Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 15:48:56 GMT
Much recovery had occurred in the months since the end of the Civil War on Vestahl, not all of which would necessarily meet with the approval of the foreign dignitaries on their way to the commemoration ceremonies. There was the obvious of course, the system bustled with activity upon their arrivals, trade ships moving back and forth from orbital facilities, competing for space into and out of the system with the many salvage ships busily moving through the remains of the battle. Most of the larger debris had been cleared, and the ships that had been largely intact by the end of the battle had all been towed to nearby shipyards for disassembly.
But perhaps some what worryingly, the shipyards weren't pumping out trade ships or construction vessels, it was warships that seemed to be under construction in the shipyard, dozens of them undergoing construction as the vessels arrived, with dozens more having already been deployed on patrol routes around the system.
But the most abundant vessels weren't of Vestahl's design, but rather the blocky shapes of the Rangvald Cartel's vessels, each bearing the insignia of the Black Rabbit Security Corporation, a private military contractor that had recieved massive contracts to defend Vestahl while she rebuilt. Contracts that had been paid for with the reparations recieved from the Davians.
It was these vessels that approached the travelers, scanning them briefly to verify their identities before providing comms frequencies for traffic control, where operators were quick to provide docking vectors to one of the larger orbital installations around the planet.
Captain Ackers, Squadron Commander Kauff and the family of the last Free Worlds man to die on Vestahl had come for the commemoration ceremonies, and the transport bearing them headed quickly to the orbital installation that had been pointed out to them. Upon debarking they waited for directions about where to go, but made no further requests than that until the others that were arriving, arrived.
The GAE appeared at the edge of the Vestahl system, the single Lupus Class destroyer leader launched an unarmed Gargoyle II gunship from its hangar. Two newly promoted officers sat facing each other as they were being transported to their destination. Obertsleutnant Arnold Student and Generalfeldmarshall Sabine von Guderian, both were present during the battle at one point or another. Their ride between the destroyer and the designated meeting place was short and when they arrived, they stepped off, ready for someone to take them to wherever they were wanted.
The TDA diplomatic ship emerged from its wormhole at the edge of the system. On board the ship were Director Albert Tyldum, General Burt Hashmon and newly promoted Admiral Sara Switch, with the latter two both being present at the battle. The ship followed instructions to where they needed to land to attend the ceremony, where they awaited further instructions.
Despite the diplomacy having been conducted directly with the Empress it turned out that she would not be personally attending the memorial service. The security risks were far too great, and with Rubikon and the Crucible under attack it was left to Captain Uran to represent Capitol at such an event. His arrival was without ceremony or glamore as a single Mk.3 Trident class battleship pulled itself free of slipspace and made its way in system to the designated area. He stood in immaculate dress uniform aboard the bridge, apart from one curious feature, an old camera lay strapped around his neck. It was on order from the Empress for him to personally take pictures of the floral arrangements for her daughter Elena. Many of the crew had laughed at the idea, but he found honour in it. What was their purpose other than securing the future for their children, and giving them what they could?
The vessel entered its designated orbital plane before the shuttle took him towards the planet, there to be attended by aids and then to watch the ceremony. He had two Hydra guard with him, both in ceremonial dress but still armed and imposing. He hoped it would be as grand as the Empress made it out to be.
The dignitaries were ushered into a lounge aboard the space station to wait until all had arrived. Once everyone was in attendance a red haired woman in a black suit entered the lounge she scanned the gathered people momentarily before clearing her throat to get everyone's attention.
"Greetings and salutations. My name is D'Arcy O'Shea. I'm a junior foreign relations officer and I'll be your escort for the day,"
She straightened a black overcoat momentarily before continuing.
"Before we begin I'd ask that anyone who wishes to say a few words at the ceremony say so now so that I may inform the master of ceremonies and have the schedule updated. As well if anyone has any questions I can answer them now."
"Miss O'Shea," Captain Ackers said, raising a hand. "I'd like to say a few words for the fallen." The captain would say more, but at the moment he had no questions, and he had nothing else to say.
Uran nodded and raised a hand too "I shall say some words for the fallen. I would also wish to ask I have been asked by my Empress to take pictures of your floral arrangements for this event, if your people can assist in such I would be very grateful" He smiled.
She tapped momentarily on a small tablet, sending off the additions to the masters of ceromonies before addressing Uran's question.
"Yes, I've made arrangements Captain Uran. I met with the Empress and her daughter and anticipated such a request. Though I had hoped they may come themselves, but I understand matters must keep them occupied elsewhere. I will take you after the ceremonies have concluded,"
She turned her attention back to the group.
"We'll take the orbital elevator down to the planet where cars will be waiting to take all of you toward Levitsky where the ceremony will be held. Once we arrive at the ceremony grounds, you will be met by the Master of Ceremonies who will escort you to your seats as I am... not permitted on the ceremony grounds."
She paused momentarily to check her notes before continuing.
"The ceremony will be taking place on the battlefield surrounding Levitsky. Radiation is not a concern however I have been asked to impress upon all of you not to travel outside of the roped off areas as everything out there has not been thoroughly cleared of ordinance yet. After the ceremony you will be taken by the Master of Ceremonies to a luncheon back in the capital. I will rejoin you there though Captian Uran and I will be making a detour to the floral arrangements. You may leave at any time during the luncheon. Those of you intending to stay longer upon Vestahl can speak to me during the luncheon and I'll make arrangements for your continued stay. I will be here and at your disposal for anything you require until you have left, so if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please don't hesitate to bring them to me. Are there any other questions before we proceed?"
Seeing that there were no questions D'Arcy motioned for everyone to follow her and led them out of the room and on a brief trip to the orbital elevators. The station itself was busy with travellers, business people, and government officials coming and going but they were lucky enough to get an elevator to themselves.
The ride down to the planet's surface was a short one, only taking a few minutes before the elevator slowed to a halt and the doors opened. Another brief walk through an equally crowded and bustling port and finally D'Arcy led the group into a pair of waiting black SUVs. There was enough room for six passengers in each of the vehicles, though they would be rather cramped, so D'Arcy was quick to assign five to each.
Captain Ackers, the FW naval squadron commander, Wilson's parents, and General Sabine were assigned to one, while the remaining four went in the second SUV with D'Arcy. Once everyone was situated the cars began driving, weaving briefly through city streets lined with protestors holding up all manner of signs lamenting the 'soft touch' the VRF had supposedly been afforded, before making their way onto the highway.
Captain Ackers looked hard over the land that so recently he'd fought and been nearly-crippled on, noting the protestors and the city's structure for a while before sitting back and looking to the squadron commander and Sabine.
"Hell of a day it was, John." Kauff noted.
"Yeah. Never ended for some of us." Ackers replied, looking to Sabine. "How did your men turn out, General?"
The young general had also been looking outside, her thoughts immediately raced back to when the empire annexed a nation long since considered their enemy. It was the same scene wherever you went, the people back home in the Raxian galaxy were the same. Too lenient they said, even after we crippled their government, and even after we had massacred thousands of their soldiers, or physically beat down those who tried to stay loyal to their already annexed nation by spouting propaganda and they still dare to say that assimilating them into the empire was too lenient. But she guessed that was only because her people had been living under such a harsh ruler for the whole time before the empire 'liberated' them.
"Unfortunately for us, we only managed to return with that one airborne infantry battalion we sent in at the end of the battle. Everything and everyone else we had was done in by the massive trench bomb in the third defensive line." Sabine was brought out of thought when she was called, her voice shaking a little from remembering how much killing she had done last time to achieve similar results.
"It's always a shame to see that not everyone will be satisfied by whatever we gave up in order to achieve this result. I've seen it once before, had to kill a lot more people to get the same result though."
The trip down the highway was uneventful. Cars sped by both in the same and opposite direction of the two vehicles, ordinary people going to and fro. It was about a half hour before the vehicles arrived in the area surrounding Levitsky.
The memorial istelf had been built near to the crater where the central command bunker had once been. Much of the obvious damage from the battle had long since been cleared. Craters had been filled, scorched carcasses of heavy vehicles had been towed away and melted down for scrap, and so on.
The vehicles came to a halt in a makeshift parking lot that had been set up in a field a few hundred meters from the memorial itself. SRU personnel in full combat gear waved vehicles in two at a time, searching them with mirrors, scanners, and even bomb dogs as they entered. IDs were requested of all passengers and checked against tablets by a square jawed sergeant with a broken tooth.
The SUVs were forced to wait in line like everyone else and were searched just the same before IDs were finally requested. The Sergeant went through them, one by one an frowned deeply upon arriving at the final one.
"You can proceed momentarily," He said gruffly. "As soon as the rebel gets out of the vehicle,"
D'Arcy glanced back at her passengers and flashed another of her easy smiles.
