Union of Independent Worlds Faction RP thread

[GraeGor]

Arluna
Union of Independent Worlds
Zenith Jump Point

Sensors around the world that is now in effect the Capital of a New Nation pick up the emergence waves of incoming JumpShips. That is no real surprise considering that Arluna has been the focus of considerably more traffic than it was used to, and it didn't come as a shock when the Ships were identified as belonging to Clan Star Adder, one of the few friends, or at least a non-enemy, that the fledgling IS State has.

No one is really sure as to why a Clan bent on the effective destruction of the Terran Hegemony, and in the minds of many despite all that the Adders have done for a number of worlds along what was once the Lyran Periphery Border, has accepted the formation and presence of a gaggle of backwater planets as an independent Nation. Few though are going to complain, at least not a great deal, and not in public about their good fortune. They are all to aware of how quickly and easily the massive military might of Clan Star Adder could be directed their way, so they plan accordingly and walk that all to narrow fence of trying to be non-threatening to anyone, buying as much time as they can...

Nope, the arrival of a small fleet of JumpShips and their attached DropShips wasn't anything that couldn't be handled by the experienced and efficient Coast Guard and Space Command, Control and Communications. However, what did cause a stir as the announcement that was broadcast from one of the Ships:

"Arluna SCC and C, I am Star Colonel Charlamagne Steiner of Clan Star Adder," said the voice through the Center's Communications Relay, "As I venture to the worlds that have chosen to intertwine my Fate with theirs, I have decided to make a brief stop here in order to answer any concerns and questions that the Union of Independent Worlds may have regarding my objectives and goals. Also, I may have a few of my own to ask of your Archduchess and the Ruling Council."

The voice of the Star Colonel is firm, confident and friendly, "I thus request approach vector and landing coordinates for one DropShip. Star Colonel Charlamagne Steiner, out."

------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at nearly the same moment of the Archon-Designate's arrival, another JumpShip at the planet's Nadir Point departs. It's destination the fellow UIW world of Kowloon, one passenger most uncomfortable, for the stress from an accelerated burn to the JumpShip has left him feeling quite ill and battered. His only consolation are the drugs taken to minimize the effects of severe Jump Shock he suffers, and the knowledge that he is on his way to help a fellow Adder Clansman.

Vincent Frehley making a mental list of what he is going to need in order to care for two small and young children, number one on his list is a Nanny or Caretaker, preferably one who is native to Kowloon and has extensive knowledge of the children's heritage.


Minutes later after the Star Colonel's appearance on the far side of Arluna, Vincent Frehely, Merchant Consulate and defacto Ambassador to the Union of Independent Worlds vanishes in a burst of invisible radiation. His personal mission perhaps not as important politically as Charlamagne's, but one of a much more intimate and emotional nature. What makes them equal is the human element involved, whether a pair or billions, every individual is important to Clan Star Adder.

[Cannonshop]

TO: Archduchess Debra MacAullife, Union of Independent Worlds
FROM: Khan Stanislav N'Buta, Clan Star Adder
ORIGIN: Addergrad, Clan Star Adder Environs

Archducess MacAullife,

I have good and bad news for you and your Realm. The Grand Council of all the Clans of Kerensky has seen fit to recognize the Union of Independent Worlds as its own Nation. The bad is that the UIW has been given no special protection from those Clans that may wish to test the mettle of your Warriors and Soldiers.

Clan Star Adder is still willing to place what limited forces we have in your territory at your disposal should their skills and experience be required, though I would advise to only do so in emergencies. Against another Clan it would be seen as my Clan shielding your Nation, which I can but suspect is something you would prefer not to be perceived. However, they are there just in case.

Furthermore, Charlamagne Steiner is planning on making a stop at Arluna to address the Ruling Body of the UIW, I have no insight as to what he will say, only that he requested it, and since this is his mission, for the lack of a better word, I saw no reason to deny him.

Through the unorthodox and often illegal channels available to any military, I have been made aware through the Watch of Clan Star Adder that a rather sizable combined force of former LCAF Units are already in, enroute to, or in place within the borders of this Adder Commonwealth. Some are prestigious and would have been a formidable opponent had they remained to face the Clans, and I can only offer conjectures as to what has gone over to the other claimants and sub-factions.

I hope that the UIW has gained the services of reputable and honorable forces.

