! He wished she wouldn't say stuff like that, even if it was the truth...

Thoughts of his beloved sister blown to pieces didn't exactly make his day...

Later that day, he confided in his friend Paul...

Aaron: I can't believe she did that...
Paul: Who did what?
Aaron: You know, that "untraceable" message... from "Light sleeper"...
Paul: Yeah, I saw it. Pretty good piece of work, looked like... You know who did it?
Aaron: Yep. It was my sister!
Paul: Kyla?
(Aaron nods)
Paul: You're kidding, right?
(Aaron shakes his head)
Paul: Why??
Aaron (amazed): Well, apparently, she did it just to see if I'd think of her when I received it...
Paul (whistles softly): -And did you?
Aaron: Of course I did! How could I not think of her??
Paul: Good, then what's the problem?
Aaron: The problem is that my sister is out there risking her life every day, I haven't seen her for months and I don't know if I'll ever see her again! She says the Spartans glare at her like she's the foulest thing they ever saw... Can you imagine?! This is my sister we're talking about here! My beautiful sister! I think of her every day, how could I possibly not think about her??
Paul: Well, perhaps she just needed some reassurance that you still feel that way...
Aaron: She's my sister! How could I possibly not... oh God! Oh God! Damn! I've got to see her...


U.N. Data Acquisition

Something had happened. It was like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She seemed genuinely happy for the first time in weeks. In fact, she almost seemed to glow.
In the afternoon she was out running again, visiting the Data Angels nearby, even running all the way up to the mindworms and letting them crawl all over her, smiling the whole time. She was all over the place!
She was still smiling when she returned to her rover that evening, so tired that she could barely move...

Kyla slept well that night.