"The Master of Ceremonies will meet you just up ahead," She said. "I'll see you all after the ceremony,"
She opened the door and got out, pausing briefly to give a similar message to the passengers of the second vehicle while the guards finished checking the two cars.
Uran sat somewhat on edge as they searched the cars. He knew this entire planet was still in a rather tense situation, and he had a feeling there were still some quite... Active divisions still in its people ever since the defeat of the Revolutionary Front. Still he laid his hands on his lap and took a deep breath, taking in the surrounding scenary of the planet and the people. He felt kinship to them, they had come from a fractured mess to a somewhat united peoples that now tried to carve out its segment in the stars, it reminded him of Capitol and the trials and tribulations that they had come through to get where they were now.
It was a sobering experience but Uran had always been a down to earth man. Never a fanatic to the cause he only wished to do right for his people, no more no less. To be chosen by the Empress was a great honour, and he hoped he would do Capitol pride by being here.
Ackers sighed. "I know, General. This place was a meat grinder, and while it's good to see that they're bouncing back, I... I don't know. there's a lot of good men and women buried out there, and I can't help but feel that if this places fucks up I'm going to have even more faces haunting me than I already do. Telling me, 'You didn't do good enough.' You know?"
"Wasn't anything you could do, John." Kauff tried to reassure.
"Sure was, I could have brought the entirety of the militia. Instead, I brought one batt to a job for ten. Goddamn idiot I was."
He sighed and took a sip from his flask, offering it to Sabine after D'Arcy passed on her message and he acknowledged it. Wilson's last living parent and his little sister sat quietly, his father holding onto the medal that the tech had been awarded posthumously. Ackers had heard tell once, of the United States of America, a nation once not unlike his own, awarding a medal to those that done exceptional acts in exceptional times, the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Free Worlds had it's own equivalent-- Hero of the Frontiers. Wilson for his selfless act, had been awarded one and nominated for another.
Sabine accepted the drink from, taking one sip before speaking, "Nobody can blame you for doing what you were sent here to do. We were asked to come and help the commonwealth and that's exactly what we did. And while we could have prevented the loss of countless lives, some things are just beyond our control. You can't blame yourself all the time for what you think you were responsible for."
She recalled something Arabel told her once 'If you can't live with what you've done then the military life is not for you.' it was something the empress told her after she had lost most of her men and after she had slaughtered the enemies who had surrendered to her after the battle. She couldn't tell him that the military life may not be for him. After all, he looked like he came from a family who served the military for generations, she couldn't tell him that, she wasn't in the position to do so anyways.
"Suum cuique" she said softly before handing back the flask.
With D'Arcy gone and the inspection concluded the passengers had their IDs returned and were waved through to the parking lot proper. As promised the foreigners were met by the master of ceremonies.
He was a young man, still fresh faced, and couldn't have been much older than twenty five. He introduced himself as Captain Thompson and medals clincked on the chest of his perfectly pressed dress blacks as he saluted the assembled parties.
"Captain Ackers, and Captain Uran," He said once the introductions were complete. "Ms. O'Shea has informed me of your wish to speak. I've added you to the schedule. You'll speak after High General Anslack. I'd also like to extend a personal apology to all of you. I protested as much as regulation allowed over your escort. It's not proper for such important dignitaries to be accompanied by scum like her. You fought well for the safety and freedom of this planet, and it's an insult that you must now be accompanied by one of those you fought against."
He sighed and shook his head.
"But... Ambassador LaPointe has powerful friends and he was adamant that Ms. O'Shea be designated your escort. It was all I could do to ensure she was barred from desecrating the sanctity of this place with her presence. Come, I will show to your seats,"
The Captain turned on his heel and led the party toward the monument, a massive structure of white stone rising from the landscape with three white towers stood at its center in a triangle formation.
Space had been cleared at the base of the monument for the general public, but the Captain led them up the carved steps to the plateau of the monument itself, reserved for honored guests.
Ackers nodded in response to the general's words about when he was to speak, but frowned slightly at his wording of Ms. O'Shea. Rebel or not, someone wasn't scum unless they were like the UEA or a very small select amount of people. Ms. O'Shea wasn't that. He made a note to seek her out when all was done. Other than this however, he followed along quietly to the seats.
The ceremony began promptly at 10:30, shortly after everyone had been seated. Captain Thompson stood at the podium and asked that everyone rise.
The ceremony began with a soloist singing the national anthem and was proceeded in short order by the arrival of the 7th Hussar Regiment. They arrived on horseback, resplendent in grey and vlack uniforms with gold detailing that harkened back to a time before automatic weapons, armor and the trappings of modern warfare.
The hundred or so men surrounded the monument, and the crowd below it parted for six more of the Hussars, these on foot, to carry forth a coffin draped in the blue and yellow flag of the Commonwealth.
They ascended the stairs and placed the coffin just above a preprepared hole in front of the monument.
Finally the Hussar took up positions around the coffin and Captain Thompson spoke once more.
"Ladies and gentlemen, High General Arna Hanslack,"
He stepped away from the podium and Arna rose, coming forward on her own though she required a cane to move.
"Thank you Captain Thompson, and thank you to everyone for coming here today," She paused momentarily to survey the crowd before continuing.
"I found it difficult to find the right words to say today. My first drafts awkwardly bounced from somber remembrance to fiery rhetoric but neither of them felt quite right. Not for a nation trying to heal the rift that only a few short months ago so violently divided her. It's easy, as victor's, to believe that we were right, and that our enemies were wrong, and when I wrote this I had to keep reminding myself that no matter how the war turned out there was right and wrong on both sides and heroes and villains in equal measure,"
She paused.
"Today, I'd like to remember the heroes and let the villains be forgotten. Some of the heroes have names, they had ranks, and they had graves... others were lost in the battlefields of this war, unknown but not unremembered... and even more of the heroes had no names at all. Only serial numbers. Whether they're known to us or not, it is my hope that this monument will remember each and every hero of the war. That we will remember their bravery, their sacrifice and most of all that we will remember their legacy, and build a better tomorrow upon it,"
She stepped away from the podium and after a brief pause, returned to her seat. Captain Uran took the podium again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Captain Ackers of the Free Worlds would like to say a few words next,"
Ackers stood, clasping his hands behind his back and heading to the podium with the limp he likely was going to carry for the rest of his life. Arriving there he sighed, looking out of the assemblage. He cleared his throat.
"Over my lifetime, I've seen many conflicts. Some were senseless violence, spurred by a desire to destroy, or bloodlust. Others were massive wars, on the level that would see this beautiful place reduced to ash. And others yet were like this, revolutions and rebellions that tore apart families. I've been a part of a few of those conflicts, and I've seen more than my fair share of deaths both of my men and those of the ones I've been fighting at the time. I've taken more than my fair share of lives, I've commanded men into battle knowing full well some would die, and over all the battles I've been in and all the things I've seen what the hardest part always is isn't the dying, or the combat. That's hard, but it's the silence that comes after that's the hardest."
He paused, and cleared his throat again.
"The silence when it sets in exactly what you've done, and what's happened around you. There are people that're never going home, and some of them died by your hand. Friends that you saw, maybe that morning, that're never going home. How do you come to terms with that? How can you forgive yourself for the death and the dying? I've found that even with all my years in the armed forces going from battlefield to battlefield I can't. The scars don't heal, and I say this because all that was done here by all of those at the battle are going to leave lingering scars. Physical, mental, it doesn't matter. People are going to be hurting, and all the hate and anger borne of the conflict that ended not so long ago is going to cause friction when unity is needed. I've already seen it."
A sigh.
"In the end, we cannot forget what was sacrificed. Free Worlder, Vhestal, Araxian, it doesn't matter. We gave our lives to end this conflict and to secure peace for this world, and though the scars are going to linger and hate is going to keep going, you cannot let it affect you moving forwards. There was a wise man once, who spoke of an ancient war that ended lives by the hundreds of thousands and turned vast swathes of land barren. His words were simple, despite the suffering that this war caused. 'Lest we forget, lest history repeat.' It was a call to prevent another war, and while another war eventually began, his words still rang true. This may be in the same vein as the General's words, but they need said, because this world doesn't need another war."
"Lest we forget," he repeated. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen."
"Thank you Captain Ackers," Thompson said, taking the podium once more. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Captain Uran of the Grand Empire of Capitol,"
Uran stood up and straightened his uniform, nodding his head as a sign of respect to all those assembled.
"Conflict is never easy as Captain Ackers so eloquently put it. But is of all things nessecary, my people were born out of a war just like the one you fought. We were exiled from our home world, our cradle of existance and flung into the stars after we had shed our blood to try achieve what we believed in. We were not strong enough and many times did we fight amongst the stars. That was our journey and every single conflict strengthens us as a people. It brings us together, those who survive have done so for a reason and no matter what divisions are in our society we band together after the fight is won even if it is brother against brother." He paused.