Sincerely,

Stanislav N'buta
Khan, Clan Star Adder

To: Stanislav N'Buta, Khan Clan Star Adder
CC: Charlemagne Steiner, Archon-Claimant, Lyran Commonwealth.
From: Debra MacAulliffe, Archduchess, Union of Independent Worlds

RE: Forces, Recognition

We were actually surprised at some of the units that declared in favour of the Union, and a bit dismayed at some who departed us for...redder...pastures.
The Delight included one of the most storied and legendary units from Skye.
The Dismay being that Blackstone really didn't learn what kind of people he's claimed friendship to, the folk on Inarcs have lost one of their own to Daphne's hypnotic embrace, and that betrayal will be felt keenly as soon as word gets around the Union.

In a way, we got damn lucky with that, better to know an enemy is an enemy, than to think him a friend just because of blood ties.

Your news about Recognition, both votes, is good news-the vote TO recognize us is good news, and the vote NOT to suspend Trials is good news-I've read the copy of the Law of the Clans Vince loaned me thoroughly, and it strikes me that by voting NOT to suspend Trials, the Grand Council honours us with what amounts to a status of adulthood within their view of international community.  It is, of course, also an implied challenge that the UIW is going to have to work very hard to live up to.

I've kicked around the ball with some of the Defense Committee in Congress, and we've designated areas in each system for the conduct of Clan-Style trials, these areas are well away from populated zones, and are open to use for training and for Trials both between Clans (in the event two Clans are having a dispute that needs to be settled here or nearby), and to handle formal trials on behalf of the UIW in our interactions with member Clans of the Grand Council.

We do insist that Trials within our space be conducted under the most stringent of the Kerensky rules of engagement, and that they be over-seen when possible by a neutral third party, to prevent accusations of foul play.

I hope this is seen as a reasonable restraint.  

We do offer an alternative in situations where both parties are too angry, or their feuds too deep to be settled in the normal, prescribed fashion.  In cases where the dispute is too severe and is causing disruption beyond the immediate parties involved, personal duels may be held at 15:45 every thursday, under the prescribed rules for Honour duelling, on the lawn of the Congress building.  Combatants will be bound strong-hand to strong-hand and at the ankle, and provided with appropriate weapons, to fight until one or both are dead.

Naturally a final offer of mediation will be extended prior to the fight.  We've only had it get down to an actual fight a couple times-once with a pair of Congressmen whose personal feud was disrupting the Congress and impeding the people's business, and once in a water-rights dispute on Neerabup that had begun claiming the lives of bystanders.

Both disputes were effectively settled in the aftermath, the heirs on Neerabup are, I understand, getting along well, and both Neerabup and Inarcs have sent more reasonably inclined, cool-tempered replacements for their late congresspersons.

[Cannonshop]

Arluna Traffic Control...

"Message received, Star Adder dropship, Vector Two one Alpha, set ILS for channel 18 Delta on the Yankee pulse spectrum, Traffic inbounds are clear at this time, expect to see you on the ground in twelve, that's one-Two Star League Hours, time locally at Grantsberg's diplomatic terminal is zero-five-thirty hours, weather is clear with high temp of forty Celsius projected for noon, chance of precipitation is Six percent, humidity levels are at ten percent, and projected to remain low through friday.  The Archduchess is being informed of your pending arrival, schedule coordination is on Diplomatic Channel Whiskey-One-six-five-Bravo, pulse Baker One, do you copy, over?"

[ooc: to save time, the ATC directs Charlemagne's dropship to the spaceport-which looks considerably better than it did two years ago.  Fresh-cured Ferrocrete aprons with precise 'socket' landing docks for spherical dropships, and flat, long, clean and well-kept runways have replaced the cracked, crumbling, and cluttered mess that greeted Adder landing forces in 3067.  In spite of the fresh coat of paint, and the obvious signs of new construction, the site is very recognizable as the same one seen in holovid reports from the Plague era-it's just that the damage and neglect have been erased, revealing the architectural gem of a port built when the Star League was at its height, and could spend vast sums on even minor colonial worlds' infrastructure.]

Deb managed to not-fidget in the high-sun noontime of Late summer, the Marine Honor-Guards were managing somewhat better than that-of course they do, they're Marines. she thought.

"Company, Atten-Tion!"  Lt. Pol Nguyen found the job of doing 'parade ground' marine something of a letdown after returning from Kwangchowwang, but it had not taken much to understand why he had to be here today, in charge of a Company of light infantry Strike Marines instead of in field exercises or at another far-flung relief assignment.

The dropship ramp extended down.  "Parade, Rest!" He barked.  the men in each line slammed rifle butt to the ground, snapped feet exactly shoulder-width apart, and snapped their free hand behind their back in unison.

Drill and Ceremony have their place in the military-they reinforce discipline and attention to detail, and chickenshit details like greeting VIP's with a company of Strike Marines in full dress Blue-and-Khaki is a way to show the foreigners Why Yes, we're a Professional, Trained and Disciplined military!

