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Red Skies: A Savage Worlds RP
The waiting room was quiet, almost awkwardly so. The three soldiers sitting in the room were avoiding looking at each other.
The three soldiers- Tristan, Vayu, and Rebecca- had been summoned to the Federation's Army Headquarters by General Teyin, the leader of the United Planet's Federation's headquarters. None of them knew what their task was to be yet.
A soft breeze was blowing in through the window behind them, and through the door, if they listened hard enough, they could hear a soft murmur as General Teyin talked to someone behind her thick wooden door. The door was too solid to allow them to hear what she was saying without pressing their ear against it.
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Vayu did not like the Federation.
There was a time when she did, lifetimes ago.
When taming galaxy seemed task fit only for strong, swift, bold and brave. But silly for believing in the Rapiers, the Knights of the Stars?
No. Best people ever known, heroes in thought and deed.
But all dead.
How did one arrive here, one wonders. Oh, yes. Walked. Received summons to high command. Pulled head out of puddle of beer. Cleansed self, put on pressed dress uniform and everything. Vaguely surprised can actually remember how to do all that.
But; what is the point? Never going to fly again. Not in this life.
But then why called here?
Clasped shaking hands together (damned drink!). Chattered into silence: "What brings you two here? Court-martial? Unlikely. Would have sent guards to our locations, not given summons. Promotions? Ridiculous prospect, considering personal accomplishments, or lack thereof. Perhaps..."
Rebecca shuffled awkwardly in her seat. She hadn't felt this uncomfortable in a very long time. It was almost as if she were back in Mrs. Van der Weel's fifth grade classroom and she'd been caught being 'naughty'. The memory made her smile, the soldier hadn't had much time to mull over the past since she'd joined the army.
In her squadron it was impossible to feel uncomfortable or awkward, even in the most dangerous situations. It was as if all her feelings and thoughts were visible to her teammates on the battlefield and after a while, they became obvious off the battlefield as well.
This was the first time she'd been called for by a senior officer in a long time, and she hardly knew the other soldiers. After all the questions had popped into her mind, all the scenarios played out and her mind settled on fear she finally noticed the other two soldiers. She couldn't hold the silence much longer, so she decided to break the ice.
"So, any idea what we're in trouble for?" she asked.
"All I know is that this is the Federation Army, luv. The gods won't save us", Tristan replied in a surely fashion. He was nervous as all hell, but bragging and acting as cocky as possible helped him get through as time went.
He hated this. Hated waiting for a punishment or an order he wasn't aware about. This is exactly the sort of thing that made retiring such a no-brainer for him. But here he was, he thought. Might as well enjoy whatever last few moments he got of calmness.
"Individual personality or animistic cult?"
"It's more of an old world-expression. It sounds much more...cataclismic than 'Fucked up beyond belief'". Tristan explained. He shifted on his seat, uncomfortable by the fact that he accidentally brought up religion.
"You seem to know a lot about Religion, ma'am." Rebecca intervened, noticing how uncomfortable the older man seemed to have become.
"Oh, nothing special. Mass every Tuesday as a hatchling, study groups twice a month, ecstatic rituals and initiation into mystery sect. Accepted Kalahira, Lady of Skies as guide, took cultural anthropology in university as minor. Just like everyone else." Casual dismissal signaled by waving of hand.
Rebecca felt her cheeks grow hot, but she wouldn't wouldn't let herself back down from the conversation. It was either awkward silence combined with fear of the unknown or awkward conversation from which she could gain more information about why they were here based on their similarities.
"Back on my planet, where I lived at least, we didn't have much in the ways of organized religion." she brushed back her short curly hair, a nervous habit "So it's always interesting to hear about other places where it's more prominent and plays an important role in everyday life."
"Is that a fact? Fascinating. Who do you pray to for rain and wind, then? Whose lives do you walk to become more? Whose voices do you speak to make a mark against the day? How do you stand being so...empty?"
"I wouldn't say were were empty." Rebecca said after a moment "In fact, it makes most of us really self-reliant, which is basically the opposite of empty. It also gives us a great sense of introspection, and that in turn, let's us truly value our relationships with others. Playing off each-others strength and weaknesses."
"A fallacy; such is the same of my people as well. But where is the song in your heart? What rhythm drums in your blood, keeping time? How do you grow, dance, live, and walk without channeling a god who has already walked those paths?"
"We're okay with making our own mistakes." Rebecca answered after a moment, she didn't want to pursue this conversation any longer. One of them was bound to get offended "So, what planet did you grow up on? What brought you to the army?"
"I'll answer that quickly for ya and say 'Lotsa mistakes and badly dealt hands'". Tristan was uneasy. Religion had always been a touchy subject for him and being about to be court-martialed for all he knew was working quite a number on his nerves.
