Logs

Logs Home

2006 March 21

2006 March 29

2006 April 04

2006 April 11

2006 April 18

2006 April 25

2006 May 02

2006 May 09

2006 May 16

2006 May 29

2006 May 30

2006 June 14

2008 June 21

2006 June 27

2006 July 04

2006 July 11

2006 July 18

2006 July 26

2006 August 01

2006 August 08

2006 August 23

2006 August 29

2006 September 12

2006 September 20

2006 October 11

2006 October 24

2006 November 07

2006 November 14

2006 November 25

2006 November 28

2006 December 12

2007 January 02

2007 January 16

Hunter

Hunter Home

Game Logs

Realms

Realms Home

Dishonored

Goblin Town

Neverneverwhere

The Whole of the Law

Waking Dreams

When The Bough Breaks


One-Shot

Retired

Birthright

Burning Man

Cosmic Guardians

DNAnimals/Tamashii

Fukusei Crystals

Heartwood

Hunter

Idlewild

Indigo

Inizii

Morning Rain

NachtMusik

Oloth

Paradon

Scarred Lands

Shattered Stars

Starfall

Weston


Style Test

Reality Fault

Home

Player

Character

Referee

Programmer

Administrator

Operations


Search RealityFault:

General Info

Glossary

Realms

Events

Credits

Help Files

Help Files (old)


Reality Fault

Realms: Hunter Logs

Part Fifteen: A Peal of Distant Thunder

Scarlet Chimera
Approaching Persephone, moon of Naga, Osterfrau Quadrant

The journey to Persephone was rather long, but is accomplished with little trouble... until the very end. Chimera is just making its deceleration pulses, which should normally let it settle into a comfortable orbit around the moon. The ship has made the final pulse and is coasting on the correct vector; only one last course correction burn remains. Passing the deep orbit markers around the gas giant Naga, the grid comes alive with signals -- at extreme range in deep orbit around Naga (as near as Solbiort can tell) an Alliance DFIV (Deep-space Fast Interdiction Vessel) is under fire from a pair of gunships.

Solbiort blinks, wondering why she's not hearing all kinds of screaming for help from the DFIV?! She checks her comm system, wondering if it's not working correctly. She comms the Chimera as well, "Folks, got gunships attacking somevon out here, so think everyvon should be near somezing to grab at all times."

Elgyn looks up from where he was trying to fix his new hat -- then tosses it onto Solbiort's bed, suddenly hotfooting it to the bridge. "Finally, some action!" he mutters to himself, actually eager to put his practice into action.

Solbiort scowls, muttering, "Ack, got serious interference here... mostly from Naga und distance, but looks like some from gunships' electronics varfare!" She frowns, studying the boards, then glances at Nigel, "Anything you can do about that, di-di?"

Nigel shakes his head, "Oh, holy shiny shite... they've got military-grade jammers. The really, really good ones. If we didn't see it, we'd never know it was happening..."

Solbiort's eyes widen, and she considers a moment... then comms the ship again, "Elgyn, Molly, to gunnery stations!"

Elgyn suddenly plops into the energy weapon seat. "Way ahead of you, Captain," he says almost cheerfully, strapping in.

Nigel screws up his face like someone just made him take a double dose of the nastiest cough syrup on earth, "I might, if we all hold our breath and hold our mouths right, be able to cut through some of it."

Solbiort adds to Nigel, "Any vay to drop a sqvealer to call for help or anything?" She chuckles quietly at Elgyn's enthusiasm, then nods to Nigel, "Goot. Tell me if you need anything from me, then."

Molly, despite having spent the past few days in a funk, reacts quickly enough and flings herself onto the bridge and into the railgun station. "Aye, Captain," she says hurriedly, flicking switches.

Nigel shakes his head, "I'd have to build it from the deck up. I think we'd have better luck just trying to get through the jammers."

Solbiort nods, turning back to the boards, "Hokay. Let me know if you need ship moved to cut through jammers then, ya?"

Elsewhere in the ship, Raj hears the announcement by the Captain and begins methodically checking to make sure all the "life balls" are in place and good-to-go. As he works he mumbles, "Welcome to the black! Did you bring your air? Would you like to buy some?" Raj's patrol takes him to the cargo bay, where he begins checking the cargo fastenings of the ceramics and textiles. He screws one down snug and says, "Crushed to death by fifty tons of frilly taffeta. Hell of a epitaph..."

Back on the bridge, Elgyn glances over at Nigel as he runs a system check on the beam weapon. "Should put things like that on our list of things to do. It never hurts to increase one's arsenal," he murmurs. He also muses dismally at the lack of 'space debris'... as much as he hates Soli's aerobatics, he has to admit asteroids have their usefulness.

With some quick work Nigel makes the electronics warfare suite aboard the Chimera sing, and shortly there's a scratchy, tinny-sounding 'wave coming in: "-liance DFIV Curry, we are under attack by unknown ships! We are in urgent need of assistance -- our hull has been breached and our defense array is severely damaged! Dear Buddha, is anyone even receiving this? This is the Alliance DFIV Curry...."

