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This is Commander Hans Rheinhardt of the Zoner Star Carrier Cygnus.
It has been some time since we last spoke and I have for the lack of better words, been reluctant to obey your order to return to Zoner space. Yes, I disobeyed this order. There were larger considerations to explore. None raveled in the endless fury of conquest or power, yet one of a nation I deem worthy of my attention. I am here, now, to prove to you, the ends will justify the means.
The Cygnus is repaired. We have obtained the data and materials needed to return this carrier to full power and operation. The commander of Boa Vista Station in Omega 50 has assisted us in the repairs and refit of the carrier, on one condition.
I will hold the Cygnus in position, at Boa Vista Station. The shields will be lowered and we will discuss the fate of myself and this ship.
Bring your ships. We will hold position here.
Sometimes, when all you want is to gain your freedom, you must be willing to risk it all.
As far as I know, I am the highest ranking guardsman in the region. No one else has stepped forward yet, so I feel it's up to me to at least get the ball rolling, and establish protocol. Given the circumstances there is certainly grounds for some sort of trial.
The Zoners are without a council, therefore trying a case such as yours will be awkward and unprecedented. However, short of quickly cobbling together a council, I don't see what other option we have, aside from what I shall propose here:
Omega 49 and 50 do not fall under the administration of the Confederation of Southern Freeports (CSF). None of the remaining official factions have stepped up to fulfill any sort of faction-wide leadership role. Therefore I think we should begin with some arguments to establish the how's, why's, and possible verdicts, and then take a vote, with each Zoner voting only for themselves. I.e., no we-as-a-faction vote this way. The majority wins, and that verdict will be upheld by the guard. This is close to how it was done in the old days.
According to the official Zoner policies, the administrator of Boa Vista station is Havelock Vetinari. However, he has apparently already chosen to take your side, since he permitted you to use his station to facilitate your repairs. So I would ask that he either serve as a neutral mediator in the trial or recuse himself altogether.
I propose that we wait for one or two days, to allow time for any changes others may deem necessary to the above protocol.
With that, I yield the comm to any Zoner who has a concern.
I believe it should be noted;
This is a specific case and the decisions reached through this manner will not set a prescedent for anyone else whom disobeys an order from a station administrator.
In short, the decision reached here will not be used to affect future decisions.
I do believe the method of popular vote is the most fair, and suggest this sort of forum be used more in the future.
Fighting to your last breath is a benchmark, not a goal.
I'm curious as to what order you're referring to. As a member of the old Council, an administrator of the Alliance, and one of the men behind the founding of the ZDF; I don't recall any sort of order being sent to vessels on exploratory missions.
You report to no one, save the men and women serving under you Commander. If you are willing to share any information you've gathered on your exploratory mission, I'd be willing to have my company refit and update the Cygnus with any modern system that she might be missing. While Boa Vista is capable of repairing the Cygnus, the facilities at Livadia is far more capable.
Yes, young man. I have been told that a more complete repair of the Cygnus can be found at Station Livadia, but, the risk was too great to traverse the distance. With the shields failing upon the activation of the weapons or thrusters, I could not risk the Cygnus. Though I will say I have run across many Corsairs more willing to talk then to open fire. In fact some who found us at Boa Vista stated they wish to speak to the regions commanders. Be that as it may.
Explorers. That was what we should have been. Life dreams unrealized. So many years, lost.
No Mr. Cross. I am not one of your founding fathers. In fact I admit my outright past distane for your venturous brothers of long time past. I do remember reading the tactical analysis of your claim to Freeport 2 in 650, yes. Even though Republican did abandon it oh the stir it wracked through our ranks then. If our focus was not elsewhere, we too may have played a small part in its revival. Or, merely dismissed you as fools for taking on such a task. The word Zoner was akin to stellar vagabond or galactic gypsy. None of us took you seriously. That was so, so long ago.
I have been a man who has held his brothers, his loved ones as they died and cried for vengeance at the sound of a trumpet and the fluttering of a flag of freedom, of revolution, of a new way. I dared to go where no one had dared to try...any failed. It was what we were told, what I told them, to fight for. So, so many lost, for this place.
The founding fathers of years gone by. No young man, I am not them. If our true fathers were alive, would they weep for us or would the cold of space turned each tear to stone and vapor?
How Ironic I now find myself in the nexus of a group who nearly allied to themselves to a people I fought.
Forgive me, I must sound as if I am rambling.
The Cygnus is a Zoner ship, that much is clear. What is not clear is who I am. I can tell you I, am not a Zoner. I am however between.
What I will choose will depend on our conversation at the station in space. What my choices are, may be somewhat limited.