Pol, of course, knew it was mainly for the benefit of the holovid people-the Adders had already acknowledged the skill, discipline, and potency of the UIW Marine Corps at Kwangchowwang, when they were forced to break a bid they were confident was enough, and then offered Hegira as an alternative.

It was tantamount to a homage to the honour and valour of the Corps... SHE thinks so, anyways... he slipped a glance at the Archduchess, standing to the right of the formation in her denim riding skirt and khaki blouse-not as sharp as a good marine uniform, but she's not a marine, she's a civilian.

Pol had to be here, then, because he was the man who drove the point home to the rest of the Universe.  "Company, Atten-Tion! Port Arms! Present Arms!!"

As first the bodyguards of the Star Colonel came down the ramp, then, Charlemagne himself.  Holovid and twodee cams zipped around the secure perimeter, imaging and recording the arrival of a head-of-state, the first such arrival to the UIW, for Posterity's sake.

I sure hope he understands that the dog-and-pony is as much for the civilians as it is for the visit... Pol mused, remembering the frank, friendly and direct manner of the Adder Star Colonel on Kwangchowwang.

The Entourage and Charlemagne trooped the line, and Pol was pleasantly surprised that none of these kids had managed to screw up or fall out as the Clanner went past.

"Welcome to the Union of Independent Worlds, Star Colonel."  Debra said, and extended her right hand in the familiar greeting, that was the cue, and so, Pol barked, "Order Arms, Gunny Chao, Take control of the Formation!"

[GraeGor]

Charlamagne extends his hand to the Archduchess, in his eyes she can catch a glimpse of discomfort, as if he isn't used to such displays, especially those that are directed at him. And that is precisely accurate, Charlamagne Steiner is not accustomed to being treated as the center of attention, despite the fact that he's just that for months amongst his own.

Taking the Archduchesses hand in his, he first shakes it, and at a low cough by one of his bodyguards, he turns it over, and somewhat clumsily, places his lips on the back, before releasing it...somewhat quickly in the eyes of those that are more experienced matters.

After straightening, Charlamagne resorts to form, and puts himself at attention, then salutes the Archduchess and the assembled  UIW Marines, holding it to the count of five before assuming parade rest and replying to the Archduchess, "Thank for the all honor you have shown me Archduchess," he says nervously, "this is far more than I expected." The look in his eyes adds to those paying attention, and really more than I feel I deserve.

The Star Colonel's uniform is crisp in its appearance, as if it was brand new, never before worn prior to this event, which it hasn't. It appears to be the standard uniform for Clan Star Adder Warriors, though the material is different. While it could still be used for regular, everyday duty, a special treatment and combination of fibers alters the light reflective properties, allowing multiple colors to be seen. Depending on the perspective, intensity of light and motion, for the uniform of Star Colonel Charlamagne Steiner two colors dominate; Star Adder Indigo and Lyran Blue. The effect is mildly mesmerizing as he and the Archduchess are led to her waiting car, alternating and blending together, he and the colors serve as a unique symbol for the idea of unifying such two different yet surprisingly similar cultures.


A short ride, devoid of traffic, and an uncomfortable, at least for Charlamagne, lunch follow before the two leaders and their respective entourages get to the heart and purpose of Charlamagne's visit...

[Cannonshop]

Back Yard, MacAulliffe Farm, High Sun (1530 Hours on a 24 Hour clock), 22 Miles outside Grantsberg...

"...looked as uncomfortable as I felt the first time someone showed up with the dog-and-pony." Debra was saying, "You are going to have to get used to that, an' more, Star Colonel.  The show isn't for the guest, and it is not for the guy running it-the show is for the civilians, it makes them feel..." She searched for the word, "It is for the civilians.  ah-I learned that one a short time after going to work for Peter.  Lyrans love their ceremonies, an' as much as we have left the Commonwealth, there is a certain amount of that out here, too-I expect you reach Coventry or Alarion, you will see a rank of 'mechs in about the same formation Lt. Nguyen's marine company was holding, doing roughly the same thing... and Alarion will probably do a flyby with fighters.  They'll do it because it reassures the citizens that all is well, that their leaders are up to the job, and that they know how to handle a State visit by dignitaries...but enough with the small-talk, right?"

There were Marines here too-Pol and his men had changed uniforms on the bus-ride up, while the road route was secured by "army" (militia) troops.  On one level, placing the lives of two heads-of-state in the hands of sunday-soldiers offended Pol Nguyen's professional dignity, but on the other, getting to wear civvies and short-sleeves at Debbie Mac's house was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"Pol, go inside and fetch the Blue file off'n my desk." Debra ordered, "an'  the map marked 'Saturday'."