Solbiort growls softly, then immediately begins transmitting. In calm, methodical tones she says, "Persephone, anyvon, mayday, mayday -- this is Scarlet Chimera in deep orbit around Naga. On long distance scanners ve have two gunships using electronic jammers and attacking Alliance DFIV Curry. They report hull breached and defensive array severely damaged; requesting immediate assistance, over." She sets it to repeat, then sighs. "Hokay, going in, folks. Smart thing vould be to run, and keep guns hidden... but am thinking vouldn't be the right thing."

Elgyn shrugs. "Maybe the Captain will be so happy he'll neglect to mention that in his report..." he suggests, his body language suggesting agreement. Solbiort takes a deep breath... and shifts into battle mode. Her eyes light up, she grins, and her hands fly across the board. The Chimera leaps forward like it was kicked, and if she can, Solbiort sends it speeding right up the tail of the nearest gunship for a good surprise attack. Elgyn switches the beam thrower from 'standby' to 'hot'. "On your says so, Captain," he barks.

Poking his head through the hatch to the bridge, Raj says, "Nothing to worry about yet, I hope," and begins rummaging around, toggling the life ball test switches and, for good measure, popping the panels to make sure they're really in place. He nods his head, saying, "OK. Emergency equipment's been spot-checked and looks good." Nigel works on pulling the signal out of the mass of frequencies being used to keep the big ship from commuting. He's muttering about needles and small intestines.

Elgyn doesn't spare a look at Raj. "Strap in, soldier, this is about to get interesting..."

Raj raises and eyebrow and says, "Interesting is the same as painful, like usual, right?"

Elgyn glances at Solbiort. "With a little warrior's luck, Raj... only for them."

Solbiort laughs! "Sounds goot!" It's not clear whom she's replying to, but she sounds generally quite pleased. One of the gunships appears focused on attempting to perforate the DFIV's hull with grapeshot flechettes, and so does not notice the approach of the pirate ship. The other, however, not only notices but also maneuvers to challenge.

Raj looks sidelong at Nigel and says, "Hey Nigel... let's assume something bad happens and we need to get your patients into, oh, I dunno, let's say, a life ball on short notice. They going to be up for that? Any reason not to take a completely paranoid pre-emptive moment and move them into the shuttles now while the ship isn't bucking like a whack-a-mole?"

Nigel takes a second to look up from what he's doing and then stares at Raj for a moment as he parses the information, "Wintarsen would likely survive, but I'm not sure about Danviere. We'd need to make a mobile medbay for her... like almost converting the cutter to an ambulance."

Solbiort cheerfully barks, "If you can and vant, go for it, Raj!"

Nigel turns back to the communications distractedly. "I might... might I say... be able to set up communications with them... "

Raj shakes his head, saying, "It's pretty easy to convert a couple of the seats to a lay-down -- SOP for these types of shuttles if you've got a moment, which we won't unless I start now," as he hops-to to make that happen. He calls back over his shoulder, "Give a yell when you're ready to move 'em, Nigel..."

Nigel makes a vaguely "OK" sounding noise at Raj. He establishes contact with the ship and hails them with, "Well, it looks like you folks are in shit deeper than a dung farmer's waders..."

Solbiort grins and aims for the unaware ship, jinking with cheerful abandon to prevent successful targeting by the challenging ship. She barks, "Laser gunner, aim at challenging ship! If dust cloud betveen us, light it up! Railgunner, start aiming now for crippling shot on unavare ship!"

Elgyn is taken aback by the comment, but then tries to factor that is as the auto-targeter tries to lock on... as the Chimera avoids the challenge and instead goes after the other one, Elgyn fires the beamer; unfamiliar to ship-to-ship combat in the black, he would have missed the enemy ship. But he isn't aiming for the gunship. The laser strikes the intervening dust cloud, scattering the visible-light beam and dazzling anyone looking in that direction, including the challenging gunship. Elgyn hnhs as the dust cloud flares up. "What do you know..."

Nigel's call gets a reply from the Curry: "Ai ya, sweet mother of Buddha, thank you! We're in dire straits, can you assist us?"

Solbiort chuckles quietly, "Need more faith in yourself, di-di." She starts angling for the best possible shot for her railgunner, murmuring quietly, "Molly-girl, almost ready for you..."

Elgyn shakes his head. "No, I just had no idea why you wanted me to start shooting dust..."

As the challenging gunship is distracted, Molly's railgun fire impacts the other gunship, catching it by surprise in its methodical strafing of the Curry. The gunship veers away from its attack run on the DFIV. Solbiort crows at Molly's shot, "Oh, goot hit! Coming around..." then grins wickedly, "Harder to hit vhat you can't see, di-di!" Elgyn also crows, exclaiming something in the old Ulundi tongue.