"Capitol has become what it is today because of what you have all done, fight for what you believe in. I guarantee that in the decades down the line that your people will be stronger and more unified because of this exact conflict. It may not seem like it but you would make your ancestors proud. Now as you venture into the greatness of this galaxy you have seen everything around you. You have seen the conflict of the 2nd Ancerious war and you now know that unity is more important than ever. If you are to survive you must throw away tenants of division and lay even the recent bloodshed to rest. You have a greater mission and destiny before you and you are free to carve it how you choose to."
"Remember the fallen and never forget them. But look forward to the future and fight for your right to be free" He then bowed "Thank you all"
When Captain Uran took his seat the ceremonies continued. No other speeches were given, the ceremony instead moving forward to the presentation of medals and battle honors... and there were a lot of them. Even having limited themselves to only presenting the highest honors the medal ceremony went on for nearly an hour before finally concluding with the Valorous Service Medal being awarded to Wilson.
With the medals given out, and the speeches done Captain Thompson stood once more.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now conclude the ceremony with the burial of the Unknown Soldier. Please stand,"
As the assembled politicians and public rose to their feet a low continuous drone of bagpipes sounded, shortly punctuated by several slow, mournful higher notes. The melody continued, with drums and a vocalist joining the song as the six Hussars who had carried the coffin into place folded the flag that had been laid upon it and began lowering it into its tomb, finally placing a heavy marble cover over the hole as the song concluded.
Finally, eight of the Hussars came forward, led by a captain and each carrying a rifle.
"Luchd-ciùird ... tionndaidh!" The captain shouted, the seven men turning in unison.
"Brathan an-diugh!" The seven men brought their weapons up and the Captain walked down the line.
"Dèan deiseil!" They aimed their weapons into the sky.
"Teine!" The seven rifles fired in unison. Once... twice... three times...
As the final volley echoed away the Hussars left the monument, mounting up on their horses once more and riding away, signalling that the ceremony was over. The crowd began to disperse returning to cars and other vehicles. Thompson spoke briefly with a few men before approaching the foreigners and leading them back to their vehicles.
"Captain Uran, Ms. O'Shea will be waiting for you just beyond the gates," He told them. "Everyone else, we'll be headed back to the Capital for a luncheon. Ms. O'Shea will rejoin you there and see to your needs once more,"
Uran nodded at the remark as he walked out to meet O'Shea, he straightened his uniform once again and pulled out his old camera provided by the Empress. He had come here for more than one job of course, and he would not let down the Empress or her daughter.
People mistrusted O'Shea but Uran did not. He did not care for old rivalries they should be put into the past and left there.
Wilson's family accepted the Valorous Service Medal quietly and with as much respect as he deserved, though his little sister was unable to hold back her tears. She'd lost her brother-- there was no shame in it. Ackers for his part was silent, as was Kauff. As they went to the luncheon, there simply was little to say.
As promised D'Arcy was waiting just beyond the gate, standing next to another SUV with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Unlike the SUVs that had brought the dignitaries to the event this one looked as though it was actually meant to travel off road.
She glanced up from her tablet as Uran approached, flicking away her cigarette and smiling.
"Enjoyed the ceremony?" She asked climbing into the driver side of the SUV.
Meanwhile, the rest of the dignitaries were escorted back to the same two SUVs and along with Captain Thompson they began the ride back to the capital for the luncheon.
He nodded "Yes, it was good to see how another nation honours its warriors. A humbling insight I must admit. However I must ask how you thought it went it would be rude not to"
He smiled as he climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up for a rough ride. He was surprisingly enjoying this, which was pleasant, he intended to use this as a get away from normal duties.
"Well its frustrating having to watch an event you're a couple hundred meters away from on a livestream..." D'Arcy answered as she began driving. "But... well I suppose it wasn't for me was it? They spent most of their time up there handing out medals to people who did a real good job at killing people I knew. Makes me just want to..."
She trailed off and held the wheel in a vice like grip for several long moments before slowly relaxing.
"My apologies. I got carried away,"
She continued in silence the SUV leaving anything even vaguely resembling a proper road for a muddy dirt track.
"Guess that's what they get for winning. They get to control the narrative." She added solemnly as they crested a hill.
-----
The trip back to the capital was a silent one, everyone lost in quiet contemplation as they sped along the highway.
The luncheon itself was held in a function room on one of the top floors of a skyscraper overlooking the construction of the new government buildings.
Many a politician and many more wealthy donors were in attendance, walking about in muted colors and chatting quietly in small groups.
Hashmon walked over to Captain Ackers and extended his now bionic hand.
“Good to see you again Ackers, I’m glad you made it out alive and in better shape than me” he joked.
"Not by much, General." Ackers said, taking Hashmon's hand and shaking it firmly. The captain showed no hesitation to the bionic, clasping it like he would any other man's hand.
"Took heavy shrapnel and three broken bones in my leg and suffered a semi-perforated stomach when my IFSP went down. Stomach's recovered, but the docs say my leg never will."
He gave a thin, wan smile.
"At least I can still pilot. How'd you make out?"
"I completely understand. My own people came from the losers of a civil war and history has painted us as the bad guys ever since. Even when we tried to help the galaxy in penance we were thrown away, of course our leader didn’t help but then you can’t judge every single person on a leader" He kept an eye out for where they were going, noticing her grip as he then continued to speak.
"Just take solace in the fact you know the truth, don’t stop fighting. They will forgive you in time I expect, your nation has a long way to go in this galaxy but your first steps will be crucial"
She brought the vehicle to a halt at the top of the hill, silencing the engine and motioning vaguely with her hand. Spready out below them was a large field of yellow flowers, swaying gently in the spring breeze. The field stretched on toward the horizon and the broken remnants of a city that stood there, creating what seemed to be a veritable sea of the yellow flowers.
"That about what you were looking for Captain?" D'Arcy asked as she shut off the engine. "Radiation gets bad if you go too far in. So we'll need to stick near the edges,"
She opened the door and stepped out of the car, lighting up a cigarette once the door had closed behind her.
"I'm not sure they will forgive us," She commented walking down the hill. "They didn't even want to press the issue of torture and war crimes after the battle was over. Only reason they did is because Councillor Var pushed for it so hard..."
"Becoming a unified nation and facing the evils of the galaxy together will draw your people together. You have not experienced the hardships that will make or break your nation yet, know that you will all most likely stand shoulder to shoulder when those come to pass" Utran nodded to her before dismounting the vehicle. He walked forward looking from the top of the hill to the flower covered ruins and fields below.
Normally he wasnt a sentimental man but Utran thought the scene was beautiful. It was a statement after a war and a fitting grave for so many dead. He smiled to himself im sure the Empress and Elena would have loved to come here. He began to kneel down taking pictures at different scapes and angles before moving to the edge of the flower fields themselves. He then took more close ups of the flowers before picking only a single flower before bowing in front of the field.
"Thank you for your beauty" He muttered before placing the flower in a small stasis field holder to give to Elena when he got back.
“Well, not so much in one piece. Most of my right side is bionics, leg, arm, eye, couple ribs and a lung all needed replacement.” Hashmon said to Ackers said sombrely
“You know what those Davian missiles sound like up close Ackers? They hit the ground sounding like an angry fire god pounding the area and the plasma spread out with a roar. The noise was so deafening that you could have almost not heard the screams. By the time it finished and the barrage was over the only thing that you could hear was the crackling of the burning forest trees.” He replied losing the emotion in his voice as he spoke.
"Close enough, General." Ackers responded. He remembered that day. He remembered the screams, loud enough that they didn't need comms, the almost instant cries for permission for medics to haul ass over there, cries he'd had to deny when the enemy started hitting them, watching an entire front of allied troops on his HUD just... vanish. And yes. He remembered the sound. A sound like nothing else.
"Wish I hadn't been, but life's life."
D'Arcy didn't answer as he went about photographing the flowers. She just took a long drag on her cigarette and slowly let the smoke dance out of her mouth before finally exhaling the last of the acrid smoke. He might be right she supposed. Unity was so often found on battlefields against external threats... but for the time being it was all guess work, and she wasn't optimistic enough to agree with him outright.
When he'd finished taking his pictures she discarded the cigarette, coughed twice, and climbed into the SUV once more, returning to the city with the Captain to rejoin the others.
The detour hadn't ended up taking as long as she thought it might. By the time they arrived at the luncheon most of the guests were still there. A few of the highest ranking politicians had left now that they'd put in their appearances, but most of them were still there.
D'Arcy surveyed the crowd with a practiced eye, picking out her charges in the crowd before catching Captain Thompson's eye. He glared at her hatefully but she only smiled. Deciding the simple message of 'I'm back' had been received she set about making sure her charges were faring alright. The TDA and the Free Worlders were busily conversing, and she figured the Captain could take care of himself for now, so she made her way over to the dignitaries from the GAE, who were off on their own.
"How is everything?" She asked cheerfully as she approached. "To your liking I hope?"
