The One Man Army

[Vogel]

Dean Vickers furrowed his brows as he stared at the news report on the flatscreen. The OLF had staged another bombing, this time at a docking port on Toronto Station. Eight people were killed, three barely escaped being sucked into vacuum, and a Rhino freighter and its whole payload was sent into Hurons atmosphere.

Is this a mistake?

His own views only coincided with that of the OLF so much. He agreed that action would need to be taken, but not when. He agreed that the military of Liberty posed a threat to all citizens of Ontario, but not that they could avoid their guns forever. He agreed that the ODP was, if anything, a failure, as it could never enact reforms or better yet gain independence through the Liberty government, but was willing to give it at least a chance.

Should I still associate myself with these people?

True, at first he has been fueled by their anger, set on their course. Hed gunned down transports to spread the message. But it got him nowhere; it made him feel dirty. Doing the smuggling runs made him feel dirty. It felt wrong. He was no terrorist, he was a patriot.

His situation was not something he couldve expected. As far as he knew he was the sole operating member of the OLF Space Corps, which was vested in his two ships. Even still, he had little to no contact with the OLFs leadership, and it was very possible that this is what allowed him the room to think a bit more independently about the issue.

Ganging together makes one stronger than theyd be out on their own, but Deans recent forays had all but dashed that notion. True, being one individual he could make little difference, but he was able to operate independently and make headway, no matter how small. Surprisingly, between his prior acts of piracy and his recent binge of donation petitions, hed managed to glean some six million credits. While not much in the eyes of Sirius major factions, this was a tremendous amount for an individual. He toyed with the idea of embezzling it and living comfortably ever after, but that thought felt dirty too.

But using it for a purpose other than the OLF felt equally wrong.

What is it I stand for, really?

Hed been out proclaiming the message of Ontarios desire for independence, of the wrongs committed against its people in the past, about the oncoming need for action. But hed done so with his own words, with his own feelings, on the spur of the moment. His views, his methods, conflicted with the OLFs actions planetside.

Whatll happen if they ever come out here with me?

The thought sent a shiver down his spine; theyd disagree, he knew as such. Theyd shoot up commerce, murder innocents, and in the end it would simply bring down the militarist hammer that was the Navy and cause more massacres. He knew action was inevitable, that theyd have to fight for their freedom, but committing such blatant terrorism would speed up the course to that fight, leaving Ontario more vulnerable than ever.

What Ontario truly needed, he was convinced, was a military of its own. It needed an organization that was ready and willing to defend Ontarian lives when the ODP failed and the revolution roiled up again. It needed a force that was not Libertonian in origin, nor the unreliable and scheming SCRA.

To these ends the OLF was, if anything, a hindrance: it was not prepared, not able to make any kind of dent in the oncoming attack, and in the meantime was killing innocents with little to no gain other than the ire of those around them.

Flying their banner is wrong. But what am I supposed to do, fly my own?

Dean frowned and turned the flatscreen off.

If he did hed probably be even more cut off than the OLF was. Maybe he could get the attention of the ODP, although their power was clearly limited, and he doubted those moderates understood the need for arms as he did.

Hed have to think about it. Until then, he needed to keep raising funds. Funds for Ontario, not for the OLF.