Solbiort adds, "Both guns, concentrate on this gunship! If ve can take it out qvick, only von to vorry about." She's is careful not to come between the DFIV and the attacking gunship -- any offensive assistance will be welcome. Elgyn turns targeting assistance back on... it's no help for shooting dust, but he can use its assistance now that he's aiming at ships again...

Past Engineering, Raj flops into the shuttle's command chair and starts the stand-by warm-up process. As telltales start to wink on across the board he moves to the rear-most passenger seating and begins re-arranging a pair of them to a med-evac configuration. It only take a couple of "impact adjustments" before one is folded up and the other converted to a reasonable facsimile of a locked-down gurney. He surveys his handiwork a moment, then thumbs the comm. "Bridge, Shuttle One ready to receive injured. Nigel, you got a moment to come unplug your corpsicle or you want me to do it?"

Nigel answers Raj via the comm, "If you could get the semi-mobile one with the IV cart in, I'll help you with Sleepy Indy." Raj enters the medbay and preps Danviere to be moved. When everything is tucked neatly away, he gently lifts her and from the bed and heads for the shuttle.

On the Bridge, Solbiort eyes the DFIV, then grins, instantly recognizing which standard Alliance flight tactic it's using. She whirls the Chimera smoothly by both ships, and in the process she not only easily avoids all the DFIV's weapons arcs -- but also gleefully forces the gunship into one! "Fire at vill!" Elgyn's eyes alight as he hears the beautiful sound piped to his console. Now he knows what they mean by 'having tone.' His trigger finger jerks.

Nigel's scowl is starting to turn into an almost cheerful smirk as he doses the gunships with their own medicine, starting to whistle as his fingers fly over the board. He's actually engrossed enough that he's not even bouncing his knee. Elgyn grins fiendishly as he sees the energy from his weapon lance out and stab the enemy's hindquarters. He's almost willing the energy battery to charge back up for another shot. "Hit their engines, Captain..."

The grid clears dramatically for the two gunners now, making their work easier. Molly's own shot with the railgun smacks into the gunship's tail, taking it off. With the damage the gunship has taken -- in particular losing their maneuverability from Elgyn's shot -- the DFIV almost vindictively tags the gunship with one of its ten-pounders, "splashing" it in spacer parlance... which, while the etymology is obscure, in this case means 'splashing it into little fiery pieces.' Elgyn stares as his once-target is entirely pulverized. "Huh," he mutters.

Solbiort crows again! "Eat fire, you hwoon dahn!" The victory is cut short as the other gunship recovers and arcs about, putting the now-dimly-glowing dust cloud between itself and the Chimera. Solbiort glances around, already angling for the other ship, "Gunners, re-target on other ship!"

Laying Danviere on the reconfigured seats in Shuttle One, Raj unsnaps a panel on the wall above her and locks the various bags of medical equipment on projections inside, snorting, "Just like the old days, eh, ma'am? Nothing ever changes, does it?" He straps her down, tucks her in tightly, and heads back to the medbay.

Elgyn is brought back to alertness, seeking the other ship with targeting scanners. "Suppose it doesn't matter how they were taken out, as long as they were..." he mumbles philosophically. Nigel does a little victory dance in his seat as he realizes that his work has been quite successful. This dance looks approximately like a four-year-old trying to pretend he doesn't have to pee.

There is a moment of breathing time; the targeting overlay can't pick the enemy gunship through the still-fluorescent dust cloud, and it seems to be intently keeping the cloud between itself and the Chimera while it re-evaluates what needs to be done next. Solbiort chuckles, "Ho, vant to play hide and seek? Two can play that game! Nigel, gonna mess up scanners for moment -- gunners, be ready!" She wheels and dives directly through the cloud -- if that doesn't surprise them, nothing will.

Elgyn makes an indelicate noise. "Long as they keep our barrier between them and us, Captain, I've got no target..."

Back near Engineering, Raj escorts Wintarsen to Shuttle One with a firm grip on his arm. As he helps him into one of the seats near Danviere and straps him in, he says, "Welcome to Shuttle One, the best available escape you can afford. Your Captain may or may not be joining your shortly. Please keep your head and hands inside the ride at all times. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask if we're not busy doing something dangerous." He puts a collection of magazines on the seat next to him: 'Modern Ammunition,' 'Wealth,' 'Persephone Times,' and a copy of 'People.' "Back shortly, one way or another..."

Solbiort bursts through the faintly glowing dust cloud trailing streamers of almost fluorescent light, and yells gleefully, "Gunners, fire!" as she realizes she's caught the other ship entirely by surprise!

Elgyn was not at all surprised by Solbiort's tactic... and as the ship bursts from the cloud in a burst of sparks like a phoenix emerging from a conflagration, he obliges by providing the fiery breath, energy spearing forward and digging into their flank. "Hah!" Molly's shot unfortunately only clips a tip of the enemy ship's wing. The gunship meanwhile is angling away, stern towards the Chimera as it looks like it's doing nothing more exotic than running. Nigel keeps up what he's been doing, mood staying positively buoyant. Elgyn's eyes flick down to check the recharge rate. "Keep firing, Captain?" He clearly doesn't want to just let them go... his sense of justice, after all, wants to see an enemy put down rather than let escape.

