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*Rise of the Warspite*
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by HappyTarget: [QB] Well boys and girls, without further adoo, I give you the Peeps... CHAPTER 16 [Capital City of Nouveau Paris, Haven System, People's Republic of Haven] Citizen Admiral Sarah Grant waited nervously outside the lions' den. She had no idea why the Committee of Public Safety, the current government of the PRH, wanted to meet her personally. Sarah had managed to almost convince herself that they didn't want her dead. If they had wanted that, a squad of State Security goons would have hauled her away. Instead, she had been 'requested' to meet with the Committee in person. That was almost as bad. One wrong word, one perceived slight or failing would quickly end her career, or have her disappeared. She had managed to live through the purges that the Committee had initiated after it seized power from the Legislaturalists. The fact that she had been a Doleist probably was a large part of that. The Committee had used Doleist support in its coup. Under the Legislaturalists, the PRH had set up an untenable society. The Legislaturalists made a deal when they first came to power. Those that would become Doleists had given up any connections to political power to the Legislaturalists. In exchange, they were guaranteed a basic standard of living in perpetuity. The welfare state this arrangement created was the main cause of the People's Republic and the Star Kingdom of Manticore being at war with each other. In order to fund the Doleist's Basic Living Stipend, the Legislaturalists had been forced to take over neighboring systems to get an influx of cash. Yet this only worked for so long. Every system taken only gave so much currency, then was bled dry. So the process had to be repeated again and again. Eventually the Republic ran up against Manticore, the only people in the sector that could give them a run for their money in a stand up fight. Yet Manticore was too much of a prize to pass over. Its wormhole junctions allowed it to have an economy that rivaled that of Old Earth herself. So in an effort to keep increasing the BLS because of the mobs demands, the Legislaturalists had decided to conquer Manticore. The early stages of the war hadn't gone the way the military planers said it should though. They thought that their numerical superiority would enable them to take the SKM quickly. They were wrong. Manticore had fought hard and had won early victories. The quality of its navy personnel and equipment tipped the scales in Manticore's favor just enough. The unrest caused by the Republic defeats allowed the Committee to seize power in a coup. The Committee of Public Safety then proceeded to remove any real, and a lot of perceived, opposition to its rule. The Legislaturalists had held a chokehold on appointment to the upper ranks of the military. They only appointed fellow Legislaturalists to flag ranks. Because of this, many of the PRH's best, most experienced officers were executed because they were considered politically unreliable by the new regime. Not only that, but the Committee executed many unsuccessful commanders, not letting them learn from their mistakes. It was not only the failed commanders that were targeted, their families were killed as well. Returning with your shield or upon it had become a very real life event in the Peoples Republic. While this instilled a great desire to succeed in naval personnel, it also had the exact opposite effect in generating loyalty to the new government. While that had opened the way for many capable, non-Legislaturalist officers to advance to flag rank, it removed a huge portion of the navy's most skilled officers when they were needed the most. What had resulted, except for some infrequent PRH victories, was continued success by the Manticoran Navy. Those successes had very nearly leveled the playing field between the two powers. Although the PRH officer corps had started out lacking ability, they had gained a lot of experience as the war dragged on for years. Just how the war would finish was anyone's guess. The purges had allowed Captain Grant to advance to Admiral in a mere two years. The main reason for her rapid advance was her political reliability, yet her skill played no small part in it. Some officers chose to keep their noses clean and stay completely out of anything political. It was easier to stay alive that way. Yet you couldn't advance very far being totally apolitical in the current Peoples' Navy. The Committee, and the Peoples Commissioners they placed on board ships to keep tabs on the navy, wanted Admirals that were filled with the 'proper revolutionary zeal'. Sarah Grant had been forced to play the role of fervent revolutionary in order to advance. She didn't believe in the propaganda she spouted back to those desiring to hear it, yet it was the only means available for advancement. She told the Commissioners what they wanted to hear, and thus achieved rapid promotion. Her military record was exemplary, especially considering that her squadron had stopped two Manty thrusts cold. Despite all this, fear gnawed in her belly. The people she was about to meet evidently wanted her for a reason, and she doubted she was going to like it. Not wanting to appear to nervous, she