"Aye Aye ma'am." Pol went inside, and retrieved the items, coming back out to the back-yard, while the Archduchess cleared the picnic table and set aside river-rocks to hold the map down.

"I've had people asking if we're going to be getting more neighbours." Debra said, "Especially from business and community leaders, questions about whether all trade with the Clan side are going to be fight-or-Barter situations, and what the exchange rate for Clan Work-Credits and Kerenskies to Kroner and C-Bill is going to be."

the young marine spread out the map while she talked, anchoring it with river-rock on the corners.

"Some of the questions period requests were really fascinating to me personally." Deb confided, "For instance, one of the Coast Guard instructors over at the Union's academy on Kowloon wants to know if we can get a Chatterweb node put in-apparently Leutenant Commander Giao Pham* was exposed to it after Addergrad, and thinks it would be a real asset."

[Cannonshop]

Spider Moon, 3rd body orbiting gas giant Boojum, Kowloon system, August 29, 3069...

In spite of good relations, No Star Adder had ever visited Spider Moon.  During their one try at conquering Kowloon, the Clan had bypassed the place, and the Rockjacks that lived there, and in the asteroid and moonlet systems in Kowloon's outer solar system.

Seemingly as if by some divine madness, the Clan had apparently finally seen fit to rectify that-for the saddest of reasons.

An Adder was coming here.

"What do you know about Vincent Frehley?" Commander Minh Thanh asked.  Giao shrugged, "He's been on Arluna the last two years as the Consul, he's a Star Adder officer, other than that? Not much, I suppose Denh Cham Moskovitz over in OCB might have a file on the man."  she said, "Most of my Adder Exposure was at somer-I mean, Addergrad."

"Well, he's coming here to take a hand in the Nghien case."  the Commander of all fifteen smallcraft, one jumpship, and twelve fighters-the total of the Coast Guard assigned to cover the outer system's rockjack colonies, said, "Apparently Lan Nghien's out of the Inner Sphere for a time."

"Figures." Giao said, "You want me to ride herd on him, instead of running my investigation?"  It was a mild accusation.

"Giao, you're a first rate spacer, a good instructor, and one of the best hands with subordinates I've ever seen-but yeah, I want to put it in OCB's hands now-specifically Moskowitz and his number-crunchers.  You've hit dry looking for motive combined with opportunity, and we need to narrow the suspect lists down-that means a trained investigator, someone who can go..." she stopped.

Giao finished her statement for her, "Go down to the Planet, and look for motive down there." she said.

"Yeah... find out who Lan's daddy  might've pissed off enough to hire a contract hit out here."  the Commander told her, "Besides, I need someone with experience dealing with Clanners, and you're it until next rotation."

[Cannonshop]

Kahanist Synagogue Seminary, Ia Drang...

"...incomplete."  Rab Kheffer said, "Shoddy work over all.  Admiral, I won't endorse OCB's conclusions on the Tharkad detonations.  The core samples are corrupted by the drilling techniques and the particulate air-sampling was less than one part per million-with samples that small, those weapons could have come from anywhere."

Alicia Li sighed, "It isn't like I can send a full team back there, Rabbi...you're certain your organization won't endorse this?"

"In addition to my spiritual duties and teaching duty, I run the UIW national Labs now, and I will NOT have shoddy, half-assed workmanship coming out of our analysis group, now, or in the future." he scolded, "You may inform the Congress that we do not support OCB's findings in this matter."

"Thank you for your time." Li said, and showed herself out.

[Cannonshop]

MacAulliffe Farm, Arluna...

Evening descended, and it was time to go inside.  The oddly informal formality of the meeting thus far-mixing blunt business with what could only be termed a 'casual' environment, shifted to a much more formal air when the door closed and the two heads of state were in the sitting room.

Map displays, data streams, and the signs of a working office clashed somewhat with the wood-burning fireplace and worn-but-comfortable furniture-the furnishings of what had been a prosperous, but essentially common, farm house.  The other things, the displays, imagers, data stream managers and high-tech props of governance were out of place here-yet they WERE here.

"...Thing is, you're coming in as Archon, you will need to know what obligations your predecessor burdened the office with.  Namely, the treaty that ceded worlds to the Terran Hegemony."  Debra pushed a PADD across the low table, to Charlemagne.  "There was an obligation for mutual defense in that treaty.  One that had the Lyrans working support for the Terrans when they hammered the Free Worlds league in 3063... Dad was part of that mission."  she nodded to a framed twodee picture of a large, scarred man in 'working clothes' standing in front of the house.  "Notable in recent years, you might consider the essential absence of the Terrans from the front lines." she added.  "They didn't keep up their part of the bargain.  You might point that out to Robert Kelswa Steiner if you get the chance to meet with him-Lyrans are dying on the front-lines, and half the realm's been conquered, and where are the Terries? it's their war, isn't it? they're the ones who sheltered the...um...'not named', right?"