As the Chimera angles to pursue the gunship, they can see the stern of the gunship is flaring with streamers of sparse plasma, in a pattern familiar to any spacer who's traveled in a pulse-drive ship. At the same time, a message comes through from the Curry: "Watch out, they're going to pulse-jump, you're too close-!"

Solbiort rolls hard, yanking the Chimera violently sideways to get out of the plasma trail. Her eyes are bright with delight as she shouts a gleeful rebel yell! Nigel sits bolt upright, "Oh bloody Buddha-fucking hell!"

Elgyn's eyes get wide. "Oh, shi-"

Solbiort quickly adds, as she gets coherent again, "Shoot, shoot, shoot! Take last shot!!"

The Chimera is suddenly buffeted by the high-energy fusion event that marks the gunship firing its pulse drive; Solbiort maneuvers the ship out of the worst of the flare. The grid washes out immediately. Plasma fire sears the hull and a second later the shockwave of the grav-screened gunship strikes the Chimera through the viscous plasma, rocking the privateer and throwing anyone standing to the deck. Solbiort is laughing as she gracefully rights the ship, maintaining speed and angling around towards Curry. She cheerfully slaps the ship-to-ship comm, waiting for it to clear before she tries communicating with them. She happily says to everyone else on the bridge, "Great fight -- goot job, kids! Vasn't that fun?!"

Nigel spins around to stare at the captain, "How the hell have you stayed out of the psych ward, woman?!"

Solbiort laughs! "Friends in low places, di-di! Vhy you surprised? You do the same in Engineering und Medbay!"

Elgyn barks a laugh. "How crazy can she be if we won, Doc? If her kind of crazy makes us win a battle rather than have to run, I don't want her to be sane."

Nigel rubs his temple and gets up, heading for the doors, "I need to go check the indepcicles."

Solbiort says cheerfully, "Lovely idea, di-di Nigel! Look in on Raj too, vould you? He vas making goot plans for indies, but think ve can relax a bit now."

By this time the gunship is about a hundred thousand klicks away, aimed for deep space and nothing in particular. It will take them more than a little time to get back, if they even decide to try to return. The inter-ship comm comes to life, now without the jamming making the voices tinny and static-y. "Scarlet Chimera, we owe you a debt of gratitude. Those two gunships ambushed us and took out our main power feeds."

Solbiort grins, pulling the comm to her, "Nihao, Curry! Glad to see you vere able to take advantage of our flying tricks to shoot the attacking gunships. Pity ve didn't have any guns to help you, though, ya?"

Elgyn hnhs. "Wonder if they're grateful enough to take all the credit, and not tell folks we're armed..."

Solbiort grins at Elgyn, "Ve can hope. Chust gave 'em opportunity to do so." Elgyn nods and listens... Solbiort waits for a reply, continuing to angle the Chimera in a long, smooth arc around the Curry -- whether to flee or head for Persephone isn't immediately clear.

The inter-ship comm is silent for a moment, and when the operator comes back on, he's sounding a little unsure of himself. "Er, confirm that, Chimera, on behalf of the Comma- the skipper, thank you for your assistance in getting the bandits into our functional arcs. Uh, Chimera, we've got a reque- er, that is, Tsao Actual requests permission to come aboard. She says she had us come here to rendezvous with you." "Tsao Actual" is antiquated naval parlance; Solbiort might recognize it, Elgyn possibly and Raj probably. Some units in the Alliance space forces preferred vintage naval terminology, and in this case "Tsao Actual" refers to the captain of a ship called the Tsao. And the only ship in the Alliance fleet called the Tsao is not a DFIV. It's a cruiser.

Solbiort blinks, considering. In the Shuttle Raj mumbles, "We'll never get the corpsicles into the hidey-holes, you know."

On the Bridge, Solbiort's eyes widen, and she whispers, "Holy mother of Buddha!" She's silent for a moment, then slaps the Chimera's comm, "Nigel, Raj! Are indepcicles hidden again? Got cruiser commander vants to board!"

Nigel swears virulently. "Not yet, they aren't..." he answers on the closest comm. He runs both hands through his hair as he approaches Raj, "I think we should leave them on the shuttle... and I'll stay with them to monitor."

Solbiort turns back to the inter-ship comm and says very politely, stalling for time, "DFIV Curry, repeat, please? You have commander of cruiser aboard?" She mutters to Elgyn and Molly, "Go! Help Nigel und Raj!"

Elgyn blinks at Solbiort, finally figures out that odd request, and curses. "Should we hide Saladin as well, or is she safe enough in the quarters we gave her?" he queries as he unstraps and is halfway out the door.

"Put like that, Chimera... confirmed, commander of cruiser Tsao is requesting permission to come aboard."

