UCON's Story

; Had-Medeen culled a faint smirk beneath the facemask, his breathing took a few moments to lapse before the screen in front of them enlarged to a tactical feed from the trade station near Saturn. An external camera flickered, a Concordia class Assault Carrier looming at the docks of the station harbor. Had-Medeen narrowed his eyes slightly before a communique was parsed through the networked infrastructure.
"This is the Terran planet," He remarked calmly, fixing his arms back behind his back as a video feed appeared on screen, the secondary bridge of the station occupied with a skeleton crew of Senior Officers and a man adorned in the Navy blue coat of the Star Fleet Admiralty.

"We are not people, we are Scatterrans. I thought your kind was poignant in exemplifying that." Had-Medeen said slowly, his voice carrying through to the bridge of the trade station and drawing the attention of the large Scatterran Admiral. The man turned towards the view screen and offered a brief nod to the Counselor, approaching the screen with his hands behind his back, in the same military professionalism Had-Medeen practiced.
"Admiral Riley." The Zhakistowi remarked slowly, dipping his chin as the Admiral saluted.
"Counselor Had-Medeen."

"It appears I have been assigned a liaison from the Aschen Confederation to ... 'cooperate' with operations in the Local Region and around Terra. Establish a UCC -- " He said, looking over to the woman before indicating to the hologram panel beside him.
"To 'cooperate' means a mutual trust must be respected, and trust is earned." He said, tapping at one more icon before the unused panel expanded to a keyboard and other navigation device.
"There is hardly a full regiment of marines on the planet, let alone a suitable force from COLSOG to operate against Hataf effectively."

; Had-Medeen turned away to a secondary display, a trickle of information trailing down the screen as the Admiral took over the explanation at this point. An image of Terra was superimposed against the Admiral's video screen. Around it, several red sectors denoted suspected dissenting 'hotspots'. The Admiral adjusted the cuff of his coat, pulling it up past the wrist before addressing an ornate wristwatch.
"I certainly don't hope we plan to glass Terra again, I'm reserving my nuclear ordinance for something of more ... worth." Admiral Riley responded, his visage hardening at the mention of a heavier troop presence on Terra.

"This 'Shol'va's mess isn't something we just sweep under the rug and prance on willy nilly. Last I recall, I still see a list of billions of names who aren't alive to see their planet slowly dying." The Admiral replied, his words causing the Counselor to retort slightly, disengaging from the holographic display.

"If we are to cooperate, we will do it as distantly as possible. The Coalition owes no obligation to the Aschen, and the opposite applies. Terra is the connecting point of any 'cooperation', there is nothing mutual between the two supporting groups." Had-Medeen remarked, raising a hand up and pulling a small tablet device from a recess in the wall. The tactical display was emblazoned with the logo of the PPC, a Coalition political group notorious for the administration of all sorts of media and culture throughout the Coalition.
"You wouldn't leave your door unlocked if my kind lived down the street. Do not try and play to the high ground." He remarked, before offering the tablet to the woman and looking back to the Scatterran Admiral.
"Prepare a detachment from the SIG to facilitate information transfer within our now Codec. Prepare me a report and dispatch it to Admiral Negala after my approval."

; Had-Medeen crossed his arms in front of his chest, an image of Coalition marines patrolling through a desolate Terran city playing in a separate display. The camera bounced and jostled for a moment before the flash of gunfire was seen and the hurried camera finally fell upon a trio of marines drawing their weapons upon a group of men clustered together in the street. As the gunfire and shouting intensified the cameraman stepped forward to peruse the corpses left by the marines, assault rifles and handguns were seen clutched underneath the men's robe, before the video stalled for a moment.
"That is embedded footage from 2591, a year after the Occupation divided Terra into the Zones. Hataf resistance against Authority resulted in numerous casualties ... most inflicted against the terrorist group." The Admiral remarked, reaching up to scratch the tip of his nose before another video sprang up to life.

"Had the Coalition been respected during the Occupation, perhaps the attacks Hataf committed wouldn't have taken place either." Had-Medeen said, looking up to the screen to see the guncamera footage of insurgent prisoners, several bearing the emblem of Red Halo on their arms, pressed in to the depths of a ditch and habitually shot in the back of the head.
"I live today for a specific reason, Admiral. I do not afford for overreactions such as the glassing; we must be the scalpel that removes the cancer; precision and surgical efficiency stop terrorism, Admiral. Not genocide."

