Eavesdroppers: Tomoe

[Harcourt Fenton Mudd]

//OORP: ok heres part 2. This is why you save longer posts as a draft regurally folks :p //
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Jonathan, thank you, and yes some mediators may help.

While the situation isnt that bad, it only takes one or two idiots starting a firefight in the wrong part of the station to cause disaster.
Besides, these are our people, better to be cautious and settle things amicably.

-Tomoe

As she finished responding to he mail, a small chime was heard from a comm link on her wrist, reading the notification she scowled.

'Well, so much for waiting for the mediators....'

Tomoe walked over to the wall to the left of her desk, opening the equipment locker.
Inside was various pieces of tech, sidearms, longarms, scientific implements, and body armor.

Tomoe unzipped her everpresent coveralls, putting on the sleek armored vest and arm wraps before zipping back up the coveralls.
Next she attached a holster, spare ammo, and a few other toys to the belt on her coveralls before donning a worn labcoat with the logo of the old Zoner Defence Force on the top left pocket, the additions to her belt now hidden yet accessable from years of practical experience.

As she left her office, her chief of security was outside nodding in silent greeting.
With them were a squad of Marines, wearing the blue and yellow shipsuits of Freeport 13 staff, with dark green armor plates on top.
Most of their armor was scuffed and worn, but clean and well maintained.
Some of the plates had clearly deflected shots before, some even bore odd patterns lightly melted into the surface... a discerning eye would recognize the telltale sign of alien directed energy weapons.

To any Zoner with real experience among the wider community, these were clearly veterans that had seen and survived combat.

"Whats the latest intel, chief" she asked

"Well ma'am, it appears some of the rabble rousers are intending to have a meeting belowdecks. It's probably nothing, but....."

"But you know I like to deal with problems headon"

"You do have a habit of giving us work, yes ma'am" he chuckled.

They moved out as a group, taking a service lift into the below decks, the squad dispersing in groups of twos and threes, the chief staying with Tomoe as she found a dark corner to stand in, a lifetime spent on ships and stations making her good at hiding on them.


She listened to the first fiery orator speak, actually nodding in agreement at parts, as he finished she waited.

'Theres always one more that doesnt quite agree on some smaller detail that has to speak up'

Sure enough a second more radical sounding one spoke up.

As he finished, Tomoe clicked her comm twice in a subtle heads up, and strode foward.
The dispersed marine squad, hidden under an assortment of older worn cloaks, moving to corners and awaiting a need to act.

"Your right, it IS time we show those politicians what we're made of.
The problem is the military situation for Bethlehm can be summed up with three words:
We are fucked.
If Liberty wants this station gone, it's gone.
So far they've been happy to ignore us.
The station is too well defended and has too many civilians to be worth the cost and publicity to deal with.

But that wont stop those snakes forever.

And thats precisely why I made the attempt to open diplomatic channels.

Not because I expect them to honor any deal, at least not for long, but because it's better to play that game than start shooting around the station.

And if we do get them playing that game, well, we're Zoners.

We have stations all over, and usually can more or less get along with about anyone.

We get them to 'give' minor concessions, and we use those as weapons to defend the station.

This place isn't getting any less crowded, we need to expand and move some of our small industry to other stations so they can expand.

If we can expand the economic footprint of Bethlehem, we can get trade flowing, be it with other houses or one of Libertys less odious corperations.

We do that, and keep the station out of the fighting like it's been doing for years before I took over, and the station stays not worth attacking.

You say many of us fly so far into the black we forget what civilization even looks like ?
Well I resemble that statement, I grew up on Freeport Seven, and left with my parents on a seven year exploration mission right before it went up.
I can count how many times I've been on a planets surface and have fingers left over, I know our way of life because I've lived it.
I've fought houses before, and won, but the problem is Bethlehem isnt a fight that we can win in a heads up fight.
We've got to be smarter than that.
We cant help Erie if we're dead, in LPI camps, or chased out of the system entirely."


"And as for you" Tomoe turned and pointed towards the first speaker "You aint wrong about them being snakes and not partners"

"But the problem is that Bethlehem is full of families. This isnt a military base hardened for a seige. Sure the station itself could put up a great fight... but telling children being sucked out of a hull breach it's ok because they put up a fight seems like a foolish way to go about it.

Better to play the hand we were dealt, and keep people alive.

Im not saying dont do stuff, just dont do it from here.

Besides, the more headaches Liberty has to deal with that are not directly tied to Bethlehem, the more likely they are to ignore us here.

Our fighting eachother can only help Liberty.

Only together can we actually pull anything off.

That's what broke up the old Zoner Defence Force, other than my exploratory corps each branch of it was really just the escort ships of one of the larger factions, and the second they didnt agree on something they just fucked off and did their own thing.
Sure some of them went on to form Phoenix, but that was closing the airlock after you stepped out naked.

To be clear, if you want to fight liberty I applaud you for it.

Just dont do it here.
You dont shit where you eat, you dont start ship to ship combat where your peoples kids live."