Solbiort waves a hand, "Indecicles first, hurry! Saladin only if need to -- her ve can explain!" Molly blinks, and looking self-containedly panicky, she jumps out of her chair and scrambles to help Nigel and Raj. Elgyn is out first, sliding down the nearest ladder. Solbiort turns back to the inter-ship comm and says, "Ahh, roger that, DFIV Curry, you have commander of cruiser Tsao. They vish to board us? Um... are ve supposed to take them in to Persephone, or this is just courtesy visit?" Then she comms to the crew, "Folks, let me know vhen is safe to lock vith other ship!"

The inter-ship comm is silent for a bit longer, apparently the operator conferring with the skipper. After a moment, a different voice comes on the inter-ship comm. "Captain Skialdmeyjar, sorry for the confusion. The Commander would like to come aboard your ship briefly prior to us going our separate ways, and would like to talk with you and your crew. Trying to get in touch with you is the reason why we're out here in a DFIV and not the Tsao, there was no other way we could get here in time to meet you. Unfortunately, as you saw, we had an... unfriendly encounter."

Solbiort says, "Oh! Roger, Curry. Commencing docking procedures." Once docking is concluded, Solbiort heads down to Cargo, wondering amusedly if she should feel guiltier about being such a bad girl as to have hidden guns on board ship. She glances around, making sure everyone's there that wants to be... then waits for the airlocks to clunk over to 'clear.'

By the time the Alliance longboat has docked with the Chimera, Wintarsen and Danviere have been hidden aboard the cutter Raj had been moving them onto earlier. Saladin nearly has a conniption when she learns the purplebellies are boarding, but she behaves and promises to stay in the cabin and trust the crew not to just meekly hand her over. Molly for her part stays on the bridge to monitor things, a touch nervously. Nigel keeps himself stashed with Wintarsen and Danviere, as bigwigs of any stripe make him nervous. The rest of the crew is in the cargo bay as the airlock opens. Elgyn watches the door open, hands crossed behind his back as he looks sidelong at Solbiort, wondering what this is all about... maybe they just want to have a talk, but it had the feel of something more than that.

The three who come through the airlock aren't in Alliance duty uniforms. In fact, considering the fight they just survived they're in better shape than they should be -- just a little scruffy. This seems to affect the tallest of the three most, a man with slate hair and major's insignia. The second is a marine carrying only a sidearm. The third is a woman of average height, indeterminate descent, and rather plain features other than the glaringly obvious commander's rank flashes on her collar. She looks around, radiating calm good humor (a trick in and of itself considering how close to being broken the Curry was not long ago) and asks, "Permission to come aboard, Captain?"

Solbiort smiles, bowing politely, "Velcome aboard the Scarlet Chimera, Commander. How can ve be of assistance?" Elgyn gives each of them a cursory glance over, making note of the ostensible bodyguard.

The Commander seems to relax some, bowing in turn. "Finally," she says, relieved. "I can't tell you how glad I am to have finally caught up to you and your crew, Captain Skialdmeyjar. Ever since the incident on Fleur-de-Croix... but I'm getting ahead of myself. Commander Jiryu Kota at your service. This is my adjutant, Major Danovik."

Elgyn tries not to stiffen up at this new information, though his eyes take on a wary glint. Solbiort raises an eyebrow, but simply nods politely to the Major, then replies, gesturing to each in turn, "My First Mate Elgyn; Cargomaster Raj." Solbiort is interested -- Japanese style names are rare in the 'verse.

Elgyn inclines his head. "Commander."

Solbiort adds, "Vould you care for some tea, Commander Kota?"

Kota nods pleasantly to Elgyn and Raj in turn. "Yes, please, Captain. Tea would be lovely. And I'm afraid there's much to pass on to you, and there might not be a great deal of time." Solbiort raises a thoughtful eyebrow again, but simply nods politely and turns, indicating they should follow her.

Once in the Officer's Lounge, and having tea in hand, there is only brief small talk -- just barely enough to satisfy social protocol. After a brief, somewhat expectant pause, Kota takes a deep breath and begins without preamble. "A little less than two months ago," she says, "the Ariel Orbital Maximum Security Penitentiary was attacked and broken into, and three prisoners were removed. Considering the events that have surrounded you and your ship... the initial attack out of Demeter which saw you take control of this vessel, the bombing on Fleur-de-Croix, the snipers on Ashtoreth... you are likely already aware of the attack and who was taken from Ariel Max-Sec."

Solbiort looks politely interested as she sips her tea, but says nothing. Elgyn does his best to affect a casual response to this beginning, raising an eyebrow before concentrating on his tea.

Kota pauses, as if gauging any reactions while she takes another sip of tea. "In that time, there has been an increase in what has been passed off as 'random incidents,' 'pirate activity,' 'terrorist attacks,' and the like. In truth, these incidents have not been random, nor have they been pirates and terrorists." She sets the teacup down, folding her hands in her lap. "Of the ships which participated in the attack on Ariel Max-Sec, we have found all of them have been destroyed. The identities of the attacking ships have not officially been determined. One ship managed to rendezvous with another ship before being destroyed in turn. That was this ship, prior to being captured by you."

