OOC: I hope no one minds if I assume my old Sinful character in his rightful position.
General Sin was sitting in a black leather chair behind his desk in his office. Above him was dome skylight that was opened to reveal the artificial night being produced on the L01 Colony. It may have been fake, but it was emulated beautifully. The moon was full today, and the laser digitization of the moon was precise enough to mimic the true locations of craters and rock formation. The white moonlight gleamed brightly and illuminated the office with an eerie white glow. His elbows were propped up on the table with his fingers crossed in front of his mouth in deep thought. Major General James Marshal, head of the War department, was sitting on a black leather couch to the side of the office smoking a cigar. His suit was pressed tightly against his large muscles, he was an unusual fit - short, but still very muscular. Despite his dumb looks, a genius military tactician whose skills and ruthless nature have far outweighed his shortcomings. Brigadier General Walter Prescott, head of the Supply and Resources department, sat on the opposite end of the room from Marshal. He was tall and skinny with a pale skin tone, he looked almost like a ghost. He sat in a wooden chair with his upper half covered in darkness. His hands were shaking ever so slightly in his lap. He was very timid and often left out of many of the darker situations, but he handled the economy well. His responsibility and mastery over controlling the economy is unrivaled and has contributed to the economic success of the colonies. It was his advice that helped boost the Colonies efficiency from the peace treaty with Seraphina. And finally the fourth General in the room was Lieutenant General Carter Chamberlin, head of the Military Intelligence department, and by far the most mysterious of all the true officials of the Space Imperial Nations. Although most people knew him as one of the most controversial government officials, no one could prosecute him. He simply doesn't exist in any official record, no birth certificate, no reported income, no known relatives, not even a drivers license. He was a cover-up done in the public eye. Even though he was the lowest ranking General, he was the voice of the Stratocratic government while General Sin was out. Chamberlin stood with his back turned to General Sin, pouring himself a glass of white wine to match the moon light.
Even though General Sin controlled the colonies under a Stratocracy, he was a lenient ruler and allowed most of the colonies to govern themselves on local issues. The colonists didn't mind due to the economic boom and the time of peace, and so support for the rebel groups had diminished. Just as Earth credited Seraphina for bringing peace, the colonists credited General Sin for bringing economic prosperity. However, the growing tension between the Colonies and Earth has spurred some subtle turmoil once again.
Prescott was the first to speak. He spoke with a shaky feeble voice.
"The... There are reports of attacks... Again. M-m-maybe we should talk to S-s-Ser..."
Prescott was cut off by Marshal's burly voice.
"Ah, forget 'er. So far the attacks have only helped get rid of some old garbage anyway. We have those rebel groups running around in circles chasing their own tails and they don't even know it. Now is a perfect time to strike, we have Serpents that can hit them hard and be out of there in no time. We can land the fleet and begin attacking before they even realize we're on Earth. No more of these pathetic under-radar skirmishes. I say we declare war and hit first before they do! Hit 'em hard, right in the gut. The Lake Victoria Base, that'll send the message."
Prescott: "B-but we'll risk becoming unstable again. Just because we have the resources now doesn't mean we should spend them all on war. We need to build a 6th C-c-colony to handle the growing populace."
Marshal: "The war will resolve our population problem, we need a few suicide missions anyway to soften 'em up. Hell, we still have some of those heaps of junk sittin' in L02 from three years ago. Put some of the lower performing recruits in 'em and send them somewhere pointless and bam, we take out the trash AND have less mouths to feed all in one night."
Chamberlin turned around and took a sip from his wine glass. The other two generals always fell silent when he made a move, a kind of respect he had earned due to his history which only very few people knew, and his genius gave him the right to speak with authority.
"If we're the ones to declare war first, we'll risk losing our good graces with the people. We still need time to mobilize to prepare for an internal conflict should a rebellion begin. We don't declare war until we can handle a problem on all fronts. Since the peace treaty, our factories have to be reconverted back for military use. We'll gain favor if they make a serious attack first. We'll bait them, we need a sacrifice."
General Sin's interest was caught with Chamberlin's suggestion. He lowered his hands to rest on the desk in front of him as he looked at Chamberlin.
"I've already rooted out most of the useless officials. Who do you have in mind?"
Chamberlin: "Us."
Prescott shrunk into his chair in fear. Marshal rose to his feet in protest.
Marshal: "You're insane! Maybe that green shit running through your veins finally got to your head."
Chamberlin dug his right hand across his hip for the hilt of a straight sword sheathed across his hip - a sign of prestige more than for combat - and swung the blade out of its sheathe across Marshal's collar. The blade cut cleanly through the fabric and nipped across the epidermal layer of skin on Marshal's neck.
Chamberlin: "Don't ever even so much as think that I'm insane. I'll kill you in a heart beat."
Sin: "Stop acting like babies and keep your cool. Obviously he didn't mean us, he meant "us.""
Marshal recoiled back into the black leather couch holding his neck and sucking in on the cigar trying to calm himself. Chamberlin flicked the single drop of blood at the tip of his blade towards Marshal, then sheathed it again along his left hip.
Chamberlin: "We'll get doubles and announce a visit to Earth. We'll put a few escort mobile suits to make it seem authentic and send them down on the premise of peace talks. If they survive, the landing, we'll turn them back around under the premise of an emergency. If they don't, we have ourselves a war - And they'll never expect it so quickly from a nation whose top leaders had just been assassinated."
General Sin thought for a moment as he looked down at his desk. His desk had a shiny black top that mirrored the view from the large dome skylight above. He stared at the moon being reflected from his desk as he pondered. It illuminated his face in the white hue, revealing a strikingly young looking man considering his age. He then looked up towards Chamberlin with a smile and nodded.
"I'll announce it tomorrow. Make the preparations."
The three generals raised to their feet and simultaneously saluted - Even Prescott pulled his nerve together as if he was relieved to finally leave. They turned around and exited the office in a synchronized march.