[Cannonshop]

Midnight, Calsom corporate Farms, Australia, Grid 182631 Northwest...

Jesse heard the barking outside.  "Emily wake up." he said, "I think the dogs are back again."

Jesse and Emily Williams wouldn't have been adults before the Plague changed things, they sure as hell wouldn't be running a thousand acres of ranch-land, and there's nowhere in the Commonwealth that would have let them be married-at fourteen and thirteen, legally they would be children anywhere but here...

Barking echoed across the hills, and they were trapped up here.  Feral Dogs are a problem.  The pack was led by a big Rottweiler, and it was hundereds strong.

"They're going to get the cattle." Emily said.

"Maybe.  Stay up here, I don't think they can climb, an' if they can..." he handed her the 10mm pistol.

"What, are you crazy?"  Em said.

"That Cattle's all we have to sell, Em." Jesse said, "Those ferals will kill more than they'll eat."  He counted cartridges, "But if I pop the Rottie, they'll probably fall in on each other."

The rifle was left at the old farmhouse when the original owners had succumbed to the plague.  Hope this works... Jesse laid himself across the branches of the tree, and looked through the weapon's night-vision scope.

In the illumation, the ferals looked like colour-image reverses, photographic negatives of dogs, with glowing white eyes and lolling tongues over fangs.

The big rottweiler was the brains-it hung back, sending golden retrievers, german shepherds and irish wolfhounds ahead, the barkier little dogs running along hte flanks-terriers, blue-heelers, and general category mutts moving to 'cut' cattle out and break up the herd.

where are you, son of a bitch?

There he was, watching, on top of a rock, like some character from a childrens' show.

BLAM  the shot drove the hunting-rifle into Jesse's shoulder, flipping the dog backward with an agonized yelping.

The army of ferals kept coming.

Jesse shifted to the next largest-what looked like a shepherd/wolfhound mixed with something else.

BLAM!!!  it echoed across the canyons.

The barking changed from baying, to something else...something angrier.

The wild dogs weren't interested in the cattle anymore-they sensed an enemy and they were going to kill it.

They were coming...

[Cannonshop]

CGNAS Spider Moon, 1600 Local time, August 28, 3069...

If "low Tech" described most of the UIW, and one believed in zero-sum games with Karma, then the Boojum gas giant's communities were the opposite end of that equation...then again, they had to be.  Like Ender's Cluster or the Sol Belt, technology did not merely rule here, it was ubiquitous-and it had to be.

It's a matter of survival in the belts, and rockpiles surrounding Boojum, a gas giant one third again the size of Jupiter with as many moons, moonlets, and a ring system that could rival Saturn's for spectacular colors.

Nowhere in the outer system is a place where man could walk unprotected, from the hard vacuum of space to the corrosive atmospheres of near-planet-sized moons, to the icy, vacuum-exposed wastes of Spider moon itself, the nature of the place was extermination to earthlife.

And people lived out here regardless, for it is man's way, to defy nature and cosmology in the pursuit of wealth, or privacy, or adventure.

Within the Coast Guard Naval Air Station (so named because 'space station' on a moon, even one as airless and cold as Spider Moon, just sounded silly...), tense traffic-controllers watched the jump points. The scheduled flight from Arluna was coming soon, bearing a foreign ambassador whose mission was mercy, but whose nation was militant.

Outside the station, life continued as it always does.  The McKinnon cooperative and the Phaley Conglomerate were disputing a claim on a colloidal lump of carbon compounds-the price for it on the local market being higher than an equal volume of raw Germanium ore-because you don't need Germanium to live, while the Fulston family and the Pham Partnership were settling on a contract to share a claim on a chunk of rare earths barely sixty meters on a side, worth millions of C-bills or Kroner on the open market.

Out here, the Coast Guard is the postal service, civil service, police department and fire/rescue agency for over fifty thousand people spread across an area several thousand times the size of old earth's surface.

Radio calls from the furthest points suffer time delay-light moves at a specific velocity, but man travels by Jump Ship from here, to the limits of the Kowloonese Coast Guard's range-out in the shell of the local Oort Cloud.

The Law here, is the Commodore assigned to Boojum.  Her spacers range everywhere, no claim is closed to their scrutiny, no dispute beyond their reach, and until just recently, no criminal beyond her grasp.

and it is a crime that brings the Star Adder's Consul to the Boojum Belts.

[Cannonshop]

Calsom corporate Farms, Australia, Grid 182631 Northwest...