Solbiort nods politely, but again does not interrupt the Commander. Elgyn finds himself glad now he's not in charge of representing the ship to this commander. He does try to gauge Raj's reactions to the Commander's words though, without being totally obvious about it. Raj is standing at rest near the door, with the slightest air of resignation. As always, the Captains are making nice after the thud and blunder of combat.

Kota folds her hands. "I do not want to put you on the spot. If I could choose now, none of this would have happened. But the forces being arrayed against you are gathering, and the nuke on Fleur-de-Croix is only the start. The snipers on Ashtoreth were a last-minute response. I am not asking what you did with the three. But because they would want the three dead, I have to ask: Are Wintarsen, Danviere, and Xin still alive somewhere?"

Solbiort is silent for a while, considering as she sips her tea. Finally she sets her tea aside and regards the Commander. "It vould, of course, not be vise for anyvon to admit to harboring such dangerous fugitives, ya? Und it does make von vonder... vhat vould happen to those three, vere they actually captured by the Alliance?"

Kota makes a quiet sound, a half-smile on her lips. "I do not blame you for your caution. Let me tell you of why it is important they are alive, then. As you've guessed, it begins in the War." Solbiort settles back to listen carefully.

"Midway through the war the Alliance was having a rough time of it. The Independents were not a serious threat, but their hindering of Unification was delaying things and costing more and more lives every day. Some officers attached to the Military Council decided this was a war of ideas and ideals, and so it should remain. We were fighting ultimately for the hearts and minds of the peoples of the 'Verse. And it would be with ideas that the war would be won." Solbiort nods, unsurprised so far. Elgyn blinks. Could someone actually be giving some straight answers now? Amazing!

"In that time there was a young Independent general by the name of Arvid Wintarsen. He was promising, but lacked manpower, resources, invention... the genius of being a truly great leader. But he had many things going for him: he was charismatic, he really was quite a good strategist and logistician. Moreover, the Osterfrau Quadrant was remote from most of the main fighting of the War, which made him of interest to this small group of officers. They hatched an audacious plan, and received covert funding from the Military Council to pursue it. The plan, the operation, and the project office, in typical Shi Kai poetics, was called... Far Thunder."

Solbiort smiles -- then goes still, "Pardon me, Commander... did you say Shi Kai poetics?!" She is internally shocked -- did Wintarsen betray his own cause?! Or did he not realize where the money was coming from? She knows the Shi Kai is the compound which contains the Alliance Military Council. This is getting suddenly ugly...

Kota nods, looking a little... guilty? "Yes. Far Thunder was an Alliance project. The project began small, and worked up to a labyrinthine web which drank in a tenth of the Alliance's military spending during the years it was active."

Solbiort says slowly, "Did Vintarsen know?"

Kota pauses. "At first he didn't. He got confused towards the end, wondering what was going on. Afterwards, after Far Thunder caused his capture... no, even then, I don't think he ever really knew."

Solbiort's face goes carefully expressionless, and she murmurs softly, "But I interrupt. Please do go on, Commander." She wonders bitterly if poor Orinel is dead due to Far Thunder's meddling as well. This certainly accounts for the odd ability to attack Wintarsen's command center three times in a row, though. What a terrible waste of talent, she thinks.

Kota nods a little, feeling some of the emotional chill in the room. She pauses, then looks up at the marine and Danovik. "Please, gentlemen, if you would wait outside." She looks to Solbiort. "With your permission, Captain? What I am about to say is... sensitive. You may feel free to have them escorted to the longboat and lock the airlock."

Danovik blinks. "Now wait just a moment, here...."

Solbiort raises an eyebrow, "Actually, I agree with the Major, Commander. Not sure I vant you alone on my ship. Vould be damn shame if ve vere accused of... an accident, after all. Don't vant to go there." She sits very still, with her hands plainly visible. She's seen already how easily folks have been 'disappearing' around this issue. Elgyn is also still, but absently tallying potential weapons in the room, as well as seeing if there is anything heavy enough he can use to break the cup in his hand... the crockery could provide a nice sharp edge he could use.

Kota considers, then nods. "As you wish, Captain." She looks up to Donovik. "Major... I apologize for what you are about to hear." She turns back to Solbiort. "As you've probably guessed, Far Thunder built Wintarsen up. They... we made him out to be a major faction unto himself. By intimating he was a second Independent faction, separate from the main body of factions and approaching par with them, he became a third factor into the Independents' plans, which added to their planning difficulties. Not only did the Independents have to be concerned about Alliance movements, but they also needed to have a care about 'Wintarsen's forces.' Far Thunder used their knowledge of the truth of Wintarsen's faux strengths to filter the intelligence gained from more conventional channels, to more accurately direct Alliance forces against the Independents."