Do not be too harsh on the Station's commander. He and I did converse about many thing. If not, I am sure the Cygnus would still be out in the depths of space, waiting. He saw only the ship and its needs, not its Commander persay. He took care of the Carrier and in return I was compelled to remain and not again, feel into the stars. Havelock mearly smiled when I told him I would do as he asked.
And again, we are hear, and will remain so.
So come distant brothers. Let us see what choices remain.
Sometimes, when all you want is to gain your freedom, you must be willing to risk it all.
*The captain sighed. No other guard ships seemed to be moving into the area, so the Burninator lumbered away, breezing past Gran Canaria one last time before setting out for what was bound to be either a long or a very short stay in Omega 50.*
*The crew confirmed the presence of the moored carrier and continued its course to Boa Vista.*
*The nephilim shudders as its cruise engines deactivate, then calmly floats into an overwatch position near the station. Once again the Captain's voice comes over the comms.*
Commander Reinhardt,
As much as we all enjoy a good bedtime story, this is not the place to reminisce on founding fathers, broken dreams, and irony. By your own admission, and by the communications logs we've retrieved, there are three parties who have actions to answer for. One, the freelancer who arranged the purchase. Two, the Captain who has forsworn his guard duty. And three, yourself, who saw fit to invite yourself into the command chair.
Let me first point out that all of you knew well that what you were doing would not sit well with the Zoners. Rather than ask us for permission, you collectively went behind our backs and tried to sell one of the largest, most powerful warships in Sirius to an unknown private party. So brace yourself, because you can be almost certain that at least a few Zoners are going to barge in here demanding your heads on pointy sticks.
To that end, know that we have come prepared with an appropriate complement of marines and boarding craft.
However, I am willing to keep an open mind. There is still the possibility that you have a good reason for all of this, and that you'll convince us that the mess you've dumped in our laps, one that we are ill-equipped to handle without a council, is forgivable.
I still wish to allow a bit more time, perhaps another day, for other Zoners to have a chance to voice their concerns, if any, regarding the protocol of this trial, or if there should even be one. Assuming popular opinion grants you the chance to explain yourself, be prepared to answer some hard questions. And given that many of the Zoners who are listening in and possibly voting have no idea of the events you just glossed over, keep any flowery old-man vernacular to a minimum.
*The captain rapped his fingers upon his desk. Two days and not a single reply. Did the Zoner people simply not care? Was something else going on that captivated their collective attention, that he didn't know about? It was rather disconcerting.*
Well, at the very least, it seems no one has any complaints regarding the proceedings, so I will go ahead and declare that the protocol is considered acceptable.
Commander, you are now called upon to explain yourself. You have assumed control of a Zoner warship without the consent of any Zoner, save for the captain whom has seen fit to abandon his position. I hereby request that you explain the following:
One, why the three of you determined that you did not need permission from the Zoners to transfer control of this ship to a foreign party.
Two, why the 'purchasing' freelancer requires such a ship, and what he has ordered you to do with it.
Three, to what extent you plan on following those orders. Furthermore, explain why we should allow you to continue your command of this ship, and assure us that your actions will bring no political or physical harm against the Zoners as a whole, nor any specific Zoners.
And finally, I request to know the identity of the ship's former commanding officer, so that he may be held accountable for his unauthorized dereliction of duty. Put simply, if he no longer desired his command, he should have come to us, not deigned to put a powerful warship up for sale.
I will answer your questions Captain's all in good time. We seem to still have some of that do we?
To your first question. When the commander of a carriers offers it, one would hope he has a level of authority to allow him to do with his ship as he sees fit. Within limits. I will not pretend to know this former captain's mind, but the ship was in shambles. It had not been maintained for some time and perhaps this Zoner captain did not wish to return it to its proper location. If I am recalling the communications logs correctly, there was a general communications to several Zoner ships to return to their port of harbor, namely one, for a full refit. To be specific to your question, I have none to give.
To your second question, the one who purchased this ship did so because he has for some time, wished for one. He saw a benefit to have a carrier which could be used as a base of operations when the time came, and if necessary, retreat.
He said returning to his command chair, swiveling towards a control panel, bringing up the display of a navigation course that could hardly been seen from the communications window.
You must know that any good planner has an exit strategy. If I recall, many Zoners ventured into the void from time to time did they not? Tell me captain's which is more powerful message; Destroying your opponents with awesome power or in the moment of such fate, freely choosing not to be the implement of destruction? That is the most I can answer this question, for now.