Emma looked up at the sky, they were out of bullets, and the outcrop they were cold-camped on was surrounded by dogs.  Emma looked to the sky.  "When you wish upon a star..."

The falling star turned to a wave of white-hot light and thundercracked across the badlands.

The cattle fled as the thunder and light made day of night, and half a kilometer away, the valley was lit by the light of fusing Hydrogen as the first of the dropships landed.

The dog-pack fled into the night.

"what...was that?" Jesse asked, trying to blink the brightness out of his eyes.

"I saw a falling star." Emma told him.

His eyes began adapting as the dropships passed nearby, coming to rest in the empty, old militia landing field across the river.

The Airfield that belonged to wild pigs, which were now fleeing in a noisy rout, knowing, like the dogs, that the pillars of fire brought men with guns-guns to kill feral animals and armour too hard to bite through or trample.

"Emma, give me the glasses." Jesse said.

She handed him the binoculars.

He peered through and searched memories more than two years old-back when he'd been a child, obsessed with heroes...

"Markings are Fourth Skye Rangers." he said, "Either it really is the Pride of Albion, or it's bandits pretending to be."

"you sure?" she asked.

"Dad and me spent a whole summer painting a model of Harrison Frisch's Zeus.  It's either them, or someone who's pretending to be them."  Jesse said, "You wouldn't remember, it was in the time before."

[Cannonshop]

4th Skye Rangers Cantonment, "Camp Grizwald" Australia...

"That, is a big F'ing boar."  Harrison Frisch said, looking at the 800 kilo razorback hog 'mechwarrior Lincoln shot in what was supposed to be the Operations shed.

"aye it is.  Some of the Lads are out collectin' more.  Th's cities are back up, but out here in th' backcountry, the feral animals are pretty rampant-you saw that massive pack o' dogs, din' ye?" Lincoln noted.

"Yeah, I saw 'em, what about the civilians they had cornered on the rocks?" Frisch asked.

"Still in th' area, figger they're the herders for that load o' beef what went runnin' when we did the low-pass."

[GraeGor]

Back Yard, MacAulliffe Farm, High Sun (1530 Hours on a 24 Hour clock), 22 Miles outside Grantsberg...

"...looked as uncomfortable as I felt the first time someone showed up with the dog-and-pony." Debra was saying, "You are going to have to get used to that, an' more, Star Colonel.  The show isn't for the guest, and it is not for the guy running it-the show is for the civilians, it makes them feel..." She searched for the word, "It is for the civilians.  ah-I learned that one a short time after going to work for Peter.  Lyrans love their ceremonies, an' as much as we have left the Commonwealth, there is a certain amount of that out here, too-I expect you reach Coventry or Alarion, you will see a rank of 'mechs in about the same formation Lt. Nguyen's marine company was holding, doing roughly the same thing... and Alarion will probably do a flyby with fighters.  They'll do it because it reassures the citizens that all is well, that their leaders are up to the job, and that they know how to handle a State visit by dignitaries...but enough with the small-talk, right?"

Charlamagne, still with that "deer caught in headlights look", answered rather quietly, almost as if he were trying not to be noticed and heard, "Military style ceremonies I can deal with, the Clans have a number of them. However the crowds are considerably smaller and composed of ones peers and comrades."

He takes a sip from the water glass before adding, "In time I may get more used to such spectacles, but that does not mean I have to enjoy them,quiaff."

There were Marines here too-Pol and his men had changed uniforms on the bus-ride up, while the road route was secured by "army" (militia) troops.  On one level, placing the lives of two heads-of-state in the hands of sunday-soldiers offended Pol Nguyen's professional dignity, but on the other, getting to wear civvies and short-sleeves at Debbie Mac's house was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"Pol, go inside and fetch the Blue file off'n my desk." Debra ordered, "an'  the map marked 'Saturday'."

"Aye Aye ma'am." Pol went inside, and retrieved the items, coming back out to the back-yard, while the Archduchess cleared the picnic table and set aside river-rocks to hold the map down.

"I've had people asking if we're going to be getting more neighbours." Debra said, "Especially from business and community leaders, questions about whether all trade with the Clan side are going to be fight-or-Barter situations, and what the exchange rate for Clan Work-Credits and Kerenskies to Kroner and C-Bill is going to be."

"To be quite honest, I do not know if you will be getting more neighbors, though I suspect it likely. There is talk about the fates and Fates of several other Clans, most notably the Wolves and Scorpions," he says, "as far as business and trade, it would be best to prepare for all, Barter, Trial or Purchase."