"Yes, it has been a mostly pleasant day so far. My uncle and I were discussing the events after our own civil war and our reunification war." Sabine said, and while she smiled she was still angry from her recent argument with her uncle. Her left hand hidden behind her back, still rolled into a fist. "How was the detour you made earlier? All sorted out I hope?"
The Major stood off to one side, seeming slightly disturbed by something and a bit lost in thought. To most, it would just look like an old man pondering something, like if he left the stove on or perhaps left the fridge door open as he was leaving his house.
Hashmon rubbed his hands though his hair and rubbed his palms into his eyes. He was tired, he hadn’t slept properly since the bombing. He stared blankly into space with a pained expression on his face, before diverting his attention back to Ackers.
“Sorry about that, sometimes… I just… you know” he mumbled dismally
It only took few moments for Switch to notice Hashmons distress, she quickly walked over to where he was standing with Ackers.
“Take it easy Burt, you’re alright.” She comforted him for a second before looking to Ackers.
“Alliance Admiral Sara Switch, you must be Captain Ackers I remember you from the hearing. A pleasure to meet you.” She said gleefully extending her hand.
"The hearing..." he said. "No offense meant Admiral, but I'd rather not remember that too well. Preferably less once I've had a few beers later."
He smiled thinly, trying to force unpleasant events following hours of horror and thunder from his mind. That wasn't what they were here for today.
Utran took a seat somewhere, he wasnt interested in the luncheon or the formalities and made himself comfortable in a quiet corner surveying the room. The nations who had come to attend were also interesting, ones that Capitol knew comparitively little about, maybe first contacts could be arranged in time, perhaps some of them would even join the APP?
He smiled to himself at the notion and then pulled the camera out, flicking through the various pictures he had taken. Unbeknownest to anyone else other than the Empress Utran was also a renowned annonymous photographer in Capitol, his job however would be rediculed by such knowledge being public. That the Empress trusted him enough, made him very happy indeed.
"All sorted," D'Arcy confirmed with an easy smile and a nod. The conversation lapsed into an awkward silence and she turned to survey the crowd, racking her brain for new conversation topics... but she wasn't exactly sure she had much in common with the two soldiers. The GAE had suffered some of the heaviest casualties in the fighting, and since she'd served on the opposing side she supposed that neither of them would be particularly keen to reminisce over the battle.
Unfortunately that seemed to be the source of most of the conversation at the luncheon. Rich benefactors and politicians gathered around soldiers in their dress uniforms, listening as they regailed them with tales of their bravery. How many Rebs did you kill? How many battles did you fight?
She tried to take a deep breath, expel those useless thoughts from her mind but when she breathed in all she could smell was burning flesh. Her breath caught in her throat. She made a choking sound, and then coughed loudly, wiping a hand across her mouth with a muttered curse.
"Sorry," She said when the fit had passed, waving off any concerns over her health. "I don't do well at these kinds of..." Glorifications and romanticizations over the deaths of my friends? "Events," She finished weakly.
There was a reason why Sabine and most GAE officers hated these kinds of events. While it did give them a chance to wear their best uniforms decorated nicely with medals and campaign awards, it did more than over glorifying their actions on the battlefield. The younger officers in the GAE wouldn't know any better but Sabine had been to enough parties to understand why people hated these kinds of events.
"That's alright. Tell me though, what do you see in the future of your nation? Do you see them accepting this recent rebellion and changing their ways or do you think they will continue the way they were before? Of course as outsiders we have no right to judge, but as people who have fought a part in this we can't help but wonder what we've left behind."
Utran kept to himself in the entire event. He engaged with conversation where he was directly approached. Mainly questions about the APP, Capitol and the events regarding the Crucible were asked by the various rich and military of Vestahl. Each time he repeated that he believed what his nation was doing was right and that the Crucible was unfortunately a less than wanted means to an end but he tried not to get too entrenched diplomatically in case he accidentally said something that may compromise his people or apperance. He eat and drank of course it would be a dishonour not to at such an event. But Utran was more of a military man of solitude, never one for political or social gatherings. This entire ordeal was somewhat alien to him and while he was happy with the speech he made to the ceremony he quite honestly saw his job here as done. The rest was platitudes and pleasentries.
Ackers, in his own way, was a lot like Utran. A military man, while not solitary, feeling most comfortable around his fellow military personnel or his troops. With a drink in hand he bid good day to the TDA commanders, and made his way over to Sabine and D'Arcy. He listened to the talk as he went, trying to keep the memories of that horrid day from his mind. He only partially succeeded with the memories so fresh, and he slugged down a good bit before approaching the two. He didn't see Squadron Leader Kauff or Wilson's family anywhere, but he could guess where they'd gone. "General, Ms. D'Arcy." he said, nodding to them both. They were in a conversation, he noticed, and settled in to listen and observe.(edited)
“Well he didn’t seem very interested in talking did he?” Switch commented to Hashmon “Yeah, well maybe you just scared him off” he jested in return before pointing out to her that they should get more drinks. The Alliance delegation was used to a much more informal type of victory party where everyone would celebrate the victory and celebrate the sacrifice of their comrades so they could have it. Alcohol is stored in large quantities on board warships for such occasions so it could quickly be ferried down to a planet’s surface and the many Bars that were also commonplace on Alliance warships made excellent spots for naval personnel to celebrate their victories.
"It's... complicated," D'Arcy answered Sabine weakly. "There's a lot of voices in the government who think the rebels got off easy. Those that laid down their arms and gave up got pardons. Free passes to go home and forg et any of this ever happened. If they'd gotten their way the ones who got tortured would have got nothing but a sympathetic nod. Var had to fight tooth and nail to even be allowed to bring up the torture at the war crimes tribunal, and even then they got nothing. No trials of their own, no justice, just 'whoops, they're all dead now. Don't worry about it," She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not only that, but a bunch of prominent former rebels have gotten themselves elected to the assembly and they have veto power in DISEC. There's a lot of concern that they're going to start vetoing everything for the sake of being contrarian and not because they actually oppose legislation. There's even bigger concerns that they're going to deadlock the assembly and prevent any legislation from getting through, and that doesn't even begin to factor in the colonies, and the fact that the Commonwealth is continuing colonization initiatives based on legislation passed before the war. And I haven't even mentioned the ex-patriation employment program or the VRF hold outs..." She returned her hand to her side. "It's complicated," She repeated finally. "And this place is suffocating."
"And I guess leaving the planet isn't an option? I'm sure there will be someone out there who would need you better than these guys." Sabine kept her voice down. She kept reminding herself that she was here because she had been invited, so out of respect she kept her voice down. "The way things stand, things won't be changing any time soon. Going out there into the galaxy to get some "air" wouldn't be too bad of an idea right?" Major Student just stood to the side, watching to see if anyone from Vestahl had heard what his niece may have said. He definitely did not want to make himself or his nation look like people who would stir something up in another nation.
Ackers really didn't have anything to say until he was spoken to or noted, and so he didn't. Both D'Arcy's and Arabel's words were true to his mind, but for the moment he kept quiet. Wasn't his place to interject here.
D'Arcy chuckled at that and shook her head. "It's not the planet that's suffocating, it's this room with all these politicians and posh business people fawning over wounded soldiers. You know some of these people they're idolizing didn't even see combat? That one over there, he was a flight mechanic. He tuned up snub craft hundreds of kilometers away from the actual fighting and now he's surrounded by affluent people showing off campaign medals he really didn't earn." She stopped short of 'and what did I get?'. She was supposed to be making the Commonwealth seem to be on the up and up for all the foreigners, and railing against the system wasn't exactly the best way of doing that. "Forget it," She said finally. "I just... I need to go. But I can't because I have to stay with you..." An idea suddenly occurred to her. "Unless you want to leave too," She said. "Just say the words. 'Ms. O'Shea, I'd like to go to a livelier party now' and I'll be obligated to make it happen,"
Sabine felt embarrassed for misunderstanding what D'Arcy had said before laughing when she heard her suggestion, "Sorry, it's just that the way you said it reminded me of how Arabel used to ask people to do things for her. Yes, I think moving on to another more livelier place would be good." She glanced over to Ackers who had been staning by himself and approached him, "Not exactly very subtle standing over here and alone, wouldn't be very difficult to guess what you were trying to listen in. Should we gather the others and get moving on then?"(edited)
"My apologies, General. I thought I was being subtle." Ackers laughed lightly. "I guess subtlety is just one of those things that goes out the window a bit when you're an IFSP pilot. Gathering the others and getting a move on sounds good."
D'Arcy opened her mouth to say something only to close it again as Captain Thompson approached the group. He and D'Arcy shared a brief whispered conversation. Whatever the conversation was about, it obviously left D'Arcy upset. "It seems Captain Thompson will be taking over as your escort for the remainder of your stay," D'Arcy said at last. "I suppose bars must wait for another time..." She left shortly thereafter, leaving the dignitaries to the event. The luncheon dragged on for another hour before finally coming to an end. Once finished, Thompson escorted everyone back to their ships, thanking each for coming and for their aid in reclaiming the planet.