To your third inquiry, I was given no orders. The young man merely asked me to remain here, and wait. On the other hand I have simply no where left to go. So here, is where I stay. In staying in one place I have had time monitoring some channels from my home and many others who have claimed Zoner ships, technologies, and weapons have saw fit to convince you of their neutral ways, taken their ship and soon saw fit to start their own private little wars. Did you not hear about the Zoner Juggernaught that was destroyed in Rheinland? You see, what can I say that has not been said before. I remember hearing her words and we all sung the trumpets to our own destruction. We did not see it. How can you tell the truth from a lie with words? No my good Captains, the judgment is here and now. I could have flown the Cygnus to anywhere to my own ends, and choose not to. I could have instigated a war a dozen times over with the Corsairs, and on the contrary have found them more willing to talk. I could have remained silent, hid my existence from you and yet, I would still, remain, here. A ship, a weapon, a tool. What does a dead man have to fear from the universe so disjointed around him, but sit and wait. Yet since you desire words, We keep the Cygnus out of sight as much as possible, only to emerge when needed then return to space. Having a fully armed conflict would rather much defeat the purpose of this now wouldn't it?
To your final question. Yes a war ship. Yet it has the ability do be so much more. Be that as it may, I do not know his name. Only that he held the Cygnus at a port in Omicron Delta for some time. It too, just remained there.
A man wearing a scientist's uniform came to Reinhardt's side and handed him a data pad, whispering into his ear. Hans came closer to the communications screen to speak.
As your luck would allow, a good man here has giving me the information you requested. His name is '¦..hm
He paused again as he scrolled down the information.
It seems this former Captain neither wished to be revealed or give himself away. But the Cygnus' original Identification was ZNS-Hunter. That is all the data remaining on the ships computers regarding your question.
If I were in your position, erring on the side of caution would be preferred would it not? I must confess, you are not asking the right questions either, but time will allow that error to pass as well.
Time to pause, and reflect Captains.
Sometimes, when all you want is to gain your freedom, you must be willing to risk it all.
The captain rubbed his face at the answers he was hearing.
A ship's CO does have the freedom to command his ship, yes. But as you say, there are limits. Do you understand the magnitude of the steel you're standing on, Commander? This is not a weekend hideaway or sports car to which one can carelessly pass the keys. Ships of this size are weapons of mass destruction. Weapons of deterrence. They are possessed of the power to end planets! Erase societies! We do not put such a vessel in the hands of just anybody, and you mentioned a good reason why. The last thing we need is for some unknown individual to use one of our ships to wage his own personal campaign of genocide. Who do you think the backlash from that will fall upon? And I know you're not naive enough to say just himself. These ships are not something you put up for sale, and any CO we trained and vetted should have known that. I don't care what condition his ship was in.
You give the excuse that we can trust you and this man since you came to us for help. From your own description, it sounds to me like you didn't have any options. No shield, no weapons, hull full of holes. By your own admission, it was a wreck. It doesn't sound to me like you had any option other than asking us to fix it for you. Now that it's been restored, what's to stop this freelancer, of whom we have no knowledge or control, whom we had no opportunity to gauge, from selling the ship to someone else or commiting some atrocity that brings political and physical ruin down upon Zoners everywhere?
Do not try to distract the issue by bringing up the recent Zoner-Corsair skirmish. They were claiming moral high ground they did not have the right to stand on, and making demands of us to hand over an entire system and administration of its stations. We could not accept such a demand for reasons that should be obvious. The Zoners who involved themselves in that conflict had every right to be angry.
The Zoners place an immense amount of trust in those COs we allow to helm our capital ships. If you want to convince us to let you keep that ship, you have to persuade us that you deserve that trust. You have to convince us that it's worth the risk of leaving an unknown party in command of a warship. You have to explain what exactly he intends to use the ship for and why he resorted to backroom deals to get his hands on it. And telling us he just 'wanted one for a long time' is a step in the wrong direction! You say he wanted to use it as a base of operations. For what operations? You say he wants to have it available in case he needs to retreat. Retreat from whom? I get the impression that you're stalling, Commander, and it's not helping your case.
While a captain of a Zoner vessel has some authority - it extends only as far as his crew allows it too. You don't seem to understand that many Zoners, especially those who live on a starship, consider them their homes. I find it hard to believe that an entire crew would allow their home to be sold off to the highest bidder - especially a home that they swore to protect.
I've checked the Council's and Alliance's databases - neither of those bodies authorized your command of the Hunter. Nor did my company and I highly doubt that the TAZ or Omicroners did either. That means you're in possesion of a stolen vessel.
I also find your claims to have spoken with Administrator Vetinari to be lies. If you had spoken with him, I believe he would have spoken on your behalf already. I'd advise to have him speak on your behalf if you were in contact with him.
As you've admitted to not being a Zoner - I'm going to ask that you reliqueish command of the Cygnus. If you comply and Vetinari speaks on your behalf and you can provide us with a valid reason you should be allowed to command the Cygnus you may be returned to her command. If you refuse - the Cygnus will be destroyed.