UCON present.

; Had-Medeen let out a chuckle, his head shaking slightly; Admiral Riley's eyes hardened as the woman spoke, the Admiral's lips pursed slightly, the General Counselor shaking his head before glancing away. The Admiral's teeth were barred at the mention of 'being taken seriously'.
"If your pathetic excuse of a military was any more 'serious' than a bunch of little children playing dress up and Army, you would've known the effort of trade for exchanging a few million dead civilians for nearly three billion. You people bitch about being taken seriously then flip the bird whenever the slightest amount of work is thrown your way."

"Enough, Admiral." Had-Medeen remarked, stepping up to the holographic prompt and triggering a readout of several MAG teams with operational authority over Terra.
"The losses you received were hardly worth the effort. It could have been much worse, take your loss for granted, Sovrak." He replied, ending his sentence as another air screen flickered to life with the seal of the Department of the Prime Minister.
"Since we are simply obligated to perform for the Aschen, you know, it's their world and we just live in it." Had-Medeen remarked, waving a finger slightly before the video screen opened to reveal Prime Minister Regievko seated at the desk in the Office of Ministries.
"Prime Minister, Aschen Admiral Nagala."

; Josef Regievko slid a palm under his chin; behind him, the glass window stretched out over the realm of the Coalition's capital planet, New Empyria. A starship loomed in low orbit over the cityscape, practically 100 kilometers in the distance as traffic never ended in the bustling centerpiece of Scatterran power. The Prime Minister appeared haggard, bored as well, but occupied himself by tapping a pen open and closed on the desk in front of him as the video screen brightened. The Prime Minister raised up one hand to the Admiral, wagging a finger a minute before drawing a glass and small cork of Scotch from a drawer in the desk.
"Quitting time around the office," He remarked, uncorcking the bottle and sliding it across the desk before folding his hands to one another.

"'Sovereignty' means nothing in this day and age, Admiral. Your professional military is in constant violation of it. Ours is as well, though, this is the business of nations." He replied calmly, looking away from the view screen a minute as he poured himself a glass. He tested the temperature by putting one finger in the glass and then cleaning it off on a napkin.
"One of the first realizations of politics and military is that it's never a pleasure to meet anyone. Counselor Had-Medeen may be dead in five years, I may be dead as well. The same goes for every man, woman and child who takes a breath. On Terra, on New Emypria, on Langara. Everyone."

; Josef took a firm swig of the Scotch as she spoke, practically cheering to her words before he downed the rest of the glass and placed it on the desk beside him. The Prime Minister furrowed his brow and growled through the sting of the alcohol while nodding with her.
"I wasn't elected to this position to be a human, Admiral. Had-Medeen and Admiral Riley weren't appointed to be humans. They were appointed to do a job no human would ever take on their shoulders. Despite the disagreements we have had between our two realities, you will never understand what good men like Had-Medeen and Admiral Riley have done; to protect the Confederation, protect Terra and protect the good faith that is so hard to maintain between our three nations."

"I received a list of names today, there is a group of Freikorps, Belkan remnants throughout the Coalition, establishing anti-Scatterran operations. These men killed four FBP officers and thirty civilians when they discovered a Orthoxan Priest preaching brotherly love and camaraderie between Scatterran peoples and our fellow humans." He said, searching his desk with a hand before he found a lose piece of paper and inspected it with an acute eye.
"These people are no different from Hataf, Admiral. Yet I will never cease to press these people to destruction. If you wish to cooperate with the Coalition, you must be prepared to make the decision that results in death. Fighting Hataf will require steel and fire, Admiral. Blood and sweat."

; Josef raised a hand up and waved a finger through the air, pointing to the Counselor for a moment as he grabbed a hold of the glass and began trailing it across the desk slightly. The camera flickered and pixelated for a moment, stopping in procession before the image snapped back and Josef was seen with a digi-pad and a stylus.
"A nation like Terra can not ... 'handle' the doctrine of a Coalition spear-headed COIN Operation, the husband doesn't feed the child, the wife does." He remarked, still writing with the stylus held tightly in his hands as he focused on the pad.