But perhaps some what worryingly, the shipyards weren't pumping out trade ships or construction vessels, it was warships that seemed to be under construction in the shipyard, dozens of them undergoing construction as the vessels arrived, with dozens more having already been deployed on patrol routes around the system.
But the most abundant vessels weren't of Vestahl's design, but rather the blocky shapes of the Rangvald Cartel's vessels, each bearing the insignia of the Black Rabbit Security Corporation, a private military contractor that had recieved massive contracts to defend Vestahl while she rebuilt. Contracts that had been paid for with the reparations recieved from the Davians.
It was these vessels that approached the travelers, scanning them briefly to verify their identities before providing comms frequencies for traffic control, where operators were quick to provide docking vectors to one of the larger orbital installations around the planet.
Captain Ackers, Squadron Commander Kauff and the family of the last Free Worlds man to die on Vestahl had come for the commemoration ceremonies, and the transport bearing them headed quickly to the orbital installation that had been pointed out to them. Upon debarking they waited for directions about where to go, but made no further requests than that until the others that were arriving, arrived.
The GAE appeared at the edge of the Vestahl system, the single Lupus Class destroyer leader launched an unarmed Gargoyle II gunship from its hangar. Two newly promoted officers sat facing each other as they were being transported to their destination. Obertsleutnant Arnold Student and Generalfeldmarshall Sabine von Guderian, both were present during the battle at one point or another. Their ride between the destroyer and the designated meeting place was short and when they arrived, they stepped off, ready for someone to take them to wherever they were wanted.
The TDA diplomatic ship emerged from its wormhole at the edge of the system. On board the ship were Director Albert Tyldum, General Burt Hashmon and newly promoted Admiral Sara Switch, with the latter two both being present at the battle. The ship followed instructions to where they needed to land to attend the ceremony, where they awaited further instructions.
Despite the diplomacy having been conducted directly with the Empress it turned out that she would not be personally attending the memorial service. The security risks were far too great, and with Rubikon and the Crucible under attack it was left to Captain Uran to represent Capitol at such an event. His arrival was without ceremony or glamore as a single Mk.3 Trident class battleship pulled itself free of slipspace and made its way in system to the designated area. He stood in immaculate dress uniform aboard the bridge, apart from one curious feature, an old camera lay strapped around his neck. It was on order from the Empress for him to personally take pictures of the floral arrangements for her daughter Elena. Many of the crew had laughed at the idea, but he found honour in it. What was their purpose other than securing the future for their children, and giving them what they could?
The vessel entered its designated orbital plane before the shuttle took him towards the planet, there to be attended by aids and then to watch the ceremony. He had two Hydra guard with him, both in ceremonial dress but still armed and imposing. He hoped it would be as grand as the Empress made it out to be.
The dignitaries were ushered into a lounge aboard the space station to wait until all had arrived. Once everyone was in attendance a red haired woman in a black suit entered the lounge she scanned the gathered people momentarily before clearing her throat to get everyone's attention.
"Greetings and salutations. My name is D'Arcy O'Shea. I'm a junior foreign relations officer and I'll be your escort for the day,"
She straightened a black overcoat momentarily before continuing.
"Before we begin I'd ask that anyone who wishes to say a few words at the ceremony say so now so that I may inform the master of ceremonies and have the schedule updated. As well if anyone has any questions I can answer them now."
"Miss O'Shea," Captain Ackers said, raising a hand. "I'd like to say a few words for the fallen." The captain would say more, but at the moment he had no questions, and he had nothing else to say.
Uran nodded and raised a hand too "I shall say some words for the fallen. I would also wish to ask I have been asked by my Empress to take pictures of your floral arrangements for this event, if your people can assist in such I would be very grateful" He smiled.
She tapped momentarily on a small tablet, sending off the additions to the masters of ceromonies before addressing Uran's question.
"Yes, I've made arrangements Captain Uran. I met with the Empress and her daughter and anticipated such a request. Though I had hoped they may come themselves, but I understand matters must keep them occupied elsewhere. I will take you after the ceremonies have concluded,"
She turned her attention back to the group.
"We'll take the orbital elevator down to the planet where cars will be waiting to take all of you toward Levitsky where the ceremony will be held. Once we arrive at the ceremony grounds, you will be met by the Master of Ceremonies who will escort you to your seats as I am... not permitted on the ceremony grounds."
She paused momentarily to check her notes before continuing.
"The ceremony will be taking place on the battlefield surrounding Levitsky. Radiation is not a concern however I have been asked to impress upon all of you not to travel outside of the roped off areas as everything out there has not been thoroughly cleared of ordinance yet. After the ceremony you will be taken by the Master of Ceremonies to a luncheon back in the capital. I will rejoin you there though Captian Uran and I will be making a detour to the floral arrangements. You may leave at any time during the luncheon. Those of you intending to stay longer upon Vestahl can speak to me during the luncheon and I'll make arrangements for your continued stay. I will be here and at your disposal for anything you require until you have left, so if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please don't hesitate to bring them to me. Are there any other questions before we proceed?"
Seeing that there were no questions D'Arcy motioned for everyone to follow her and led them out of the room and on a brief trip to the orbital elevators. The station itself was busy with travellers, business people, and government officials coming and going but they were lucky enough to get an elevator to themselves.
The ride down to the planet's surface was a short one, only taking a few minutes before the elevator slowed to a halt and the doors opened. Another brief walk through an equally crowded and bustling port and finally D'Arcy led the group into a pair of waiting black SUVs. There was enough room for six passengers in each of the vehicles, though they would be rather cramped, so D'Arcy was quick to assign five to each.
Captain Ackers, the FW naval squadron commander, Wilson's parents, and General Sabine were assigned to one, while the remaining four went in the second SUV with D'Arcy. Once everyone was situated the cars began driving, weaving briefly through city streets lined with protestors holding up all manner of signs lamenting the 'soft touch' the VRF had supposedly been afforded, before making their way onto the highway.
Captain Ackers looked hard over the land that so recently he'd fought and been nearly-crippled on, noting the protestors and the city's structure for a while before sitting back and looking to the squadron commander and Sabine.
"Hell of a day it was, John." Kauff noted.
"Yeah. Never ended for some of us." Ackers replied, looking to Sabine. "How did your men turn out, General?"
The young general had also been looking outside, her thoughts immediately raced back to when the empire annexed a nation long since considered their enemy. It was the same scene wherever you went, the people back home in the Raxian galaxy were the same. Too lenient they said, even after we crippled their government, and even after we had massacred thousands of their soldiers, or physically beat down those who tried to stay loyal to their already annexed nation by spouting propaganda and they still dare to say that assimilating them into the empire was too lenient. But she guessed that was only because her people had been living under such a harsh ruler for the whole time before the empire 'liberated' them.
"Unfortunately for us, we only managed to return with that one airborne infantry battalion we sent in at the end of the battle. Everything and everyone else we had was done in by the massive trench bomb in the third defensive line." Sabine was brought out of thought when she was called, her voice shaking a little from remembering how much killing she had done last time to achieve similar results.
"It's always a shame to see that not everyone will be satisfied by whatever we gave up in order to achieve this result. I've seen it once before, had to kill a lot more people to get the same result though."
The trip down the highway was uneventful. Cars sped by both in the same and opposite direction of the two vehicles, ordinary people going to and fro. It was about a half hour before the vehicles arrived in the area surrounding Levitsky.
The memorial istelf had been built near to the crater where the central command bunker had once been. Much of the obvious damage from the battle had long since been cleared. Craters had been filled, scorched carcasses of heavy vehicles had been towed away and melted down for scrap, and so on.
The vehicles came to a halt in a makeshift parking lot that had been set up in a field a few hundred meters from the memorial itself. SRU personnel in full combat gear waved vehicles in two at a time, searching them with mirrors, scanners, and even bomb dogs as they entered. IDs were requested of all passengers and checked against tablets by a square jawed sergeant with a broken tooth.
The SUVs were forced to wait in line like everyone else and were searched just the same before IDs were finally requested. The Sergeant went through them, one by one an frowned deeply upon arriving at the final one.
"You can proceed momentarily," He said gruffly. "As soon as the rebel gets out of the vehicle,"
D'Arcy glanced back at her passengers and flashed another of her easy smiles.
"The Master of Ceremonies will meet you just up ahead," She said. "I'll see you all after the ceremony,"
She opened the door and got out, pausing briefly to give a similar message to the passengers of the second vehicle while the guards finished checking the two cars.