"Monetary exchange rates will likely vary from Clan to Clan. Clan Star Adder uses kerenskies for all Inner and Inter-Clan merchant dealings, and offers a one-to-one rate of exchange to all allied and friendly non-Clan Powers. While not accepting the monetary units from those dubbed as enemy. Neutrals are given a two-to-one rate, that is two of theirs for one kerensky."

"Needless to say, amongst those worlds that were Lyran prior to the Sundering, most were pleased at not losing any of their earning and savings. Of course, those who owned large military holdings were not so when they learned that those were Nationalized and placed under the direct control of the Clan Council," he added with an amused smile.

the young marine spread out the map while she talked, anchoring it with river-rock on the corners.

"Some of the questions period requests were really fascinating to me personally." Deb confided, "For instance, one of the Coast Guard instructors over at the Union's academy on Kowloon wants to know if we can get a Chatterweb node put in-apparently Leutenant Commander Giao Pham* was exposed to it after Addergrad, and thinks it would be a real asset."

His expression changed somewhat, still amused, but in a more thoughtful way, "I can send a missive to the Watch, and if Director approves, and is not overruled by the Khan and Council, then a Chatterweb Node would be placed within your borders."

"And on the topic of communications," he injects, "Clan Star Adder is willing to provide HPG service to the Union of Independent Worlds, even training some of your own in the maintenance and operations of such devices. Several dozen Techs are amongst my companions just for that purpose should you wish to begin here on Arluna. The exact details of a more long term HPG service would have to be worked out with the Watch or a proxy, but
I am sure that something can be arranged to the benefits of all parties."

MacAulliffe Farm, Arluna...

Evening descended, and it was time to go inside.  The oddly informal formality of the meeting thus far-mixing blunt business with what could only be termed a 'casual' environment, shifted to a much more formal air when the door closed and the two heads of state were in the sitting room.

Map displays, data streams, and the signs of a working office clashed somewhat with the wood-burning fireplace and worn-but-comfortable furniture-the furnishings of what had been a prosperous, but essentially common, farm house.  The other things, the displays, imagers, data stream managers and high-tech props of governance were out of place here-yet they WERE here.

"...Thing is, you're coming in as Archon, you will need to know what obligations your predecessor burdened the office with.  Namely, the treaty that ceded worlds to the Terran Hegemony."  Debra pushed a PADD across the low table, to Charlemagne.  "There was an obligation for mutual defense in that treaty.  One that had the Lyrans working support for the Terrans when they hammered the Free Worlds league in 3063... Dad was part of that mission."  she nodded to a framed twodee picture of a large, scarred man in 'working clothes' standing in front of the house.  "Notable in recent years, you might consider the essential absence of the Terrans from the front lines." she added.  "They didn't keep up their part of the bargain.  You might point that out to Robert Kelswa Steiner if you get the chance to meet with him-Lyrans are dying on the front-lines, and half the realm's been conquered, and where are the Terries? it's their war, isn't it? they're the ones who sheltered the...um...'not named', right?"

"I was not aware of such a Treaty, and further points out that the Not-Named and Terrans are not to be trusted. First things first though, I must get the worlds that have chosen to follow me stable and secure," his eyes seem to blank slightly, and his tone alters so slightly, "I foresee a time when Robert and I will have more than words...," the look on his face after that brief sentence is a mix of embarrassment and relvelation, though if pressed as to what he meant, he simply replies, "The Universe is vague."

[GraeGor]

CGNAS Spider Moon, 1600 Local time, August 28, 3069...

If "low Tech" described most of the UIW, and one believed in zero-sum games with Karma, then the Boojum gas giant's communities were the opposite end of that equation...then again, they had to be.  Like Ender's Cluster or the Sol Belt, technology did not merely rule here, it was ubiquitous-and it had to be.

It's a matter of survival in the belts, and rockpiles surrounding Boojum, a gas giant one third again the size of Jupiter with as many moons, moonlets, and a ring system that could rival Saturn's for spectacular colors.

Nowhere in the outer system is a place where man could walk unprotected, from the hard vacuum of space to the corrosive atmospheres of near-planet-sized moons, to the icy, vacuum-exposed wastes of Spider moon itself, the nature of the place was extermination to earthlife.

And people lived out here regardless, for it is man's way, to defy nature and cosmology in the pursuit of wealth, or privacy, or adventure.

Within the Coast Guard Naval Air Station (so named because 'space station' on a moon, even one as airless and cold as Spider Moon, just sounded silly...), tense traffic-controllers watched the jump points. The scheduled flight from Arluna was coming soon, bearing a foreign ambassador whose mission was mercy, but whose nation was militant.

