Memoirs of the Fallen

[Treize Khushrenada]

March 18th, AC 193

Duke Dermail,

Let me first thank you for your support in my ascension to the leadership of the OZ organization. Our familiar ties excluded, I’m greatly honored that you considered me out of all members to take on this position. I’m sure you received much opposition from the Romefeller Foundation at the merest suggestion and hint of my name. While the soldiers may see only promise in a leader from their creed, the self-titled gentlemen see turbulence ahead.

The gentleman’s place in war, as I’m sure you know, having served in the armed forces yourself for a number of years, is neither in policy nor combat. One needs to experience both to truly excel in either. As a result, the inexperienced aristocrats who populate the bureaucracy of your foundation do not look toward a peaceful tomorrow, like you and I, but only lust for power. Their decisions are based solely on this, and as such, foreign policy has become a mess of these irresponsible, hasty decisions. They do not trust the soldiers to make decisions, believing instead that orders should be acted on when received and nothing else.

To take steps toward our ideal future under my careful direction, I move that the OZ organization remain in secrecy beneath the fold of the Alliance cloth for a while longer. The Specials division, though having grasped a strong foothold within the Earth government, is in no shape to take it on at this time. What your politicians are calling for, an outright civil war, is foolish given our current condition.

My second request is to make a speech before the assembled delegates of the Romefeller Foundation sometime in the upcoming months. I would like to formally discuss my agenda for the organization and announce my acceptance of the position you are placing me in.

Let me close with a question. When man conquered the lands and seas of the Earth and saw all that could be seen, where did he then turn to quench his curiosity of the unknown? The answer, Duke Dermail, is outer space. Perhaps it’s time that OZ turned its head in that direction as well.

Sincerely,
Treize Khushrenada

[Treize Khushrenada]

April 29th, AC 193

Speech Given to the Assembled Houses of Romefeller

Members of the Romefeller Foundation, I stand before you today humbled by your immense support and trust in my abilities to lead Specials, and in effect, OZ, onto center stage. For too long have we watched from behind thick curtains as the Alliance trudged clumsily across a battlefield we knew to be ours.

It goes almost without saying that I accept the responsibility you have granted to me. I will serve the organization to my fullest potential and guide it toward a peaceful tomorrow, with Romefeller at its helm. It is a fact known to great rulers of the past that mankind is too fickle, too ever-changing to rule itself. As a result, a select few are chosen with the knowledge and ability to pull the masses in a positive direction. We, gentlemen, are that select few.

I would also personally like to thank Duke Dermail for his nomination, without which I would not be speaking to you today.

And now for the future. I have expressed my deep sentiments to Duke Dermail on the growing importance of outer space and the colonies. It is not enough for Romefeller to provide weaponry only to Earth’s warring factions anymore. More profit can be found in the stars, as I’m sure profit is what you are all after.

There is an inevitable battle brewing above us, as I’m sure you to have realized. A rivalry between those of the Earth and the colonies is growing in intensity, and I believe it is only a matter of time before fighting breaks out. Certain acts of this organization regarding the colonies will not be quickly forgotten, I assure you.

But these things will be dealt with in time, and planned for beforehand. As the leader of OZ, it is my responsibility to do so, and you can rest assured that I will. Thank you.

[Treize Khushrenada]

May 2nd, AC 193

My Dearest Lady,

Not even a week ago I made a speech before the Romefeller Foundation regarding my new appointment to Supreme Command of OZ. Perhaps I should call it a performance. Yes, that word seems to be much better suited for what it was. I began with thanks for my appointment and ended with a prophecy of a coming battle in outer space. The rest is unimportant, simply a few words to stroke the egos of those present. It was disappointingly easy to do so.

Would you like to hear of my prophecy? I’m sure you would, as it includes you, to some degree. To start, it’s based on no solid fact whatsoever. Without OZ’s intervention, in fact, it is quite possible for the colonies and the Earth to coexist peacefully, though separately. What I want, Lady, is one unified humanity, a bridge between colonists and residents of the Earth, and a solid one at that. But all the Foundation needed was the idea put into their heads that through any sort of conflict in space there would be great profit for themselves. Again, it proved to be too simple.

When you have finished your education, I would like to bring you here to Luxembourg, where I am, for a time, residing. It’s a beautiful place, this castle. It’s owned by the Romefeller Foundation, and yet still their destructive nature has not laid waste to the lands surrounding it. I’m sure you would enjoy it.

Since meeting you at the Academy I could not help but notice what promise you had. No, promise is not the correct word. It implies that you have not yet arrived at a decent level of training, and as we both know, you have far excelled that. You can be a bit too hasty and harsh in your decisions, but otherwise there is no one I would want by my side in a conflict other than yourself. Do try to correct those errors, Lady. You may find that doing so benefits you a great deal.

Sometimes I believe that you are the only one that comes close to understanding me. The Romefeller delegates can not see past their stained wine glasses and white gloves to the soldier in me, and likewise, the soldiers can not hope to grasp the nobility of what I wish to accomplish. Their intentions are correct, the soldiers, of course, but they simply can not comprehend. I suppose we have the Romefeller’s single-minded training methods to thank for that.

Please write to me when you receive this and find a break in your studies. I’m eager to hear of your advancement, and am awaiting your arrival here.

Sincerely,
Treize Khushrenada