Uran sat somewhat on edge as they searched the cars. He knew this entire planet was still in a rather tense situation, and he had a feeling there were still some quite... Active divisions still in its people ever since the defeat of the Revolutionary Front. Still he laid his hands on his lap and took a deep breath, taking in the surrounding scenary of the planet and the people. He felt kinship to them, they had come from a fractured mess to a somewhat united peoples that now tried to carve out its segment in the stars, it reminded him of Capitol and the trials and tribulations that they had come through to get where they were now.
It was a sobering experience but Uran had always been a down to earth man. Never a fanatic to the cause he only wished to do right for his people, no more no less. To be chosen by the Empress was a great honour, and he hoped he would do Capitol pride by being here.
Ackers sighed. "I know, General. This place was a meat grinder, and while it's good to see that they're bouncing back, I... I don't know. there's a lot of good men and women buried out there, and I can't help but feel that if this places fucks up I'm going to have even more faces haunting me than I already do. Telling me, 'You didn't do good enough.' You know?"
"Wasn't anything you could do, John." Kauff tried to reassure.
"Sure was, I could have brought the entirety of the militia. Instead, I brought one batt to a job for ten. Goddamn idiot I was."
He sighed and took a sip from his flask, offering it to Sabine after D'Arcy passed on her message and he acknowledged it. Wilson's last living parent and his little sister sat quietly, his father holding onto the medal that the tech had been awarded posthumously. Ackers had heard tell once, of the United States of America, a nation once not unlike his own, awarding a medal to those that done exceptional acts in exceptional times, the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Free Worlds had it's own equivalent-- Hero of the Frontiers. Wilson for his selfless act, had been awarded one and nominated for another.
Sabine accepted the drink from, taking one sip before speaking, "Nobody can blame you for doing what you were sent here to do. We were asked to come and help the commonwealth and that's exactly what we did. And while we could have prevented the loss of countless lives, some things are just beyond our control. You can't blame yourself all the time for what you think you were responsible for."
She recalled something Arabel told her once 'If you can't live with what you've done then the military life is not for you.' it was something the empress told her after she had lost most of her men and after she had slaughtered the enemies who had surrendered to her after the battle. She couldn't tell him that the military life may not be for him. After all, he looked like he came from a family who served the military for generations, she couldn't tell him that, she wasn't in the position to do so anyways.
"Suum cuique" she said softly before handing back the flask.
With D'Arcy gone and the inspection concluded the passengers had their IDs returned and were waved through to the parking lot proper. As promised the foreigners were met by the master of ceremonies.
He was a young man, still fresh faced, and couldn't have been much older than twenty five. He introduced himself as Captain Thompson and medals clincked on the chest of his perfectly pressed dress blacks as he saluted the assembled parties.
"Captain Ackers, and Captain Uran," He said once the introductions were complete. "Ms. O'Shea has informed me of your wish to speak. I've added you to the schedule. You'll speak after High General Anslack. I'd also like to extend a personal apology to all of you. I protested as much as regulation allowed over your escort. It's not proper for such important dignitaries to be accompanied by scum like her. You fought well for the safety and freedom of this planet, and it's an insult that you must now be accompanied by one of those you fought against."
He sighed and shook his head.
"But... Ambassador LaPointe has powerful friends and he was adamant that Ms. O'Shea be designated your escort. It was all I could do to ensure she was barred from desecrating the sanctity of this place with her presence. Come, I will show to your seats,"
The Captain turned on his heel and led the party toward the monument, a massive structure of white stone rising from the landscape with three white towers stood at its center in a triangle formation.
Space had been cleared at the base of the monument for the general public, but the Captain led them up the carved steps to the plateau of the monument itself, reserved for honored guests.
Ackers nodded in response to the general's words about when he was to speak, but frowned slightly at his wording of Ms. O'Shea. Rebel or not, someone wasn't scum unless they were like the UEA or a very small select amount of people. Ms. O'Shea wasn't that. He made a note to seek her out when all was done. Other than this however, he followed along quietly to the seats.
The ceremony began promptly at 10:30, shortly after everyone had been seated. Captain Thompson stood at the podium and asked that everyone rise.
The ceremony began with a soloist singing the national anthem and was proceeded in short order by the arrival of the 7th Hussar Regiment. They arrived on horseback, resplendent in grey and vlack uniforms with gold detailing that harkened back to a time before automatic weapons, armor and the trappings of modern warfare.
The hundred or so men surrounded the monument, and the crowd below it parted for six more of the Hussars, these on foot, to carry forth a coffin draped in the blue and yellow flag of the Commonwealth.
They ascended the stairs and placed the coffin just above a preprepared hole in front of the monument.
Finally the Hussar took up positions around the coffin and Captain Thompson spoke once more.
"Ladies and gentlemen, High General Arna Hanslack,"
He stepped away from the podium and Arna rose, coming forward on her own though she required a cane to move.
"Thank you Captain Thompson, and thank you to everyone for coming here today," She paused momentarily to survey the crowd before continuing.
"I found it difficult to find the right words to say today. My first drafts awkwardly bounced from somber remembrance to fiery rhetoric but neither of them felt quite right. Not for a nation trying to heal the rift that only a few short months ago so violently divided her. It's easy, as victor's, to believe that we were right, and that our enemies were wrong, and when I wrote this I had to keep reminding myself that no matter how the war turned out there was right and wrong on both sides and heroes and villains in equal measure,"
She paused.
"Today, I'd like to remember the heroes and let the villains be forgotten. Some of the heroes have names, they had ranks, and they had graves... others were lost in the battlefields of this war, unknown but not unremembered... and even more of the heroes had no names at all. Only serial numbers. Whether they're known to us or not, it is my hope that this monument will remember each and every hero of the war. That we will remember their bravery, their sacrifice and most of all that we will remember their legacy, and build a better tomorrow upon it,"
She stepped away from the podium and after a brief pause, returned to her seat. Captain Uran took the podium again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Captain Ackers of the Free Worlds would like to say a few words next,"
Ackers stood, clasping his hands behind his back and heading to the podium with the limp he likely was going to carry for the rest of his life. Arriving there he sighed, looking out of the assemblage. He cleared his throat.
"Over my lifetime, I've seen many conflicts. Some were senseless violence, spurred by a desire to destroy, or bloodlust. Others were massive wars, on the level that would see this beautiful place reduced to ash. And others yet were like this, revolutions and rebellions that tore apart families. I've been a part of a few of those conflicts, and I've seen more than my fair share of deaths both of my men and those of the ones I've been fighting at the time. I've taken more than my fair share of lives, I've commanded men into battle knowing full well some would die, and over all the battles I've been in and all the things I've seen what the hardest part always is isn't the dying, or the combat. That's hard, but it's the silence that comes after that's the hardest."
He paused, and cleared his throat again.
"The silence when it sets in exactly what you've done, and what's happened around you. There are people that're never going home, and some of them died by your hand. Friends that you saw, maybe that morning, that're never going home. How do you come to terms with that? How can you forgive yourself for the death and the dying? I've found that even with all my years in the armed forces going from battlefield to battlefield I can't. The scars don't heal, and I say this because all that was done here by all of those at the battle are going to leave lingering scars. Physical, mental, it doesn't matter. People are going to be hurting, and all the hate and anger borne of the conflict that ended not so long ago is going to cause friction when unity is needed. I've already seen it."
A sigh.
"In the end, we cannot forget what was sacrificed. Free Worlder, Vhestal, Araxian, it doesn't matter. We gave our lives to end this conflict and to secure peace for this world, and though the scars are going to linger and hate is going to keep going, you cannot let it affect you moving forwards. There was a wise man once, who spoke of an ancient war that ended lives by the hundreds of thousands and turned vast swathes of land barren. His words were simple, despite the suffering that this war caused. 'Lest we forget, lest history repeat.' It was a call to prevent another war, and while another war eventually began, his words still rang true. This may be in the same vein as the General's words, but they need said, because this world doesn't need another war."
"Lest we forget," he repeated. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen."
"Thank you Captain Ackers," Thompson said, taking the podium once more. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Captain Uran of the Grand Empire of Capitol,"
Uran stood up and straightened his uniform, nodding his head as a sign of respect to all those assembled.
"Conflict is never easy as Captain Ackers so eloquently put it. But is of all things nessecary, my people were born out of a war just like the one you fought. We were exiled from our home world, our cradle of existance and flung into the stars after we had shed our blood to try achieve what we believed in. We were not strong enough and many times did we fight amongst the stars. That was our journey and every single conflict strengthens us as a people. It brings us together, those who survive have done so for a reason and no matter what divisions are in our society we band together after the fight is won even if it is brother against brother." He paused.
"Capitol has become what it is today because of what you have all done, fight for what you believe in. I guarantee that in the decades down the line that your people will be stronger and more unified because of this exact conflict. It may not seem like it but you would make your ancestors proud. Now as you venture into the greatness of this galaxy you have seen everything around you. You have seen the conflict of the 2nd Ancerious war and you now know that unity is more important than ever. If you are to survive you must throw away tenants of division and lay even the recent bloodshed to rest. You have a greater mission and destiny before you and you are free to carve it how you choose to."