Rebecca let out a chuckle "So I'm the only one in the army because I wanted to do my part for the UPF?"
"Enlisted quite a while ago. Joined the Crimson Rapiers; certain you remember them. First unit to enlist alien pilots. Still can find old Crimson Rapier adventure magazines in used bookstores."
"The Crimson Rapiers, eh?" Rebecca was surprised, she'd heard rumors that the unit had been disbanded and the name had adopted by another group, one of the more unhinged units "Interesting. What was it like?"
"Best years of my life! Wake up at the crack of dawn, up in the aether for breakfast, flying all morning. Enemy aerial engagements in the afternoon, get shot down at dinnertime, daring escape and home by midnight. Laughter, ego, danger, passion! The grand adventure! Massive resources, got any part we wanted!"
"Good days. Good days...over now..."
"Sounds like it was a lot of fun. Too bad it's over now." Rebecca paused, her mind turned to her own unit. While they were nowhere near the most prominent or successful, she had built a life with them. It would be heartbreaking to lose even a teammate "Sorry."
There was a quiet cough from the General's doorway, beside them. A young girl, perhaps twenty, stood there.
"The General would like to see you now," she said. "She apologizes for the delay."
"About time, must be said." Stands up (little too quickly), straightens frockcoat, walks into office.
Rebecca followed the saurian into the office.
Tristan cracked his neck and grunted in concurment with the saurian. "This better be damn worth the fact that I'm missing my soap operas."
General Teyin was sitting behind her desk, hands clasped in front of her.
She waited for the three soldiers to sit down in the chairs in front of the desk before she spoke.
"You all came," she said neutrally. "That's good. This job will probably require all three of you."
The General leaned forwards, staring at each of them in turn, before she spoke again.
"I would like to offer you three a job," she said at length. The emphasis on the word 'offer' made it clear that she was not 'offering' the job by any stretch of the imagination; she expected them to take it. "Will you accept?"
"Of course." Rebecca said a little too loudly, relieved that she hadn't gotten into any trouble. She took a moment to compose herself and continued "Any job that gives back to the UPF I'd be willing to undertake."
"Well, seeing as my evening of watching Nick marry Lorraine has been ruined, I don't see why not", Tristan said. "And it's the Feds. Can't not love the feds, huh?"
"Too vague. Need specifics." Inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. No decommissioning. Good.
"Not picky, mind you. Merely need to know beforehand before committing."
"Specifics. Okay."
She shuffled through the papers on her desk, then put them down and opened a drawer, withdrawing a black folder. Opening it, she scanned through the pages.
"You know the planet Traibunza, I assume? One of the oldest Rim worlds. We were close to officially sending in troops and supplies to colonize the world before the whole mess."
She paused for a moment, considering something, then shook her head and continued. "Traibunza, like all the other Rim planets, seceeded from the Federation when Fer'au did. Bad timing- if they had waited just a year, their problems would have been solved."
Her hands tightened on the folder.
"What I am about to tell you is in the strictest confidence," she told them. "If I hear a word of this outside of this office, you three will find yourselves court-martialed faster than you can say one ticket to Daiten please." She glared at each of them in turn before continuing. "What the general public doesn't know is that the military had installed a GenEn facility on Traibunza. The people manning the station are nominally members of the UPF, but many people in the military feel that if the workers there were offered enough, they would agree to work with Fer'au."
Her lips curled in disgust.
"Your mission will be to go to Traibunza and ensure the worker's loyalty. If you fail, then I will have to ask you to kill them and destroy the facility."
"And, soldiers? The peace is fragile. Try not to do anything that will upset the locals too much. We wouldn't want you three to be responsible for igniting this war, would we?"
"What measures are acceptable? Murder? Blackmail? Sabotage? Perhaps even some stealing?"
"Additionally, what protocol is this operation? Gold? Blue? Green? Grey? Black? Clear?"
Teyin gritted her teeth.
"No murder. Nobody will die if there is any other option."
She sighed, and her face fell.
"This situation is classified. It's on a strictly need-to-know basis- and no non-military people need to know. Do you understand?"
There was a momentary pause.
"Look, this whole situation is a clusterfuck. You know that. I know that. Just... keep in mind your objectives here. You are to ensure the scientist's loyalty. You are not to make any obvious moves that could give the Rim Planets justification for outright warfare. We are sending you in as a peacekeeping force, not as a covert operative force. If you have to bribe, blackmail, or steal, then you have to, but you will be accountable to me for every immoral action you take. No murder, no threatening innocents."
"Yes ma'am." Rebecca felt a heavy burden on her chest, deep down she'd always known that she'd grown soft in her unit. It had become a comfort zone and that was nowhere near acceptable for a soldier. It was time to move on "Will the three of us be going in as a team or..."