Solbiort remains very still, listening carefully and squelching her reaction. Elgyn just stares at Kota... as confusing as recent events have been, this is something he comprehends. He's surprised there is no wellspring of anger at this news.

Kota carefully sets the teacup down again, folding her hands in her lap. "This will sound lame and spineless, but by this time I had become distressed by what we were accomplishing with Far Thunder. Disgusted, really. We'd had hopes to fight the war with ideas, confident that Central culture would win out. Instead, ideas became our weapons, a perversion I found hard to stomach. I set into motion the scripts which would gracefully end the fallacy, with the Council's blessings. But many in Far Thunder resisted. They cited the immensely lower casualties incurred on both sides by what we were doing as justification. In the maneuvering that followed I was removed from the project, but informed that following Wintarsen's capture, Far Thunder was shut down permanently."

Solbiort raises an eyebrow, murmuring, "Vas it? Und how does this ancient history relate to present day?" She wonders bleakly if the only reason they're all alive currently is because the Alliance itself doesn't know precisely where Wintarsen is.

Raj snorts, "Oh, yeah, I can see how that went... a well funded, fanatical, ideological, secret government conspiracy simply told, 'Thanks! Party in the lobby! Last person out please turn out the lights!' I'm sure it went just like that..." Solbiort grins wryly at Raj's comment, letting her gaze drift to the Major. Hm... would first shot come from him or the marine? She's bleakly amused again at the phrase "immensely lower casualties." As she recalls it, according to the casualty reports there was quite enough bloody fighting.

Kota looks at Solbiort, appearing a touch haunted. "No, obviously it wasn't. The ones most keen on how Far Thunder was 'winning the war' for the Alliance pushed it into dormancy." She looks to Raj. "It happened more often like that than not, 'Sergeant,'" she says without rancor. "Most projects were staffed by officers who were genuinely loyal to the Alliance and who took the obedience to orders seriously. But Far Thunder was probably doomed from the beginning to be atypical, as focused as we were on ideas and thoughts." She looks back to Solbiort. "It relates to this because as you've guessed, Far Thunder did not lie down and disappear, and it was they who organized the rescue of Wintarsen from Ariel Max-Sec."

Solbiort says softly, "Vill you tell me now, Commander, casualty reports vere from officers 'genuinely loyal to the Alliance' too -- und they vere all obediently posting lies to inflate effectiveness of Far T'under? Vill you tell me now Far T'under und the red half-moons are von und the same?"

Kota is silent for a moment, then sighs. "They were... and were not... lies. Captain, let me explain this paradox first. Far Thunder's primary method of fighting the Independents was no like conventional warfare, or even espionage. It was memetic war they preferred. Wintarsen's troop strengths, his effectiveness as a general, many of the battles he fought... those were the fabrications, the lies. They were made not to falsify Far Thunder's effectiveness, but to falsify Wintarsen's."

Solbiort's eyes widen a bit, and she leans forward, careful to keep her hands in sight still, "How long has the poor man been parasitically infected, so he could be more effectively manipulated?!" Her voice is softly incredulous... because if she didn't keep it so she'd shout in this woman's face -- and that would be bad for her crew and herself. She takes a slow breath, then straightens, "The Third Vay... you wrote it! Vas Orinel von of yours too? Vas anyzing the poor man stood for actually true?!" Elgyn remains still, not betraying his worry about Solbiort revealing what they know... Solbiort's eyes narrow -- she's never been so angry since she punched Ranaka, and she's had enough of the lies and machinations, "Vill ve be conveniently disappearing too, to maintain this disgusting charade?!"

Kota shakes her head. "I only found out about that after I was forced out of Far Thunder. I knew him, Captain, knew him as a person. I would have been happy to have the end of the war see him on some world, alive and having laid down arms and quietly confused as to why so much was attributed to him during the war, but Far Thunder had different ideas and they... I never knew for certain, but the few contacts I had left in Far Thunder told me they wanted to correct the... to make all the fabrications believed by the one person who could not believe them: Wintarsen himself. Whatever 'infection' you're talking about was done to him while he was in Ariel Max-Sec."

Solbiort sits back slowly, carefully controlling herself and shutting up. Kota looks seriously at Solbiort. "No. You're not going to be disappeared. This was more than just catharsis for me, Captain. Even if I'm next to be killed by Far Thunder -- and their insignia was indeed a red semicircle -- someone else will at least know the truth. I know you and your crew are already deep in this, and as I said, if I could have caused that to not happen, I would. But Wintarsen and Danviere and Xin, who had been so integral to whatever Far Thunder is planning next, are missing -- and they know this is the last ship involved in the operation to free them. And the best I can do, to atone and to make things right, is to put a stop to Far Thunder once and for all." She pauses. "And to do that, to make sure they're removed from the face of the 'Verse, I need your help."

Solbiort simply raises her eyebrow inquiringly, and remains silent. Talking seems counterproductive at this point. Elgyn tries not to show his disgust... the idea of cleaning up someone else's mess repugnant to him. But he somehow manages to hold his peace; she has a point, after all. They're involved, whether they want to be or not.