Outside the station, life continued as it always does.  The McKinnon cooperative and the Phaley Conglomerate were disputing a claim on a colloidal lump of carbon compounds-the price for it on the local market being higher than an equal volume of raw Germanium ore-because you don't need Germanium to live, while the Fulston family and the Pham Partnership were settling on a contract to share a claim on a chunk of rare earths barely sixty meters on a side, worth millions of C-bills or Kroner on the open market.

Out here, the Coast Guard is the postal service, civil service, police department and fire/rescue agency for over fifty thousand people spread across an area several thousand times the size of old earth's surface.

Radio calls from the furthest points suffer time delay-light moves at a specific velocity, but man travels by Jump Ship from here, to the limits of the Kowloonese Coast Guard's range-out in the shell of the local Oort Cloud.

The Law here, is the Commodore assigned to Boojum.  Her spacers range everywhere, no claim is closed to their scrutiny, no dispute beyond their reach, and until just recently, no criminal beyond her grasp.

and it is a crime that brings the Star Adder's Consul to the Boojum Belts.

Vincent Frehley, steps out into the "night" sky, a full e-suit covering every square centimeter of his form. The view is spectacular, and were he not here on more pressing matters, he'd be tempted to spend an hour or three just gazing at the "sky".

It isn't long before his attention is grabbed by a trio of figures approaching him, not so much the fact that they're heading in his direction, but more the differences in their suits and the intensity of their walk, and the fact that they don't change course to avoid people, the people move, often hastily, out of their path.

Consul Vincent Frehley, Clan Star Adder Merchant Representative to the world of Arluna, now Capital of the Union of Independent Worlds, is here to take the responsibility as guardian to a pair of young children, the niece and nephew of a fellow Clansman who is even now on his way to the Clan Homeworlds to take his position as Deputy Director of the Inter-Clan Watch.

Vincent has already made arrangements, not that he'd have bothered due to Lan's new Rank, but still setting the wheels in motion to ensure a solid relay of HPG CommSats would be in place by the time he arrived so that he would be able to check up on and talk to his family would be worth the effort.

The three have closed the distance to just a few meters, and just before they stop before him, he introduces himself, "Vincent Frehley, Merchant Consul to Arluna, Clan Star Adder. I'm here to meet and serve as advocate and guardian to Vinh and Lan Nghien."

[Cannonshop]

Spider Moon CGNAS...

"Welcome to the Belt, Consul Frehley.  I'm Leutenant Commander Giao Pham," she gestured to her left, "This is Warrant Souhon, and this is Petty Officer Cham, Suohon is the State Advocate for child services, and Cham's assigned to help you out with day-to-days while you're a guest here."

They walked to a rover and Vincent could see it was an old one-such rovers were fairly common in the Kerensky Cluster, usually for use by exploration teams.  This one wasn't a leftover or relic, though.  The dull foamed metal frame was not pocked with micrometeroid impacts, and the spun-wire wheels were still polished with sharp traction pads.

The ride to the actual pressurized area of the base took only a few minutes at speeds that showed the driver was long used to operating a motor vehicle in one tenth gravity.

As they drove, Vince could see work going on-crews were excavating machinery.

"What's that?" he asked.

"The Spider Moon site used to be an SLDF missile base, we are not sure what they needed a missile base here for exactly, but they left the launch gear when they un-loaded the missiles themselves.  The gear is useful for some of the mining co-ops, so periodically the Coast Guard auctions a piece off to make budget-especially when tax revenue's down.  Started with over a hundered tubes, that would be the last twenty or so over there-they auctioned it last July to a couple co-ops working the Oort Cloud.  The silo structures work pretty well as base-structures for linear processing, and the lift equipment, blast doors and wiring are pretty commonly used for expansion of living spaces in floating burrows."  she explained, "One of the few cases where it is cheaper to buy, than to make on-site, you do not always find good sources of copper, and copper is less bulky than aluminum."

"Superconductors-" he said.

"We can spin that too-but that is too valuable for industrial applications.  Copper's better for domestic tasks-you don't have to sink it like you do supercon."  she expanded, "Temp's a big issue in a burrow."

The rover rolled up to a pair of large blast doors, that opened, they drove in, the doors closed, and the floor descended.

It looked like a Brian Cache's entrance-but cared for, kept clean and maintained, even with a fresh coat of cerampaint.

As the elevator descended, pressure increased until they were at planetary sea-level ranges.

Giao took off her helmet, and breathed in deep.  "Mix is good." she said, and only then, did the others doff their helmets.

She was young, and pretty, and did not fit the stereotype of someone whose responsibilities and authority stretched across the back end of a Solar System...she looked, in other terms, like her file holo in the Watch reports.  They got off the Rover and Cham drove it into a parking stall, before joining the three.

"Let us get to the office, I am sure you want to meet the kids." Giao said.