A young Corsair woman entered the recruitment office.
Sensing that she had better speak very very quickly, she declared "I'm unarmed," and displayed her hands prominently where the commissar could see them. "My name is Vicenta Gonzalez. I am by birth a Corsair, however, I have seen the lies and hypocrisy of the Corsair nation, and have arranged things so I may never return."
She took a deep breath. "Ever since I was born, I was told how the people of Crete were noble, and just, and had been forced into hardship by the other nations in the Alliance. I was told of the atrocities committed by the Outcasts, how they spread their filthy poison throughout the galaxy, how they would cheerfully slaughter children without a second thought. I was told of the corruption and greed of the Four Houses, I was told that the Red Hessians were common pirates threatening the... glory... of the Corsair Empire, and that the Coalition..." She swallowed nervously. "...were a pack of psychopathic madmen who had betrayed humanity and would destroy our entire planet if they had the chance." These last words came out in a rush.
She swallowed again. "But... three months ago... I was on a patrol, in Omega-7. A raiding party. We shot out the trade lane between Freistadt and the Omega-3 jump gate, and before long a Gull transport dropped out. Miguel, our squadron leader, demanded two million credits. But the transport radioed us back, saying they did not have that much, that they were refugees, that the ship was not armed, that there were women and children on board. And Miguel..."
Her face darkened. "Miguel said one word. He said, Fire."
She unconsciously clenched a fist. "Before I knew what was happening, the transport had exploded. No match for a Praetorian and two Titans... I flew into a rage. I said to Miguel, 'Why did you do that? They were unarmed, they were children!' And Miguel laughed and said, 'They refused to pay.' I... snapped, at that point. I killed them all. My Titan against two others and a Praetorian, and I shot them all down. Then I ran, before the backup my ex-hermanos called could arrive..."
She took another deep breath. "At Freeport 1, I sold my ship and weapons. I had seen the lies the Corsair nation told its children, and I did not want to be a part of them any more. I learned from people at the station of the things my people had done. Trading artifacts with common criminals, perpetuating the oppression of women in Kusari. And... the atomic bombing of planet Cork. My eyes were opened to the hypocrisy that we... that they indulged in, that the whole sector indulged in! Those who called themselves noble, all of them, were deluding themselves. The Golden Chrysanthemums were nothing more than Outcast puppets. The Order had sold its soul to the Corsairs. The Houses were greedy and corrupt, the Gaians had lost their goals. But then... I learned of the Revolution. I learned of the Coalition's true intentions. And I realised that you were the only way forward, for me."
She looked at the commissar. "So if there is a word of my story that you do not believe to be true, then kill me where I stand. At least I will die betraying the filth that I once called my people."
She wiped the cold sweat from her brow and awaited the commissar's response.
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