Kota continues, "I won't demand it. I won't force you. If it's one thing my disgust with Far Thunder taught me, it is that we must have as free a choice as possible -- else what we fight for is worthless. If you refuse, we will part company and go our separate ways and that will be it. Both the Military Council and Security know what is at stake here but they also know my stand on this issue is inviolate, and understand my reasons." She takes a breath, "I will not even insist you tell me of your decision immediately. I only ask it be soon, since Far Thunder seems to be rushing along some timetable. They're getting nervous and rushed and they're making some mistakes, but they're also getting more desperate.

Solbiort rumbles quietly, "Haven't said vhat you vant yet, Commander."

Kota nods, sighing, "You're right. I haven't. I am trying to come up with a trap of some kind. I would rather not use any sort of live bait. Ideally I want to use their weapons against them: ideas, memetics, deception. I want to get them into a position where they are rendered powerless and toothless so none of them can do this sort of thing again." She sighs again. "I do not have anything more concrete than that. Until a month or so ago I didn't even hope there would be anyone to help me with this. That was when I found out about the trials and tribulations you and your ship have gone through, and determined you were starting to get the attention of Far Thunder."

Solbiort says bluntly, "Vhy you not asking Adarra Security to help you? Vhy you asking us? Ve are not memetics."

"Captain, officially I'm still aboard the Tsao in the Georgia Quadrant. I had thought Far Thunder would think I was there and not here, but somehow they knew I would be coming here -- and precious few people knew of my trip. I can't trust the fleet channels of communication to contact Adarra Security directly." She pauses, considering. "If there were... other channels available to contact them, I would want to send a message to them asking the commandant for his help. And besides, you do have one thing Adarra security doesn't have." Pause. "Three people, actually."

Solbiort folds her arms, "Und they vould be...?"

Kota shakes her head. "Wintarsen, Danviere, and Xin. Even if you don't have them aboard your ship, I would hope you helped them get to a safe place. You don't trust me, and after the wild story I just rattled off I wouldn't entirely trust myself, either. But Far Thunder has not stopped looking for them, and this ship is one of the last few leads to Wintarsen's whereabouts that they have."

Solbiort narrows her eyes, "Don't have those three. Am vondering vhat you'd do vhile you vaited for somevon else to contact Adarra Security, too."

Elgyn was inclined to ask why the Commander was bothering with such a roundabout method... she would seem to have the weight of the Alliance military and could crush them, properly organized. But it would seem she fights this battle more or less alone... or so she says. "Do you have any idea, Commander, why they want their cats-paws so badly?"

Kota studies Solbiort for several long moments, then sighs. "Fair enough, Captain. You don't have them. As for what I'd do, it would be getting back to the Tsao and trying to come up with some sort of plan for tackling Far Thunder while we're posing as just another patrolling cruiser." She looks up to Elgyn. "If by cats-paws you mean Wintarsen and his officers... no, I don't have any idea. Which bothers the hell out of me, because they've had him right where they wanted him for the past eight years. And now for some reason they decided to stage a breakout and a dramatic death for him. This much I know: they want to make an incontrovertibly final stand for Wintarsen, and not merely have the Alliance defeat him, but crush him and in the fighting kill him. They want to eliminate him as the last symbol of the Independent movement. Me... I want them to stop playing with people as if the 'Verse were their go board."

Solbiort sighs internally. Finally, if this woman is honest -- verification of her speculations. She looks at the major and the marine with some sympathy, wondering what will happen to them... then back at the Commander. "Think you should return to Tsao, then, Commander, und see if Adarra Security contacts you. Think cloak und dagger is no more your forte than ours."

Kota nods a little, a bit of a quirk to her lips. "No. It isn't. And it never should have been." She stands. "Thank you, Captain. I... hope I can hear from them soon. If you and your crew change your mind... please contact me aboard the Tsao." Danovik for his part looks... well, 'floored' doesn't do it justice. His expression is impossible to read, being such a confusion of elements as he stares at Kota. The Commander starts to turn to go, then pauses, looking at the wildly fluctuating Donovik. She places a hand on his shoulder, looking pained. "Major-"

His reply is a little brusquer than a subordinate would normally show, "Perhaps we can discuss this aboard the Curry, Commander."

Kota looks a bit struck, then nods. "You deserve that much, Major, yes." She looks to Solbiort. "Fair winds, Captain."

Solbiort adds quietly, "To you also, Commander. Am thinking this time battle is not chust for hearts und minds -- too many hundreds murdered to date for that. Is for right to simply survive." She rises, grimly adding, "Is personal now... us or Far Thunder." Kota looks unhappy, but mutely nods.

[Previous Log] [Index] [Next Log]





Last modified: 2006-Mar-04 21:02:19

All material on this site is
Copyright © 2006-2024 Reality Fault
unless specifically indicated on each document.
All Rights Reserved.
Administrated by Reality Fault Webmaster