If you ever worked in the private security industry planetside, you will know that if you punish people for mistaking you as a helpless bystander, they wont make that mistake again. It is a different experience to kill face to face than in space, but you get used to it when you feel like you do not have much to lose. I mentioned earlier that I had never killed with a blade before, and that is still true. Nevertheless, once people know your game, you need to rely on more physical skills. Weighing less than 50 kilograms and without advanced hand-to-hand training meant that my planetside career as a bodyguard was over. It was over with a big bonus from a very rich and thankful businessman, but it was over.
So I took to the skies again in what was a mixed experience of trying to take as many easy jobs as possible but inevitably getting caught up in the irrelevant capitalist machinations over such things as money and status. It is part of the job, but it was the suckers who took the big payouts without asking questions that met untimely ends. I ended up being just another nameless, faceless number on a payroll for some company or another. But still, I saw an awful lot of blood smeared across the marble-lined halls of the super rich. Too much for the salary, anyway.
For the moment then, I had failed in my ambition to avoid trouble. Accepting that such a life would be out of my reach, I reconsidered my options. Finding that working for the law may be a good career move, I visited the local office of the Liberty Security Force on planet Denver. Without giving too much away, I went through my skill set with the recruitment officer and made the necessary applications. I thought that I could earn the trust of the state, work diligently and in high risk environments, and that my employer would be above-board. I needed, and still need, an income and a pension.
Fortunately, the majority of what I thought about the Liberty Forces turned out to be true. They, or should I say we, turned out to be mostly reliable, professional and tolerant. On the other hand, now I know that I am in the company of shady people. I do not think I should be surprised. We fight conspiracies, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that in order to this, we too must also be a conspiracy. This time though, I feel like I am part of the right conspiracy. Or at least on the right side of one. I think. At the very least, I have the stability of a home, but I have accepted that a life of safety is beyond my grasp.
Anyway, I signed a contract to be here. Everything in Liberty is done on a contractual basis, but I was happy to sign. Immunity from all crimes previously committed that you eventually manage to dig up? Stable employment that is not one dimensional? Generous pay and conditions? Help to set up a household? Protection? Six months holiday before I start my first day? Even a single use get-out-of-jail-free card that I can use for any individual I wish in the future? I am just glad I had the skills to be eligible for such a ridiculous offer.
I found out what the board game Monopoly was in the office the other day. Not that I know why Mayfair and Park Lane are so expensive, or even where they are, but I can see the fun in capitalism. It is chaotic and requires constant maintenance through quasi-legal means, but it offers freedom. I never knew that a consumption-based economy would offer so much luxury, but then again, it also offers a silly amount of paperwork and record-keeping. As a result, it is not always all fun and games at the office.
The day before I started at Agency 404, I took a look in the mirror. It is amazing what time to genuinely relax can do for your body and your state of mind. I look much younger than since before I left the Coalition, and I can breathe freely for the first time ever. I have never felt this way before, and I have Liberty to thank for this. It is not quite the same as being in love, but it is close. Second chances, they are so rare. I never thought it was possible for someone like me.
I am sure that I have even got an “I ♡ Liberty” shirt somewhere.
Well, that is me. My story from as far back as I can remember until now. An insurance policy for Liberty, just in case I decide to change my mind. The legal means by which I will be sentenced to death, should I ever breach contract. Then again, where have I got to run? Just about the only area which I am totally unknown in is Gallia, the house that holds a grudge as long as the Coalition does. They have proved that they feel that grudge strongly enough to go to war with Liberty and Bretonia just after strolling right through the Kusari fleet. If they feel this way about Liberty, I do not want to know how they would react to the Coalition. Additionally, I am an ex-communist with a list of crimes longer than my arm, a victim of treachery, an exile and a widow. Liberty has offered what might quite possibly be my last chance to win what I want from life.
My name is Sonja Gustov Kerensky. Actually, it's technically Sonja Gustov Kerensky Voronov, but there is no such thing as a deed poll in the Coalition.
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