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Sender:Willows, Sarah - Admiral Location:Fort Bragg, Planet Manhattan Recipients:Fleet Admiral David Hale and Associate Deputy Director Wolfe ONLY
*Willows appears on the screen, a neutral look on her face, cigarette between her fingers.*
"Well ain't that something.
I think we're on the right way to be as fantastically fabulous and wonderful as some people here'd like us to be.
Associate Deputy Director Wolfe, as for the claims, and the evidence, and the incident, there's a rather, well, simple explanation behind that."
*Taking a look at the cigarette for a moment, she sighs and then puts it out.*
"Over the recent years, primarily before my 'suicide', or rather my 'disappearance', I've been working on, as ridiculous as this sounds, improving relations with certain unlawful individuals that are classified as, well...
Rather 'harmless' and 'reasonable' on our priority list.
The reasoning behind that is really simple.
Due to the aforementioned lack of cooperation, we, that is the Navy, have been lacking a lot of the usual intelligence data regarding local unlawful and hostile forces in our very own space.
In addition, with our own intelligence-gathering focus being shifted towards Rheinland as the war arose, we realized the following:
We didn't have the manpower to do that job in Rheinland, on the front AND in our very own space.
Nor did we have much in terms of cooperation with the Security Force, intel reports being not only a rarity but vague at best.
The reliable information regarding our own home was rare, and the rest was either outdated or, well, useless.
In short, we knew frak all."
*She pauses to take a deep breath.*
"We had to come up with something, something that'd work.
Some way to get the information we needed so we could have something to base our actions and movements inside our own space on.
It was the incident with a former local Lane Hacker, going by the name of Saronsen, that encouraged me to pursue my goal and continue to work with my idea, even though it dates back to my times as a Lieutenant.
What if we shook hands with a couple Pirates, Outcasts, Rogues, Hackers, what have you?
What if we actually gave some select individuals, more harmless than the usual cold-hearted killers you see around the tradelanes, people you can reason with, people who could use a hand, what if we did just that, lent them a hand?
What if we shook hands with them and, well, 'made friends' so to say?
What would that do for us?
The answer's again, simple.
It would build up trust.
And trust would lead us to information.
Information we would, otherwise, be lacking.
Information we didn't have, due to the overall lack of cooperation and the lack of manpower and qualified personnel.
Information that would allow us to do one thing in the long run:
Save lives.
A destroyed Naval fighter, here and there.
A Pirate or Outcast escaping once in a while.
A bit of money here and there.
Maybe some supplies once in a while.
Small things.
Little things.
Tiny 'favors', so to say.
Little stepping stones on the way to trust and knowledge which would let us save more lives in the long run than attempting to secure our own space with raw force would.
As large as the combined Navy and Security Force, and hell, even the Liberty Police are, as long as the unlawful and hostile forces we have in our space continue to hide in their asteroid bases, continue to live unscathed, having places to hide, as long as those things stand, we will, and that is certain, NEVER be able to protect our own soil, our own people, with just raw and brute force.
Does it work most of the time?
Yes, yes it does.
But sooner or later you, I, some random Navy Ensign, some Secondary Fleet Captain, whoever, runs to a distress beacon in the middle of nowhere to find the remains of a destroyed Civilian convoy.
The sad truth is that we simply can't be everywhere, and most certainly never will be able to be.
But instead of the usual, I, under then-Admiral Hale's authority, and even much earlier, under former Admiral Talon's authority, chose to take this, well, rather drastic, shocking and out-of-the-box approach to work on this 'problem' in order to improve the situation for the better in the long run.
I can order the Overlord's crew to fire nuclear missiles into the Wilkes' Ice Field in California and have them do that until the magazines run dry.
And chances're, I'll end up with an enormous killcount."
*Another pause, with her now looking a little sad.*
"But it wouldn't do more than sending out yet another patrol, yet more ships, more men out into the middle of nowhere.
So instead of doing that and shooting down everything, ordering my men to shoot everyone down whose ships appears as a hostile on radar, I did what I did.
I, honestly, would rather sacrifice millions of Credits in the shape of one or two or, hell, even a dozen Navy fighters in order to get someone to whisper into my ear that X Pirate group is going to try to raid Civilian convoy Y at time Z.
And I'll give all my personal funds, of which I've plenty, and my own reputation, my 'position', my what-ever-the-hell I have if that means that at some point in time I'll get to ram the Overlord's bow in to the scorched remains of Mactan, Leiden, Buffalo or Alcatraz or what the frakk there is.
If I actually have to, officially, collaborate with Pirates, Outcasts, Junkers and Hackers and then risk getting executed on the spot at some point by some hot-shot officer, fine, I'll do it, I was always willing to do it, back when I was a Captain, when I was a Commodore, and now that I'm an Admiral I'm still willing to."
*Regaining her posture, she lights a new cigarette.*
"Regardless, I've did what you said, I allowed that Outcast to escape, aided him in his escape.
Now I don't know what you'll do, but no matter what course of action you decide upon, I've no intention of working against the Navy or the Security Force.
Make of my words what you will. I'll leave the official follow-up to you.
Right now I'..."
*Someone could be heard knocking on the door of the office.*
"Who's there?"
"Fleet Admiral's here, Sarah, and I've a surprise!"
"Wait a moment Dave, I've something to finish here."
"Oh goddammit Sarah, don't tell me you're only in underwear aga...."
"Shut your face Dave, just shut your face while I wrap this up."
"But..."
"No buts!"
*Footsteps and some angry, incomprehensible muttering can be heard and she turns to the camera again.*
"Right... take it he'll get to hear and see this transmission later... oh well.
Like I've said, the follow-up is up to you.
I for my part have to make sure a certain Captain Karlo doesn't get a heart-attack as soon as he sees me and the Fleet Admiral walk up to him.
And after that I've some other paperwork to do, so...
I think we'll talk with eachother when you're out of that hellhole you've got yourself into.
We've the future to discuss as well as what can be done to prevent future screw-ups like that stray Bismarck barging in through our backdoor."
*She puts on her hat, stands up and begins to walk off, cigarette in her mouth and a weak smile on her face as the screen fades to black.*