"Remember the fallen and never forget them. But look forward to the future and fight for your right to be free" He then bowed "Thank you all"
When Captain Uran took his seat the ceremonies continued. No other speeches were given, the ceremony instead moving forward to the presentation of medals and battle honors... and there were a lot of them. Even having limited themselves to only presenting the highest honors the medal ceremony went on for nearly an hour before finally concluding with the Valorous Service Medal being awarded to Wilson.
With the medals given out, and the speeches done Captain Thompson stood once more.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now conclude the ceremony with the burial of the Unknown Soldier. Please stand,"
As the assembled politicians and public rose to their feet a low continuous drone of bagpipes sounded, shortly punctuated by several slow, mournful higher notes. The melody continued, with drums and a vocalist joining the song as the six Hussars who had carried the coffin into place folded the flag that had been laid upon it and began lowering it into its tomb, finally placing a heavy marble cover over the hole as the song concluded.
Finally, eight of the Hussars came forward, led by a captain and each carrying a rifle.
"Luchd-ciùird ... tionndaidh!" The captain shouted, the seven men turning in unison.
"Brathan an-diugh!" The seven men brought their weapons up and the Captain walked down the line.
"Dèan deiseil!" They aimed their weapons into the sky.
"Teine!" The seven rifles fired in unison. Once... twice... three times...
As the final volley echoed away the Hussars left the monument, mounting up on their horses once more and riding away, signalling that the ceremony was over. The crowd began to disperse returning to cars and other vehicles. Thompson spoke briefly with a few men before approaching the foreigners and leading them back to their vehicles.
"Captain Uran, Ms. O'Shea will be waiting for you just beyond the gates," He told them. "Everyone else, we'll be headed back to the Capital for a luncheon. Ms. O'Shea will rejoin you there and see to your needs once more,"
Uran nodded at the remark as he walked out to meet O'Shea, he straightened his uniform once again and pulled out his old camera provided by the Empress. He had come here for more than one job of course, and he would not let down the Empress or her daughter.
People mistrusted O'Shea but Uran did not. He did not care for old rivalries they should be put into the past and left there.
Wilson's family accepted the Valorous Service Medal quietly and with as much respect as he deserved, though his little sister was unable to hold back her tears. She'd lost her brother-- there was no shame in it. Ackers for his part was silent, as was Kauff. As they went to the luncheon, there simply was little to say.
As promised D'Arcy was waiting just beyond the gate, standing next to another SUV with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Unlike the SUVs that had brought the dignitaries to the event this one looked as though it was actually meant to travel off road.
She glanced up from her tablet as Uran approached, flicking away her cigarette and smiling.
"Enjoyed the ceremony?" She asked climbing into the driver side of the SUV.
Meanwhile, the rest of the dignitaries were escorted back to the same two SUVs and along with Captain Thompson they began the ride back to the capital for the luncheon.
He nodded "Yes, it was good to see how another nation honours its warriors. A humbling insight I must admit. However I must ask how you thought it went it would be rude not to"
He smiled as he climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up for a rough ride. He was surprisingly enjoying this, which was pleasant, he intended to use this as a get away from normal duties.
"Well its frustrating having to watch an event you're a couple hundred meters away from on a livestream..." D'Arcy answered as she began driving. "But... well I suppose it wasn't for me was it? They spent most of their time up there handing out medals to people who did a real good job at killing people I knew. Makes me just want to..."
She trailed off and held the wheel in a vice like grip for several long moments before slowly relaxing.
"My apologies. I got carried away,"
She continued in silence the SUV leaving anything even vaguely resembling a proper road for a muddy dirt track.
"Guess that's what they get for winning. They get to control the narrative." She added solemnly as they crested a hill.
-----
The trip back to the capital was a silent one, everyone lost in quiet contemplation as they sped along the highway.
The luncheon itself was held in a function room on one of the top floors of a skyscraper overlooking the construction of the new government buildings.
Many a politician and many more wealthy donors were in attendance, walking about in muted colors and chatting quietly in small groups.
Hashmon walked over to Captain Ackers and extended his now bionic hand.
“Good to see you again Ackers, I’m glad you made it out alive and in better shape than me” he joked.
"Not by much, General." Ackers said, taking Hashmon's hand and shaking it firmly. The captain showed no hesitation to the bionic, clasping it like he would any other man's hand.
"Took heavy shrapnel and three broken bones in my leg and suffered a semi-perforated stomach when my IFSP went down. Stomach's recovered, but the docs say my leg never will."
He gave a thin, wan smile.
"At least I can still pilot. How'd you make out?"
"I completely understand. My own people came from the losers of a civil war and history has painted us as the bad guys ever since. Even when we tried to help the galaxy in penance we were thrown away, of course our leader didn’t help but then you can’t judge every single person on a leader" He kept an eye out for where they were going, noticing her grip as he then continued to speak.
"Just take solace in the fact you know the truth, don’t stop fighting. They will forgive you in time I expect, your nation has a long way to go in this galaxy but your first steps will be crucial"
She brought the vehicle to a halt at the top of the hill, silencing the engine and motioning vaguely with her hand. Spready out below them was a large field of yellow flowers, swaying gently in the spring breeze. The field stretched on toward the horizon and the broken remnants of a city that stood there, creating what seemed to be a veritable sea of the yellow flowers.
"That about what you were looking for Captain?" D'Arcy asked as she shut off the engine. "Radiation gets bad if you go too far in. So we'll need to stick near the edges,"
She opened the door and stepped out of the car, lighting up a cigarette once the door had closed behind her.
"I'm not sure they will forgive us," She commented walking down the hill. "They didn't even want to press the issue of torture and war crimes after the battle was over. Only reason they did is because Councillor Var pushed for it so hard..."
"Becoming a unified nation and facing the evils of the galaxy together will draw your people together. You have not experienced the hardships that will make or break your nation yet, know that you will all most likely stand shoulder to shoulder when those come to pass" Utran nodded to her before dismounting the vehicle. He walked forward looking from the top of the hill to the flower covered ruins and fields below.
Normally he wasnt a sentimental man but Utran thought the scene was beautiful. It was a statement after a war and a fitting grave for so many dead. He smiled to himself im sure the Empress and Elena would have loved to come here. He began to kneel down taking pictures at different scapes and angles before moving to the edge of the flower fields themselves. He then took more close ups of the flowers before picking only a single flower before bowing in front of the field.
"Thank you for your beauty" He muttered before placing the flower in a small stasis field holder to give to Elena when he got back.
“Well, not so much in one piece. Most of my right side is bionics, leg, arm, eye, couple ribs and a lung all needed replacement.” Hashmon said to Ackers said sombrely
“You know what those Davian missiles sound like up close Ackers? They hit the ground sounding like an angry fire god pounding the area and the plasma spread out with a roar. The noise was so deafening that you could have almost not heard the screams. By the time it finished and the barrage was over the only thing that you could hear was the crackling of the burning forest trees.” He replied losing the emotion in his voice as he spoke.
"Close enough, General." Ackers responded. He remembered that day. He remembered the screams, loud enough that they didn't need comms, the almost instant cries for permission for medics to haul ass over there, cries he'd had to deny when the enemy started hitting them, watching an entire front of allied troops on his HUD just... vanish. And yes. He remembered the sound. A sound like nothing else.
"Wish I hadn't been, but life's life."
D'Arcy didn't answer as he went about photographing the flowers. She just took a long drag on her cigarette and slowly let the smoke dance out of her mouth before finally exhaling the last of the acrid smoke. He might be right she supposed. Unity was so often found on battlefields against external threats... but for the time being it was all guess work, and she wasn't optimistic enough to agree with him outright.
When he'd finished taking his pictures she discarded the cigarette, coughed twice, and climbed into the SUV once more, returning to the city with the Captain to rejoin the others.
The detour hadn't ended up taking as long as she thought it might. By the time they arrived at the luncheon most of the guests were still there. A few of the highest ranking politicians had left now that they'd put in their appearances, but most of them were still there.
D'Arcy surveyed the crowd with a practiced eye, picking out her charges in the crowd before catching Captain Thompson's eye. He glared at her hatefully but she only smiled. Deciding the simple message of 'I'm back' had been received she set about making sure her charges were faring alright. The TDA and the Free Worlders were busily conversing, and she figured the Captain could take care of himself for now, so she made her way over to the dignitaries from the GAE, who were off on their own.
"How is everything?" She asked cheerfully as she approached. "To your liking I hope?"
"Yes, it has been a mostly pleasant day so far. My uncle and I were discussing the events after our own civil war and our reunification war." Sabine said, and while she smiled she was still angry from her recent argument with her uncle. Her left hand hidden behind her back, still rolled into a fist. "How was the detour you made earlier? All sorted out I hope?"