"The Fleet shall be the straining-net. Have you ever fished, Admiral? Commercial fishing. I started my political career after hopping off a trawler in the Kimburki oceans. Terrible job. Cold as all hell." He remarked, making a few more quick notes across the pad.
"The Senate does not dictate our foreign policy, Admiral. The Cabinet does. We want to eliminate Hataf correctly, it has to be the Terrans that do it. We must empower them, Admiral Nagala. Teach a man to fish." He said again, finally laying the pad out in front of him and setting the stylus down.
"When you leave this base today, you will tell your Commanders that there will be allies in the Coalition, and allies in the TAF."

; Josef slid the stylus into his desk as he leaned back in to his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Behind him, a pair of lights were seen in the distance, the night life of New Emypria beginning as the lights of office buildings and networks could be seen flickering off.
"If I recall, there are MAG's operating on Terra capable of COIN and COTE operations. Hand-selected by the Military Council. The Coalition can provide precise and subtle missions, surgical precision will be key."

Josef cocked a brow at the mention of the Soviet presence. It was well know the Soviet and Coalition governments were not on speaking terms, neither even recognized the other as a sovereign existence.
"The Soviets? Oriyaks keep to themselves, the way they often should. The Republics aren't anything worth considering with the presence of Hataf in the mix. Without much more to discuss, however, Admiral, I'm required for the coronation of a new university in South Empyria. Had-Medeen can facilitate the information transfer between the two Commands."

; The CNS Witcher’s Rebound was a practically ruined Mako class Heavy Destroyer, pocked and marked with carbon scarring and plasma impacts along the starboard and port sides. As the powerful gunship fought it’s way through the air, two powerful transmitting arrays dangled from beneath the Mako’s hull on a hydraulic lift. Accompanying them, two Navy technicians adorned in helmets and breathing units were scurrying down a thin metal bar ladder when the Witcher passed overhead the dirty red landscape below, despite it’s altitude a tail of wind following it along the ground.

“Two hundred meters west of the flatland, right in there!” A Chief Petty Officer called out over comms, gripping at a long piece of strap dangling from the carriage. Down below, the Mako was approaching a large area disguised and hidden against the backdrop of the land. Where the Coalition ship had identified the largest anomaly that wasn’t supposed to be there, a starship.

“Ooooh yeah, that definitely looks like a ship.” The other Navy technician said, looking at a display on the transmitting array in front of him.
“We’ve got eyes on the ship.”

; Onboard the Mako class destroyer the ship Captain had assembled the marine contingent onboard the vessel. Operating outside of Coalition support, the team of eighty marines were divided into even smaller platoons; commanded by a Major with the insignia of the Guards on his chestplate. In the forward bay of the Mako, Major Arwa ordered one last man into a waiting team of marines. The Major was quickly joined by a Navy sailor, holding in his hand a data pad.

“Before we end up bringing a Reverence down on us, let’s find these people and get the hell out of here Major.”

“Fine, Marine team away then, Chief.” The Major remarked, walking out of the bay and down a ramp leading to the port facilities where the Mako was placed. Nearby, a signal beacon was identifying the locale of the target vessel; as the heavily armed marines dispatched a few waves and other gestures are bystander curiosity the Major and another marine were pacing themselves toward the beacon.

; Major Arwa looked down at the tablet as he walked, another team of marines following him in a loose formation. Following the indications from Command, Major Arwa treaded a simple line to the beacon with the tablet in one hand and a rifle in the other. As the Major looked up to where the beacon corresponded the position, several of the marines were already debating just what exactly they were doing, when they saw an Aschen vessel parked neatly in a port.
“Uh ... Major.” One of the marines inquired, nodding over at the ship before the Major slung the rifle under his arm when he looked at a few number of crew near the vessel.

“ ... Where’d you pick up this ship?”

; Major Arwa looked suspiciously over the starship as he heard the man explaining. One other marine held a small cellphone in his hand, peeking back and forth from the screen to the Aschen vessel in front of them that should have for all intents and purposes be used fighting them. The Major nodded at the man, seeing the crate of Aschen weaponry and the supplies with them near the starship.

“Not really, no ... mostly I’d destroy it, but we’re here for something else. The ship is very nice, though, you should ... keep it.” Arwa said, tucking the datapad against a rig on his side.

“A woman by the name of Whisper asked us to find you, there’s been a war on Terra and the Aschen ... guy’s that made that ship right there ... are really interested in finding her.”

; Major Arwa turned a bit to the marine next to him, receiving a shrug of his shoulders when the man with the cellphone lowered the device and shrugged his shoulders as well. The Scatterran made a simple click with his tongue, eyeing the Reverence ship.
“Oh ... well, we are approaching with an armed presence.”

