Devlin
Recruit
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 184
Loc: Near S. Louis, MO
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The War of Angst (part two)
#97347 - 09/08/04 11:21 AM (216.114.96.33)
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A little over an hour into an evening meeting with Esau Johnson, leader of the Hawke Protectorate Alliance, and a couple of the officers, Master Gunnery Sgt. Devlin confirmed the incredible reports he had recieved.
"Are you sure of this info?" he asked Minister Prinz_E, who had just returned from a tour of the HP factories. Prinz_E nodded, sipping his PUNK's Scotch [courtesy of their ally in -AF-, Pink Fluffy Basketball]. He rose to speak:
"I have now confirmed the information. The 'Administraion Council' " Prinz_E spat onto the floor, expressing his disgust, "has in all of it's 'infinite wisdom' and 'balancing changes' left a gap in the rules. This is a gap we can exploit to our advantage. Should the need arise, we can now war on any level and not only drive them bankrupt in short order, but also save considerable cash ourselves." He sat down and waited for the next speaker.
HammerBA rose, glared at the map, and then added his information. "With the already known knowledge of the ways to bend surrender laws and circumvent them, all within the same laws that were set up to prevent it, I believe that with the right allies we could wage a war against any empire, faction, or alliance on Neveron and stand a decent chance of success. To my knowledge, no one else has found these 'gaps', and we should not share this information with anyone except our allies. Add the new information that Prinz_E has discovered, and we now have a simple way to wage an effective war without the overburdening costs, or the need to pay much for attacking cities. Even a DOW may no longer be a vital thing to lower costs." He sat back down, the strain of the recent surgery still evident, but now mixed with a white-hot anger and a desire for payback.
Esau perused the various reports in front of him, weighing the information versus his many years of experiance. Finally, he turned to Prinz_E and asked him to verify the information about the collaborator on Neveron, who aids the evil "Administration Council" in it's bid to stifle anyone who dared challenge it. Prinz_E rose again and nodded to Devlin.
"With the information that our military expert has gathered, along with my information, we await only the final proof. The test is underway, and I expect our agents will be able to return satisfactory reports within a day or two. Then, we will know where to hit. We will also be able to prove the backstabbing of all of Neveron's hard working citizens, from WoB to HoC, by an empire so vile that it sells it's soul for favor." Minister Prinz_E resumed his seat, flushed with righteous rage.
HammerBA asked to be excused from the meeting, as his headache had returned and his part was done. Esau excused him with an admonition to go home and rest. Minister Prinz_E gathered up his weapons and holo-disk case. Turning to Esau, he spoke "My forces stand ready to strike at a moments notice. Simply tell me where to go. I think that another, more subtle solution may want to be considered first, but if war comes . . . " he trailed off, not needing to finish his statement. His armies had fought hundreds of battles against others, and thousands against pirates. He would fight, and fight hard. Prinz_E left the room, sealed it behind him, and hopped into his converted Harrasser C, off to examine the reports that would have piled up in the two hours the meeting required.
Master Gunnery Sgt. Devlin confirmed they were alone, and then spoke with the man he had entrusted his service to for many years now. "Esau, if we do confirm the collaborator's ID and empire, we may launch a war we will be hard pressed to win. Destroying my military to make an traitor pay is nothing to me, and most of our members will gladly follow you into hell. But we have a few members I have doubts about. I have given you their names: I formally request you verify their intentions and allegiances before we begin this. I do not want to war with someone lurking in my camp, poised with a knife."
Esau Johnson agreed to look into this matter, and clarify it as soon as possible. Both men knew what neither would say: years of hard work could vanish in a day if something went wrong, and they had better cut those chances now, rather than while the war was happening. Esau left the command room, returning to his own command post to work and think. Devlin sat alone in the empty HP command post, listening to the winds outside as a storm began to brew.
If only the "Administration Council" knew what they had wrought, this may have been avoided . . . he thought. Gathering up his own weapons, he strode out to his own personal vehicle, an ancient Terran ground vehicle with an ICE engine. Firing the motor up, he dropped the transmission into Drive and sped back in the direction of the Military Operational Command Center, to begin preparations for a war that may come soon, all because of the new laws that fool "Randy" and his corrupt "Administration Council" had brought into existance.
Passing satans_favorite's office along the way, he executed a 180 turn in the road and drove up to the front entrance. As he exited his ground car, the fierce female warrior of HP left the building, and stormed over to where the Master Gunnery Sgt. was waiting for the explosion he knew was coming.
"What in the name of Blake's Folly have you found, and what f^@&!*g lowlife told you Esau may be a traitor?" she spat, grabbing him by the uniform and slamming him into his own vehicle. Devlin could see she was more angry than her usual day-to-day frustrations. He pulled himself free from her grasp and checked his weapons to make sure she hadn't swiped one. Then he tried to reason with the Minister of Research {a post she was woefully unsuited for, but Devlin had the job she was best suited for} and make her see wisdom.
"Any accusation against Esau Johnson is just that- an accusation. I expect more to come as time passes. I was simply passing the information along to him for . . ." satans_favorite was obviously not in the mood for reason. She grabbed the Master Gunnery Sgt. and slammed him into his vehicle again, silencing his report.
"Tell me who is spreading this filth and I will deal with it myself!" she roared, her anger now quite in control of her higher motor functions. Devlin executed an atemi pivot, throwing satans_favorite onto the ground a good distance away (it wasn't a safe distance- nothing was safe from her in these moods). "I haven't got any idea!" he bellowed back. "I got the report from an unreliable source and simply passed it on. If I knew it was true, I'd have dealt with Esau myself. Since I can only assume it's false, I am searching for the liar now. You can have him when I find him!" With that, Devlin got back into his vehicle, jacked the transmission into gear, and floored the pedal. 525 horsepower sprung to life and flung him off into the night, wondering what ever made him decide to take a job as an officer.
Satans_favorite watched the receeding triangular lights, brushing road dust off of her jumpsuit. YOU may find this cowardly liar, she thought as she went back inside, but I have my own sources. I will find this pataug and deal with him personally. Then, I will find the collaborator and deal with HIM as well.
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It's only impossible until you do it, then it was easy
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