The Major stood off to one side, seeming slightly disturbed by something and a bit lost in thought. To most, it would just look like an old man pondering something, like if he left the stove on or perhaps left the fridge door open as he was leaving his house.
Hashmon rubbed his hands though his hair and rubbed his palms into his eyes. He was tired, he hadn’t slept properly since the bombing. He stared blankly into space with a pained expression on his face, before diverting his attention back to Ackers.
“Sorry about that, sometimes… I just… you know” he mumbled dismally
It only took few moments for Switch to notice Hashmons distress, she quickly walked over to where he was standing with Ackers.
“Take it easy Burt, you’re alright.” She comforted him for a second before looking to Ackers.
“Alliance Admiral Sara Switch, you must be Captain Ackers I remember you from the hearing. A pleasure to meet you.” She said gleefully extending her hand.
"The hearing..." he said. "No offense meant Admiral, but I'd rather not remember that too well. Preferably less once I've had a few beers later."
He smiled thinly, trying to force unpleasant events following hours of horror and thunder from his mind. That wasn't what they were here for today.
Utran took a seat somewhere, he wasnt interested in the luncheon or the formalities and made himself comfortable in a quiet corner surveying the room. The nations who had come to attend were also interesting, ones that Capitol knew comparitively little about, maybe first contacts could be arranged in time, perhaps some of them would even join the APP?
He smiled to himself at the notion and then pulled the camera out, flicking through the various pictures he had taken. Unbeknownest to anyone else other than the Empress Utran was also a renowned annonymous photographer in Capitol, his job however would be rediculed by such knowledge being public. That the Empress trusted him enough, made him very happy indeed.
"All sorted," D'Arcy confirmed with an easy smile and a nod. The conversation lapsed into an awkward silence and she turned to survey the crowd, racking her brain for new conversation topics... but she wasn't exactly sure she had much in common with the two soldiers. The GAE had suffered some of the heaviest casualties in the fighting, and since she'd served on the opposing side she supposed that neither of them would be particularly keen to reminisce over the battle.
Unfortunately that seemed to be the source of most of the conversation at the luncheon. Rich benefactors and politicians gathered around soldiers in their dress uniforms, listening as they regailed them with tales of their bravery. How many Rebs did you kill? How many battles did you fight?
She tried to take a deep breath, expel those useless thoughts from her mind but when she breathed in all she could smell was burning flesh. Her breath caught in her throat. She made a choking sound, and then coughed loudly, wiping a hand across her mouth with a muttered curse.
"Sorry," She said when the fit had passed, waving off any concerns over her health. "I don't do well at these kinds of..." Glorifications and romanticizations over the deaths of my friends? "Events," She finished weakly.
There was a reason why Sabine and most GAE officers hated these kinds of events. While it did give them a chance to wear their best uniforms decorated nicely with medals and campaign awards, it did more than over glorifying their actions on the battlefield. The younger officers in the GAE wouldn't know any better but Sabine had been to enough parties to understand why people hated these kinds of events.
"That's alright. Tell me though, what do you see in the future of your nation? Do you see them accepting this recent rebellion and changing their ways or do you think they will continue the way they were before? Of course as outsiders we have no right to judge, but as people who have fought a part in this we can't help but wonder what we've left behind."
Utran kept to himself in the entire event. He engaged with conversation where he was directly approached. Mainly questions about the APP, Capitol and the events regarding the Crucible were asked by the various rich and military of Vestahl. Each time he repeated that he believed what his nation was doing was right and that the Crucible was unfortunately a less than wanted means to an end but he tried not to get too entrenched diplomatically in case he accidentally said something that may compromise his people or apperance. He eat and drank of course it would be a dishonour not to at such an event. But Utran was more of a military man of solitude, never one for political or social gatherings. This entire ordeal was somewhat alien to him and while he was happy with the speech he made to the ceremony he quite honestly saw his job here as done. The rest was platitudes and pleasentries.
Ackers, in his own way, was a lot like Utran. A military man, while not solitary, feeling most comfortable around his fellow military personnel or his troops. With a drink in hand he bid good day to the TDA commanders, and made his way over to Sabine and D'Arcy. He listened to the talk as he went, trying to keep the memories of that horrid day from his mind. He only partially succeeded with the memories so fresh, and he slugged down a good bit before approaching the two. He didn't see Squadron Leader Kauff or Wilson's family anywhere, but he could guess where they'd gone. "General, Ms. D'Arcy." he said, nodding to them both. They were in a conversation, he noticed, and settled in to listen and observe.(edited)
“Well he didn’t seem very interested in talking did he?” Switch commented to Hashmon “Yeah, well maybe you just scared him off” he jested in return before pointing out to her that they should get more drinks. The Alliance delegation was used to a much more informal type of victory party where everyone would celebrate the victory and celebrate the sacrifice of their comrades so they could have it. Alcohol is stored in large quantities on board warships for such occasions so it could quickly be ferried down to a planet’s surface and the many Bars that were also commonplace on Alliance warships made excellent spots for naval personnel to celebrate their victories.
"It's... complicated," D'Arcy answered Sabine weakly. "There's a lot of voices in the government who think the rebels got off easy. Those that laid down their arms and gave up got pardons. Free passes to go home and forg et any of this ever happened. If they'd gotten their way the ones who got tortured would have got nothing but a sympathetic nod. Var had to fight tooth and nail to even be allowed to bring up the torture at the war crimes tribunal, and even then they got nothing. No trials of their own, no justice, just 'whoops, they're all dead now. Don't worry about it," She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not only that, but a bunch of prominent former rebels have gotten themselves elected to the assembly and they have veto power in DISEC. There's a lot of concern that they're going to start vetoing everything for the sake of being contrarian and not because they actually oppose legislation. There's even bigger concerns that they're going to deadlock the assembly and prevent any legislation from getting through, and that doesn't even begin to factor in the colonies, and the fact that the Commonwealth is continuing colonization initiatives based on legislation passed before the war. And I haven't even mentioned the ex-patriation employment program or the VRF hold outs..." She returned her hand to her side. "It's complicated," She repeated finally. "And this place is suffocating."
"And I guess leaving the planet isn't an option? I'm sure there will be someone out there who would need you better than these guys." Sabine kept her voice down. She kept reminding herself that she was here because she had been invited, so out of respect she kept her voice down. "The way things stand, things won't be changing any time soon. Going out there into the galaxy to get some "air" wouldn't be too bad of an idea right?" Major Student just stood to the side, watching to see if anyone from Vestahl had heard what his niece may have said. He definitely did not want to make himself or his nation look like people who would stir something up in another nation.
Ackers really didn't have anything to say until he was spoken to or noted, and so he didn't. Both D'Arcy's and Arabel's words were true to his mind, but for the moment he kept quiet. Wasn't his place to interject here.
D'Arcy chuckled at that and shook her head. "It's not the planet that's suffocating, it's this room with all these politicians and posh business people fawning over wounded soldiers. You know some of these people they're idolizing didn't even see combat? That one over there, he was a flight mechanic. He tuned up snub craft hundreds of kilometers away from the actual fighting and now he's surrounded by affluent people showing off campaign medals he really didn't earn." She stopped short of 'and what did I get?'. She was supposed to be making the Commonwealth seem to be on the up and up for all the foreigners, and railing against the system wasn't exactly the best way of doing that. "Forget it," She said finally. "I just... I need to go. But I can't because I have to stay with you..." An idea suddenly occurred to her. "Unless you want to leave too," She said. "Just say the words. 'Ms. O'Shea, I'd like to go to a livelier party now' and I'll be obligated to make it happen,"
Sabine felt embarrassed for misunderstanding what D'Arcy had said before laughing when she heard her suggestion, "Sorry, it's just that the way you said it reminded me of how Arabel used to ask people to do things for her. Yes, I think moving on to another more livelier place would be good." She glanced over to Ackers who had been staning by himself and approached him, "Not exactly very subtle standing over here and alone, wouldn't be very difficult to guess what you were trying to listen in. Should we gather the others and get moving on then?"(edited)
"My apologies, General. I thought I was being subtle." Ackers laughed lightly. "I guess subtlety is just one of those things that goes out the window a bit when you're an IFSP pilot. Gathering the others and getting a move on sounds good."
D'Arcy opened her mouth to say something only to close it again as Captain Thompson approached the group. He and D'Arcy shared a brief whispered conversation. Whatever the conversation was about, it obviously left D'Arcy upset. "It seems Captain Thompson will be taking over as your escort for the remainder of your stay," D'Arcy said at last. "I suppose bars must wait for another time..." She left shortly thereafter, leaving the dignitaries to the event. The luncheon dragged on for another hour before finally coming to an end. Once finished, Thompson escorted everyone back to their ships, thanking each for coming and for their aid in reclaiming the planet.