sat and waited, playing with the bottom of her green tunic. Her hazel eyes glanced at the chronometer mounted on the wall for what seemed like the thousandth time, then fell to the window. Through the wall of armoplast the giant spires that made up Nouveau Paris, capital city of the Republic, glittered in the rising sun. Even at this early hour, thousands of aircars already coursed around the massive buildings that grew like glass and metal trees out of the earth. A chime sounded at the solitary desk that filled part of the room. The secretary glanced at his board, then motioned for Sarah to enter. "The Committee is ready to see you now, Citizen Admiral." Nodding, she tugged her tunic straight, then walked towards the double doors with a stride that showed nothing of how weak in the knees she felt. The burly guards in the red and black uniforms of State Security flanking the doors made no move, yet their eyes swiveled like pulser sights as she approached. Despite her nervousness, she almost laughed at their antics. As if she would dare try anything. She had been checked repeatedly for any kind of weapons even before she was allowed into the building. And she had no suicidal tendencies so a barehanded attack against the Committee was out. The heavy pulsers the SS guards carried were highly lethal, and the look in their eyes said they would not hesitate to use them. Turning her mind back to the task at hand, she took a deep, calming breath, then opened the cage and stepped inside. There were only six people in the room beyond. Three were more SS guards, yet it was the remaining ones who were the most dangerous. Chairman Rob S. Pierre, leader of the Committee of Public Safety sat at the head of the table. To his right was the man who ran State Security, Oscar Saint-Just. To his left was Committeewoman Cordelia Ransom. She was in charge of the Office of Public Information, the propaganda arm of the government. Any of the three could have her killed on a whim, and no one would do a thing to stop them. No one was powerful enough to do that. The table was simple gray marble, with a pitcher of water and some glasses on a tray to one side. The high backed leather chairs the Committee members sat in were of a plain design. The room was unexpectedly spartan for the main chamber of the ruling clique of the second largest empire in known space. Its only ornamentation was a large PRH flag spotlighted just behind Rob S. Pierre's chair. On further thought, Sarah found the spartan setting made sense. By the Committee's mindset, the normal trappings of power were elitist and must be avoided at all costs. "Please have a seat Citizen Admiral." Pierre said. Sarah quickly flowed into the chair he had indicated. Looking at the three most powerful people in the entire Republic from across the table, she forced her face into a mask. "No doubt you are wondering just why we have summoned you here. Well I shall keep you in the dark no longer. We need you for a very important mission. It's outcome could very well decide weather we win the war or not. The Committee has reviewed your record and has decided that you are the best commander to send out on this mission." Responding carefully, Sarah found her voice surprisingly calm. "I am honored that the Committee thinks so highly of me. I am but a servant of the people." Cordelia Ransom smiled like a crocodile. "And a very good one at that. It is a pity that we haven't had an officer of your capability in some of our other systems." She said it like it was the officers' fault that they were inexperienced and poorly trained in relation to their Manticoran counterparts. Realizing that a non-response might not be beneficial to her health, Sarah shook her head. "My success is due in no small part to my officers and the enlisted personnel under them. They deserve more credit for the victories we have achieved than I do." "Your modesty dose you well, yet it doesn’t change the fact that you are one of the few military commanders that has had success against the corrupt and elitist enemies of the People. That has been far to rare a commodity in the People's Navy of late." Due in no small part to your own paranoid actions Sarah thought to herself. If you weren't so concerned that the military was going to stage a coup against you, we might have already won the war. She forced a slight smile to her face and merely nodded at the committeewoman's remarks. "Your success and the good word your Commissioner has given us about you are the main reasons you were selected for this mission." Rob said, steering the conversation back on track. Dimming the lights, he activated a holo projector and a map of the quadrant sprang to existence above the table. The bloated, irregular sphere of the PRH was highlighted in green. The systems controlled by the Manticoran Alliance were colored an angry crimson. Major systems captured by the Alliance were colored in yellow. There were to many of those for comfort. She had heard how bad the war was going, but she hadn't thought that it was quite this bad. Rob went on. "Your objective is this system." Sarah's eyes widened in surprise, her curiosity mounting, shoving aside her fear as a previously unlabeled star began pulsing blue. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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