“But they’re not supposed to have an Aschen ship in the first place?” Another marine inquired, turning to his friend with shake of his head. The Major turned back to the man, taking the tablet and pressing a finger in the center of the device’s screen. A stream of images began, files attached with those that he threw to the man near the crate underhand.

“This woman says she compromised Aschen networks ... and other things, which I’m assuming those are one of, when we discovered this there was an Aschen force out looking for her with impunity. Despite what you may think, we actually don’t know what she is talking about. We got your name in negotiations with her.”

; Major Arwa shook his head and took a step towards the platform that serviced the Aschen ship. The marine behind him was adjusting a communicator in front of him while the Major held his rifle loosely in one hand.
“Not quite ... she wants us to bring you back, we bring you, she tells us the full story.” The Major remarked, looking at the Reverence in awe for a minute when he pointed at the vessel.

“I’m sure there are parts of the story you’ll be able to fill in as well.”

; “Well hold on a second here, let’s not be hasty ... I mean ... they can take the Aschen stealth ship with them, right?”

Major Arwa pulled his rifle up from his side and put it over his shoulder, taking his hands from his sides when he saw the man walking away from the ship, despite the suggestions of his crew.
“All we need is the information she knows.” He replied, pointing up the ramp at the other marines as they stopped their conversations amongst one another.

“After that, you and her will still be Aschen targets though. Which, from our standpoint, is not a very good position to be in.”

; Major Arwa turned back towards the other marines, giving the Aschen vessel one last look and then making a signal to the other Scatterrans nearby. The Major tilted his chin at the man’s responses, and gave them a few inquiries.
“Our solution is shooting them at the moment, y’know, with the guns.” Arwa remarked, walking up the ramp and taking a small communicator headset from the hand of the marine.

“Or sometimes rocks.” A marine said as the group turned away and back towards the destroyer. Two marines were waiting for the man, while the Major was speaking on the headset device.
“The sooner we get to the destroyer, the sooner we’ll find out why the Aschen are leasing out starships to the inner city schools.”

; Major Arwa nodded and waved a hand over in the direction of the Mako. The Heavy Destroyer would not be a particularly difficult vessel to locate, stretching several hundred meters on it’s horizontal axis meant it occupied one of the larger docks in the area.
“I’m sure the firepower won’t much matter with the Aschen we’ll be flying near ... but everyone wants their own coffin, right?”

As the Major turned away, he brought the communicator back to his ears while the marines around him engaged in several conversations. Meanwhile, the pilot-house onboard the Heavy Destroyer activated an optical beacon of it’s own, the small lighthouse structure atop of it sending a bright beam in parallel directions.

; Major Damon Oros and the seven other members of the marine fireteam rode atop the Leopard IFV as it smashed through a parked car blocking the avenue. The streets rolled beneath them as the Major adjusted the AR-29 across his lap. Next to him a marine squad-gunner let the LG-9 hang off the side of the Leopard’s armored covertops.
“5TG this is Callsign Rocket, you are driving me through a fucking den of shit today. No birds to take a dump on my windshield?”

As the Leopard peeled through the intersection leading to Gambit’s, the Major peered skyward at the lack of vehicles traversing the sky and the roar of engines deafening his passage. When the radio sounded again the Leopard was parked outside of Gambit’s and the marines were disembarking, their arrival sounded with the wail of a siren for a few moments.

“Not today, Rocket Actual. You’re flying low on this one, pick up your shell casings if you have to.”

; The Major hopped from the carapace of the vehicle, still feeling the heat from the engine as one last dull roar came from the violent machine. As the engine idled, the ground around it quaked from momentum before the electronic turret produced a fizzing sound as it traversed. The Marine Cavalry Chief piloting the Leopard was seated on the cupola outside of the tank.
“COLSOG intel’s tagging all the lose dogs, guys we might’ve left from the Terran Conflict, real animal control shit. Big-wigs are putting the Sixtieth into effect, so 5TG’s getting to scrap the drum.”

The Sixtieth Agreement of the Coalition was mandatory armed service, for the case of those Scatterrans left on Terra, immediate reintroduction into the Coalition Military Apparatus. As the marines walked up the steps to the bar, the Major carried with him a tablet device as he entered.

“Ethan Ramirez, are you in here right now?”