Upper decks of the Coronado, may 1st, 2142 (Semetary, JaceHahn)You are stuck outside, in a near-morose party that rapidly depopulates as the night wears on. What, if anything, do you do to while away the hours until Dr. French comes back?Forequarter of the Coronado, may 1st, 2142 (Jameskiller, 3_14, Malikane, Zebulon)past the bulkhead, the mood is quite jovial. Every mid-level officer aboard the Coronado seems to have found their way here. There’s a reason for the levity: good news from the front. Somewhere out past Kuiper 75, young Admiral Taylor Storey has just triumphed over a vastly superior alien spaceforce. Something like 150,000 tons of Ophiuchian technology has just been atomized with minimal human casualties. A moment’s inspection reveals subtle details that do not fit the mood of the room: there are entirely too many armed guards, at least 4. They look like standard crew members, outfitted for some special assignment. There is entirely too little alcohol.
Once it’s become apparent that all those invited are here, Lieutenant Commander Mark Hutchinson, right hand of the admiral, offers a hearty toast to the newcomers. He reaches below the table, ostensibly to procure some more booze. No booze is brought forward. Instead the table glows and the staff officer produces a sheaf of black paper. Visible diagrams appear as they are placed upon the table.
one diagram shows staff officer lists aboard the Raphael and the Coronado
one diagram shows fleet positions for the command fleet and the second fleet on may 12th
one diagram shows a minutely detailed map of the political section on board the Raphael, the beating heart of the concordance itself.
Everyone is silent until Hutchinson speaks. When he does, it is with the sombre and serious tones of a general marshalling troops for a hopeless battle.
“Honored guests,” he says. “If you’ve come this far, it means that we recognize you as one with the talent, and the will, to do what is necessary in the coming days. I state not as a matter of hope but as a matter of fact that I am among friends here. What is discussed here will not leave this room. I know that I am among friends. If I were mistaken, things could be very bad for everyone.”
He turns almost imperceptibly to the guards and continues.
“The news from the Ophiuchian front is pleasant but I would hardly consider it good. Storey’s victory is nothing short of a miracle, but I can say with certainty that the Fourth Fleet has no more miracles left in it. Intelligence teams working on behalf of our admiral have reported that the Augustus, command ship of the fourth fleet, must be heavily damaged. Her scanner and engines have been dead since the battle first began. Judging by gamma flash counts and particle traces, the Fourth fleet has no more cobalt torpedos or antimissile charges left, and we have good reason to believe that its battlecruiser line is heavily damaged as well. They will not survive another counterattack from the Enlightened Lords of Ophiuchi...but our Concordant does not withdraw them. As a result, more than 2,000 enlisted men may soon die, in a war of choice long planned to secure political power for a few old men who know their time is running out. My friends, change is inevitable, regardless of what we do here. The burden simply falls to us to expedite the process and prevent a few thousand needless deaths.”
Most of the assembled seem to know what Hutchinson means. You’re not entirely sure if you do...but the look on his face says that whatever course of action he has in mind will be difficult and extraordinarily dangerous.
“In the coming days, many in this room will be coming face to face with the Concordant himself. Franca is a powerful man, but he is quite mortal. He knows this, and has taken great pains to shield his humanity from the 12 worlds. We will soon make it abundantly clear how human he is...because, honored guests, we mean to kill the concordant.”
It looks to be the first time many have heard the intention laid bare like that. At least one officer shuffles awkwardly.
“Franca has already lost his mandate to rule” Hutchinson explains, “It is simply the case that he is unwilling to surrender power. Our admiral knows this, and ever since Franca activated attack plan Barsoom, beginning a needless war with the Ophiuchi, he has aimed to depose the tyrant. For obvious reasons, Admiral Griffiths cannot be here this evening, but I assure you we have his blessing...no...his order, to proceed with the plan below: to disable the political and military arms of the concordance and establish, in its place, an interim government which will make peace with the Ophiuchians and recall the fourth fleet. We have significant resources at our disposal: Men close to the Concordant himself, as well as men active on the bridge crews of the Raphael and the Coronado. We have the means to cripple the Colonial Guard and rally the remaining fleets in terran space to our cause. Everything is in place...but one critical piece. We need a volunteer.”
He looks out at the newcomers gathered here for the first time: “An outsider. Someone new to the complex power play between the Concordant and the Second fleet, someone with a reason to get close to both our admiral and our concordant at the right time.”
He holds up another sheet of black paper.
“Admiral Griffiths has prepared an operation to remove the concordant from power, Code Named Lantern Ash. I can’t tell you what you’re signing up for...yet. It’s a simple task, straightforward. But I will do you the courtesy of a friend: this will put you under direct suspicion of the highest kind if this operation is discovered, even in its infancy. You will be agreeing to something which is patently treasonous, however necessary the treason may be. I cannot promise a reward of any kind...I cannot even promise that you will survive. But we need someone, one of you, willing to do anything to see Admiral Griffith’s cause carried out…”
(Jameskiller, 3_14, Malikane, Zebulon) Lt. Co. hutchinson must be desperate or crazy or both, to entrust such sensitive information to new recruits to his "cause"...do any of you volunteer? You may ask any question to the narrator that you like, in order to get a better grasp of the peculiar world that you now find yourselves in...but whoever volunteers first gets the prize...